Chapter 321 3. Determination of the time of crossing the river

From March 5 to 13, 1949, the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Xibaipo. During the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee, Mao Zedong specifically asked Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yi, Tan Zhenlin and others to study the issue of crossing the river, and initially set April 10 as the time for launching the crossing. The basic contents of the cross-river meeting in late March were initially determined as follows: The 2nd and 3rd Field Armies all began to cross the river on April 15.The 3rd, 4th, and 5th Corps of the Second Field consisted of 9 armies with 350,000 people as the West Assault Group, commanded by Liu Bocheng, Zhang Jichun, and Li Da, and crossed the river between Hukou and Zongyang;

The 7th and 9th Corps of Sanye are the Central Assault Group, commanded by Tan Zhenlin, crossing the river from the east of Zongyang to the mouth of Jinhe; The 8th and 10th Corps of Sanye are the East Assault Group, commanded by Su Yu and Zhang Zhen, crossing the river between Jinhekou and Jiangyin. There are 15 armies with a total of 650,000 people in the 4 corps of Sanye (plus the 12th Corps of Siye, I have more than 1.2 million troops in the battle of crossing the river). After successfully crossing the river, the central and eastern roads were under the command of Su Yu. The key to such a deployment is that after crossing the river, the middle and eastern roads quickly move east and west, and encircle a large number of defending enemies in Nanjing, Zhenjiang, and Wuhu in a pincer shape.The meeting also emphasized that we must also take into account the possibility that the enemy will stick to the defense of the river, or attack us all the way when we cross the river to shrink and gather troops, so we must be prepared for serious battles.

On April 1, Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi led the newly formed elite headquarters to Yaogang Village in the southeast of Hefei.The headquarters of each assault group also went to Tongcheng, Wuwei, and Taizhou.However, the date of crossing the river and the attitude towards the Nanjing government took a lot of consideration. Chen Yi, who was in the command center, had the responsibility to give more consideration to these issues. Soon after, due to the progress of the peace negotiations held in Peiping, the Kuomintang may sign the agreement. If it can be signed, the crossing of the river in battle can become a peaceful crossing of the river, which is of great significance.However, Mao Zedong estimated that the time for crossing the river would be postponed by half a month to a month, and planned to postpone the April 15 date proposed by the General Front Committee composed of Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yi and others to the end of April to the beginning of May.For this reason, Mao Zedong called the General Front Committee: What is the disadvantage of such a delay?

The timing of crossing the river is one of the main links that Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi have mastered.They immediately collected opinions from all sides and conducted their own investigations.The opinions are pretty grim: Erye: The water potential of the Yangtze River will accelerate at the end of April and the beginning of May, with strong southerly winds, heavy rain and strong waves.And food has become difficult at present. Sanye: The rainy season began in late April, and the river was rising day by day. Two-thirds of the existing ships were riverboats, and it was difficult to navigate in the river. During the rainy season, the rice fields were flooded, making it difficult to deploy troops.Food and grass have also been difficult.

The results of the General Front Committee's own investigation are: the water in May is greater than in July and August, and the lakes on both sides of the river are flooded. The water surface of the Yangtze River is extremely wide, and it will be extremely difficult to cross the river.Now that millions of troops are crowding the riverside, if it is delayed for too long, they will have to retreat to get food and grass.As for the signing, it should also be assumed that the enemy will turn his face. Therefore, the General Front Committee with Deng Xiaoping as the secretary suggested to Mao Zedong to fight across the river first, and then strive for peaceful acceptance.

The Central Military Commission and Mao Zedong, insisting on the necessity of political struggle and fully considering the objective situation of crossing the river, sent a telegram to the General Front Committee on April 15: "According to the negotiation situation, our army must decide to postpone the crossing of the river for one week, that is, crossing the river from the 15th to the 22nd." Assuming that it is politically necessary, we must prepare to postpone it for another 7 days. Mao Zedong also specifically instructed Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi in the telegram: "When you issued the order to postpone crossing the river, don't say it is for negotiation, but say it is because the friendly army has not yet completed the preparations for crossing the river, so as not to relax morale."

Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi had different views.In the name of the General Front Committee, they gave instructions to the two field armies and the party committees of the corps.He did not avoid "for the sake of negotiation" at all, but made a positive statement about the relationship between crossing the river and negotiation.This is a good article that fully believes in the cadres and strives to raise awareness.It is indeed the style of Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi. The telegrams from Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi were issued on April 12 and reported to the Central Military Commission and Mao Zedong.

Mao Zedong fully respected the opinions of Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi, and reiterated on April 14: "The instructions of the General Front Committee on April 12 are very good. Please follow this instruction and explain to the cadres above the division the reasons for delaying the time of crossing the river, strengthen combat preparations, and raise more food, grass, oil and salt." Afterwards, after repeated discussions on the time of crossing the river, the Central Military Commission and Mao Zedong finally made a decision at 9:00 on April 18: "I fully agree with the entire deployment of the General Front Committee, that is, the corps of the second field and the third field began to attack on April 20, and the general offensive will be carried out on the 22nd, and they will fight to the end in one go."