Chapter 281 5. 25,000 enemy troops were wiped out

At dawn on October 5, the columns of the Northwest Field Army assembled in Jiaodao Town, Miaowa, Daibao, and Heichi Town to the south of Heyang, and marched towards Siqian, Yongfeng and other attack targets at dusk that day. After a night of marching, at dawn on October 6, the Northwest Field Army first attacked the enemy's 17th Division in Siqian Town, Weizhuang Town, and Yongfeng Town.The 1st Column moved bravely, swiftly and alertly, marched lightly in the dark night, boldly interspersed, bypassed the enemies of Daigo and Suche, and suddenly penetrated into Zhangjiacheng, the heart of the enemy, cutting off the headquarters of the Reorganized 17th Division stationed in Weizhuang and its 1st Column. The 48th Brigade contacted and wiped out more than 300 members of the 48th Brigade who escaped from Suyou to Weizhuang, and captured the brigade commander Wan Youlin alive, causing the 48th Brigade to lose command; the 3rd and 6th columns captured Beidang and Siqian Zhenhe Township and Daigo Township and Suche Township; the 2nd and 4th Columns captured Liangyi, Shuangquan, Lingao, and Fengqi, and approached Weizhuang Town, cutting off the enemies from Weizhuang to Yongfeng Town and from Weizhuang to Yijing. The contact disrupted the entire defense system of the enemy's reorganized 17th Division.

After the defense system was quickly torn apart, the enemy's reorganized 17th Division began to flee in a panic, and the Northwest Field Army took advantage of the momentum to attack violently.In the fierce battle until 11 o'clock, except for the enemy forces in Yongfeng Town and Weizhuang, which were being surrounded and wiped out, Beidang, Siqian Town, Xiguan, Daigo, Suyou, Lingao, Fengqi and other strongholds were all captured.In the evening of the battle, most of the enemy's 48th Brigade was wiped out.The headquarters of the reorganized 17th Division and the 34th and 35th regiments of the 12th Brigade, who were trapped in Weizhuang Town, also lost the upper and lower forts, Xincun, Dongjiacun, and Dongbai on the outskirts of Weizhuang in the face of the attacks of the 1st and 2nd columns. After waiting for the stronghold, break out to the southwest.

Yongfeng Town is located on the Luohe River to the north of Dali and east of Pucheng. It is an important stronghold controlled by Hu Zongnan. The 12th Brigade and the 36th Regiment defend the enemy.There are solid and complete fortifications in the city, and there are several large bunkers outside the city to support each other, and there are secret passages leading to the city.Under the city wall, there is a moat more than 1 foot deep and 7 feet wide, and there are obstacles such as deer villages along the moat.There are two gates in the east and west of the city, and there are watchtowers above the gates.However, Yongfeng Township is small, and the enemy's 36th regiment gathered in the town, drinking water was a problem, and it was overlooked by the highlands in the east outside the town, so it was difficult to defend.

In addition to the 4th Column of the Northwest Field Army continuing to besiege the 36th Regiment of the Yongfeng Township, while the main force was chasing the remnants of the 17th Division, the 2nd Column turned to attack the 38th Division on the morning of October 7.Fight until 3 p.m., capture strongholds such as Tangjiabao, Wuniwan, Hancun, and Bachakou, annihilate the 529th Regiment of the 177th Brigade and a part of the 55th Brigade, and reorganize the remnants of the 38th Division to flee southwest along Tieling Mountain . Finding the enemy fleeing, Wang Zhen immediately ordered the brigades to pursue them bravely.Then he came to the command post of the 6th Independent Brigade, where brigade commander Zhang Zhonghan was giving the pursuit order.After a while, Wang Zhen hurriedly walked out of the command post when he heard gunshots outside. He stood at the head of the village and raised his binoculars.

When he learned that the 717th Regiment did not pursue the enemy after capturing Tieling Mountain and was on standby, Wang Zhen was very annoyed and shouted: "Quickly pass on my order for them to pursue quickly!" But there was no one around. The one who delivered the order.He hurried back to the command post and saw that the guard Wu Xianjun was laying out food for him to eat on the ground. Wang Zhen became anxious, kicked over the rice bowl, and yelled at Wu Xianjun: "The enemy has run away, and you are still eating his mother!" Go to the 9th brigade and tell Xu Guoxian, tell them to pursue immediately, and destroy the enemy even if they chase to the sky!"

Wu Xianjun tugged at the lapel of another guard, Zuo Daquan, wanting him to go.Wang Zhen saw it, and said indisputably: "I want you to go, go!" Wu Xianjun had no choice but to carry out the order, and before leaving, he whispered to Zuo Daquan: "Take care of the commander, and never let him leave here. Right now there are stray bullets everywhere, and big things will happen in the chaos." ("Wang Zhen Biography") The second column chased and annihilated the fleeing enemy to the bank of the Luo River west of Laojunzhai, captured more than 1,000 enemy people, and captured all the heavy weapons and other equipment of the enemy's reorganized 38th Division.The 3rd column pursued to the vicinity of Chuanshedu and annihilated part of the 499th Regiment of the 167th Brigade of the Reorganized 1st Division that was reinforced by the enemy. The remaining enemy fled in embarrassment and was routed.Abandoned wounded soldiers, corpses, horses and other military supplies are everywhere on the banks of the Luo River, and some were drowned in the Luo River.

The 6th Column took advantage of the victory and went straight to the outskirts of Dali City. Under the cover of the remnants of the reorganized 36th Division, the headquarters of the 5th Corps of Pei Changhui fled to the south bank of the Luohe River in a panic. The enemy's 36th regiment, which was besieged in Yongfeng Town, failed to break through to the south, and was completely annihilated by the 4th column that night.The 4th column took advantage of the victory and advanced to the Sunzhen and Qiaotou areas east of Pucheng. When the Northwest Field Army mainly attacked and wiped out the 17th and 38th divisions of the enemy reorganization, on October 6, more than 1,100 people from the security team and standing team stationed in Chaoyi County, under the support of the southward detachment, were led by the team leader Yang Haichao (Communist Party) member) and Wang Yanting (member of the Communist Party) led the uprising and captured more than 200 people, including Bu Ruying, the magistrate of Chaoyi County of the Kuomintang, and Liu Yingnan, secretary of the party department of Chaoyi County of the Kuomintang, liberated Chaoyi County, and intercepted the escape from Siqian Town in Chaoyi. There are more than 100 remnants of the 144th Regiment of the 48th Brigade.

On October 7, I liberated Minmin County.At the same time, the 4th Cavalry Division of the 4th Column captured Zhoujialing in the northeast of Tongchuan on October 5 and defeated an enemy regiment reinforced by Tongchuan.The 4th Guard Brigade captured Juyang Town in the northwest of Pucheng on October 6 and recovered Baishui County.So far, the vast areas west of the Yellow River and east of the Luohe River have been liberated except for Dali City and Chuanshe Town. The news of the victory reached Xibaipo. On October 10, Mao Zedong drafted a congratulatory telegram for the Central Military Commission to Peng Dehuai and Zhang Zongxun:

Peng Zhang: First, congratulations on annihilating the main force of the two enemy divisions.This victory will help you annihilate the main force of the Hu army in the area north of the Wei River one by one.Second, how many casualties did our army have?If the casualties of our army are not large, we can continue to look for opportunities to fight another battle after a short rest; if our army has heavy casualties, it is advisable to move from the current location to the line between Chengcheng and Baishui, so that we can maneuver from east to west. Take a longer break and then fight again.Hope to do it.

Military Commission 1 o'clock on the 10th On October 11, Peng Dehuai and Zhang Zongxun called the Central Military Commission and others: "Baishui and Chengcheng are short of food, so they decided to gather in Yongfeng Town, Weizhuang, Shuangquan Town, and Yijing to attract the main force of the enemy to the east, so that our army can then move forward." Mobility. The morale of the troops is strong, and the tactics and technology, especially the ability to attack key points, have made great progress. However, the number of companies is extremely insufficient, with as many as seventy or eighty people, and as few as thirty or forty. 5 verticals and 11 brigades, accounting for a total of about 20,000), in order to maintain vitality, it is planned to rest in the above-mentioned areas for 20 days, and strive to replenish 5,000 to 6,000 captive soldiers (a total of 10,000 people). It is also possible to gather 7 brigades to help (3 brigades from the 1st division, 2 brigades from the 65th division, 135th and 144th brigades from the 13th division). division) and then annihilate three or four brigades before we can successively capture the cities in Weibei."

After the enemy's reorganized 17th and 38th divisions were annihilated, Hu Zongnan was unwilling to fail. He attempted to use the convenient transportation conditions to mobilize the reorganized 1st and 65th divisions and the 135th brigade of the 13th division from Yaoxian, Xingping, Tongguan and other areas , together with the reorganized 90th and 76th divisions and the remnants of the reorganized 36th and 38th divisions in Pucheng and Dali areas, a total of 13 brigades with more than 90,000 people, under the cover of howitzers, tanks and aircraft, strictly supervised the battle by officers The method is to counterattack desperately while the Northwest Field Army is resting. At 15:00 on October 10, one of its leading infantry and one of its cavalry entered the Liuchi camp and Zhongshan area north of Dali, and were repelled by the garrison troops of our 6th column. At 8 o'clock on October 11, the enemy reorganized the 1st, 65th and 36th divisions, a total of 5 to 6 brigades, and launched an attack along Yangjiazhuang, Lucun and Tieling Mountain in two routes.The Northwest Field Army uses the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th columns to block the enemy's attack, and cover its main force to occupy positions in the Xingzihe, Wuni Village, Yaotou, Nanyangzhuang, and Qutou areas for defense. Then turn to attack.After a day of fierce fighting, our army's blocking troops repelled the enemy's impact more than 10 times.At dusk, the enemy's reorganized 65th Division advanced to Yanzhi Mountain, Hancun, Lijiapo, Dahaoying, and Duohao.At the same time, the Kuomintang Air Force dispatched 5 sorties of B-25 bombers and 35 sorties of B-47 bombers to violently bomb the positions of the Northwest Field Army to support the ground battle. In the face of the enemy's fierce counterattack, Peng Dehuai was determined to take advantage of the shaky foothold of the enemy's reorganized 65th Division, and asked the main force of the Northwest Field Army to carry forward the spirit of continuous combat, concentrate the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th columns to attack, and wipe out the first The enemy reorganized the 65th Division; at the same time, a part of the 4th column was used to monitor the enemy in Pucheng. The main force crossed the Luo River from Sun Zhen to the east, and attacked the enemy's back from west to east. At dawn on October 12, the Northwest Field Army launched an attack on the Reorganized 65th Division. The fighting lasted until 10 am when the 1st, 3rd, and 6th Columns attacked Dongxihan Village and surrounded the 187th Brigade of the 65th Division in Lijiapo.The 2nd Column surrounded the Dahao Camp and compressed the 160th Brigade of the 65th Division into the Tuzhai.Under the fierce attack of the main force of the Northwest Field Army, the enemies of Dongxihan Village broke out in a dense formation to the south, and were blocked by artillery fire from the Northwest Field Army and intercepted by infantry. Fleeing south under the cover of the plane.At 16:00, the 3rd Column annihilated all of the 560th Regiment of the 187th Brigade of the 65th Division and the two battalions of the 561st Regiment in Lijiapo.During the battle, the Northwest Field Army also shot down 3 enemy planes and destroyed 2 tanks. In the evening of the same day, the 2nd Column compressed the 160th Brigade of the 65th Division of the enemy into the village of Dahaoying. Several attacks failed, resulting in a standoff.At this time, 2 regiments of enemy infantry and 1 regiment of cavalry came to aid from Dali.Due to insufficient preparations and the weak strength of the blocking force, three regiments to aid the enemy entered the small trench camp and joined the 160th brigade that was trapped in the big trench camp.Several attacks by the second column were unsuccessful, and they suffered more than 1,300 casualties.At the same time, the right-wing troops attacking Yanzhi Mountain and Xihan Village were also blocked due to terrain restrictions. On October 13, enemy reinforcements arrived one after another, and 80,000 to 90,000 people from 13 brigades, including the 1st, 90th, 76th, 13th, and 38th Divisions, were concentrated in the Dali area in an attempt to fight with the Northwest Field Army in this area. Regional battle.Peng Dehuai saw that five reorganized divisions in the south of Hu Zong had assembled in the Dali area, and their strength was concentrated, their actions were cautious, and it was not easy to annihilate them one by one. On October 13, Peng Dehuai and Zhang Zongxun said in a telegram to the Central Military Commission: "Wen (12th) all of the 560th regiment of the 65th Division, one battalion of the 561st regiment, and one part of the 559th regiment, and more than half of the remaining casualties will be given to the bandit. Pride was dealt a severe blow. Wen (12th) at dusk the enemy's 135th Brigade and the 4th Cavalry Regiment returned to the north of Dali City, and the 61st Regiment also increased Li, and there may be 144 brigades, forming the enemy's south by Dali City, seven or eight The brigade formed an in-depth defense, and it was difficult to destroy the enemy if it continued to attack. Therefore, it stopped attacking after the dusk of Wen (12th), and retreated to the north of Yongfeng Town, Weizhuang Town, and Siqian Township line after the dusk of Yuanyuan (13th). At 23:00 on the same day, the Central Military Commission replied to Peng Dehuai and Zhang Zongxun, pointing out: "It is very good to retreat and rest. You can rest for a month to replenish and melt the prisoners. If necessary, you can extend the rest time. If the enemy stops advancing, you will be in Yongfeng, Siqian and Weizhuang areas are good. But Chiang (Kai-shek) and Hu (Zongnan) may take advantage of your fatigue and use the main force to seek battle northward. You should be prepared to move northward to a safe place to rest if necessary." In the south of Hu Zong, after discovering that the main force of the Northwest Field Army had moved northward, he began to advance again, and on October 14 occupied the highlands south of the Dayu River and the front line of Lujing Town.In order to lure the enemy deep, disperse its forces, and annihilate part of the enemy at random, the Northwest Field Army abandoned Chengcheng and Heyang on the evening of October 14 and continued to move north. At 9 o'clock on October 15, Peng Dehuai and Zhang Zongxun said in a telegram: "In order to attract the enemy to disperse, I abandoned Yongfeng, Weizhuang, and Siqian (abandoned on the 14th) in the evening of Yuan (13th). The division (4 regiments), the 135th brigade, the 61st brigade, and the 4th regiment of the 2nd cavalry brigade, a total of 7 brigades, cold (14th) occupied the above-mentioned areas. If the enemy continues to invade the north, we plan to abandon Cheng (city) and He (yang) , to lure the enemy deep in order to annihilate the 1st Division." On October 16, the reorganized 36th Division entered Heyang. On the 17th, the Reorganized 1st Division entered and occupied Fengyuan Town, its leading troops advanced to the south of Huanglong Mountain, and the Reorganized 65th Division entered and occupied Chengcheng. Hu Zongnan was afraid that the troops would go deep and be lured and annihilated by the Northwest Field Army, so he ordered to stop the advance, and the reorganized 76th Division took over Yongfeng and Siqian Town's defense, and covered the reorganized 1st, 65th, and 36th divisions to withdraw to Pucheng and Dali to rest and replenish. .During this period, the remnants of the 165th Brigade of the 36th Division and the local reactionary forces in Huayin and Huaxian reoccupied civilians and Chaoyi.The Northwest Field Army moved to Fengyuan Town, Zhaozhuang Town, and Bailiang Town to rest and reorganize. After Hu Zong's southern main force moved northward, the rear was empty for a while.Taking this opportunity again, Peng Dehuai ordered the 4th Column and commanded the 4th Guard Brigade to attack Pucheng, Longyang Town, Dangmu Town, Xingshi Town, Meiyuan Town, and Liuqu Town in the Fuping area from October 14th to 17th. The enemy's local armed forces left behind blocked the roads from Pucheng to Dali and Fuping, wiped out more than 700 people from the Shanpao Battalion of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the enemy's reorganization, and more than 700 local security forces. On October 17, they withdrew to Lingao in Baishui County. And Xinyao Town area to rest.