Chapter 320 2. Tang Enbo's deployment of river defense

In view of the loss of the main force of the Kuomintang army and the loss of most of the country, seeing that Nanjing was precarious, Chiang Kai-shek was devastated and disheartened. Various factions and several provinces in the Kuomintang requested Chiang Kai-shek to step down. Chiang Kai-shek finally realized that, on the one hand, many people in the Kuomintang would not agree if he did not step down;Under the circumstances of domestic and foreign difficulties, it is better to retreat behind the scenes and lead the government with the party than to spend the years on the stage. On the morning of January 21, Chiang Kai-shek officially announced his resignation. He left Nanjing by plane in the afternoon, and never had the chance to return to Nanjing.

On January 24, 1949, Li Zongren held a brief ceremony at the meeting to commemorate Sun Yat-sen and took office as acting president, facing a mess that could not be cleaned up. On the fourth day after Chiang Kai-shek "went down to the field" and returned to Xikou, on January 25, 1949, He Yingqin, Gu Zhutong, Tang Enbo and others were called to Xikou to hold a small-scale military meeting to deploy the defense of the Yangtze River.This is a military meeting held behind the backs of Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi. Chiang Kai-shek said: "I have decided to divide the defense line of the Yangtze River into two major areas. The west of Hukou belongs to Bai Chongxi and the others. It has about 40 divisions, and the east of Hukou belongs to Tang Enbo. There are about 75 divisions and 450,000 people."

Chiang Kai-shek faced Tang Enbo and said: "You are in the command post of the Xiaolingwei headquarters in Nanjing. You must always control one or two hundred trucks so that they can be used at any time. You must place the main force east of Zhenjiang to ensure Shanghai and Hangzhou." Jiang also said to Tang Enbo: "The cannons in Jiangning Fortress, you have to secretly dismantle them and transport them to Shanghai." According to Chiang Kai-shek's operational policy, Tang Enbo formulated the main points of defense of the Yangtze River.He reported to Chiang Kai-shek on the specific combat plan: According to the combat policy approved by the president, we decided to guide the Yangtze River defense line as follows:

1. If the Communist Army is crossing the river from Zhenjiang to Nanjing, it should be attacked and wiped out by Que Hanqian's 54th Army and Hu Changqing's 99th Army; if it fails, Gu Xijiu's 123rd Army and Wang Kejun's 21st Army Army and Wang Bingyue's 51st Army resisted successively from Zhenjiang along the highway and railway until they retreated to Shanghai.The navy and air force fully assisted the ground forces to secure the Songhu area. 2. When the Communist Army crosses the river from southern Anhui, Zhang Shixi's 66th Army and 20th Army in the 7th Appeasement Zone and Liu Ruming's 8th Corps should fight independently.Cao Fulin's 55th Army, Yu Zhaolong's 96th Army, and Liu Ruzhen's 68th Army should wait for an opportunity to counterattack.If it doesn't work, we should withdraw from southern Anhui in time to ensure the safety of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line.The troops east of Nanjing ensured the triangle area of ​​the Yangtze River and Qiantang River, and retreated to Songhu as a last resort.

3. If the communist army only crosses the river from the front, each unit should guide operations according to the above two arrangements. Tang Enbo made an oath to Chiang Kai-shek: "President, don't worry, the defense line of the Yangtze River is solid. We have also deployed mobile troops in the direction of the Yangtze River. If the Communist army crosses the river from Zhenjiang and Nanjing, our army can surprise and annihilate them; The troops should resist from Zhenjiang along the highway and railway section by section, retreat to Shanghai, and then use the navy to assist the ground troops with all their strength to secure Songhu."

Chiang Kai-shek made comparisons on the map for a while, expressing his satisfaction.He said with a smile: "This is the fundamental plan for our country governance. As for the peace talks, it is just to buy some time." According to the above-mentioned combat guidance essentials, Tang Enbo deployed the troops under the jurisdiction of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Garrison Command as follows: First, the Songhu Garrison Command, Commander Chen Daqing, under the jurisdiction of Luo Ze's 37th Army, Liu Yuzhang's 52nd Army, Wu Zhongzhi's 75th Army, Zhu Zhiyi's 95th Division and Ma Zhichao Traffic Police Corps 4 regiments.The defense area is the line of Baimaokou, Kunshan, Qingpu, Jiaxing, Jiashan, and Pudong. The task is to defend Jinshanwei, Fengxian, and Nanhui with a strong force, and especially guard the urban area of ​​Shanghai.

Second, the first appeasement area, the commander Ding Zhipan, under the jurisdiction of Gu Xijiu's 123rd Army, Wang Kejun's 21st Army, Wang Bingyue's 51st Army, Wang Zuohua's 4th Army, and Dong Jitao's Temporary 1st Army.Its main task is to secure the bridgehead positions from Baxu Port to Yizheng with a strong force, to defend the river defense from Baimaokou to Shatou Peak with a force, and to ensure that Hupu, Fushan, Luyuan Town, Yangshe, Jiangyin, Menghe, Dagang, Zhenjiang, Gaozi, Qiaotou each stronghold.Special vigilance is placed on Jiajiangzhou Island, Yangzhong, Xindao, Guazhou, Lizhou, and the Free Ferry Bureau in the north of Luyuan Town.In this appeasement area, there is another guerrilla group that quickly wiped out Maoshan, the Jiangsu-Zhejiang border area, and the Taihu Lake area.The defense area extends to Baimaokou and Kunshan in the east, and Qiaotou Town between Zhenjiang and Nanjing in the west.

Third, the Capital Garrison Headquarters, Commander Zhang Yaoming, under the jurisdiction of Chen Pei's 45th Army and Liu Bingzhe's 28th Army, whose defensive task is to consolidate the bridgehead positions in Dahai and Wujiang Towns.In the south of the Yangtze River, the fortifications were quickly strengthened, and one part was used to guard the river defense between Qiaotou Town and Tongjing Town, and to ensure Longtan, Qixia and Dasheng Pass.Special vigilance should be exercised on the river bank near Xinzhou Station. The fourth and seventh appeasement areas, Commander Zhang Shixi, under the jurisdiction of Luo Xianda's 66th Army, Yang Qiancai's 20th Army, and Yang Baohu's 88th Army.Use one to guard the river defense between Tongjing Town and Gangling Town to ensure quarrying, Dangtu, and Wuhu.Special vigilance is placed on the river near Digang.Control powerful troops to maneuver in Wuhu Fanchang.Necessary troops must be sent to occupy the bridgehead positions and Jiangxinzhou.The defense area extends to Gangjing in the east and Gangling in the west.

The fifth and eighth corps, commander Liu Ruming, under the jurisdiction of Cao Fulin's 55th Army, Yu Zhaolong's 96th Army and Liu Ruzhen's 68th Army, are in charge of the river defense from Tongling to Hukou, and strong troops are sent to each bridgehead to ensure it. Sixth, the mobile corps was directly commanded by Tang Enbo, including Que Hanqian's 54th Army stationed in Danyang and Hu Changqing's 99th Army stationed in Longtan.After completing the deployment of troops, Tang Enbo strictly ordered all troops to immediately build river fortifications in their respective defense areas.Tang Enbo also continued to inspect various troops and urged the troops along the river to step up their preparations for war.He convened a meeting in Changzhou with officers above the head of the garrison troops on the Beijing-Shanghai line. He cheered them up and said: "We must defend the Yangtze River in order to turn the situation around... We have planes in the sky, warships on the river, and fortresses on the shore. Army, there is nothing to worry about the smuggling of civilian ships, so there should be no problem in defending the Yangtze River and preventing the communist army from crossing the river."