Chapter 3 Chapter 2 Battle on the Plains

In the four battles to protect the north, our army in North China dared to implement "heart-out tactics".Military and political all-rounder Yang Chengwu commanded the three armies and moved to the Great Plains.On Xumu City, the hero Song Futang covered his protruding intestines with his hands and commanded the troops to counterattack.In the tough battle of Dingxing, the six verticals were furious with the new army.With the victory in North China, our army in North China is unrivaled in the world, full of pride. The liberation of Shijiazhuang further changed the military situation in North China in a direction favorable to our army.On the Great North China Plain, except for a few big cities such as Beiping, Tianjin, Baoding, and Zhangjiakou, the rest of the places dissolve into the ocean of our liberated areas.Although the enemy in North China has repeatedly lost important places, the Fu Zuoyi Group still retains hundreds of thousands of strong troops, which is a worry that our army in the Northeast must always consider.Containing the enemy in North China seems to have become the top priority of our army in North China.

In mid-May 1948, our army in North China, as the strategic mobile force of the Central Committee of Northern Shaanxi, really played a special strategic containment role.In order to cooperate with our army in the Northeast and contain the enemy in North China who is unable to provide foreign aid, the third and fourth columns of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army and the fourth brigade of the second column, a total of 7 brigades, formed a campaign corps. From May 13 to June On the 25th, he took the enemy's third army, sixteenth army, ninety-fourth army, ninety-second army, independent division, and newly formed fourth cavalry division to circle in eastern Hebei and Rexi.

With the attitude of experts in guerrilla warfare, our army turned to battle nimbly, not only holding a large number of Kuomintang troops, but also winning all the way and playing triumphant songs.In just one month, our army from Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei successively conquered famous cities and towns such as Longhua, Fengning, Xinluanping, Luanping, Pingquan, Fengrun, Changli, liberated vast villages, and wiped out more than 10,000 enemies.The action of our army is like a sharp knife, piercing the throat from North China to the Northeast, cutting off the connection between the enemies inside and outside the pass.

Fu Zuoyi, the commander of the Kuomintang North China "Suppression General" who took office half a year ago, was a little impatient, but he believed that he had superior military strength, and he had made great achievements in confronting our army in the past.In order to find the main force of our army, he urgently dispatched 7 divisions of the main force, starting from the Pinggu area, passing through Sanhe, Jixian, and Yutian, rushing eastward to help, in an attempt to fight our main force, eliminate our army, and open up connections inside and outside the pass to support the defeated troops outside the pass. Enemy around.But Fu Zuoyi, who was eager to fight, gave up the initiative in the process of passive coping.

After Fu Zuoyi transferred his main force to the east, the defenses between Baoding and Beiping were weak. The 43rd Division of the 94th Army was stationed in Zhuo County, and the temporary 31st Division of the newly formed Second Army was stationed at Dingxing and Gaobei. Dian, Laishui, Beihedian, Gucheng, and Xushui, the new Second Army headquarters led the temporary 32nd and 33rd Divisions to station in Baoding and its surrounding areas.As a result, on the 360-mile-long railway line between Beiping and Baoding, except for the New Second Army, most of them were irregular armed forces without much combat effectiveness.Baobei Throat has almost become a vacuum fortified by the National Army.

Baobei area, the area along the railway line between Xushui in Baoding in the guide and Zhuo County in Beiping in the north, has a very important strategic position.In the Baoding area, there is the majestic Taihang Mountain in the west, and the rivers and valleys in the east. Xuanhua and Datong are its outer barriers, and Daumaguan and Zijingguan are its inland passes. These barriers and obstacles are connected with it, forming an internal and external trend, and jointly guarding the capital. During the War of Liberation, our army attacked the Baobei area many times.Since this area is narrow and there is not much room for maneuver, it is not suitable for large corps movements to fight. At the same time, railways, roads, and rivers criss-cross each other. Whenever our army enters this area, the enemy quickly gathers along the railways and roads, making it difficult for us to separate. It is not easy to encircle, and it is even more difficult to wipe out completely. It is even necessary to evacuate the battlefield after only a few days of fighting, otherwise it will cause a disadvantageous situation.Therefore, our army has attacked Baobei several times and has never been able to fight a big battle of annihilation.However, this is the enemy's strategic base in North China, where a large number of troops are concentrated. Only by attacking Baobei can our army mobilize the enemy and find an opportunity to wipe out the enemy.More importantly, it can restrain the enemy in North China and cooperate with our army's operations in the Northeast battlefield.Therefore, every time our army attacks Baobei, the words "cooperate with our army in the Northeast" are written on the combat order.

Although the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army failed to achieve the expected results in Baobei several times, they still kept an eye on Baobei, looking for fighter opportunities.Right now, Fu Zuoyi's surrender of Baoding will undoubtedly give our army a good opportunity to attack Baobei.In order to cooperate with our army in eastern Jidong, mobilize the enemy heading for eastern Jidong to return to aid, create a situation of isolation and Baoding, and shatter the enemy's attempt to gather remnants of the enemy to jointly disturb our Hejian and Shijiazhuang, the head of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region decided: 1. The main force of the sixth, seventh, and second columns, the artillery brigade, and the troops under the jurisdiction of the first, third, fifth, sixth, and tenth districts of the military region formed a powerful corps, which was under the command of Yang Chengwu. Northern campaign.

Yang Chengwu, a military and political all-rounder, has been in battle for a long time. With his rich experience and keen sense, he made the determination to protect the North: use the first column and command the third division of the Beiyue Military Region to blow up the Liuli River and the Yongle Railway. bridge, destroying the Changxindian-Zhuoxian section of the railway, preventing the enemy from Beiping from sending reinforcements to the south, and ensuring the smooth annihilation of the main force; The Sixth Column attacked and annihilated the enemies of Dingxing and Beihedian; the Seventh Column and the Tenth Division of the Jizhong Military Region attacked Xincheng and completely destroyed the railway and road from Gaobeidian to Zhuoxian; the First and Sixth Armies of the Beiyue Military Region Destroy the Pingsui Railway to the west of Zhangjiakou in different divisions to contain the enemy and cooperate with the main force in operations.

The determination was made, and the sky was slightly brighter.Yang Chengwu rubbed his face with his hands, and ordered the Chief of Operations to quickly report the operation plan to the military headquarters. At this moment, Yang Chengwu, who was sleepless with one glance, did not feel sleepy.The tension and excitement before the battle always made him extra energetic.He believes that this battle can be fought well, and he has this confidence in the troops and himself. Laishui is an important stronghold of the Kuomintang army on the west side of the Ping-Han line. Although this place is small, it has a certain reputation.

As early as before the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were records about it.In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the hero Zu Ti who "danced on hearing the chicken" is today's Laishui people. Laishui guarding the enemy was originally the second regiment of the enemy's 31st division. On June 7, the enemy regiment leader led his first and third battalions to withdraw eastward to North Ngee'an, and continued to withdraw to Dingxing on the 7th.At the same time, the Fifth Company of the Second Battalion of the Second Regiment of the Laishui enemy withdrew to Bei Ngee'an. On the 8th, the head of the regiment led another battalion to reinforce Bei Ngee'an from Dingxing.

On July 10, Erzong was ordered to return to the Jizhong Plain from the Moyuan area.The enemy was frightened by the arrival of our army, and when our army attacked Dingxing, the enemy of Laishui abandoned the city and fled to Beiyi'an stronghold.Erzong occupied Laishui without firing a single shot. Beiyi'an is located to the east of Laishui, and the Nanjuma River rushes through it.The 2nd Vertical and 6th Brigade, with the 17th and 18th regiments, launched an attack on the enemy's isolated stronghold Bei Ngee'an at dusk on the day the battle was launched on the 15th. The initial attack was unexpectedly frustrated, although the enemy in Bei Ngee Ann was one-sixth of our attacking force, and the plain area was not dangerous to live in.But after the battle started, the commanders of the two regiments of our attacking force were reluctant to lag behind each other, thinking that the enemy's strength was small, and they were fighting for the top spot.In the absence of a rigorous and serious organizational plan in advance, they are satisfied with the existing experience in attacking fortifications, thinking that as long as the firepower is suppressed and the troops rush, the fortress on the flat ground can solve the battle.The two regiments "scrambled to fight" the enemy, vying with each other to break into the enemy's line first.When they were in the position to prepare for the attack, the 17th Regiment mistakenly believed that the 18th Regiment had already started attacking, and the 18th Regiment mistakenly believed that the 3rd Battalion of the 17th Regiment was the 3rd Battalion of their regiment. A chaotic battle caused the first attack to be thwarted.The troops that broke into the outer trench were overwhelmed by the firepower in the enemy fortress group, causing more than 200 casualties.The troops were forced to withdraw from the battle. The commander of the Sixth Brigade came to the front to personally command.The failure made the Sixth Brigade sober up a lot.The Sixth Brigade still followed the old rules, blasting first, clearing the periphery, and finally attacking.After being fully prepared, with an order, there were explosions on the enemy's position one after another, and the enemy's fortifications were blown up into the sky by our army's shells and explosives. At 15:30, the infantry launched a charge, and the commanders rushed up with shouts. This attack wiped out all the more than 600 enemies relying on the "Wang Fenggang-style" fortifications in just 20 minutes.The commanders and fighters of my second column successfully completed the first task, and immediately marched southward along Pinghan Road to surround Xushui City. Xushui is located on the Ping-Han railway line between Pingbao and has always been a strategic point that military strategists must contend for. It is not only the southern gate of Beiping, but also the throat of Ping-Han railway.Since the War of Liberation, our second column has conquered Xushui three times, but Xuan gave up three times.Therefore, the army is well aware of Xushui's terrain characteristics, customs and people's conditions, and the people also know our army very well.However, the enemy has learned the lessons of being wiped out after several strikes by me.The enemy's second army stationed in Xushui temporarily formed the third regiment of the 31st division and the security police team with a total of more than 2,000 people. Relying on the city wall, they built a relatively complete set of fortifications in the urban area and the moat, and set up multi-layered barriers. .A high fort was built on the city wall, three layers of perforations were set on the city waist, bunkers were built at the corner of the city, and bunkers were dug around, making Xushui City a veritable firepower city. It seems that the enemy army also learned a lot from a fall.In addition, the moat of Xushui City is 7 meters wide and 6 meters deep. It is filled with waist-deep river water. There are barbed wire fences and horse repellents on the outer edge. Countless landmines are everywhere. The entire obstacle zone is exaggerated. Can't fly in either.There are watchtowers and towers on the streets and roofs in the urban area, and the permanent fortifications are stronger than before.The enemy worked hard and vigorously strengthened the fortifications, forming a multi-level and three-dimensional sequence of firepower nets. There are side fires between each bunker to cover each other to prevent our army from blowing up the bunkers.The enemy built a fire city with the city wall as the focus and the bell and drum towers in the city as the core.Over the past few years, our army has taken three grams of Xushui, which really shocked the enemy and made them fine. At dawn on the 18th, after two days of rapid march, our second column arrived at the foot of Xushui City. The troops immediately deployed and surrounded Xushui tightly. After dawn, the Second Column Command urgently held a combat meeting.The head of the column asked everyone to take enough time to make sufficient preparations, learn the painful lessons of the Bei Ngee An battle, and overcome the thought of underestimating the enemy. After intense discussions, the column finally decided: the Sixth Brigade will attack Nanguan with swift and brave actions on the 18th and night, clearing the way for attacking Xushui.Quanzong began to attack the city at 17:40 on the 19th. At 3 o'clock on the 19th, the Nanguan battle ended, and the Sixth Brigade captured Nanguan.At 5:40 p.m., all troops were fully prepared to attack the city. The land of Yanzhao in July is extremely hot and stuffy.Just when our army was about to launch an attack, the weather was not good and there was a sudden heavy rain.Huge rain fell from the sky, and countless water curtains hung in front of everyone.The heavy rain will obviously affect our army's observation and impact effects, which is not good for our army.After weighing again and again, the head of the second column decided to postpone the time of the general attack overnight, and changed it to 7:30 am on the 20th. The battle was delayed, but the departments did not relax.In order to ensure a smooth attack, all units of our army made full use of the conditions that the people favored us, conducted extensive investigations, mastered the enemy's situation and terrain, and gained insight into the construction and distribution of all the enemy's fortifications and their characteristics.The troops stepped up the pre-war drills. After accepting the task, Wang Yuqi, the squad leader of the 2nd Battalion and 5th Company of the 14th Regiment, led the whole squad of soldiers to the city to carefully inspect the terrain and conduct research. According to the enemy's situation, the old large explosive boxes were replaced with smaller ones.According to the distance of movement, the speed of movement, the time of explosion and other conditions, the length of the fuse is accurately calculated. As the enemy's army changes, our army also changes accordingly, in order to gain a chance of winning. Just before the attack was launched, the Fifth Brigade discovered the originally planned breakthrough direction in the northeast corner of the city, because our army had broken through here several times, and the enemy had strengthened the defense here. pass.After research, the Brigade Commander decided to revise the original combat plan, changing the direction of the fourteenth regiment's attack at the north gate to the main attack direction, using the city gate as a breakthrough, blowing up the city gate with powerful blasting, and then assaulting the city; the thirteenth regiment was led by The protruding part to the east of the north gate leads to the outer moat with tunnels to remove obstacles to ascend the city. At dawn on the 20th, the fierce artillery fire of the general offensive bombarded the enemy's fortifications. Wang Yuqi, the squad leader of the demolition team, set up 300 catties of explosives at the north gate under the cover of artillery fire, and ignited and retreated in one go.With a loud bang, the north gate of the city wall was blown up, and it took only 5 minutes before and after.The commandos of the 4th Company of the 14th Regiment rushed forward bravely after the loud noise. The enemies in the city were dizzy by the loud noise just now. On the city wall, the deputy company commander Song Futang was instructing the soldiers to expand the breakthrough.Suddenly, a swarm of machine gun bullets flew straight at him.Obviously, Song Futang, who was waving a pistol, became the target of the enemy.Waves of heat spread from the abdomen to the whole body like an electric shock.He lowered his head and saw that the blood-stained intestines had bubbled out. The enemy rushed up again.It seems that the enemy army wants to take advantage of our army's unstable foothold and use counterattacks to close the breakthrough. In a critical moment, Song Futang pressed his intestines with one hand and directed the battle with a gun with the other.The soldiers were stunned. Immediately, there were bursts of vengeful roars and dense bullets.When the enemy retreated like a tide and the breakthrough was consolidated, Song Futang fell down with a smile on his face.Fan Ren, the second company of the Seventeenth Regiment, joined forces to conquer the enemy's triangular blockhouse without any casualties, and climbed to the city one after another from the southeast corner of the city.At the same time, the 16th regiment blew up the south gate, and all troops rushed into the city at the south gate, north gate and various breakthroughs, and launched fierce street battles with the enemy. At 10:30, the Xushui battle ended victoriously. 2,000 people including the third regiment defending the enemy were wiped out, and a large number of weapons and ammunition were seized. Xushui City was liberated by our army for the fourth time. In the frontline headquarters of the Baobei Campaign, the commander-in-chief Yang Chengwu had a smile on his face. All went well after the campaign started.Within a week, our army went down two cities in a row, wiped out thousands of enemies, and tightly attracted Fu Zuoyi's mobile pong regiment.The strategic mission was completed, and the troops gained a lot. It seemed that everything was following his combat trajectory. But at the moment it is not the time to be intoxicated, his gaze is aimed at Dingxing on the Pinghan line again. Dingxing City is located between Pingbao.It was Fanyang County in the Qin Dynasty and changed to Dingxing County in the Jin Dynasty.The enemy stationed here is the headquarters of the temporarily organized 31st Division and its first regiment, and most of its second regiment retreated into the city before our army attacked.The terrain outside the city is flat, surrounded by a masonry wall about 3 feet high, with a 5 feet deep ditch surrounding the city wall.Juma River and Beiyi River are its natural barriers.In order to prevent our army from attacking the city and make it easier to hold on, the enemy also built densely packed high and low bunkers around the city, and laid multiple layers of deer villages, barbed wire, spikes, hoofs and other secondary defense facilities.Although Dingxing is easy to defend and difficult to attack, there are two points that tempt Yang Chengwu.First, Dingxing has almost an entire division of enemies.Eating it obviously pushed the Battle of Baobei to a new level.Second, Dingxing is a treasure city, and a large amount of military rations and ammunition are stored in the city.This is the supply station where the Kuomintang army "mopped up" the mountainous areas in western Hebei and Hebei in the Qing Dynasty.Taking it down will obviously hurt Fu Zuoyi. Yang Chengwu thought again and again, and decided to eat Dingxing and its Beihedian, 5 kilometers south of the city. After all, this is a piece of fat.In order to ensure the victory of the battle, Yang Chengwu used the Six Columns who had rested for many days. On July 5th, our sixth column set off from the Zhengding area, passing through Xinle, Tangxian, Wanxian, and Mancheng counties, circumventing the mountainous areas and marching northward. After 9 days of hard marching, they arrived 15 kilometers west of Dingxing on the 13th. Kilometers away from Laobao, Jiecun and Zhouren areas. At 18:00 on the 15th, the Sixth Column began to move from the assembly area to the target of attack and annihilation.After crossing the river in Gusang, the Sixteenth Brigade approached the city along the north and south Dawei, Xihou, and Xicheng.Our army suddenly fell from the sky, shocking the enemy. Fearing of being annihilated, the defenders on the periphery retreated into the city.The Sixteenth Brigade did not give the enemy time to breathe.That night, the Seventh and Ninth Companies of the Forty-sixth Regiment took advantage of the night to seize the fortresses at the northeast and northwest corners of the city and took control of the north of the city with brave and swift actions.The 17th Brigade approached the city wall along Nanyin and Xinzhuang. When the Juma River swelled, it was difficult for our army to pass through. The brigade ordered the reconnaissance company to drive out the enemy guarding the bridge with covert actions and took control of the bridge. After the 50th and 51st regiments crossed the river, they rushed to the enemy according to the predetermined plan, pulled out more than 20 points outside the city, controlled Nanguan, Xiguan, Duzhuang and Beixiaodian, and completed the battle against Dingxing. The tight siege of the city. The 3rd Battalion of the 49th Regiment also surrounded Dingxing Station at the same time, and its main force entered the north of Jiahuizhuang as the second echelon of the brigade.The 53rd Regiment of the 18th Brigade surrounded Beihedian via Gengjiazhuang and Hongshuying, and took control of Dagou and Qiaotou Fortress. In the area, build fortifications to block the enemy's southern aid, and send reconnaissance and warning to Xincheng, Gaobeidian, and Songlindian; prepare to fight the enemy's reinforcements. Surrounding the spot and fighting for reinforcements, the six verticals were fully deployed, and the entire vertical's eyes were all on Dingxing City. At 23:30 on the 15th, the general attack on Dingxing City began. The 46th Regiment of the 16th Brigade first started in the north, and the gunfire and artillery sounded together. The commanders charged bravely and carried out continuous blasting.The enemy defending the city mistakenly thought that our army was going to open a breakthrough in the north of the city, and hurriedly mobilized troops and firepower to the north to strengthen the defense in the north of the city to prevent our army from breaking through. The enemy has been tricked.This move is to strike east and west, and its intention is to attract its attention to the north of the city, so as to cover the breakthrough in the main direction of the south of the city. After the enemy was fooled, the 50th Regiment launched a more violent attack in the south of the city. Seeing that the enemy's firepower was suppressed, the blasting teams moved forward immediately, taking advantage of the effect of artillery fire to blast four times in a row, clearing away various obstacles set by the enemy.Finally, forces were organized and 1,080 catties of explosives were placed under the south gate of the city wall. With a loud bang, the city gate was blown away.The entire demolition process went very smoothly.At a distance of 85 meters, our commando blasted five times in a row, and it took only 22 minutes, which was half the time originally expected.The commanders and fighters of the 50th Regiment rushed up immediately before the enemy could react. First, they cleared out the enemies on the city wall and consolidated the breakthrough. Then the follow-up troops rushed into the city one after another, and plunged into the deep battle. Not long after the south gate was blasted by our army, the 48th regiment also blasted the east gate.The 51st Regiment that assisted in the west of the city was interrupted by enemy artillery fire before the ladder touched the city wall after the general offensive began. The attack failed and suffered heavy casualties.As for the Forty-Sixth Regiment in the north of the city, due to the strengthening of the enemy's troops and firepower, several attacks were unsuccessful and they also suffered heavy casualties.In view of this situation, the head of the column immediately ordered all the siege troops, except for one to stand firm to prevent the enemy from escaping, the main force will enter the city from the south gate and east gate and engage in deep battles.After receiving the order from the column, our army immediately adjusted its deployment and rushed into the city continuously. The two divisions of the 50th and 51st regiments adopted the tactics of "cutting out the heart" in the deep battle, braved the continuous firepower of the remnant enemy, and swooped towards the command post of the enemy division. The speed of progress was beyond the enemy's expectations.In the enemy's division headquarters, the division commander Chen Zhiping never expected that his division headquarters would be occupied by our army first when the fighting was so fierce.In astonishment, Chen Zhiping obediently became a prisoner. The enemy's command organization was wiped out, and they were in a state of chaos without a leader.The remnant enemies in the southeast and northeast corners of the city were quickly wiped out by the warriors of the 46th Regiment who broke in from the east gate.The 47th regiment quickly moved north after annihilating the enemy in the southeast corner of the city. The remnants of the enemy divided into several groups and retreated to the northwest corner of the city while resisting. Relying on the fortifications of the city wall, they organized troops and firepower to attack me many times and resist tenaciously.After our army besieged the enemy in the northwest corner of the city, we organized troops to charge many times. After fierce fighting, at 12:30 the next day, the enemy in Dingxing was wiped out by us, and the battle ended in victory. After capturing Dingxing, the 2nd Battalion of the 49th Regiment immediately supported the 3rd Battalion with a company to attack Dingxing Station.For the enemy at Dingxing Station, our army adopted a strategy of encircling the enemy first to prevent him from escaping, and then leaving the enemy alone and helpless after conquering the city.The move was a huge success.Under the strong military pressure, the soldiers shouted to the enemy, publicized our army's policy, and guaranteed preferential treatment to the prisoners. The only way to survive is to surrender.The enemy's morale was shaken, their morale was depressed, and they surrendered one after another.The battle lasted only 10 minutes, and one battalion of the enemy was wiped out, and our army suffered few casualties. On the 16th, the 18th Brigade ordered its 52nd Regiment to return from Dingxing North to the vicinity of Dagou, and join the 53rd Regiment to wipe out the enemy at that point.After our army launched the attack, the defenders at Beihedian and the station were afraid of being annihilated, so they fled to Dagou. The Battle of Dingxing was the first large-scale fortified battle that the Six Columns participated in after its establishment.This young army has withstood the test and been tempered in this battle.Throughout the battle, the six verticals cleanly defeated the two cities, making a new army full of anger.After the war, the head of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region sent a telegram to praise the Six Columns. At the same time that the Sixth Column conquered Dingxing, Dagou, and Beihedian, the First Column broke through the traffic in the Peckxian and Changxindian sections, blocking the reinforcements of the enemy's temporary 17th Division. The Seven Columns also captured Xincheng, Gucheng, and Gaobeidian.Our army's resolute actions in peace and security have posed a huge threat to the Kuomintang Army's Beiping command center, forcing it to send the temporary Third Army, Ninety-fourth Army, Ninety-fifth Division and the newly organized Cavalry First Army in eastern Jidong The Fourth Division was hastily transferred southward to Zhuoxian and Liangxiang areas.At this time, the 32nd Division temporarily formed by the enemy of Baoding also went north to Qianhe.Based on this, the North China Field Army decided to block Zhuo County's south-aided enemy, and lured Baoding's temporary 32nd Division to advance northward to find an opportunity to annihilate them.However, after the division entered Caohe, it returned south immediately, and it happened to be raining continuously and the river swelled, which directly affected combat operations.Our army accepted as soon as it was good, and announced the end of the Baobei Campaign in time. The Battle of Baobei effectively cooperated with the operations of the Second Corps in Jidong, and won the victory of completely annihilating the 31st Division temporarily organized by the enemy.Our army in North China proved its strength in this battle.In the North China Plain, except for a few big cities, our army has been able to attack everywhere and is unrivaled in the world.