Chapter 299 17. "The victory of the Huaihai Campaign was pushed out by the masses with small carts"

During the entire Huaihai Campaign, the people in the Central Plains, East China, North China and other liberated areas contributed huge manpower and material resources to support the front line and ensure the victory of the campaign.Under the mobilization and organization of party organizations at all levels and inspired by the victory, they took active actions to support the front line and consolidate the rear, so that the enemy would be plunged into the vast ocean of the people's war and could not escape their doom.It was with the strong support of the people in the liberated areas that our army finally overcame all difficulties and won a complete victory in the Huaihai Campaign.So Chen Yi said: "The victory of the Huaihai Campaign was achieved by the masses of the people using small carts."

In accordance with the deployment of the East China Bureau, in the month before the launch of the Huaihai Campaign, from the coast of the Yellow Sea to the Weishan Lake, from the Bohai Plain to the Taiyi Mountains, on a land of 1,000 kilometers in length and width, the broad masses of the people in the Shandong Liberated Area took action nervously , doing preparatory work. During the Huaihai Campaign, the people of Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan, Anhui, and Hebei provinces mobilized a large amount of manpower and material resources to support the front line.For example, the Liberated Areas of Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu raised more than 300 million catties of grain, 650 million catties of firewood, 1 million catties of cooking oil, and more than 740,000 catties of table salt; organized and supported more than 1 million migrant workers and more than 100,000 stretchers; and produced a large number of military uniforms , military quilts and military shoes; repaired more than 350 miles of railways, more than 2,200 miles of highways, and erected more than 2,300 miles of telephone lines.

More than 300,000 migrant workers were mobilized in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Liberated Areas, more than 34 million front and rear supporters, more than 1,200 animal workers, more than 10,000 stretchers, more than 100,000 large and small vehicles, and more than 9,000 tons of millet were transported . Especially in the Shandong Liberated Area, it not only raised the East China Field Army, but also made great contributions to the support work during the Huaihai Campaign. It dispatched more than 1.83 million migrant workers, 58,224 stretchers, 409,810 large and small vehicles, 41,575 picks, livestock 175,755 heads, 3,250 ships, 257 cars, 230.2 million catties of grain, more than 410 million catties of firewood, 726,551 catties of cooking oil, 839,207 catties of salt, and 863,000 catties of pork.

Zhang Jinfu, who participated in the work of organizing the support back then, recalled: "The people of Shandong not only saved a lot of food and clothing, and selflessly donated a lot of food, but also carried forward the spirit of hard work, braved the wind and snow, fought the severe cold, trekked over mountains and mountains, and traveled long distances to deliver food and ammunition in time. Transported to the front line, they showed a high degree of sacrifice in the support work, created many heroic deeds, and a large number of role models emerged. On the way to transport grain, some migrant workers encountered wind and snow, so they took their own coir raincoats, or Cover the grain with my cotton-padded clothes; when the mountains are high and the slopes are steep, the road is muddy, and it is inconvenient to push the cart, I unload the grain and carry it on my shoulders; it is good."

Please take a look at the following group of figures of the masses during the Huaihai Campaign (see p. 599 of Liu Tong's "Records of the War of Liberation in East China"): Migrant workers: 5.43 million Stretcher: 200,000 pairs Large and small cars: 880,000 Picks: 300,000 pairs Livestock: 760,000 heads Ships: 13,630 Grain: 960 million catties (434 million catties are actually used ahead) Transport ammunition: more than 14.6 million catties There are also other military supplies that cannot be counted, such as quilts, cotton clothes, military uniforms, military shoes, military socks, cooking oil, salt, firewood...

The above group of figures are only figures during the Huaihai Campaign, and are incomplete statistics.However, this set of figures is enough to illustrate the great contribution of the people to the Huaihai Campaign.