Chapter 295 13. Annihilation of the Huangwei Corps

The Central Plains and East China Field Army began on November 23, and after 18 days of intense and fierce fighting, they surrounded the Huangwei Corps and the Du Yuming Group respectively, and dealt heavy blows to them. . It will take some time for the PLA to completely wipe out the enemy.At this time, under the support of the 8th Corps, the enemy's 6th Corps, which was aided by the north in Bengbu, had advanced to the south of Yujiaji and Baojiaji, only 70 miles away from Shuangduiji. , The 28th Army has arrived in Pukou one after another, and it is estimated that it will reach the Bengbu area around December 15.

In addition, the dozens of ships that the Kuomintang is concentrating on standby in Shanghai may suddenly go north to pick up the Jiang forces in the Ping, Tianjin, Tang, and Tang areas and transfer them to the Xubeng battlefield. In response to these circumstances, in order to take the initiative in the campaign, the General Front Committee, with the approval of the Central Military Commission, decided to first concentrate the main force of the Central Plains Field Army, and use the 7th and 13th columns of the East China Field Army and a special column artillery of the campaign reserve to annihilate the Huangwei Corps first.The main force of the East China Field Army besieged the Du Yuming Group.In addition, the 6th Column of the East China Field Army, and the 2nd Column of the Central Plains Field Army, 5 regiments of the Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Western Henan Military Regions, and 1 division of the Bohai Column were transferred under the command of the 6th Column Commander of the East China Field Army Wang Bicheng and political commissar Jiang Weiqing. Block the task of Li Yannian and Liu Ruming's corps.

Liu Bocheng vividly compared this combat policy to: "Eat one (Huang Wei), coerce one (siege Du Yuming), watch one (stop Li Yannian and Liu Ruming)". On the 5th, Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi, and Deng Xiaoping issued the "General Attack on the Huangwei Corps Order", pointing out: The enemy Huangwei Corps has lost at least one-third of its troops and at least two-fifths of its combat troops after fighting with us for half a month. The Chinese Army (including the 18th Division) has also been destroyed, which is the result of the heroic fighting of various units of the People's Liberation Army.According to the overall operational requirements and the actual situation, it was decided to form three attack groups.Order the 4th, 9th, and 11th Columns of the Central Plains Field Army, the Independent Brigade of Henan, Anhui and Su, and the Artillery Section of the East China Field Army to form the East Group, commanded by the 4th Column Commander Chen Geng, and political commissar Xie Fuzhi, to attack the area east of Shuangduiji; Order the 13th Column of the East China Field Army, the 1st and 3rd Columns of the Central Plains Field Army, and the First Special Column Artillery of the East China Field Army to form the West Group, commanded by the commander of the 3rd Column Chen Xilian, to attack the area west of Shuangduiji; order the 6th Column of the Central Plains Field Army, The 7th Column of the East China Field Army and the 12th Brigade of the Southern Shaanxi Military Region formed the Southern Group, commanded by Wang Jinshan, commander of the 6th Column of the Central Plains Field Army, and Du Yide, political commissar, and attacked south of Shuangduiji.

Before the launch of the general offensive, each column was further mobilized to replenish the source of troops, reorganize the line of fire, and enrich the company.Commanders at all levels went deep into the front line to mobilize and organize commandos.Carry out military democracy, organize sand table operations, solve tactical difficulties, and study ways to annihilate the enemy.Increase the firepower and promote the earth-made explosive throwing barrel called "extra powerful gun" by the enemy.Strengthen communication support, set up a ring telephone network, set up double lines on important lines, and strengthen and improve support and logistics work, and send food, ammunition, and medicine to forward positions to ensure continuous operations of the troops.

On the 6th, after the People's Liberation Army made full preparations, especially after a large amount of soil work, the three groups launched a comprehensive attack at the same time. The troops adopted a method of fighting steadily, capturing one village and consolidating the other, and implemented focused multi-faceted and multi-faceted attacks against the enemy. A continuous assault of points.By the 10th, nearly 50,000 enemies had been wiped out. In order to expedite the annihilation of the Huangwei Corps, the General Front Committee decided to add the 3rd and 13th columns of the East China Field Army to the South Group, under the unified command of Chen Shiju, Chief of Staff of the East China Field Army, to assault the enemy's core positions. The enemy launched an assault.

On the 12th, Liu Bocheng and Chen Yi issued the "Letter to Urge Huang Wei to Surrender Immediately", pointing out: Most of the four armies you belong to have been wiped out.Even the 18th Army, the trump card you rely on, has been wiped out by more than half.Your entire regiment is wiped out in just a few days.Under such circumstances, if you yourself and your subordinates make desperate resistance, not only will there be no way out, they can only be completely destroyed under the intense artillery fire of the People's Liberation Army.As the commander of the corps, you should cherish your subordinates and their lives, lay down your weapons immediately, and stop letting your officers and soldiers make unnecessary sacrifices.If you accept our final warning, please send representatives to this department immediately to negotiate the terms of surrender.The time is pressing, and decisions are made at the moment. ("People's Daily, December 16, 1948")

In this regard, Xinhua News Agency broadcast continuously, and all columns seized the opportunity to launch an extensive political offensive, and entire companies and battalions of the Kuomintang army came and surrendered one after another.But Huang Wei still stubbornly resisted, refused to surrender, and cast poison gas to fight trapped animals.The Kuomintang Air Force also dispatched frequently to support the defense of the Huangwei Corps. On the 13th alone, enemy planes dropped more than 100 tons of bombs on the PLA positions. On the evening of the 13th, the People's Liberation Army launched a general offensive. On the 14th, the South Group captured the southern end of the enemy's temporary airport and the Jiangudui position south of Shuangduiji, and the Huangwei Corps was completely exposed.The East Group captured Yanglaowuzhuang and Yangziquanzhuang. On the evening of the 15th, each group took advantage of the victory and continued to attack. The East and West Group passed through the enemy's tight firepower network, broke through the enemy's defense line built with cars, and joined the South Group. The three attack groups coordinated closely to quickly destroy the enemy's command center.The remnants of the enemy scattered to break through and were all intercepted and wiped out. At 12 o'clock on the 15th, the People's Liberation Army wiped out Huang Wei's Corps, and captured Corps Commander Huang Wei, Deputy Commander Wu Shaozhou (and 85th Army Commander), 18th Army Commander Yang Botao, 10th Army Commander Qin Daoshan and others.Hu Lian, deputy commander of the Corps, absconded in a chariot.Xiong Shouchun, commander of the 14th Army, was killed.So far, the entire Huangwei Corps was wiped out.

The Li Yannian and Liu Ruming corps, which were aided by Bengbu from the north, were stubbornly blocked by the blocking forces of the People's Liberation Army. They attacked for more than 10 days, but finally failed to get close to the Huangwei corps.After the defeat of the Huangwei Corps, the enemy withdrew to the south of the Huaihe River on the 16th.The Du Yuming Group, which was besieged in the Chenguanzhuang area, broke through to the south continuously from the 11th to the 15th, but failed. Its defense area was further reduced and its situation was even more disadvantageous. The Huangwei Corps was wiped out, and the tasks of the second phase of the Huaihai Campaign have been completed. During this period, the strategic city of Xuzhou was liberated.As pointed out in the congratulatory message of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China: "Xuzhou is the gateway to Nanjing and a huge military base for the bandit leader Chiang Kai-shek to carry out the counter-revolutionary civil war. The rapid liberation of Xuzhou is extremely beneficial to the national war situation. Shang Wang will continue to work hard to wipe out the bandit army in person. Struggle .” ("People's Daily, December 6, 1948")

When the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Mao Zedong congratulated the second stage of the Huaihai Campaign, they pointed out that the annihilation of the Huangwei Corps forced the Li and Liu Corps to flee south of the Huaihe River, thus making the Du Yuming Group "completely isolated in the northeast of Yongcheng, with food exhausted." Don't help, just sit and wait to die." "I hope to unite all the soldiers and civilians, continue to work hard, and fight for the complete annihilation of the bandit army in front of us!" ("Battle of Huaihai", p. 233)