Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen

After the three major battles of Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin, on January 15, 1949, the Central Military Commission made a decision, and the various departments of the People's Liberation Army successively carried out unified reorganization. On February 9, 1949, the East China Field Army was officially renamed the Third Field Army. After the East China Field Army was reorganized into the Third Field Army, Chen Yi was the commander and political commissar, Su Yu was the deputy commander and second deputy political commissar, Tan Zhenlin was the first deputy political commissar, Zhang Zhen was the chief of staff, Tang Liang was the director of the political department, Liu Ruilong For the logistics commander and political commissar.The army governs seven, eight, nine, and ten four corps and one special forces column.

The Seventh Corps consisted of Wang Jianan as commander, Tan Qilong as political commissar, Ji Pengfei as deputy political commissar and director of the Political Department, and Li Yingxi as chief of staff.The Corps has jurisdiction over the 21st Army (under the jurisdiction of the 61st, 62nd, and 63rd Divisions), with Teng Haiqing as the commander and Kang Zhiqiang as the political commissar; the 22nd Army (under the jurisdiction of the 64th Division) , 65th, and 66th Divisions), with Sun Jixian as the commander and Ding Qiusheng as the political commissar; the 23rd Army (under the jurisdiction of the 67th, 68th, and 69th Divisions), Tao Yong served as the army commander, Lu Sheng served as the political commissar; the 35th Army (under the jurisdiction of the 103rd, 104th, and 105th divisions), Wu Huawen served as the army commander, and He Kexi served as the political commissar.

The Eighth Corps consisted of Chen Shiju as commander, Yuan Zhongxian as political commissar, Jiang Weiqing as deputy political commissar and director of the Political Department, and He Yixiang as chief of staff.The Corps governs the Twenty-Fourth Army (under the jurisdiction of the Seventieth, Seventy-first, and Seventy-Second Divisions), with Wang Bicheng as the commander and Liao Haiguang as the political commissar; the Twenty-fifth Army (under the jurisdiction of the Seventy-third, Seventy-fourth and Seventy-fifth Divisions), Cheng Jun served as the army commander, Huang Huxing served as the political commissar; the Twenty-sixth Army (under the jurisdiction of the Seventy-sixth, Seventy-seventh, and Seventy-eighth Divisions), Zhang Renchu ​​served as the army commander, Wang Yiping served as the political commissar; the 34th Army (under the jurisdiction of the 100th, 101st, and 102nd divisions), He Jifeng served as the army commander, and Zhao Qimin served as the political commissar.

Song Shilun was the commander of the Ninth Corps, Guo Huaruo was the political commissar, Qin Jian was the chief of staff, and Xie Youfa was the director of the Political Department.The Corps governs the Twentieth Army (under the jurisdiction of the 58th, 59th, and 60th Divisions), with Liu Fei as the commander and Chen Shifu as the political commissar; the 27th Army (under the jurisdiction of the 79th and 80th Divisions) , 81st Division), Nie Fengzhi as the commander, and Liu Haotian as the political commissar; the 30th Army (under the jurisdiction of the 88th, 89th, and 90th divisions), Xie Zhenhua as the commander, and Li Ganhui as the political commissar ; The 33rd Army (under the jurisdiction of the 97th, 98th, and 99th Divisions), Zhang Kexia served as the commander, and Han Nianlong served as the political commissar.

The Tenth Corps consisted of Ye Fei as commander, Wei Guoqing as political commissar, Chen Qingxian as chief of staff, and Liu Peishan as director of the Political Department.The Corps has jurisdiction over the 28th Army (82nd, 83rd, and 84th Divisions under its jurisdiction), with Zhu Shaoqing as its commander and Chen Meizao as its political commissar; the 29th Army (under its jurisdiction of the 85th, Eighty-sixth and Eighty-seventh Divisions), with Hu Bingyun as the commander and Zhang Fan as the political commissar; the 31st Army (under the jurisdiction of the 91st, 92nd and 93rd Divisions), Zhou Zhijian Served as army commander, Chen Huatang served as political commissar.

The designation of the special forces column remains unchanged, with Chen Ruiting as the commander and Zhang Kai as the political commissar. The armed forces of the Jiaodong Military Region were organized into the 32nd Army (under the jurisdiction of the 94th and 95th Divisions), with Tan Xilin as the commander and Peng Lin as the political commissar. The army was temporarily under the command of the East China Military Region (later transferred in February 1950 Under the command of the Tenth Corps of the Third Field Army).The Guangdong and Guangxi Columns were assigned to the Fourth Field Army, with Zeng Sheng as the commander and Lei Jingtian as the political commissar.At this time, the East China Military Region had about 420,000 people, and the Third Field Army had about 580,000 people.

The Third Field Army, which was tasked with crossing the river, first studied Mao Zedong's New Year's message "Carrying the Revolution Through to the End" on the spot, conducted political training for a month, and then went south to the river.From northern Anhui to the shores of the East China Sea in northern Jiangsu, troops crossing the river are everywhere holding determination meetings for crossing the south of the Yangtze River, commending heroes and models, and marching competitions.What is particularly touching is that at the South Expedition Conference, representatives of each army were elected, stood in front of the portraits of Chairman Mao and Commander-in-Chief Zhu, held the battle flag tightly, and solemnly raised their hands to swear an oath.After the determination meeting was held, various ministries went to the riverside one after another to start large-scale military training. On February 11, the Central Military Commission approved the General Front Committee's preliminary deployment and troop training plan for the crossing of the river, and believed that this time our million-strong army crossing the south of the Yangtze River was related to the overall victory.Therefore, the General Front Committee of the Huaihai Campaign still performs military leadership and combat duties.

On the morning of March 22, Sunjiaxuzi, south of Bengbu.The sun just showed a smiling face, and the village was covered with a layer of transparent water mist, as if covering the small village in a glass cover.Soon, the mist dissipated, and all the farmers in the village were stunned.It turned out that the village was surrounded by soldiers.Not only soldiers, but also dozens of jeeps parked on the threshing ground and on the side of the road.The villagers couldn't figure it out, how did these heavenly soldiers and generals come here overnight?To their surprise, these soldiers all had pistols on their waists, and the older they got, the smaller the pistols.Afterwards, they found out that this was a meeting of senior cadres above the Corps held by the General Front Committee of the People's Liberation Army's Battle of Crossing the River here. The senior cadres and accompanying security personnel who attended the meeting were all carrying pistols.

The meeting was held in the small ancestral hall.A square table made of several briefcases was covered with a large white cloth, and two rows of red-lacquered chairs were placed on either side of the table. A huge strategic map of the Yangtze River region occupied one wall.The venue was filled with smoke and laughter.Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi, Tan Zhenlin, Li Da, and Zhang Zhen were sitting on red-painted chairs. Deng Xiaoping, secretary of the General Front Committee, presided over the meeting, and Wang De, chief of staff of the three fields, led five or six staff members to take notes. Deng Xiaoping made a report on the "Outline for the Implementation of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Campaign" to the conference.He used his strong Sichuan dialect and his steady and powerful tone to make a high-level summary: "Comrades, the great battle of crossing the river is about to begin. Neither Chiang Kai-shek nor Li Zongren are willing to give up half of the country. What plan do they want to do?" The river is ruled, lingering. Chairman Mao Zedong is familiar with Chinese history, and of course he does not want to let the history of the Northern and Southern Dynasties repeat in modern China. For thousands of years, the feudal emperors who established their capitals in Nanjing have dreamed of relying on the natural danger of the Yangtze River to achieve long-term peace and prosperity. But , from Soochow of the Three Kingdoms to the Southern Tang Dynasty, the emperors of the seven dynasties who established their capitals in Shicheng did not escape the fate of extinction. Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren's plan to rule the river is a daydream!" He picked up the small wooden stick and pointed at the huge The map said, "The battle of crossing the river is the strategic goal of our army. With the second and third field armies, we will wipe out all or most of the Jiang army in Shanghai, Zhenjiang, Nanjing, Wuhu, Anqing and other places and the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, and occupy southern Jiangsu and Anhui. Ministry and the entire province of Zhejiang, seize Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, and completely destroy the political and economic center of the reactionary Kuomintang government."

At this time, the atmosphere at the venue became active, and everyone was encouraged by the brilliant prospect and couldn't restrain their excitement.Chen Yi said loudly: "Well said, the Yangtze River is nothing special! Regardless of war or peace, crossing the river to liberate the whole of China is certain! Comrades, come on, whoever crosses the river first, I, Chen Yi, will write a lyrics for him!" Tan Zhenlin waved his fists and said, "Xiaoping is right. We have to cross the river after the peace talks; if the peace talks fail, we have to cross the river too. To cross the Yangtze River, our determination to liberate the whole of China remains unchanged. Our only task now is to Train troops across the river!"

Liu Bocheng corrected with a smile: "I can't say that Jiang is the only task now. You three will fight Shanghai after crossing the river. That is a big bone." Then, he looked at Chen Yi and said, "You, Chen Yi, have to prepare a pair of Good teeth to gnaw bones!" Deng Xiaoping analyzed that after our army successfully crossed the river, the following changes may occur in the enemy army: (1) Shrink troops in the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou triangle area and the Nanjing and Wuhu areas, control the key points in Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wuhu, Zhenjiang, and Wuxi, and gather troops to advance with us when the distance between our eastern and western armies is still far away. The corps on the eastern front on the Beijing-Shanghai line engaged in a decisive battle, and all the troops west of Wuhu retreated to the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line to protect their retreat. (2) Withdraw back.The first line is to deploy defensive lines in Wuxi, Nanjing, Wuhu and the areas to the south, use the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway to quickly transfer troops to control along the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, ensure the two key points of Nanjing and Wuhu, and seek to cut off the connection between our eastern and western armies, and then depending on the situation, Either fight us decisively in the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou triangle area, or retreat to fight us decisively on the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, or make a strategic retreat along the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line. (3) Voluntarily abandon the Wujin, Zhenjiang, Nanjing, and Wuhu areas.All enemy lines along the river retreat southward to the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line and the coastal areas of Wuxi, Shanghai, and Hangzhou in order to use the railways and Haikou for tenacious resistance or for an orderly retreat. (4) When the situation is not conducive to retreat, stick to the various points in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou in order to resist. (5) As long as our army successfully crosses the river, no matter what the enemy does, the situation of the battle will change in our favor, and it may turn into a situation where the enemy is completely in chaos. After Deng Xiaoping's analysis, he lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and then conveyed the combat deployment of the General Front Committee: (1) Su Yu and Zhang Zhen lead the Sanye commander-in-chief organization to directly command the main forces of the 8th and 12th Corps of the Sanye, a total of six armies and three independent brigades, from Zhanghuanggang to Longshaogang and from the port , Sanjiangying, and Jingkou sections implement river crossing.In addition, the 34th and 35th armies of the Eighth Corps, at the same time as the battle was launched, used active feints to attract and restrain the enemies of Liangpu. (2) Under the command of Tan Zhenlin, the Seventh and Ninth Corps of Sanye, cross the river from Yuxikou to Yaogou and from Yaogou to Zongyang Town. (3) The second field crosses the river from Zongyang Town to Wangjiang. After crossing the river, in addition to annihilating the enemy in front of it, a corps should be sent to advance as fast as possible to Quzhou on the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line and the area to the west and north to firmly control the enemy. A section of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway and the Tunxi North-South Highway cut off the enemy's retreat. (4) After each unit has successfully crossed the river, troops should be dispatched to support the left and right friendly and neighboring corps to cross the river.Each unit should keep in touch with friendly neighbors, exchange information, cooperate closely, and actively support friendly neighbors in operations. During the Battle of Huaihai, Su Yu was in a coma due to overwork, especially brain fatigue. At the end of February, Su Yu was recuperating in Jinan. Therefore, he did not attend the Sunjiaweizi General Front Committee meeting from the very beginning. On March 28, near the end of the meeting, he came from Jinan to attend.The original deployment of our army's cross-river operations focused on the section from Wuhu to Anqing, so the command position of the Sanye was set in Hefei, and the General Front Committee, the East China Bureau, and the East China Military Region were together with the Sanye Command.Su Yu believed that the section from Wuhu to Anqing, where the river was narrow and the enemy's defense force was relatively weak, was right to be the main section for our army to cross the river.However, the enemy's Yangtze River defense line is focused on the Nanjing-Shanghai section, and the Beijing (Nanjing) Shanghai Railway is an important lifeline for its connection.Our army must take advantage of the favorable conditions that the Beijing-Shanghai Yangzhong-Jiangyin section is parallel to the Yangtze River, and use the Yangzhong-Jiangyin section as the focus of the east-front crossing attack.Therefore, the troops must prepare to fight a fierce battle in the triangle area of ​​Jiangyin, Wuxi and Changzhou after crossing the river.In order to strengthen the key command on the eastern front, the Sanye Command should not be placed in Hefei, but should be moved eastward to the Taizhou area for command. The General Front Committee agreed with Su Yu’s opinion, and thus formed the command system for crossing the river: Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi were permanently stationed at the General Front Committee, and the East China Bureau and the East China Military Region were located in Yaogang, Hefei, to take charge of the overall situation; Liu Bocheng, Zhang Jichun (second field deputy political commissar) Director of the Political Department), Li Da (Chief of Staff of the Second Field) in Shucheng (later moved to Tongcheng) commanded the West Group composed of three regiments of the Second Field and the Advance Corps of the Fourth Field Army; Su Yu and Zhang Zhen (Chief of Staff of the Three Fields) were in Taizhou Baima Temple commanded the East Group composed of the Eighth and Tenth Corps of the Sanye; Tan Zhenlin commanded the Central Group composed of the Seventh and Ninth Corps of the Sanye in Wuwei (after crossing the river, he was under the command of Su Yu and Zhang Zhen).Practice has proved that this change is very clever. After the meeting, Su Yu and Zhang Zhen led the Sanye Command to command at Baima Temple in Taizhou; Liu Bocheng and Li Da led the Second Field Command to station in Tongcheng, Anhui; Chen Yi, Deng Xiaoping, and Shu Tong led the General Front Committee and the East China Bureau to Accompanied by Zeng Xisheng and others, they went to Yaogang in the eastern suburb of Hefei.The first important thing that Chen and Deng did when they went to Yaogang was to revise the "Outline for the Implementation of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Campaign" and report it to the Central Military Commission on April 1. On April 3, the Central Military Commission replied: "Maodong telegram. Agreed with the "Outline for the Implementation of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Campaign." It also agreed with the General Front Committee's suggestion that 120,000 troops from the two armies of the 12th Army Corps of the Four Fields entered the Wuhan area. , to contain the Bai Chongxi Group, together with the Jianghan, Tongbai, and Eyu Military Regions, a total of about 200,000 people, part of the troops occupied Xishui, Qichun, Huangmei and other areas to contain the enemies in Jiujiang and ensure the safety of the right wings of the two groups; the other part of the troops Occupy the outer gardens, Xiaogan, and Huangpi of Wuhan, creating a situation of attacking and seizing Wuhan, and preparing to cross the south of the Yangtze River from Wuhan to Jiujiang. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Su Yu led his troops to cross the river from Nanjing to Jiangyin three times. He was very familiar with the water regime of the Yangtze River, the terrain on both sides of the river, and the people's conditions.Standing in front of a 1:50,000 military map, he made repeated calculations, and analyzed and compared the selection of a breakthrough site with the enemy's deep development, detour, and encirclement and annihilation of the enemy.At the combat meeting, he talked about his vision.He said: "After Sanye breaks through the Jiang defense, the first step is to encircle and wipe out the enemies in Nanjing, Wuhu, and Zhenjiang, and carefully organize the four armies on the Eastern Front (East Group) to break through the Jiang defense from the Sanjiang camp to the Zhanghuanggang section and cut off the Beijing-Shanghai railway. , to enter between the enemies in Beijing and Shanghai. This is very important for cooperating with the Western Front (Central Group) to encircle the enemy in the Nanjing area, and it is extremely beneficial to the entire campaign. No matter how difficult it is, we must overcome difficulties, resolutely fight this battle, and cut the Tang Enbo Group into two pieces. According to the fatal weakness of the enemy's weak defense in depth, we can also complete this task." Su Yu repeatedly calculated the distance between the Eastern Group (Eastern Line) and the Central Group (Western Line) to encircle the enemy after crossing the river, as well as the possible routes and distances for the enemies in Beijing, Zhen, and Wu to retreat.The section of the Yangtze River from Wuhu to Jiangyin bends in an arc to the north, which is a favorable condition for our east line (Jingjiang, Taixing) and west line (Wuwei, Tongling) to carry out a pincer assault on the enemy in the Nanjing area.We broke through the river defense on the east front and pointed directly at Wuxi Caoqiao by the Taihu Lake. The distance between the two places is only forty to fifty kilometers. If the battle goes well, we can break through in two or three days.If our army succeeds in instigating internal rebellion against the enemy in the Jiangyin Fortress, it will only take a day or two to cut off the enemy's channel from Nanjing to Shanghai.After our troops on the western front broke through the Jiang defense, they moved eastward to the Guangde and Changxing areas for about 150 to 200 kilometers. If the battle goes well, it will take about five days to cut off the enemy's passage from Nanjing to Hangzhou.He estimated that the enemy in the Nanjing area would not easily abandon Nanjing, and would only withdraw from Nanjing under the threat of severe punishment from our army's pincer attack.The direction of his escape was first to use the Beijing-Shanghai Railway to flee to Shanghai.If our main force on the east line quickly cuts off the Beijing-Shanghai Railway and blocks the enemy's eastward escape route, the enemy will flee along the Beijing-Hangzhou National Highway towards Hangzhou.It is 140 kilometers from Nanjing to Changxing and Guangde, and the journey will take four or five days. Since our army will be blocked by the enemy along the way, roads and bridges will be damaged, and there are some mountainous areas, the speed of advance will be affected to a certain extent.However, the enemy's determination to flee to Hangzhou will be at least a day or two later than our army's landing.Therefore, there is a possibility that our army will arrive first or arrive at the Changxing and Guangde areas at the same time as the enemy.If our troops on the eastern front fight well and advance towards Yixing and Liyang, cutting off the Beijing-Hangzhou highway, they may also arrive before the troops on the western front.Based on the above judgment, Su Yu advocated that the section from Sanjiangying to Zhanghuanggang on the east line should also be regarded as a key breakthrough area.In order to better play the role of the four armies that had fought in the north and south of the river, he decided to transfer the 23rd Army and the 20th Army, which were familiar with the situation in central and southern Jiangsu, to the Central Group's Seventh and Ninth Corps respectively. The command of the Tenth and Eighth Corps of the Eastern Group transferred the 24th Army and the 25th Army, which were familiar with the situation in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang border area and southern Anhui, from the Eighth Corps of the Eastern Group to the command of the Seventh and Ninth Corps of the Central Group. Strengthen the assault forces on the two fronts.Su Yu's above opinion was endorsed by the General Front Committee. Su Yu thoroughly analyzed the situation between the enemy and ourselves and the battlefield conditions, and proposed to use the eastern front as a key breakthrough area.In fact, it is like inserting a steel knife into the heart of the Kuomintang Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Security Command.Our army first cut off the Beijing-Shanghai Railway and cut the Tang Enbo Group into two sections, so that the enemy in Nanjing in the west section could not escape to Shanghai.Then the two groups of East and China marched from east to west, and then cut off the Beijing-Hangzhou National Highway, so that the enemy in Nanjing lost the opportunity to flee south to Hangzhou, and our army could catch a turtle in the urn.This plan was proved to be completely correct by the implementation of the subsequent campaign. 1949 was the most exciting year for the Chinese people. In February, a million troops of the People's Liberation Army drank their horses to the Yangtze River, preparing to cross the turbulent Yangtze River and liberate the whole of China.Ye Fei was treated and recuperated in Jinan because of severe kala-azar, and he felt very regretful that he did not participate in the Huaihai Campaign.When the good news came that our army wiped out more than 555,000 enemies in the Huaihai Campaign, Ye Fei also defeated kala-azar.When Ye Fei returned to the army, the East China Field Army had been reorganized into the Third Field Army, and Ye Fei served as the commander of the Tenth Corps.Since the Battle of Menglianggu, Ye Fei has actually shouldered the responsibility of the commander of the temporary corps, sometimes commanding two columns to fight, sometimes commanding four columns to fight, but there is no formal corps formation.As soon as Ye Fei took office, he and Wei Guoqing, the political commissar of the Corps, went to the headquarters of the front committee of the Yaogang General Committee in Hefei to participate in the combat meeting of the Battle of Crossing the River.Deng Xiaoping, Secretary of the General Front Committee, Chen Yi, Commander of the Three Fields, and Su Yu, Deputy Commander, respectively made reports on the situation and tasks of the Battle of Crossing the River.After hearing these reports, Ye Fei suddenly became more open-minded. As soon as Chen Yi saw Ye Fei, who had just recovered from a serious illness, he patted his thin shoulder and said, "Looking at your pale face, I can tell that your body has not fully recovered. You must have been discharged from the hospital after arguing with the doctor, right?" "Keep your voice down, your physical condition is also a secret." Ye Fei said in a low voice, "Commander Chen, don't shout loudly. Commander Ruosu will definitely ask me to go back to the hospital if he knows about it. I didn't participate in the Huaihai Campaign. I regret it for half my life, if I can't participate in the last battle of crossing the river, then I will regret it for the rest of my life!" Chen Yi said with a smile, "Okay, I won't talk about it for now." Then, his face became serious, and he said seriously, "Your tenth regiment's task of crossing the river is very difficult. You want to cut off the Beijing-Shanghai Railway and occupy the Soviet Union. South, liberate Shanghai, and completely destroy the political and economic center of the reactionary Kuomintang government. You must prepare well before the war, and you can succeed in one fell swoop with sufficient preparation!" Ye Fei said in a loud voice: "Commander Chen, please rest assured that our Tenth Corps dares to issue a military order to guarantee success in one fell swoop, and we will definitely fight across the Yangtze River on time!" Chen Yi was very satisfied. He patted Ye Fei's shoulders and said, "Ye Fei, are you 35 years old this year? However, I think your revolutionary drive has not diminished when you went east to Shanghai to fight devils!" Ye Fei touched his head and smiled. Ye Fei and Wei Guoqing were ordered to return to the Taizhou Corps headquarters, and before they had time to catch their breath, they called the military-level leading cadres of the four armies of the Tenth Corps to hold a battle meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, Ye Fei did not gossip, but straight to the point to convey to everyone the "Outline for the Implementation of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Campaign" formulated by Deng Xiaoping and approved by the Central Military Commission. After listening to the "Outline" read by Ye Fei, everyone prepared to start the discussion as usual.Unexpectedly, Ye Fei waved his hand and said: "The symposium will be placed later. To cross the Yangtze River, one must understand the Yangtze River. Let's go to the riverside now to see the Yangtze River and understand the terrain." The opposite bank is the enemy's position. For safety and concealment, Ye Fei asked everyone to go there in plain clothes.Everyone followed Ye Fei and walked towards the river.When they came to the river, they looked across the binoculars at the opposite bank, and saw the undulating peaks over there. Ye Fei and Tao Yong have a common hobby - like classical poetry.Seeing this majestic torrential river, Tao Yong's imagination was filled with emotion, and he couldn't help saying to Ye Fei: "In this situation, don't you feel that the ancient poem 'The great river goes east, the waves wash away, and the romantic people of the ages' is chanting at this time, Is there a special sense of intimacy?" Looking at the Yangtze River, Ye Fei felt more deeply. He said, "I think Xin Qiji's "Water Dragon Song" is closer to this scene." After that, he faced the Yangtze River and sang this "Water Dragon Song": After Ye Fei finished singing, everyone applauded and praised: "Well done, well done!" Ye Fei stared at the river and said with emotion: "This poem is very ideological. Xin Qiji has integrated the ideal of unifying the motherland, the grief and indignation of unfulfilled ambitions, the hatred for the invasion of the Jin Dynasty, and the dissatisfaction with the capitulators, all into this poem. Only Bai'er Bashi's words can be described as highly generalized!" "Well said, well said!" All the generals couldn't help but speak in unison. Ye Fei is no stranger to the Yangtze River. In October 1939, he led the Jiang resistance troops to withdraw from the Yangcheng Lake base to Yangzhong, and then crossed the river north from Yangzhong to go to Guocun; In October 1945, he led four columns to cross the river from Danyang to Changzhou, and went north to Lianzhou. water.Counting, this is the fourth time crossing the river. Facing the torrential river, Ye Fei recalled the time when he crossed the river in October 1945. Hearing the news that the New Fourth Army was about to withdraw to the north, Ye Fei flocked to Ye Fei’s residence and told him tearfully, “Commander Ye, can you Call back sooner! The people in Jiangnan look forward to your return one day sooner!" Ye Fei fought in southern Jiangsu for many years, traveled all over Maoshan, Yangcheng Lake, Tianmu Mountain, and both sides of the Fuchun River, and formed a life and death relationship with the people here.When it comes to crossing the river, the people's instructions seem to be just yesterday. To cross the Yangtze River, Ye Fei had this idea as early as June 1947.That was just after the Battle of Menglianggu, in order to attract enemies from Shandong and the Central Plains to the south of the Yangtze River, and at the same time create conditions for a large-scale crossing of the river, Mao Zedong once ordered Ye Fei to lead the first and fourth columns to go south to Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi, creating the Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi base.Ye Fei still had a fresh memory of the sentence "For confidentiality, please burn it after reading" in that telegram. In January 1948, Mao Zedong ordered Su Yu and Ye Fei to lead the No. 1, No. 4, and No. 6 columns to go south, and sent Yan Zhenheng, the chief of the reconnaissance section of the Field Division, to lead the reconnaissance battalion to conduct investigations along the river along with the advance column that was preparing to go south, and drew a topography map of the military points. Hu Bingyun interrupted Ye Fei's recollection, he said with a smile: "Minister of National Defense of the Kuomintang government Bai Chongxi said that 'the Yangtze River has been a natural danger since ancient times, if the Communist Party can cross the Yangtze River, unless the sun comes out from the west', this is really a fool's dream and an exaggeration. I think that although the Yangtze River is big, it is not insurmountable. I guarantee that all the commanders and fighters of our 29th Army can swim across it!" Ye Fei said solemnly: "This statement is not entirely true. Although we have crossed the Yangtze River many times before, it was a period of guerrilla warfare and the Japanese army's defenses were not strict. In addition, we were a small-scale smuggling with a small number of people. It is easy to succeed. Today is not what it used to be, this time we are going to organize millions of troops to cross the river, and the enemy is taking double precautions. Therefore, I remind everyone, don’t be careless!” Mei Jiasheng said sadly: "Commander Ye is right. When it comes to crossing the river, we must not forget Comrade Wei Yiping." Speaking of Wei Yiping, Ye Fei immediately felt very heavy. That was in October 1945, when the New Fourth Army was ordered to withdraw northward.Wei Yiping, who was the political commissar of the Four Verticals at the time, led a total of more than 800 cadres from the administrative organs and the two prefectural committees in southern Jiangsu to cross the river east of Zhenjiang.Due to the overload of the ship, the ship sank suddenly in the middle of the river, and none of the more than 800 people survived.Ye Fei, Hui Yuyu, and Xia Guang were planning to cross the river on this boat.At that time, Wei Yiping joked with them that if they took this boat together, he would kill chickens to satisfy their greed. Although the old hens are delicious, they can't go together due to business.Therefore, Hui Yuyu said: "An old hen is not enough for our teeth, let him enjoy it alone!" At that time, four people laughed. Now, Ye Fei felt that the laughter was still there, but Wei Yiping had passed away. Mei Jiasheng brought up the old story again, and Ye Fei sighed: "Wei Yiping is a good cadre of our party, and the elder who was the first to open up base areas in northern Jiangsu. His sacrifice is a great loss for the party." Wei Yiping is a native of Hainan. He participated in the Baise Uprising led by Zhang Yunyi and Deng Xiaoping in his early years, and then went to the Central Soviet Area with the Seventh Red Army.After he joined the revolution, he forgot his personal interests in public and worked hard, worked hard, and worked hard for the revolution loyally. Also died on the same boat as Wei Yiping was Li Jianmo, the founder of the Changshu Minkang.After the old Sixth Regiment went east to Yangcheng Lake, relying on his enthusiastic help, they established a foothold in Yangcheng Lake.He is a meritorious minister in Jiangnan's resistance against Japan. At the same time, Wu Zhicheng, Wang Yi, Situ Yang and other intellectuals from Shanghai to the Soviet area also died.After years of training, they have all grown into outstanding cadres of the party. Looking back on the past, Ye Fei said sadly: "These outstanding cadres of the party did not die in the hail of bullets, but died in the accident of the ship sinking due to overloading of the ship. This lesson is too painful! We cross the river this time, and everyone must learn from it. For this lesson, we must make full preparations, raise more boats, and practice our swimming skills." Returning to Taizhou Corps Headquarters from the river, they continued their meeting and discussion.Ye Fei asked everyone about the preparations for crossing the river and what difficulties still existed.Finally, in his concluding speech, he asked everyone to do three things well.First, carry out political training.He said: "Some comrades believe that the main force of the Kuomintang has been almost wiped out by us after the three major battles of Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin. We are negotiating, and the main force of the Kuomintang has been wiped out, and there are not many left. Maybe the Kuomintang is willing to take the road of peaceful national construction, and there will be no big battles when crossing the river." Ye Fei said seriously, "All these ideas are to underestimate the enemy and paralyze Everything must be overcome!" He asked the commanders and fighters to organize everyone to connect with reality, study Mao Zedong's 1949 New Year's speech "Carrying the Revolution Through to the End", tell everyone the story of the farmer and the snake, and expose the peaceful conspiracy played by the Kuomintang, so that the masses Commanders and fighters recognize the facts, must carry the revolution to the end, and must not give up halfway! The second thing Ye Fei wants everyone to focus on is to carry out military training.Our army has fought in the northern plains and mountains for a long time in the past, and lacks combat experience in areas with water networks in the south of the Yangtze River. In particular, there are too many comrades in the north, and we have never seen a river as wide as the Yangtze River, which is several miles or even tens of miles.Therefore, the army had "ten fears" for crossing the river at that time, namely: first, the Yangtze River was boundless, with no wind and three feet of waves, and it would be difficult for officers and soldiers to pass through seasickness; second, the boat was small and wooden; Especially afraid of encountering gunboats, the team cannot maneuver in the water; fourth, we are afraid of enemy bombing and strafing, we cannot shoot into the air, and we cannot avoid it; Sixth, I am afraid of sea mines; Seventh, I am afraid of being injured when crossing the river and cannot be treated in the river; Eighth, I am afraid of being a commando, and I am afraid of fighting with my back in the water after landing; Nine, I am afraid of losing my way; One weighs half a catty", the snake is thicker than the mouth of a large bowl. Ye Fei said: "The 'ten fears' that everyone has, some are common sense issues, and some are tactical issues. If they are not properly resolved, it will be difficult to complete the task of crossing the river. In these cases, the troops carried out large-scale training on the riverside. Finally, it can be solved." He asked everyone to experience it in practice during the training, relieve their ideological concerns, and be familiar with a whole set of tactics for crossing the river and fighting in the water network area. The third task Ye Fei mentioned was to raise ships.The river surface where our army crossed the Yangtze River is more than 10 miles wide, and the narrowest part is more than 3 miles.Ships are the only means for us to cross the river, and the civilian ships on both sides of the Yangtze River were looted by the Kuomintang a few months ago.Therefore, there must have been many difficulties in recruiting ships.Ye Fei asked each army to raise at least four to five thousand ships.After having a ship, a group of sailors must be trained, and each army must train 700 sailors. When raising ships, Ye Fei asked all armies to send reconnaissance teams to sneak into the south of the Yangtze River, find out the enemy's river defense fortifications and deployment of troops, and choose a breakthrough point for landing, laying the foundation for a successful landing in one fell swoop.After the reconnaissance units of the 23rd Army and 28th Army crossed the river, they not only drew the enemy's river defense fortifications and the distribution of troops, but also captured several prisoners, providing living materials for our army to cross the river. The armies arrived along the river and launched intense ship planning, training, and reconnaissance work.Among them, the reconnaissance work was carried out by the 27th Army the earliest and the most frequently.How did they get ahead of others? It was one morning in mid-March, and Army Commander Nie Fengzhi went to the command post of Linjiangba in Wuwei County to check the preparations for crossing the river.At noon, the steward brought three dishes and one soup: a plate of scrambled eggs with leeks, a plate of fried vegetables, a plate of fried shredded pork with bamboo shoots, and a large bowl of broad bean and tofu soup.Nie Fengzhi looked at the seasonal vegetables on the table in surprise, and couldn't help asking: "Director, you are quite capable! Where did you get these leeks, bamboo shoots, and broad bean flaps? These are all from Jiangnan. Yes!" Before the Chief of Staff could answer, Captain Zhou, who was accompanying him, stepped in and said to Nie Fengzhi with a smile: "Commander, we are separated by a river from Jiangnan, but Jiangnan and Jiangbei are very different. These fresh vegetables are from the past few days. One night when I sent scouts across the river to spy on the enemy, they picked them up from the ground. The enemy didn’t come across one, so the enemy didn’t detect the situation, but they got these by-products. The army commander is lucky, so I let you meet. " Unexpectedly, Nie Fengzhi lowered his face, stared at him, and said angrily: "It's outrageous! You have broken the discipline of the masses, how can the cross-river scouts pull vegetables from the common people's fields?" Head Zhou blushed, knowing he was wrong, and lowered his head, he said, "It's because I didn't have enough education. In the future, I must strengthen the discipline education of the troops to ensure that I will not repeat the crime." Nie Fengzhi calmed down and said: "That's right. If you cross the river in the future, if you have a chance to find the owner, you have to pay the price." After that, he thought for a while, and said to the head of the group, "Through this matter, I have given me two dollars. First, this shows that the Yangtze River is not terrible. As long as there are tools for crossing the river, it is absolutely possible to cross the river; second, the enemy on the other side of the river is not monolithic. With the preparation work, our large forces can land." Commander Zhou nodded and said, "Commander is right!" Nie Fengzhi said: "The most urgent thing is that we need to send a battalion to conduct reconnaissance, understand the enemy's situation, terrain, water conditions, and people's conditions deep along the river, and choose a landing point." Nie Fengzhi left the Linjiang command post, and on the way back to the military headquarters, he discussed with Liu Yan, the director of operations, and talked about his own ideas.As soon as he arrived at the military headquarters, he immediately discussed with Liu Haotian, the political commissar, and decided to organize an advance brigade to cross the river, with a total of 300 people. Sirong is the deputy captain. On the evening of April 6, when the sky was pitch black, Nie Fengzhi and Liu Haotian came to the riverside to see off the advance brigade crossing the river.Zhang Chen and Mu Sirong led all the team members, bid farewell to the army commander and political commissar, boarded the wooden boat, and sailed to the opposite bank. They boarded the opposite bank in about an hour.In Mount Daigong, they found Luo Yuying, an underground member of the Communist Party of China. Under her leadership, they ran for 200 miles and joined the guerrillas in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui and the Yanjiang detachment in Yunling Town, the former headquarters of the New Fourth Army.Detachment leader Chen Hong and political commissar Sun Zongrong took the team members and took the scouts to the homes of the masses.This area used to be the area where the New Fourth Army was active. The news of the arrival of the PLA's advance brigade was like a spring thunder. When the people in the mountainous area of ​​southern Anhui heard that their team had returned, they rushed to tell each other.They welcomed their relatives to the People's Liberation Army just like they welcomed their relatives to the New Fourth Army back then. Empty shops gave up houses, boiled water for cooking, and delivered eggs and vegetables...every household was like celebrating the New Year, and there were laughter and laughter everywhere.With the assistance of guerrillas and ordinary people, the advance brigade established more than 20 workstations, and had a clear picture of the enemy's designation and firepower configuration along the river such as Shizishan, Shujiadian, and Jingjie.Then, they continuously sent the detected enemy situation back to the military headquarters by radio.The military department also promptly reported to the Sanye Command and the General Front Committee. On the evening of April 20, when the 27th Army launched the operation to cross the river, the advance brigade cooperated with the main force to cross the river, set fire in the enemy-occupied area as a mark, and instructed the artillery to shoot the target.And suddenly fired from behind the enemy, making the enemy unprepared.They seized positions, occupied hilltops, cut wires, destroyed the enemy headquarters, rushed left and right, and beat the enemy to panic.After the liberation of the whole country, novelists and playwrights used this reconnaissance advance team as the prototype to create movie scripts and filmed the feature film "Reconnaissance across the River", which caused a national sensation. The biggest difficulty for the PLA to cross the river is the lack of a large number of ships.Without a boat, how can a million troops cross the river?However, the enemy had already burned all the ships along the river.解放军四处寻找，费尽了周折，才筹集了一批木船。然后他们又自己动手，用土法马上造了一批。 当时，三野筹集了8000多只木船，修造了无数木排、竹筏、担架船、机帆船、三角芦苇、竹竿盘等各种渡江工具。有了这些工具，部队便在离江不远的河、港汊里进行紧张的渡江训练工作。 渡江工具解决了，这只是完成了渡江准备工作的第一步。接着就要解决水手问题。三野除训练干部、战士的水上功夫外，还给每条船配备一名政治上可行、技术上过硬的船工。到哪里去物色这么多船工呢？他们根据总前委提出的要依靠群众解决船工的口号，想依靠群众解决困难。苏北、皖北一带在抗日战争时期是新四军活动的地方，有较好的群众基础。而且，这里的政府机关建得较早。所以，当这里的地方政府得到部队缺船工的消息后，以一种责无旁贷的精神，大张旗鼓地发动群众支前，动员和训练了一大批船工、水手。他们表示，一定要把大军送过江，一定要当“渡江第一船”。 All is ready except for the opportunity.准备工作就绪后，单等军委一声令下。可是，军委的命令却是根据当时国共谈判情况而下的。 4月1日，国共和谈开始，经十余天的交换意见，于4月13日晚9时举行会议。双方代表准时到达中南海勤政殿，在一张长条桌两边相对而坐。会谈开始，首先由周恩来对《国内和平协定》草案作说明。周恩来首先说明，协议中必须叙述历史的责任。因为南京国民政府在美国的支持下，违背了全国人民的意志，破坏“停战协定”和政协决议，在反共名义下发动全国规模的战争，已给全国人民造成了空前的灾难，完全丧失了人民的信任。所以，战争的全部责任应该由南京国民政府承担。因为这是个历史性的协议，是保证今后国内和平的一个文件，所以必须在条款的前文里说明这个责任。 其次，周恩来对协议草案中的各项条款作了详细说明： 第一条，惩办战争罪犯。原则上规定在这次战争中的主要战犯必须惩办，但中共采取了宽大的办法，即一切战犯，不问何人，如能认清是非，幡然悔悟，出于真心实意，确有事实表现，而有利于中国人民解放事业之推进，有利于用和平方法解决国内问题者，可以取消战犯罪名，给予宽大待遇。对蒋介石，如果他能做到这一条，那么也照这样办。但对于那些怙恶不悛，阻碍人民解放事业的发展，不利于用和平方法解决国内问题，或者策动叛乱者，应予从严惩办。 第二、三条，废除伪宪法、伪法统问题。由于“伪国大”是违背政府协议召开的，是非法的，所以由它产生的伪宪法也是非法的，毫无疑问应该完全废除，但这自然是不大容易。 第四条，依据民主的原则改编一切反动军队问题。计划分两个阶段进行。第一阶段是集中整训，按照原编制、番号、人数，根据各地区情况，分区分期开赴指定地点集中整训，一律与解放军同等待遇。第二阶段是分区改编，即改编为人民解放军正规军。因此项工作艰巨，需相当长的时间，所以需要设置一个整编委员会，国共双方派员参加，但中共的委员多数任主任，国民党的委员任副主任。整编委员会应向中共人民革命军事委员会负责。 第五条，没收官僚资本问题。对于那些倚仗特权及豪门势力而获得或侵占的财产予以没收；凡规模不大，对国计民生没有害处的企业并不没收。 第六条，改革土地制度。应有步骤地进行，先减租减息，再分配土地。 第七条，废除卖国条约。将来联合政府成立后，要审查国民政府统治时期对外订立的一切条约，对国家人民不利的，有出卖国家主权性质的，要废除、修正或重订。 第八条，关于召开没有反动分子参加的政治协商会议，成立民主联合政府，接收南京政府及其所属各级政府的一切权力问题。在和平协定签订之后，联合政府成立之前，南京政府要暂时维持下去，在人民解放军接收阶段要避免反动分子捣乱。对于接收后的原国民政府公职人员，中共对他们采取负责的态度，使他们有出路。 周恩来最后说，如果上述条款都得到实现，全国和平就有永久的保证，南京政府代表团和南京政府中的爱国分子也可以得到人民的谅解和赞许。中共代表团愿意提出保证，当新政协会议召开时，接受南京爱国分子参加，同时也允许其参加联合政府。我们对以张文白先生（即张治中）为首的代表团抱有极大的希望，希望共同努力，促成和平协定的签订。 周恩来发言后，南京代表团首席代表张治中发言，他对草案研究的意见加以说明。张治中最后表示，国民党的政权当然是结束了，今后国家的责任落到中共肩上，他将以至诚至敬之心，希望中共能从此领导国家达到独立、自由和民主的目标。 4月15日晚9时，国共双方举行第二次会议。中共代表团提出《国内和平协定》最后修正案，共8条24款。周恩来在会上做了发言，着重说明双方分歧较大的两个根本问题，即“接收”和“改编”。他坚持解放军渡江决心不变，谈判期间可暂不渡江，但协定签订后，解放军必须渡江接收江南广大地区。在谈到军队改编问题时，他说，国民党的一切武装力量是祸根，应立即改编，使全国军队编成名副其实的人民军队。关于中国人民革命军事委员会与南京政府关系问题，起先中共想以前者指挥后者，后做出让步，使两者平列，合作解决过渡时期的问题，直到联合政府成立南京政府移交为止。这是中共最大的让步。最后，周恩来郑重宣布，对于《国内和平协定》最后修正案的签字，中共愿等到4月20日，如到时南京政府不签字，人民解放军立即过江。 会谈结束后，南京政府代表团回到六国饭店。他们继续商量后决定派代表回南京，劝告李宗仁、何应钦，接受《国内和平协定》。遗憾的是，李宗仁、何应钦却拒绝在《国内和平协定》上签字。 4月18日，李宗仁命令广播电台，向全国反复播讲这样一段话：诸位听众，国共和谈签订的8条24款可予忍让，但渡江问题正在考虑。 4月19日，南京广播电台播送着国民党中央宣传部部长陈天放的讲话：“诸位听众，国共和谈结束，和平希望黯淡。如果共军要渡江，国民党不会投降。是成功，是失败，我们志士同人努力奋斗后才知道。” 4月20日深夜，在北京的张治中欣喜地接到了李宗仁、何应钦发来的电报，阅后却大失所望。他们在电报中拒绝接受《协定》，要求先订立临时停战协定。 4月21日上午，张治中拿着南京的电报去找周恩来时，看见街上行人争看号外。他叫司机停下车，买了一份《人民日报》号外，只见头版头条的大标题是：人民解放军百万雄师过大江。张治中不由得流下了眼泪。 1949年4月20日，是中国人民永远难忘的日子，举世瞩目的渡江战役拉开了帷幕。关于渡江的时间，出现过几次变更。中央军委根据三野提交的长江两岸涨潮情况报告，确定各兵团于21日开始攻击，22日实行总攻。最后，三野提出20日开始渡江。原确定的4月21日晚上渡江方案，为何提前了一天？原因有二：一是国共谈判协定上说明，南京国民政府是4月20日签字，当天不签字当天晚上过江，可以增加战役的突然性；二是第二十七军渡江先遣大队抓到一个敌军官，得知驻防芜湖一线的敌第二十军和第八十八军于19日开始向西移防，20日正在路上，获港和姚沟、黑沙一线出现空白。加上敌第八十八军缺乏训练，战斗力较为薄弱，军长马师恭对江防又毫无信心，十天前就借故脱离了部队，将大权交给副军长杨宝殿。虽然敌二十军战斗力很强，但全军官兵士气不振，官兵离队出走造成部队减员，战斗力相对削弱。总前委分析上述敌情后，认为这正是我解放大军登陆的极好时机，于是命令谭震林指挥中集团，在20日晚先行渡江。 4月20日黄昏，西边一片云霞色彩斑斓，有鱼白色、淡青色、橘红色、紫色，一层一层相互重叠，耀眼夺目。渡江部队的指战员们无心欣赏这大自然的美景，在离江边十几里处，悄悄地将隐蔽在小沟、小河中的木船拖上岸，把它们一只只推到江边，推入江水中。 夜色深沉，天地之间已是一片寂静。谭震林见万事俱备，便对着通向各军的话筒大喊一声：“渡江开始！” 一声令下，万炮齐鸣，大地被震得不停地颤抖着，密集的炮弹拖着长长的火光，飞向江的南岸。火光映红了天空，炮火所到之处敌人纷纷倒地，连咆哮的江水都被映成了血红色，长江成了血江。炮火之后，三野中集团第七、九兵团的四个军扬帆起航了。半小时不到，第一批部队顺利地登上对岸，打退了敌人的反扑，抢占了滩头阵地。第二十七军占领矶头山、大盖山，第二十五军占领了岳山、羊山尖，第二十四军占领了铜陵，第二十一军占领了大通。午夜，国民党惨淡经营的长江防线被撕开了一个100公里长的大口子。 北平的毛泽东和周恩来、朱德，合肥瑶岗的陈毅、邓小平都静静地守候在电报房，等候渡江的消息。 这天晚上，泰州的白马庙三野司令部里灯火通明，参谋们来回穿梭传送着文件电报。按照总前委规定，各级指挥员要靠前指挥，要求每过去一个营要有师长跟着，每过去一个团要有军长跟着。粟裕在汽灯下，边看地图边等消息。他不时查问：“秦参谋，有消息吗？二十一军过江了没有？二十四军现在过江了吗？” 秦叔瑾摇摇头。大约晚上10点钟，机要员兴冲冲地跑到粟裕的面前，大声地报告说：“粟司令，二十七军的聂军长来电！” “快念！”粟裕迫不及待地吩咐他。 机要员兴奋地念道：“我们已胜利踏上江南的土地！” 粟裕对这简单的报告似乎并不满足，着急地问：“他们现在到了哪里？消灭了多少敌人？” 机要员摇摇头说：“粟司令，聂军长的电报只有这一句话，其他什么也没说。” 粟裕从机要员手中接过电报，又仔细地看了一遍，然后笑着说：“这一句话已经足够了！聂军长的这12个字是一首绝妙的诗，它将聂军长渡江后的喜悦和豪情全部写了出来。小王啊，你知道吗，这是一份古今中外的奇特战报！” 粟裕和聂凤智真可谓心有灵犀一点通啊！粟裕对聂凤智这份电报的分析，正是窥探到了聂凤智的心声。却说这天晚上7点刚过，聂凤智来到七十九师，肖镜海师长跑到聂凤智面前，大声地说：“报告军长，我师第一梯队准备工作完毕，请指示！” 聂凤智严肃地告诉他：“今晚毛主席、邓政委、陈司令、粟司令都在瞪大眼睛等待我们二十七军的好消息呢！你们全师指战员不上岸，你就别来见我！船打翻了，你们就是抱着木板也要游过江去！” “军长，你就放心吧！”肖镜海信誓旦旦。他果然不负聂凤智所望，率领全师，只用了20分钟就渡过了江，第七十九师二三七团二连荣获“渡江第一船”称号。当船行驶到江中时，性急的战士在江当中看到岸边的石头，便兴奋地叫着：“到了，到了，我们胜利啦！”这时，离岸边还有30米，战士们嫌船太慢，一个个“扑通、扑通”向江水里跳，涉水抢滩，如猛虎下山般扑向敌前沿阵地。有的梯子刚刚架好，就被敌人的炮火炸断。一架木梯被炸断，十架人梯竖起来！第七十九师有一名战士，登陆时一条腿被炸断，当即昏迷过去。苏醒以后，他忍着剧痛，单腿爬向敌前沿，用尽最后力气，拉响炸药包，舍身炸开敌防御工事。我军前进的胜利通道，正是这些大无畏的英雄用鲜血和生命铺成的。 每条船的头尾都挂着红灯笼，先遣侦察大队和江南游击队见到无数“红灯笼”向他们缓缓驶来时，按照事先规定的信号，在山头上燃起了一堆堆篝火。聂凤智登上山头，和游击队队长陈宏胜利会师。他们兴奋地握手问好。聂凤智指着长江上闪烁的红灯笼说：“你看，今晚数百里长江万盏灯火，像不像连绵不绝的红珍珠？像不像一颗颗璀璨的星星？” 陈宏点点头说：“多美啊，人民解放军百万雄师过大江，其势宏伟壮观，它将永载史册！” “说得好！”聂凤智豪情满怀，由衷地感叹，滚滚长江，千古以来，大军难渡。历史上有多少英雄好汉倒在这长江之中？1700多年前，曹丞相率领号称83万的兵马，大有投鞭断流之气概，结果被阻于长江，落得船焚兵折、落荒而逃的下场。太平天国的石达开，带领着反清将士转战数省，被困在长江上游的大渡河，导致全军覆没。历史在这条长江上演出过无数惊心动魄的活剧，留下了一首首英雄壮士的悲歌。往事沧桑，俯仰之间历史已成为遗迹了。今天，我们百万雄师过大江，不会重复历史的悲剧。我们不仅改变了长江天堑的历史，也改写了整个中国历史！ 正在两人抒发感慨之时，作战处长刘岩从远处跑来，对聂凤智说：“军长，昨天粟司令要求我们军过了江就立即发电报给他，你看怎么写？” 聂凤智一拍脑袋，对刘岩说：“我一时太兴奋，差一点儿忘了，快向粟司令报告！”他望着气势宏伟的渡江大军，沉吟片刻，脱口说道，“电文是，我们已胜利踏上江南的土地！” 刘岩一愣，聂军长的电文一反常规，没有时间，没有地点，与其说它是战斗详报，倒不如说是一句美妙的诗。聂凤智催促他说：“干愣着干什么，快去发电报啊！” 刘岩敬了个军礼，转身发电报去了。 在第二十七军强渡登上南岸，向繁昌县城挺进时，第二十五军在大套沟至鲁港地段强渡登岸。他们先后攻占双窑、汪家套、横山桥、铜山、岳山等要点，歼灭国民党军第二十军一部。22日天蒙蒙亮，他们兵分两路横扫三山、头棚地区之敌，经数次冲杀，在峨桥以东与右邻第二十七军会合。 第二十四军起渡后，船到江心，敌人接连发出的照明弹将江水照得通红通红。江面上帆樯林立，敌人的炮弹在船边爆炸。战士将生死置之度外，奋勇地划着桨，嘴里不断地喊着：“快点儿，再快点儿，早一点儿登岸，早一点儿消灭敌人！”半小时后，他们登上闻新洲、紫沙洲，经2个多小时激战，全歼守敌，俘国民党军第八十八军第一四九师副师长及以下1500余人。他们打扫战场后继续强渡长江，在铜陵与荻港段之间登上南岸，攻占太平街、顺安、石村，与左邻第二十七军会合。 中集团第七兵团的另一支渡江部队——第二十一军在军长滕海清的指挥下，于扫帚沟至下八甲一线渡江。在炮兵的掩护下，上千只木船扬帆竞渡，分头向江心洲疾驶。开船15分钟后，船队被敌人发现。顿时，无数炮弹从天而降，子弹扑面而来，水面上不时冲起几丈高的水柱。熟练的船工弯着腰，死死扳着舵，嘴里不断地鼓励战士们：“不要停，使劲划！身子不要动！坚持就是胜利，登上岸就是胜利！”战士们毫无畏惧，拼命划船，谁也不吭声。渡船靠岸后，敌人吓得向后退，战士们奋勇向前，直扑敌阵。他们从攻击开始到全部占领长生洲、氽水洲只用了1个小时。 21日18时，第二十一军在长生洲、氽水洲登船，起渡向南岸进攻。在离岸80米左右的地方，两只船搁浅，不知是谁喊了一声：“冲啊！”大家便争先恐后地跳下水。江水淹没到胸口，冰凉冰凉的，脚底淤泥又黏又滑。一个浪涛涌来，打得战士们左右摇晃，不少人差点儿被江水卷走。战士们却毫不犹豫，双手举着枪，奋勇向江岸冲去。第一八三团六连最先登陆，其他部队也赶了上来。他们一口气向纵深冲锋，没多久就与第二野战军的第三兵团会合。接着，他们齐头并进，攻占了大通、贵池、青阳等地。 22日早晨，粟裕接到第七兵团、第九兵团的报告，中集团已有10个师28个团到达南岸，建立了东西120多公里、纵深20多公里的江南阵地。敌人的千里江防被突破。 粟裕和张震指挥的第八兵团、第十兵团的7个军，共35万人，组成东集团，分别在两处实施强渡。一处是张黄港至龙稍港镇之间，另一处则是口岸、三江营和京口之间。各军的战斗