Chapter 15 Chapter Fourteen Two Encircles

In the battle command, Su Yu always takes one step and sees three steps, and even sees further.Before Huang Baitao's corps was wiped out, he was already thinking about who his next battle target would be.At the same time, he also consciously freed some of Huaye's columns from the tasks of tackling tough operations and containment operations, so that they can be used in the direction they need at any time. The Central Military Commission is also considering the target of the second phase of the Huaihai Campaign.The Military Commission once imagined that when Huang Baitao's corps was about to be wiped out but had not yet been wiped out, the frontal blocking troops would retreat, so as to take advantage of the adventures of the two corps of Qiu Qingquan and Li Mi to encircle them in one fell swoop, and fight Qiu Li as the second stage. Target.However, the two enemies were very cautious, they did not actively advance, and they were always unwilling to leave Xuzhou, which made the plan of waiting for an opportunity to divide and encircle them failed to materialize.

On November 19, 1948, when Huaye launched a general attack on Huang Baitao's corps in the encirclement, Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi, and Deng Xiaoping, three members of the Standing Committee of the General Front Committee, studied the situation of both the enemy and us and believed that Huaye's attack on Huang Baitao's corps was quite exhausted and completed the annihilation of Huang Baitao. After the mission, if there is no proper rest and then wipe out the Qiu and Li corps, it will not be easy to achieve the expected goal. At the same time, the Central Plains Field Army will block the Huang Wei corps, Li Yannian, and Liu Ruming corps with its existing forces, and it will be more difficult.They suggested that in the second stage of the Huaihai Campaign, Huaye used one part of the main force to contain the Xuzhou enemy and strive for a proper rest; the other part of the main force cooperated with the central field to wipe out the Huangwei Corps and take on the task of stopping the Li Yannian and Liu Ruming Corps.Su Yu and other Huaye leaders received this suggestion, and after careful study, they jointly called Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi, and Deng Xiaoping on November 20, and reported to the Central Military Commission and the East China Bureau, "We fully agree with Liu, Chen, and Deng's instructions. Five columns, and if necessary, three more columns can be added to cooperate with the central field to destroy Huang Wei and Li Yannian." "First of all, the main goal is to completely annihilate Huang Wei's corps." The Huaye North Front troops of the Qiu Qingquan and Li Mi corps surrounded Xuzhou in a large arc and continued to monitor and restrain the enemy in Xuzhou to prevent them from reinforcements to the south.If the enemies of Xuzhou, Bengbu, and Mengcheng take Su County as the center point and attack Su County from the north, south, and west in an attempt to open up the north-south connection, Huaye will block it to ensure the victory of annihilating the Huangwei Corps.It was also decided that Wei Guoqing and Ji Pengfei would lead some of the second, sixth, eleventh, and thirteenth verticals to go south that night, and all of them would enter the designated area from November 23 to 25 to stand by.Among them, the six verticals and the thirteenth verticals were all withdrawn from the Nianzhuangwei area just after the mission of annihilating Huang Baitao's corps was lifted.

Since then, the Central Military Commission has exchanged telegrams with Liu Chendeng and Su Chenzhang many times, and after repeated consultations, the opinions of the top and bottom gradually tend to be consistent.At this time, the enemy's situation became clearer.Huang Wei's corps came from afar, and were harassed by the central field troops along the way, and were in an isolated state; Li Yannian and Liu Ruming's corps were afraid of the end of Huang Baitao's corps, and acted extremely cautiously. At 22:00 on November 23, Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi, and Deng Xiaoping called Su Yu, Chen Shiju, and Zhang Zhen, and reported to the Central Military Commission, expressing their determination to annihilate Huang Wei's corps first, pointing out: "The time to annihilate Huang Wei is very good, but Li Yannian and Liu Ruming are still late It is too late to advance. Therefore, our opinion is that, in addition to the eleventh column of Wang Zhang, please Su, Chen, and Zhang should use two or three columns to defend against Li and Liu, and at least four columns to join the battle against Huang Wei. As long as Huang Wei It is more advantageous to wipe out all or most of them than to wipe out Li and Liu. If the Military Commission approves, we will implement it accordingly."

At 15:00 on November 24, the Central Military Commission called Liu Chendeng and told Su Chen and Zhang: "First, we fully agree to attack Huang Wei first; second, we hope that Su Chen and Zhang will follow Liu Chen Deng's deployment and send necessary troops to participate in the attack on Huang Wei; In case of emergency, everything will be handled by Liu Chendeng on the fly, don't ask for instructions." In this way, the target of the second stage of the Huaihai Campaign was finally determined to be the Huangwei Corps.At this time, the combat mission of Huaye's second stage was changed to contain and block the Du Yuming Group in Xuzhou and the Li Yannian and Liu Ruming Corps on the southern front, and at the same time send necessary troops to directly participate in the battle against Huang Wei Corps.

The Huangwei Corps, the Twelfth Corps of the Kuomintang, was formed in September 1948.Chiang Kai-shek appointed Huang Wei as the commander of the Corps, Hu Lian as the deputy commander, and later promoted Wu Shaozhou as the deputy commander, under the jurisdiction of the Tenth Army, the Fourteenth Army, the Eighteenth Army, the Eighty-fifth Army and the Fourth Rapid Army. The column, with a total of about 120,000 people, is well-equipped and has strong combat effectiveness.Among them, the Eighteenth Army was cultivated by Chen Cheng. It was equipped with American equipment, and all officers at all levels were graduates of military academies. It was known as one of the "five main forces" of the Kuomintang Army.

Huang Wei, a native of Guixi, Jiangxi Province, graduated from the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy. He was appreciated and trusted by Chen Cheng in his early years. The youth army's education work trained as many as five or six thousand young army students, and organized the youth army with these people as the backbone. He later served as the commander of the 31st army of the youth army, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Joint Logistics Headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense, and the "new military officer school". "Principal and so on - he once boasted that he wanted to make this school like the United States Military Academy at West Point.When the Twelfth Corps was formed, Huang Wei was personally selected by Chiang Kai-shek as the commander.At first he was quite hesitant, and he still wanted to run a school. It was not until he learned that the 18th Army, one of the "five main forces", belonged to the regiment, and saw with his own eyes that the four armies of the regiment were highly mechanized and equipped with American equipment. Take office immediately.

Huang Wei was satisfied, but Hu Lian felt emotional.The 12th Corps was expanded from the 18th Army. As the commander of the 18th Army, Hu Lian originally thought that he was the commander of the corps, but in the end he was only the deputy commander. Of course, he was very unhappy.Therefore, he was in a mood, so he asked for leave to go to Shanghai on the grounds that his father was seriously ill, and refused to take up the job for a long time. Before the Huaihai Campaign began, Chiang Kai-shek sent a telegram to order the Huangwei Corps, which belongs to the "Suppression General" in Wuhan Central China, to join the fight in Xuzhou, "without any excuse to delay the action."Due to the deepening conflict between Chiang Kai-shek and Bai Chongxi, the commander-in-chief of the "General Suppression" in Central China, after several bargains, Huang Weicai took his 120,000 horses and set off from Queshan and other places in the southern section of the Ping-Han Railway until November 8, along the Zhengyang , Xincai, Fuyang line, day and night travel eastward.At this time, Hu Lian, the deputy commander of the corps, was still far away in Shanghai, and the matter seemed to have nothing to do with him.

A thrilling chasing battle began, which made Huang Wei feel physically and mentally exhausted like never before. In accordance with the instructions of the Central Military Commission, at the beginning of the campaign, Commander Liu Bocheng of the Central Plains Field Army and Chief of Staff Li Da commanded the Second and Sixth Columns of the Central Plains and the Twelfth Brigade of Southern Shaanxi to keep the Huangwei Corps on the Ping-Han Line as much as possible and keep them Attention is drawn to the west of Pinghan Road.When it started aiding the east, our side immediately dispatched the enemy first, constantly chasing, flanking and head-on attacking the enemy, mobilizing local armed forces to break bridges and roads to hinder their actions, and advanced the enemy on November 15. In the Guoyang and Mengcheng areas, a miracle was created where the iron feet of the People's Liberation Army surpassed the wheels of the enemy's carts.

In order to ensure that Huaye wiped out Huang Baitao's corps, after capturing Su County, the Nakano columns crossed the Weihe River, entered Guzhen on Jinpu Road in the east, Mengcheng and Guoyang in the west, and spread out in a fan shape on the south bank of the Weihe River. On November 19, when the Huangwei Corps advanced mightily towards Su County, they never expected that the Nakano had already concentrated five columns in Mengcheng and Su County, and another column commanded the independence of Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu. The brigade and the two regiments in western Henan were responsible for blocking the Li Yannian and Liu Ruming regiments in Bengbu in the Renqiao area on the east side of Jinpu Road.When Huang Baitao's corps was wiped out on November 22, Huangwei's corps was still blocked in the area south of the upper reaches of the Wei River, advancing only more than 30 kilometers in 4 days; Li and Liu's corps were blocked in the area south of the lower reaches of the Wei River, advancing only 15 kilometers. Kilometers, caught in the embarrassing situation of not being able to go north and not being able to get closer.The plan of the three corps to "go north to rescue and defend Xuzhou" came to naught.

At this time, among the columns of the Central Plains Field Army, except for the fourth, sixth, and ninth columns, which were relatively well-managed, the remaining columns were not fully staffed, with a total strength of about 120,000 troops. After leaping thousands of miles into the Dabie Mountains, most of the heavy equipment had been lost.But the fighting spirit of the whole army is high, and they are very determined to fight Huang Weizhi.Deng Xiaoping repeatedly educated the officers and soldiers of the central field troops to have the overall situation in mind. He said: "As long as the main enemy force on the southern front is wiped out, even if the entire central field army is wiped out, other PLA armies can also win national victory. The price is worth it!"

According to the deployment of the General Front Committee, Nakano voluntarily abandoned Nanpingji on the south bank of the Weihe River, and adopted the tactics of "surrounding three and missing one, opening one side of the net, leaving no way of life, and setting up pockets", deploying four verticals and ten brigades on the north bank of the Weihe River. Form a bag-shaped position to lure the enemy deep. On the morning of November 24, the vanguard of the Huangwei Corps crossed the Weihe River, full of arrogance and arrogance, as if entering a land of no one.Our army took advantage of the fact that the Huangwei Corps thought it was well equipped and invincible in the world, lured it into a preset pocket position, and then used the four and nine verticals in the middle field to restrain its main force, the Eighteenth Army, and the first and second verticals in the middle field , Three Columns, Six Columns, and Eleven Columns, a total of five columns attacked simultaneously from the east and west sides.After Hu Lian was transferred to be the deputy commander of the Corps, he no longer concurrently served as the commander of the 18th Army, and Yang Botao was replaced.Yang Botao is young, quick-witted, and rich in practical experience.This day, the more he walked forward, the more he felt that something was wrong, and he couldn't help feeling numb—oh no, he was ambushed by the Communist army!So he quickly ordered the troops to stop advancing and retreat in the direction they came from.The troops did not know what happened, and retreated like a tide.A large number of Kuomintang troops, vehicles, artillery, mules and horses were crowded on the banks of the Hui River, and they robbed each other of ships. The order was chaotic, and there was a fear of imminent disaster.The Kuomintang troops crossing the river brought chaos and terror to the various troops on the south bank. After nightfall, all the columns in the middle field took advantage of the chaos of the enemy's retreat to attack across the board, and there were gunshots and shouts of killing everywhere.After a night of fierce fighting, the middle field wiped out thousands of enemies.By the morning of November 25th, the Sixth Column on the west side and the Eleventh Column on the east side tightened their "pockets", realizing the encirclement of the Huangwei Corps in the Shuangduiji area in the southwest of Su County. Huang Wei did not expect the Central Plains Field Army to have such a big appetite, and he was greatly surprised.But he didn't take Nakano seriously, thinking that with Nakano's strength and equipment, he couldn't do anything to him. He immediately convened a meeting of the chief officers of the various armies to discuss combat issues.He said: "Since the Corps set off from Queshan, it has been harassed by the Communist Army along the way, and its actions have been repeatedly blocked. Now Liu Bocheng's main force is blocking my advance in the southwest of Su County, and encircling us from all directions. The mission of the Corps is to fight to Su County and Xuzhou Du Yuming joined forces. Now we are surrounded by the Communist army, what kind of tactics should we adopt to complete the task?" The chief officers of several armies hadn't recovered from the nightmare just now, they were depressed and refused to talk too much.Waiting and waiting, as usual, Yang Botao fired the first shot.Yang Botao believes that the Huangwei Corps is now in a very critical situation.The communist army has gathered, and a net has been laid, and the conscious abandonment of Guohe and Huihe is to gradually lead the national army into the preset net.But now the net is not completely surrounded.Su County has been occupied by the Communist Army. If it continues to attack Su County, the Corps will inevitably sink deeper and deeper, and it will be a dead end.He suggested: "When the situation in the southeast has not yet been discovered, the Corps will approach the railway line southwest of Guzhen at night. It is only 80 miles from Nanpingji to Guzhen. It can be reached in one breath. On the one hand, it can obtain supplies from the rear. On the one hand, form a joint stock with Li Yannian's corps, and then fight northward along the Jinpu line. This way we can remain invincible." Wu Shaozhou, deputy commander of the Corps, immediately agreed, and the commanders of the Tenth Army, the Fourteenth Army, and the Eighty-fifth Army also agreed.Huang Wei left his seat and paced up and down the room, unable to make a decision for a long time.It was not until 12 o'clock in the middle of the night that he finally made up his mind and agreed to lead the entire corps to move to Guzhen, but he also stated: "The principal has repeatedly warned that changing the marching route must be reported to the Supreme Command for approval. Now immediately send our Decide to report to the higher authorities, and do not act without official approval!" Huang Wei immediately reported directly to Chiang Kai-shek that the Twelfth Corps was surrounded by me in the Shuangduiji area after Nanpingji was blocked.Due to the urgent situation, we requested to break out of the siege in the direction of Guzhen. After the telegram was sent, it sank like a stone and the sea, and finally lost the breakout time.Nakano took the opportunity to further strengthen the encirclement, and Huaye's troops responsible for attack operations and reinforcement operations also arrived in designated areas one after another. Huang Wei's request for instructions to break through the siege in the direction of Guzhen was originally a matter of great urgency, but the bureaucratic system of the Kuomintang determined their low efficiency.It was not until the next day that the telegram reached Chiang Kai-shek after being forwarded layer by layer.When Chiang Kai-shek saw it, he was furious, and immediately called Huang Wei back, ordering the 12th Corps to continue attacking Su County. Why is Chiang Kai-shek so angry? After Huang Baitao's corps was wiped out, Chiang Kai-shek was greatly shocked, knowing that the Communist Party's ambitions were not small, and it had to be dealt with seriously. On November 24, he summoned Liu Zhi and Du Yuming, the chief officials of the Xuzhou Group, for an emergency discussion, and quickly agreed on a plan of "three-way reunion in the county", and urged Liu and Du to return to Xuzhou to implement it.The specific deployment is: keep Li Mi's corps to guard Xuzhou, use Xuzhou's Qiu Qingquan and Sun Yuanliang's corps to attack Fuliji in the south, use Bengbu's Li Yannian and Liu Ruming's corps to attack from south to north, and Yisu County's southwestern Huang The Uyghur Corps attacked Su County to realize the plan of the three-way rendezvous in Su County and open up traffic in Xu Bang, so as to fundamentally reverse the passive situation of the Xu Bang Battle and achieve the strategic goal of attacking when advancing and defending when retreating.This plan gave Chiang Kai-shek another glimmer of hope.At this moment, he saw Huang Wei's request for instructions to break out of the encirclement, which completely ran counter to the plan of "three ways to join forces in Su County".How can Chiang Kai-shek tolerate it? When the general is outside, the emperor's order is not accepted-even for someone like Huang Wei who obeys Chiang Kai-shek's orders.According to his understanding of the situation on both sides of the battlefield, he found that in addition to the troops in the middle field, the main force of the East China Field Army also came in a steady stream, and the Huang soldiers no longer had the advantage in terms of strength.The encirclement was further strengthened, and if they attacked in the direction of Su County, it would be tantamount to death.After an extremely painful ideological struggle, he was ready to go against Chiang Kai-shek's orders and act on his own.Huang Wei convened the chief officers of the four armies to discuss, and everyone agreed that attacking Su County was a trap and an out-and-out dead end.The order from above is to attack Suxian County. Isn't it possible to go to Gu Town and then Suxian County to achieve the same goal of rejoining Suxian County?At that time, joining forces with the Li and Liu corps, with a large number of people, is bound to succeed immediately.In doing so, we just changed some methods and forms, but the purpose remained the same.If the higher authorities pursue it, the main officers of each army are willing to be punished together.Huang Wei was a bit hesitant at first, but seeing that everyone was reasonable and willing to take responsibility together, he also felt that there was no other way to go.Yang Botao was the most active. He said: "It is not too late. Since the communist army has not gained a firm foothold, we should organize a breakout to the southeast as soon as possible, and then join Li Yannian and Liu Ruming's corps." Send out two main divisions to participate in the breakout.The main officers of the Tenth Army, the Fourteenth Army, and the Eighty-fifth Army were not to be outdone, and they all expressed their respective main divisions to participate in this operation.So a resolution was quickly formed, and the breakout time was set on November 27. Four main divisions would open the way, namely, the 11th and 118th Divisions of the 18th Army, the 18th Division of the 10th Army, and the first division of the 85th Army. The 10th Division, under the cover of planes, tanks, and artillery, broke through to Yangzhuang, Lizhuang, Zhouzhuang, and Gejiazhuang in the southeast of Shuangduiji.After the successful breakout, cover each other, leap forward one by one, reach the Guzhen area and organize the troops, and then decide on the next step. The four main divisions of the Huangwei Corps in the Shuangduiji encirclement, all equipped with American equipment, stormed in one direction at the same time.This is something that should not be underestimated for Nakano.At this time, Nakano's weapons and equipment were too weak.There are only 2 wild cannons under Chen Geng's Sizong, 43 mountain cannons in total, more than 200 shells, 4 infantry guns, a few shells, 207 mortars, more than 300 shells, and a lot of light weapons.Combat mainly relies on rifles, light and heavy machine guns, grenades, and explosives, but the number of bullets, grenades, and explosives is not large, so they must be used sparingly everywhere.Facing such a powerful enemy as Huang Wei, and facing the simultaneous onslaught of Huang Wei's four main divisions, Nakano felt that this was indeed a very severe test. However, the Central Plains Field Army had already made full mental preparations for fighting big and evil battles.Deng Xiaoping has repeatedly expressed his determination to "break the boat" and not be afraid of "losing the whole family". This is a great encouragement to the whole army.A few days ago, at the meeting of leading cadres above the column held in the war room of Xiaoli's house east of Linhuanji in Suxian County, Huaibei, such a serious situation had been foreseen, and Liu Bocheng asked everyone to be prepared to face difficulties.He said: "A few comrades lack confidence and worry that they won't be able to bite the hard walnut of the Huangwei Corps. It's just playing the piano! Yes, we came out of the Dabie Mountains. We are really thin and long! However, the skinny donkey pulls hard shit, it depends on whether there is any. Courage! Do you recognize the word "courage" for bravery? The word "courage" means that a man wears a crown of glory on his head. You can't be a man without courage! This time, comrades must make it clear to the commanders and fighters that we will never let go Overcome the old enemy of the Twelve Corps! The brave wins when we meet on a narrow road!" During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Liu Bocheng served as the commander of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army for a long time. He was also a modest and gentle elder.As soon as he finished speaking, Deng Xiaoping took over his words and said: "The commander just said that our encirclement and annihilation of the Huangwei Corps this time was very difficult and very glorious. To destroy the enemy, it is impossible without the spirit of sacrifice! We must do our best to kill the Huangwei Corps, even if this battle wipes out the middle and the field, it is worth it. The other field armies will still cross the river! The Chinese revolution will still win!" Chen Geng, the commander of the Four Columns, immediately said: "Our Four Columns have the determination to break the boat, and we are willing to take on the most difficult task at all sacrifices. Even if there is only one squad left, I, Chen Geng, am willing to be the squad leader, and I will persist until the final victory!" Yang Yong, commander of the first column, Chen Xilian, commander of the third column, Wang Jinshan, commander of the sixth column, Li Da, chief of staff, and several other leading cadres of the columns all expressed that no matter how difficult it is, this battle must be fought well. .At the same time, everyone contributed ideas and suggestions, and proposed to cooperate closely with Huaye troops to further strengthen the work of instigating rebellion against the enemy, and to win some troops to revolt or surrender on the battlefield.Someone mentioned that Liao Yunzhou, commander of the 110th Division of the 85th Army of the enemy army, is a special member of the Communist Party of China, and they can try to get in touch with him.Deng Xiaoping interjected: "Comrade Liao Yunzhou has maintained contact with our party organization for many years, and has repeatedly stated that he will lead an uprising. Now that the time for an uprising is ripe, we must immediately send someone to contact him and explain our strategic intentions to him. Ask him to see the opportunity to lead the troops to stage a battlefield uprising." Chen Yi was deeply moved when he saw the invincible and fearless spirit of the generals in the middle field, and expressed that he would share weal and woe with everyone and definitely defeat Huang Wei.He also said that in the fight against Huang Baitao, Zhongye cooperated strategically, and now that he is playing against Huang Wei, Huaye will naturally cooperate as well.He can at least play the role of a liaison officer. He can send messages at any time if he wants someone or something. What a rare coincidence.At this time, the chief of the communications section led several soldiers to connect the telephone line to Huaye.Chen Yi called the Huaye headquarters, and it was Zhang Zhen who answered the phone. "It's Commander Chen, we miss you so much!" Zhang Zhen looked extremely excited, "Commander Su and Chief of Staff Chen often mentioned you! When we fought Huang Baitao in the east of Xuzhou, thanks to your strong support and containment in the west of Xuzhou, otherwise It's really too much!" "Ah, tall Zhang Zhen, hello! I miss you too! Please send my regards to Commander Su and Chief of Staff Chen!" Chen Yi then said solemnly, "We are studying how to fight Huang Wei. You have to fight against Huang Wei in the north. Be optimistic about the Du Yuming Group, and be optimistic about Li Yannian and Liu Ruming's corps in the south, and don't allow them to interfere with our fight against Huang Wei!" Zhang Zhen replied loudly: "Yes! We must be optimistic about the two parts of the enemy in the north and the south, and never let them approach the battlefield to fight Huang Wei! If you need Huaye's support to fight Huang Wei, just give the order, and we promise to be there on call. A few days ago, before Huang Baitao could finally solve the problem, Commander Su sent the First Column, the Third Column, the Twelfth Column, the Shandong Central South Column, and the Independent Brigade of the Hebei, Shandong and Henan Military Regions under the unified command of Political Commissar Tan Zhenlin and Deputy Commander Wang Jianan Next, move to the area south of Xuzhou, prepare to block and contain the two enemy forces on the north and south, and report to you at any time when you arrive at the designated area!" Chen Yi said happily: "Okay, with Commander Su and you as your backing, we will be more confident in encircling and annihilating Huang Wei. From now on, the ratio of the strength of the enemy and ourselves is 1:1, and our army is much weaker than the enemy in terms of weapons and equipment. We Just sent a telegram, just to be on the safe side, please Huaye send two or three columns directly to join the battle against Huang Wei, I wonder if there is any difficulty?" "We just received that telegram. Commander Su said that the instructions to the General Front Committee must be carried out unconditionally and without compromise. Now that Huang Baitao is dying, we can take a breath of relief. Commander Su summoned Chief of Staff Chen to join me After research, it was decided that the 11th Zhongye Column, which was originally under our command, would immediately return to Jianjian to join the battle against Huangwei, and the Huaye Seventh Column and the Special Column 1 would go south to the Nakano Command. They have been ordered to advance day and night, and they will reach Su County in the near future The southwest region joins the battle against the Yellow Emperor.” Putting down the phone, Chen Yi told the leading cadres what he had just said. Everyone was very happy.Deng Xiaoping said a meaningful sentence: "With the joint efforts of Huaye, we will be more confident in fighting Huang Wei. Zhongye and Huaye are not simply 1 plus 1 equals 2, but 1 plus 1 is greater than 2. Okay, Immediately after you go back, mobilize the troops and make up your mind to beat Huang Wei to the ground!" The leading cadres of each column went back.Deng Xiaoping, secretary of the General Front Committee, and Liu Bocheng and Chen Yi, members of the Standing Committee of the General Front Committee, continued to think hard day and night to deal with the three major enemies of Xuhuai land, and they all felt a heavy responsibility on their shoulders. "Commander Liu, you don't leave room for your troops!" Chen Yi said with a friendly smile when he saw Liu Bocheng making marks on the map with a magnifying glass in one hand and a red and blue pencil in the other. Liu Bocheng shook his head and said, "There's no way! This is clearly taboo by military strategists, but it's the only way to go with that little force!" Due to staying up all night, Deng Xiaoping was much thinner than half a month ago. His eyes were a little sunken, and his sharp chin revealed firmness, but his eyes were still sharp.He said decisively: "Indeed, our military strength has been exhausted, and we have no maneuvering power. If Huang Wei tries his best to break through from any direction, the consequences will be unimaginable. Therefore, while we advocate bravery and not afraid of sacrifice, We have to think of other ways to ensure that nothing will go wrong. Commander Chen needs to ask more questions about Huaye, and there is no delay in Liao Yunzhou's work. Once this is successful, it will not only change the balance of forces between the enemy and us, but also greatly The earth shakes the enemy's confidence, and its effect is immeasurable!" "Report!" At this moment, a voice suddenly came from outside the door. Chen Yi followed the sound and couldn't help beaming with joy: "Isn't this Cheng Jun? He's talking about you guys. You came at the right time!" Chen Yi introduced Cheng Jun to Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping: "This is the commander of Huaye Qizong Chengjun, one of the main forces of Huaye. There was their army. As a result, the enemy failed to break through their defense line, and watched Huang Baitao being wiped out." "Mr. Chen is overwhelmed! We just did what we should do." Cheng Jun said modestly, "When we came, Commander Su said that five columns were supposed to be sent, but because the Xunan blockade started, we had to send seven columns. Zong and Te Zong come first, let Nakano Eleven Zong return to Jian in advance, and try to adjust it later when needed." Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping shook hands with Cheng Jun one by one, as affectionate as old friends reunited after a long absence. Deng Xiaoping said: "Welcome, welcome! The predecessor of our Central Plains Field Army was the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army. It was not weak at first. At that time, there were ten columns and a thirty-eighth army. But when we marched into the Dabie Mountains, we lost people, guns, and soldiers." With the addition of heavy weapons, it will become weaker. Now with the addition of the eleven columns that are about to be rebuilt, there are only seven columns at full strength. With our strength, it is indeed a bit powerless to eat Huang Wei, a not weak corps. Now When you come, it is a great encouragement to all our officers and soldiers in the middle field! On behalf of everyone, I thank you for your support!" Cheng Jun was very moved when he heard this, and said that he would have the opportunity to fight side by side with the Nakano brothers, and he would definitely learn from the big brother Nakano! Liu Bocheng was so happy that there was a light flashing behind the glasses: "Okay, good, good! It's better to come early than to come at a good time! I'm worrying about the poor deployment of troops! According to our analysis of the enemy's situation, the enemy is likely to head south or southeast." Break out of the siege so that it can be combined with the Li and Liu corps. In this way, there may be a fierce battle in the south or southeast of the encirclement, so we will focus our defense on the southern group. You see, do we take the Huaye Qizong, Huaye The First Division of the Special Division, the Sixth Division of Nakano and the Twelfth Brigade of Southern Shaanxi are placed in the Southern Group? What do you think?" Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi agreed with this deployment. Deng Xiaoping turned around and said to Cheng Jun: "You have been assigned heavy tasks as soon as you come. What do you think? It's like coming to your own home here! Commander Chen is also here. If there are any difficulties and needs to be solved, You can mention it to us, or to Commander Chen, you're welcome!" Cheng Jun made a posture of standing at attention, and answered decisively: "Resolutely complete the task!" After the Huangwei Corps was surrounded in the Shuangduiji area, the East China Field Army adjusted its deployment in time according to the combat intentions of the Central Military Commission and the General Front Committee.Huaye First Column, Three Columns, Four Columns, Eight Columns, Nine Columns, Twelve Columns, Shandong Zhongnan Column, Liangguang Column, Bohai Column, and the local armed forces of the Shandong Zhongnan Military Region and the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region marched day and night. Arrived on both sides of Jinpu Road in the south of Xuzhou on or around the 25th, under the unified command of Tan Zhenlin and Wang Jianan, formed the Northern Front Corps, used the favorable terrain to rush to repair the fortifications, and prepared to resolutely block the attack of the Xuzhou Group Qiu Qingquan, Li Mi, and Sun Yuanliang Corps , Guaranteeing the central field troops to encircle and wipe out the Huangwei Corps.At the same time, with the Huaye Six, Ten, Two, Eleven, and Thirteen Columns, under the unified command of Wei Guoqing and Ji Pengfei, formed the Southern Front Corps, and went south day and night, preparing to resolutely block and contain the two Corps of Li Yannian and Liu Ruming. , making it impossible to join the Huangwei Corps. For a while, the Xuhuai land was full of people and cars.In this rolling torrent, there are thousands of troops galloping forward, and there are also overwhelming migrant workers who rush to the same goal from different directions.All the columns in Huaye were scrambling to get on the road, lest they lose their opportunity due to slow movements.When Jiu Zong received the order, the smoke of gunpowder in Nianzhuangwei had not yet cleared, so they immediately packed up and set off.According to Huaye's order, the Nine Columns, the Guangdong-Guangzhou Column, and the two independent brigades of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region formed the West Road Blocking Corps to block the attack from the enemy Xuzhou Group in the areas south of Xuzhou, west of Jinpu Road, and east of Xiaoxian County. .The department is under the unified command of Nie Fengzhi, the commander of the Nine Columns, and Liu Haotian, the political commissar, and the Nine Columns are used as a mobile force.They moved very quickly, and finally arrived at the designated area before the enemy, and stood ready.When Sizong received the order to go south to the south of Xuzhou to take on the blocking mission, the troops were chasing and annihilating the last group of enemies who tried to break out of the encirclement of Nianzhuangwei from the west.As soon as the battle was over, without saying a word, they immediately assembled their teams and set off. On the same day, they arrived at the designated locations in Lujiazhuang and Yugou areas between Suining and Lingbi to gather and stand by.On the way, Mei Jiasheng, Chief of Staff of the Fourth Column, was still immersed in the joy of the just-concluded battle against Huang Baitao, and happily said to Tao Yong and Guo Huaruo who were walking beside him: "According to the rough statistics of the Column Command, our Fourth Column's battle against Huang Baitao is In the middle of the war, nearly 20,000 enemies were wiped out, and more than 13,000 of them were captured! This is a great victory in our history!" After hearing this, Tao Yong said thoughtfully: "This is just the beginning. After arriving at the destination, the troops should hurry up to rest and reorganize, quickly recruit and educate new liberation fighters, and strive to annihilate more enemies in future operations. Also, Song Shilun's ten verticals are hard work in Xudong. The headquarters assigned 1,000 liberation fighters to the tenth column." Guo Huaruo added: "Obviously, the situation of a decisive battle on the southern front has already been formed. In the future, the scale of operations may be larger, and there may be more opportunities to wipe out the enemy. We must strive to fight even bigger The battle of annihilation and the capture of more prisoners. Now, the liberation fighters have become our important source of soldiers. Facts have proved that many liberation fighters quickly changed when they came to the revolutionary melting pot of our army, and appeared with a completely new look , became very brave, and some quickly became key members and even became cadres. We need to further sum up our experience in this area.” They talked, laughed and thought along the way, not at all seeing that they had just wiped out the last battle of Huang Baitao’s corps. In the tense days, they have not had a good night's sleep for two or three consecutive days and nights. The Kuomintang Air Force plane detected the People's Liberation Army troops around the Shuangduiji area in the southwest of Suxian County. A tight and thick encirclement circle has been formed. In the south of Xuzhou and along the line of Lingbi and Renqiao in the lower reaches of the Hui River, there are large numbers of troops gathered, forming two barriers in the north and south. Aid position.The National Defense Ministry of the Kuomintang made a judgment based on air force reconnaissance, and the Communist Army was aiming to encircle and wipe out the Huangwei Corps. At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek saw the reconnaissance report of the Air Force aircraft and Huang Wei's urgent telegram requesting that four main divisions take the lead to break out of the encirclement to the southeast of Shuangduiji. "Meeting teachers in Su County" plan.He had to make a painful decision and conditionally agreed to Huang Wei's breakout plan. On November 26, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Huang Wei's Corps to "desperate everything and attack eastward with the main force, defeat the bandits in front of us, and join forces with Li Yannian's Corps."At the same time, the two corps of Qiu Qingquan and Sun Yuanliang in the north and the two corps of Li Yannian and Liu Ruming in the south were ordered to launch a resolute attack on the face-to-face communist army in order to cope with the breakout of the Huangwei corps.He had an ominous premonition, worrying that what happened in Nianzhuangxu would happen again in Shuangduiji. At dawn on November 27, the four main divisions of the Huangwei Corps broke through the siege as planned.Nakano had contacted Liao Yunzhou, commander of the 110th Division of the Eighty-fifth Army in advance, and agreed on specific implementation details and contact methods.After Liao Yunzhou's efforts, the division won the vanguard of the breakout operation.When more than 5,000 people from the division entered the designated area of ​​Nakano in a four-way column, they were warmly welcomed by Wang Jinshan, commander of the Sixth Column in Nakano, and Du Yide, political commissar.After the 110th Division "successfully" broke through, Huang Wei ordered the 11th Division, 118th Division, and 10th Army 18th Division of the 18th Army to follow up quickly, but they were resolutely blocked and failed to break through.Later, under the cover of planes, tanks and artillery fire, they took turns to attack with all their strength, but they were still unable to break through our army's blocking position.When Liao Division started to operate, Huang Wei kept in touch with him through the radio, and while he was complacent about the thoughtfulness and meticulousness of the breakout plan, he laughed at how fragile the encirclement of the Communist Army was.But he kept this kind of good mood for a very short time, and then he didn't get a reply when he called Liao Yunzhou, so he knew that something was wrong. In order to cooperate with the Huangwei Corps to break through the encirclement, the two Corps of Qiu Qingquan and Sun Yuanliang and the two Corps of Li Yannian and Liu Ruming of the Xuzhou Group of the Kuomintang took military action one day in advance. At dawn on November 26, under the cover of a large number of aircraft, tanks and artillery, the two corps of Qiu and Sun went south along the Xubeng section of the Jinpu Railway and launched an attack in the direction of Su County. tenacious resistance.The Li and Liu corps on the southern line also attacked in the direction of Guzhen, trying to join the Huangwei corps, but were also stubbornly blocked by the Huaye South Line corps, making it difficult to move an inch. Chiang Kai-shek was shocked when he learned that Liao Yunzhou's division had revolted on the battlefield, Huang Wei's corps had failed to break through the siege, and both north and south reinforcements had been blocked at the same time. On November 28, Chiang Kai-shek urgently ordered Huang Wei's corps to stand firm on the spot and wait for help; at the same time, he urgently ordered Li Yannian and Liu Ruming to withdraw to Bengbu to guard the Huaihe River to avoid repeating Huang Wei's mistakes. So far, Huang Wei's arrogance has been knocked out at least half, and he is no longer as proud as before.Since they left Queshan on the Pinghan Line, they have only consumed and have not replenished. They are short of food, oil, ammunition and so on.Su County was originally an important logistics supply base for the Kuomintang army. It was originally planned to supply supplies in Su County, but with the capture of Su County, their hopes were completely cut off.Due to the lack of gasoline and diesel, some cars, armored vehicles, and tanks had to be stopped and turned into useless waste.Now, they havetened to adjust their deployment, add temporary airports, pin their hopes on air supplies; repair fortifications, arrange those useless cars, armored vehicles, and tanks into a large circle like a city wall, and then add thick and solid soil , build it into a unique special line of defense in the world.They are ready to resolutely carry out Chiang Kai-shek's order, stand firm on the spot, and stand by for help. Su Yu has not closed his eyes for several days and nights.他眼眶深陷，胡子拉碴，但两眼却依然炯炯有神。 他已经在满墙的地图前不吃不喝地站了几个小时了，陷入深深的思考中，丝毫没有挪动位置的意思。此时此刻，他集中关注的是徐州杜聿明集团3个兵团的动向。徐州集团30万人不论投向任何方向，都将引起惊天动地的变化。作为一个战区指挥员，对此不得不高度重视。正是因为这个原因，他的思想处于高度亢奋状态，时时刻刻都在关心和分析敌人的动向。 经过对大量敌情材料的深入研究，粟裕对未来杜聿明集团的动向作出了三种判断：一是可能由徐州沿陇海路向东，经连云港海运南逃，但徐州以东陇海路已被解放军控制，打通不易，同时要迅速解决装载三个兵团的船只、码头也相当困难；二是可能由徐州直奔东南走两淮，经苏中地区转向南京、上海，但这一路河川纵横，湖泊众多，要经过水网地区，不便于大兵团、重装备行动；三是可能由徐州沿津浦路西侧绕过徐州西南山区南下，这一带多为丘陵地带，地形开阔，道路平坦，距离黄维兵团较近，可以同南面的李延年、刘汝明两兵团相互呼应，南北对进，既可解黄维兵团之围，又可与黄、李、刘兵团合而为一，集中兵力防守淮河。经过反复分析比较，粟裕认为杜聿明集团作出第三种选择的可能性最大。他最担心的也正是出现这样的情况。一旦杜聿明集团30万人与黄维兵团12万人会合，战场形势很可能急转直下，出现不利于我军的大变化。这是粟裕最不愿看到的，也是最具威胁性的。 正在这时，粟裕收到军委发来的军情通报：“外国通讯社透露，徐州敌有向连云港逃跑的企图。我们估计当黄维兵团接近歼灭，邱李孙向南逃跑业已绝望时，其逃跑的方向以两淮或连云港两处为最大。因此你们对于这一点必须马上有所准备。”11月28日22时，军委来电指出：“黄维解决后，须估计到徐州之敌有向两淮或向武汉逃跑的可能……此点请你们注意掌握。” 这对粟裕是一个巨大的考验。对于军情通报所作的估计，是相信好，还是不相信好呢？外国通讯社，有的确有可靠情报，或来自权威人士的内幕消息，但有的则纯属马路新闻，捕风捉影，可以信，也可以不信——这本不重要。现在，军委据此作出了估计，认为“其逃跑的方向以两淮或连云港两处为最大”，随后又提出“徐州之敌有向两淮或向武汉逃跑的可能”。这使粟裕左右为难，思想斗争得非常激烈。根据他的判断，虽然他认为敌人不会从江苏的淮阴、淮安方向或连云港方向逃窜，但有军委发来的情报——万一敌人真由这两个方向跑了，而他们疏于部署或部署失当，个人贻误军机且不说，甚至会影响同敌人进行战略决战，后果不堪设想。如果相信吧，要是杜聿明不走两淮或连云港，结果部队却摆到了东边，造成西边部署空虚，那就非出大乱子不可。作为一个战区最高军事指挥员，最可贵的是，必须有健全的头脑，能独立作出正确的分析判断，不轻信盲从，也不为假象所迷惑；必须具备临机处理任何复杂情况的能力，一旦看准的事情，就坚决去办，决不优柔寡断。粟裕认为，眼前情况扑朔迷离，自己有责任拿出明确的主导意见，并采取相应的措施。经过再三分析，他确信敌人走两淮或连云港的可能性不大，而很可能沿津浦路西侧，绕过徐州西南山区南下，即军委所估计的可能向武汉方向逃跑。这一带地形开阔，道路平坦，距黄维兵团又近，又可以同李延年、刘汝明两兵团呼应，南北对进，将对解放军形成最大的威胁。于是粟裕果断地决定，将华野北线八个纵队部署于徐州以南津浦路的东西两侧，而把注意力放在徐州的西南面。同时，他也考虑到万一出现敌人走两淮或连云港的情况，即便如此，速度必不会快，因走两淮要经过水网地区，赶上也不难。于是，粟裕另按军委的意图，派渤海纵队在徐州以东大许家一线布防，作为机动力量，万一敌人向连云港方向突围，也好临时应急。这样做，当然有很大风险。但他相信，毛泽东等军委领导人若处在他现在的位置，很可能也会这样做的。 南线敌情的复杂多变也使粟裕高度紧张。1948年11月27日，中央军委电示：“当黄维兵团快要被歼灭、尚未被歼灭之际，对李延年兵团正面阻击兵力后退一步，引其前进，以主力从侧后打击，求得歼其一部。”这时黄维兵团正在拼全力突围，敌情尚不明朗。粟裕担心打上了李延年，黄维又没解决，杜聿明又跑出来了，战场情况将发生重大变化而难以驾驭。他极不愿看见出现这样的情况。为了准确掌握战场的脉搏，及时了解敌情的变化，他以异常顽强的毅力日夜守候在作战室里。 一个又一个情况被报到华野指挥部来。 11月30日前后，国民党空军运输机往返飞行于徐州、蚌埠间，起降频繁，情况异常。 11月30日全天，敌军徐州集团与邱清泉、李弥、孙元良三兵团之间电讯联系徒增，使用频率远远超过平日，午夜后许多电台突然关机。这种现象一般只有部队移防、调动、撤退等情况下才会出现。 一纵副司令兼参谋长张翼翔在电话中报告：据纵队电讯侦察人员报告，从徐州、蚌埠间敌人电讯联络中侦悉，徐州敌军将进行大撤退。 据徐州以南津浦路两侧华野北线阻击部队报告，邱清泉、孙元良兵团于11月29日夜继续向南猛攻，但攻击目标不够专一，有的炮弹弹着点盲无目标，似有撤出战斗的模样。 十二纵司令员谢振华报告：因11月30日晚上天太黑，该纵三十五旅一零五团团长何传修，无意带着部队摸进徐州机场，发现机场里竟没有一个敌人，没见一架飞机。他们还从一个大仓库里搬出许多军鞋，全团每人发了两双。 这些情况差不多在同一天极相近的时间接踵报来，使人有些措手不及。 自从接到最初几个报告起，粟裕就判断敌人要大撤退，要放弃徐州。但往哪里撤？谁都不清楚。他和指挥部里所有的人，都绷紧了每一根神经，决心竭尽全力查明敌人的准确去向。这一回，敌人的保密工作做得相当不错，连秘密材料都未见只言片语。但敌人的行动最终没能逃过情报人员锐利的眼睛。这要归功于华野那些辛勤工作的无名英雄，他们根据敌人的电讯联络情况知道，国民党徐州集团的邱、李、孙三个兵团已向徐州西南方向而去。 粟裕一面报告中央军委和总前委，一面让张震电告华野各纵队迅速动员起来，火速向敌人追击，以多路多层尾追、平行追击、迂回截击、超越拦截相结合，务必追上并拦住敌人，不使其漏网。 又一场声势浩大的追击战开始了。 这对杜聿明来说，无异于又一场噩梦。他弄不明白，怎么他们刚刚离开徐州，对方就紧紧追上来了呢？他从来没如此失落和缺乏自信，预感到前景不妙。 杜聿明是11月28日应召到南京决定这次大撤退的，只是在很小的范围内商议此事，自信做得天衣无缝。怎么就走漏了风声让共军知道了呢？到南京的当天，他见蒋介石刚从大校场机场送别夫人宋美龄回来，心情明显不好，看样子不是因为舍不得夫人此时离开，而是因为政治上的不顺心和军事上的处处碰壁。 蒋介石原以为，这一年美国大选，杜鲁门下台无疑，杜威十拿九稳会任下一届美国总统，便把筹码押在杜威身上而对其百般讨好，大大惹恼了杜鲁门。不料大选结果——杜鲁门连任总统。蒋介石懊悔不已。他想渐渐修复对美关系，11月9日曾写信给杜鲁门，希望美国政府一如既往地对他支持，还说什么“支持国民政府作战目标的是美国政策。如能见诸一篇坚决的宣言，将可维持军队的士气与人民的信心，因而加强中国政府的地位，以从事于正在北方与华中展开的大战”。他的这一要求，遭到杜鲁门不软不硬的拒绝。可他仍不甘心，要宋美龄出访美国游说。宋美龄与美国朝野关系密切，直接给国务卿马歇尔打电话要求访美。马歇尔颇为犹豫，只答应以私人身份接待。蒋介石明白，这实际上是对他的冷遇，他心里能好受吗？正是美国人此时的态度，使得他与李宗仁、白崇禧等辈越来越难相处了。他分明觉得，白崇禧的翅膀越来越硬了，不大听招呼了。黄维兵团被围，他想从武汉方面调宋希濂第十四兵团所属的二十军和二十八军，竟遭到白崇禧多方梗阻，后来虽经顾祝同出面疏通，勉强答应同意将部队调往华中，却又迟迟不肯放行，以致至今未曾起运。后来，蒋介石又向白崇禧商调第二军。这一回白崇禧使出更厉害的一手，你要调，我就辞职！He had to give up. 杜聿明此时很能体谅蒋介石的难处，既然黄维突围无望，南北对进受阻，别处的援军远水难救近火，剩下的唯一选择就是设法保存这支军队徐图发展了。怎样才能保存这支军队？像现在这样的打法，事实证明行不通。他又想起以前曾经多次考虑过的“守江必守淮”的计划，何不把部队撤离徐州，经永城、蒙城、涡阳、阜阳等地区，设法与黄维、李延年、刘汝明诸兵团会合，以淮河为依托，再同共军决一雌雄呢？但是，放弃徐州，蒋介石能接受吗？万一不能接受，又能用什么理由说服他呢？当初王耀武曾设想放弃济南背靠徐州再求发展。老实说，他内心是赞同王耀武的主张的，要是坚持那样做，或许王耀武不会遭遇那样的惨败，济南或许仍在国军手里。可是由于蒋介石出于个人的需要，执意不肯放弃济南，他只得违心地板着面孔同王耀武说话。结果，损兵折将不说，济南也白白送给了共军。今天，能说服蒋介石放弃徐州吗？他不敢存多大希望。机不可失，时不可待。也许这是最后的机会了，如果不抓住这稍纵即逝的机会，他手下的30多万将士，连同李延年、刘汝明两兵团，再加黄维兵团，除去已有的伤亡，少说还有五六十万人，那时很可能落得比王耀武更惨的下场。几十万将士的性命白白送掉不说，“守江必守淮”的计划也将成为泡影。 杜聿明怀着惴惴不安的心情走进黄埔路总统官邸会议室，只见顾祝同、何应钦、刘斐、王叔铭、郭忏、郭汝瑰、侯腾等党国要员已济济一堂，只等蒋介石到来。 顾祝同和郭汝瑰的一番谈话，使杜聿明大感意外，知道最高统帅部不再坚持固守徐州。这是他始料未及的。 趁蒋介石未到，顾祝同把杜聿明拉到一边，压低嗓门说：“光亭，局势危险啦，我们得另作计议！你看，如果决定先放弃徐州，出来再打，你们能不能安全撤出？” 杜聿明弄不清这是顾祝同个人的意见，还是国防部的意见，只简单地回答：“从徐州撤出问题不大，只是出来再打没有把握。不如把部队撤到涡阳、阜阳地区，以淮河为依托，既可进退自如，又可解黄维之围。” 顾祝同默然点头。 蒋介石到来后，即示意开会。郭汝瑰指着墙上的大幅军事地图，首先报告最新战况。当讲到华中战场时，他说：“目前徐蚌战场，南北两面都是共军坚固设防的纵深工事，我徐蚌各兵团攻击进展迟缓，至今未能突破共军防线。由于徐蚌铁路被共军切断，给我军后勤补给工作带来了极大困难，削弱了部队的战斗力。若在这种情形下继续攻击，必然旷日持久，徒增伤亡。因此，建议我军主力经徐州东南双沟、五河南下，与李延年、刘汝明兵团会师，以解黄维之围……” 杜聿明见蒋介石一直端坐不语，脑子里闪现的第一个念头就是——总部已作出放弃徐州的决策了，无须他多费唇舌。蒋介石不说话，正表明了他的默认，也难说不是他的授意。总部何以有这样的转变？他虽然想弄清楚，但更重要的是须尽快确认是否真要放弃徐州，同时不能接受走徐州东南这样的方案。他便当着蒋介石的面质问郭汝瑰：“你建议我徐州30万部队经双沟、五河南撤。可你想过没有，那一带尽是河流、湖沼、水网地带，你叫我大兵团如何行动？” 郭汝瑰没急于解释，倒是其他人急了。有的说：“走徐州东南是一条近路，离黄维兵团和李刘两兵团都不远，有什么不好？”有的说：“你倒说说你的高见！” 杜聿明避开众人的目光，暗暗地向顾祝同使了个眼色。 顾祝同会意地走到蒋介石旁边，小声说：“光亭有些话不便在会上讲，想单独和校长谈谈！” 蒋介石起身离开座位，同杜聿明一起步入旁边的一个小房间。 杜聿明感到，蒋介石不仅完全同意放弃徐州后经永城去淮南，而且完全同意在严格保密的条件下实施这一计划。同时使他宽慰的是，蒋介石此前决定派徐州“剿总”总司令刘峙立即到蚌埠建立“剿总”前进指挥所，主要负责指挥李延年、刘汝明两兵团和即将由武汉方面调来的宋希濂兵团作战，他就将不受任何掣肘地执行这次大撤退计划了。 杜聿明没在南京停留，当天即飞回徐州。刘峙已于11月27日奉命带了一伙人去了蚌埠，现在一切由他说了算。他仿佛又回到了一个多月前在东北葫芦岛指挥锦西国军部队撤退的情景，忽然觉得浑身是劲儿，信心十足。他要在举世关注的徐蚌战场上导演一出规模空前、充满悬念、跌宕起伏的战争悲喜剧，要像当初欺骗林彪那样，同样骗过刘伯承、陈毅、邓小平、粟裕、谭震林等共军高级领导人，把这次徐州大撤退干得更加漂亮、更加出色。 30多万人的大撤退，要做到不走漏风声，滴水不漏，绝非易事。 11月29日，撤退命令传达到各个部队。各部队立即投入了开拔前的紧张准备工作中。徐州以南的邱孙两兵团一如平日地继续向我军阵地发起猛攻。杜聿明得知解放军继续进行顽强抵抗，未见有任何异常之处，不禁得意地笑了。 11月30日，各部队按行军计划陆续上路，未发现有跟踪追击。 12月1日清晨，国民党撤出了最后一批部队，也未见解放军追击和拦截。浩浩荡荡的队伍如决堤的洪水，直向徐州西南方向奔拥而去。 杜聿明在计算着时日，假如再有一两日不被解放军发现，任何人也休想奈何他们了。一旦到了淮南地区，他们便可凭借淮河天然屏障，任意驰骋，进退自如。只要保住手中这点本钱，何愁将来不能翻本？ !他在期待着，一次远较葫芦岛大撤退更为惊心动魄的举世瞩目的人间奇迹，将在徐淮大地上出现。 但是，杜聿明高兴得太早了，他等来的是一场令他终生难忘的可怕的噩梦。他不得不承认自己犯了一个不可饶恕的轻敌错误，不得不承认这样一个严酷的事实——这里不是葫芦岛。由于他的轻敌和考虑不周，国军要付出惨重代价。 正在杜聿明沾沾自喜的时候，粟裕根据各方面报来的情况作出了准确判断，华野各纵队奉命向敌人发起勇猛追击。国共双方数十万大军在徐州西南广袤无垠的徐淮大地上卷起无边无际的尘土，又是一个在逃，一个在追，演绎出战争史上许多感人至深的故事。 粟裕为了准确判断杜聿明集团究竟往哪个方向逃跑，曾经连续七天七夜没有睡觉，以致突然晕倒在指挥岗位上。经医生检查，他得的是美尼尔氏综合征，需要立即安静地休息。等粟裕苏醒以后，医生告诉他需要休息。他说，休息可以，等打完仗再说。粟裕带病坚持指挥，直到战役结束时病倒。 许多年后，粟裕曾同夫人楚青谈起淮海战役这段经历。他说：“我在解放战争的战役指挥中有三个最紧张的战役——宿北、豫东和淮海。而淮海战役中最紧张的是第二阶段。”“那个时候非常危险啊！尽管我们估计到了他们的撤退方向，却没有想到他们撤得这么快。有的纵队又突然失去联络，怎么也找不着了！万一让他们30万部队撤到淮南，问题就大啦！” 11月30日下午，活动在萧县一带的九纵侦察营，发现大批国民党部队从徐州方向开来，又向萧县西南方向开去。经过捕捉俘虏询问，他们得知徐州的国民党军将取道永城南撤，于是很快派人向纵队作了报告。12月1日，九纵奉命向西追击。此前，九纵在徐州以南，津浦路西侧至萧县以东阻击敌军，经过连续数昼夜激战，人困马乏。一接到追击命令，部队就立即整队出发，只有一个信念：一定要追上敌人，决不让敌人跑掉！部队官兵太疲劳了。不少战士追着追着，倒在路边就发出呼呼的鼾声。有的干部骑在马上睡着了，滚下马来还继续打呼噜。但官兵们不管多么困乏，不管睡得多么沉，一旦惊醒过来或被人叫醒，又立即飞快赶路。就这样，他们日夜不停地赶路，走一阵又跑一阵，跑一阵又走一阵，以令人难以置信的意志和速度猛追敌人，终于以两条腿又一次赶上并超过了敌人的汽车轱辘。 二十五师是九纵的先头部队。官兵们又困又乏，饥肠辘辘。二十五师师长肖镜海正和警卫员在一个村子里做饭，锅里的面条正在翻泡泡，眼看就可以下肚了。恰巧九纵司令员聂凤智路过。 “老肖，前面的敌人追上没有？”聂凤智问。