Chapter 120 12. Inventory

The Battle of Laiwu fought fiercely for 3 days and nights, annihilating two armies and 7 divisions (brigades) of the Li Xianzhou Group, killing and injuring 10,000 people, and taking 46,805 prisoners, including 2 lieutenant generals and 7 major generals.414 guns of various calibers, 1,869 light and heavy machine guns, 15,700 long and short guns, more than 300,000 shells and bullets, 56 vehicles and a large number of military supplies were seized.Our army sacrificed 1459 people and injured 7007 people.After the war, our army recovered 13 county towns including Zhoucun and Boshan, and controlled the middle section of the Jiaoji Railway.This was an unprecedented victory in the War of Liberation in East China. On February 23, Chen Sutan reported the news of the Laiwu victory to the Central Military Commission, and Mao Zedong replied the next day: "I am extremely pleased."

The Battle of Laiwu was a large-scale mobile battle carried out by the East China Field Army in the interior hinterland after the Subei and Lunan battles.The high command and front-line commanders of both the enemy and the enemy made careful plans for the battle, and both sides invested the maximum force that could be concentrated.The battle ended with the disastrous defeat of the Kuomintang army. The most fundamental reason was the mistake of the Kuomintang's strategic guiding ideology.They paid too much attention to the city's gains and losses, and were rigid in "attacking the battleground", thinking that occupying Linyi was a victory.Our army, on the other hand, aimed at eliminating the vital forces of the Kuomintang army, regardless of the gains and losses of a city or a place, resolutely abandoned Linyi, sent troops northward, and gained the initiative in the battle.

This is the correct decision of Mao Zedong and the Central Military Commission, and it is also a manifestation of Chen Yi and Su Yu's flexibility in commanding the campaign.After the war, Chen Yi spoke highly of Su Yu's commanding art. He said: "This proves that the campaign guidance of our army's deputy commander, General Su Yu, has always maintained its record of constant victories. , March 10, 1947) In the process of encircling and annihilating the Li Xianzhou Group, the enemy's situation has undergone four major changes.Su Yu's command is determined, the enemy changes and we change, and the fighters are captured in time to achieve the goal of complete annihilation.This is the first time that the columns of the East China Field Army have cooperated to fight together after the reorganization. Everyone overcomes difficulties and resolutely implements the orders of the headquarters, which is the basic condition for victory in the battle.

In the summary of the campaign, Su Yu fully affirmed the role of each column. He said: "The heads of each corps can follow the general intention, maneuver flexibly, and be resolute under the conditions of mountainous operations, difficulties in communication and contact, and operations beyond the enemy's front line. Completed the task accurately, which is also an important reason for this victory. In terms of the cooperation of the various columns, the 1st column was the most difficult. Although not many were captured, it played a decisive role in the entire battle and should be counted as the first contribution. The 8th , The 9th Column quickly eliminated the enemy's 77th Division, opened up the battlefield, and enabled us to free up our troops, which is not insignificant. All other columns have contributed, such as the 10th Column and the Independent Division in the northwest to contain the enemy's reinforcements. The enemy in Laiwu was dealt with safely; although the 6th column did not completely wipe out the enemy in Kouzhen, a division south of Kouzhen blocked the enemy who broke through to the north, which played a considerable role; although the 2nd column did not fight, However, the enemy's retreat to the southwest was cut off; although the 4th and 7th columns did not complete the task of cutting off the enemy's 46th Army's retreat in the early stage, they resolutely completed the task in the later stage of the campaign; the credit of the 3rd column cannot be obliterated. If the enemy is contained on the southern front, it is impossible for us to concentrate all our efforts on dealing with the enemy on the northern front." (Su Yu: "Preliminary Summary Report on the Battle of Laiwu", March 8, 1947)

The disastrous defeat of the Kuomintang army in the Laiwu area was a very heavy blow to the Kuomintang, which caused serious panic among senior officials of the party, government and army. "Zhang Qun said that he wanted to find a better way to resume the peace talks. Zhang Zhizhong sighed and said that if there is no way out of the peace talks, he had to resign himself to fate. Even the American ambassador Leighton Stuart agreed to let the atmosphere of the peace talks go, saying that he would persuade the Kuomintang to accept the two conditions of the Communist Party." "Wang Yaowu In a letter to Li Tianxia, ​​commander of the 83rd Division, he said: The Battle of Laiwu suffered heavy losses, and a century-old lesson is unforgettable. Zhang Lingfu, the commander of the 74th Division, asked for a rest and said: The division's equipment is not suitable for mountain warfare. Li Tianxia repeatedly pretended to be sick and asked for leave to quit ". (Su Yu: "Preliminary Summary of the Laiwu Campaign")

On March 1, 1947, Wang Yaowu received a reporter from Shanghai's "Ta Kung Pao" and said: "I am sure of defending Jinan. The only thing I have done in the past few years has been done to such a degree. It is quite 'useless'." In his speech at the Third Plenary Session of the Kuomintang Central Committee in March 1947, Chiang Kai-shek no longer talked about "eliminating the CCP within half a year", but said: "From now until September, it is a matter of life or death", no longer guaranteeing that there will be no economic crisis, but Guarantee that "the economy will never collapse".