Chapter 10 Chapter 9 Competing for Qilu

On August 18, 1947, Chiang Kai-shek flew to Qingdao to conspire and implement a special plan - "September Offensive". Chiang Kai-shek wanted to end the war in Shandong within one month, and sent 20 reorganized divisions from the 8th, 54th, 9th, 25th, 64th, and 45th divisions on the Jiaoji line. The troops of the brigade formed the "Jiaodong Corps", with Fan Hanjie as the commander of the Corps, and launched an attack on the Jiaodong Liberated Area.He tried in vain to occupy Yantai and the coastal line of Weihai in one fell swoop, cut off the maritime connection between Shandong and Northeast, destroy the ordnance construction in the interior of Jiaodong, destroy the strategic rear of Huaye, and then draw troops to support other battlefields.

Jiaodong is located in the east of the Jiaolai Valley in Shandong, extending deep into the junction of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, surrounded by the sea in the east, south and north, and connected to the mainland in the west.The topography of the Jiaodong Peninsula is narrow in the east and wide in the west. It faces the Liaodong Peninsula across the sea, forming a natural barrier between Beijing and Tianjin.Jiaodong is densely populated and rich in materials. The Jiaoji Railway runs from east to west and roads extend in all directions.During the Anti-Japanese War, our army gradually established the Jiaodong Liberated Area.After the outbreak of the Liberation War, it became an important rear supply base for the East China Field Army. There were many military production units, hospitals, warehouses, and military depots in the territory, and a large amount of military supplies were stored.

On August 6, the Central Military Commission, based on the recommendations of the East China Bureau and the Huaye Headquarters, approved the establishment of the Eastern Front Corps by the troops remaining in the interior of Shandong. (Commander and political commissar Wei Guoqing, in charge of the fourth, fifth, and sixth divisions), seventh column (commander Cheng Jun, political commissar Zhao Qimin, in charge of the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first divisions), ninth column (commander Nie Fengzhi , Political Commissar Liu Haotian, with jurisdiction over the 25th, 26th, and 27th Divisions), the 13th Column (Commander Zhou Zhijian, Political Commissar Liao Haiguang, with jurisdiction over the 37th, 38th, and 39th Divisions), The independent division of the first column and the tenth division of the fourth column commanded the local armed forces in Jiaodong.

Chiang Kai-shek's plan to attack Jiaodong was quickly known by the Eastern Front Corps.Because there is a liaison staff officer named Tian Min in Fan Hanjie's Jiaodong Corps combat command post, who is an underground member of the CCP. He took advantage of his work to copy Fan Hanjie's "Jiaodong Operation Plan" and sent it to the CCP's Jiaodong Military Region through a secret traffic station in time. organ. The tasks assigned by the Central Military Commission to the Eastern Front Corps are: to contain and gradually eliminate the enemies in Shandong, to ensure that the outside troops attack the enemy, to defend the rear of Jiaodong, and to gradually recover the lost land in Shandong.After research, the enemy is strong and we are weak, and the enemy is coming fiercely. If you fight head-on with the enemy, you will inevitably suffer losses.Only by adopting the combat policy of half annihilating and half defeating the enemy in motion, accumulating small victories into big victories.As a result of the negotiation between the Eastern Front Corps, political commissar Tan Zhenlin led the second and seventh columns and the independent division returned from southern Shandong, together with the tenth division of the fourth column and armed forces from the Binhai area, gathered in the Zhucheng area to fight against the enemy in Jiaodong.Commander Xu Shiyou led the ninth column back to the interior of Jiaodong, and joined the thirteenth column and local armed forces to fight on the inside.

In the early autumn of September, it was cloudy and rainy.With the cooperation of planes, tanks, and artillery, the Kuomintang army adopted the tactics of "comb and flat push", divided the heavy troops into three groups, and attacked Ye County, Pingdu, Jimo and other places. Wherever the enemy went, there was a sea of ​​blood and ruins everywhere.Especially the "Returning Home Mission" who followed behind, the cruel methods of massacring the people were unheard of, such as cutting with knives, flooding, scalding, burning, hanging, cutting with knives, amputating limbs, burying alive, disemboweling and digging out hearts, burning red blood. Roasting in an iron pan... all kinds of torture are used to the extreme.Many villages have become "uninhabited villages".Fan Hanjie was so intoxicated by the momentary victory that he shouted arrogantly: "We must drive all the Jiaodong communist army into the Yellow Sea to drink sea water!"

On September 6, Huang Baitao's 25th Division set foot on the outpost of the 39th Division's outpost in the 13th Column of the Eastern Front Corps, and was hit head-on by officers and soldiers of the 39th Division. On the 7th, Huang Baitao's 25th Division and Que Hanqian's 54th Division launched an attack on the Ligezhuang, Shagezhuang, Hejialou, Majiagou, Tanjiazhuang, Wenwangshan and Wuwangshan positions.The 39th Division fought fiercely all day long, and moved their positions on the morning of the 8th.The enemy occupied Pingdu City at the cost of losing 1790 people. On September 9, the enemy reorganized the 64th Division and occupied Zhucheng.Tan Zhenlin decided to use the second and seventh columns, the tenth division, the independent division, and the coastal navy sub-division to besiege and annihilate the enemy who invaded and occupied Zhucheng when their foothold was not stable.At 12 o'clock that night, the general attack was launched.Under the cover of artillery fire, the 19th Division quickly occupied Xiguan, while the 21st Division occupied Nanguan.The defending enemy relied on the trenches to resist stubbornly, and the battle lasted all day.From the end of the war until the evening of the 10th, all the main forces of our siege entered the city, and controlled the East and West Streets and the East, South, and North Passes.

At this time, the headquarters of the 64th Division and a regiment of the North Road Aid to the Enemy Division and the 131st Brigade of the Division's South Road joined at the intersection of Dao Daokou, and quickly approached Zhucheng in an attempt to attack from Dongguan via Xujialushui and rescue the people who were divided and wiped out. 156 brigade. Tan Zhenlin ordered the Fourth and Fifth Divisions of the Second Vertical and the Nineteenth Division of the Seventh Vertical to attack the city. At the same time, he ordered the Sixth Division of the Second Vertical to block the reinforcements at the entrance of the main road and respond to the attack.The siege troops fought fiercely until the 11th. At dusk, all the ministries moved to the Renlan area south of Zhucheng.In this battle, our army wiped out more than 1,700 enemies.

On the other hand, after the ninth division of the enemy's reorganization occupied Pingdu, its main force went north to attack Guojiadian and Lingdang Mountain, and cooperated with the 166th brigade of the reorganization of the eighth division to attack Ye County. The enemy's reorganized 54th Division was violently blocked by the South Navy Sub-divisional Forces, and after more than 700 people were killed and injured, it occupied Lushan on the 15th. On the 16th, the enemy reorganized the 198th Brigade of the 54th Division and cooperated with the reorganization of the 40th Brigade of the 25th Division. Under the cover of aircraft and artillery fire, they attacked Shuigoutou southwest of Laiyang from the west and south.The 39th Division of our 13th Column fought tenaciously, and after annihilating more than 2,500 enemies, they moved to the Taipingzhuang area to stand by. On September 17, the Ninth Division of the enemy Wang Lingyun entered Xiadian, Zhaoyuan County, and his friend Li Mi's Eighth Division also pushed forward to the Daotou area.

At first, the intention of the Eastern Front Corps was to hide and wait for the enemy to attack wildly.One is to observe the enemy's weaknesses; the other is to allow the enemy to occupy more space and disperse the enemy's forces so that they can be wiped out one by one later.During the concealed standby, the commanders and fighters witnessed the atrocities of the enemy, and couldn't bear it anymore, and tried their best to fight back.When the enemy occupied Daotou, most of the Jiaodong soldiers among the nine vertical commanders talked a lot: Daotou, Daotou, the enemy attacked to the end, and we also retreated to the end. It is time to counterattack from the Daotou.Xu Shiyou ordered a counterattack based on the enemy's situation and everyone's wishes. He blocked the enemy's Ninth Division with the thirteenth column, and counterattacked the 166th Brigade of the Eighth Division with the Nine Columns.

On the 18th, the Daotou counterattack began.Commander Nie Fengzhi of the Nine Columns commanded troops to successively occupy the Jiaxi Highland, Lijiashan, Haojiazhuang, Yangjiazhuang, Sunjiakuang and other positions on Lingshanglu.On that day, the 79th, 80th, and 73rd regiments all broke through the Daotou position, and the 74th regiment cut off the connection between the enemy and Daotou.Before dawn, Commander Zhou Zhijian of the 13th Column commanded the 110th Regiment of the 37th Division, and also rushed into Daotou to fight. The Daotou counterattack wiped out three battalions of the enemy, defeated the 496th and 498th regiments of the 166th Brigade, captured 522 people below the battalion commander, killed and wounded more than 1,700 enemies, and made the 166th Brigade basically lose its combat effectiveness.At the same time, the 38th Division of the 13th Column blocked and wiped out more than 1,300 enemies, and was awarded by the East China Bureau of the Communist Party of China.

On the night of September 22, when it was drizzling, the main force of the Eastern Front Corps began to attack from the junction of the Ninth and Eighth Divisions of the enemy, and traveled more than 60 kilometers overnight, and arrived at the Daze Mountain area at dawn the next day. On the way, Xu Shiyou thought repeatedly. In order to get rid of the enemy's entanglement, he decided to send the main force of the corps to jump behind the enemy's buttocks, mobilize the enemy, create favorable fighters, wipe out the enemy's vital forces, disrupt the enemy's carefully planned plan to occupy the Jiaodong Liberated Area, and crush the enemy's plan to attack Jiaodong. Another battle plan. As early as August 25, the Party Central Committee and Mao Zedong had telegraphed Xu Shiyou: The call has been received.One of you should be located in Jiaodong to block the internal line, and the main force should be located in the external line, waiting to wipe out the enemy.As long as you win one or two battles, the enemy will not dare to go deep into Jiaodong.At least one of most of Jiaodong can be preserved. Therefore, in the Aigu Mountains, the Eastern Front Corps convened a meeting with the chiefs who stayed on the inside and the comrades in charge of the Jiaodong Party Committee, and decided that: the independent regiments of each division and other local armed forces will continue to fight on the inside of Jiaodong, and the Corps will lead the Nine and Thirteen Columns to cover East China Bureau organs are interspersed outwards.After the thirteenth column arrived at Daze Mountain, they stayed there and persisted in the struggle.The first part of the Nine Columns covered the East China Bureau to go to the Bohai Sea area, and the main force continued to leap forward to the southwest.At this time, political commissar Tan Zhenlin led his troops northward according to the coordinated plan. On the night of the 29th, the Second Vertical swept across the Weixian and Gaomi sections of Jiaoji Road, annihilating more than 1,500 enemies. On October 1, the Second Column, the Seventh Column, and the Ninth Column successfully joined forces in the Zhuyang area west of Gaomi. After Fan Hanjie discovered that the main force of the Eastern Front Corps had returned westward, he judged that it was "avoiding the battle and fleeing", and ordered the reorganized Ninth Division to follow the Ninth and Thirteenth Columns and chase towards the Daze Mountains.The reorganization of the 64th Division (owed to the 156th Brigade) failed to intercept from Gaomi to the north, and then advanced to Yinma Town and Tingkou in Changyi.Continue to attack eastward with three divisions. On September 26, the Eighth Division of the enemy's reorganization invaded and occupied Longkou, Huang County on the 27th, and Penglai on the 30th.After the enemy's reorganized 25th Division occupied Laiyang, it occupied Qixia on September 27, Fushan on September 29, and Yantai on September 30.In this way, although the Kuomintang army occupied more than ten towns in Jiaodong, its forces were forced to disperse. The Eastern Front Corps decided to take advantage of the favorable opportunity of the enemy's division of troops to launch the Battle of Jiaohe, and annihilated the 64th Division of the Kuomintang Army in the Yinma Town area on the west bank of the Jiaohe River. The destruction of the hinterland of Jiaodong. On October 2, the main force of the enemy's 64th Division rushed to the Fanjiaji and Liuhe areas on the east bank of the Jiaohe River.When the vanguard troops first entered the Yinma area, the ambush troops of our Second Column and the Ninth Column misjudged that the main force of the enemy had arrived in the Yinma area, and immediately ordered an attack from all fronts, pounced and attacked.The main force of the 64th Division of the enemy saw the fierce approach of the Eastern Front Corps, so they stepped up their shrinkage in the Sanhushan, Guocun, Fanjiaji, and Linjiazhuang areas, and organized a solid defense. On the 3rd, the two divisions of the Nine Columns would attack Liuhe and force the enemy to flee eastward.The first division of the second vertical and the sixth division crossed the Jiaohe east and seized the Mingjiadian ferry.The 73rd and 75th regiments of the Ninth Vertical attacked Guocun, and the 76th and 77th regiments attacked Fanjiaji, but failed.The fifth and seventh divisions of the second vertical were attacked by enemy fire and suffered heavy casualties, so they withdrew from the battle before dawn.At the same time, the Ninth Division of the enemy desperately moved closer to the Sixty-fourth Division of the enemy, and the first battle in Jiaohe became a stalemate. Faced with this situation, Xu Shiyou decided to concentrate his forces to capture Mount Sanhu after calm analysis and research. On the evening of the 4th, the 25th Division of the Ninth Column and the Sixth Division of the Second Column, which were responsible for the main offensive tasks, launched attacks from three directions: east, south, and north.Soon, Sanhu Mountain was conquered.Immediately, the Nine Columns and the Second Column took advantage of the victory to attack, wiped out two enemy regiments, and surrounded the enemy's main force in the Fanjiaji area. Fan Hanjie did not expect our army to kill a "returning carbine" so fiercely. Huang Guoliang, the commander of the 64th Division of the enemy who was beaten continuously, made Fan Hanjie realize the seriousness of the problem, so he had to suspend the comprehensive "clearance" of Jiaodong's interior , The reinforcements were dispatched to rescue the 64th Division in East, West and South. In view of the fact that before the arrival of enemy reinforcements, it is difficult for the Eastern Front Corps to wipe out Fan Jiaji and defend the enemy.Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin decided to encircle and fight for reinforcements. Except for the bluff of the Nine Columns who continued to besiege Fanjiaji, all other troops were transferred to fight for reinforcements. At dawn on the 6th, the Ninth Enemy Division, supported by aircraft and heavy artillery, launched a fierce offensive from the East Road to Hongshi Mountain and the positions in front of the stage.The two sides launched a fierce fight, repeatedly competing for the position. The enemy's 211th Brigade attacked Fanjiaji and Sanhushan from the west road, seriously threatening the safety of the 2nd Zong's side and back.The Eastern Front Corps Command urgently ordered the Second Column to organize a strong force to block the enemy head-on. Zhan Huayu, Chief of Staff of the Second Column, led the Fourth Division and the Fourteenth Regiment of the Fifth Division to attack the vanguard of the enemy's 211th Brigade head-on in Changjiatun. At 4 o'clock in the morning on the 8th, the Second Column surrounded the enemy's 211th Brigade in the Shanyangzhuang area.Subsequently, the divisions and regiments of the Second Column launched a general attack from all sides at the same time.After five hours of fierce fighting, the enemy broke through to the northwest and southwest respectively, was cut into several sections by the second vertical, and most of them were quickly wiped out.Another remnant enemy turned around and fled to the east bank of the Wei River, where it was annihilated by the reconnaissance team of our Sixth Division. The 156th Brigade of the 64th Division of the enemy and the 212th Brigade of the 45th Division marched northward from Gaomi via Zhuyang in the south.One vertical independent division, one regiment, and the main force of the seven verticals blocked and wiped out the enemy. On the 7th, when the enemy's 156th Brigade entered Zhangjiazhuang and the 212th Brigade entered the vicinity of Hemutun, our support troops attacked across the board, boldly interspersed and divided, and surrounded the enemy in the three villages of Zhengjiazhuang, Guanzhuang, and Xuejiaji. .The enemy tried to break out of the siege, but was wiped out by our 20th Division. Fan Hanjie saw that the reinforcements on the west route were wiped out, the reinforcements on the east and south routes were blocked, and the reorganized 64th division trapped in Fanjiaji could not escape, so he hurriedly adjusted the reorganized 8th and 54th divisions, from Penglai and Mouping via Laiyang Concurrently returning to aid.Seeing that the goal of mobilizing the enemy troops in the hinterland of Jiaodong had been achieved, the Eastern Front Corps withdrew from the siege of Fanjiaji on October 10 and moved to the area south of Jingzhi Town between Anqiu and Zhucheng to rest and reorganize. The Battle of Jiaohe severely damaged 8 brigades of the Kuomintang Army, wiped out 12,000 of them, and captured more than 8,000 of them.During this period, the Thirteenth Column captured Ye County on October 4, wiped out more than 2,000 people from the Eighth Division of the enemy reorganization, and moved to the area south of Xiaxia to rest.The Tenth Division, with the cooperation of the Binbei Army Division, captured Zhucheng on the morning of October 16 and wiped out more than 3,000 people from the 159th Brigade's supply battalion and the Kuomintang local troops.So far, the Kuomintang's "September Offensive" basically failed, and the Eastern Front Corps began to turn to the counteroffensive. Chen Yi and Su Yu were delighted to hear the news, and they jointly sent a congratulatory message, saying: "This battle not only provided a guarantee for sticking to Jiaodong, but also brought Shandong into a stage of comprehensive counter-offensive!"The headquarters of the People's Liberation Army solemnly announced to the outside world: On this battlefield, our army has turned to counterattack! On October 8, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China sent Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin telegrams to the East China Bureau, highly appraising the victory of the Jiaohe Battle, and pointed out: "Since you turned to the counter-offensive, our army has turned to the counter-offensive without exception. The enemy has no Attack anywhere." In early November, when the Kuomintang army suffered a heavy blow in Jiaodong, the three armies of Liu Deng, Chen Su, and Chen Xie were implementing a strategic deployment in the Central Plains, and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army was fighting on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang.Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek was eager to draw troops from the Shandong battlefield for other purposes. In addition to reorganizing the Eighth, Forty-fifth, Fifty-fourth, and Sixty-fourth Divisions and other divisions to disperse defenses and "sweep" their occupied areas, he secretly ordered the reorganization of the Ninth Division. The division was assembled in the high (density) area of ​​Jiao (county), and was planned to be airlifted to Xuzhou or Shijiazhuang via Fangzi; the reorganized 25th division was assembled in Yantai, and it was planned to be transported to Shanghai by sea and then transferred to the Dabie Mountains battlefield. The Central Military Commission sent a telegram to the Eastern Front Corps: "Try to annihilate part of the enemy as much as possible, and delay the transfer of the enemy's Ninth Division so as to cooperate with the brother corps in combat." "As the basic point of the Eastern Front Corps' operations. On November 6, the Ninth Enemy Division set off from Gaomi and all entered the Laoshaogou and Zhangling areas.The Eastern Front Corps intercepted the enemy in the area of ​​Zhangling, Liujiabu, Zhufu, and Taerbu with seven and nine verticals.Due to the inaccurate reconnaissance of the enemy's situation, this operation failed to achieve the purpose of dividing and encircling. The enemy was attacked suddenly and was forced to move into the village to defend.The seven verticals and nine verticals quickly launched attacks separately and wiped out more than 1,000 enemies.The westward route of the Ninth Enemy Division was blocked, facing the danger of being annihilated.Fan Hanjie urgently ordered the 64th Division and the 198th Brigade to assist west along the railway from Gaomi.The Ninth Division of the enemy marched westward in fear of annihilation, so they turned around and fled back eastward to meet the reinforcements.The Second Column, Seventh Column, and Ninth Column of the Eastern Front Corps pursued closely, causing the enemy to throw away their helmets and armor, as well as countless supplies and ammunition. On November 15, the enemy covered alternately and retreated to Gaomi City, leaving a regiment of the 159th Brigade of the 64th Division to stick to Gaomi. , Chengyang retreated.The Eastern Front Corps changed from blocking to chasing, ordering the second column to besiege the Gaomi defending enemy, and the seventh and ninth columns to chase and wipe out the enemy fleeing eastward. On November 19, the Second Zong approached Gaomi City and quickly controlled the Dalu, Didong, and Yaogezhuang areas in the southeast of the city, and completed the siege on the 20th. Beginning on the night of the 22nd, they used four days to carry out arduous tunnel work, built three tunnels, leading directly to the corner of the city wall, and then filled the three coffins with more than 500 kilograms of explosives and placed them on the blasting site. At 21:00 on the 26th, the general offensive began, and the three tunnels were detonated at the same time, a success in one fell swoop.Then, the Fourth Division attacked from the west and north, and the Sixth Division attacked from the east and south.The fifth division is the second echelon, and the mountain artillery regiment approaches the city wall, and cooperates with the infantry to carry out close-in shooting.The battle ended at 10:50 on the 27th, when Chen Jie, head of the 476th Regiment of the enemy, saw that the situation was over, he led the remaining troops to surrender. In response to the pursuit of Gaomi in Jiaoxian County, the Thirteenth Column began to encircle Haiyang before dawn on the 7th.Commander Zhou Zhijian was determined to encircle the enemy for a long time, while the enemy organized a breakout at the moment of panic.In several positions, there has been a situation where the enemy and the enemy repeatedly compete and lose and regain. During this period, the Ninth Division of the enemy had retreated to the east of the Dagu River, close to Qingdao, and was preparing to be dispatched by sea.In order to relieve the siege of the 54th Division in Haiyang, Fan Hanjie urgently ordered the enemy's 198th Brigade in Pingdu to help. Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin analyzed the battlefield situation and believed that if they continued to pursue the enemy's Ninth Division, they might be able to move faster; The division returns to aid, which is convenient for annihilation.Therefore, Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin ordered Qizong and Jiuzong to move northward to pursue the enemy's 198th Brigade. Sure enough, when Fan Hanjie saw that the siege of Haiyang was still unresolved, and that the 198th Brigade was surrounded by heavy troops and was in danger of being wiped out, he dispatched the 76th Brigade of the 9th Division to attack eastward for rescue, and at the same time ordered the 50th Brigade of the 74th Division Seven brigades support. On the 25th, two regiments of the Ninth Column launched an attack on the four battalions of the Kuomintang Army in Xianziwan. Due to unclear grasp of the enemy's situation and underestimation of the enemy, the initial battle was frustrated and a confrontation was formed. On the 27th, the 57th Brigade of the 74th Division reorganized by the Kuomintang Army was blocked by the aid of Lingshan Mountain.The 76th Brigade of the Reorganized Ninth Division went from Jimo to Nanqian and Beiqian to attack Jinkou and Xianyou, and a part of the 198th Brigade also sent out to support it.Two divisions of the Ninth Column and one division of the Seventh Column turned to attack the enemy's 76th Brigade in Wo Niu Mountain and Nanqian.Fan Hanjie saw that the siege of Haiyang was still unresolved, and two more brigades were besieged, so he hurriedly adjusted the 64th Division and a part of the 8th Division to cover the withdrawal of the 198th and 76th Brigades to Qingdao.Due to the imminent reinforcement of the enemy, the Eastern Front Corps decided to withdraw from the battle, and moved northward to the south of Laiyang and the banks of the Wulong River on the 30th to stand by. The Jiaogao pursuit battle wiped out the reorganized 64th, 9th, 54th Divisions and 57th Brigades of the Kuomintang Army with a total of more than 10,000 people, which delayed the reorganization of the 9th and 25th Divisions. The action liberated Gaomi, Jiaoxian, Pingdu and other vast areas, forced the Kuomintang army to be trapped in Qingdao, Laiyang, Jimo, Yantai, Fushan, Penglai, Longkou and other strongholds, and once again connected the Jiaodong, Binhai, and Luzhong liberated areas. Laiyang City is located in the center of Jiaodong Peninsula, bordering on Wulong River in the east and Yan(Taiwan)Qingdao(Island) Highway in the south. It is a transportation hub connecting all directions. After the enemy occupied Laiyang, they built solid fortifications and set up a large number of obstacles such as deer villages, outer trenches, and barbed wire fences.The four gates of the city, the city walls and the houses close to the city walls all have shooting facilities, forming a dense firepower system with bunkers and mother-child forts as the core. In the headquarters of the Eastern Front Corps, Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin stood in front of the combat map.They were determined to pull out this nail hanging in the hinterland of Jiaodong, and adopted the policy of attacking the city and aiding them. They ordered the seventh column to attack the city, the second column to be located on the first line of Shuigoutou, the ninth column to be located in the south of Laiyang, and part of the thirteenth column to monitor the sea. The enemy reorganized the 54th Division in Yangyang, and the main force was preparing to block Qingdao and Jimo from aiding the enemy. The Jiaodong Military Region, Beihai, and Donghai Naval Sub-divisions blocked the enemy's reorganized Eighth Division that might come to aid from Yantai. On the evening of December 4th, the Seventh Column launched an attack on Laiyang defending the enemy.That night, Commander Yin Shaoli commanded the 20th Division to occupy Nanguan, and Commander Xie Rui commanded the 21st Division to control Dongguan.Commander Xiong Yingtang commanded the 19th Division to control Xiguan and approach Beiguan. On the 5th, our army completed the encirclement on all sides, cleared the periphery and occupation until the 7th, and occupied the four passes on the 8th. When Chiang Kai-shek learned that the Eastern Front Corps was besieging Laiyang City, he hurriedly telegraphed Han Jie: "Laiyang is in the center of the Jiaodong Peninsula, and its gains and losses are related to the overall situation!" Fan Hanjie believes that using Laiyang to attract the main force of our army and then fighting our army decisively can turn defeat into victory.In order to achieve this strategic concept, he hastily organized eight brigades to assist Laiyang in two ways. In order to annihilate the defending enemy in the city before the reinforcement approached Laiyang, Qi Zong was ordered to launch a strong attack on the defending enemy in Laiyang in the early morning of the 9th.Before dawn, the 20th Division first broke through the city defense from the east side of the South Gate.Subsequently, the 19th Division and the 21st Division also broke through the east and west gates, divided the enemy and started street fighting.In the afternoon of the same day, most of the defending enemies were wiped out. Only Hu Yiyu, with a remnant of a battalion and a group of key members of the Home Returning Corps, huddled in the core positions of the Town God's Temple and the county government, and resisted stubbornly. That night, seven longitudinal Chenghuang Temple launched an attack.After two days of fierce fighting, the defenders retreated to the core position of Chenghuang Temple and stood by for help.The Seventh Column's attack again failed to work, and our side suffered heavy casualties. At this time, the Central Military Commission sent a telegram to instruct that if you are not sure, you should give up the plan to encircle and wipe out the enemy as soon as possible, so as to control the mobile force and attack the enemy who comes to help. It was very late at night, and Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin were still studying the combat plan repeatedly at the headquarters.The battle situation has developed to the current situation, the remnant enemy in Laiyang is huddled in a place in the Chenghuang Temple, and they cannot be allowed to escape. They must be wiped out quickly before the reinforcements approach.In the end they decided to dispatch the Thirteenth Vertical and Thirty-seventh Division to attack Klaiyang, the last stronghold to defend the enemy. The 37th Division once served as a garrison mission when the Jiaodong Military Region was stationed in Laiyang, and was familiar with the terrain around the Town God's Temple.At this time, the Thirteenth Column had ended the siege of Haiyang. On the night of the 12th, the 37th Division concentrated its superior forces into the battle, but the attack failed. At noon on the 13th, the Ministry launched an attack again. After two hours of fierce fighting, there was still no result. Xu Shiyou became a little angry. He said to Zhou Zhijian, the commander of the 13th Column: "You will personally lead the mountain artillery company and go to the 37th Division to give specific guidance!" The 37th Division Commander Gao Rui commanded the troops to launch a more violent attack on the enemy at dusk on the 13th.They used mountain cannons to shoot directly at the enemy's core positions, and each commando rushed to the enemy camp one after another.After a night of fierce fighting, the 37th Division wiped out more than 1,100 enemies, completely subduing this stubborn enemy.Hu Yiyu, the head of the enemy regiment who was determined to "live and die with the city", could not "live up to Chairman Jiang's high expectations", dragged his wounded body after disguise, and fled in a hurry under the protection of more than 10 remnants of defeated soldiers. When our army was attacking the city, the battle to prevent the enemy's reinforcements in the water ditch outside Laiyang City was also very fierce.Shuigoutou is the only way from Qingdao to Laiyang. The hills on both sides of the road are undulating, which is conducive to the construction of fortifications.With the cooperation of planes, artillery, and tanks, the enemy rushed towards the positions around Shuigoutou.The reinforcement troops were calm, tenacious, brave and flexible, so that the enemy could not move forward. Huang Guoliang, the commander of the 64th Division of the enemy, frantically threatened: "If you can't attack the head of the ditch, you are willing to send your head to Qingdao." After Er Zong heard the news, he immediately ordered all the ministries to strengthen their defenses to prepare for more crazy attacks from the enemy.At the same time, the second vertical adjusted its deployment and tightened its positions to form a deep defense system focusing on the direction of Shuitougou, with the fifth and sixth divisions in front and the fourth division in the rear. When the battle to seize the Laiyang City God's Temple was extremely fierce, Xu Shiyou sent a telegram to order the second column: the periphery of the Laiyang City God's Temple stronghold had been cleared, and the battle was decided to end before 12:00 p.m.Let you take a mobile defense north of Shuigoutou to ensure the final attack and annihilation in Laiyang City; the main force withdraws from the current position and prepares for other transfers. After the Eastern Front Corps captured Laiyang, Chiang Kai-shek was furious and ordered Fan Hanjie to take back the city again.Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin were determined to smash the enemy's attempt to reoccupy Laiyang, and decided to conduct another blocking battle on the periphery of Laiyang.Therefore, all the thirteenth verticals are responsible for frontal blocking on both sides of the road; the ninth vertical is located on the right wing of the thirteenth verticals, and cooperates with the thirteenth verticals to block and block the enemy's detour from Shuigoutou through Hetoudian to Laiyang City; The South Navy division forces threatened the enemy's rear and cut off the enemy's rear. Que Hanqian, the commander of the 54th Division of the enemy, led four brigades forward to attack, not daring to advance rashly, and wanted to drag Huang Guoliang along with him, so he telegraphed Fan Hanjie: "It seems impossible for our division to break through the enemy in front of us alone. We plan to ask the Huang Corps to advance north." On the 18th, Fan Hanjie really sent a telegram to Huang Guoliang: to guard Shuigoutou with one unit, the main force will attack Laiyang from the right wing of the 54th Division, and ensure the safety of the right wing of the 54th Division.But Huang Guoliang only agreed verbally, but actually stood still. On the 19th, Que Hanqian set up a long snake formation and rushed towards the two directions of the thirteenth vertical and the nineth vertical fortification. The Ninth and Thirteenth Columns of the Eastern Front Corps immediately used anti-aircraft artillery, bazookas, group explosives, blasting tubes, and cluster grenades to destroy several enemy tanks by hitting, bombing, and bombing. Facing the severe situation on the battlefield, Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin calmly analyzed the enemy's situation and decided: while concentrating their forces to focus on defending Hejiatuan, Jiangjunding and other key points in depth, they should detour behind the enemy's rear and set fire to the enemy's backyard with the Seven Columns and the South Navy's sub-regional armed forces. , to deter the enemy and force him to look back. On the 22nd, under the leadership of Commander Cheng Jun, Seven Columns crossed the Dagu River to the west and made a detour to the south via Dianzi, Guxian, and Xiagezhuang.On the same day, the thirteenth vertical and the frontal attacking enemy launched repeated competitions in the deep position. On the 26th, the enemy discovered a "fire in the backyard", and the supply line was cut off by the Seventh Column of the Eastern Front Corps and the Southern Navy Division.Fan Hanjie saw that the frontal attack had suffered heavy casualties, and now he was being attacked by the enemy, so he had no choice but to issue an order to "retreat across the board". After 26 days of hard work, the Eastern Front Corps finally won the victory in Laiyang.In this campaign, our army wiped out more than 17,000 enemies.The defense of Jiaodong, which lasted 4 months, ended with the brilliant result of annihilating more than 63,000 enemies. It completely shattered the key offensive of the Kuomintang army on Shandong and changed the strategic situation of the Shandong battlefield. After the Jiaodong Defense War, the Kuomintang army had a taste of the iron fist of the PLA. Fearful of being wiped out, they shrank their troops to the middle section of Jinpu Road and Jiaoji Road in Jinan, Yanzhou, Weixian, Qingdao, Yantai and other cities.At this time, the Eastern Front Corps has been renamed the Shandong Corps. In 1948, the Central Military Commission assigned the Shandong Corps the task of sweeping the enemies along the Jiaoji Road first, and then sweeping the enemies along the Jinpu Road from Jinan to Xuzhou.Jiaoji Road has an east section and a west section, which section should be swept first? In late February 1948, the Eastern Front Corps held a combat meeting on how to fight the first battle to liberate Shandong, and chose the western section as the direction of assault.The enemy defense in the western section is the reorganization of the 32nd Division and the Traffic Police Corps, a total of 40,000 people, scattered in Zhoucun, Zhangdian, Mingshui, Qidong and other places.At the meeting to discuss the combat plan, two plans were first formed, but Nie Fengzhi, the leader of the Nine Columns, did not speak during the discussion.Tan Zhenlin pointed to Nie Fengzhi and asked, "Old Nie, what's your opinion?" Nie Fengzhi said: "The above two plans do have their merits, but can we come up with a third plan?" "The more proposals, the better. Feel free to propose them. There are options!" Tan Zhenlin immediately expressed his opinion.Xu Shiyou also looked at Nie Fengzhi with interest. Therefore, Nie Fengzhi said bluntly: "Can we use the 'heart-digging tactic' this time to get into the enemy's belly and fight. Qizong attacked Zhangdian, and we directly attacked Zhoucun, smashing their command center, and then rapidly expanded the results of the battle. " This plan was determined after an exchange of ideas between Nie Fengzhi and Ye Chao, the deputy chief of staff of the Nine Columns who also attended the meeting.Their main reason is that this plan can surprise the enemy and win by surprise.However, the proposal of this plan is indeed too sudden.Some comrades questioned and said: "It's too risky to drill into the enemy's stomach and be surrounded by enemies!" But Xu Shiyou was very interested in this plan, he thought it was a strange move.So the Corps approved the battle plan and decided to keep the 13th Column to continue to rest near Laiyang, and cooperate with the Jiaodong Military Region to monitor the Kuomintang troops in Qingdao and Yantai; the Seventh and Ninth Columns captured Zhoucun and Zhangdian; the Bohai Column captured Zouping, On the front line of Longshan and Mingshui, and with the Seventh Column to block the enemy aiding from the east in Jinan; the troops of the Luzhong Military Region attacked Zibo, and blocked the enemy who might come to aid in the direction of Weixian. On March 1, the Eastern Front Corps set off from Yexian County, and after seven days of rapid march, it arrived in Guangrao area for a concealed assembly. The Seventh Vertical was faster, and gradually entered the pre-war area, and went straight between Zhoucun and Zhangdian.The 20th Division and the 21st Division quickly took control of the commanding heights on the west side of Zhangdian, from Fenghuang Mountain to Hulu Mountain.Due to heavy rain, the Nine Columns failed to reach the combat area in time. Commander Qi Zong Chengjun and Political Commissar Zhao Qimin decided to follow the pre-plan, and they attacked suddenly in the rain on the night of the 11th.The 19th Division surrounded Zhangdian at dawn.Seeing that the situation was not good, more than 1,000 people defending the enemy abandoned the city and fled. They were intercepted and wiped out by the 19th Division in the wild.At this time, Zhou Qingyang, the commander of the 32nd Division defending the enemy in Zhoucun, was aware of the intention of our Eastern Front Corps to move westward. On the one hand, he urgently called Wang Yaowu of Jinan, requesting to send troops to rescue, and on the other hand, he ordered the first troops stationed in Changshan, Huantai, Zouping, and Qidong. The 141st Brigade and the New 36th Brigade quickly approached Zhoucun overnight in order to stick to the key points.Zhoucun defenders surged from 3,000 to 15,000. At this moment, the communication between the Corps headquarters and the Nine Columns was completely interrupted.It was still raining.Nie Fengzhi called everyone to a meeting. Someone suggested that it would be better for Zhoucun not to fight for the time being, and to immediately order the troops to stop and stand by. Facing the flickering candlelight, Nie Fengzhi smoked cigarettes one after another.He pondered for a long time, and said firmly: "Zhoucun still wants to fight, and fight overnight!" Everyone looked at him in surprise.Nie Fengzhi looked at everyone's reactions calmly, then lit another cigarette, took a few puffs, exhaled the smoke, and said, "Judging from the current situation of the enemy and the local situation of our control, it is of course safe not to fight. Just now everyone Even if something unexpected happens, I will not take any responsibility for it. However, this battle on the western section of Jiaoji Road is a unified operation of the Corps, and the attack on Zhoucun is the key. If you do not fight or If we fight late, judging from the overall actions of our corps, it will cause the overall passiveness and allow the enemy in Zhoucun to gain time to reinforce their defenses. Furthermore, the enemies in Jinan and Weixian may also make up their minds to come for reinforcements." Nie Fengzhi continued: "Although the torrential rain has hindered our operations, it can also be said that God is testing us and helping us. Because the enemy will not think that we attack them on a rainy night, so it is easy to surprise us." "As for the sharp increase in the enemy's troops in Zhoucun, it is of course not good for me. But when I think about it carefully, the favorable factors have increased instead. The enemy hastily shrunk, panicked, and was in a state of deployment chaos. I just took advantage of the chaos to attack and hit him. Concentration is also convenient for me to wipe out this group of 'rabble' more, compared to attacking the surrounding towns one by one, the effect will be better, the results will be greater, and of course it is more meaningful to the overall battle." In the end, Nie Fengzhi made a decisive decision and raised his voice, saying: "The opportunity is not lost, the time will never come again. I can't wait, attack Zhoucun immediately!" Immediately afterwards, the ministries of the Nine Columns approached Zhoucun overnight.The 78th Regiment of the 26th Division captured a group of officers and soldiers of the enemy's 141st Brigade on the way in. The 76th Regiment followed a shrinking enemy and successfully inserted into the city of Zhoucun. The 25th Division and the 27th Division The regiments of the division also successively entered the attack position in the early morning of the 12th. At 4 o'clock that day, the siege battle started.Due to the Nine Zongs' long-distance raids, concealed encounters with the enemy, and sudden attacks, the defending enemy does not yet know the number and strength of the siege troops. When Zhou Qingxiang, the commander of the enemy division, saw that Zhoucun was besieged, he hurriedly ordered all around to defend against the enemy, and at the same time called the heads of all brigades and regiments to hold an emergency combat meeting to study defense.But it was too late. The 7th Company of the 73rd Regiment of the 25th Division, led by Company Commander Liu Kuiji, a first-class people's hero in East China, blasted a hole in the gap of the North City Gate in just 12 minutes.The commandos broke into the city in one fell swoop and fought desperately with the enemy.Liu Kuiji was wounded three times and couldn't stand steadily, so he lay on the ground to command and persisted until the battle was won. In a short period of time, seven of the ten breakthroughs preliminarily selected by the siege ministries successfully broke through.Zhou Qingxiang, the commander of the 32nd Division of the enemy, had no time to rearm his defenses.The various ministries entering the city are like a pair of sharp knives, quickly interspersed, dividing the shrinking enemy into six large pieces, and dividing them into pieces, gathering and annihilating them one by one. After 18 hours of fierce fighting, coupled with a powerful political offensive, until 11 o'clock in the middle of the night, all the remaining enemies inside and outside the city were wiped out, and the Zhoucun battle ended victoriously.The Nine Columns wiped out the enemy and reorganized the 32nd Division Division, the 141st Brigade and most of the newly reorganized 36th Brigade, with a total of 15,000 people in 4 regiments, including more than 13,000 people including Li Xiyu, Chief of Staff of the Prisoner Division people.Zhou Qingxiang was the only one left who disguised himself with a few cronies and fled through a water hole under the city wall. As the command center was destroyed, the defenders at the outskirts of Zhoucun panicked.The seventh column took advantage of the victory to encircle Zichuan. On the 18th, the Bohai Column captured Huantai.In order to break the siege of Zichuan, the Kuomintang army urgently reorganized the 75th Division and transported it from Shangqiu to Jinan. Together with the reorganized 73rd Division in the middle section of Jinpu Road, it was blocked in the Mingshui area.The Seventh Column broke through the city wall of Zichuan on the evening of the 19th before the arrival of the enemy aid, and wiped out more than 8,000 people including the newly formed 36th Brigade of the Kuomintang Army, the Zibo Garrison Brigade, traffic police, and security guards by dawn on the 21st.At this time, the troops of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region actively cooperated in operations, even Kedong'a and Feicheng, threatening Jinan.The Kuomintang army aiding Zizi was forced to withdraw to the outskirts of Jinan, and the Battle of Zhoucun came to an end.此役共歼国民党军3.8万余人，其中生俘3.2万余人，解放城镇14座，控制了胶济路百余公里，使鲁中、渤海两解放区连成一片，切断了国民党军济南与潍县间的联系。中共中央华东局的嘉奖电指出：这一战役的特点是时间短、伤亡少、俘虏多。 3月下旬的一个黄昏，九纵司令员聂凤智率几个师长去潍县附近查看地形。到了预定地点，他们利用民房做掩护，看得非常仔细。聂凤智对有些重点地域反复察看了一番，最后他得出“要打潍县可不能鲁莽行事”的结论。 潍县是胶济路的中心点，白浪河纵贯南北，把潍县城分为东城、西城，故又称“双城”。潍县城垣高大，青石砌成，异常坚固，经过日、伪、蒋十多年的苦心经营，构成了以西城为核心的作战基地。一条白浪河川流而过，河上有五座大桥沟通。显然，西城不仅能居高临下以火力瞰制东城，而且也容易直接过河增兵。这里由国民党军整编第九十六军军长兼整编第四十五师师长陈金城指挥该师第二一二旅和直属部队及保安第六、第八旅等共4.6万人据守，是国民党军重点设防的“鲁中堡垒”。 许世友、谭震林曾专门召开各纵队领导会议，让大家讨论是先打兖州，还是先打潍县。最后达成一致意见，先打潍县。至于潍县如何打，两位兵团领导的思想非常明确，一定要作过细的调查，知彼知己，才能保证万无一失——因为历史上没有哪一支部队凭武力攻下过潍县。 在兵团指挥部召开的攻城作战会议上，聂凤智提出先打西城的方案。他坚持认为，应先打西城，敲掉它的首脑机关，要不怕硬碰硬，要以硬对硬。 最后，许世友说：“先打西城，后打东城，利多于弊。陈金城的主力在西城——我们家乡有个规矩，'好菜请上客'，这次我们集中力量攻打西城，就是要吃这盘'好菜'，首先打掉陈金城的指挥机关！” 于是，东线兵团以一部向西佯动，逼近济南城郊。主力部队则出敌不意，于4月2日突然挥师东进，直指昌潍。 8日晚，九纵二十六师和西海军分区部队打响外围的扫关战斗。他们先后攻占了二十里堡、九龙山、凤凰山等要点，控制了飞机场，切断敌空运联系，并缴获敌机两架。 10日，攻占发电厂，切断潍城电源。15日，攻占北关、东北关。17日，攻占西南关。18日，攻占南关。至此，四关守军被扫清，外围据点50余处被攻占，敌5000余人被歼灭。 扫清外围后，山东兵团即攻西城。为迷惑敌人，兵团部突然下令，一线部队稍向后撤，转入敌前练兵，进行攻城的直接准备工作。守军误以为我军“伤亡甚大，已无力攻城”，甚至在济南召开庆祝“潍县解围”的庆功大会。至战役发起前，我部队利用各种地形向前跃进，修筑防护性工事，共挖交通沟7万多米，隐蔽洞2.3万多个。在准备工作就绪后，4月23日黄昏，经过一段猛烈的炮火掩护，我第九纵队第二十七师以连续爆破，突破北门城墙，5个连登城。拂晓，第七十九团第五连首先突入城内，开始了纵深战斗。在击退了敌人十几次反扑后，战士们的弹药打完了，就用石头、铁锹、十字镐和敌人搏斗，在突破口整整坚持了20多个小时，巩固了阵地，保证了后续部队顺利向纵深方向发展。七十九团在战后获得了“潍县团”的光荣称号。24日下午，第二十五师登城，扩大突破口，投入巷战。城南攻击部队于23日黄昏开始炮击和爆破。七十三团、七十五团并肩突击，随后，七十三团攻上突破口，并控制了70米长的城墙。七十五团攻上城后，控制了制高点。24日黄昏，渤海纵队登城并突入城内，后续部队相继投入纵深战斗。在南北两面的猛烈夹击下，守军动摇，陈金城和山东保安第八旅旅长张天佐率残部渡白浪河逃往东城。西城即告解放。 当夜，兵团部调整兵力，以第九纵主力依托西城主攻东城，一部在城北实施佯攻。鲁中军区部队自城南向北配合攻击，胶东军区西海军分区第一团于城东钳制，并准备围歼突围之敌。 26日黄昏，第九纵队第八十团一部在炮火掩护下，连续爆破，仅用20分钟，就从东城西门首先突入城内。其他攻城部队也相继突入。鲁中军区部队突破南城墙，与第九纵队会合。午夜，第九纵队的第二梯队奉命进入纵深战斗。至27日晨，山东兵团已控制东城三分之一区域。敌张天佐率10余人由东门向南突围，被乱枪击毙。陈金城及参谋长李友尚等一批将校军官，率3000余人由东南方向突围，被胶东军区西海军分区部队截击，陈金城束手被俘。随后，在攻城部队火力压制与政治攻势下，城内最后据点三官阁守军缴械投降。 攻城战斗结束后，山东兵团开始肃清被围在安丘、昌乐等地的国民党军。 潍县战役从4月2日至27日，历时25天，攻克潍县，解放潍县、昌乐等数城，使渤海、胶东、鲁中解放区完全连成一片。济南、青岛守敌则进一步被孤立。 战后，九纵司令员聂凤智通过考察战场和反思，感到实战时选择突破口方面的教训不少。为总结经验教训以利再战，休整期间，九纵专门组织了几次大规模的攻城实兵演习。聂凤智命令各部“再打一次潍县”。 津浦路中段的战略要地兖州古城，素有“九省通衢、齐鲁咽喉”之称，南屏徐州，北护济南，东窥沂蒙，西瞰鲁西，是历代兵家必争之地。 国民党为牵制我军而展开战略进攻，企图固守济南、青岛和津浦路中段各要点。国民党以济南的第二绥区、贾汪的第三绥区和兖州的第十绥区部队，计7个整编师18个旅，控制着津浦路济南至徐州沿线的狭长地带。其中以兖州为中心，东至新泰，西到济宁，南抵滕县，北达南驿地区，有第十绥区司令部和整编第十二军和保安部队，共12个团2.8万人据守。 根据中央军委指示，山东兵团决定出击津浦路中段，攻击兖州。 攻占兖州城，首先要肃清外围之敌。第七纵二十一师负责扫清西关之敌；十九师负责扫清南关和泗河铁路桥的桥头堡。6月20日，第七纵队和鲁中军区部队包围兖州，以求调动徐州、济南之敌出援兖州；以第九、第十三纵队等部警戒济南、徐州方向，准备打援。 兖州被围，徐州“剿总”总司令刘峙急得像热锅上的蚂蚁。为解兖州之围，他急忙从苏北调整编第二十五师沿津浦路东运支援兖州。我山东兵团留第十三纵队一个师监视济南方向援敌，令第九、第十三纵队南下，在泗水、曲阜一带迎击北援敌军。由于敌整编第二十五师已于6月28日先抵滕县以北界河地区，山东兵团又调围城的第七纵队南下打援。 7月1日，攻城各部开始对兖州紧缩包围，扫清城防外围据点。7月6日，许世友、谭震林和参谋长刘少卿下达攻打兖州的命令，决定第七纵队与第十三纵队（缺三十九师）附本部炮兵集结于兖州以西、以南及西北地带，以求迅速肃清西关残敌及南关之敌；鲁中军区（并指挥三十九师）集结于兖城以北地带协助攻城，以一部攻占北关，并由北向南佯攻兖城；另一部集结于兖城东南地区，负责堵歼兖城可能向东南突围之敌；另派出一个团，进入泰安以东地区活动，监视由济南援敌之动态。 第九纵队主力集结于泗水一带待机，以一个师集结于柘沟地带，派出一个团于楼德西北柴汶河两岸，保护我后方补给线之安全，并监视泰安方向之敌。该部侦察营立即进入泰安以南、大汶口以北地区活动，以求掌握由济南南援敌之动态。 鲁南军区以主力插入临（城）韩（庄）地带，一面彻底破坏韩庄及临城以北铁路，一面积极打击临城南窜或北援之敌，并以小部向峄枣进逼。 渤海纵队主力集结于章（丘）邹（平）间休整，以有力一部活动于龙山东北地区，积极监视与打击龙山向东出扰之敌。 在兖州城南的一个村庄里，一个简朴的民房内，七纵司令员成钧、政委赵启民与十三纵司令员周志坚根据兵团的作战意图，正在进一步研究攻打兖州的方案。他们经过一段时间的讨论研究，最后决定把突破口选择在老西门一线。 7日夜，第七纵队攻克西关，鲁中军区部队攻克旧关。经紧张地准备，攻城部队于11日晚全部进入出击阵地。 12日傍晚，两发榴炮弹响起，总攻全面开始。山炮团在步兵和迫击炮的掩护下，直接用炮膛瞄准射击。老西门一线500米的正面上，七纵二十师和十三纵三十七、三十八师展开了并肩突击。 七纵二十一师六十团一连连长张坚，率先指挥架梯班架桥。这个班冒着敌人的火力扫射，全部下水，用身体顶住木桥。由于水涨流急，桥架不住。战士们硬是用肩膀顶起桥身，架起一座“人桩桥”，让突击部队从桥上通过。 爆破队连续七次成功地进行了高空爆破，最后一个爆破员张坚扑上城墙缺口时，炸药已把城墙削成了斜坡，用不着登城的梯子了。他高喊道：“登城啊！”话音没落，就扭身冲向缺口。连长丁光友马上带着突击队像一团旋风拥入缺口，班长高振才趁势把第一面胜利的红旗插上兖州城头。 在新西门十三纵的主攻点上，敌将泅水河闸打开，城壕水位急速上涨。七连长任进贵命令会游水的人赶快游过壕去。三个排相互配合，勇猛地向两侧扩大突破口。 天亮后，敌机疯狂地向突破口内外轰炸扫射。许世友命令各纵调整组织，相互协同，加快进攻速度。当日20时，战斗全部结束。 敌十二军军长霍守义带着老婆和十几个卫士脱离大队，企图潜逃，没料到一出城就成了俘虏。守城的九名将级军官中，唯有绥靖区司令官李玉堂只身化装逃了出去，其余八名均被生俘。 山东兵团重围兖州后，兖州守军向王耀武告急求救。王耀武派吴化文率重建的整编第九十六军南下增援兖州。吴化文为自保，11天仅前进40公里，直至13日，其第一六一旅始渡过汶河到达齐家庄、太平镇一带。因兖州已被解放，徐州“剿总”令吴化文率部转向泰安。预先埋伏在泗水的山东兵团第九纵队奉命冒雨远程奔袭，乘敌转头回逃的混乱之机，勇猛穿插，战至15日结束，歼其7500余人。 兖州战役的胜利，有力地支援了我豫东战场作战，同时也使我华东野战军东西兵团得以会师于津浦路两侧，以便于今后集中兵力打更大规模的歼灭战。 聂凤智司令员骑在马上，看着一堆堆像小山一样的战利品，乐不可支，兴奋之际赋诗一首：