Chapter 12 2. Make a fuss first in the west

Just the day before the Northeast Field Army entered the customs, that is, on November 22, Mao Zedong issued an order to Yang Chengwu, Li Jingquan, and Li Tianhuan of the North China Three Corps to prepare to swing their swords at Fu Zuoyi's "snake tail".The command says: (1) It is possible for the enemy to shrink the outlying strongholds and concentrate in Ping and Tianjin to flee south. (2) In order to prevent them from escaping and to annihilate Fu's enemies in Ping, Tianjin, Zhang, and Tang, our army in the Northeast decided to enter the pass early.To keep secret, don't release it.

(3) It is planned to use your three main columns to move eastward quickly and secretly, and cooperate with Zhan Danan (note: refers to the local armed forces of the Jire Chaliao Military Region led by Zhan Danan) to cut off the connection between Ping and Zhang and surround Zhangjiakou so that the enemy of Zhangjiakou cannot Shrink toward Ping and Tianjin, attracting the enemy of Peiping to send troops westward to rescue Zhangjiakou, so as to delay the time for the Ping and Tianjin enemies to flee south.For this reason, the main force of your three columns should prepare to move eastward on the 25th, except that the troops near Guisui will not move temporarily to confuse the enemies in Guisui.

(4) Immediately report the mileage, route, and time from the current positions of your ministries to Xuanhua and Huailai areas. After that, Mao Zedong called Yang Chengwu and others many times, and made more specific deployments on the actions of the Three Corps: It was decided that Li Jingquan would lead the Jinsui Eighth Column of the Three Corps to stay in Suiyuan, and Yang Chengwu and Li Tianhuan would lead the three Two columns surrounded Zhangjiakou, Xuanhua, and Xiahuayuan. The telegram on November 24 said: "In short, the principle is to capture a group of enemies and prevent them from running away to the east. After capturing and encircling them, do not attack. Wait for the main force of the Northeast to enter and encircle and wipe out the enemies before attacking in camera."

At the same time, Mao Zedong also ordered the North China Second Corps under the command of Yang Dezhi to move from Yi County and Tang County to the Zijingguan area in the northwest of Yi County to gather in the Zijingguan area in the northwest of Yi County, and wait for orders in concealment. connection between.He also ordered the Second Corps of Cheng Zihua, who entered Dongye earlier, to concentrate in the Pinggu area. After Yang Chengwu surrounded the enemy in the Zhangjiakou area, he moved northwest to Beiping, quickly crossed Miyun, Huairou, and Shunyi, and inserted into the Nankou, Kangzhuang, and Huailai areas. , Threatening Peiping from the north, pinning down the enemy, and fighting with cameras.

Mao Zedong's arrangement killed three birds with one stone: captured Fu Zuoyi's direct line troops; dragged down the troops of the Central Army system; According to the order of Mao Zedong and the Central Military Commission, Yang Chengwu led the three columns of the Three Corps, the first column, the second column, and the sixth column, to enter the designated area on November 20, and began training on the 22nd. On the 25th and 26th, the three columns set off one after another. The first column started from Zhuozi Mountain, the second column started from Guancun and Longsheng Village, the sixth column started from Jining, and the whole corps pointed directly at Zhangjiakou.

Zhangjiakou, the capital of Chahar Province at that time, had a population of 300,000 and was the railway and highway hub between Pingsui and Sui. On August 23, 1945, the Eighth Route Army liberated Zhangjiakou from the Japanese invading army. It was the largest city liberated by our army at that time, so it became the capital of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region. Nie Rongzhen and others worked here for a long time.More than a year later, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Fu Zuoyi's troops to capture Zhangjiakou in October 1946. After four days of rapid march, the Three Corps arrived in the Zhangjiakou area secretly and quickly.The first column arrived at the south bank of Yanghe River under the leadership of commander Tang Yanjie and political commissar Kuang Fuzhao, the second column arrived at Pingbao under the leadership of commander Han Wei and political commissar Li Zhimin, and the sixth column led by commander Wen Niansheng and political commissar Xiang Zhonghua Arrived at Wash Marin. On November 29, Yang Chengwu commanded the troops of the Three Corps to launch an attack on Chaigoubao on the outskirts of Zhangjiakou. This was the first battle of our army in North China under the command of the Central Military Commission to actively encircle and wipe out the Fu Zuoyi Group.

This day, November 29, also became the starting day of the great Pingjin Battle. The Three Corps completed the scheduled task after only two days of fighting.The first column captured Shalingzi and Huai'an in the south of Zhangjiakou, the second column captured Chaigoubao in the west of Zhangjiakou, and the sixth column captured Wanquan and Guoleizhuang in the northwest of Zhangjiakou, cutting off the railway line from Zhangjiakou to the west. Zhangjiakou is surrounded by three directions: , south and north. On the night of December 1, Mao Zedong telegraphed Yang Chengwu again: Your task is to encircle several enemy units in order to mobilize the enemy from the east to the west for reinforcements, so the focus is not on annihilation, but on encirclement.After you surround a few enemy units, it is important to build a tight perimeter so that they don't escape.

Yang Chengwu acted in full accordance with Mao Zedong's order, and after surrounding the enemies in Zhangjiakou, he was not in a hurry to launch the next attack.The enemies he surrounded were mainly the Corps Headquarters of the 11th Corps, the 105th Army under the 11th Corps, the independent 318th Division, the 11th and 12th Cavalry Brigades, and the Temporary 2nd Cavalry Brigade. Brigade and other troops. The 11th Corps, commanded by Sun Lanfeng (Sun Lanfeng was also acting as the provincial chairman of Chahar Province at the time), was the only regiment in Fu Zuoyi's direct line of troops. If it were eliminated, Fu Zuoyi would lose an arm.Therefore, when Sun Lanfeng urgently sent Fu Zuoyi to ask for reinforcements on November 28, Fu Zuoyi immediately ordered Guo Jingyun, commander of the 35th Army, the main force of his lineage with the strongest combat effectiveness and mobility After the army was defeated and committed suicide, the division commander took over as the army commander) led two divisions to rush to Zhangjiakou from Fengtai by car, and at the same time ordered the 258th Division of the 104th Army to rush to Zhangjiakou by train from Huailai.

Guo Jingyun was a rough man with a pockmarked face, but he fought bravely and was known as a "violent general" in the Jinsui Army.He has been promoted from a junior officer to an army commander in the 35th Army. He is arrogant and arrogant. Although Laishui was defeated not long ago, he believes that the People's Liberation Army has never put up a stance to fight him.This time he left the army, he publicly announced: "With the reputation of the 35th Army and the absolute superior force, this trip to Zhangjiakou will definitely succeed immediately, and it will be a shame to be in Laishui this spring!"

When the 35th Army, all in cars, arrived in Zhangjiakou, Guo Jingyun decided to attack the most threatening strongholds around the city first.Wanquan was selected for the first battle, but after rushing in, it turned out to be an empty city.Ningyuan Fort was selected for the second battle, and it was another empty city after rushing in.It turned out that after the initial exchange of fire with them, our Three Corps deliberately withdrew from Wanquan and Ningyuan Fort in accordance with Mao Zedong's instruction of "not focusing on annihilation, but on encirclement", which made Guo Jingyun anxious.But no matter how the enemy attacked, the encirclement of Zhangjiakou was never lifted, and the 35th Army was left under the city of Zhangjiakou, unable to attack or retreat.In this way, Mao Zedong mobilized the main force of Fu Zuoyi's western aid, and the task of catching Fu Zuoyi's "snake tail" was basically completed.