Chapter 5 Chapter Four: Annihilating the Enemy in Southern Shandong

On December 18, 1946, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China sent a telegram to Chen Yi and Su Yu: "Celebrate the great victory on the front line of Sushu, and hope that all meritorious officers and soldiers will be rewarded." It also instructed, "The second step is to concentrate the main force to annihilate the enemy in southern Shandong. , and look for an opportunity to recover Zaoyitai (Zaozhuang, Yixian, Taierzhuang), so that southern Shandong can be consolidated, and then develop southward without any worries, and gradually recover all lost ground in Subei and central Jiangsu." Chen Yi and Su Yu led the main force of the Shandong and Central China Field Army , from Subei quickly arrived in Lunan.

On December 20, the Lunan Kuomintang Army reorganized the 33rd Army, reorganized the 26th Division, the 51st Division and the First Rapid Column to occupy Bianzhuang, Lanling, Shuiguo and other places.The troops of our southern Shandong military region carried out tenacious blocking and counterattacks, killing and wounding more than 1,000 Kuomintang troops and destroying six tanks.The Kuomintang army was forced to stop advancing and turn to a defensive posture. On the same day, at the "Ministry of National Defense" in Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek personally presided over a military meeting.At the meeting, Chief of Staff Chen Cheng first elaborated on the combat plan in the southern Shandong area.Later, Defense Minister Bai Chongxi said: "The Seventy-Fourth Division recently sent troops to the Shuyang area, and it would be better to fight against the Communist Army there." Chiang Kai-shek saw the situation and said: "Judging from the recent developments of the Communist Army, Chen Yi and Su Yu have gone to southern Shandong to make money. Therefore, I request Ma Liwu, Commander of the Reorganized 26th Division, Zhou Yuying, Commander of the Reorganized 51st Division, and Feng Zhian, Commander of the 33rd Army, to step up preparations and completely wipe out the Communist Army once it arrives in southern Shandong. Never allow a situation similar to Subei to happen again!" Chen Cheng immediately said: "Please rest assured, chairman, I will fly to Xuzhou tomorrow morning, and report the committee's purpose and combat plan to Xue Yue, and ask him to deploy as soon as possible to win the battle. The battle will make up for it!"

Chen Yi and Su Yu also held a meeting to study the direction and target of the next attack on the enemy.Chen Yi sat in the middle of a long table, not saying a word, just smoking continuously.The room was filled with smoke, and everyone spoke enthusiastically and debated fiercely.Some think that the enemy's reorganization of the 74th Division is too arrogant, and they should be encircled and wiped out in the Shuyang area first; .But it was not until dusk that three plans were formed. First, annihilate the 74th Division reorganized by the enemy who invaded Shuyang from the north of Lianshui.The Central China Field Army can adjust its strength nearby, but the enemy's reorganized 28th Division and Seventh Army have already set up defenses along the Liutang River, and it is not easy to separate them.

Second, taking advantage of the lack of troops in the rear of the Kuomintang army, they attacked Huaibei and threatened Xuzhou.This action can adjust the enemy in northern Jiangsu and southern Shandong to return to aid, and can seek opportunities to wipe out the enemy during the movement.However, it is necessary to have time to prepare for going deep into the enemy's rear. If the enemy is not mobilized, our army will fall into a passive position. Third, send troops to the southwest of Linyi, Shandong, search for and annihilate the enemy and reorganize the 26th Division and other departments to consolidate the rear.Troops have to be transferred over long distances, but there are many favorable conditions: the mass base in the old area is good, which can conceal our army's combat intentions; the enemy's 33rd Army stationed in the area is the Northwest Army, and the reorganized 51st Division is the Northeast Army. As soon as it is attacked, it will shrink; while the enemy stationed in the area has reorganized the 26th Division, which claims to be Chiang Kai-shek's direct line, and has the First Rapid Column attached to him. He is domineering and has a bad relationship with his neighbors. It is relatively prominent and has a large gap with the left and right wings, which is conducive to splitting and hunting.

Until eight or nine o'clock in the evening, Chen Yi was still discussing in low voices while chewing steamed buns with Su Yu, the New Fourth Army and the chief of staff of the Shandong Military Region, Chen Shiju.Finally, it was decided to adopt the third plan, and Chen Yi drafted a telegram.After Chen Yi revised the telegram repeatedly, he handed it to Chief of Staff Wang De, and immediately sent it to the Military Commission. On December 25, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China sent a telegram to Chen Yi and Su Yu: "The Battle of Southern Shandong is related to the overall situation. If this battle is won, even if all the cities in northern Jiangsu are lost, there is still a way to recover. You must concentrate on the first, sixth, eighth, The 4th, 9th, and 10th Divisions, the 1st Column, and the Police Brigade need to deploy preparation time in order to fight a bigger battle of annihilation than Subei. The first battle is planned to be fought with the 3 brigades of the 26th Division. Appropriate, because the division is the main force in southern Shandong, the division was wiped out, and the overall situation improved. If the Feng Department is attacked first, the problem in southern Shandong may not be resolved for a while."

At the combat meeting, Chen Yi said: "Our troops participating in the war are approaching the Lunan Yi, Zao, and Taiwan areas, and it is imminent to engage the enemy. There are 2 enemy reorganized divisions and 1 army in that area, of which the 26th division As Chiang Kai-shek's direct descendant, Ma Liwu, the division commander, was a graduate of the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy. He was once Chiang Kai-shek's deputy chief of guards and was highly valued. Subei wiped out one of the enemy's reorganized divisions in one fell swoop. This time, trying to annihilate his two divisions made Chiang Kai-shek even more sad, and created the situation proposed by the Military Commission to "consolidate southern Shandong and then develop southward without worry."

On December 30, Chen Yi reported to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China that he decided to attack the enemy's 26th Division on January 2, 1947, and then Feng Zhi'an's Department. The Shandong and Central China Field Armies are determined to concentrate the strength of 27 regiments to encircle and wipe out the enemy's 26th Division. 12 regiments of the Binhai Garrison Brigade formed the right column, under the unified command of Commander Wang Jian'an of the Luzhong Military Region, Political Commissar Xiang Ming, Political Commissar Fu Qiutao of the Southern Shandong Military Region, and Deputy Commander Guo Huaruo. The enemy's retreat to Yixian County and Zaozhuang used a part of the enemy's force to cut off the connection between the enemy's 169th Brigade and the 44th Brigade.After the above tasks are completed, cooperate with the left column to encircle and wipe out the enemy and reorganize the division headquarters of the 26th division and the first fast column.The left column was composed of 15 regiments from the First Division of Tao Yong's Department and the First Column of Ye Fei's Department. It was under the command of Chen Shiju and was responsible for annihilating the enemy's 169th Brigade and the First Rapid Column.First encircle and wipe out the enemy in Bianzhuang, at the same time cut off the connection between the enemy's reorganized 26th division and the reorganized 33rd army, and attack and wipe out the enemy's 169th brigade and first fast column with the cooperation of the right column.The Third Army Division in southern Shandong was armed, and defended along the east bank of the Yihe River with the Matou and Xincun sections to ensure the safety of the main flank and maintain the communication between Central China and Shandong.And with a force and elite militia, advance between Lanling, Pi County and between Lanling, Yi County, and Taierzhuang to carry out guerrilla activities, disrupt traffic, and monitor the enemy's activities.The combat order stipulates that all ministries should enter the designated assembly area before dawn on January 1, 1947, and the battle will start at 24:00 on January 2.

At this time, all the troops were engaged in intense post-war work, and the army's celebration party had not yet been held, and the urgent order from the head of the field army to go north was conveyed.As a result, the participating troops quickly concealed and went north.All troops travel at night and sleep at night. During the march, local armed forces, militias and the masses of the people actively assist our army in reconnaissance of the enemy, blocking news, serving as guides, and transporting food and ammunition... All participating troops use the gaps in the march to carry out pre-combat training, focusing on research and combat tank approach. Before dawn on January 1, 1947, all the troops arrived at the designated area on time to covertly assemble, and spent New Year's Day in intense pre-war preparations.

The Central Military Commission and Mao Zedong called a few hours before the start of the battle, encouraging the participating troops to take the Subei Battle as an example, and strive to fight a large-scale annihilation battle, that is, completely annihilate three or four enemy brigades in each battle.This telegram made the participating troops feel cordial and inspired. At 22:00 on January 2, 1947, various troops suddenly launched a full-line attack on the enemy. The launch time of this battle was 2 hours earlier than the original schedule, but the enemy did not notice it. On New Year's Day, Ma Liwu, the commander of the enemy's 26th Division, had left his command position and was drinking and having fun with several colleagues at the Majiazhuang Division headquarters.After drinking for three rounds, Ma Liwu couldn't control his tongue and spoke incoherently. He sent someone to find Cao Yuheng, the deputy division commander, and Zheng Fuzeng, the chief of staff. I'll leave it to you two." After speaking, he stumbled into the American jeep, rushed to Yi County overnight, and went to fool around with the popular, young and beautiful Peking opera female actress.

As soon as the battle started, the enemy lost its unified command.The participating troops of the Shandong Field Army and the Central China Field Army moved swiftly and rushed towards the enemy's defense points in overwhelming momentum, beating the enemy dizzy and rushing to fight. The right column fought fiercely until dawn on January 3. Except for a battalion defending the enemy at Shilongshan who fled to Yangjiaqiao, Simazhai, Pingshan, Shichenggu, Qingshan, Fenghuangshan, Shangyan, and Shilongshan were all conquered. Pingshan is located in the east of Yi County. It is surrounded by steep rocks on three sides, and the east and west are relatively flat. There are four fortifications. There is a half-moon-shaped deer village at the front.The Kuomintang military control guarding the top of the mountain is a reinforced company of the 44th Brigade of the 26th Division. The company has excellent weapons and sufficient ammunition.The first battalion headquarters, the second company, and the machine gun company of the 44th Brigade were stationed in Pingshanqian Village.

The tenth division of the Lunan Military Region captured Pingshan. The division commander He Jian and political commissar Zhang Xiong handed over the main attack task to the 30th regiment.The head of the regiment, Huang Zuojun, organized the third battalion and the eighth company to launch an attack at 10 o'clock that night. After breaking through the first and second fortifications, they encountered frantic shooting from the enemy who retreated to the central bunker.The company commander Wang Guangxi commanded three blasts but failed. At this time, Zhao Xuesheng, a blasting expert, grabbed the explosive package and said, "Company commander, I will complete the task! You ask the machine gunners to suppress the enemy's firepower!" The company commander immediately organized the entire company to attack Fire for cover.Taking advantage of the favorable terrain, student Zhao avoided enemy fire, quickly approached the bunker, exhausted all his strength, insisted on stuffing the explosive pack into the bunker, ignited the fuse, and then turned over and rolled down the hillside.With a loud noise, half of the central bunker was blown down, and the enemy company commander and his more than forty soldiers got on the "plane".After the war, the Lunan Military Region awarded this company the honorable title of "Pingshan Company" in recognition of its achievements.A company launched a battle to attack and wipe out the enemy in Pingshanqian Village from the southeast corner.It was the second company that charged from the other direction, and the way forward was blocked by the bullets fired by the enemy from the bunker.Demolition hero and third platoon leader Zhu Xiaochun took advantage of the moment when the enemy reloaded his magazines, jumped up, flew to the enemy bunker, leaned against the door wall, and aimed a shot at the enemy machine gunner.Seeing that the situation was not good, the rest of the enemies fled from another fort gate.Zhu Xiaochun followed and chased, jumped to another bunker, and found a dozen or so enemies in a mess inside, and a guy wearing a big cap and a yellow woolen coat was calling for help from his superior on the phone.Zhu Xiaochun had an idea, pulled the bolt of the gun, and shouted: "You are surrounded, don't move! Whoever moves will be killed!" Then, pretending to be calm, he shouted loudly, "Comrades, don't Shoot, follow my command!" At this moment, the enemy in the fort threw a smoking grenade.Zhu Xiaochun quickly picked up the grenade and threw it into the bunker. The explosion made the enemy's flesh and blood fly, howling ghosts and wolves, and the survivors obediently became prisoners. Taizitang is an important town on the road from Xiangcheng to Yi County. The headquarters of the 44th Brigade of the enemy and a regiment it belongs to are stationed in the town, with about 2,000 people.The ninth division of the Luzhong Military Region was tasked with capturing the town. Division commander Qian Jun and political commissar Li Yaowen commanded the 25th, 26th, and 27th regiments to attack the commanding heights of Shichenggu, Qingshan, and Beidayao. On the evening of January 3, Gao Wenran, head of the Tenth Regiment of the Fourth Division of the Luzhong Military Region, and Cao Nan, the political commissar, who were temporarily under the command of the Ninth Division, were frustrated when they launched an attack. Commander Wang Jian'an of the Luzhong Military Region and Political Commissar Fu Qiutao of the Lunan Military Region urgently ordered the 25th and 27th Regiments of the Ninth Division to quickly reinforce Taizitang; Zhang Renchu, chief of staff of the military region, and Wang Yiping, director of the Political Department, hurried to the Ninth Division to organize a new offensive. Chief of Staff Zhang and Director Wang braved the heavy snow and rushed to the command post of the Ninth Division in the middle of the night to study the enemy's situation with Commander Qian Jun and Political Commissar Li Yaowen and readjust the offensive force. At 3 o'clock on January 4, the Ninth Division concentrated ten artillery pieces and fired violently at the enemy's positions.Taking advantage of the shooting gap, the warriors of the tenth, twenty-fifth, and twenty-seventh regiments rushed towards the enemy like arrows that left the string. Peng Yulong, the head of the 25th regiment, commanded the troops, and broke through the enemy's defense line in the northeast corner in less than 5 minutes, and started fierce street fighting with the enemy.Then, Dai Chenggong, the deputy head of the regiment, led the second battalion of the tenth regiment, broke through the enemy's west gate defense line, and started a house-to-house battle with the enemy.Subsequently, the troops marched towards the enemy step by step in multiple ways.At 6 o'clock in the battle, the enemy brigade commander Jiang Xiusan, deputy brigade commander Yu Xianwen and hundreds of people below were killed, and the enemy regiment commander Wang Jingxing and more than 2,000 people below were captured. Shangyan and Fenghuang Mountain are the main points for attacking Majiazhuang, the headquarters of the enemy's 26th Division.Shangyan defended the enemy as a reinforced battalion with strong fortifications and excellent weapons.The eighth division was responsible for the attack mission.At the battle meeting, Commander He Yixiang said: "When you hit a snake, you start with the head. Now Commander Wang (Jian'an) entrusts our division with the task of beating the head of the 26th Division. We should feel honored." Political Commissar Ding Qiusheng continued : "Only when the sea is flowing, can you show your true qualities. Only by defeating a strong enemy can you show your ability. This time we will have a competition to wipe out the enemy!" At 21:00 on January 2, the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 22nd Regiment launched an attack. It took only 20 minutes to complete the breakthrough, and quickly ate a reinforced battalion of the enemy, threatening the headquarters of the 26th Division of the enemy.At dawn the next day, they wiped out the enemy and occupied Shangyan.During this period, our spy battalion also launched an attack on Phoenix Mountain, annihilating a company of the enemy and occupying the mountain. On the evening of January 3, the 23rd Regiment launched an attack on Majiazhuang.The first battalion blew up the Luzhai and bunkers from the northwest corner, and after 30 minutes of fierce fighting, wiped out the enemies in Xiaoweizi in the northwest; The first part of the 24th Regiment assaulted the west of the village and dealt a severe blow to the Yuejialou enemy.The third battalion then took advantage of the situation to assault Xiaoweizi in the southeast, fought fiercely with the enemy, and wiped out most of them.Relying on grenades tied with explosives and earth-made incendiary bottles, they knocked down two rampaging tanks, occupied Majiazhuang, and destroyed the enemy's command organization.The five tanks that had been reinforced from Yuejialou also fled in panic following the destruction of the enemy in Majiazhuang. The left column surrounded a regiment defending the enemy in Bianzhuang that night, occupied Daguanzhuang, Xiaozhuang in the north and south, Hongshan, Hengshan, Lanling and the areas to the north, wiped out part of the enemy, and cut off the enemy's reorganized 26th Division and reorganized 30th Division. The three armies connected and joined forces with our right column attacking south from the Mazhai area. Bianzhuang is an important market town on the Lin (Yi) Zao (Zhuang) highway, and its commanding height is Tashan.If you want to attack Bianzhuang, you must first conquer Tashan.In the battle against Tashan, the first attack by the fourth company and the fifth company of the sixth regiment of the second brigade of the first column failed. At 14:00 on the 3rd, the second brigade, which was in charge of the main attack, launched another attack on Tashan, with its high peaks and steep slopes, after adjusting its deployment and reorganizing its firepower.The Sixth Regiment and the Fifth Company learned from the setback of the last four-company attack. With the support of the Column Mountain Artillery Battalion, they adopted the tactics of advancing while blasting, and progressed smoothly. They captured Tashan at about 15:00. Ye Fei, the commander of the first column, learned that the second brigade had taken Tashan, and immediately picked up the phone and said to Liu Fei, the commander of the second brigade: "I congratulate you, and I hope you will make persistent efforts to capture Bianzhuang as soon as possible, and make greater contributions to the realization of the whole campaign. !" Under the command of division commander Tao Yong and political commissar Wang Jiji, the First Division launched a battle to wipe out the enemy's fast column on the night of January 2. The enemy's first fast column was known as the "Essence of the National Army", with dozens of tanks and hundreds of cars, which was powerful at the time.The participating troops of the Central China Field Army basically used miscellaneous weapons at the end of the Anti-Japanese War, and the level of technical equipment between the enemy and us was very different.Moreover, most of the cadres and soldiers of the Central China Field Army have not only never fought a tank, but have not even seen a tank.Although the troops caught up with the tank training during the assembly operation, the time was very short and there were no real objects for the drill.The weapons for fighting tanks, except for a small amount of anti-aircraft guns, are mainly grenades, grenades and explosive packs. On the night of January 3, the Third Brigade of the First Division captured more than 300 enemies in Luo Village, Xujiafeng, captured four mountain artillery pieces, and destroyed an enemy tank in Wuzhuang.The first brigade attacked northward along the Lin (City) Tai (Erzhuang) Highway. On the way, they surrounded the fleeing enemy and did not attack. They shouted through the fire line and forced the enemy regiment leader and more than 400 people below to surrender their guns and surrender.Subsequently, the Second Brigade defeated the enemy in Hengshan and Hongshan and sent a rescue regiment from Taierzhuang.By the early morning of the 4th, the first division had wiped out most of the enemy's 26th division, and the rest of the enemy and about 10,000 people in the first fast column attached to the division were tightly surrounded in the Chenjiaqiao, Jiatou, and Zuozigou areas. On the morning of January 4, the weather turned from cloudy to rainy, with snow mixed with rain and biting cold wind. At around 10:00, seeing that there was no hope of reinforcements, the enemy began to break away from the position and broke through.The units of our left and right columns immediately launched an attack and wiped out most of the 80th Brigade of the enemy's fast column in the area west of Chenjiaqiao.Accompanied by the sound of heavy motors, a team of tanks, artillery vehicles, and cars came from the mist like a snake.The soldiers of our army quickly set the prepared sorghum stalks and haystacks on fire, and the road became a "fire road" in an instant.Seeing that the situation was not good, the enemy tanks divided one road into multiple roads, left the road and rammed into the mud.Enemy tanks, cars, artillery and infantry were mixed together and fled towards Yi County along the line of Xiahu Lake and Leuzhi Lake.The area of ​​Xiahu Lake and Leuzhi Lake was originally a swamp with little water and much mud. The main roads and bridges for the enemy to flee westward have been destroyed by the soldiers and civilians in the Liberated Area, and landmines were laid, and anti-tank ditches were dug. The cannon sank and could not move.Our army carried out fierce pursuit, side attack, and blocking attack on the enemy.The breakout enemy responded with tanks and artillery.The commanders and fighters of our army braved the cold, wind, rain and snow, wore soaked cotton-padded clothes, regardless of the enemy's firepower, bravely rushed into the enemy's formation, fought hand-to-hand with the enemy, bombed tanks with explosive kits, grenades, and cluster grenades, and burned them with incendiary grenades and straw. Tanks... Some soldiers simply climbed onto the tanks and smashed the radio antennas with shovels and pickaxes.In just a few hours, our army made blind, deaf, and paralyzed the tank unit jointly built by the United States and Jiang Wei, which was trained by the US military and managed by Jiang Weiguo.Those infantrymen who were equipped with American equipment from foot to head, some hid under the car, and some hugged the howitzer barrel in a daze.In Su Yu's binoculars, he saw the soldiers of the anti-tank team crawling towards the tank and rolling towards the tank holding the explosive package and holding the grenade tied with explosives.Some clothes were burned by incendiary bombs, so they rolled in the muddy ground. After extinguishing the fire on their bodies, they continued to crawl towards the tank.Li Yaoqing, a well-known soldier in the entire army, chased an enemy tank, grabbed a handful of mud, jumped on the tank, and threw the mud on the lookout hole of the tank, and the tank immediately became "blind".The enemy driver panicked and turned the turret hastily, trying to throw Li Yaoqing off.But Li Yaoqing tightly grasped the hot barrel and flew with the turret.The enemy couldn't get rid of him, so he opened the hatch and stretched out a gun to hit him.Li Yao had clear eyes and quick hands, and threw a grenade into the cockpit.There was a muffled sound, and black smoke rose from the enemy tank.By 3 p.m., except for seven tanks fleeing to Yi County, the enemy had reorganized the 26th Division and the First Rapid Column, and more than 30,000 people were completely wiped out.When Ma Liwu, the commander of the 26th Division of the enemy's reorganization, heard the news in Yixian County, he was in a daze, and said to Zhou Yuying, the commander of the 51st Division: "Heaven will punish me, and the country is a great misfortune!" , He said, "When the division was assigned to the fast column and marched eastward, it was very powerful. Unexpectedly, the battle on the 4th would be embattled on all sides." Some captured enemy tank soldiers also said: "We have been fighting in the India-Myanmar battlefield for 3 years. It’s about rushing forward, and the Americans also value us very much, so we never imagined that we would lose so badly today.” After the completion of the first phase of the Lunan campaign, according to the annihilation plan planned by the New Fourth Army and the Shandong Military Region, the enemy's reorganized 33rd Army will be wiped out, and opportunities will be found to recover Taierzhuang and Yi County.But at this time, the 77th Division and the 59th Division reorganized by the Kuomintang had already crossed the canal, retreated westward to the area west and south of Taierzhuang, and began to hold on along the canal, so that it was inconvenient to mobilize and annihilate.The enemy defenders in Yi County and Zaozhuang have adjusted their deployment and increased their troops.In addition, the enemy's reorganized 64th Division has arrived at Hanzhuang, the reorganized 20th Division has taken over Lincheng (now Xuecheng), and the reorganized 11th Division is in transit from Suqian to the northeast of Xuzhou. According to changes in the enemy's situation, Chen and Su decided to capture Yi County and Zaozhuang at the same time in the second stage.The specific plan for combat deployment is: use the Eighth Division, Ninth Division, Fourth Division Tenth Regiment, and Binhai Garrison Brigade to capture Yi County as originally planned; transfer the First Division to quickly go north to capture Zaozhuang and Qi Village; The Thirteenth Brigade, on the Wenfeng Mountain, Wangxian Mountain, and Baishan Mountains in the southwest of Yi County, blocked the enemy who might be sent by Hanzhuang and Taierzhuang.In addition, the Tenth Division was placed between Lincheng and Qicun to block the enemy who might be aided from the east of Lincheng.A regiment from the First Military Division of Lunan entered between Lincheng and Shagou to carry out guerrilla activities, destroying railways and roads, and cutting off the enemy's traffic.In order to grasp a large mobile force, the second column and sixth division of the southern front troops were transferred to the area west of Yihe and east of Lanling-Taierzhuang Highway, and assembled in a concealed manner, waiting to participate in the battle; Commanded by Tan Zhenlin, he restrained the enemy from the north of Shuyang. On the evening of January 9, our army launched a battle to attack Yi. In order to facilitate the command of the troops, Su Yu personally led some elite personnel to form a portable command post and arrived at the front lines of Yi County and Zaozhuang. Those in charge of besieging Yi County were the Ninth Division of the Mountain Field, the Tenth Regiment of the Fourth Division, the Binhai Garrison Brigade and the Eighth Division.After a night of fighting, our army captured Nanguan, Shaojialou, Tanshan and most of Dongguan. The troops approached the city wall from the south and east. At 19:00 on January 10, various ministries began to attack.The Eighth Division first attacked with artillery fire, and then organized continuous blasting, blasted open the city gate, broke through from the south gate, quickly led to the depth, repelled the enemy's counterattack many times, and all entered the city around 20:00.Not long after, the Ninth Division and the Fourth Division and Ten Regiments also successfully attacked from the east gate.By 1 o'clock in the morning on the 11th, the enemy was wiped out. In this battle, the Eighth Division alone wiped out more than 5,000 enemies, including more than 4,700 prisoners; the Ninth Division, the Fourth Division and Ten Regiments wiped out thousands of enemies, and captured the enemy's Lieutenant General Ma Liwu and nearly a thousand people below. Yi County was captured, and the streets and alleys were crowded with civilians, and there was a deep friendship between the army and the people everywhere. When a reporter from Dazhong Daily walked to the Catholic Church at the North Gate, Ms. Wagner, an American Christian pastor, took the initiative to say to the reporter, "In the past, I had a problem that I couldn't figure out. Why did the Communist Party always win battles despite their poor weapons? For the first time, I found out by hearing and seeing that all poor people are on their side." The reporter smiled and said, "What you realized is the main reason. As for why Jiang Jun always fails, there are many reasons." The next day, Ma Liwu, commander of the 26th Division of the enemy's reorganization, was sent to the field army command post.Chen Yi met him and said: "We have been friends from now on. I hope you will work harder for the cause of peace for the Chinese people in the future!" Ma Liwu replied: "Everyone disapproves of the civil war. We drove away the Japanese soldiers and beat our own people. It is really a sad thing, and Chiang Kai-shek should bear all the responsibility!" While besieging Yi County, the main force of the Huaye First Division launched an attack on the enemy in Zaozhuang.It was night, and it was snowing heavily, and all the ministries drove in through the snow.The division commander Tao Yong and political commissar Wang Jicheng mainly attacked Zaozhuang with the entire second brigade, two regiments of the third brigade, and one regiment of the first brigade. After entering the reserve position, they immediately made preparations for the battle.After the battle started, quickly clear the outer strongholds.From the end of the war to the 12th, our army wiped out the enemies outside Zaozhuang, such as Shiwuyao, Jiaodi, and the workers' dormitory area, and wiped out a group of enemies gathered by Guoli to complete the siege of Zaozhuang.The enemy retreated to Zhongxing Company, Nandajing and other places in the urban area, trying to resist with tenacity.Su Yu immediately transferred one column and one brigade of the Shandong Field Army to monitor and attack the enemies in Qicun, and let one division and one brigade go into battle. During the battle, the troops were blocked, and Yang Gensi, the blaster of the first regiment and the first battalion, carried two large explosive packs on his back without hesitation, and touched the entrance of the enemy's bunker.Seeing that two enemies were pointing their guns and preparing to shoot at him, he swiftly pushed aside the enemy's bayonet with one hand, threw a grenade into the bunker with the other hand, and then sent explosives to the bunker, blowing up two enemy bunkers in succession, ensuring The commandos went ahead without a hitch.During the war until 3 o'clock on the 16th, the first brigade wiped out Qi village and defended the enemy, and captured more than 2,500 enemy brigade commanders and below. When the remaining six regiments of the first division launched an offensive against Nandajing and other strongholds, they were suppressed by the enemy's fierce firepower, and the follow-up troops were unable to follow up. The soldiers who rushed into the city were outnumbered and all died heroically.The second attack organized by Kang Lin, the head of the first brigade and the third regiment, was also unsuccessful. Su Yu ordered Kang Lin to rush to the division headquarters.At the division command post, Su Yu asked kindly: "Comrade Kang Lin, the three regiments of yours have always been able to fight tough battles. You can take down Gaoyou City, but you can't chew on this tough bone in Zaozhuang? I'm looking for you. I want to hear about your next steps." Kang Lin replied: "Our regiment is good at fighting in the field, but now it is siege warfare. The troops lack siege and demolition technology, so the two battles failed. Next, I plan to concentrate on three days to organize troops to conduct front-line training and learn siege and demolition techniques." , Conquer Zaozhuang as soon as possible." Su Yu turned his attention to the teacher Tao Yong, the brigade commander Zhang Zhendong, and the brigade political commissar Lu Sheng. Seeing that everyone nodded in agreement, he said, "Comrade Kang Lin, I give you three days. This time, if we don't attack, we will attack. It must be broken!" Conlin said: "Guaranteed to complete the task!" Tao Yong added: "Just do as Commander Su said, hurry up and make preparations. We must show the energy of 'seven battles and seven victories' and pull out the hard nail in Zaozhuang!" After Kang Lin returned, he quickly organized fire-line training activities focusing on siege and blasting. However, at this time, the enemy's Reorganized 11th Division and Reorganized 64th Division have all entered the Taierzhuang and Hanzhuang lines, and the Reorganized 74th Division is advancing towards Xin'an Town.In order to buy time, Zaozhuang was quickly captured before the arrival of enemy reinforcements. Su Yu discussed with Tao Yong, Ye Fei, and He Yixiang respectively, and the first column sent two regiments, and the eighth division sent a regiment to assist the first division in attacking Zaozhuang.Comrades Ye Fei and He Yixiang immediately selected and dispatched troops with less attrition and stronger combat effectiveness to participate in the war.They marched through the heavy snow and arrived at the attack position on time.While the various ministries were actively preparing for battle, among the artillery was a group of Cantonese liberation fighters from the 26th Division reorganized by the former Kuomintang. During the training, they used the excuse that "Cantonese do not fight Cantonese" and declared that they refused to fire artillery into the city during the siege. .The artillery battalion commander was very annoyed after hearing this, and wanted to deal with a few more.As soon as Tao Yong heard this, he immediately called the battalion commander to stop him, and then called the management section chief, who asked the management section chief to get a few dishes and some old wine, and treated the Cantonese liberation fighters to a meal.When the group of Cantonese gunners saw Master Tao Yong inviting them to dinner, they were all very grateful.Tao Yong didn't mention the war, but only asked them about their health and made a toast to them one by one.Many people were moved to tears, and one of the soldiers asked Tao Yong: "Master Chief, what do you need us to do, just give the order!" Other soldiers also echoed: "Yes! As long as the Chief gives the order, you will go up the knife mountain, We also dare to rush; we dare to rush into the sea of ​​fire!" So Tao Yong told them that now is the time for them to make meritorious deeds.Our army is about to attack Zaozhuang, and I hope their cannons can be fired accurately and ruthlessly.The gunners said in unison that they must hit well and accurately. On the afternoon of January 19, with the support of our artillery firepower, various ministries launched a general attack on the enemy in Zaozhuang, opened a total of five breakthroughs, broke into the urban area, and competed with the enemy house by house.When the war ended at 13:00 on the 20th, Ma Battalion Commander Ma of the First Brigade, Regiment and Battalion, and Xu Yifeng, Chief of the Propaganda and Education Unit of the Regiment each led a unit, and rushed into the office building of ZTE Corporation. Seeing the situation, more than 1,000 enemies obediently put their weapons under their feet and raised their hands.Xu Yifeng, head of the regiment's propaganda and education section, recognized Zhang Xiyao, director of the Political Department of the 51st Division of the enemy (later disguised and escaped) from among the captives, and learned from him that several major leaders of the division were hiding in the air-raid shelter.Therefore, Xu Yifeng immediately assembled his team, rushed into the air-raid shelter, and shouted loudly: "Hand up your guns and don't kill!" The enemy division commander Zhou Yuying, major general deputy division commander Han Shiru, and major general chief of staff Li Xianzhong also raised their hands in desperation. When our army besieged Zaozhuang, the reinforcements from all walks of life were frightened by the power of the Central China Field Army's reinforcements, and they dared not move forward.Not long after the battle ended, the First Division sent Zhou Yuying to the field army headquarters.After being treated leniently, the division commander who had just put down his weapon changed from his usual arrogance, and said in a bit of embarrassment: "I am a 'black officer' who has not obtained the qualifications of the Whampoa Military Academy. Not well-known. Although I refused your army’s persuasion to surrender before the war, I was mentally prepared to take this path. Now that I am your prisoner, I don’t feel sad, but feel a kind of relief. From the entire process of the Zaozhuang battle, I can see clearly that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party can only be a 'loser' in a war." The Lunan Campaign lasted 18 days, and wiped out 2 reorganized divisions and 1 fast column of the Kuomintang Army, totaling more than 53,000 people, of whom more than 17,000 were captured.The Central China and Shandong field armies suffered more than 8,000 casualties.24 tanks, more than 470 cars, and more than 200 artillery pieces of various types were seized.Recovered Yi County, Zaozhuang and the areas east of it, breaking the dream of the Kuomintang army attacking Linyi and encircling and annihilating the main force of the East China Liberation Army. The Lunan Campaign was a successful battle of annihilation of the Kuomintang army reinforced by mechanized corps after the rendezvous of the Shandong and Central China field armies, unified command, and concentrated forces. The first fast column operated and known as the "elite of the national army" was completely annihilated. Later, on the basis of capturing the tanks and cannons of the first fast column of the "National Army", Huaye formed a special forces column and made an indelible contribution to the victory of the War of Liberation.