Chapter 6 Chapter 5 Laiwu Great Victory

In January 1947, after the Lunan Campaign, the Kuomintang had not yet woken up from the failures in the Soviet Central, Subei and Lunan Campaigns. Nanjing.After careful consideration in his official residence, Chen Cheng believed that although the national army had lost nearly 300,000 troops since the civil war, the Jiangsu-Anhui Liberated Area was occupied, and this was a wealthy area, the base of Chen and Su.Now that the main forces of Chen and Su have been squeezed into the territory of Shandong, this should be said to be a strategic "victory" for the national army, because 300,000 is only a small number compared with the millions of troops of the national army.He was a little complacent about his insight, and reported to Generalissimo Jiang that "the communist army is over," and "although the national army suffered a little loss, in terms of the overall battle situation, it is really a great success."At the same time, he also deduced that the Communist army must have suffered heavy casualties after continuous operations, and that the troops had just been concentrated, and many of the original local armed forces would not be strong in combat effectiveness.Linyi is the capital of the Shandong Liberated Area, and the Communist Army will try its best to defend it.After Chiang Kai-shek saw Chen Cheng's report, he felt it made sense.Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek and Chen Cheng formulated the "Lunan Battle Plan".So far, Chiang Kai-shek didn't think it was enough, and sent Chen Cheng to sit in Xuzhou.

After completing the Lunan Campaign, the Central China Army moved to Linyi, the capital of the Shandong Liberated Area, to rest and reorganize.At this time, the combat center of the East China battlefield was transferred from northern Jiangsu to Shandong.Chiefs Chen and Su analyzed the situation on the battlefield in East China. In order to meet the enemy's massive attack, they first combined the Shandong and Central China troops according to the order of the Central Military Commission to formally form the East China Military Region and the East China Field Army. Huaye Front Committee).The designations of the New Fourth Army and Shandong Military Region, Central China Military Region, Shandong Field Army, and Central China Field Army were revoked at the same time.

The East China Field Army is composed of the former Shandong Field Army, the Central China Field Army and the main force of the Shandong Military Region.Chen Yi served as commander and political commissar, Su Yu served as deputy commander, Tan Zhenlin served as deputy political commissar, Chen Shiju served as chief of staff, Tang Liang served as director of the Political Department, Liu Xiansheng and Zhang Yuanshou served as deputy chiefs of staff, and Zhong Qiguang served as deputy director of the Political Department.Chen Yi also served as the former secretary of the East China Field Army of the Communist Party of China.The first, second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth columns of the East China Field Army consisted of nine columns and special forces columns. Later, the eleventh and twelfth columns were formed. column.

The first column is the first column of the former Shandong Field Army: Ye Fei, commander and political commissar, He Kexi, deputy commander, Tan Qilong, deputy political commissar, and Zhang Yixiang, chief of staff.The first, second, and third brigades were renamed the first, second, and third divisions in turn.The original Thirteenth Brigade of the Central China Field Army was renamed the Independent Division, under the command of the First Column. The second column was composed of the former Second Column of the Shandong Field Army and the Ninth Column of the Central China Field Army: Commander and Political Commissar Wei Guoqing, Deputy Commander Zhang Zhen, Deputy Political Commissar Kang Zhiqiang, Chief of Staff Zhan Huayu, and Director of the Political Department Deng Yifan.The Fourth Brigade was renamed the Fourth Division, the three regiments of the Ninth Column formed the Fifth Division, and the Ninth Brigade was renamed the Sixth Division.

The third column was composed of the former Eighth Division of the Shandong Field Army and the Binhai Garrison Brigade of the Southern Shandong Military Region: Commander He Yixiang, Political Commissar Ding Qiusheng, Deputy Commander Qin Shimian, and Director of the Political Department Liu Chun.The designation of the Eighth Division remained unchanged, and the Binhai Garrison Brigade was renamed the Ninth Division. In March, the Tenth Division of the Lunan Military Region was transferred to the third column and renamed the Seventh Division. The fourth column was the first division of the former Central China Field Army: Commander Tao Yong, Political Commissar Wang Jiji, Chief of Staff Mei Jiasheng, and Political Department Director Liu Wenxue.The first, second, and third brigades were renamed the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth divisions in turn.

The sixth column was the sixth division of the former Central China Field Army: Commander Wang Bicheng, Political Commissar Jiang Weiqing, Deputy Commander Pi Dingjun, Deputy Political Commissar and Director of the Political Department Chen Shifu, Chief of Staff Du Ping.The sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth brigades were renamed the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth divisions in turn. The Seventh Column was the Seventh Division of the former Central China Field Army: Commander Cheng Jun, Political Commissar Zhao Qimin, Deputy Commander Lin Weixian, Chief of Staff Hu Dingqian, and Director of the Political Department Huang Xingxing.The Nineteenth Brigade was renamed the Nineteenth Division.The fifth brigade was renamed the twentieth division. In March, the 21st Division was formed by combining the 59th Regiment of the 20th Division and the Independent Fourth and Sixth Regiments of the Luzhong Military Region.

The eighth column was composed of the fourth and ninth divisions of the former Luzhong Military Region and the garrison brigade: Commander Wang Jian'an, Political Commissar Xiang Ming, Deputy Commander Sun Jixian, Chief of Staff Zhang Renchu, and Director of the Political Department Wang Yiping.The three division brigades were successively renamed the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th divisions. The Ninth Column was composed of the Fifth and Sixth Divisions of the former Jiaodong Military Region and the Third Garrison Brigade: Commander Xu Shiyou, Political Commissar Lin Hao, Chief of Staff Nie Fengzhi, and Director of the Political Department Liu Haotian.The three division brigades were renamed the twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, and twenty-seventh divisions in turn.

The tenth column was composed of the seventh and eleventh divisions of the former Bohai Navy Region: Commander Song Shilun, Political Commissar Jing Xiaocun, Deputy Political Commissar Liu Peishan, Chief of Staff Zhao Jun, and Director of the Political Department Xiao Wangdong.The seventh division was renamed the twenty-eighth division, and the eleventh division was renamed the twenty-ninth division. The eleventh column is the seventh column of the former Central China Field Army: Commander Guan Wenwei, Political Commissar Ji Pengfei, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff Hu Bingyun, Director of the Political Department Li Ganhui.Jurisdiction over the thirty-first and thirty-second brigades.

The twelfth column is the tenth column of the former Central China Field Army: Commander Chen Qingxian, political commissar Cao Diqiu, deputy commanders Qin Jian and Chang Yuqing, and director of the Political Department Sun Keji.Jurisdiction over the sixth, tenth, and thirtieth brigades. Chen Ruiting, Commander of the Special Forces, Zhang Fan, Political Commissar, Zhong Guochu, Chief of Staff, and Liu Shuzhou, Director of the Political Department, are in charge of the Howitzer Regiment, Field Artillery Regiment, Cavalry Regiment, Engineer Regiment and Special Education School. Except for the eleventh and twelfth columns that persisted in the struggle in central and northern Jiangsu, the remaining columns, with a total of 270,000 people, all performed internal combat missions in the Shandong liberated area.

The East China Military Region was formed by merging the former Shandong Military Region and the Central China Military Region.Chen Yi served as commander, Rao Shushi served as political commissar, Zhang Yunyi served as deputy commander, Li Yu served as deputy political commissar, Chen Shiju served as chief of staff, Shu Tong served as director of the Political Department, Yuan Zhongxian and Zhou Junming served as deputy chiefs of staff, Tang Liang and Zhang Kai served as deputy directors of the Political Department . The East China Military Region has jurisdiction over the six military regions of Southern Shandong, Central Shandong, Jiaodong, Bohai, Central Jiangsu, and Northern Jiangsu, plus the East China Military and Political University, Dongjiang Column, Huaibei Detachment, and Binhai Division, with a total of about 300,000 people.

Commander Zhang Guangzhong of the Lunan Military Region, political commissar Fu Qiutao, deputy commanders Guo Huaruo and Wan Chunpu, deputy political commissar Zhang Yufan, chief of staff Zhao Yiping, and director of the Political Department Zhang Xiong. Luzhong Military Region Commander Wang Jianan, Political Commissar Xiang Ming, Deputy Commanders Kuang Rennong and Qian Jun, Deputy Political Commissar Gao Keting, Deputy Political Commissar and Director of the Political Department Li Peinan, Chief of Staff Zhang Renchu. Commander Xu Shiyou of the Jiaodong Military Region, political commissar Lin Hao, deputy commander Wang Bin, deputy political commissar Jin Ming, and director of the Political Department Lai Keke. Yuan Yelie, Commander of the Bohai Navy Region, Jing Xiaocun, Political Commissar, Song Shilun, Liao Rongbiao, and Zeng Sheng, Deputy Commanders, Wang Zhuoru, Deputy Political Commissar, Zhou Guanwu, Deputy Political Commissar and Director of the Political Department. The Soviet Central Military Region is concurrently organized by the Eleventh Column. The Northern Subei Military Region is concurrently organized by the Twelfth Column. The president of East China Military and Political University is Zhang Yunyi, the vice presidents Yu Lijin and Zeng Sheng, and the director of the Political Department Ouyang Ping. This reorganization unified the organization, establishment, and system, adjusted and enriched the grassroots organizations, and further realized the centralized and unified organization and command.However, due to the imminent large-scale attack of the Kuomintang army, the task of reorganization was not fully completed, and a lot of work was carried out after the Battle of Laiwu. At the same time as the reorganization of the troops, the East China Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the East China Field Army held an enlarged meeting of the former committee near Linyi, that is, the Lunan meeting. At the meeting, Rao Shushi conveyed the instructions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Mao Zedong on the current situation and tasks, and focused on studying the issues of strengthening army building and improving army combat effectiveness.At the meeting, Rao Shushi made a report on "Struggle Hard to Meet the New Upsurge of Democracy", and Chen Yi made a report on "War while Building".Chen Yi emphasized: "The East China Field Army is the rendezvous of the Shandong and Central China troops. It is the place where the largest and most concentrated troops in the Liberated Area are. The Shandong area will become one of the decisive battlegrounds between the Chinese people and the evil forces of the United States and Chiang Kai-shek. Therefore, we have a great task and a heavy burden." In response to some bad tendencies in the army at that time, Chen Yi called on the entire army in East China to establish an overall concept , to strengthen the leadership of the party, to strengthen political work, and to break down the hilltopism, egotism, and guerrillaism caused by past historical conditions; "War" and "teach war with war", fight a battle, further advance; strengthen the unity of the army, the military, the government, and the army and the people, so as to strive for a great victory. After the Lunan meeting, the East China troops took the time to prepare for the upcoming war. In late January 1947, at the Huaye command post, Su Yu and several leaders of Huaye were a little restless. They gathered together again and again to analyze and study the enemy's situation.In Su Yu's mind, the telegram from the Central Military Commission "Strive to wipe out 10 more enemy brigades within one and a half months to two months" has become a combat order.He constantly considered how to take advantage of the favorable conditions of internal operations, relying on the Shandong Liberated Area, actively create fighters, and fight a bigger battle of annihilation. At the same time, the Kuomintang held a military meeting in Xuzhou and formulated a plan for the "Battle of Southern Shandong". It concentrated nearly 300,000 people from the north and the south to attack the Shandong Liberated Area in an attempt to fight the main force of the East China Field Army near Linyi or in the Yimeng Mountains. Chiang Kai-shek sent Chen Cheng to sit in the battle. .On the southern front, 8 reorganized divisions (armies) and 21 brigades (divisions) under the command of Ou Zhen, the commander of the Reorganized Nineteenth Army, were the main assault regiments.On the northern line, 3 reorganized divisions (armies) and a total of 9 brigades (divisions) under the command of Li Xianzhou, the deputy commander of the second appeasement area, served as auxiliary assault corps. On the Yin line, they attempted to destroy the rear bases of the People's Liberation Army, and cooperated with the southern line to gather and annihilate the East China Field Army in Linyi and Mengyin areas.In addition, 8 reorganized divisions (armies) are responsible for the garrison tasks along the Longhai, Jinpu, and Jiaoji railways.The Kuomintang army not only gathered all the mobile forces on the East China battlefield, but also sent a large number of aircraft to cooperate in the battle.In addition, four reorganized divisions (armies) were mobilized from the southern Hebei and northern Henan battlefields to gather in the southwestern region of Shandong in an attempt to prevent the eastern aid of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Field Army and the westward withdrawal of the East China Field Army. On January 27, Hao Pengju, who was forced to revolt a year ago and served as the commander-in-chief of the Central China Democratic Alliance Army, led his troops to rebel, arresting and killing 7 people including Zhu Kejing, a liaison cadre of our army.The Kuomintang Army reorganized it into the 42nd Group Army and placed it in the Baitabu and Fangshan Street areas west of Haizhou to be responsible for the flank cover task of invading Linyi. On January 26, Huaye's leaders, after repeated research and based on the current enemy situation, proposed a preliminary plan to concentrate the strength of 50 regiments and attack the enemy's right on the southern front first. On January 28, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China sent a telegram to Chen Yi, Su Yu, and Tan Zhenlin: If Chen Cheng's offensive will indeed be held in early or mid-February, it will be advantageous for our army to wait for his offensive. On the 31st, it was telegraphed again: Jiang's army is about to attack within a few days, which seems to be very beneficial to our army to wipe out a large number of enemies in the field, and our army's policy is to lure the enemy into deep. On February 3, another telegram was issued: Before the enemy launches an attack, it is necessary to seize the time to rest and reorganize the troops. One more day is better, and the rest is victory; after the enemy launches an attack, lure the enemy to go deep. We will not fight where it is beneficial to us, but not conducive to the enemy, and we must completely take the initiative.When annihilating the enemy, it is necessary to concentrate the absolute superiority of forces, to attack the weak first and then the strong.Do not wipe out more than 4 brigades each time, preferably 3 brigades. One is to ensure a quick victory, and the other is to leave a large number of unused troops in your hands, so you can continue to fight the second battle.The East China Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the East China Military Region also issued an emergency mobilization order, requiring the soldiers and civilians in the liberated areas to "all for war and all for victory" and go all out to smash the Kuomintang attack. On January 31, the Kuomintang army on the southern front divided into left, center, and right and began to attack the north in an attempt to launch a combined north-south attack on me. On February 3, Huaye drew up three plans for fighting in Linyi and the areas south of it.If the enemy advances faster on the right, first concentrate on annihilating the reorganized 25th Division and part of the reorganized 65th Division in the area east of Tancheng and west of Donghai (now Haizhou); if the enemy advances faster on the left, First, concentrate your forces to wipe out the 11th Reorganized Division in the Cangshan area west of the Yihe River; Between, the area north of Tancheng.Strive to realize the first plan, which is to first annihilate the enemy troops on the right with weaker combat effectiveness and exposed flanks. According to the first plan, on the same day, Huaye Sanzong fought tenaciously against the enemy in the middle from the front, in order to lure the enemy's left and right to protrude aggressively, and then searched for opportunities to wipe out his right, and then smashed the other paths one by one.But the enemy didn't fall for the trick. Instead of making aggressive advances, the left and right routes stepped up to build fortifications on the spot.On the other hand, the Li Xianzhou Division, the enemy on the northern front, attacked southward from Mingshui and Boshan on the same day, and occupied Laiwu, Yanzhuang and other places on the 4th. On February 4, the Central Military Commission telegraphed: "The deeper the enemy goes, the easier it is to fight, and the longer I fight, the better. As long as you don't seek quick results and are prepared to abandon Linyi when necessary, then I will be able to win this time. At present , The enemy's strategy is to lure me to attack as soon as possible, to wrestle and wear me out, and then firmly occupy Linyi. You must not be fooled. The Shanxi-Hebei-Henan Field Army is actively operating, and it will play a good role in coordinating the operations in East China." This instruction from the Military Commission gave Chen Yi and Su Yu a lot of inspiration—the enemy forces us to fight in the Linyi area, and we can abandon Linyi if necessary, and there will be much more room for maneuver in the battle. Chen Yi put down the cigarette in his hand, and said to Su Yu: "The enemy on the southern front is densely populated, and it is difficult to find fighters, while the enemy on the northern front is alone, threatening our rear. We might as well change the original combat policy and ignore the enemy's heavy army on the southern front. Go north with the main force, and annihilate the enemy on the northern front with an absolutely superior force." Su Yu felt that Chen Yi's idea was very clever, so he made a further analysis of the actual situation on the battlefield. Su Yu believes that, compared with the enemy forces on the southern front, the enemy troops on the northern front have fewer troops, their combat effectiveness is relatively weak, and they are isolated and deep.Li Xianzhou himself is not strong in military command and lacks experience in fighting Huaye.If Huaye hides the main force and goes northward, he can have an absolute advantage and be sure to wipe it out.Annihilating this enemy can remove the threat to the hostile Huaye rear and open up the connection between Bohai, Jiaodong and Luzhong.If Huaye can wipe out two-thirds of the enemy in Shandong, it will be convenient for Huaye to concentrate more troops to attack southward and develop towards the Jinpu line and the Central Plains. On February 4th, Su Yu reported his further analysis of the battlefield to Chen Yi, and Chen Yi was very happy.Afterwards, Chen Yi told Tan Zhenlin about Su Yu's grasp of the battlefield, and Tan Zhenlin felt that this idea was bold and highly feasible.The members of the former committee unanimously agreed with Su Yu's idea.While planning to go north to wipe out the Li Xianzhou Group, Chief Huaye also tried to wipe out a part of the enemy on the southern front near Linyi, in order to attack the enemy's arrogance and conceal our army's intention to go north to fight.For this reason, Huaye proposed three combat plans to the Central Military Commission on February 5: First, use the second column to attack the rebel Hao Pengju's troops in the Baitabu and Tuofeng Town areas, and take advantage of the situation to threaten Haizhou and lure the enemy to aid. Second, if the actions of the second column fail to attract the enemy's aid to the east or advance to Linyi, then in addition to leaving a column to monitor the enemy south of Linyi, the main force will gather in the north of Linyi to rest and reorganize. Wait for the enemy to advance north, and then choose the opportunity to annihilate the enemy; third, if the enemy on the southern front still does not advance north, or if it is inconvenient to annihilate after advancing north, a column will remain in the Linyi area to pretend to be the main force of Huaye to entangle with him.The main force went northward at the same time, completely eliminated the enemy on the northern line, attacked the Jiaoji line, threatened Jinan, and attracted the enemy on the southern line to enter the mountainous area north of Linyi or reinforce the Jiaoji line.Then Huaye counterattacked with all his strength, annihilating the enemies on the southern front one by one. On February 6, the Central Military Commission and Mao Zedong responded by telegram approving Huaye's northward campaign plan, stating: "I fully agree with the third plan of the call, which may put me in a completely active position and make Chiang Kai-shek completely passive." A well-thought-out The battle plan kicked off. At 24:00 on February 6, Baitabu, Tuofeng Town and other positions were under fire, and the Huaye Second Column launched a battle against Hao Pengju. Hao Pengju, who was the governor of Huaihai Province in Japan and puppet.After Japan surrendered, Hao immediately defected to Chiang Kai-shek, changed his family, and was appointed by the Kuomintang as the commander-in-chief of the new Sixth Route Army. In January 1946, due to the situation, Hao led an uprising, reorganized as the Central China Democratic Alliance Army, and moved to the Binhai area of ​​​​Shandong Jiefang District.In order to strengthen its internal political and ideological construction, the New Fourth Army was invited to send in a group of political cadres. In January 1947, the Kuomintang army with 310,000 troops attempted to find and annihilate Huaye in the Linyi area of ​​southern Shandong.Hao Pengju rejoined the Kuomintang when he saw the momentum, and was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the 42nd Army Group and the commander of the Lunan Appeasement Zone. He led 4 divisions of about 10,000 people, stationed in Baitabu, Tuofeng Town, etc. The pawn of the "Battle of Southern Shandong". On February 3, Wei Guoqing, the commander and political commissar of the Second Column, received the order from Hao Hao and led his troops eastward to cross the Shu River that night. On the 5th, it entered the Baitabu and Tuofeng town areas.The Fourth Division was responsible for attacking Maxiaobuzi and Dongxiaobuzi. After 5 hours of fighting, the two places were defeated at dawn the next day. Except for a few enemies who fled to Baitabu, most of the defending enemies were wiped out.The Sixth Division was in charge of attacking Qiangwei Village, and the 18th Regiment under it launched an attack on Wang Xiaobuzi, several times without success.The division commander Teng Haiqing learned from the prisoners that there was the headquarters of the second enemy division and a regiment in the town, and immediately increased his troops to launch a new offensive, forcing the enemy to abandon the formation and flee.The Sixth Division followed and chased, annihilating the fleeing enemies. On February 7, the Fourth Division and the Sixth Division launched an attack on Baitabu, broke into the town in one fell swoop, and captured Hao Pengju, who had been appointed as the commander-in-chief by Chiang Kai-shek for less than ten days. The Fifth Division mainly attacked Tuofeng Town.When attacking the hump, due to improper selection of the attack location and insufficient concentration of firepower, several consecutive attacks failed.The division commander Yao Yunliang organized the troops to sum up the experience and lessons, and then gathered three regiments to attack in three directions at the same time, forcing the enemy to abandon the town and flee south.The battle against Hao lasted a day, and more than 5,000 people were wiped out from the headquarters of the enemy group army, the second division and the fourth division.Comrade Chen Yi received the battle report and happily wrote the poem "Show Hao Pengju".The poem said: "Teach you to be a man and not to be a man, teach you to be a dog and not to be a dog. Now you bow to your head and catch it, and you still teach yourself to separate people from dogs." Maybe it was Hao Pengju's traitorous nature, at this time he thought that Commander Chen Yi would forgive him mercifully, and repeatedly asked to see Commander Chen Yi.Chen Yi received him.When he saw Chen Yi, he quickly knelt down, begged for mercy with tears, and begged for a way out for him.Chen Yiyi spoke harshly, denouncing his rebellious behavior, and said: "Now that you are here, everything will be handled by the people... I will send someone to take you to the rear immediately, and you will be fine." Hao Pengju sat on the ground, bowed his head and said: " I'm sorry, Commander, please forgive me..." Our army captured Hao Ni alive and was about to attack Haizhou directly, but the enemy troops from all walks of life ignored Hao's army and still marched towards Linyi as planned.Chen Yi and Su Yu ordered the troops to step up their reconnaissance of the Li Xianzhou Group in the north while stepping up preparations to go north. On February 10, Huaye issued a marching order for the main force of the entire army to go northward to wipe out the Li Xianzhou Group. Chen Shiju, chief of staff of the East China Field Army, led the second and third columns to stay on the southern front. He ordered all divisions to be commensurate with the designation of the main column of Huaye.Comrade Chen Yi wrote "Song of Decisive Victory" in order to mobilize the soldiers and civilians in the liberated areas to win this battle.The lyrics are: Comrades, fight!The moment of decisive victory in the self-defense war has come, and turn East China into the grave of Jiang Jun!Let the enemy's attack, like the snow of Yimeng Mountain and the water of Yihe River, dissipate in the wind and turn into dust!Let us celebrate the victorious New Year with an unprecedented war of annihilation, and celebrate the victory with red flags and sing and dance to the new China that is about to be born! Chief of Staff Chen ordered the troops to mimeograph the lyrics and music of this song and send them to the trenches on the front line, deliberately letting the enemy find out.In addition, he continued to organize troops and local residents to dig fortifications, set up deer villages and roadblocks, and threatened to defend Linyi to the death. The Kuomintang army believed it.The main force of Huaye has been concealed and headed north for several days.The 74th and 83rd Divisions of the Kuomintang Army on the southern front also frequently reported to Chen Cheng, who was in Xuzhou, that the main force of the Communist Army was still concentrated around Linyi and was rushing to repair fortifications day and night. At the same time, in order to delay the enemy's advance to the north and make the enemy believe that the center of the battlefield of the Huaye troops is still on the southern line, He Yixiang, the commander of Huaye's third column, and Ding Qiusheng, the political commissar, ordered the seventh and eighth divisions to meet the incoming enemy.The 7th Division blocked the fastest advancing enemy 74th Division in Yulin and Tangjiaqiao, and the 8th Division blocked the enemy advancing north along the banks of the Yi River in the northwest of Matou.Subsequently, one division of the third column and the second column moved between the Yihe River and the Shuhe River to block. On February 12, the 74th and 83rd Divisions of the enemy, under the cover of 18 tanks, 4 aircraft and a large number of artillery, simultaneously attacked villages and towns such as Lijiazhuang, Xiaoshao, Balitun, and Qilvshan.The third column and one part of the second column fought tenaciously, inflicted heavy damage on the enemy, and then retreated slightly. On the 14th, Jiang Jun approached Linyi City aggressively, deployed his troops in stages, and assumed a decisive battle posture. Chief of Staff Chen Shiju saw that the goal of delaying the enemy's advance had been achieved, so he ordered the three verticals and other departments to retreat northward quietly and move to the Gaoli area north of Linyi to stand by. On February 15, the Kuomintang army broke Linyi without attacking.They entered the urban area with tens of thousands of people, but they didn't see a single soldier from Huaye, and they rarely met the people of Linyi.Despite this, the Jiang army on the southern front still boasted loudly about its military exploits. They said that they "encircled and wiped out 16 communist brigades in Linyi" and that "the communist army suffered heavy casualties and could not bear to fight again."Chen Cheng was even more proud, saying: "Chen Yi's remnants are no longer able to fight the national army, and want to join Liu and Deng's troops. The national army is chasing and suppressing. The overall situation in Shandong is about to be determined." In order to further confuse the enemy, the Huaye Command sent a special force to Yanzhou day and night, and organized militia to build pontoon bridges on the canal one after another.In addition, the command sent another force to assist the local government by mobilizing a large number of ships at various crossings of the Yellow River. Feng Zhenwu, the commander of the Second Military Division of the Luzhong Military Region, led the three regiments of the division along the Tai (An) and Xin (Thai) highways, passing through Culai Mountain, and moved towards Tai'an day and night.On the way, some fraternal troops also feinted towards Yanzhou according to the order of the field army headquarters, and built bridges on the canal, creating the illusion that our army was about to cross the Yellow River westward to confuse the enemy, and covered the main force of Huaye to march towards Laiwu area in a covert manner. Soon, Chen Yi suddenly sent someone to find Feng Zhenwu, and said to him: "The situation is very urgent now. After the large troops leave, the Forty-sixth Army (that is, the Reorganized Forty-sixth Division) commanded by Li Xianzhou may take the opportunity to commit crimes from Laiwunan." , to occupy Xintai and Mengyin counties. It is now decided that you will lead three divisional regiments to stop the enemy's 46th Army and delay its actions so that it cannot occupy the two counties so quickly. It is best if you can fight for 5 to 7 days Feng Zhenwu thought, the three regiments in the second division were newly built and poorly equipped, can they fight against the 23,000 troops of the 46th Army for a week?Therefore, the face has a difficult look.Chen Yi saw his worries, and said: "Back then, Zhuge Liang was planning an empty city. There were only two veteran soldiers and a piano boy by his side, which confused Sima Yi, who had a heavy army. Now you have three regiments of troops, and you still can't deal with the enemy all at once. Fan? The better you fight this blocking battle, the better it will be for the adjustment and deployment of our large forces." Then he said, "Commander Su Yu will tell you the details!" Su Yu brought Feng Zhenwu to the battle map, and said to Feng Zhenwu: "The mission given to you this time is very difficult, but there are many favorable conditions, so it will not be a problem to complete the mission. First, the enemy's troops have conflicts with their superiors. You are not very active against Mengyin, the southern criminal, and you are in a dilemma. In addition, you can use the designation of the main force to bluff and confuse them. Didn’t Commander Chen teach you to play empty city tactics, just to create the illusion of the enemy. Isn’t there a Is this a story about Sun Bin and Pang Juan? Sun Bin lured Pang Juan by reducing the stove every day. You might as well use the method of increasing the stove this time so that the enemy can't figure out our truth..." Afterwards, Feng Zhenwu immediately led the troops to go westward. Every time they passed through the villages, they specially set up more straw bedding, and did not tear down any of them when they left.Sure enough, the Kuomintang army fell into the trap, and Chen Cheng judged that our army would undoubtedly go west, so he ordered Li Xianzhou, the deputy commander of the second appeasement zone who had hesitated for a while, to boldly lead his troops southward to realize the north-south pincer attack plan. Li Xianzhou, a student of the first batch of Whampoa Military Academy. In July 1932, he was ordered to participate in the fourth "encirclement and suppression" campaign against the Hubei, Henan, Anhui and Soviet areas. From 1933 to 1936, Li successively attacked the Red Army in Jiangxi and on the west bank of the Yellow River.After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Li Xianzhou led the 21st Division to North China, and fought fiercely with the Japanese invading army with superior equipment in the area of ​​Juyongguan for seven days and nights. The casualties and missing officers and soldiers of the whole division amounted to more than 2,000. In 1946, Li Xianzhou was transferred to the deputy commander of the Jinan Second Appeasement District of the Xuzhou Appeasement Office, and became the deputy of the relatively junior Wang Yaowu, and the designation of the 28th Army was also revoked. This time, Li Xianzhou served as the commander-in-chief of the northern front. He commanded Huo Shouyi's Twelfth Army, Han Liancheng's Reorganized Forty-sixth Division, and Han Jun's Seventy-third Army. In an attempt to advance north-south, attacking the Liberated Areas in central and southern Shandong, forcing the PLA to launch a decisive battle in the Linyi area. After receiving the order to go north, the Huaye troops immediately and quickly marched covertly to their respective scheduled assembly areas.The majority of commanders and fighters were not afraid of hardships, overcame and endured various difficulties, braved the rain, snow and cold, traveled at night and stayed at night, and marched in the rugged Luzhong area.At the same time, the Front Support Committee of Shandong Province and the Huaye logistics force are carrying out huge organizational work. According to the change of the combat direction of Huaye, they readjust and deploy various front support and combat support tasks, so that they were originally concentrated in the direction of Linyi. The former army of migrant workers quickly turned around and went north with the army.During the more than 150-kilometer northward journey from Linyi to Laiwu, hundreds of thousands of former migrant labor teams ate and slept in the open, waded through mountains and rivers, and carried nearly hundreds of millions of catties of grain, grass, and ammunition in a timely manner with shoulders, livestock, and wheelbarrows. northern line.When the enemy army went south, our army cleared the fields empty and did not leave any food or firewood for the enemy; laying mines everywhere, frequently breaking roads, and putting the enemy in great difficulties. On February 10, when Chen Yi and Su Yu were discussing the situation in the headquarters, a sentry suddenly reported that a "senior spy" of the Kuomintang surnamed Li had been captured in front of Mengyin.Chen and Su ordered to send it in quickly.It turned out that the man was Yang Side, the chief of the enemy's engineering section who was sent to the enemy's reorganized 46th Division to contact Han Liancheng, the commander of the division. Han Liancheng had met Dong Biwu and others under the arrangement of the Nanjing Office of the CCP in the past, and had long been in contact with the People's Liberation Army.The People's Liberation Army sent Yang Side and Liu Guanyi to contact the Korean Ministry.This time, Han Liancheng asked Yang Side to report the situation.The situation reported by Yang Side is: Li Xianzhou led the headquarters of the 73rd Army and the 15th Division in Yanzhuang, the 193rd and 77th Divisions were located in Hezhuang and Zhangdian (now Zibo City); The military headquarters led two divisions in the Laiwu and Kouzhen areas. The new thirty-sixth division was under the command of the seventy-third army and was located in Mengyinzhai; the forty-sixth division was located in Xintai and its surroundings.After receiving the information, Huaye immediately made up his determination to wipe out the enemy's 73rd and 12th armies first, and then deal with the 46th division. After the enemy occupied Linyi on February 15, Wang Yaowu, the commander of the Second Appeasement Zone based in Jinan, discovered from aerial reconnaissance that the East China Field Army had troop-funded counties moving northwest. Abandoning Linyi and turning northward, he quickly ordered the Li Xianzhou Group to return to the division quickly on the 16th and retreat to the Laiwu and Yanzhuang areas.However, Chiang Kai-shek and Chen Cheng believed the "good news" sent by their subordinates, and got information that our army had built a bridge on the canal and there were signs of crossing to the west. It is not easy to move around", "It seems to be crossing the Yellow River between Dong'e and Fan County".Therefore, the Li Xianzhou Group was strictly ordered to move south again to secure Xintai and Laiwu, and troops were sent to Mengyin and Dawenkou to flank the "Chen bandits".At the same time, the 15th Division, 64th Division and other units were ordered to go west to Lincheng and go north along Jinpu Road to block the "traitors".After the contraction of Li Xianzhou's troops, Hua Ye insisted on his established determination. On the 17th, Li Xianzhou's troops reoccupied Xintai and Yanzhuang. On February 18, Huaye made new adjustments to the original combat deployment, and further clearly distinguished the tasks of each column. The first and eighth columns attacked Laiwu, the fourth column attacked Yanzhuang, and the seventh column cut off the enemy's The 46th Army and the 73rd Army are connected, the sixth column attacks the town of Koukou, and the ninth column controls the south of Boshan.The battle was originally scheduled to start on the 19th, but due to the rush of time and poor preparation, it was decided to postpone it to the 20th. Wang Yaowu found out that the main force of Huaye was moving northward and was preparing to attack Xintai and Laiwu. Go south to build.Huaye immediately adjusted the combat deployment accordingly, and decided that the main force of the eighth column and the ninth column would use ambushes to annihilate the enemy's 77th division, which was going south and returned to Jian, in the area south of Boshan.The battle is expected to start at 15:00 on the 20th, and it is scheduled to attack and wipe out the main enemy forces in Laiwu and Yanzhuang that night. On February 19, the main forces of the Eighth and Ninth Columns of Huaye entered Hezhuang. As soon as the ambush was ready, the enemy's 77th Division entered Hezhuang.In order to prevent the Yanzhuang enemy's 46th Army from approaching Laiwu, Huaye changed his original plan and launched an attack on the unsteady enemy on the road two hours in advance. The 25th Division of the Ninth Column quietly seized the highlands in the northeast and southwest of Hezhuang, and then attacked Hezhuang with the 73rd Regiment, and attacked the enemies near Hezhuang with the other two regiments.The two divisions of the Eighth Vertical launched an attack on Fudong Village, and the Fifth Guard Regiment of the Central Luzhong Military Region responded in the northwest direction.When the war ended at 18:00 on the same day, the 65th Regiment captured Yanzi Mountain, the 66th Regiment and the 69th Regiment successively captured Jinshan, Fenghuang Mountain and their northern strongholds, forcing the remnants of the enemy to retreat to immovable villages and towns. On February 21, the 3rd Battalion of the 69th Regiment and the 1st Battalion of the 68th Regiment took advantage of the victory to launch a general attack on the town. After more than two hours of fierce fighting, most of the enemy was wiped out. The two regiments of the Nine Columns launched an attack on the enemies around Shrinking and Zhuang, and soon broke into the town. The remnants of the enemy who fled to Qingshiguan by grabbing the road from Fudong Village and Hezhuang were wiped out by the Fifth Guard Regiment of Luzhong Military Region, the commander of the enemy division Tian Junjian was killed, and the Seventy-seventh Division of the enemy was wiped out. Nine Columns left Jiaodong and won their first battle. Commander Xu Shiyou was very happy.Before the battle was over, Xu Shiyou called Chen Shiju, chief of staff of Huaye, and said: "A few days ago, I asked you to give me a task as soon as possible, because I was afraid that the fat would be taken away by other columns, and it would be our turn to only have some soup. But this time, the seventy-seventh division's fat meat made me and Ba Zong eat it..." The silk-spinning mouth is 12 kilometers away from Laiwu in the south, and it is the throat of the Yimeng Mountains from Jiaoji Road.The town is not big, the streets in the town are close to the mountains, the houses are staggered, the city walls are strong, there are six gates, and the enemy's firepower on the gate towers is very strong.The Li Xianzhou Army Headquarters used it as a supply base for the southward attack, stocking hundreds of tons of ammunition and hundreds of thousands of catties of food. The commander of the Sixth Column Wang Bicheng and the political commissar Jiang Weiqing conducted careful research and decided to use the entire 16th Division and the two regiments of the 18th Division as the main offensive to capture the town with a four-sided siege. At 19:39 on February 20, various units of the Sixteenth Division launched an attack on the town.The four regiments fought hard all night and only occupied a place in the town.Wang Bicheng said sharply: "This new thirty-sixth division is really not a bear. I told him not to live for three days at most!" After that, he and his deputy commander Pi Dingjun led the staff into the town to survey the terrain and understand the enemy's situation. , adjusted the deployment accordingly, and then ordered the troops to launch a new offensive. At 15:00 on February 21, the four regiments that entered the town launched an offensive at the same time, but it was still difficult to break through.The Seventeenth Division ate up the enemy's regiment in one fell swoop in Zhenbei.The 106th Regiment of the 36th Division of the rear enemy broke through to the south and entered Tusikou Town. The two regiments of the 17th Division and the column spy regiment quickly wiped out more than 1,200 enemies, killing, wounding or capturing them alive. At 17:00 on February 22, Deputy Commander Pi Dingjun commanded five regiments to launch the third general offensive. That night, the Fourth Column rushed to the outskirts of Laiwu to take over the position of the First Column and the Second Division.At this time, in addition to the first and fourth columns, the Huaye troops that had arrived in the outskirts of Laiwu also had one each of the seventh and eighth columns. More than 100,000 people surrounded the more than 40,000 Jiang troops who were huddled in the city of Laiwu and on several high grounds outside the East Gate. Jinyang Pass is located in the south of Mingshui and the north of Laiwu, with steep mountains on both sides and extremely narrow pass. At 20:00 on February 20, the first part of the 28th Division captured the pass. At 9 o'clock on the 21st, the first regiment of the 28th Division and the first battalion of the third regiment captured Dazhai Mountain in the north of Jinyang Pass.Subsequently, the third regiment of the 28th Division cooperated with the independent division to fight fiercely with the 12th Division of the 96th Army of the enemy in Heiyukou and Shuiyandong for more than five hours, forcing the enemy to flee. Seeing this scene, Song Shilun, the commander of the Ten Columns, said with deep emotion: "It is really useless for a hero to leave me alone here. However, this situation is inevitable. Wars are like acting. Some troops are the protagonists. Some act as supporting roles, while others can only play a role." The 1st Column and the 24th Division of the 8th Column were responsible for attacking and annihilating the headquarters of the Li Xianzhou Group in Laiwu, the headquarters of the 73rd Army and the 15th Division.Yizong launched an attack at 22:00 on February 20.After the first division and the second regiment captured the 400 highland in the north of the city, they then captured the mine and Maliangzhuang.The Seventh Regiment of the Third Division broke into Xiaocao Village after three strong attacks; the Eighth Regiment attacked Caojiazhuang and Mawanya in the southwest of the city, and wiped out part of the enemy returning home regiment.二师于21日凌晨攻占了城东的戴家花园、吴家花园。至此，一纵对莱芜已构成三面包围。 莱芜城内的国民党军面临危局，一筹莫展。李仙洲深知，不论做何种选择都难以摆脱挨打处境。2月21日晚，第二绥靖区司令官王耀武发来电报，要他们尽快“将在莱芜的部队全部撤至明水及其以南地区，集结待命”。李仙洲立即召集七十三军军长韩浚、四十六师师长韩练成、前方指挥所少将高参王为霖、第二绥靖区司令部第二处少将处长陶富业等会商，分析形势。李仙洲认为在共军重兵包围之下，突围不利，因而不同意撤退。但韩浚和韩练成等主张遵命后撤，他们认为如不撤退，败难辞咎，胜亦无功，况且城内粮食仅能维持三天，若不撤，从外面接济粮弹殊非易事。李仙洲便说：“既然诸位主张遵令撤退，我无异议。但是，既要撤退，宜早不宜迟，应立即开始行动。”第七十三军军长韩浚主张于22日凌晨开始撤退，整编第四十六师师长韩练成则说，该部驻城外，收拢部队需要时间，力主推迟一天。最后决定在23日撤离莱芜。 与此同时，王耀武派其副参谋长罗辛理携信飞去南京，当面向蒋介石报告此战况和突围计划。蒋介石深思半晌，说：“敌前撤退不利。既已下令北撤，应特别注意后尾及两侧的安全。”蒋介石说完后，带着不安的情绪匆忙给王耀武写了封信，信中言道：“罗副参谋长带来的信已收阅。敌前撤退，如部署不周密，掌握不确实，就会受挫折。应周密部署，并派强有力的部队做后尾及侧后的掩护。固守吐丝口的新编三十六师必须坚守原阵地，以此作为北撤部队的依托。我当严令王叔铭（时任国民党军空军副总司令）指挥空军集中力量轰炸扫射，竭力掩护部队转移，并祈上帝保佑我北撤部队的安全和胜利。” 野指获悉敌突围决心后，即下令阻击部队略向后缩，以诱敌出城。 陈毅又接见从敌整编第四十六师归来的刘贯一，将作战步骤告诉了他，要他在我军攻歼李总部时阻止韩去增援。为了求得此次战役的彻底胜利，陈毅要他和杨斯德继续留在韩部积极活动，动摇韩部军心，并要防备对方在紧急情况下可能翻脸而产生的危险。最后，陈毅深情地对刘贯一说：“我代表党中央和华东局，向你们两位同志表示党对你们的态度。党对同志们是非常爱护和关心的，为了完成这一光荣任务，需要你们两位同志去担当，你们两个人要留下来继续在那边同2.3万敌人斗争。”这使刘贯一十分激动，他说：“受党和上级耐心教育了好几年，我虽然水平不高，但是在任何情况下决不会向敌人屈服，请上级放心！杨科长的水平比我高得多，他也决不会向敌人低头，亦请首长放心！” 这时，莱芜城东北方向发生了战斗。作战室向陈毅报告，这天早晨，敌第七十七师由博山南下，午后到达莱芜城东北之和庄、不动地区。预伏在该地区南北一线山地的第八、第九两纵队主力立即发起突然攻击，战斗进展顺利。陈毅十分高兴，对粟裕说：“我们前后改变了七次作战方案，总算把李仙洲抓住了！”当晚10时30分，陈毅即下令全线发起进攻。 2月22日入夜，李仙洲受到华野各纵猛烈攻击，亲自登上南城墙指挥，命令城南守军撤至莱芜城外的汶河北岸及城东高地，引诱华野追击。当华野渡河追击时，他又命令城上城下部队合力反击。天亮前，华野暂时退回河南山地。在此期间，李仙洲得到报告：城外西北角最高山头已被共军攻占。这个制高点的丢失，不但使城内顿感威胁，而且将严重影响第二天的全军撤退。李即命令不惜任何代价，务要夺回该山头。经过反复猛烈地争夺，拂晓前将这个制高点重新占领。 2月23日晨6时，敌整编第四十六师师长韩练成神秘地失踪了（韩练成在中共联络人员帮助下，脱离该师，隐身于莱芜城内）。李仙洲感到事情有些蹊跷，即赶到部队集合场地，问该师军官：“你们师长哪里去了？”众答：“不知道。”于是，李立即派人到处去找，结果踪影全无。至8时许，第七十三军军长韩浚前来问李为什么还不出发。这时已延误了两个小时，几万人马不能再等，李仙洲这才满腹狐疑地下令各部开始行动。李仙洲部分两路向北齐头并进。10时许，先头部队在城北十余里的芹村、高家洼一带，遇到华野四纵和七纵的进攻。李仙洲对韩浚和整四十六师参谋长杨赞谟说：“当前共军约有五六个师，我军尚有六师之众，人数相当。而共军武器装备远逊于我军，且我军士气未衰，尚可一战。我军应乘北撤之机，将来犯共军全部歼灭，至少也要歼其大半！”韩、杨均表示同意。李具体计划是，令莱芜城北高地的后卫部队和吐丝口镇的新编第三十六师固守原阵地，东、西两路军增强左、右侧后卫兵力，向前来围攻的华东野战军施行全力反击。冲出重围后，再从东、西对华野部队实施反包围。同时令城北高地和吐丝口镇的部队分别从南、北两端出击，形成四面围歼的形势。李仙洲认为，这着“妙棋”如果实现，即使不能全歼解放军，也可“给以沉重的打击”。 但李仙洲万万没有想到的是，刚过12点钟，当其后续部队刚刚离开莱芜城和城北矿山阵地之后，华野四纵一个师和七纵一部即断了其后路。攻打吐丝口的六纵虽仍强攻不下，但坚决卡死了敌北撤的咽喉要道。与此同时，预伏在东西两翼的强大华野突击兵团，只等命令，立即出击。 13时整，红、蓝、白三色信号弹升上天空，华野部队以排山倒海之势，同时从东西两面发起大规模冲锋。一时间，枪炮声、飞机声、喊杀声混成一片。敌萧重光师和海兢强师首先被斩成几段，随后被一块块分割，最后被各个歼灭。萧重光和海兢强二人则被当场活捉。 国民党空军副总司令王叔铭（李仙洲黄埔军校一期同学、同乡），亲自率领几十架轰炸机、战斗机，飞临战场上空来帮助李仙洲逃跑。李仙洲眼看无力自保，急忙通过无线电话请求王叔铭“全力向共军轰炸、扫射，务期与地面部队协同作战”。尽管王叔铭下令向华野阵地猛轰，但已无法挽救败局。 面对如此严重的形势，国民党军队中那些高级将领和幕僚们争相逃命。李仙洲身边开始还有个七十三军军长韩浚，可在他腿部负伤之后，韩浚即不辞而别。李只好一个人挣扎着继续向北缓行，不久因头昏栽倒在沟里，被路过那里的华野八纵二十四师一个副教导员发现，当了华野的俘虏。 李仙洲被俘之后，不胜感慨地说：“早知道你们会找到我头上来，可他们一定要我来碰！” 李仙洲在莱芜战役中左腿受伤被俘。当时他想，作为蒋介石的嫡系将领反共多年，一旦落到共产党人手里，迟早会被杀掉。华野首长在那么多的俘虏中一时辨不出谁是李仙洲，后通过做一位小兵的工作才知道。于是，华野工作人员去找李仙洲，说有事同他谈。他一离开，立即有十几名人员跟着他，问他是不是李仙洲，他就是不说。后来，华野尽力给他治伤，着意照顾他的生活。华野首长让华东野战军特种兵纵队司令员、他的原部下陈锐霆去看他。陈锐霆问他可有什么不便，他说就是有点儿冷。陈锐霆当场脱下自己的毛衣给他穿上，他非常感动。与此同时，陈毅特别关照炊事员说：“李仙洲是山东人，爱吃水饺。”同时又交代，“他愿吃什么就做什么。”3月15日，陈毅亲自探视正在养伤的李仙洲，同他进行了亲切交谈。谈话间，陈毅拿了个小板凳，垫在他的伤腿下面，说：“受伤的腿需要垫高一些。”这使李仙洲深受感动。 李仙洲腿伤痊愈之后，即被转移到后方，在东北战犯管理所和北京功德林战犯管理所一面学习，一面劳动。 莱芜战役从2月20日发起，至23日结束，短短3个昼夜，华东野战军即以弃守临沂和伤亡8000人的代价，歼灭国民党正规军第二绥靖区前进指挥所、2个整编师（军）部及其所辖的6个旅（师）、第十二军新三十六师大部，毙伤俘国民党军官兵5.6万余人。其中俘获绥靖区副司令官1名、正副军长各1名、正副师（旅）长12名，击毙正副师（旅）长各1名。连同南线及胶济沿线作战，共歼国民党军达7万余人，缴获各种火炮350余门、汽车50余辆，击落飞机4架，控制了胶济路西段及其南北地区，使鲁中、渤海、胶东、滨海等区连成一片，巩固了后方基地。24日，中共中央军委致电祝贺莱芜大捷。 莱芜战役的胜利，使蒋介石南北会师、侵吞整个山东的“鲁南会战”计划成为一场梦。蒋介石在政治上与军事上遭到一次又一次沉重的打击，进一步加深了国民党内部的混乱和高级将领间的矛盾，徐州绥靖公署主任薛岳因此被撤职。此后一个多月，国民党军未敢再组织进攻。第二绥靖区司令官王耀武在给整编第八十三师师长李天霞的信中痛心疾首地悲叹：“莱芜战役损失惨重，百年教训，刻骨铭心！”