Chapter 364 Chapter 37 Zhangxiajin Battle: Prelude to Crossing the Sea and Landing Operations

After the Battle of Crossing the River, most of the Kuomintang Army’s Jiang Defense Forces fled to coastal islands such as Fujian and the Zhoushan Islands, except for those who were annihilated and those who fled to Taiwan. The remnants of the 55th, 68th, and 96th armies of Liu Ruming, the remnants of the 106th army of Hou Jingru's 17th corps, the remnants of the 20th and 88th armies of Zhang Shixi's army in the 7th appeasement area, the 73rd and 88th armies of Zhang Xuezhong, the 9th training headquarters 74. The remnants of the 85th Army; the remnants of the 45th, 21st, and 75th Army and the remnants of the temporary 1st Army fled to the Zhoushan Islands.

Chiang Kai-shek still tried to rely on these remnants and the 22nd Corps in Fujian and the 87th Army in eastern Zhejiang to reorganize the defense in order to control the southeastern coastal area and offshore islands, shield Taiwan, and wait for a counterattack. In the southeast coastal area, the strategic location of Zhangxiajin is extremely important.Zhangzhou is an important city along the coast of Fujian; Xiamen is an important port, juxtaposed with Kinmen Island, guarding the mainland of southern Fujian, and has always been a battleground for military strategists. The KMT's mouthpiece "Central Daily" made it very clear about the strategic positions of Xiamen and Jin Islands: "The gains and losses of Jinxia and Jinxia will have a great impact on the advance and defense of Taiwan's national army. This province (referring to Taiwan) should do everything possible." Force, to support the Jinxia campaign, in order to preserve this important counter-offensive base."

Therefore, long before the Battle of Fuzhou, Chiang Kai-shek went to Xiamen in person on July 22 to deploy and strengthen the defense of the Zhang, Xiamen, and Jin areas.After the Battle of Fuzhou, the Kuomintang army took a series of measures to defend the Zhang, Xia and Jin areas. One is to adjust the command structure and replace the leader.The 6th Corps of the Fuzhou Sui Department was abolished, and Tang Enbo was appointed as the chairman of Fujian Province and the chief of the Southeast Military and Political Commissioner's Office, and unified command of Liu Ruming's 8th, Hu Lian's 12th, and Li Liangrong's 22nd Corps;

The second is to reorganize the remnants and adjust the deployment of troops.About 8,000 people from the remnant of the original 6th Corps were ordered to guard Pingtan Island.The troops belonging to the 22nd Corps were reorganized into the 5th Army (under the jurisdiction of the 200th and 166th Divisions) and the 25th Army (under the jurisdiction of the 40th and 45th Divisions).Except for the 166th Division staying on Xiamen Island, the remaining 3 divisions and the 201st Division transferred from Taiwan were stationed on Kinmen Island.The 55th Army of the 8th Corps was transferred from Zhangzhou to Xiamen. The 68th Army of the Corps, the remnant of the 96th Army of the original 6th Corps, the independent 37th Division, and 4 regiments of the Fujian Provincial Security Column defended the Tongan area of ​​​​Zhangzhou.The troops belonging to the 12th Corps were reorganized into the 76th Army, the 18th Army, and the 19th Army, and retreated from southwestern Fujian and the Fujian-Guangdong border to the Chaoshan area of ​​​​Guangdong as a reserve team in the Zhangxia area.In addition to the Pingtan and Chaoshan areas, the Kuomintang army in Zhangzhou, Xiamen, and Kinmen areas has a total of 2 corps, 5 armies, and 12 divisions, with a total strength of more than 65,000;

The third is to repair fortifications and positions.The Kuomintang specially allocated 10,000 yuan in silver dollars and 12 billion yuan in gold dollar certificates, stepped up the expansion of the fortifications in Xiamen and Jinmen, and sent senior staff technicians to carefully survey, design and construct; The fourth is to strengthen the navy and air force, and strive to form a three-dimensional defense.The air force directly sent some combat aircraft from Taiwan to use Gaoqi and Kinmen airports to invade the inland and harass.The navy sent more than 10 large and small gunboats, including the "Taihu", "Dazhao", and "Nan'an", to cruise around and block the sea.