Chapter 272 9. Rest for the siege

After capturing the four major fortresses, our army was in urgent need of rest and replenishment due to heavy casualties.In addition, the Kuomintang transferred the 83rd Division to reinforce Taiyuan. Yan Xishan took advantage of our army's fierce battle in Dongshan to rush to repair five new ones near the Fenhe West Honggou, Gelagou, Wanbailin, Sanjiao Village, and Chengbei Ironworks. The airport, its foreign aid channel is difficult to cut off for a while, and it is impossible to quickly conquer Taiyuan. On November 8, the 1st Corps of the North China Military Region called the Central Military Commission:

"...In order to fight for the early capture of Taiyuan, avoid protracted periods of time, and increase consumption, it is proposed to increase the strength of two columns under possible conditions, so as to avoid the enemy's weakness and break through from the enemy's weakness, so as to facilitate the defense line to cooperate with Dongshan's main force to quickly resolve the battle... ..." At the same time, the Battle of Pingjin was about to begin. Starting from the overall situation, the Central Military Commission called Xu Xiangqian and Zhou Shidi on November 16:

... It is estimated that the premature conquest of Taiyuan will make Fu Zuoyi feel isolated, and he will voluntarily abandon Ping, Tianjin, Zhang, and Tang to retreat to the south, or retreat to the west and south respectively, increasing the number and then annihilating it. Please consider whether the following policies are feasible: First, fight for another week or two to capture some key points on the outskirts and firmly control the airport, that is, to stop the attack and carry out a political offensive.The troops stuck to their positions and rested on the spot.When our army enters the Northeast and attacks Ping and Tianjin in the first ten days of January next year, you will attack Taiyuan again.Second, if this policy is adopted, Yang Luogeng will live in Fuping to rest and reorganize, and will not go west for the time being...

On November 17, Xu Xiangqian and Zhou Shidi replied to the Central Military Commission: ... First, after discussion by the Front Committee, the Military Commission fully agreed with the telegram at 5:00 on the 16th.Second, our deployment is as follows: To consolidate the four key points of Niutuozhai, Xiaoyaotou, Naoma, and Shantou in Dongshan, we will continue to move forward, and then lay down a few key points to effectively encircle the enemy and launch a political offensive.In addition, the three divisional troops of the Jinzhong Military Region captured the important positions in Hexi, and controlled the airport with artillery fire. Our Dongshan troops are preparing to spend the winter in Dongshan, building caves, opening wells, repairing roads, and transporting food to overcome difficulties...

On November 19, the Central Military Commission replied and agreed.The troops began to transfer to the siege to rest. After the Battle of Pingjin, according to the decisions of the Central Military Commission on the unification of the number sequence of the entire army in November 1948 and January 15, 1949, the 1st Corps, 2nd Corps, and 3rd Corps of the North China Military Region were renamed the 18th Corps of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The Corps, the 19th Corps, and the 20th Corps, with a total of 238,000 people, are directly under the headquarters of the Military Commission.

Xu Xiangqian was the commander and political commissar of the 18th Corps, Zhou Shidi was the deputy commander and political commissar, Chen Manyuan was the deputy commander and chief of staff, and Hu Yaobang was the director of the Political Department. It had three armies: ——Wang Xinting, commander and political commissar of the 60th Army; ——The 61st Army, Commander Wei Jie, Political Commissar Xu Zirong; ——The 62nd Army, Commander Liu Zhong, Political Commissar Yuan Ziqin. Yang Dezhi, commander of the 19th Corps, Luo Ruiqing, political commissar, Geng Biao, chief of staff, and Pan Zili, director of the political department, have three armies under their jurisdiction:

——The 63rd Army, Commander Zheng Weishan, Political Commissar Wang Zonghuai; ——The 64th Army, Commander Zeng Siyu, Political Commissar Wang Zhao; ——The 65th Army, Commander Qiu Wei, Political Commissar Wang Daobang. Yang Chengwu, commander of the 20th Corps, Li Jingquan, political commissar, Tang Yanjie, deputy commander and chief of staff, Li Tianhuan, deputy political commissar, and Li Zhimin, director of the political department, have three armies under their jurisdiction: ——The 66th Army, Commander Xiao Xinhuai, Political Commissar Wang Zifeng; ——The 67th Army, Commander Han Wei, Political Commissar Kuang Fuzhao;

——The 68th Army, Commander Wen Niansheng, Political Commissar Xiang Zhonghua.