Chapter 7 Chapter 6 The camera counterattacks, Lianghuai and Jiaoji fight powerful enemies

In the summer of 1946, the Huaibei region suffered continuous torrential rains, the river surged, and there was a vast ocean everywhere. Chen Yi led the Shandong Field Army Command to march hard in the rain and arrived in Huaibei on July 25. At that time, Su Yu led the Central China Field Army to successive battles in central Jiangsu, and Chen Yi was determined to win two battles in Huaibei to change the situation in Huaibei. But by the end of July, the enemy's situation changed, and the main force of Jiang's army that continued to attack along the Longhai Line had increased to 15 regiments. Chen Yi's 21 regiments "can only be defeated but not wiped out" against them. Use the main force to find the stubborn enemy in Guiling (bi) and Si (county) and seek battle, and plan to destroy the two regiments first and then attack the Subang section of Jinpu Road."

Based on past experience, Zhang Dingcheng and Deng Zihui of the Central China Branch feel that the Guangxi troops have been run by Bai Chongxi for many years and have considerable combat effectiveness. Call Chen Yi on July 30 to persuade him to change his mind and fight Jiang Jun. On August 2, Chen Yi and Song Shilun replied to the Central China Branch Bureau: "Zhang Deng sent a telegram on the 30th, asking us to fight the Jiang army and not the Guangxi clique. After careful consideration beforehand, the Jiang army planned eight entire brigades, close together, away from Xuzhou is less than forty miles away, and the distance between each other is less than ten or twenty miles. The reinforcements are numerous and fast, and they can only be defeated but not wiped out. This time, in the 92nd division, my 9 regiments fought for two days and two nights before the end of the battle, so I can't make up my mind to fight the Jiang army on the northern front. But if the Jiang army advances eastward, there will be a chance to fight. Now the four regiments of the Guangxi clique are distributed in three places: Lingbi, Wuhe, and Sixian, and their reinforcements are all in the 70s and 80s. Outside the area, it is determined that they will be completely wiped out. In the past, equal forces have been used to fight against the Guangxi faction, so it has not been effective. This change may be effective. It has been decided to attack Sicheng on the 5th and will not change."

On August 3, Mao Zedong saw Chen Yi's telegram requesting to fight Si County. He felt that the combat conditions in the rainy season were not good, and instructed Chen and Song: "Don't fight any battle that can only be defeated but not wiped out. As long as the main force is in hand, there is always a chance to wipe out the enemy. It is not appropriate to be too hasty." The next day, he telegraphed Chen and Song again: "You have 50,000 mobile troops in your hands, as long as you are patient and not impatient, you can always find every opportunity to wipe out the enemy."

However, Chen Yi and Song Shilun had already issued an order to attack Sixian on August 2: the 8th Division and the 3 regiments of the Ninth Column were the main attack, and the Second Column and the 7th Division were responsible for the reinforcements and cut off the connection between Sixian and the enemy of Lingbi.Mao Zedong's telegram did not change their resolve. He Yixiang, the commander of the 8th Division, Ding Qiusheng, the political commissar, and the person in charge of the Nine Columns immediately came to the outside of Si County after receiving the order. The scene before them worried them.

Sixian County is surrounded by five large and small rivers including the Shiliang River. The surrounding area of ​​the county seat was originally a lake and swamp, which is flat and open, which is good for defense but not good for attack.It has been raining continuously these days, the river has soared, and the trench outside the city is two feet deep and five feet wide, forming a natural obstacle to our army.A gun tower has been built at the city gate of Sixian County. There is a firepower point every 100 meters on the city wall. There are also blockhouses on the four corners, and there is a deer village outside the city.After seeing the terrain, everyone suggested to their superiors to wait for the cannons to arrive before starting.But there was flooding everywhere, and I don't know how many days to wait, so the suggestion was rejected.

At midnight on August 7, the 8th Division launched a siege with 5 battalions of troops. They blasted continuously and attacked the city bravely. In less than 10 minutes, they broke through the north gate and northwest gate and entered the city.However, the defenders fought back tenaciously, and the attacking troops were insufficiently prepared. They failed to develop and open up the connection between the two breaches in time, and there was no strong reserve force and artillery support. After dawn on the second day, the enemy launched a counterattack in Sixian City. They first cut off the connection between our army in the city and the outside of the city with fierce artillery fire, and then charged our army with companies and platoons relying on houses. The artillery of the 8th Division could not be transported due to the flood, and there was no advantage in firepower.The enemy had the upper hand and took back Ximen. The 3 battalions of the 22nd Regiment of the 8th Division fought hard in the city, causing heavy casualties.

At this time, the commander of the 2nd Battalion panicked, turned around and ran outside the west gate, and the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion also broke through.Under the blockade of enemy firepower, there were heavy casualties. The 1st Battalion and 3rd Battalion continued to fight under tremendous pressure. The commander of the 1st Battalion and the 2nd Company died in the battle, and Li Yiqin, the leader of the 3rd Platoon, immediately took over the command.He is not afraid of the enemy's artillery blockade, and actively moves forward.Occupy a courtyard, and immediately organize soldiers to dig out the gun holes.

The enemy charged up, and everyone responded calmly. Zhong Baoding, the leader of the 9th squad, wiped out 17 enemies by himself.Li Yiqin led the machine gunners to form a mobile team, and they would go to wherever they were nervous to provide reinforcements, specializing in attacking small groups of enemy troops. Squad 8 asked: "We fought all day, let someone else change it." Li Yiqin said seriously: "Everyone else has missions, so why not! With me, Li Yiqin, I won't lose ground!" Under his command, the 2nd company repelled the enemy's 9 charges a day, held its position, and suffered few casualties.After the war, he was rated as "the most outstanding commander in the battle of Si County".

On August 8, the 77th Regiment of the Nine Columns fought a bloody battle with the enemy at the East Gate, causing heavy casualties. After the assault platoon of the 73rd regiment rushed up the city wall, it competed with the enemy for the bunker.Because the explosive package was damp and unusable, the machine gun fell into the water while swimming, and the grenades were quickly used up.Due to the depth of water outside the city, the follow-up troops could not keep up, and the entire platoon was almost killed. When the battle was the most intense that day, Chief of Staff Song Shilun came to command the 8th Division.When Chen Yi heard the Sixian battle report at the Geloushan Mountain Field Army Headquarters in Suining, he was anxious and asked about the situation repeatedly.

At dusk, the 8th Division sent two more battalions into the city for reinforcements, but their strength was still not dominant.Chen Yi instructed Song Shilun that night: "If there is a general attack tonight, I hope to fight resolutely. If you can't make a general attack tonight, you should retreat." On the 9th, the Wuhe enemy came to help and was repelled by the 7th Division, and more enemies were preparing to move towards Huaibei.The soldiers of the 8th Division in the city fought against the enemy for a long time, blood flowed all over the ground, and the river was dyed red, but the battle was still in a deadlocked state of exhaustion.In view of the heavy casualties of the 8th Division, the soldiers were too tired.The Ninth Column and the Second Column were unable to invest more troops for reinforcement due to the flood.In order to avoid continued consumption, the leaders of the Shandong Field Army decided to stop the attack, and all the main forces withdrew to the Suining area to rest.

The 8th Division, once known as the "Little Tiger in the Sleeves of Commander Chen", has never fought such a "useless battle"!Although more than 3,000 enemies were wiped out, the 8th Division also paid the price of more than 2,000 casualties. Moreover, the end city was not captured, which frustrated the plan to attack the Jinpu Line in the west of the mountains, and the morale of the 8th Division was frustrated.At that time, the officers and soldiers of the 8th Division complained a lot. Ding Qiusheng, the political commissar of the 8th Division, approached Chen Yi and said earnestly: "Our 8th Division's Si County did not fight well in the first battle. I have an unshirkable responsibility. Please commander punish me!" Chen Yi was also in a heavy mood, and he said comfortingly: "The Battle of Sixian, I don't think it was a defeat. At best, it was just a tie. What I want to criticize you is that the 8th Division is not comprehensive enough. You can only win battles, not Defeated battles. You have to withstand all kinds of trials. If you win a battle, you will be proud, which is very dangerous; if you lose a battle, you will be discouraged. " Having said that, Chen Yi, as the chief, took the responsibility for the failure on his own initiative. On October 4, he said in a letter to the leaders of the 8th Division: "The battle has not been fought well. It's not because the troops are bad. It's not because the divisions and brigades are bad. It's not because the field army's staff office is bad. The main reason is that I, the commander, made two mistakes... I should take responsibility for everything as a commander and admit this mistake to the commanders." He blamed himself frankly, affirming that the 8th Division "has always been a very good first-class corps, and its discipline is the crown of all armies." Do not shirk responsibility, so do not lose confidence... I never bow to the enemy, but I often self-criticize and am willing to bow to my comrades. This is true in victory, and it is also true in non-victory, even in defeat.” The leaders of Division 8 were greatly moved and encouraged when they read such a letter.They mobilized up and down, and carefully summed up the lessons of Si County's failure.It has been greatly improved in the organization and command, tactical technology, and coordination of urban attack.Later, the third column of the East China Field Army, which was expanded by the 8th Division, became a solid urban assault force and achieved brilliant results in Luoyang and Kaifeng. Through the summary, Chen Yi and the staff of the headquarters have also been improved.At the summary review meeting chaired by Chen Yi, the leading cadres and staff members of each column (division) put forward many valuable opinions.For example, Wang De, chief of staff, reflected: Before each battle in Jinpu, a meeting was held to fully study and arrange coordination and coordination; before this battle, the heads of all verticals (divisions) were not called for a meeting, and no specific organizational preparations were made.As a result, the overall deployment has soldiers that are not available, and the main attacking force is dispersed without a reserve force.Chen Yi frankly agrees with everyone's pertinent opinions.Chen Yi's spirit of courage to take responsibility has set an example for everyone and has greatly encouraged the staff of the headquarters. In the Battle of Si County, the Shandong Field Army did not fight well, its strength was damaged, and the morale of the troops was also affected.The Kuomintang army was full of arrogance. On August 19, Chief of Staff Chen Cheng went to the Xuzhou Appeasement Office to hold a military meeting with Xue Yue to determine the strategic plan to divide the march and occupy Huai'an and Huaiyin, the central cities of the Central China Liberated Area. The deployment of the Kuomintang army is divided into three groups: the central route is to attack Suining and Suqian with the strength of Li Yannian's group as the main attack, and 4 divisions and 12 brigades to attack Suining and Suqian; Attack in the direction of the liberated area.In order to strengthen the Li Yannian Group, the Kuomintang Army Command specially dispatched the most elite 74th Division from Xuyi and Tianchang to Xuzhou by train, and then entered the area around Gupi Town.Another reinforcement force, the 41st Brigade of the 26th Division, entered Chaoyangji.The original 7th Army, the main force, was stationed in the Lingbi and Sixian areas to contain the main force of our Shandong Field Army. After the battle in Si County, Chen Yi felt a lot of pressure.After a month of fighting, the troops in his hands are quite tired and need a period of rest.Zhang Yunyi and Li Yu from Shandong sent a telegram saying that the situation in southern Shandong was severe and the troops were insufficient, and they asked the main force in the mountains to return to Shandong.Su Yu and Tan Zhenlin suggested that Wei Guoqing's Second Column go south to Gaoyou, cooperate with the Central China Field Army's defense, and prevent the Kuomintang troops from going north along the canal. Feeling in a dilemma, Chen Yi and Song Shilun called the Central Military Commission on August 26 to put forward their suggestions.The telegram analyzed the enemy's situation and believed that the main attack direction of the Kuomintang army was Suining. "It is estimated that after the enemy has conquered Suining in the near future, they may move eastward quickly and occupy Suqian, Yanghe and other places on the west bank of the canal, or they may delay their eastward advance for a week to ten days." Chen Yi told the Central Committee: His troops suffered heavy casualties after the battle in Si County and needed to be supplemented and rectified.Some troops are not strong in combat effectiveness and have poor discipline, and they also need to be downsized and reorganized.But the most difficult thing is that "the two districts of Huaibei and Huaihai were hit by heavy rains and floods, unprecedented in the past ten years. The troops cannot use explosives and hand grenades when they are wet, and the troops cannot wear shoes and socks when they walk by water." "Zhang and Li suggested that the mountains go back to Shandong, and Su and Tan suggested that the two verticals go south to Gaoyou to fight the 25th Army. Chen Yi's idea is: "The mountains and fields gather in Siyang and the east of the canal, and we must strive for a month of training before launching an attack." On August 29, Mao Zedong called back, asking Shan Ye to seek opportunities to fight the war of annihilation.The telegram said: "Now the enemy is gradually heading east, trying to break through the Longhai line and threaten Huaiyin and Linyi. Our army must find an opportunity to wipe out the enemy. Our army's plan to rest for a month is actually impossible. It will put us in a passive position. You The main force should be on standby in the area east of Suining, imitating Su Yu's method to concentrate the main force to wipe out a part of the enemy, rest for a few days and fight again, and rest for a few days after the fight, so that morale can always be kept high and discipline can be improved. September is the right time to fight , both the Liu Deng Army and the Central Plains Army hope that your army will cooperate. If you do not fight at this time, the enemy will occupy more land and the prestige will increase, and our morale and people's morale will be damaged. Therefore, we must look for opportunities to fight, destroy the enemy's prestige, and boost our morale. With one regiment and one brigade of the enemy, fighting five or six times can create a favorable situation." Chen Yi also wanted to fight a good fight and reverse the passive situation.However, the weather was not good, and continuous heavy rain and floods made it difficult for the troops in the mountains to move. On August 30, Chen Yi reported the situation to the Shandong Military Region and the Military Commission, saying: "Our 2nd Division, 7th, and 8th Division will gather the lines of Siyang, Zhongxing, Wangji, and Lirenji within a few days, and move from Siyang to the north now. The three big rivers in the middle , South of Siyang City was flooded, covering four districts. Residents took boats and drowned countless people and animals, so they could not return to Lu for the time being, and remained at the same place. It has been raining for days and flooded everywhere. Residents say that it is not the water after autumn We can’t retreat. We can only try to rest the troops.” Chen Yi also could not agree to the Shandong Military Region’s request that the main force return to fight in southern Shandong.The reason was "mainly because 1,500 wounded were crowded on the two main roads in Suqian City. It took more than ten thousand civilians to transport them for five nights, and the transport was completed last night. The troops could no longer enter the area, so they moved south to Si County." Just as the Xuzhou Kuomintang army was preparing to attack Huai'an and Huaiyin, the Shandong Kuomintang army also began to attack.Li Mi's army launched an attack on Zibo, Zhangdian, Zhangqiu and other places in our central Shandong liberated area along the Jiaoji Railway. As the main force of the mountains and fields went south, Ye Fei's Yizong was ordered to defend the Linyi area. The troops in the central Lu liberated area were empty and could not be stopped With the attack of the Kuomintang army, the situation suddenly became serious. Shandong and Lianghuai are all waiting for Chen Yi to bring the main force to reinforce, but Chen Yi has to wait in Suining and Siyang to block the Kuomintang army in the direction of Xuzhou, and he can't go anywhere. The situation is very worrying.The total strength of our army in East China is not small, but it is divided into three major parts: Shandong, Lianghuai, and Central China.If we concentrate our forces too early, we will inevitably abandon one or two of the liberated areas. If we do not concentrate our forces and fight separately in several directions, we will not be able to fight a large-scale war of annihilation. At this time, the Li Yannian Group of the Kuomintang Army had completed preparations to attack the Huaihe River and Huaihe River, and at the end of August, the troops were divided into three groups to attack the east of the canal.The 7th Army on the South Road crossed the Huaihe River and occupied Yanghe Town on the 31st; the 69th Reorganized Division on the Middle Road occupied Suining City on the 27th and Suqian on the 29th; the 58th Reorganized Division on the North Road confronted our army in the Chaoyangji and Yugou areas.The reorganized 74th Division, which was responsible for the main task of attacking the Huaihe River, followed behind the 7th Army, concealing its own attempts, and advancing quietly. At that time, the Kuomintang army put on a posture of going to a decisive battle with our army in Siyang, built a bridge over the river, and sent troops to "clear and suppress" everywhere, bluffing. Because our army made serious mistakes in campaign reconnaissance and was confused by the enemy's feints, we did not observe the Kuomintang army's strategic intention to go straight to Huai'an and Huaiyin. According to the reconnaissance situation, Chen Yi and Song Shilun decided to move the main force of the mountains to the north to the direction of Shuyang, to attack the eastward enemy of Xuzhou, and to take care of the direction of Lunan.Leaving Jiu Zong to guard Siyang. On September 7, the Shandong Field Army Headquarters issued an order: "In order to facilitate new maneuvers, our army will attack the enemy who may invade Shuyang from Suqian, or attack the enemy who may invade Huaiyin from Yanghe in the south. counties), Shu (Yang), and Suqian counties to covertly wait." The deployment is that the second column is in Xinji, the ninth column is to the south of Si County, the 7th Division is in Daxingji, and the 8th Division is still in Yugou.The night troops began to move. Su and Tan in Central Su learned of Shanye's deployment plan and believed that although this plan could maintain contact with Lunan, it would be very dangerous to gather the main force in Siyang and leave the two Huaihe Rivers empty. On September 7, Su and Tan sent a telegram to Chen Yi, the Central China Bureau, and the Central Committee: "We request the mountains and fields to fight several battles in the Siyang area to defeat the enemy, otherwise the two Huaihe Rivers will be lost. If the two Huaihe Rivers are lost, not only will the political influence be bad , and directly affect the operations on the southern front." They said: "If Shanye must leave Huai and Si and shift his offensive to the north, we request that the second column be left behind. After we capture Huai'an, we should temporarily abandon the more favorable situation in central Jiangsu , and transfer the main force to Huai and Si." On the 8th, Su and Tan telegraphed Chen, Song, Zhang Dingcheng, and Deng Zihui in a stronger tone: "Our opinion: the plan of the army commander to transfer the main force to Shu (Yang) and Su (Qian) to prevent the stubborn enemy from advancing eastward is in essence This will cause the enemy to quickly occupy the two Huaihe Rivers and the canal line, which will lead to the abandonment of central China and the forced withdrawal of the main force in the mountains and fields to Shandong. In this way, the main force in the central Soviet Union will inevitably cause our army to retreat northwards due to lack of rear supplies and surrounded by powerful enemies on three sides. Advance along the Yangtze River. If the army commander still insists on moving northward, we firmly demand that all the Second Column be left behind, with Wei Guoqing under the unified command to contain the enemy. Wait for the main force in Central Soviet Union to turn northward in order to stop the enemy going south. Otherwise, the situation in Central China will change, It’s hard to take responsibility.” Chen Yi and Song Shilun received the telegram from Su and Tan, but they did not change their battle plan. On the 9th, they replied to Su, Tan, Zhang, and Deng with confidence: "The enemy situation in Huaibei is changing. The 7th Army has moved south to the Ling, Si, Sui, and Suqian areas, and Jiang's army will take over. Now look at the For a few days, if Jiang's army advances from Suqian to the east, our army will attack in time, or wipe out the enemy between Suqian, Shuyang, and Xin'an. Or attack the Sui and Su areas from the west, which will definitely change the situation of the battle. If so, Shuyang, Lianghuai, and southern Shandong None of them will cause a mutation." They instructed: "The troops of Su and Tan should still take down Huai'an, strive for rest, and move the camera." Shan Ye's attitude also affected Mao Zedong. He saw Chen Yi's telegram on the 9th, and he replied that he was "very happy and very comforted" with Shan Ye's plan.At the same time, it was instructed that the main task of Su Yu's troops was to rest and reorganize, and whether to fight Huai'an could be decided according to the actual situation. Unexpectedly, on September 10, the Kuomintang army suddenly moved southward to Huaiyin, entangled the main force in the mountains with the 7th Guangxi Army, and at the same time used its main force to break through the defense of the Nine Columns of Huaye and approach the suburbs of Huaiyin. Huaiyin and Huai'an are the strategic points of the Central China Liberated Area. Once the Central China Field Army is lost, the main force of the Central China Field Army will not be able to gain a foothold in Central Jiangsu and can only withdraw to Northern Jiangsu. In this way, the PLA's combat room for maneuver will become even narrower, and the economy will also increase a lot. difficulties, thus placing the PLA in a strategically passive position. After Chen Yi discovered the Kuomintang's attempt, he was very anxious!On the one hand, he ordered the 9th Column, 5th Brigade, and 13th Brigade of the Central China Field Army to stop the enemy on the south bank of the canal west of Huaiyin, and on the other hand, he asked the Central Military Commission to send Su Yu and Tan Zhenlin to lead the main force of the Central China Field Army northward to reinforce Huaiyin and Huai'an. On September 11, after receiving a telegram from Chen Yi, Chairman Mao Zedong of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Military Commission called Chen Yi, Su Yu, Song Shilun, and Tan Zhenlin: "The six enemy divisions are going south, and the two Huaihe Rivers (Huaiyin and Huai'an) are in danger. The 6th Division) immediately opened the two Huaihe Rivers, and prepared to cooperate with the main force of Chen and Song to completely wipe out the enemy. But Chen and Song should fight independently now, and before Su Tan arrives, annihilate one or two brigades of the enemy going south. The main forces of the Soviet Union and China arrive, and work together to annihilate them all." After receiving Mao Zedong's telegram, Su Yu immediately stopped the siege of Hai'an, and led the main force of the Central China Field Army to rush northward despite the heavy rain.However, Hai'an is 250 kilometers away from Lianghuai, with dense water networks and criss-crossing rivers along the way. In addition to heavy rain and muddy roads, the main force of the Central China Field Army could not reach Huaiyin in time to participate in the war. On September 11, the 74th Division, 28th Division and 7th Army reorganized by the Kuomintang launched a fierce attack on Huaiyin City. The reorganized 74th Division is one of the "five main forces" of the Kuomintang army. It is well-equipped with American equipment, well-trained, and has strong combat effectiveness. It is known as Chiang Kai-shek's "Royal Forest Army" and "Ace Army".At the beginning of the war, it marched from Nanjing to the front line of the civil war, occupying Liuhe and Tianchang for the first time, arrogant and domineering, and arrogant. The reorganized 28th Division has stronger combat effectiveness and more flexible tactics, and is called the "Monkey Army".In the battles in Huainan and Huaibei, they were particularly tenacious. If our army wanted to capture one of them, it would often cost four or five casualties. The artillery of the Kuomintang army bombarded Huaiyin City for a full hour, firing tens of thousands of shells.Dozens of fighter jets and bombers bombarded the defenders indiscriminately. After the bombing and shelling, the reorganized 74th Division, 28th Division and 7th Army launched a round of attacks on Huaiyin City in a dense formation. The 9th Column and 5th Brigade of the Central China Field Army braved the enemy's fierce artillery fire and fought bloody battles. , Hand grenades repelled the attack again and again by the Kuomintang army, which was fully equipped with American weapons. In the fierce battle until the 17th, the enemy first bombed with multiple planes in turn, and then launched two large-scale attacks, all of which failed.Subsequently, the enemy used the sorghum field to attack and occupy the position of a battalion of the Nine Columns, and occupied a section of the river embankment.At this time, the Nine Columns were in a very disadvantageous situation.They fought and retreated, and all retreated to Huaiyin City that night, in order to use the city to compete with the enemy again. When Jiu Zong was fighting against the enemy, Er Zong was ordered to return to Zhongxing and Yugou to wait for the enemy at Xingye.On the 17th, the Zong learned that the two regiments of the 171st Division of the enemy's 7th Army went south along the Siyang-Huaiyin highway to attack the 8th Division's position, so they ordered the 4th Brigade to go northward from the highway to carry out a side attack, and supported the 8th Division to crush the enemy's offensive. At 14:00 on the same day, the 8th Division began to attack, and the 4th Brigade with two regiments went straight to Jinjiazhuang in the south of the road, cutting off the enemy's retreat.However, because the 8th Division attacked too late and tried to be discovered by the enemy, it quickly retracted and missed the opportunity to wipe out the enemy. On the 18th, the enemy's 171st Division made a comeback and rushed to Yugou with all its strength. The 4th Brigade and 10th Regiment took advantage of the momentum to hit the enemy's flank with all their strength, forcing them to retreat quickly again. The 10th regiment turned to pursue nearby and wiped out part of the enemy.Although the 2nd Column and 8th Division had many contacts with the enemy, they failed to cause major damage to the enemy. In the end, like the Ninth Column, they failed to prevent the enemy from advancing southward to Huaiyin.The enemy dispatched dozens of planes to bombard indiscriminately, and all 5 ground strikes were repelled, but the battle situation became more and more critical. In this battle, due to the inaccurate grasp of the enemy's situation, improper use of troops, and inflexible command, Huaiyin, the capital of the Jiangsu-Anhui Liberated Area, fell into the enemy's hands on the 19th, making the situation in central China more and more serious.However, the main force of the Central China Field Army was finally transferred to the north, which fulfilled Chen Yi's long-cherished wish and merged the two main forces of Central China and Shandong to form a powerful combat force.Just as Chen Yi said in a telegram sent to Su, Tan, Zhang, and Deng when Huaiyin was in crisis: "In the future, we will strive to join forces to change the situation." On September 23, the Central Military Commission gave a clearer instruction: "The Shanye and Huaye armies will concentrate their operations, and the two headquarters should also be integrated. It is proposed that Chen Yi be the commander and political commissar, Su Yu be the deputy commander, and Tan Zhenlin be the deputy political commissar." After Su Yu received the telegram from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, he immediately led the main force of the Central China Field Army to move northward from Yilin County (now Funing Yilin Town) to Lianshui. On September 27, Su Yu, Tan Zhenlin and Chen Yi jointly studied the combat deployment. At that time, 12 armies (reorganized divisions) and 29 brigades under the command of Xue Yue, director of the Xuzhou Appeasement Office, 12 of which were concentrated in the Huaihai area.After the merger of the Shandong Field Army and the East China Field Army, the total strength will reach more than 100,000. On September 28, the Central Military Commission sent a telegram to Chen Yi: "The first battle between the two armies must be won. Our opinion: (1) Don't fight the Guangxi faction, first fight the Central faction; (2) Don't divide the troops to fight the two enemies, you must concentrate Hit an enemy." On September 30, the Central Military Commission sent a telegram to Chen Yi, Su Yu, Tan Zhenlin and told Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping: "You must strive to wipe out 7 to 10 brigades of Xue Yue within three months, and Liu Deng will be responsible for annihilating the 5th Army and 11th Division. In short, , in the next period of time, we will mainly attack Xue Yue and change the situation of the battle." According to the instructions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chen Yi, together with the comrades of the Central China Branch, agreed on the combat deployment and the command system after the merger of Shanye and Huaye, and reported it to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on October 1.In his report, Chen Yi proposed that the main forces of the mountains and fields should be concentrated between Suqian and Shuyang, and in the area north of the Liutang River, to annihilate the enemies advancing eastward along the canal, or cross the canal westward to recover Huaibei.The report also said: "The two sub-bureau meetings showed that their war policy is very correct." Change the situation." The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China sent a telegram to Chen Yi on October 3 and informed Zhang Dingcheng, Deng Zihui, and Su Yu, pointing out: "The deployment is very good, and I hope to implement it resolutely." "I hope you will fight a few good victories in Huaihai." The task is to concentrate all efforts to wipe out about 10 brigades of Xue Yue, which can change the situation of the battle." The strategic decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the corresponding organizational decision (merging of the Shanye and Huaye headquarters, and the unified command of Chen and Su) could not be implemented immediately due to changes in the enemy's situation. On October 15, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China telegraphed again: "Nanjing Xi, Jiang Fang plans to lead me to Shandong. I will not go for a long time, but I am determined to fight with me in Huaibei. This situation is in my favor. I hope you will concentrate on the mountains, the Huai Make all your strength (never disperse) to annihilate the enemies advancing eastward, then cross the entire army westward to recover the canal, and wipe out 7 to 10 brigades of Xue Yue within 2 to 3 months. The Central Plains is dispatched. In order to carry out this sacred mission, it is extremely necessary for Chen, Zhang, Deng, Zeng, Su, and Tan to unite and coordinate. Under the leadership of Chen, major policies are jointly decided (the six of you often stay together to avoid delaying military opportunities by going back and forth to e-commerce), The command of the battle is handed over to Su." Chen Yi and the Central China Branch acted in unison in accordance with the strategic and organizational decisions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The main forces of Shanye and Huaye gathered in Shuyang and Suqian, waiting to meet the enemy of the Eastern Criminals. On October 18, Chen Yi, Su Yu, and Tan Zhenlin jointly reported the deployment to the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China.The Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China replied in a telegram the next day, stating: "The deployment is very good, and we hope to implement it resolutely." A major battle in the Huaihai area was still in the process of brewing. The Central China Field Army and the Shandong Field Army successively held six battles of varying scales in northern Jiangsu and southern Shandong, including the Dongtai Defense Battle, the Lianshui Defense Battle, the Yidong Counterattack, and the Taiwan War. Zao counterattack, Huaishu Road counterattack and Yannan counterattack.Su Yu directly commanded the defense of Dongtai, the defense of Lianshui and the counterattack of Yannan. The defense of Lianshui was the longest battle among the six battles, which killed the most enemies.In terms of combat guidance, Su Yu paid special attention to handling the relationship between the first battle and the second battle and subsequent battles, emphasizing that when fighting the first battle, conditions must be created for the second and third battles. On October 19, the main forces of the Shandong Field Army and the Central China Field Army had just assembled in the Shuyang and Suqian areas north of Lianshui. Chen Yi joined Zhang Dingcheng, Deng Zihui, Su Yu, and Tan Zhenlin. "False" old trick, launched an attack on Lianshui City. The reorganized 74th Division and the reorganized 28th Division 192 Brigade, a total of 4 brigades with more than 30,000 people, under the command of Zhang Lingfu, divided into 3 groups and rushed towards Lianshui City. Chen Yi, Su Yu, and Tan Zhenlin made a prompt decision and gathered 23 regiments to attack the 74th Division and the 192nd Brigade of the 28th Division under Lianshui City.Chen Yi, Su Yu, Tan Zhenlin, Zhang Dingcheng, and Deng Zihui reported the above-mentioned operational deployment to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on October 21. Determined to win, Zhang Lingfu commanded more than 30,000 troops and launched a fierce attack on Lianshui City under the cover of aircraft in an attempt to make a quick victory and occupy Lianshui.He divided his troops into three groups, and focused his attack on the waste Yellow River Hetao area south of the Lianshui area. Zhang Lingfu put his 51st Brigade on the front and attacked the abandoned Yellow River embankment, thinking that as long as they crossed the embankment, Lianshui City would be within easy reach.However, he did not expect that Su Yu had ambushed a strange soldier here long ago. The 15th Regiment of the 5th Brigade built fortifications on the river embankment. , the whole line is connected by a traffic ditch.The commanders and fighters are high-spirited, ready to fight, and ready for battle. The attack of the Kuomintang army met with tenacious resistance from the Huaye troops. Every time an attack was launched, a pile of corpses was left behind.After fierce fighting until October 28, Su Yu ordered a counterattack across the board. Some of the enemy troops were wiped out, some surrendered, and some retreated.Zhang Lingfu organized a "Supervisory Team" to block and retreat Jiang's army with dozens of machine guns.Most of the 192nd Brigade of the Reorganized 28th Division was wiped out. The brigade commander Zeng Zhen was injured and led the remaining troops to retreat. Hundreds of people were killed and injured by Zhang Lingfu's "Supervisor Team", and many people fell into the water and died while crossing the river.Zeng Zhen threw away the reorganized 74th Division and led the remnants to flee to Huai'an.Afterwards, Zhang Lingfu also hurriedly packed up his troops and fled back to Huaiyin. In the defense of Lianshui, more than 9,000 enemies were wiped out, including more than 6,000 from the reorganized 74th Division and more than 3,000 from the 192nd Brigade of the 28th Division. Zhang Lingfu tasted failure for the first time.In his telegram to Hu Lian, Commander of the Reorganized 11th Division, and Fang Xianjue, Commander of the Seventh Army, he said: "The bandit army is superior to the national army in both strategic battles and battles. For several months, the bandit army has gone east to east, and west to west. The army was transferred to the north to aid Lu and the south to assist the Huaihe River. More than half of the casualties, a decisive battle will not be possible. New Year's Eve Yu, there is no place to be buried when you die. What do you think, my lord?" The 28th Division of the "Monkey Army" marveled: "The Chinese Communist Army avoids the real and attacks the false, and is so fast that it catches you off guard." With the lessons of this battle, the 28th Division will no longer be so active in fighting after the reorganization. .