Chapter 276 13. Inventory

The Battle of Taiyuan began on October 5, 1948 and ended on April 24, 1949, which lasted more than six months.The People's Liberation Army wiped out 1 appeasement office, 2 corps headquarters, 6 military headquarters, 17 divisions and local armed forces, totaling more than 135,000 people, of which more than 33,000 were killed or injured, more than 97,000 were captured, and more than 5,300 surrendered.Seized 6,283 guns, 6,943 machine guns, 37,784 guns, 2.365 million bullets, 54,386 shells, 205,000 hand grenades, and 9 tanks , Thousands of mules and horses.The People's Liberation Army suffered more than 32,000 casualties. (According to the "Statistics of My Casualties and Consumption in the Battle of Taiyuan" in the "Military History and War History Materials of the 18th Corps of the People's Liberation Army")

The liberation of Taiyuan ended Yan Xishan's 38-year bloody rule over the people of Shanxi, and enabled the people to obtain an important industrial base, which was of great significance to economic recovery and support for the national liberation war.At the same time, giving due punishment to the remnants of the Kuomintang who refused to use peaceful means to solve the problem will also have a direct effect on the liberation of Datong in the future. After Taiyuan was liberated, the people of the ancient city who had suffered so much took to the streets to express their excitement in various ways, singing and laughing everywhere.An old artist sang while playing:

Once a cow and a horse, now a master; Yesterday was full of tears, today Qing turned over. How many days and nights have I waited, Survive the cold winter and welcome the new spring. Old man, I am not sixty-two this year, I became a young man of twenty-six... The Battle of Taiyuan was a typical big city battle.The main experience of the People's Liberation Army in annihilating the Taiyuan defenders in terms of campaign command is: First, the correct campaign guidelines were formulated.In the early stages of the campaign, the PLA adopted a strategy of combining siege, disintegration, and attack.During the siege, the People's Liberation Army adopted the operational policy of siege and disintegration.After fighting on the periphery of Taiyuan and fighting against the city, the People's Liberation Army wiped out the vital forces of the defenders one by one, captured the key points of the campaign tactics, and disintegrated the morale of the defenders, creating favorable conditions for subsequent operations.During the general attack on Taiyuan, when the People's Liberation Army had an absolute advantage in the balance of forces, it adopted the campaign guidelines of first dividing and encircling the peripheral defenders, trying to annihilate most or all of them, occupying the siege positions, and then attacking the city in one fell swoop. The defenders were caught off guard, and their defenses collapsed in an instant.Practice has proved that these guidelines are correct.

Second, careful deployment.According to the geographical characteristics of Taiyuan and the deployment of the defenders, the 1st Corps first captured the four fortresses of Dongshan, cleared away the main obstacles to the siege, and at the same time controlled the airport to cut off the defenders' air aid and escape routes, laying the foundation for the victory of the battle. Base.In the stage of the general attack on Taiyuan, concentrate the absolutely superior forces and firepower, besiege from all sides, make multiple breakthroughs, and make continuous assaults, so as to conquer Taiyuan in one fell swoop.

Third, launch a political offensive to disintegrate the defenders.During the Taiyuan campaign, the People's Liberation Army adopted various methods to vigorously carry out the work of political disintegration in a targeted manner, causing a large number of defenders to abandon the dark and turn to the open, thus speeding up the process of victory in the battle.