Chapter 2 Chapter One

In Datong and Jining, the cooked ducks flew away, and the coach Nie Rongzhen felt that our army was inexperienced.Chiang Kai-shek made a small political plan, and Fu Zuoyi, who has always been quite assertive, immediately pulled out his stronghold for reinforcements.The arrogant Nanjing newspapers and radio stations published an open letter to Mao Zedong, an open challenge!Mao Zedong asked our army in North China to fight a big war of annihilation.There is an anecdote about Zhengtai's attack, but our army in North China beat Yan Xishan but Japanese soldiers.At the end of the song, the people have not yet dispersed, and Zheng Taijie has achieved a great turning point for our army in North China.

Like several other heroic units of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the North China Field Army also grew and grew stronger amid the rumble of artillery fire in the War of Liberation.From the anti-Japanese battlefield to the battlefield of the Liberation War, they have also experienced the ups and downs of the war and tasted the bitterness of defeat in the battle. At the negotiating table in Chongqing, facing Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong admitted frankly: "We can't beat you now, but we can deal with you in the same way as we deal with the Japanese." War, after all, is a contest of strength between the two sides.Mao Zedong, who was outspoken, seemed to see farther and was more confident than the arrogant and arrogant Chiang Kai-shek, but Mao Zedong knew that defeats in some battlefields and battles in the early stages of the war were inevitable.

Military history records that the first battle of the War of Liberation was first fought in North China.This battle was jointly fought by the Jinsui Military Region, where He Long was the commander, and the Jinchaji Military Region, where Nie Rongzhen was the commander and political commissar.It is a pity that Xu Xiangqian, a famous general of our army in North China who came out of the Whampoa Military Academy, was sick and hospitalized at the time, and was unable to participate in the command of this battle. In the history of war, the first battle is always difficult to fight.However, the first battle of the joint operations of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and the Jinsui Military Region commanded by Nie Rongzhen and He Long was not difficult. From early July to mid-August 1946, our army decisively launched the first battle of the Northern Shanxi Campaign and won the first battle. Our army in North China wiped out more than 8,000 enemies in the first battle, and isolated the enemy of the strategically important Datong.On the northern Shanxi Plateau, Nie Rongzhen was not satisfied with his victory.According to the instructions of the Central Military Commission, he proposed the idea of ​​launching the Datong and Jining campaigns.

On August 2, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and the Jinsui Military Region held a joint combat meeting in Yanggao, Shanxi.Commander Nie Rongzhen rushed from Zhangjiakou, Hebei to Yanggao, Shanxi to attend the joint combat meeting.Liu Lantao, Yang Chengwu, Chen Zhengxiang, Zheng Weishan, Hu Yaobang and other military and political leaders of our army in North China at that time also attended the meeting. Datong is a well-known coal capital in my country. It is the intersection of the Pingsui and Tongpu railways. The mountains in the northwest of the city rise up and meander to the east of the city. The mountains surround Datong like an armchair.There is a moat in the east of the city, which flows continuously in all seasons.From a military point of view, Datong is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and has always been a must-have for military strategists.The Kuomintang army regards Datong as a strategic location to "consolidate North China, shield Suining, echo Recha, and support Taiyuan".

At the combat meeting, as soon as they heard that the Datong and Jining battles would be held, the generals and the congregation were very enthusiastic, and they started talking about each other. "The enemy has been operating in Datong for many years, and the fortifications are complex and strong. The city walls and surrounding strongholds have built light and dark fortresses. Before the battle starts, we must find out the enemy's fortifications." "Although there are nearly 2,000 enemies in Datong and its surrounding areas, they are all patchwork troops with complex components and weak combat effectiveness. We can't imagine it to be so difficult to crack."

"The key to the joint operations of the two military regions is to cooperate well." The meeting had a full discussion.But from the speeches of the generals, it is obvious that some generals underestimate the enemy.Finally, Commander Nie Rongzhen, who presided over the meeting, stood up and said: "In this battle, according to the instructions of the Central Military Commission, the Datong Front Command will be composed of Deputy Commander Zhang Zongxun of the Jinsui Military Region and Luo Ruiqing, Deputy Political Commissar of the Jinchaji Field Army. The main forces and local troops of the military region. Now that the strength of 6 brigades and some local troops have been assembled, we are going to use about 10 days to wipe out the enemies on the outskirts of Datong and complete the preparations for the siege. After that, it will take half a month to 20 days Time to capture Datong."

Nie Rongzhen also emphasized: "Yan Xishan and Fu Zuoyi attach great importance to the city of Datong. The Central Military Commission specially called to point out that the attack on Datong must be carefully planned and fully prepared. At the same time, we must pay attention to the reinforcements of Fu Zuoyi's troops." After the Yanggao meeting, the Datong Frontline Command was formally established.With Zhang Zongxun as the commander and Luo Ruiqing as the political commissar, they unified the main forces of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and the Jinsui Military Region and a total of 30 regiments of local troops to seize Datong.After the meeting, Nie Rongzhen rode back to Zhangjiakou.

On July 31, the peripheral battle to attack Datong started. The first phase of the war went smoothly.After 5 days of fierce fighting, our army wiped out more than 2,000 enemies and cleared the periphery. This is a good start.In the face of victory, some troops even proposed the slogan "Enter Datong, eat moon cakes" and prepared to attack the city.But at the critical moment, Chiang Kai-shek played a small trick, which caused a major change in the balance of power. Nanjing.Chiang Kai-shek was reluctant to part with the strategic point of Datong.While our army was besieging Da Da, Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly urged Fu Zuoyi to send troops for reinforcements, but Fu Zuoyi did not move.Datong is under the jurisdiction of Yan Xishan, how could Fu Zuoyi be willing to make a wedding dress for the smooth "Yan Laoxi".Seeing that Chiang Kai-shek was distressed by this, an aide offered a plan and said: "President, Fu Zuoyi is not unwilling to use troops, but he does not want to deal with Yan Xishan. Under the jurisdiction of the theater, Fu Zuoyi will not stop dispatching troops."

When Chiang Kai-shek heard this, his face was unmoved, but he secretly applauded in his heart.He immediately issued an order to place Datong under the jurisdiction of Fu Zuoyi at a critical moment in the war. Chiang Kai-shek's move was immediate.When Fu Zuoyi received the order, he immediately ordered more than 35,000 people in the 35th Army, the ace direct lineage he relied on to start his career, to divide the south, middle, and north into three routes to commit crimes in the east, and to aid Datong in the south through Jining.Faced with a sudden change in the situation, Luo Ruiqing, Zhang Zongxun and other former generals of Datong decided to destroy the reinforcements first and then attack Datong according to the changes in the enemy's situation.

On September 7, the enemy invaded Jining from Zhuozi. Our army defended the city with 3 brigades, and 5 brigades of the main force gathered in the south of Jining.However, due to our army's incomplete reconnaissance and poor communication, we did not find that the enemy's temporary 117th division, 17th division, and new 31st division secretly moved eastward from the north of the railway and assembled in the northwest of Jining.When this group of enemies was discovered, the headquarters hurriedly transferred 5 brigades of the main force to Jining, determined to destroy the enemy's reinforcements first, and then transfer troops to attack Datong.

In September outside the Great Wall, the night is already freezing.Soldiers of our army in North China rushed to Jining from all directions despite the wind and cold. On the 10th, with the cooperation of the air force, the enemy's three divisions secretly advancing eastward launched an attack on our army on the outskirts of Jining from the northwest. , this wave of enemies finally fell into me surrounded on all sides.After a day and two nights of fierce fighting, more than 5,000 enemy soldiers were wiped out, the road to the west was cut off, and the radio station was damaged by our army's artillery fire. The warplane came quietly.This kind of opportunity to lead to the overall outcome is very precious but also fleeting.At this time, if our army works hard, not only can we wipe out this group of enemies, but Jining can also be conquered smoothly.However, our army, which has just entered the battlefield of liberation, seems to lack experience in large-scale overall operations.At the critical moment, our army's Datong front finger did not fully grasp the situation of the enemy in Jining.One day they did not organize a continuous attack, but turned their troops westward to encircle and annihilate the enemy's 101st Division who came to aid.This gave the enemy a new 31st Division, a provisional 16th Division, and the remnants of the 117th Division a chance to breathe and rectify. On the 12th, the aid enemy attacked Jining City with the cooperation of the air force, and it was difficult for our army to wipe out the enemy of Jining. Facing the situation, the frontline commanders of our army calmly decided to withdraw from Jining on the evening of the 13th. It is very regrettable that the victory at hand was missed.When Nie Rongzhen heard the news, he felt that our army was inexperienced, so he remained silent for a long time. Jining lost the first battle, and Datong should not attack again. The first battle of Datong and Jining had the nature of the first battle for the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei and Jinsui Military Regions.During the one-and-a-half month transition, our army wiped out 12,000 enemies, but failed to achieve the intended goal of siege and reinforcements. In the battles of Datong and Jining, although our army in North China failed to achieve the intended goal, it was not a failure.But this battle led to a farce for the Nanjing Kuomintang.Maybe it was to cheer up, maybe to prove something to the world, the Kuomintang newspapers and radio stations in Nanjing played up the battle, and even published an open letter to Mao Zedong.The letter stated: "It was not the national army that was surrounded, routed, and wiped out, but the entire main force of He Long's and Nie Rongzhen's troops that you boasted participated in the '25,000-mile Long March'." After the war, Fu Zuoyi, commander-in-chief of the 10th War Zone of the Kuomintang, said objectively: "Battle of Jining, according to the situation at the time, we were quite dangerous and very likely to fail. I think it was a fluke to win in the end.  … ...After the 101st Division participated in the battle, the Communist Party made a mistake, that is, on the night of the 12th, instead of attacking the newly formed 31st Division, he went to fight the 101st Division with all its strength. This is the reason for the Communist Party's failure .If we went to attack the new 31st Division that night, our situation would be quite dangerous." When the commanders and fighters of the Jinchaji Military Region heard this letter from the enemy's radio, everyone was furious and extremely indignant! Not long after the war, Commander-in-Chief Zhu De took this letter and said to a leading comrade in the army: "Read it to the cadres above the company. This is called the law of aggressive generals. People scold us for going through the 25,000-mile Long March." This letter Later, it was published in the "Liberation Daily". Many comrades read this letter and shed tears of indignation.Eat a moat and a wisdom. When Nie Rongzhen summed up the battle at the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Central Bureau Cadres Conference, on the one hand, he saw the unfavorable situation after the defeat of the battle, and believed that "it is necessary to redeploy strategically, gather troops, seek maneuvers, and find opportunities to fight the enemy. My unfavorable situation": "We did not achieve a decisive victory in the Western Front Campaign, and we should review its experience and lessons in the future. We must also estimate that our difficulties may also increase, and we must be prepared to overcome difficulties and defeat the enemy."On the other hand, it also requires everyone to establish the belief that they must win, "We must not be pessimistic, nor should we be proud. Some comrades hope to win Datong, but they will be disappointed if Datong is not won. But we must understand the twists and turns of the development of the situation, which is to liberate Datong. It is also possible to withdraw. This time I did not fight well, but I have learned from experience and lessons, and I will fight well in the future. For some comrades who have not experienced the civil war and the Anti-Japanese War because of the fluctuations caused by the current situation, tell them that they should look at the situation in the whole country. Be clear and have firm confidence. The editorial of the "Liberation Daily" has pointed out that 'Jiang's army must be defeated', and his difficulties cannot be overcome." Nie Rongzhen also pointed out: "In the Western Front Campaign, all the soldiers of our army were very brave. They were not afraid of all sacrifices and overcame all difficulties. There were many epic battles and exemplary heroes. This spirit of new heroism is worthy of our great efforts. carry forward." After the defeat in the first battle of Jining, the Kuomintang army in North China began to switch from defense to offense after adjusting its deployment, and pointed the finger at Zhangjiakou, the largest city occupied by our army in North China.At the same time, Du Xingming, the Northeast Security Commander of the Kuomintang, commanded seven divisions to attack Chengde, Qinglong, and Jianchang from Tianyi (now Ningcheng), Lingyuan, Shanhaiguan, and Jinzhou from August 21. At the beginning of September, the enemy's eleventh war zone also concentrated its forces to attack the liberated area in eastern Jidong.From North China to Northeast China, the Kuomintang army launched a full-scale offensive, and the sky over North China was filled with war clouds for a while. On the North China battlefield, Nie Rongzhen stood in front of the map thinking all day long.He knew that the continuous operations of the troops in the periphery of Datong caused a lot of wear and tear, and they needed to be replenished and rectified in time.Zhangjiakou is located in a fortress, and the enemy has unstoppable ambitions.In the east, Sun Lianzhong's 16th, 53rd, and 94th armies have already invaded Huailai along Pingsui Road; in the west, Fu Zuoyi's 4 divisions and 22 brigades have assembled on the Jining and Datong lines, and may invade the east at any time .These days, the Kuomintang planes bombed and strafed Zhangjiakou from time to time.If you stick to Zhangjiakou blindly, the enemy will definitely concentrate its forces and attack from multiple directions. At that time, the soldiers and civilians of Jinchaji will have to fight against the superior enemy under unfavorable conditions, and they will fall into a passive position. Give up Zhangjiakou?Nie Rongzhen felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.He had this feeling whenever the thought came up.Zhangjiakou was directly liberated from the Japanese army after our army paid the price of blood. If you give up, what will the troops think? But defending Zhangjiakou to the core means that our army is carrying a burden to face a strong enemy, and our army's advantage will be handed over to the enemy. Nie Rongzhen, who has experienced countless trials of blood and fire, after fully weighing the pros and cons, decisively suggested to the Central Military Commission to evacuate Zhangjiakou in order to gain the initiative. In northern Shaanxi, Mao Zedong's calm face did not reveal too much surprise.Nie Rongzhen's thoughts somewhat coincided with his own.Right now, keeping the troops and striving for victory is the first priority, and the gains and losses of one city and one place should not be taken too seriously.It is this point that reveals the fundamental military differences between Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek. The Central Military Commission fully agreed with Nie Rongzhen's opinion, and emphasized based on the experience of Suzhong that the main force of Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei should "mainly focus on annihilating the enemy's vital forces, not on conserving individual places, so that the main force can move freely and actively seek out enemies that are easy to fight. fight". As expected by Nie Rongzhen, Xu Xiangqian and others, as soon as the news of the evacuation of Zhangjiakou came out, it caused quite a stir among the troops.Zhangjiakou was liberated from the Japanese invaders by the soldiers and civilians of Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei. Now that they want to take the initiative to transfer, many commanders and fighters have different ideas. Some people suggested that Zhangjiakou should not give up, but dare to confront the enemy.Back then, Feng Yuxiang stuck to Zhangjiakou. "We can't carry this burden!" At the mobilization meeting, Nie Rongzhen spoke with a Sichuan accent, emphasizing his determination again, "War is long-term, and in case of unfavorable circumstances, we will not put all our eggs in one basket, and we will not be bound by one city or one place. This does not mean giving up all towns and cities easily. For example, Zhangjiakou, a big city, is a big burden on our shoulders. It is not absolutely necessary to give up, but we must not give up easily. The enemy attacks Zhangjiakou, defend as much as possible, and only carry out when the situation is not favorable. Covering operations, not holding on. Now that the enemy is besieging Zhangjiakou from several routes at the same time, why should we carry this burden? Withdrawing from Zhangjiakou, we will leave this burden to the enemy, and we will have the initiative." Just as our army was nervously deploying and evacuating Zhangjiakou, Chiang Kai-shek made another small move, which prematurely opened the prelude to the Jinchaji Military Region's defense of Zhangjiakou. After the Kuomintang troops occupied Jining, Chengde, and the counties in eastern Hebei, Li Zongren, the director of the Northern Pingyuan, was determined to "completely destroy the Re, Cha, and Sui bases, regain Zhangyuan (that is, Zhangjiakou), open up the Pingsui Road, and consolidate North China." Boasting victory at the congress, they were eager to get through the Pingsui Railway and occupy Zhangjiakou first.Therefore, the 16th Army and the 53rd Army of the Li Wen Corps in the Eleventh War Zone were ordered to attack Huailai from Nankou and Huairou areas along the Pingsui Railway; Army, Temporary Third Army, a cavalry division, two cavalry corps, and two brigades were on standby at the Jining and Datong lines, posing a posture of advancing east and west and attacking Zhangjiakou. Under such circumstances, the head of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region judged that the enemy may be dominated by the two armies in the Kangzhuang and Huairou areas, and attack westward with all their strength.The enemy in Jining may march eastward along Pingsui Road after the enemy on the eastern front occupied Huailai, and join forces with the enemy advancing westward in the Chaigoubao area. This is an opportunity to annihilate the enemy.The small victory in the first battle fueled the arrogance of the Kuomintang army.The division of troops in several routes undoubtedly provided our army with a good opportunity to wipe out the enemy one by one.The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region is determined to annihilate the enemies of Kangzhuang and Huairou, and conduct a Zhangjiakou defense battle before withdrawing from Zhangjiakou. After receiving the report from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, the Central Military Commission responded as quickly as possible to express its agreement, and specifically asked Xiao Ke, commander of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army, and Luo Ruiqing, political commissar, to form a frontline headquarters to directly command the battle.At that time, the chief of staff of the Jinchaji Field Army was Geng Biao, the director of the political department was Pan Zili, and the entire leading organization and directly subordinate teams were stationed in Huailai.The 4 subordinate columns are quite effective, and the commanders are all old Red Army who have been tested by the Long March and the Anti-Japanese War. Yang Dezhi, commander of the first column, and Su Zhenhua, political commissar.The column has 3 brigades and is the strongest. Guo Tianmin served as the commander and political commissar of the second column. Yang Chengwu, commander of the third column, and Li Zhimin, political commissar. Chen Zhengxiang, commander of the fourth column, and Hu Yaobang, political commissar. After repeated research, Xiao Ke and Luo Ruiqing decided to use the main force of Guo Tianmin's second column to fight the enemy's attack head-on in the Huailai and Yanqing areas. In the southern area, wait for an attack. In order to disperse the enemy's forces and cooperate with the Pingsui Road operation, Yang Chengwu, the commander of the third column, and Wang Ping, the political commissar of the Jijin Military Region, commanded 6 brigades to launch an attack on the northern section of the Ping-Han Railway. On September 29, under the cover of more than 370 sorties and hundreds of tanks, the four divisions of the enemy's Li Wen Corps launched an attack on Huailai arrogantly.When the ground troops were blocked by our army, the enemy's planes bombarded our army's land, communication lines and rear bases indiscriminately.Although the enemy has an absolute advantage in firepower, the attack speed is slow. Chiang Kai-shek couldn't hold his breath anymore. He had boasted before that if he couldn't win the battle quickly, how would he explain to the world.In order to avoid embarrassment at the Kuomintang Congress, Chiang Kai-shek sent Chen Cheng, his chief of staff, and Chen Chengji, deputy director of Beipingyuan, to Nankou in person to deploy a new offensive. As soon as Chen Cheng arrived in Peiping, he was ingenious and transferred the main force of the enemy's 94th Division to detour from the vicinity of Peiping to Huailai via Hengling.For this, Luo Ruiqing and Xiao Ke were well prepared, and quickly transferred Yang Dezhi and Su Zhenhua to command 5 brigades and 1 regiment to set up ambushes twice on the enemy's march, and quickly wiped out more than 1,600 enemies. Seeing that Li Wenbing's wish to seize Zhangjiakou was about to fail, Chiang Kai-shek repeated his old trick in a hurry, and wrote a handwritten order to place Zhangjiakou under the jurisdiction of Bo Zuoyi in the 11th War Zone. Fu Zuoyi, who was standing still on the western front, was secretly proud of seeing Chiang Kai-shek's direct line troops fighting fiercely with our army, suffering heavy casualties, and unable to approach Zhangjiakou.After receiving Chiang Kai-shek's order to assign Zhangjiakou to the 11th War Zone, he couldn't help but sneered, and quickly mobilized more than 20,000 troops to detour from Jining to Zhangjiakou's side.In this regard, our army underestimated, and the Fu Ministry occupied Zhangbei the next day. As the enemies from the east and west were approaching Zhangjiakou step by step, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army could neither fight the enemies in the west nor the enemies in the east. battalion, regiment victory.This kind of victory has only tactical significance and has no effect on the overall situation.Therefore, the fall of Zhangjiakou is a foregone conclusion.In view of the situation, Qianzhi decisively issued an order to evacuate Zhangjiakou according to the pre-war plan. After the order to withdraw from Zhangjiakou was issued, the teaching brigade of the military region, which was in charge of the cover task, asked if it was necessary to place explosives in the city power plant?Nie Rongzhen, who was about to evacuate, shook his hands quickly and said: "Don't destroy the power plant, don't blow up the airport, don't destroy Zhangjiakou and its nearby urban facilities. After the troops withdraw, the masses will still live in Zhangjiakou. The evacuation of Zhangjiakou is a For the time being, Zhangjiakou will return to the people in a short time, and these facilities will be left to the enemy for the time being, so as not to rebuild the city when the city is liberated." After explaining these words, Nie Rongzhen slowly left the command post. A bright moon hangs in the sky, and lights are shining in the city.Nie Rongzhen took to the streets, followed the rubber-tyred carts and donkeys carrying supplies to evacuate, and followed the sparse pedestrians, left the mountain city outside the Great Wall, and walked towards the base. The moon is very round, as if there is a feeling of farewell.After leaving this ancient fortress city, Nie Rongzhen could vaguely see the Taiping Mountain towering into the sky, the ancient city wall, and the slowly flowing Dayang River... Fu Zuoyi once again made great contributions to Chiang Kai-shek.When Fu Jun's troops entered Zhangjiakou, Chiang Kai-shek was dazzled by the momentary victory. He ordered the convening of the National Assembly that afternoon, bragging about the entry of the Kuomintang troops into Zhangjiakou. Within a month, the problem will be completely resolved by the military.” The reactionary arrogance became more and more arrogant.For this reason, Yan'an's "Liberation Daily" once published an editorial on October 13 stating: "All our troops and all people in the liberated areas must completely crush Chiang Kai-shek's offensive and recover Zhangjiakou, Chengde, Jining, Heze, Huaiyin and all lost ground. , and all the crimes committed by Chiang Kai-shek today will surely reap the consequences." On the way to retreat, the morale of the troops will inevitably be affected.Nie Rongzhen overheard that some government departments were puzzled about the evacuation of Zhangjiakou, emotionally troubled, and often talked in twos and threes. On the evening when the troops entered Laiyuan, Nie Rongzhen saw two soldiers arguing about the issue of abandoning Zhangjiakou. One of them He said angrily: "Eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, eight years of drilling ravines; Zhangjiakou was finally recaptured from the Japanese invaders. Why did you give it to the Kuomintang? Why do you want to drill ravines again?" Someone chimed in and said, "If you want to I command, just like Feng Yuxiang, never leave Zhangjiakou." Nie Rongzhen once again realized the seriousness of the problem.Although the relationship between Zhangjiakou's loss and gain has been explained to the relevant personnel before the retreat, but after leaving Zhangjiakou, the troops still have a lot of ideological bumps. The soldiers have opinions, and the cadres also have different opinions. Some people even lack the confidence to defeat Chiang Kai-shek. If this problem is not resolved, it will affect the future operations of the troops. On October 22, 1946, Nie Rongzhen presided over an enlarged meeting of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Central Bureau in Laiyuan. At the meeting, everyone reviewed Mao Zedong's articles such as "Smash Chiang Kai-shek's Attack with Self-Defense War" and "Three-month Summary". Nie Rongzhen once again talked about his thoughts on abandoning Zhangjiakou.He said: "This war is fought in a situation where the enemy is strong and we are weak. We should assess the situation at every stage, take a longer view, and focus on annihilating the enemy's vital forces, regardless of the gains and losses of a city or a place. However, many of our comrades don’t see this, and take the evacuation of Zhangjiakou too seriously.” "In Zhangjiakou, the enemy has concentrated so many troops, attacking from the east and the west. We are at a disadvantage. Even if we pay a high price, it will be difficult to defend. If we drag the main force to the city of Zhangjiakou, we will not be able to defend it. The consequences will be serious. In this case, we are determined to evacuate Zhangjiakou, throw this burden to the enemy, and return to the base area, we will get rid of the passive and gain the initiative. The base area has a lot of room for maneuver, and the sea is wide. Leap, the sky is high, let the birds fly!" "Evacuation from Zhangjiakou is nothing serious. The reactionary forces will eventually fail, and the victory belongs to us. We must overcome pessimism and disappointment, and build up the confidence to win..." The situation in the North China battlefield attracted Mao Zedong's attention. Based on the combat experience of various places in the previous period, Mao Zedong gave many important instructions to the combat policy of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, asking them to take "major strides forward and retreat, regardless of the gains and losses of one city or one place." , take the initiative to fight, attack the weak enemy first, then attack the strong enemy, and mobilize the enemy to defeat them one by one". On January 25, 1947, Mao Zedong sent a telegram to Nie Rongzhen, Xiao Ke and Luo Ruiqing, pointing out two conditions for the war of annihilation: (1) Control the rest of the enemy with a small force, concentrate the absolutely superior force against one enemy, never attack two enemies at the same time, and never use a large force to clamp the direction. (2) Use one to attack the front and use the main force to fight in a detour. It is absolutely impossible to use the main force to attack the front and use one to fight in a detour. Mao Zedong also asked them: "Check past experience according to the above two, deploy new operations, and fight a few major annihilation battles." The central government is looking forward to a few good battles in North China.To strengthen the army: our army in North China is more anxious to fight a few beautiful battles to strengthen morale. North China really needs to fight a few battles of annihilation beautifully.However, the battlefield is cruel. After all, war is a desperate contest between two forces, and strength is the bargaining chip for victory. After the Kuomintang troops occupied Zhangjiakou, they got carried away with complacency and continued to attack the hinterland of the Jinchaji Liberated Area. After the Kuomintang troops occupied Zhangjiakou and the eastern Hebei area, and opened up Pingsui Road and the northern section of Pinghan Road, their forces have been quite dispersed.Objectively speaking, our army has not many fighters in the war of annihilation.In order to smash the enemy's attack, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army fought three battles in half a year while dealing with the enemy. In these three battles, there were gains and losses, which is very interesting to say the least. The first battle was the Battle of Yiman.This battle was not ideal, and our army in North China still could not get rid of the shadow. The second battle of Baonan was the battle of Baonan, which somewhat restored the confidence of some troops. At the beginning of 1947, the enemy's defense was weak in the section from Wangdu to Zhengding on Pinghan Road.The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army seized the opportunity and launched the Battle of Bao (Ding) South on January 20.The fourth column commanded by Chen Zhengxiang and Hu Yaobang attacked the enemy on a section of the Ping-Han line south of Baoding and north of Shijiazhuang, and wiped out 8,000 enemies within a week. This battle opened up the cities of Dingxian, Xinle, Zhengding and their surrounding strongholds and annihilated the defending enemies in these counties and strongholds. Although the main force of the enemy was not wiped out, it was not a small victory. Connected into two pieces. This is "no small victory", but it is far from the mass annihilation war requested by Mao Zedong. The third battle is the battle of Zhengtai.This battle was fought so meaningfully that Japanese soldiers were even fought in the Kuomintang army. The Zhengtai Railway ends at Zhengding in the east and Taiyuan in the west. Although it is only 249 kilometers long, it winds its way among the lofty mountains, splitting the majestic Taihang Mountain into two parts.Although there are Yangquan, Jingdan, and Tianxian Niangziguan along the railway line, the Kuomintang army deployed more troops in Taiyuan and Shijiazhuang, and the other places were mainly local security teams. The troops were scattered and the combat effectiveness was not strong.Its troops belonged to two command systems. The east of Niangziguan was under the command of Sun Lianzhong's Baoding Appeasement Office; the west of Niangziguan was under the command of Yan Xishan's Taiyuan Appeasement Office. Nie Rongzhen, who has dealt with Yan Xishan for 8 years in Jinchaji, knows very well that you don't care about me among the Kuomintang warlords, and I don't care about you.If I launch an attack on Shijiazhuang, Yan Xishan will not support Sun Linchong.At the beginning of the year, during the battle in the north and south areas of Baoding, our army had destroyed the Ping-Han Railway from Baoding to Shijiazhuang. If our army attacked Shijiazhuang, it would be difficult for the enemy in the north to go south for reinforcements. After careful consideration, Nie Rongzhen reported to the Central Military Commission on March 31, 1947: "I will launch the Zhengtai Campaign, with the purpose of annihilating the Zhengtai Line and the periphery of Shimen (Shijiazhuang), and completely destroying the railway. The campaign will be completed in two phases: The first phase focused on the eastern section, with three columns annihilating the enemies outside Shimen; Annihilate and aid the enemy first, and then attack westward. The whole campaign will be completed in about a month." In order to win the Zhengtai Battle, Nie Rongzhen required the troops to carry out targeted tactical and technical training, and personally organized commanders and staff above the regiment to conduct on-site surveys.In Nie Rongzhen's view, this is a major annihilation battle in line with the central government's intentions. On April 3, the order to hold the Zhengda Battle was communicated to all units. Yang Dezhi and Li Zhimin commanded the second column, Yang Chengwu commanded the third column, and jointly marched north of Shijiazhuang; Chen Zhengxiang and Hu Yaobang commanded the fourth column, and marched south of Shijiazhuang. On April 9, the three columns of our army cooperated from north to south to launch an attack on the enemies outside Shijiazhuang.This is a very well-planned attack by our army in North China.The fight went well.After three days and nights of fierce fighting, more than 90 enemy strongholds were cleared, the railway from Shijiazhuang to Huolu was destroyed, and a regiment of the enemy's third army and a local team totaled more than 10,000 people. The main force of the second and third columns advanced along the banks of the Chuntuo River, captured Jingxing, Huolu and other places in one fell swoop, continued to advance westward along both sides of the Zhengda Railway, successfully conquered the Tianxian Niangziguan, and approached Yangquan. After Mao Zedong learned of the situation, he promptly sent a power call to the front line in North China, and praised: "You have now taken the initiative. If the enemy comes to the south, you don't need to pay attention to him, and you still concentrate on completing the Zhengtai campaign and put the enemy completely passive. A very correct policy... This is the policy of attacking the weak first, then the strong, you attack yours, and I attack mine (each attacking its own), that is, a policy of completely active warfare." Yangquan is the raw material base of heavy industry in Shanxi, and it is a piece of meat in Yan Xishan's heart.After Yan Xishan heard the news that our army was approaching Yangquan, fearing that Yangquan would fall, he ordered the main force of the 33rd Army to travel eastward from Taiyuan, Qixian and other places to help;After finding out the situation, Nie Rongzhen ordered our army to adopt the tactics of roundabout encirclement, thrusting into the side, and cutting off the enemy's retreat. The second and third columns seized the enemy from the front, and the fourth column moved westward from the Jingxing area to gradually compress and surround the enemy. . On May 2, after two days of fighting, our army wiped out most of the enemies in Yangquan, Shouyang, Langyu and other places, leaving only an enemy force on Shinao Mountain to resist stubbornly. Shinao Mountain is 4 kilometers away from Yangquan. It is a commanding height with strong fortifications and dangerous terrain.As early as seven or eight years ago in the Hundred Regiments War, Chen Geng's brigade fought fiercely with the Japanese army on Lion's Brain Mountain.The battle was brutal, and the casualties are still unforgettable. On May 1, the 23rd Regiment of the 3rd Vertical and 8th Brigade surrounded Shinao Mountain, but failed to capture this commanding height after repeated attacks. After Nie Rongzhen learned of this situation, she was a little surprised.As usual, he might have ordered his troops to bypass this stronghold, but at this time the Zhengda campaign was drawing to a close, and he wanted to find out more about the enemy's situation. Not long after, Yang Chengwu called and said: "Commander, it is the Japanese who stick to Lion's Brain Mountain." "What? Japanese?" Nie Rongzhen asked.If two years ago, there were Japanese everywhere in Jinchaji, Nie Rongzhen had no doubts.But now that the War of Resistance has ended two years ago, our army is fighting against Chiang Kai-shek's reactionary army. How could there be a Japanese army? "It's a Japanese soldier." Yang Chengwu said firmly, "It's the Fifth Japanese Security Brigade on the mountain." Nie Rongzhen pondered for a moment, and said: "Whether it is the Japanese army or the Kuomintang army, we must resolutely capture this stronghold, but the method must be flexible. For the Japanese army, it is not necessary to attack by force. Explain the situation of the war to them!" Nearly two years after the end of the Anti-Japanese War, there are indeed more than 500 Japanese soldiers on Lion's Brain Mountain.Yan Xishan knew that the Japanese army had fighting power. In order to expand his strength, he took advantage of the eagerness to return to the country when the Japanese army surrendered. According to Nie Rongzhen's instructions, the troops besieging Lion's Brain Mountain temporarily stopped shooting, but cut off the enemy's power and water sources. On the third day, a Japanese soldier carried a white flag, walked down from Lion's Brain Mountain, and handed over a letter written in Chinese and Japanese to the People's Liberation Army.The general idea of ​​the letter is: Japan has been defeated. They should not have stayed on the battlefield and should not have confronted the "Eight Routes".Now they are willing to negotiate with the "Eight Roads", hoping to protect the safety of themselves and their wives and daughters. The Japanese army has always been known for their stubbornness and rarely surrendered, but time has passed, and now they are fighting for Yan Xishan, or fighting to save their own lives, who is willing to sacrifice their lives? ! Zhang Yinghui, the head of the 22nd Regiment, read the letter and was angry and annoyed. He said sharply to the Japanese soldier who delivered the letter: "Tell you, sir, our PLA has strict discipline, we never commit any crimes, and we never kill innocent people indiscriminately. If you put down your weapons, Don’t be an enemy of the people, not only will we guarantee your personal safety, but we will also make proper arrangements for your future lives.” The Japanese soldier knew Chinese and bowed again and again after listening to Commander Zhang, but he asked Commander Zhang to send a representative to Lion's Brain Mountain to negotiate directly with the Japanese commander.Head Zhang immediately called Battalion Commander Ma on the forward position and asked him to act as a representative to negotiate with the Japanese army. Battalion Commander Ma and his correspondents came to the top of Lion's Brain Mountain. The Japanese army captain Nobuo Fujita leaned forward, saluted with a "click", and then said in blunt Chinese: "We can surrender, but I hope your army can guarantee the fifth place." The safety of the officers and soldiers of the brigade and their families, and the protection of the family and property of the officers and soldiers." Seeing this group of Japanese, Battalion Commander Ma immediately thought of the two old men who were crucified to death by Japanese invaders during the War of Resistance Against Japan, and that scene often appeared before his eyes for many years.In terms of personal feelings, he would rather lead his troops to attack Lion's Brain Mountain and solve the Japanese army who had committed serious crimes against the Chinese.But he was well aware of his immediate mission, so he held back his breath and said: "The PLA treats prisoners preferentially. Our army can meet your conditions. You must lay down your weapons immediately." 藤田信雄大队长一声吼，数百名日军争先恐后地从工事里钻出来，把枪架好，把装备整整齐齐地堆放好，列队站在一旁等候发落。当马营长的眼光投向那部用胶布粘着仪表玻璃的电台时，一名日本军械官连忙解释说：“请别误会，那个地方早就坏了，不是我们故意损坏的。” 马营长没有在意，却问：“你们不是说有眷属吗，眷属在哪里？” 这时候，藤田大队长才把上百名日本女人和孩子从一个岗楼里叫出来。 岗楼小，里面污秽不堪，这些妇女孩子挤在里面简直是活受罪，日本侵略者给中国人民造成了巨大灾难，也给日本人民带来了灾难。 这些日本人暂时安置在阳泉以后，聂荣臻曾经让杨成武代表他前去看望。藤田信雄见到扬成武，伸出大拇指十分激动地说：“贵军枪打得准，纪律严明，了不起！了不起！” 狮脑山不攻自破。 正太战役胜利结束。这是华北我军逐渐走向成熟的一次具有转折意义的战役。