Chapter 4 Chapter 3 Encounter on a Narrow Road

In the summer of 1946, after the Central China Field Army launched the Battle of Central Jiangsu, the First Division, First Brigade and Second Regiment were conducting short-term training in Daqiao Town, Lianshui County.In the first battalion, a soldier who was liberated from the battle of Xuanjiapu seized four guns in the battle and said to the instructor: "Please write down my credit." credit book".Later, the contributions of many fighters were included in the "credit book".Zheng Ke, director of the political department of the regiment, summed up this experience and proposed to the whole regiment to "compare on the battlefield and make contributions to the people" and "record the credit in the 'credit book'", which was accepted by the commanders and fighters of the whole regiment.Since then, the "credit book" has become a good way to motivate soldiers.

Comrade Lai Shaoqi, a famous calligrapher and painter and the former head of the literature and art section of the Political Department of the East China Military Region, did not participate in the Soviet Central Campaign due to illness. At this time, he took the initiative to approach Comrade Zhong Qiguang, the director of the Political Department, and asked to be the director of the Political Department of the Second Regiment. Meritorious Service Movement" conducts a comprehensive investigation and sorting out. Due to the frequent fighting, the troops had no time to change their clothes, and many liberated soldiers still wore the Kuomintang uniforms to participate in the battle.They were worried that they would be misunderstood by others when they were sent to the rear after being injured, or that militiamen and children's regiments would mistakenly treat them as injured enemies on the road. .The company did this, which made the liberated fighters more emotionally stable.Later, some units also proposed that commanders and fighters should also be issued a "certificate of merit" for their meritorious service, and that the "certificate of merit" should be sent home, and the whole family would be honored.This is good for improving the fighting spirit of the commanders and fighters, alleviating the worries of family members, strengthening military-civilian relations, and improving the people's confidence in victory.The Propaganda Unit vigorously publicized this movement through the "Warriors" and guided the commanders and fighters to correctly understand the meaning of this movement: Why should we repay the merits?How is our credit different from that of the reactionaries?What gong can be reported?How to report to the Fa?This kind of publicity and guidance made the "merit movement" deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.A company of soldiers summed up the meaning of "merit movement" into 12 words: meritorious service, hard work, and fighting well.A party member said: "Party members have a double duty. They do more meritorious deeds themselves, and they also help others to do more meritorious deeds." Write down the shortcomings of the author, and do not forget criticism and self-criticism when making contributions.

The General Branch of the Youth League and the Political Department pooled everyone's wisdom, and further put forward the slogan "Repay meritorious deeds, reward meritorious deeds, people's meritorious officials, everyone respect" to the commanders and fighters of the whole regiment, and issued to all party members that "Party members should make the first contribution in the meritorious movement" " call.Each unit has gradually established a "credit organization" - there is a merit committee in the company, and a merit recorder in the class, who will record and report credit for everyone at any time.And formally established the "three certificates" in the whole regiment: Individuals have a "certificate of merit", which is called credit and follow others, and it is honorable to be transferred wherever they are transferred; A "certificate of merit" is issued to the family. If one person makes a contribution, the whole family is honored.

On October 13, 1946, Comrade Wu Jianren, head of the Propaganda Section of the First Division and the First Brigade, wrote the newsletter "The Haifeng Brigade (the code name of the Second Regiment) Enthusiastically Launched the "Contribution Movement"".This report was sent by the Central China Frontline Branch of Xinhua News Agency to the Yan'an head office.The Xinhua Headquarters will publish it immediately.Yan'an Xinhua Radio Station also broadcast this report. At this time, the Shandong Liberated Area was also brewing and carrying out a "meritorious service movement". On October 10, 1946, the Shandong People's Armed Self-Defense Committee and the People's Armed Forces Department of the Shandong Military Region made the "Decision on Carrying Out the "Meritorious Movement"", and the "Meritorious Movement" was generally carried out among all militia self-defense members.At the same time, the Shandong Military Region and the Shandong Provincial Government jointly promulgated the "Interim Measures for Shandong Militia Self-Defense Forces to Carry Out Merit Movement", calling for "everyone to make a contribution...to strive for the complete victory of the self-defense war."

On November 11, 1946, Yan'an's "Liberation Daily" published a headline on the front page of "Speeding up the victory of the all-out resistance, East China launched a "merit movement"" based on the situation of the "merit movement" in the central China liberated area and the Shandong liberated area. Add a short comment, which speaks highly of this movement.This short commentary titled "Calling for Widespread Response to the "Criminal Campaign"" (When Xinhua Radio Station broadcast, the title was changed to "Extensive Launch of the "Criminal Campaign") pointed out: "This is a pioneering work in the people's self-defense war. Contributing to the people, this is the greatest honor of a revolutionary fighter, and also the greatest contribution to the people. It should be greatly advocated and popularized... A certain group of the Central China New Fourth Army put forward the slogan of "don't be proud of the credit, add credit to the credit" It is very good. We call on the whole liberated area to participate in this movement and make it a powerful weapon for the victory of all-out resistance.”

The organ newspaper and radio station of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a call, and the Yan'an troops took the lead in responding, which soon set off a vigorous upsurge of meritorious deeds.The head of the Central China Field Army and the Political Department attached great importance to this. In order to make the central China army consistent with the whole army, they also changed the "merit campaign" to "merit campaign", so that it could be carried out quickly and widely in the entire army. Soon, the "Meritorious Service Movement", as an effective mass political work, was widely carried out in all units of the People's Liberation Army and in various liberated areas.

Based on the actual situation of the unit, each unit also proposed a campaign to learn from the heroes of the unit.In the Eighth Division, there was an upsurge of learning from the blasting hero Ma Lixun, the combat hero Anbaoan, the model commander Li Yiqin who is both wise and brave, and the hero Guo Jisheng who is not arrogant in victory and not discouraged in defeat. On December 13, 1946, the New Fourth Army and the Shandong Military Region issued the "Instructions on Carrying Out the "Meritorious Service Movement"", in order to carry forward the high degree of revolutionary heroism of our army and enhance the revolutionary creative spirit, resulting in the momentum of the whole army, overwhelming the enemy, smashing Chiang Kai-shek's offensive called for "everyone to make meritorious service, and everything to make meritorious service." At the same time, he promulgated the "Provisional Regulations on Merit Movement", which made more detailed regulations on the implementation of meritorious service. On January 15, 1947, the East China Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the "Instructions on Extensively Carrying Out the "Meritorious Service Movement"", pointing out that the "Meritorious Service Movement" is a "sinicized organizational form and working method, and has become a powerful weapon for the victory of the people's self-defense war. ", requiring all the commanders and working people of the troops, militia, rear organs, factories and other units in East China to carry out extensive campaigns to build credit for the people, "to speed up the victory of the comprehensive counter-offensive." In February 1947, Yan'an's "Liberation Daily" published an editorial "Re-discussing the "Meritorious Service Movement"", pointing out that the "Meritorious Service Movement" initiated by the Suluwan troops was widely implemented in the Liberated Areas and had become a powerful force for the People's Liberation Army to strive for victory. Tools and a lot of driving force.

In December 1946, when the second regiment went south to attack Yancheng, it developed individual meritorious service into individual and collective meritorious service, and proposed to launch a competition for "meritorious meritorious service class" and "award red flag".The conditions for collective meritorious deeds are: less casualties, greater victories, and more seizures.The Political Department of the Youth League created a song "Ode to the Red Flag for the Creation of the "Glorious Class of Meritorious Service", the specific content is: award the red flag, and it will be red."The credit class is the most honorable.There are three kinds of meritorious deeds: great victory, one kind of merit; more capture, two kinds of merit; few casualties, three kinds of merit; doing well, great merit.The award red flag is bright red.The whole class has contributed.Write the name in the flag.One flag, the whole class merits, the first to record, the squad leader's merit; two flags, all row's merit, first to record, the platoon leader's merit; three flags, all consecutive merits, first to remember, the company commander's merit.Five flags, the whole battalion is successful.The four battalions have all contributed, and the head of the regiment is also honored...

At the Second Regiment's Second "Glorious Merit Conference", the whole regiment has 41 classes, 2 platoons, and 1 company, which were awarded the titles of "Glorious Merit Class", "Glorious Meritorious Platoon" and "Glorious Meritorious Company". The head of the regiment awarded the red flag respectively, the head of the battalion toasted, the representatives of the heroes participated in the presidium, the local women and children presented flowers, and the representatives of the heroes made a report.At the merit meeting, the commanders and fighters were excited and their fighting will was unprecedentedly high.

The campaign of killing the enemy and making meritorious service effectively solved the urgent problem of strengthening command, boosting morale, and ensuring consecutive victories. The famous Battle of Subei was the first major victory won by the Shandong Field Army commanded by Chen Yi and the Central China Field Army commanded by Su Yu. On October 28, 1946, the Nanjing Presidential Palace. Chiang Kai-shek is receiving Chen Cheng, Wu Qiwei, Li Mo'an, Hu Lian, Dai Zhiqi and other confidant generals, and is preparing for the Battle of Subei.He said: "Everyone, Chen Yi and Su Yu have been retreating in Shandong, Huaibei, and central Jiangsu recently. This is a great opportunity for our army to annihilate the Shandong and northern Jiangsu Communists. Our army should work hard to capture Suqian and Shuyang. , and completely wiped out the Communist Army in northern Jiangsu."

Dai Zhiqi, the commander of the reorganized 69th Division, was an arrogant and arrogant young officer. After hearing Chiang Kai-shek's order, he immediately echoed: "The commissioner is wise! The purpose of this visit is to reassure the commissioner. Give Chen Yi a head-on blow in Subei before the National Assembly is held!" "Okay! Okay! General Dai is worthy of being a leader of our party and country!" Chiang Kai-shek praised Dai Zhiqi with a smile. On November 15, in order to cooperate with the convening of the "National Congress", the Kuomintang issued a large-scale offensive plan to "end the war in northern Jiangsu".With the reorganized 69th Division (one regiment short of the 99th and 92nd Brigades), the 3rd Reserve Brigade of the reorganized 57th Division, the 41st Brigade of the reorganized 26th Division, and A total of 6 and a half brigades of the reorganized 11th Division transferred eastward from the Hebei-Shandong-Henan battlefield, attacked from Suqian to Shuyang and Xin'an Town (now Xinyi City); the reorganized 74th and 28th Divisions and the Seventh Army altogether 5 brigades (divisions) re-offended Lianshui from Huaiyin; reorganized the 65th, 83rd, and 25th divisions, a total of 5 brigades, and re-offended Yancheng and Funing from Dongtai; reorganized the 59th and 7th divisions. The 17th, 51st, and 26th divisions, with 9 brigades attached to the first rapid column, attacked Tancheng and Linyi from Yixian, Zaozhuang, and Taierzhuang. After Chen Yi, Su Yu and others learned about this situation, they decided to concentrate the superior forces of the 24 regiments of the Shandong Field Army and the Central China Field Army to fight a battle of annihilation in the Sushu area, and quickly reported this decision to the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission. After Mao Zedong received Chen Yi's telegram, he stopped in front of the map for a long time, thinking: Boss Chen wants to fight a battle in Subei, which is very good.However, this time, the Kuomintang is under the joint command of Wu Qiwei and Li Mo'an.Who is hit first and who is hit later is very important. The commander of the 69th Division, Dai Zhiqi, was arrogant and reckless. He would rush to the front after the battle started, so as to ask for credit and rewards from Chiang Kai-shek.Hu Lian's Eleventh Division is Chen Cheng's starting capital. Hu Lian has been battle-tested, cunning and cunning, and will preserve his strength at critical times.Mao Zedong decisively decided to attack Dai Zhiqi's 69th Division first.So, he sent an urgent telegram with 4 "A"s to Chen Yi. According to Mao Zedong's deployment, Chen Yi proposed five combat plans to the Central Military Commission in southern Lunan from December 3 to 7, and consulted the Central China Field Army for opinions.These five combat plans: First, the deployment of our army remains unchanged, and we will meet the four-way invading enemy in Yancheng, Lianshui, Shuyang, and southern Shandong respectively.The second is that the Central China Field Army is responsible for destroying and attacking the enemies of Yancheng and Lianshui, and the Shandong Field Army is responsible for destroying and attacking the enemies of Lunan and Shuyang.Among the two lines of enemies that are responsible for destroying each other, the leader of the field army will decide which line to fight first, depending on the situation.The third is that the Central China Field Army first concentrated its forces to wipe out the enemies who attacked Lianshui or Yancheng, and then cooperated with the Shandong Field Army to attack the enemies who attacked Shuyang with all their strength.The fourth is to concentrate the main forces of the Shandong and Central China field armies, annihilate the enemies attacking Shuyang, and use part of the force to contain the other three-way enemies.Fifth, we are not afraid of the enemy occupying Shuyang. Our army is looking for opportunities in place, and we will deal with it after we further determine the specific actions of the enemy.Chen Yi believes that the five plans have their own advantages and disadvantages, but it is best to concentrate our efforts to wipe out the enemies who have attacked Shuyang.Therefore, the main force of the Central China Field Army should be assembled at a suitable maneuvering position near Lianshui, and the Shandong Field Army should be assembled at a maneuvering position along the Beiyi River on Longhai Road, so as to arrive and enter the battle within a 3-day journey. The Central Military Commission is extremely concerned about the operations in the direction of Sushu. On December 11, Su Yu, who was in Yancheng, was ordered by telegram to "return to the north immediately and deploy Shuyang to fight." On the 13th, he pointed out again: "After the 11th Division arrives in Suqian, it will cooperate with the 69th Division and the Third Preliminary Brigade to attack Shuyang. Only by annihilating the enemy can we keep Shuyang in our hands. If Shuyang falls, the main force of Huaye It is difficult to continue fighting in northern Jiangsu, and there is a possibility of being forced to transfer to southern Shandong. The importance of this battle must be estimated." In order to be safe, Chen Yi and others further adjusted the deployment: (1) The Ninth Column of Central China is located in the Yehaizi and Wuhuading areas (both north of Suqian), monitoring the enemies in Suqian. (2) The 6th Division, the 6th Brigade of the 10th Column in Central China, and the 19th Brigade of the 7th Division are located in the Lianshui area to monitor the enemy in Huaiyin. (3) The 31st Brigade of the 7th Column in Central China, the 13th Brigade and the 30th Brigade of the 10th Column are located in the Yancheng area to monitor the enemy in Dongtai; the 10th Lunan Division and Binhai Guard Brigade are located in Yi County To the east, monitor the enemies of Taiwan (Erzhuang), Yi (county), and Zao (zhuang). (4) The First Column and Eighth Division assembled in the southwest area of ​​Tancheng. (5) The Second Column and the Fifth Brigade of the Seventh Division assembled in the north and south areas of Shuyang to perform mobile combat missions. (6) The First Division moved from Yancheng to the Lianshui area.This is a deployment that focuses on finding the enemies of Su and Shu, and takes into account the two directions of Sulu. On December 13, the Suqian enemy launched an attack along the Su (Qian) Xin (Anzhen) and Su (Qian) Shu (Yang) highways in two left and right columns. The vanguard of the left column occupied Xiaodianzi, Zhangshan Town ( North of Suqian), its right column took the lead in occupying Caojiaji, Gaoxu (north of Suqian) and other places. Complacent, Hu Lian hurriedly called Chen Cheng and Chiang Kai-shek to repay his credit.However, Chen Cheng told Hu Lian on the phone: "Your main task now is to defend the position and cooperate with the 69th Division to fight. It will not be too late to repay the merits after the whole battle is over, understand? Master Hu!" After hearing this, Hu Lian understood, and immediately ordered: "All troops stick to their existing positions and are not allowed to attack at will!" Dai Zhiqi of the 69th Division was eager to grab the credit and urged the troops to advance quickly. On the morning of December 14, the 69th Division prepared the third brigade to capture Wuhuading. Dai Zhiqi hurriedly called Hu Lian: "Mr. Hu, how is your place? My third brigade has already occupied Wuhuading." Hu Lian smiled cunningly, and replied: "Master Dai, our division has captured Lailong'an and is attacking the communist army in depth. If you don't hurry up, I will have this military achievement alone!" When Dai Zhiqi heard this, his eyes turned red immediately, and he hurriedly begged: "Brother Hu, don't do this, give brother a chance! Otherwise, how can I explain to the committee!" Hu Lian said hypocritically: "Okay, I'll wait for you." In the end, the 11th Division fired desperately at the area around the small memorial archway, but they didn't rush up. Dai Zhiqi put down the phone and immediately commanded troops to storm Renhexu, Fengshan, Shaodian, Zhangshan, Xiaodianzi and other places.Sitting in an American jeep to supervise the battle, he stretched out his head and shouted to the officers and soldiers from time to time: "Brothers, speed up! Whoever climbs the peak first will be promoted to three ranks and will be rewarded with 50,000 yuan!" On the evening of December 14, the entire 69th Division of the enemy's first echelon reorganization and the main force of the reorganization of the 11th Division had spread out in a fan shape. The depth of the front was about 25 kilometers, and the rear supply was only at Suqian. The aggressive posture of the enemy shows that they have not yet noticed the actions of the main force in Huaye and Shanye.In order to make the pre-war preparations of the main attacking force more adequate, maintain the maximum suddenness of the launch of the campaign, and give the enemy an unexpected attack, Chen Yi and Su Yu postponed the start of the campaign to the evening of the 15th.At the same time, it was decided to wipe out the weaker third reserve brigade on the left wing of the reorganized 69th Division first, and then wipe out the main force of the division.And adjusted the combat deployment, continue to stick to the positions of Wuhuading, Yehaizi, and Lailong'an with the main force of the ninth vertical, attract the enemy, ensure that the main force forms an encirclement against the enemy, and then cooperate with the main force to destroy the enemy and reorganize the 69th division; The Eighth Division, the first column of the first column, and the fifth brigade of the seventh division, after encircling and annihilating the enemy in Tianfengshan, Xiaodianzi, and Zhangshan Town, prepared the third brigade, attacked from west to east, and cooperated with friends and neighbors to gather and annihilate the reorganization of the 60th brigade. The main force of the Ninth Division; use the main force of the first and second columns to break into the joint between the enemy's Reorganized 69th Division and the Reorganized 11th Division, cut off the connection between the two divisions, and then besiege the Reorganized 60th Division with all participating troops. The Ninth Division wiped out the besieged enemies. On December 15, all participating troops entered the assembly position according to the scheduled plan.At dusk, the attacking force suddenly launched an attack on the enemy's reorganized 69th Division.That night, part of the first column surrounded the enemy at Xiaodianzi, and the main force moved from the area between Xiaodianzi and Jingertou to the area between Jingertou and Caojiaji with brave and swift movements.The 8th and 9th regiments of the 3rd Brigade led by the enemy entered the Mazhuang and Zhangzhuang areas west of Caojiaji where the enemy's reorganized 11th Division was stationed.After an hour of fighting, our army wiped out most of the enemy's engineer battalion and cavalry battalion, and once attacked Caojiaji Tuwei, only two to three hundred meters away from the enemy's division headquarters. After daybreak, the treacherous and cunning Hu Lian finally discovered that the communist army attacking Caojiaji had very few troops, no more than two regiments at most.He became furious and immediately ordered the Eighteenth Brigade to adopt anti-encirclement tactics in an attempt to eat up this "hateful" communist army.He yelled viciously: "Make a dumpling for Ye Fei and eat him!" When Ye Fei learned that the eighth and ninth regiments of the third brigade had penetrated deep into the enemy's army, he broke out in a cold sweat. He blurted out and cursed: "Damn, the two lonely regiments have penetrated into the enemy's eleventh division." In the depths, if someone makes dumplings, no matter who he is, I will definitely punish him!" He hurriedly ordered He Kexi, the commander of the third brigade, to rush to the eighth and ninth regiments.As soon as He Kexi arrived at Caojiaji, he immediately ordered a part of the Eighth Regiment to occupy the south side of Mount Santai and cover the retreat of the main force. By 3 p.m., the eighth and ninth regiments finally got rid of the enemy's 11th division's stalking and indiscriminate attack, and safely withdrew from Caojiaji. The Shanye Eighth Division fought fiercely with the enemy's 69th Division with two regiments all night, and captured Fengshan, an important commanding height between Zhangshan Town and Xiaodianzi, annihilated the enemy's 69th Division and prepared a reinforcement battalion for the 3rd Brigade. A gap has been opened in the entire deployment.The Fifth Brigade of the Seventh Division of the Central China Field Army and a part of the Ninth Column occupied the positions north and east of Zhangshan Town. Fengshan is the commanding height of the battlefield and an important support for offense or defense. Gains and losses here have a great impact on the overall situation of the battle.In order to protect the safety of his right wing and rear and change the unfavorable situation, Dai Zhiqi retracted the 40th Brigade to Miaozhuang and Caizhuang, and the 118th Brigade to Gaowei, Liwei, and Caojiaji; The 3rd Brigade and the 60th Brigade launched a counterattack in an attempt to recapture Fengshan. Throughout the day on December 16, the enemy's 3rd Brigade and 1st Brigade of the 60th Brigade, with the support of aircraft and artillery fire, launched several violent counterattacks against the Fengshan position, but were repelled by the first part of the Eighth Division of Shanye.Subsequently, Su Yu ordered the Eighth Division to take over the task of the second brigade of the first column to encircle and wipe out Xiaodianzi and prepare for the third brigade; The connection between the 69th Division and the reorganized 11th Division; the second column attacked Gaowei and Liwei.That night, the first column of the Central China Field Army occupied the front line of Gaojiawa and Fujiahu.One occupied Santai Mountain, cut off the retreat of the reorganized 69th Division, and carried out a frontal attack on the reorganized 11th Division.At the same time, the Fifth Brigade and a part of the Ninth Column of the Seventh Division of the Central China Field Army took advantage of the opportunity of the enemy's 41st Brigade in Shaodian to flee westward, and seized Lizhuang, Gaozhuang and other places, cutting off the brigade and its division headquarters. contact.So far, the Central China and Shandong field armies have surrounded the enemy's reorganized 69th Division.After the Reorganized 69th Division was besieged, Dai Zhiqi kept calling for help to the commanders of the Reorganized 11th Division Hu Lian and Wu Qiwei. Hu Lian and Wu Qiwei agreed readily, but in fact they did not move. Dai Zhiqi did not see the shadow of the reorganized 11th Division, and knew that Hu Lian was trying to preserve his strength and would not save him.So, he directly sent a report to Chiang Kai-shek for help, and by the way, he sued Hu Lian. After Chiang Kai-shek received the telegram, he was furious. He grabbed the phone and scolded Chen Cheng: "Mother Xipi, you order Hu Lian to send troops to rescue immediately! If Dai Zhiqi can't be rescued, come see me with your head!" " Seeing that the old man got angry, Hu Lian didn't dare to neglect again. At 8 a.m. on December 17, under the cover of aircraft and artillery, the reorganized 11th Division launched a fierce attack from Jingertou, Caojiaji and other places to the first column positions of the Shandong Field Army, Cailin, Zhanglin, and Gaojiawa. . At 1 p.m., with the support of 8 aircraft and more than 20 heavy howitzers, the 118th Brigade of the 11th Division broke through the positions of the 7th Regiment of our 1st Vertical, 3rd Brigade, and captured Cailin and Xiangzhuang. The Eighteenth Brigade also captured Yezhuang and Shangjianzhao. The third brigade of the 69th Division saw that the reinforcements had arrived, and also launched a counterattack from Xiaodianzi to the positions of the Seventh Regiment in Santaishan and Caizhuang.I was flanked by the enemy's north and south, and I was attacked by the enemy. Su Yu immediately organized troops to detour from the south of Fujia Lake to aid the enemy's right wing.The enemy who aided him was afraid of being wiped out, so he fled back immediately.At 18:00 on the same day, the Eighth Mountain Division launched an attack on Xiaodianzi defending the enemy. The 22nd Regiment broke through the enemy's defensive position in only 25 minutes after the artillery fire.Before dawn, the brigade headquarters of the enemy's third brigade and the remnants of the two regiments were completely, thoroughly, and cleanly wiped out.The rest of the enemy's reorganized 69th Division was forced to continue to shrink its troops to Renhewei, Miaozhuang, Luozhuang and other places in an attempt to stand firm and wait for reinforcements.Chen Yi and Su Yu immediately ordered the 1st, 2nd, 9th Columns and the 5th Brigade of the 7th Division to attack the besieged enemy's reorganized 69th Division, 41st Brigade, and 60th Brigade. On December 18, the enemy's reorganized 11th Division once again went all out to aid the north, but was repelled by the first column and one part of the eighth division.At this time, seeing that reinforcements were hopeless, the enemy used planes to cover Luozhuang's 60th Brigade to break through in a hurry, but was wiped out by our army.The 2nd and 9th Columns launched a general attack on the enemy at Renhewei at dusk. The battle lasted until midnight, and the 69th Division Division and the 267th Regiment were reorganized. The division commander Dai Zhiqi committed suicide, and the deputy division commander Rao Shaowei was captured. On the morning of December 19, the 41st Brigade, the enemy trapped in Miaozhuang, broke through in two groups to the north and south. Except for more than 300 people who escaped, the rest were all wiped out.So far, the enemy's reorganized 69th Division has been wiped out.The Shandong and Central China Field Army wiped out more than 21,000 enemies, and the battle came to an end. The Central Military Commission called on December 18: "Celebrate the great victory on the Sushu front line, and hope that all the meritorious officers and soldiers will be rewarded." On the 20th, they called again and pointed out, "Annihilating more than 20,000 enemies is beneficial to the overall situation. It is very good and comforting." The Battle of Subei began on December 15 and ended on the 19th. At the cost of more than 8,000 casualties, the Shandong and Central China Field Army wiped out 3 whole brigades and 1 regiment under the jurisdiction of the 69th Reorganized Division and the 11th Reorganized Army. A division with a total of more than 21,000 people, of which more than 13,000 were captured, created the first case of annihilating three and a half brigades of the enemy, and shattered the Kuomintang army's attempt to quickly end the war in northern Jiangsu. The Battle of Subei was the first large-scale campaign of annihilation jointly commanded by Chen Yi and Su Yu after the beginning of the War of Liberation. On December 26, the Yan'an "Liberation Daily" editorial stated that this battle was an unprecedented victory in the Central China Liberated Area, and it was a "brilliant battle of annihilation."The main experience of the victory in this battle is: when the enemy is attacking from multiple routes, attack the isolated assault route.Take advantage of the gap between the enemy and use surprise actions to bravely penetrate into the depth of the enemy, seize and control the commanding heights of the battlefield, and quickly complete the battle division and tactical encirclement.Concentrate superior forces and wipe out the besieged enemies one by one to ensure quick and complete annihilation.The practice of the Subei Campaign made the commanders and fighters further realize the importance of concentrating their forces on the main direction, strengthened the concept of centralization and unity and the overall situation, and gained preliminary experience in the coordinated operations of large corps.As soon as the battle ended, the Shanye and Huaye headquarters were transferred.Chen Yi rode a tall horse and walked slowly against the biting cold wind.As he walked, he recited a five-character quatrain "Subei Great Victory": While in Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek was as saddened as he was when his own son died when he learned that the reorganized 69th Division had been wiped out and that Dai Zhiqi, who had always been loyal to him, had fled to Subei.With tears in his eyes, he said: "I hope that our soldiers will follow the example of Master Dai Zhiqi, be loyal to the party and the country, and be loyal to the party." He sat weakly on the chair covered with tiger skin, as if he had aged a lot. On October 19, 1946, the 74th Division of the Kuomintang Army, which occupied the two Huaihe Rivers, launched an attack on Lianshui with the cooperation of the reorganized 28th Division.Zhang Lingfu's wishful thinking is to take Lianshui City first, wipe out the flank threat, and then lead the main force to go northward, advance from Huaiyin and Lianshui to Shuyang, and wipe out or drive the People's Liberation Army out of northern Jiangsu. However, Zhang Lingfu miscalculated this time.When he rushed to Lianshui in a hurry, he ran into the main force of the Central China Field Army who had withdrawn from central Jiangsu to North Jiangsu. He was stubbornly resisted by the tenth and eleventh columns of the Central China Field Army. Under Lianshui City. On the 23rd, under the cover of more than a dozen aircraft, the enemy's 74th Division blasted through countless gaps in the Lianshui City Wall with fierce artillery fire. Commandos armed with flame-spitting submachine guns, carbines, and light machine guns fired at the same time. Charge into the city. The First Division, Sixth Division and Ninth Column of the Central China Field Army who had just arrived calmly responded to the battle.They always waited for the enemy's 74th Division to rush in front of them before suddenly firing back.Within a distance of several meters to tens of meters, the hit rate of machine guns and rifles is astonishing, and almost every bullet is fired, and grenades and bayonets are also very useful.The heavy artillery and aircraft of the enemy's 74th Division are completely useless in this kind of close combat and melee. The enemy's 74th Division rushed into the city several times, but was driven out by our 1st and 6th Division's brave counterattacks. On the evening of October 30, Su Yu and Tan Zhenlin ordered the main force to counterattack across the board.The troops participating in the war went down the mountain like tigers, and drove the mighty 74th Division of the enemy to the bank of the Yellow River with overwhelming force.The enemy's 74th Division took the road and fled. Many people were drowned in the silt of the yellow water, and their corpses floated in the Yellow River. On November 1, the Central China Field Army chased across the Yellow River and wiped out most of the 192nd Brigade of the 28th Division of the Kuomintang Army. The campaign lasted 14 days, and the Central China Field Army finally avenged the fall of Lianghuai.They not only wiped out more than 3,000 people from the enemy's reorganized 74th Division and more than 5,000 people from the reorganized 28th Division, effectively covering the transfer of central China's rear organs to Shandong, and kept half of the country in the liberated area of ​​​​North Jiangsu, so that the Central China Field Army troops can wear in time. Cotton clothes for the winter and replenishment of ammunition laid the material foundation for the next battle of annihilation. The first battle was won in Lianshui. Tan Zhenlin, political commissar of the Central China Field Army and commander of the Sixth Division, led the Sixth Division, the Sixth Brigade of the New Second Division of the Huainan Military Region, and the Nineteenth Brigade of the Seventh Division of the Shandong Field Army to stay in Lianshui to clamp down on the "two Huaihe" enemy forces.The rest of the troops moved south and north, looking for another opportunity to wipe out the enemy. On December 2, the enemy's reorganized 74th Division, together with the reorganized 28th Division, once again rushed towards Lianshui with a murderous look. Thanks to the lessons learned last time, Zhang Lingfu formulated a three-dimensional attack plan for infantry, artillery, tank, and air forces. On December 3, the enemy's 74th and 28th divisions assembled nearly a hundred American-made howitzers, mountain guns, field guns, anti-tank guns, and mortars to bombard Lianshui City, pouring tons of shells on Lianshui City. On the ground of a projectile. In the air, US-made B-25 medium bombers, B-24 heavy bombers, and P-51 fighter jets shuttled and bombed.High-explosive bombs, anti-personnel grenades, and napalm bombs are densely packed, falling from the sky. The violent and prolonged bombing and shelling caused heavy casualties to the 6th Division, 19th Brigade, and 6th Brigade of the Central China Field Army defending the city.Many soldiers were killed, burned, shaken to death, and some were even buried alive in the collapsed fortifications. As soon as the artillery fire weakened, the enemy's reorganized 74th Division and 28th Division launched a fierce attack on Lianshui City under the cover of tanks. In order to change this passive situation, Wang Bicheng, deputy commander of the Sixth Division, organized troops to counterattack in three ways on December 5. However, due to hasty preparations and misjudgment of the enemy's situation, the attack failed all day and night, and the enemy's reinforcements approached, so he was forced to withdraw from the battle. .They immediately summed up the lessons of the setbacks in the first battle, and seized the time to build a deep defensive position based on villages and combined with field fortifications in Shunheji and Dasunzhuang.In terms of tactics, it is fully deployed, focusing on defense, gathering mobile forces in the position, seizing the opportunity when the enemy's attack is blocked or intruding into our forward position and our foothold is not stable, giving full play to the advantages of melee combat and implementing a powerful counterattack. At dawn on December 14, the enemy hiding on the western front took advantage of the Sixth Division, the main force of the Central China Field Army, to fight continuously for 9 days, and launched an offensive when the troops were exhausted.The enemy reorganized two regiments of the 74th Division to attack Xindukou and Daihe Town respectively.The first part of our Huainan Sixth Brigade, who was guarding the two towns, fought fiercely with the enemy for 7 hours, but was forced to withdraw due to being outnumbered. That night, the enemy reorganized the 74th Division and continued to launch a fierce attack on the Daguan in the west of the city and the front lines of Zhangzhuang and Wangzhuang.Chen Qingxian, commander of the sixth brigade, and Huang Yan, political commissar, led their troops to start a bloody battle with an enemy several times their size. Seeing the situation, Luo Weidao, the commander of the 16th Brigade, crossed the Yellow River overnight to reinforce the 6th Brigade, and fought side by side with the 6th Brigade.The battle lasted until the evening of the 15th when the enemy broke through the embankment on the side of the pass. At this time, the 171st Division of the enemy's 7th Army, which cooperated with the enemy's reorganization of the 74th Division and the 28th Division to attack the city, launched several large-scale offensives against the Wuqiao and Fuwan positions stationed by the 19th Brigade of the Seventh Division of the Central China Field Army.Xiong Yingtang, commander of the 19th Brigade, and Huang Huxing, political commissar, led the troops to fight. At dawn on the 16th, while the enemy concentrated its forces to launch a general attack on the Daguan and Daguan South Levee, it also launched a fierce shelling on the positions of the Central China Field Army in the west of the city.The 16th Brigade of the Sixth Division of the Central China Field Army was still fighting bloody battles despite being attacked on both sides, lacking ammunition and ammunition, and the wounded were too late to be bandaged and transported.At 12 o'clock that day, the enemy's 51st and 58th brigades broke into the city from the west gate and south gate. They used squads as units to start street fighting with the 6th, 19th and 6th brigades of the Central China Field Army.American-made rocket launchers and flamethrowers smashed streets and houses into ruins and burned them to scorched earth.The entire Lianshui City became a city of fire surrounded by flames and a city of blood stained red with blood. After 13 days and nights of bloody battles, the enemy reorganized the 74th Division and the 28th Division and finally captured Lianshui City. Political commissar Tan Zhenlin of the Central China Field Army, on the way to transfer with the Sixth Division, saw that the cadres and soldiers were not in high spirits because they failed to hold Lianshui. Commanders and fighters, we are retreating today to retake it tomorrow. Zhang Lingfu will cry if he can't laugh for a few days!" In this battle, although the Central China Field Army paid a heavy price of more than 4,000 casualties, they held back the two elite mechanized divisions of the Kuomintang Army, bought time, and contributed to the victory of the Shandong Field Army and the Central China Field Army's main force in the Battle of Subei. made an indelible contribution. Regarding the battle to defend Lianshui, Su Yu pointed out: "The battle of Lianshui was fought very hard... In this battle, more than 4,000 enemies were killed and injured, and our army also suffered more than 4,000 casualties, and the city of Lianshui was lost. Therefore, some people say that this is the A defeated battle. This is wrong, it is a war of attrition. The task of the Lianshui operation is not to defend, but to move and defend, to delay the enemy's advance and consume the enemy's vital strength. The result is that the enemy's reorganized 74th Division was stopped by our army at Liutang To the south of the river, the reorganized 69th Division could not be rescued, and the Subei campaign was guaranteed from the south. The Military Commission and Comrade Mao Zedong once telegraphed that, "The front line of Sushu, which is related to the overall situation... won a big victory, and Lianshui was temporarily lost." , not enough to cause trouble.'Because the "Second Lianshui Defense Battle" was used to motivate the troops before the war, people used the gains and losses of Lianshui City to measure the outcome of this battle. This is a mistake in the mobilization slogan. The valuation should be viewed in conjunction with the victory in the Battle of Subei. Of course, the lessons learned from the Lianshui battlefield command should also be learned." After the enemy's 74th Division captured Lianshui, the mighty Zhang Lingfu would not pay for the complete annihilation of the 69th Division in the Subei Campaign.After he returned to Nanjing, he still boasted to the press in a high-spirited manner: "My 74th Division conquered Lianshui in one go, and wiped out more than 5,000 enemies. Victory is Chairman Chiang's great victory..."