Chapter 231 3. Deployment of enemy forces in Xiangfan

Xiangfan is located in the upper reaches of the Han River, connecting Jingyu and controlling the north and south. The geographical location is very important. The ancient city of Xiangyang is located on the south bank of the Han River. The city is solid and surrounded by water on three sides.Facing Fancheng across the Han River, they can reinforce each other. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Biao was the governor of Jingzhou and ruled Xiangyang.During the Three Kingdoms period, it was an important military town fought by Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan.Cao Cao won Jingzhou, so he could go south to threaten Jiangnan, and go west to capture Bashu.If Liu Bei or Sun Quan wins Jingzhou, they will be able to obtain the original North Map.

Xiangfan has always been a battleground for military strategists in the subsequent north-south disputes.During the unification war of the Western Jin Dynasty, the generals Yang Hu and Du Yu respectively guarded Xiangyang and used it as a strategic base for attacking Wu in the south.During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the former Qin army went south to attack Xiangyang. The mother of the prefect Zhu Xu built an inner wall in the northwest of the city, which was called "Madam City".When the Yuan army attacked Xiangyang, they were unable to attack by land and water. They were besieged for five years before finally breaking through the city.Gu Zuyu, a geographer in the Qing Dynasty, said in "The Minutes of Reading History and Fangyu": "The person in Xiangyang is the waist of the world. The Central Plains can merge with the southeast, and the southeast can also be drawn to the northwest."

At that time, Xiangfan was the resident of the 15th appeasement zone of the Kuomintang.Commander Kang Ze, from Anyue, Sichuan, Whampoa Phase III.He first engaged in political work in the Kuomintang army, and then served as the leader of the Kuomintang spy organization "Fuxingshe" for a long time.During the Anti-Japanese War, he was also the head of the Three Youth League. In 1947, he served as a member of the Kuomintang Legislative Council and a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Executive Committee. In January 1948, he served as the commander of the 15th appeasement zone.

Kang Ze has a high status in the Kuomintang, but he is not a general and has little actual combat experience.He also had no direct line of troops under him, and Chiang Kai-shek entrusted the 163 and 164 brigades of the Sichuan Army to him to command.Kang Ze felt that this was Liu Xiang's old department, and he could not command it. He recommended Sichuan Army General Guo Xunqi to be his deputy. The two brigades of the Sichuan Army are veterans with old guns and no heavy weapons.The 104th Brigade originally stationed in Laohekou was all new recruits, with good weapons and lack of combat experience. During the Battle of Wanxi, a regiment was eaten by our army.It is really stretched to use these soldiers to guard Xiangfan and a dozen surrounding counties.

Kang Ze sent the 163rd brigade with strong combat effectiveness to Laohekou, the 164th brigade to guard Fancheng as the periphery of Xiangyang, and the 104th brigade to guard Xiangyang.Kang Ze was still not at ease, and asked Bai Chongxi to transfer the entire 23rd Brigade of Wu Shaozhou's 85th Division to Xiangyang as the backbone force. The 23rd Brigade had only been stationed in Xiangyang for two months. Wu Shaozhou wanted to participate in the Central Plains campaign and insisted that the 23rd Brigade come back. The defense of Xiangyang City was empty. Kang Ze had to draw a regiment from each of the two Sichuan Army brigades to strengthen the defense of Xiangyang. (Dong Yisan: "The Capture of Kang Ze in the Battle of Xiangfan", contained in "Selected Collection of Literature and History Materials")

On June 21, after the Huaye Chen-Tang Corps conquered Kaifeng, Bai Chongxi judged that our army in the Central Plains would also participate in the Battle of Eastern Henan, so he decided to concentrate the main force of the "Suppression General" in Central China to Central Henan to find the main force of our army for a decisive battle.He not only transferred the main force of Hu Lian and Zhang Zhen's corps to the north to participate in the war, but also transferred the entire 20th division left behind in Nanyang to Queshan to respond.In this way, the enemies of Xiangfan are completely isolated.

Liu Bocheng seized the opportunity and ordered Wang Hongkun, the commander of the Tongbai Military Region, to unify the 14 regiments of the Nakano 6th Zong, the Tongbai Military Region Troops, and the 12th Brigade of the Southern Shaanxi Military Region to independently carry out the Xiangfan Campaign. On the 23rd, Wang Jinshan, the commander of the 6th Column, went to the Tongbai Military Region to discuss the combat plan with Wang Hongkun, and proposed two plans: one was to attack Xiangfan directly; the other was to attack Laohekou first and then Xiangfan. On the 26th, it was decided to implement the second plan.Therefore, Lu Zong set off from the Xinye area and went straight to Laohekou. ("Summary of the Xiangfan Campaign of the Central Plains Field Army", September 15, 1948)