Chapter 14 Chapter Thirteen

When it was learned that Huang Baitao's Corps had left Xin'an Town and retreated westward, the Huaye Command immediately ordered the Seventh, Tenth, Thirteenth, and Eleventh Columns commanded by the Shandong Corps, as well as the two independent brigades of the Jianghuai Military Region, to do everything they could with the fastest speed. The price was to go directly to the Daxujia and Caobaji railways east of Xuzhou from the north and south, cut off the retreat route of Huang Baitao's corps, and cut off the connection between the Huang corps and the Kuomintang Xuzhou Group. After the Battle of Jinan, the Huaye Front Committee approved Xu Shiyou to stay in Shandong to continue recuperating from his injuries, and the Shandong Corps was commanded by Tan Zhenlin and Wang Jianan.After receiving the order to cut off the retreat route of Huang Baitao's corps, the Shandong Corps immediately deployed.The columns then went south from Lincheng, Zaozhuang, and Lanling, and the forwards pointed directly at the line of Hanzhuang and Taierzhuang.

The front line of Hanzhuang and Taierzhuang in the northeast of Xuzhou is the third Sui District defense zone.He Jifeng and Zhang Kexia, deputy commanders of the Sansui District, are both special members of the Communist Party of China. On November 8, 1948, they led the fifty-ninth army and most of the seventy-seventh army, with a total of more than 23,000 people, in the Jiawang and Taierzhuang areas. Revolt, then cross the canal north, and drive towards Lanling.The uprising of the two armies in the Sansui District opened the northeast defense line of Xuzhou, and the three columns of the Huaye Shandong Corps were able to quickly pass through the defense zone and go straight to the east of Xuzhou, gaining precious time for cutting off the retreat of Huang Baitao's Corps.

Liu Zhi was worried that Xuzhou's northeast defense line would be empty and Xuzhou would not be guaranteed. He immediately ordered Qiu Qingquan's Second Corps and Li Mi's Thirteenth Corps to gather in Xuzhou, and ordered Sun Yuanliang's Corps stationed in Su County to move closer to Xuzhou, regardless of Huang Baitao's repeated urgency. .He thought that Fang Zhi's intention to seize Xuzhou and put pressure on Huang Baitao was just an old trick. When Li Mi's Corps was ordered to evacuate Cao Baji in the eastern section of Longhai Road, and Daxu's family moved closer to Xuzhou, Tan Zhenlin and Wang Jian'an commanded the Shandong Corps' Seventh, Tenth, and Thirteenth Columns to branch southward, and Huaxia on the south side of Longhai Road. Ye Shizong and Jianghuai Independent Brigade marched north and south, occupying the important strongholds of Xujia and Cao Baji in the east of Xuzhou in one fell swoop, and cut off the Longhai Railway.

When the Thirteenth Zong approached Cao Baji, they detected that the 44th Division of the 100th Army, the vanguard of Huang Baitao's Corps, had just arrived here to camp, and was preparing to continue to retreat towards Xuzhou the next day and open the way for the entire Corps. On the night of November 10, 1948, the Thirteenth Column suddenly launched an attack on the division. After a fierce battle until the afternoon of the next day, more than 3,000 people in the division were wiped out, and the division commander Liu Shenghe was killed.So far, the escape route of Huang Baitao's corps to the west has been blocked. The 100th Army, the 44th Army, the 25th Army, and the 64th Army were surrounded by 14 columns under the command of Su Yu. In the Zhuangwei area, there is no way to escape.

At this time, I learned that Du Yuming, the deputy commander-in-chief of Xuzhou's "Suppression General", returned to Xuzhou to take up his post.After the Battle of Jinan, Du Yuming had ambitiously put forward a bold plan: use 400,000 troops to go north along Jinpu Road to recover Jinan, attracting the Communist Army to gather and annihilate it.And it was conveyed secretly among some of the main senior officials of the army.However, this plan was not implemented in time.Since the defeat of the Liaoshen Campaign had been accomplished, Chiang Kai-shek saw that he had no power to recover, so he transferred Du Yuming to the northeast by name on October 10 and organized the army to retreat.At this time, more than 550,000 people from the Northeast Group of the Kuomintang have been wiped out, and more than 470,000 people have been wiped out. There are still three armies waiting to retreat in the Jinxi area. On October 20, Du Yuming was appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Northeast "Suppression General" and the commander of Jireliao District. He was based in Huludao and directed the retreat of the Jinxi Kuomintang troops.In the face of Lin Biao's 700,000 Northeast Field Army interspersed and intercepted, he made many bluffs and fake moves. He didn't order to board the ship until the troops moved to the Huludao Wharf.He succeeded, and the PLA could only watch them run away.Chiang Kai-shek was very satisfied with this.So this time when Huang Baitao's corps was in an emergency, Chiang Kai-shek asked him to return to Xuzhou immediately to take up his post and take care of him, "When you arrive in Xuzhou, you must relieve the siege of Huang Baitao's corps!"

As soon as Du Yuming arrived in Xuzhou, he called the chief officers of the various corps to discuss how to assist Huang Baitao's corps.At the meeting, although Liu Zhi still insisted that Xuzhou would become the attack target of the communist army and was in a critical situation, he had to listen carefully to Du Yuming's opinion and respect the decision of the Supreme Command.Du Yuming believed that the discovery of the communist army around Xuzhou, Huangkou, Jiulishan and other places was actually an illusion created by the communist army to attack Xuzhou, which was only to restrain the national army.Concentrating the main force to wipe out Huang Baitao's corps first is the real intention of the Communist Army, and it must not be fooled.He also conveyed Chiang Kai-shek's determination to rescue Huang Baitao's corps.Finally, the participants finally unified their understanding and decided that the Second Corps and the Thirteenth Corps would deploy on the north and south sides of the Longhai Railway respectively. Under the cover, the coordinated chariot regiment attacked from west to east.

On the evening of November 12, Qiu Qingquan and Li Mi's corps gathered 5 armies and 12 divisions, equipped with more than 100 artillery pieces, more than 100 tanks, and more than 20 aircraft, and began to make reservations from Xuzhou along the Longhai Railway. Combat area movement. Chiang Kai-shek pinned his hope of rescuing Huang Baitao's corps on Qiu Qingquan, hoping that he would be successful in the first place and that he would succeed immediately. At the same time, he also expressed his dissatisfaction with his performance in the Battle of Eastern Henan. loan.The telegram he sent to Qiu Qingquan was intriguing. Although it was mainly encouraging, it also had a dark air.

Chiang Kai-shek's telegram to Qiu Qingquan said: The East China Field Army complied with the instructions of the Central Military Commission to "use more than half of its forces to contain, block, and wipe out one part of the enemy to deal with the two corps of Qiu and Li". The vertical, tenth, and eleventh verticals, between Houji and Daxujia in the east of Xuzhou, built multiple defensive positions along both sides of the railway, ready to face the attack from the two corps of Qiu and Li at any time; The Second Column, the First Column, the Luzhongnan Column, the Nakano Eleventh Column, and the two independent brigades of the Jianghuai Military Region were deployed in the southeast of Xuzhou, waiting for an opportunity to attack the enemy's side and back so that they could not go eastward with all their strength.At this time, after the Huaye Thirteenth Column annihilated the enemy's Forty-fourth Division, it turned to fight against Huang Baitao's Corps. Huang's forces increased to five columns.

At 9 o'clock on November 13, 10 bombers, more than 100 heavy artillery pieces, and more than 100 tanks of the Kuomintang Xuzhou Group turned the more than 20-kilometer-wide front from Denglou to Tuanshan in the east of Xuzhou into a sea of ​​flames. The tense muscles on Qiu Qingquan's face relaxed, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.He admired the spirit of Prussia and Germany's Clausewitz's idea of ​​using infinite violence to completely lose the enemy's resistance. An act of violence, and the use of violence has no limit", "To render the enemy powerless is the goal of an act of war"...Now, he imagined that the opponent's living forces were dead and wounded under their powerful firepower, and they were powerless to stop them Great strides have been made.

Red signal flares rose in the sky.Mercedes-Benz tanks made a huge roar, and the infantry attack team rolled forward like an overwhelming wave.Qiu Qingquan was a little carried away.He wanted to use violence without limit, completely destroying his opponents both mentally and physically, making them helpless to fight back, so he had to obediently admit defeat, so that they could honorably join forces with Huang Baitao in Nianzhuang Victory. But things backfired, and what Qiu Qingquan expected didn't happen.When Qiu Qingquan's tanks and infantry were about to approach Sunzhuang, the forward position of our army, the mysterious and unpredictable land that was originally dead and thought that there would be no life suddenly erupted like a volcano, with gunshots, grenade explosions, The sound of shouting and killing was endless, and the enemy's formation suddenly became chaotic.Some tanks were hit, while others turned around and fled.His infantry were also dead and wounded, retreating one after another like an ebb tide.This surprised Qiu Qingquan.His face was deformed due to gnashing of teeth, his eyes shot out a fierce light, and he yelled suddenly: "Take down Sun Zhuang for me! Those who don't flinch will be killed!"

Qiu Qingquan didn't understand what was going on?The national army's firepower preparations were fierce, and after such indiscriminate bombing, not to mention human flesh and blood, even stubborn rocks have been smashed to pieces.Where did the communist army come from?Could it be that it came out of a crack in the ground? Qiu Qingquan was half right, but even this half was not entirely right. Perhaps he didn't understand until his death that although he admired Clausewitz, he only learned from Clausewitz.He only knows the effect of violence, but he doesn't have a deep understanding of Kreblin's point of view of "equipping oneself with the achievements of technology and science to deal with violence".Although our army has a low starting point in all aspects due to the limitation of its economic base, it is far superior to the enemy in terms of using the achievements of technology and science to equip itself consciously.At this time, the East China Field Army and some columns had a group of selfless and dedicated young people. They continued to study technology and strive for excellence. Using their special weapons and scientific methods, they continuously obtained important information from all aspects. It was continuously provided to leaders at all levels and made an indelible contribution to the victory of the war.There are not many of them, as few as three or five or a dozen, and as many as dozens or hundreds, but their role is often better than a hundred thousand soldiers.They are true unsung heroes.It is because of them that the important principle of knowing yourself and your enemy in war is worthy of its name.How could Qiu Qingquan have thought that these ordinary, weak-looking young men and women soldiers who didn't have clairvoyance and three heads and six arms were closely monitoring all their actions, and they couldn't even try to escape any of their secrets. out of the eyes of these people.Xuzhou's "General Suppression" ordered the Qiu Li Corps to cooperate with the chariot regiment to attack the PLA positions in Xudong under the cover of the air force and artillery at 9 o'clock on November 13. It is absolutely confidential.But how did they know that when Qiu Qingquan, the commander of the Second Corps, held such an order in his hand and was pondering over the specific meaning of each paragraph, Su Yu, Chen Shiju, Zhang Zhen, Hu Bingyun, Zhang Fan, Song Shilun, Liu Peishan, Cheng Jun, Zhao Qiming and other leaders of Huaye and the column also had such a verbatim order in their hands.Qiu Qingquan saw with his own eyes that the Fifth Army, the "ace army" that the Kuomintang is proud of, was frustrated in its attack on Sunzhuang because the Huaye Eleventh Column led by Hu Bingyun and Zhang Fan knew in advance when and where the enemy would be. Come to attack and make full spiritual and material preparations in advance.All my officers and soldiers regard "holding the ground" and "not giving up an inch of land" as their lofty mission, and they are united in the same hatred. At the same time, they dug a large number of traffic trenches, foxholes, and artillery holes, and built a large number of fortifications at the front and depth.In some important positions, only a few people are left on guard, and most people hide in nearby safe places, so as to avoid unnecessary sacrifices during the enemy's firepower preparation.Once the enemy's firepower is ready, the soldiers quickly come out from various hiding places to seize positions and prepare to meet the enemy's attack.And Qiu Qingquan may not know what Huaye's troops are in front of his Fifth Army's attack, who is leading this army, what is its combat effectiveness, and what kind of combat missions it has. There is a lot of blindness about these issues.In this battle of wits and strength, the defiant senior Kuomintang general lost a fight before he fought. Qiu Qingquan was very annoyed that the Fifth Army retreated for no apparent reason.He couldn't hold back anymore, and ordered to regroup the troops, concentrate the firearms, and attack Sun Zhuang again. Sunzhuang was once again engulfed by the smoke and dust that covered the sky and the sun.Before the gunpowder smoke cleared, the officers and soldiers of the Fifth Army rushed forward like a fierce raging wave, trying to drown the land that had suffered too much and was riddled with holes everywhere, but they had no choice but to retreat again and again. down.These Kuomintang soldiers were stubbornly blocked by the People's Liberation Army. They fell to the ground in a dense fire net composed of rifles, light and heavy machine guns, and grenades, and suffered a disastrous defeat again.There was once again a deathly silence on the battlefield. All of this has not escaped the eyes of Du Yuming, who was in command of the forward command post of the "General Suppression" in Yuanshan.After the battle started, he used binoculars to observe the battle situation on Sun Zhuang's side from time to time, hoping that there would be exciting miracles.When he saw the scene far more spectacular than the bloody battle at Kunlun Pass, he felt extremely proud.The Fifth Army, after all, is the leading "ace army" in the national army, so it has reason to perform better.However, he had just returned from the Northeast battlefield, and had witnessed the tragic defeat of the national army there. His thinking was far more realistic than that of Qiu Qingquan, so he didn't dare to have too much extravagant hope.Although he was also mentally prepared to suffer setbacks, he never thought that the setbacks would come so quickly and the defeat would be so horrendous that he was completely defeated!He couldn't bear it anymore, and couldn't help roaring: "Tell Commander Qiu, you must break through the opponent's Sunzhuang defense line at all costs!" Major General Guo Jiqian received the order from Qiu Qingquan to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Xuzhou's "Suppression General". He couldn't sit still any longer. Go down to Sunzhuang, the soldiers will reward you with 30 yuan, and the officers will be promoted to three ranks!" Under the heavy reward, there must be a brave man.The death squads of the two battalions stood in line and were on standby to set off.Regardless of the biting cold wind, they went into battle one by one shirtless, with submachine guns in their hands, and bullet bags and grenade bags hanging around their waists. Sun Zhuang was once again engulfed by heavy artillery fire, with flames billowing and smoke covering the sky.The sound of violent explosions was connected together, making people's sense of hearing immediately useless. Rows and rows of tanks were dispatched. The Death Squad rushed towards Sun Zhuang immediately after the tank. Except for the burning embers, Sun Village was almost dead silent. Qiu Qingquan cursed through his teeth: "Let the communist army go to hell!" The tank finally rushed into Sunzhuang.Qiu Qingquan grinned: "It turns out that the Communist Army is nothing more than that!" He felt a little regretful that his death squads did not get the chance to perform on stage. Just when Qiu Qingquan was overjoyed, the silent Sun Zhuang suddenly let out an earth-shattering cry of killing, and rows of bayonets pierced the chests of the group of desperadoes.It was a hand-to-hand fight, the tanks were useless, the artillery fire was useless, and there was no time to even fire a gun or throw a grenade.American-made carbines are small, nimble, easy to carry, and undeniably powerful, but in hand-to-hand combat they are no match for a poker stick.Especially terrible is that it has to change the magazine for it from time to time.Maybe in the second or two of changing the magazine, you have already been stabbed in the vital part by the opponent's bayonet. The Death Squad finally disappeared, and Sun Zhuang fell into silence again. Qiu Qingquan's mind went blank, unable to explain what happened in front of him.He felt a little tired and wanted to rest quietly for a while. Du Yuming has been paying attention to the situation here through the telescope.For a moment, his heart contracted sharply, he felt chest tightness and flustered, and he almost collapsed.He muttered to himself: "What kind of army is this!" Du Yuming would not have imagined that standing on the ruins that had been plowed by bombs and shells many times was an unorganized special team of the Huaye Eleventh Column, including staff officers, officers, guards, cooks, and Hygienists, breeders... They are determined to hold on to their current positions until they die in battle, just like the comrades who have died. Li Mi's Thirteenth Corps also suffered serious setbacks in its attack on the Seventh Column led by Huaye Chengjun and Zhao Qiming, and the Tenth Column led by Song Shilun and Liu Peishan. The Eighth Army of Li Mi's Corps suffered even worse defeat. They were caught off guard by the 28th Division of the Tenth Column as soon as they entered the starting area of ​​the attack. Huaye Ten Zong is known for being good at blocking.After the 28th Division entered the defense line from Yuanshan, Tuanshan, and Mashan in the south to Bulaohe in the north, it was busy repairing fortifications while conducting in-depth political mobilization.Everyone understood that blocking the attack in the west was to guarantee the annihilation of Huang Baitao in the east, and shouted the resounding slogan of "Stick to the ground and not give up an inch of ground". Within the twenty-eighth division's defense area of ​​more than ten kilometers, there are only highlands such as Mashan and Tuanshan. Everywhere you look is an open land with flat mountains and scattered villages scattered in it, and there is no danger to defend.In order to complete the blocking task, the 83rd Regiment of the division set up defenses at Tuanshan and Mashan overlooking the Tong (Shan) Pi (County) Highway as the first line of the division; the 82nd Regiment set up defenses at the Damiao and Tulou as division's second line.Our army must fight for every inch of ground with the attacking enemy, try to delay the enemy's attack as much as possible, and ensure that the 29th Division on the main column of the column repairs the fortifications. Li Mi didn't expect that they were caught off guard by an attack before they opened up their attacking stance. On the evening of November 12, the 42nd Division of the Eighth Army of the Kuomintang moved from west to east along the Tongpi Highway, and camped at Anzi Village and Sishankou on both sides of the highway that night. The 12th happens to be the twelfth day of the lunar calendar, and the moon is almost full.In the middle of the night that day, the Second Battalion of the Eighty-Fourth Regiment of the 28th Division quietly approached Sishan Pass under the moonlight.The enemy sentinels on guard were unaware.Maybe it was the extreme fatigue of marching all day, or maybe they didn't pay attention to our army at all. Those Kuomintang officers and soldiers fell asleep one by one, snoring like thunder.The officers and soldiers of the Second Battalion followed the snoring sound, and in the nearby houses, barns, tents, and ridges, there were sleeping enemies everywhere.At the command of the battalion commander of the second battalion, all the officers and soldiers immediately fired violently at the scattered enemy group, making the enemy dizzy and howling like ghosts and wolves. This sudden night attack made the enemy helpless and caused heavy casualties.They couldn't figure out how many People's Liberation Army had come, so they hurriedly withdrew from Anzi Village, Sishankou and other places. At dawn the next day, the 42nd Division of the Eighth Army of Li Mi Corps deployed two regiments to attack Sishankou. Sishan is a saddle-shaped hill, and the Tongpi Highway just passes through its saddle. The mountain is full of strange rocks and overgrown with weeds.The enemy launched a heavy shelling on Sishan.Because the officers and soldiers of the Second Battalion arrived here in the middle of the night, there was no time to build fortifications after the battle, so they raced against time to dig some foxholes and a few artillery holes.When a large number of enemy shells came like a hailstorm, they had to hide scatteredly in the crevices of the rocks and in a few anti-battery holes.As soon as the fire ceased, they emerged from their respective hiding places. "Comrades, people are in the position, resolutely beat the enemy down!" The battalion commander of the second battalion fiddled with grenades behind a big rock, while motivating everyone's fighting spirit. The enemy's artillery fire caused casualties to the second camp. At first glance, there were significantly fewer people on the position than when they entered the position.But the soldiers had no fear, and responded to the battalion commander's call with fiery enthusiasm: "Please rest assured, the battalion commander, the people are in the position!" "Never let the enemy take advantage of it!" "Resolutely repel the enemy's attack!" Six tanks drove over rumblingly, firing guns as they drove forward, causing rubble and smoke to fly across the hillside.Everyone held their breath and let these tanks go on a rampage.These tanks were not resisted all the way, as if they had entered an uninhabited land, with their high barrels raised, they drove past arrogantly, not caring about the panting and fearful troops behind them. The hero "Miaoshubai" squad who stood firm on the southern slope of Sishan hid under a rock crevice to escape the enemy's artillery fire.As soon as the artillery fire ceased, they re-occupied the position.They let the enemy tanks pass.When the enemy's infantry swarmed in like a tide, they repeatedly warned themselves secretly: "Pull closer to fight, put closer to fight!" "Fight!" Squad leader Miao Shubai gave the command decisively. After the first volley of guns and grenades hit, more than thirty enemies fell in front of their positions.The enemy was in a panic and retreated one after another.Later, they repelled the enemy's four consecutive attacks, and they also suffered casualties.There were not many bullets and grenades left, so they joined the enemy with bayonets, butts and stones.The position is always standing still. On the front of Sishan Pass, the enemy attacked more fiercely.The Second Battalion resisted ten attacks by the entire company, battalion, and regiment of the enemy, inflicted a large number of casualties on the enemy, and was later ordered to voluntarily withdraw from the battle. At 9:00 on November 13th, the Eighth Army of Li Mi Corps launched a fierce attack on the position of the 83rd Regiment in the Tenth Column.The bomber group dropped a large number of bombs on them, and the enemy's heavy artillery group also targeted them. The area around Tuanshan and Mashan suddenly became a sea of ​​​​flames and billowing smoke.The enemy's infantry launched attacks again and again, but they were still unable to break through the positions of the People's Liberation Army. At dawn the next day, a new round of enemy attacks began again. The division commander Wang Degui and the division political commissar Wang Ruojie had just returned to the division command post from the forward positions of Tuanshan and Mashan, and saw the enemy's artillery fire engulfing the 83rd regiment's position again. Appearing and disappearing, like two broken ships about to sink in the sea.It made their hearts tumble. Wang Degui grabbed the phone and called the command post of the 83rd Regiment. "Captain Mao? We saw the enemy firing artillery at you." Wang Degui was a little out of breath, and he tried to calm himself down, "Just do what we have studied together just now, and immediately order the second battalion of the regiment's reserve team to go into battle. One company is responsible for frontal blocking; two companies quickly make a detour from the ditch south of Tuanshan, and stab the enemy hard in the back. Be fierce! Be quick!" "Yes, we are determined to complete the task!" Head Mao said confidently. The enemy still acted according to the old imperial calendar: artillery fire prepared, tanks opened the way, and infantry attacked.They never expected that before the firepower preparations were over, the well-preserved new force of the Second Battalion had already moved to the predetermined combat area according to the selected route. The enemy ambushing in front of Tuanshan Mountain saw their artillery fire extended, and immediately launched a new round of attack, but unexpectedly encountered unprecedented fierce resistance.They didn't know that a fresh force had come to the PLA's positions, and of course they were badly hit.Just as they were at a loss, they were suddenly attacked from behind.The enemy is most afraid of taking the back road. They couldn't figure out what was going on behind them, and they all panicked and ran for their lives.The officers and soldiers of the People's Liberation Army on the Tuanshan and Mashan positions also took the opportunity to launch a counterattack, firing continuously at the panicked enemy. The Eighth Army is the main force of Li Mi Corps, and the Forty-Second Division is known as the "model division" of the Eighth Army. It is not only well equipped, but also has good military quality and rich practical experience.They soon discovered that they were only being attacked by a small group of opponents from the flank, so they gradually calmed down from their panic and began to regroup and organize their teams. The command post of the 28th Division received a report from the head of the 83rd Regiment Mao, saying that the enemy's large forces were gathering in the depression on the west side of the Tuanshan Mountain and were about to organize a new attack.Master Wang immediately reported to Commander Shilun Song of the Ten Columns. "Please convey my and Political Commissar Liu's regards to them to Head Mao, Political Commissar Sun, and the officers and soldiers of the 83rd Regiment, and say hello to them!" Song Shilun said happily on the phone, "They not only successfully completed the task, but also The mission was overfulfilled. This kind of active attack spirit is very good, reflecting the idea of ​​active defense, and it is worth carrying forward! I have ordered the column artillery group to suppress and shoot the enemy on the west side of Tuanshan, and teach the enemy a lesson. I will say it again, They have completed their mission and can withdraw from their positions at any time!" Before he finished speaking, there was a rumbling sound of shells being fired from a distance, and countless shells flew over the head with a whistling sound, and exploded in the west side of Tuanshan, and the smoke filled the air. "Good fight! Good fight!" Wang Degui couldn't help dancing, "The shell hit the target accurately! Thanks to the commander and the column artillery for the timely support! I will immediately convey the commander's instructions and care to the 83rd regiment, and prepare for a more difficult test !" This roundabout operation and artillery surprise attack caused heavy casualties to the enemy, and it was impossible to organize a decent attack for a while. Huang Baitao's corps was in a hurry at Nianzhuangwei, making Chiang Kai-shek feel like he was sitting on pins and needles. On November 13th and 14th, 1948, Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly ordered Xuzhou Liu Zhi Group to accelerate the speed of East Aid at all costs, "do all the East Aid, advance starry night, and reach Nianzhuang tonight."At the same time, the Seventy-second Army was transferred to join the Qiu Corps sequence.Li Mi's corps received a series of telegrams like reminders, and had to follow the same pattern to urge the subordinate troops to attack the Communist army's position desperately. The 42nd Division of the Eighth Army of the Kuomintang paid a heavy price after nearly two consecutive days of successive attacks, and finally captured Tuanshan, the commanding height of Xudong. The destroyed tanks are still smoking, the stones are still warm, and the shrapnel has not cooled down.Du Yuming climbed to the top of Tuanshan Mountain - mutilated bodies and mutilated guns of officers and soldiers from both sides could be seen everywhere, and the air was filled with the strong smell of gunpowder smoke, burnt and blood.This well-known middle-aged general who made his living by killing and hunting, could not help expressing emotion to his staff and the chief officer of the 42nd Division around him after witnessing this scene: "You have spent a lot of effort , and finally captured Tuanshan. Very good, should be commended. However, the time is too long, and the casualties are too great. Like this kind of attack, when can we reach Nianzhuangwei? In the future, we should try to increase the attack speed and reduce the Casualties are better." From 9:00 am on the 13th to the setting sun on the afternoon of the 14th, the progress of the Qiu and Li corps ranged from two to three kilometers to seven or eight kilometers.Du Yuming looked at the performance of the two corps, one was happy, the other was worried.The happy ones have dispelled the fear of the communist army turning pale.According to this progress, it is not difficult to reach Nianzhuang Wei in a week or so.Those who are worried, the price paid is too high. Every time they attack a place, they have to fight repeatedly, consuming a lot of manpower and material resources. I am afraid that even if they can attack Nianzhuangwei, they will lose their combat effectiveness due to too many casualties. Just when Du Yuming lamented that the offensive of Qiu Li's corps was too slow due to the tenacious resistance of Huaye's Seventh, Tenth, and Eleventh Columns, the Subei Corps commanded the Second, Twelfth, and First Columns, the Luzhongnan Column and The Nakano 11th Column and the two independent brigades of the Jianghuai Military Region went to the southeast of Xuzhou to attack Pantang Town and Donghe Village on the right wing of the Qiu Li Corps, making the enemy afraid to let go of the East Aid and forcing the deputy commander of the Kuomintang's First Appeasement Zone to attack. Sun Liangcheng, who is also the commander of the 107th Army, led the army headquarters and its 260th Division. A total of more than 5,800 people surrendered in the Xingxu area in the northwest of Suining.Sun Liangcheng led his troops to surrender, which opened the door to the southeast of Xuzhou and dealt another heavy blow to the Liu Zhi Group in Xuzhou. On the night of November 14th, the Huaye Command convened a meeting at the Huoshen Temple in Tushan Township with the chief officers of the Four Columns, Six Columns, Eight Columns, Nine Columns, Thirteen Columns, and Special Columns who were tasked with encircling and annihilating Huang Baitao's Corps. Jian'an was also ordered to attend.At the meeting, the reasons for the slow progress since the siege of Huang Baitao's corps were summarized, the deployment was adjusted, and according to the situation that the enemy quickly used the original fortifications and new fortifications of Li Mi's corps to resist tenaciously after being surrounded, it was clarified that the combat method should be changed from field combat to Close work.The troops are required to use the dark night to dig traffic trenches near enemy-occupied villages, as far as 50 to 30 meters away from the enemy's frontier positions.Take the method of gnawing one bite at a time, and compete for the enemy's firepower points and occupied villages one by one.In the point-by-point competition, artillery fire should be used intensively to give full play to the power of artillery fire.When choosing an attack target, it is necessary to adopt the method of attacking weak enemies first and then attacking strong ones, attacking their heads and disrupting their deployment, defeating the enemies one by one, and finally defeating them in battle.At the meeting, it was decided that Tan Zhenlin and Wang Jian'an would command the five columns and the special column to encircle and wipe out Huang Baitao's corps, and the main force of Huaye would continue to block the enemy aided by Xuzhou. The decisions made at the meeting were quickly implemented, and the battle against Huang Baitao began to turn around, and our army's advantages gradually emerged.The encirclement of our army is shrinking day by day, and Huang Baitao is already unable to fly.The momentum of Qiu and Li's corps' east aid has been suppressed, and Nianzhuang Wei, which is close at hand, is out of reach. Huang Baitao is already the turtle in the urn, why not use him as bait to catch Qiu and Li's corps?Several leaders of the Central Military Commission and Huaye actually thought of it together.They all wanted to keep Huang Baitao, not make a final solution for now, and let the blocking troops retreat in a planned way.When the Qiu and Li corps left Xuzhou at the end, they immediately and decisively cut off their retreat and surrounded them. On November 13th and 14th, the Central Military Commission instructed by telegram to try to induce the two corps of Qiu and Li to move eastward.The Military Commission pointed out: "Please Su Chenzhang consider the situation of Huang Baitao's troops being wiped out. When Huang's troops are about to be completely wiped out, ask Qiu Qingquan to go east to Daxu's house and Cao Baji so that he can surround Qiu's corps and prevent them from running away. Drop, and then annihilate them." "Now is a good opportunity to continue annihilating the Qiu Brigade. I hope to order the frontal blocking troops to retreat to the east and let the Qiu Bandit go deep. Let the Weiji Corps cut off the Qiu Bandit's back tonight and complete the siege of the bandit. Otherwise, when the bandit hears that the Yellow bandit has been wiped out, he will quickly return to Xuzhou." In order to seize Qiu Li's corps, the Central Military Commission made great determination, even delaying the time for the general attack on Nianzhuang.After the Huaye Command held a combat meeting in the Tushan Huoshen Temple, the offensive of the Yellow Columns went smoothly, and the casualties were greatly reduced.As of November 16, our army has wiped out all the Kuomintang 44th Army and 100th Army in the encirclement of Nianzhuangwei, and wiped out one part each of the 25th Army and 64th Army. On the night of the 16th, a general attack on Nianzhuang was launched. At 3 o'clock on November 16, the Central Military Commission called Su Yu, Chen Shiju, Zhang Zhen, Tan Zhenlin, and Wang Jian'an: "Now is the time to order the Seventh Column, Tenth Column, and Su Eleventh Column to retreat and let the enemy advance eastward. Moreover, it is appropriate to postpone the general attack for a day or two, so as to lure the enemy to go deeper. What should be done depends on the discretion." The Central Military Commission ordered the North Subei Corps led by Wei Guoqing and Ji Luo (Ji Pengfei) to cut off the rear route of Qiu Qingquan's Corps on the night of November 14 and complete the encirclement of the Corps. One division completely wiped out one division of the enemy's 107th Army, forcing Sun Liangcheng, the commander of the army, to lead the army and another division to surrender, which happened to be empty-handed.The Huaye Command immediately ordered the Second, Twelfth, and First Columns of the Subei Corps, the Luzhongnan Column, and the Zhongye Eleventh Column to pass through Fangcun and Pantang and go straight to the back of the Qiu Corps. Attract the Qiu Corps to look west to reduce the pressure on Huaye's frontal blocking troops, and also cut off the connection between the Qiu Corps and Xuzhou to facilitate the encirclement of the Corps, killing two birds with one stone. At this time, Huang Baitao in the encirclement was in a desperate situation.Qiu Li's corps was blocked repeatedly in the east, which made Chiang Kai-shek very worried. One, two, or even three or four urgent calls a day, asking Du Yuming of the Xuzhou Group to lead his troops to sacrifice regardless of everything. .Du Yuming didn't dare to be negligent, so he had to follow suit and give Qiu Qingquan the same order, but made a little change.Because he knew that it was impossible to reach Nianzhuang within a limited time, so why let Qiu Qingquan scold him?He ordered: "Immediately use powerful troops, regardless of all sacrifices, to take advantage of the gaps and detours, and rush towards Da Xu's house. It is limited to occupy Da Xu's house within one day to break the siege of Huang Baitao's corps. It violates military law." Qiu Qingquan was very disgusted with the threat of using military law at every turn, but he didn't dare to try the law by himself.He knew that it was very dangerous to take a roundabout approach, and it was exactly what the other party wanted.Drilling around the gap means staying away from the rear, fighting away from the large army, and drilling into the opponent's nest, not to mention going to death, at least it is more or less auspicious.But no matter what, you have to find a scapegoat.After thinking about it, he thought of Qiu Weida's 74th Army.Qiu Qingquan's little calculation is not bad: the 74th Army is not a direct descendant of the Qiu Corps, even if the meat bun beats the dog and never returns, he will not feel distressed.Then there is Qiu Weida, who graduated from the sixth term of the Central Army Military Academy, and went to the Army University to study in the fourth term. He was originally the deputy commander of the 74th Division.In the Battle of Menglianggu, when the division was wiped out and the division commander Zhang Lingfu was killed, he escaped the catastrophe because his father died of illness and went home to attend the funeral.Later, the Seventy-Fourth Division was rebuilt on the basis of the two new regiments of the division and the escaped officers and soldiers, and later reorganized into the Seventy-Fourth Army.If so, thank goodness. In the early morning of November 15th, Qiu Qingquan issued a combat order to the Seventy-Fourth Army, ordering the army to pass through Pantang and Fangcun, detour to the south of Daxu's family, and suddenly launched a violent attack on the Communist Army's position in Daxu's family.In the end, Qiu Qingquan specifically emphasized that this was personally assigned by the president, and it must be overcome.At the same time, Qiu Qingquan ordered the Fifth Army and the Seventieth Army, which were tasked with aiding the East, to temporarily take the defensive position, and the Seventy-second Army and the Twelfth Army, which were the reserves, immediately prepared to attack. Once the Seventy-fourth Army succeeded in attacking, they immediately dispatched, and strive to quickly encircle and wipe out the Huaye Eleventh Zong in front of them. Chiang Kai-shek wanted to use detour tactics to copy our army's back route, Su Yu also wanted to use detour tactics to copy the enemy's back route, and was going to take Qiu Li's corps together. The two main forces of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party encountered each other unexpectedly.Neither of them knew about the other's operation in advance, so when the two troops met face to face in Pantang at 3:00 am on November 16, both sides were unprepared, thinking that the other was just a sporadic small army, and still only cared about it. Hurry on your way.But things got worse the more we walked.Why can't each other see the beginning and the end?Take a closer look, it's not good, two hostile troops have met on a narrow road!Responding almost simultaneously, both sides quickly seized favorable positions and immediately went into battle.Facts have proved that these are two well-trained troops, and all links from discovering the enemy's situation to seizing positions and organizing battles meet the requirements of encounter warfare.于是，这次不期而遇的遭遇战很快演变为一场势均力敌的攻防战。解放军投入了苏北兵团的二纵、十二纵和一纵、鲁中南纵队以及中野十一纵。邱清泉接到邱维达的报告，大惊失色，奇怪共军怎么跑到潘塘去了呢？一旦潘塘失守，钻隙迂回计划必将成为泡影，军法难容，他的后路非被抄了不可，等着他的也是死路一条。于是他一面命令七十四军占领有利阵地，相机发起攻击，一面赶紧调集重兵加入潘塘地区作战。他命令七十军九十六师迅速撤下狼山，立即用汽车运到潘塘附近，命令十二军一一二师尽快向七十四军靠拢，命令七十军三十二师从柳集向当面共军发起攻击，同时请求徐州“剿总”派飞机支援潘塘方面作战。 在潘塘地区，枪炮声、爆炸声和飞机的轰炸扫射声、坦克的轰鸣声，共同组成了战争的交响乐。从早晨一直闹腾到晚上，就这样你攻过来我攻过去地僵持着，一时胜负难分。二纵一个团攻到离七十四军军部不足1.5公里的李庄，给这个军的军部构成极大威胁。邱维达气急败坏地命令五十七师，立即拿下李庄。五十七师在飞机、坦克、重炮的掩护下，从早晨7点攻到下午4点，就是攻不进李庄。到傍晚时分，五十七师孤注一掷地在飞机、坦克和重炮的配合下，再一次发起猛攻，下决心非拿下李庄不可。少将师长冯奇异笑了，他亲眼看到了飞机和重炮的神奇威力——李庄的房屋、树木和一切有形物体全部荡然无存，到处烈焰熊熊。看对手往哪里逃！当他跟随突击部队踏进满目疮痍的李庄时，不禁惊呆了——哪里还有半个共军的影子！ 解放军到哪儿去了？粟裕不喜欢这样的飞来之食。要消灭邱维达的七十四军，可以说易如反掌，但现在的任务是断敌退路，包围邱李兵团。如与邱维达纠缠，丧失宝贵的时间，即使是吃掉了七十四军，也是因小失大。况且他不喜欢这样两支主力部队不是在预先选定的时间、战场硬碰硬的打法。即使要打，也只能在运动中寻找战机，以尽量小的代价换取大的战果，决不能做赔本生意。所以，粟裕当机立断地命令韦国清、姬鹏飞率所部大胆撤出战斗，不必恋战。同时命令负责徐东阻击作战的七纵、十纵、十一纵自接命令之时起相机后撤，以诱使邱李兵团东进。撤退时可以遗弃部分破烂枪支和军用物品，给敌人造成错觉，使他们确信共军抗不住连日的猛攻，已经败退。 邱兵团所属的七十军九十六师见共军后撤，即跟踪追击，一口气追了五六公里，忽然发现共军不知去向。发现四野空阔，这才觉得风声鹤唳，好不后怕。带队主官惊出一身冷汗，当即命令后队变前队，前队变后队，赶紧后撤，跑得比来时还快。 由于双方各自后撤，这次不期而遇的遭遇战逐渐沉寂下来，使这场斗智斗勇的竞赛多少带有几分神秘色彩。 淮海战役初战告捷和潘塘遭遇战打了一个平手，促使华野领导人和中央军委都在认真考虑如何进一步加强战役统一指挥的问题，以便夺取更大的胜利。 这时，邱清泉觉得共军突然从潘塘后撤有些蹊跷，便保持克制与审慎的乐观。多少天来，部队东进速度如蜗牛爬行，现在能大踏步前进几公里，毕竟不失为一件好事。但他有一条原则决不动摇：不管往前推进多远，后尾是决不离开徐州的。至于一日之内“占领大许家”，他本来就没有信心，现在经过潘塘一仗，损兵折将，元气大伤，更不存多大希望。万一上面追究，又如何应付呢？ 邱清泉脑子灵活，很快有了主意。潘塘未失，七十四军虽有损失但还算完整，共军苏北兵团被打垮了，徐东前线共军全线后撤，这些都是有目共睹的事实。把这些事实略加提升向上报告，或许能被免予追究！ 邱清泉在电话里向杜聿明作了报告。他尽量选择适当的字眼，不可说得过于乐观，也不可夸大战果。说得过头了让上面产生错觉，说不定马上要他去碾庄同黄百韬会师，岂不是自找倒霉？在别人眼中一贯桀骜不驯、自视清高的邱清泉，这时讲起话来小心谨慎，脸上不觉有些微红。他说：“报告总座，潘塘之役已获全胜，正在打扫战场，详细战果随后报告。徐东前线共军，经国军连日攻击，已全线后退。所占阵地尚待巩固，以防共军回窜。我第七十军第三十二师九十五团，在柳集与共军激战竟日，全歼共军一个营，无一漏网。” 潘塘在徐州东南不足20公里处，枪炮声清晰可闻，炮弹一度掉在徐州的机场上，曾使徐州的敌人一日数惊。现在，消息不胫而走，“潘塘大捷”“徐东共军全线崩溃”的消息很快被传得沸沸扬扬。 近半年来，豫东战役、济南战役、辽沈战役，国民党无役不败，太想听到胜利消息了。刘峙听到这一消息后，欣喜若狂，连声说：“快！快！快向南京报告潘塘大捷！通知新闻界，赶快宣传！还有，赶快通电全国！” 1948年11月15日，中原野战军主力解放宿县。这一消息给了蒋介石重重一击。这天，他一夜难眠，辗转反侧。第二天，他整天精神恍惚，愁肠百结。宿县一失，又使他想起在东北丢掉的锦州。宿县是津浦铁路的咽喉，宿县一丢，徐蚌被隔，南北交通断绝，徐州刘峙集团便孤立无援了。这多像东北战场丢掉锦州的情况呀！ 更使他愤懑不过的，是那个在中国出生、讲得一口流利中国话的美国大使司徒雷登。这个在他面前毕恭毕敬、很重友情的美国人，竟在背后向马歇尔所主持的美国国务院提出：“是否可建议委员长退休，让位于李宗仁？”不仅如此，此人还在暗中对某些中国人施加影响，似非逼他下台不可。还有那个司徒雷登提到的李宗仁，此人与白崇禧你呼我应，巴不得他早些垮台，好取而代之。想到这儿，他老觉得心口隐隐作痛，希望尽量不去想这些心烦的事，思绪却总是挥之不去。 当蒋介石收到刘峙发来的电报，心头照例一紧。徐州发来的电报，如同前不久东北战场的电报一样，十有八九都是叫他提着心看的。若是心脏不健全的人身临其境，非早死不可。这一次刘峙的来电，却犹如一副灵丹妙药，只见他脸上渐渐有了笑容，顿时精神百倍，容光焕发。来电大意说，共军刘伯承、陈毅两大主力合流，其兵力大大超过徐州集团。徐州国军是在极不利的态势下，遵总统钧旨，东援碾庄、血战潘塘的。潘塘之役打垮共军5个主力纵队的猖狂进攻，一举歼其2万之众，致使徐东共军全线崩溃。我国军乘胜横扫徐东战场，勇猛追歼，所向披靡，现已雄兵东掩，直掠狼山、前场、双楼、黄集、薛家湖、团埠……以迅雷不及掩耳之势，强攻至大许家一线，距黄百韬兵团已不足10公里。此次徐东决战，虽优劣不齐，众寡悬殊，但因牢记总统耳提面命之谆谆教诲，发扬总统倡导之最后5分钟精神，有我无敌，有进无退，才获此空前之大胜，累计已灭刘、陈匪部10万以上，共军阵地伏尸遍野，血流成河。 蒋介石心潮难平，眼角似有泪光闪动。 这时，长子蒋经国不声不响地走进门来。蒋介石想叫儿子也来分享这难得的喜悦：“来，你看看！刘峙来的电报——潘塘大捷！” 蒋经国从父亲手中接过电报，同时把另一份电报递给父亲。 蒋介石习惯性地扫视了一眼电报的署名，知道这是特派战地视察官李以勖的来电。蒋介石的手不禁颤抖起来。来电说：“此次徐蚌会战，徐州'剿总'处处被动。会战之初，刘峙怕徐州有失，命津浦、陇海沿线部队围击徐州，却不敢援助黄百韬，使黄兵团深陷碾庄，并使宿县兵力单薄，乃遭陷落，以致津浦路被切断，给会战造成更大的不利。所谓潘塘大捷，纯属子虚乌有。原为共军试图断邱兵团东援后路，不期与邱兵团侧袭共军之七十四军遭遇，造成胶着。两军激战竟日，各有伤亡。后共军主动撤出，正面各部亦受命后撤至大许家。我判断是试图诱邱李兵团深入而图割歼。此乃所谓崩溃之说。现共军以少数兵力歼黄，大部兵力侧袭徐州，已截断我对徐州的运输供给。徐州已成孤立，邱、李、孙三兵团危在旦夕……” 蒋介石动怒了，嘴里不知骂了一句什么，电报飘落在地上。蒋经国从来没有看见父亲如此盛怒，他不知所措，弯腰拾起地上的电报。 一向自制力很强、喜怒哀乐不易外露的蒋介石，不禁长叹一声，颓然跌坐在硬木沙发上。他陷入左右为难的极度苦恼中。这时候，只有宰了刘峙才能解他心中之恨。可是，宰了刘峙不就等于承认徐蚌会战刚一开始就失败了吗？他无论如何不能接受这样可怕的局面。党内党外的政敌，还有那个前传教士——在燕京大学当过校长的司徒雷登，正等着看他的笑话呢！这不正好给那些人提供了向他攻击的重磅炮弹，正好找到理由对他落井下石吗？岂止司徒雷登、李宗仁、白崇禧，他觉察到还有不少人无时无刻不在算计着他。他有一种墙倒众人推的感觉，忽然觉得后背一阵冰凉。他从来没有感觉到如此孤单，如此众叛亲离。吴化文背叛了他，何基沣、张克侠背叛了他，最近孙良诚又背叛了他。他的神经快到了崩溃的地步。最让他难以接受的，是追随自己左右20余年的陈布雷于11月12日夜间自杀。陈布雷在长达10余年的时间里担任他的侍从室第二厅主任，还在抗日战争时期担任过统理军政要事的最高国防委员会副秘书长，是他最得意的笔杆子——他的许多讲话、信件、文稿都出自此人的手笔。在国民党高层中，有几人不是纸醉金迷、醉生梦死？唯有此人出入于高官显宦之间，生活上却一向不事奢华、耻于敛财，如今却对前途丧失信心，离他而去。He didn't dare to think about it any further.天无绝人之路，他不相信已到了无可挽回的地步。但现在无论如何不能承认徐蚌会战失败。现在需要胜利，即使如刘峙等辈所鼓吹的胜利，也已经在安定人心、稳定政局方面发挥了很大作用，不能弃之不用。犹如一个即将被海水没顶的人抓到一块木板，他忽然对刘峙编造的耸人听闻的捷报生出好感来。 “俞济时！快叫俞济时！”蒋介石连声叫着，显得有些急迫的样子。 叫侍从室主任干什么呢？莫非父亲病了？蒋经国吃惊地瞪大了眼睛，却插不上一句话。 俞济时轻脚轻手地走进来。蒋介石恢复了平时庄重镇定的神态，一边在屋里缓缓地踱步，一边口授命令：“因徐州大捷有功，特授予邱清泉将军青天白日勋章一枚，授予黄百韬将军二等云麾勋章一枚。刘峙所部，每人赏银元三块。中央宣传部部长张道藩速率各界慰问团并新闻界人士，乘专机飞往徐州，犒赏我有功将士。” 俞济时退去后，蒋介石随即给顾祝同打电话：“你辛苦一下，马上飞一趟碾庄。我给焕然写一封信，你去投给他。只要他坚持数日，必有转机。” 蒋经国似乎有些不认识自己的父亲了，觉得有些陌生。在他的印象中，父亲是容不得别人欺骗自己的。如今刘峙明明是弄虚作假，谎报战功，父亲怎么不揭穿他的可耻嘴脸，反而还昧心地重奖他们呢？这不是纵容部属干坏事吗？ “潘塘大捷”“徐东大捷”很快被国民党当局炒得热火朝天。徐州、蚌埠、太原、南京、上海、北平、广州等大中城市都在欢庆这一重大胜利，往日的阴霾气氛为之一扫而光。 就在蒋介石决定犒赏徐州集团官兵的时候，华东野战军已完成了歼灭黄百韬兵团的最后部署。中央军委同意了这一部署，同时鉴于南线战略决战的态势已经形成，为统筹一切，决定组成总前委统一指挥中原、华东两大野战军作战，统一领导战区支前工作和后勤保障。11月16日18时，由毛泽东起草的中央军委致刘陈邓，并粟陈张，告谭王、韦吉、华东局、中原局、豫皖苏分局、苏北工委、华北局的电报中说： 这里所说的刘、陈、邓、粟、谭，指的是刘伯承、陈毅、邓小平、粟裕、谭震林。至此，中原华、东两军有了坚强而统一的领导，同国民党军在南线进行战略决战的条件成熟了。 正在国民党开动宣传机器，大肆鼓噪“潘塘大捷”“徐东大捷”之际，华野各主攻部队对碾庄圩发起了强攻。 经过1948年11月15日至18日连续作战，华野六纵、十三纵6个师向黄百韬兵团一零零军突击，九纵3个师向四十四军突击，一举将这2个军全歼，生俘一零零军副军长杨诗云、四十四军军长王泽浚，一五零师师长赵壁光率所部2000余人投诚。包围圈北边的敌二十五军和东边的六十四军，也被四纵和八纵打得焦头烂额，伤亡过半。现在，包围圈里缺粮食、缺弹药、缺汽油、缺药品，几乎样样都缺。蒋介石派飞机空投物资救急，可是常常有半数以上落到解放军阵地上。 蒋介石不甘认输，还派顾祝同飞到碾庄圩上空为黄百韬打气，并空投了自己的亲笔信。 黄百韬决心效命蒋介石，一拼到底。他给所属部队下了一道死命令：炮兵将炮弹全部发射完，一发不留。所有部队必须坚守阵地，战至最后一人一枪，否则军法从事。 11月19日上午10时，华野特纵和各纵队以轻重型火炮对碾庄圩进行了30分钟的炮火准备，大地震动。 然而进攻却一再受挫。八纵官兵趁炮火一延伸就发起冲击，冲上去一批倒下一批，再冲上去一批再倒下一批。九纵进攻碾庄圩南的石桥也付出了惨重代价。九纵七十三团二营四连在那座石桥上洒下了无数鲜血，那座石桥成了死亡之桥。 “怎么搞的？”八纵司令员张仁初把电话打到纵队炮兵团，“你们的炮弹都打到哪儿去了？怎么敌人的火力还这样凶？” “我们正在查，一有结果马上报告！”炮团团长武鸣亭回答。其实武鸣亭比谁都急。他心里非常有数，炮火准备前，他对炮兵进行过严格检查，射击诸元准确无误。榴弹炮破坏敌人指挥系统，三七野炮专打高而突出的目标，山炮直接摧毁明碉暗堡，迫击炮专门压制敌人前沿工事和后续梯队，这些都是严格按计划执行的。他对目标都一一进行了核实，不应该有什么问题。然而成批的战友倒下去却是事实，他心痛得快要流血了。他把司令员对炮兵的关注向步兵团长、步兵团政委南平波、炮团政委高振齐等纵队步炮协同指挥部成员作了报告，并决定立即分头进行调查，用最快速度查明原因。 武鸣亭和南平波一同来到前沿阵地，找官兵们谈话，亲自抵近前沿查看，终于看清了敌人前沿鹿砦后面隐藏着散兵坑和伪装的盖沟。因为它们几乎与地面平行，又伪装得十分巧妙，很难被发现。炮火准备时只破坏了突出目标，这些隐蔽目标便侥幸躲过了打击。同时，部队在步炮协同上也存在配合不够好的问题。 又一次火力准备开始了。炮火集中打敌人前沿阵地的散兵坑和盖沟，随后火力延伸，自己一方前沿只呐喊打枪，却并不往外冲。敌人果然从残存的散兵坑和盖沟里钻出来抢占阵地。就在这时，炮火突然覆盖了敌人的前沿。八纵官兵卡准时间，炮火一延伸便分秒不差地冲了上去。这一次成功了，敌人的前沿阵地终于被突破。 “打得不错呀！”张仁初打电话给武鸣亭，“下面很快就会打黄百韬的兵团部，叫同志们好好总结经验教训，争取打得更好！” 尽管七十三团进攻碾庄圩南的石桥一再受挫，却没有使他们屈服和沮丧，反而促使他们冷静地查找失利的原因。 七十三团是11月15日进入攻击出发阵地的。这个被中央军委授予“济南第一团”的英雄团队，此前作为师二梯队，一直没有施展身手的机会，官兵们早就憋足了一股劲。 进入阵地后，全团各级干部很快熟悉了所在阵地的情况。他们的阵地位于碾庄圩以南。碾庄有内圩、外圩，四面的水壕如同小河环绕，只有庄南唯一一座石桥与外界相通。水壕宽二三十米，深可没顶。石桥坚固结实，上面开大卡车也不成问题。就是这不起眼的石桥，夺去了许多优秀的胶东子弟兵的生命。 主攻连四连趁炮火延伸，在全营火力掩护下，试图通过石桥向敌人发起攻击。非常奇怪，刚才的炮火准备似乎作用不大，敌人的火力依然十分密集，分不清是从哪里打来的。不少人刚冲到桥头边就被打倒，指导员曲永华、副指导员宋协增的鲜血也洒在了桥头边。四连再次受挫，已失去继续攻击的能力。 但是，困难和挫折没有吓倒他们，五连又接过了四连的主攻任务。 正是这种前赴后继、不折不挠的气概和把荣誉看得比生命还重要的精神，铸就了这个英雄的团队。在攻打济南内城的战斗中，正是他们用自己的生命为后续部队开路，首先突破内城，为解放济南作出了重大贡献，也赢得了崇高的荣誉。毛泽东主席和中央军委给这支英雄的部队以特殊的关怀，明令选调山东最优秀的子弟充实他们的战斗队伍，短期内不得担负突击任务，以利养精蓄锐，尽快恢复战斗力。也正是在这种关怀下，当淮海战役开始时，九纵人数最充实，全纵官兵人数达3.1万多人，为华野各纵队之冠（十纵、七纵各2.9万多人，三纵2.7万多人，二纵、六纵、八纵、十三纵各2.6万多人，一纵、四纵、十一纵各2.5万人上下，其他都是1万多人，广纵仅5000多人）。他们懂得，荣誉已属于过去，躺在功劳簿上是保不住荣誉的。所以，他们忍受不了上级老把他们摆在第二梯队的位置，看见兄弟部队在前面打仗，早已心痒难耐，跃跃欲试。现在好不容易争到担负主攻任务的机会，哪能碰到一点儿挫折就被难住呢？ 五连长张天德很快组织起了突击小分队。这些都是百里挑一的好小伙子，一个个勇敢顽强、机动灵活，没有一个畏缩不前的。张连长挑选了几个最优秀的机枪射手负责火力掩护。 然而，这一回五连的突击小分队依然没能冲过石桥。攻击又一次失利。 张天德急得两眼冒火，紧咬嘴唇一言不发。忽然，他对身边的团政治处主任王济生说：“王主任，我看石桥那边有鬼！我们应该派人过去摸清情况，这样硬攻伤亡太大！” “我支持你的建议，”王济生说，“团里也可以派人协助你们侦察。”