Chapter 16 Chapter 15 Surprise attack, sweeping Jiaoji Jinpu Road

In the spring of 1948, everything in Jiaodong recovered. In a farmhouse in a village in Jiaodong, Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin were having a heart-to-heart talk. "Liu Deng's army leaped thousands of miles into the Dabie Mountains, and the Huaye Army Corps galloped between the river and the Huaihe River, forcing the Kuomintang army to shift from a strategic offensive to a strategic defensive. This marks the beginning of my counterattack. The enemy in Jiaodong is fighting with us After more than five months, he has completely lost the ability to organize a large-scale offensive like a frightened bird." Xu Shiyou was in a very good mood and his voice was very loud.

"Yes!" Tan Zhenlin nodded in agreement, and analyzed: "Judging from the situation in Shandong, the enemy has turned to point-and-line defense. They are entrenched in Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai, Yanzhou and other cities. In addition to strengthening the defense on the communication line , it is impossible to take the initiative to attack, we should do it in advance." "The enemy's intentions are very clear. They want to rely on strong fortifications to hold on to the Jiaoji Passage in the middle of Jinpu Road and the coastal lines such as Qingdao. Wang Yaowu is struggling with this situation, hoping that the Northeast and North China Group can relieve him. This is impossible. , with our corps, it is impossible. The Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao have given us clear instructions, that is, to wipe out the enemies in Jiaodong first, then recover the line from Jinan to Xuzhou on Jinpu Road, and then concentrate our forces to capture Jinan , Liberate the whole of Shandong. It's time for us to start, the situation is gratifying, the situation is compelling!" Xu Shiyou couldn't sit still, and stood up abruptly.

"Sweep Jiaoji Road, this is our slogan. But Jiaoji Road is very deep, which road should we fight first?" "Now there are more than 40,000 troops from the enemy's reorganized 32nd Division and other troops in the western section of Jiaoji Road. Its defense area starts from Zhangdian in the east, Mingshui in the west, Qidong in the north, and Boshan in the south. Compared with other defense areas, The strength of the defenders in the west is relatively weak. We chose this place as our breakthrough point, starting with Zhoucun and Zhangdian.” The next day, the Shandong Corps held a combat meeting.

Xu Shiyou said excitedly in a loud voice: "Today we are holding a Zhuge Liang meeting to study the next step in the battle. Next, let the chief of staff introduce the enemy's situation." Chief of Staff Jin Ye walked up to the map, pointed at the map, and introduced the enemy's situation. At the beginning of 1948, the enemy in Shandong re-divided the "appeasement area" according to the policy of partition defense. In addition to the original 2nd and 3rd appeasement area, they also established the 9th, 10th, and 11th appeasement areas in Linyi, Yanzhou, and Qingdao respectively. In the area, the regular army and the irregular army will be included in the appeasement area, and the security forces will be organized into the 2nd, 32nd, and 35th divisions, and key fortifications will be added.Due to the successive defeats of the Kuomintang in the northeast, northern Shaanxi, and the Central Plains, Chiang Kai-shek transferred the 54th Division, 72nd Division, and 75th Division in Shandong to other battlefields. By mid-February this year, the enemy's strength in the Shandong battlefield was greatly reduced. Weakened, only 13 divisions and 26 brigades remained.Chiang Kai-shek discovered that the Huaye West Front Corps was gathering in Puyang, which is close to Shandong, for training. He thought that the Huaye West Front Corps was going eastward to join the Shandong Corps and attack cities such as Jinpu Road and Jinan. Therefore, the defense force in the west section of Jiaoji Road is relatively weak.The western section of Jiaoji Road starts from Zhangdian in the east, ends at Mingshui (now Zhangqiu) in the west, runs from Qidong in the north, and ends in five or six counties in Boshan. The Zibo garrison brigade and security forces have a total of about 40,000 people. The troops are scattered, the combat effectiveness is not strong, and the fortifications are relatively weak, which is convenient for our army to intersperse, split and gather.

There is no doubt that Zhoucun and Zhangdian in the west section of Jiaoji Road will be opened first.But what kind of play? Nie Fengzhi stood up and expressed his opinion: "I advocate a long-distance attack, inserting into the enemy's command center at once, attacking Zhangdian and Zhoucun at the same time, and then quickly going outward to expand the results of the battle. This kind of attack can be unexpected. It has the effect of disrupting the enemy's deployment and facilitating our quick victory." A division commander immediately stood up and said: "I think this plan is too risky. If you get into the enemy's stomach, you will be attacked from all sides, and it is easy to be dumped by the enemy. I don't agree with this plan."

The atmosphere at the venue immediately became lively, some nodded approvingly, and some shook their heads in opposition. Finally, Xu Shiyou stood up and said: "I agree with Nie Fengzhi's tactics. This is called the heart-digging tactic. Break through in the middle and bloom on all sides. Because the enemies in Zhoucun are scattered and there are large gaps between the defending enemies, if you fight from the outside first, you must It will take at least a month to capture all the strongholds. In fact, the enemy in Zhoucun only has one division headquarters and five battalions. Their troops are small and lazy. They thought that our army would not attack them first. We want to attack Zhoucun first. Once Zhoucun is captured, the other strongholds will be leaderless, and there will be chaos."

Tan Zhenlin took Xu Shiyou's words and said: "This is a victory by risk. We have fought many breakthrough battles in the past, and they have basically succeeded. Fighting wars is taking risks." Seeing that everyone had no objection, Xu Shiyou said decisively: "That's it. The Ninth Column will capture Zhoucun, the Seventh Column will capture Zhangdian, and the Thirteenth Column will stay in Pingdu and Ye County to monitor the enemy in Qingdao. Cooperate with the main force in combat, attack the garrisoned enemy, and confuse the enemy." After the meeting adjourned, each column moved quickly to the predetermined area.

The actions of Xu Shiyou Corps attracted the attention of the enemy.Fan Hanjie reported to Wang Yaowu: "A large army of the Communist Army has suddenly moved westward, and its whereabouts are unknown." Wang Yaowu asked: "How many people are there?" "It seems that several columns have moved." "Have you delivered any supplies?" "Yes, there are horse teams and porters in groups!" "Xu Shiyou couldn't stay any longer, he was preparing to cross the Yellow River west to join their main force." "what should we do?"

"Monitor closely, don't do it lightly, and hit again when necessary." "Understood." Fan Hanjie adjusted his troops according to Xu Shiyou's army's intention to cross the Yellow River westward, but Xu Shiyou's army could not be found within a few days. It is a long way to go west of Jiaoji Road.At that time, the main force of the Corps was located in Ye County, Pingdu and other places. They did not climb mountains, did not wade in water, did not walk 50 kilometers a day, and could not reach the designated place in seven days.Coupled with the bad weather, it suddenly rained heavily.Troops marching in the rain, the ammunition is damp, the equipment is soaked, and it is more difficult to march with heavy equipment.

The Staff Office reported to Xu Shiyou that due to the impact of the heavy rain, the marching speed of each unit was uneven. The seventh column had reached Zhangdian, and the ninth column was still on the way. Xu Shiyou thought about it for a while, and replied: "Don't ask for uniformity, the first to come, first fight, and those who are still on the road speed up the march." On the night of March 11, as soon as the Seventh Column arrived outside Zhangdian, Commander Cheng Jun ordered the 19th Division, 20th Division, and 21st Division to quickly surround Zhangdian and control the line from Fenghuang Mountain to Hulu Mountain on the west side of Zhangdian. commanding heights.

After a day of fierce fighting, the enemy was overwhelmed, abandoned their position, and fled towards Zhoucun.The fastest runner was division commander Zhou Qingxiang. After losing two regiments here, he said to several brigade commanders: "When the battle is at this level, what are you fighting for? It's a wise move to preserve your strength!" Before Nie Fengzhi could make a move, Cheng Jun of the Seven Columns started, and this blow forced most of the enemy's divisions to the front line of Zhoucun.In less than a day, the number of enemies in Zhoucun increased to more than 15,000. Zhoucun is not a small village, and its streets are larger than ordinary county towns. Circumstances have changed, should we continue with the original plan?The communication between the Corps and the Nine Columns had been cut off long ago, and without Xu Shiyou's instructions, Nie Fengzhi was on pins and needles.Commissar Liu Haotian said: "Should we wait a bit and make a decision after receiving instructions from the Corps?" "It's too late! The enemies are all concentrated here and are rushing to repair the fortifications right under our noses. They will fight with their backs. We have to do it early." "What if the fight fails?" "I'm in charge!" That night, the divisions of the Ninth Column attacked Zhoucun in the rain. The 78th Regiment of the 26th Division marched towards Zhoucun, and found a troop walking side by side with them. After inquiring, it was not a friendly neighboring troop, but the enemy 141 brigade shrinking towards Zhoucun. Gai Zhongmin, head of the 78th regiment, waved his hand and decided decisively: "Destroy them!" The troops suddenly outflanked the past and wiped out the brigade in half an hour. The 7th Company of the 73rd Regiment of the 25th Division, under the command of the deputy company commander Liu Kuiji, blasted the city gate 4 times in a row and rushed forward bravely. They attacked the city from the northeast.Almost at the same time, the 76th Regiment of the 26th Division also attacked Deshengmen, tearing open the breakthrough, and developing the results in depth. At dawn, 10 regiments of the ninth column rushed into the city, and the battle ended at 10 am, annihilating more than 15,000 enemies. The battle is over, the wind has stopped and the rain has stopped.Xu Shiyou was overjoyed when he received the report that the Ninth Column captured Zhoucun, and said to Tan Zhenlin: "Nie Fengzhi is not easy. Attacking Zhoucun is very difficult. First, it is difficult to fight in rainy days. Second, many enemies ran from Zhangdian to Zhoucun. The enemy's strength in Zhoucun has increased by more than ten thousand people, but he is still determined to fight. This battle is of great significance, and it is our good start in 1948!" Tan Zhenlin nodded and said: "Nie Fengzhi decided decisively when he lost contact with the Corps. This shows that he is bold and cautious, fully demonstrating his military talent. Whoever hesitates to retreat in front of the fighter is 100% opportunistic." .” Zhoucun was lost, and the enemy was thrown into disarray. The Bohai column has captured Huantai.After the Seventh Column wiped out the enemies on the outskirts of Zichuan, a regiment had already entered the east gate.The enemy counterattacked more than 20 times, but failed to recover the lost ground. Xu Shiyou's corps advanced steadily, and the enemies abandoned the city and fled.The enemies in Laiwu, Mengyin, Yishui and other places hundreds of miles away from the main battlefield also began to waver. The spring offensive launched by Xu Shiyou in Jiaodong made the enemy restless. Chiang Kai-shek scolded angrily in Nanjing: "This Xu Shiyou is making trouble again. Jiaodong is not peaceful. We must find a way to deal with them as soon as possible." Chiang Kai-shek has lost confidence in Fan Hanjie, but still wants to save the defeat.He urgently ordered the reorganization of the 75th Division, from Shangqiu, Henan to Jinan, and planned to assist the Jiaoji Road with the reorganization of the 73rd Division. Later, this division was beaten back by Xu Shiyou's troops as soon as it reached the Mingshui line. Then our army fought hard for more than ten days in Yindong River, Feicheng, Zichuan and other places. There are more than 10 seats, and more than 38,000 enemies have been eliminated. After the Shandong Corps led by Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin conquered Jiaoji Road, the enemy began to shrink its forces in an attempt to strengthen the defense of key cities and prevent the PLA from continuing to advance. Where is the next attack?At that time, many people in the Corps wanted to attack Jinan.The Shandong Corps held a meeting of cadres above the division level. Xu Shiyou looked at the commander above the division and expressed his views frankly: "Our next step is to attack Weixian County. Although Wang Yaowu believes that Weixian County has strong fortifications and a large number of troops, we still have to attack. The first thing to win here is to cooperate with our army's spring offensive on the national battlefield, and the second is to open Jinan. Prepare. Only by taking Weixian first, can we fully control the railway traffic artery that traverses the entire territory of Shandong. You all know that Weixian is a special place, an important hub connecting Jiaodong, Bohai, and southern Shandong. Breaking it is like If one arm from Jinan to Xuzhou is broken, Wang Yaowu will have to retreat all his troops to the small area from Jinan to Xuzhou, this is the end of the road!" Tan Zhenlin explained: "Attacking Weixian first is of great significance. It can connect the three liberated areas of Jiaodong, Bohai, and southern Shandong into one, promote the construction of the liberated areas, and provide us with strong rear support. In addition, Weixian is full of liberated areas. It is hundreds of miles away from Jinan, and the situation is very isolated. In case of a fight, Wang Yaowu would be unable to send reinforcements. At the same time, the morale of the enemy here is low, and there are not many people who want to fight. As long as some fight, there is a possibility of victory." Xu Shiyou said: "Wang Yaowu judged that we were going to attack Jinan, but we didn't want to start. We first attacked Weixian, then Yanzhou, and finally captured Jinan. Showdown to Wang Yaowu! Taking Weixian is also a rehearsal for our corps to attack Jinan. Over the years, we have won many battles, but to be honest, we are still inexperienced in the battle of major cities. Commanders at all levels must find ways, come up with ideas, and imagine more difficulties, so that we can fight with confidence!" Tan Zhenlin said calmly: "How to win this tough battle, we must first consider how to successfully break through the enemy's complex defense system at the lowest cost. This is also what Commander Xu and I have been thinking about recently." Nie Fengzhi stood up and said: "I agree with Commissar Tan's operational principle of destroying the enemy at the least cost. Because the enemy's intention is obvious, trying to consume our main force in the outer positions. If we do not proceed from the actual situation in Weixian County, we will still Blindly emphasizing rushing and rushing, just fell into the enemy's tricks, and the losses will be huge." Xu Shiyou said happily: "Well said! We must take steady and steady action as our operational policy based on the characteristics of this place. We must first use a small amount of troops to clear out the peripheral enemies, and then concentrate our forces to capture the west city. Relying on it, attack eastward one by one." A division commander boldly proposed: "Weixian is composed of two cities, east and west. It is worth studying which one to attack first and which one to attack later. I advocate attacking the east and west cities at the same time. Let Chen Jincheng call his mother. Forget it. If the east and west attack at the same time, the enemy will Disorderly, this is in our favor!" Another division commander also stood up and said bluntly: "I suggest attacking from the east city. Because the east city is five or six meters lower than the west city, the defending troops are scattered, and the firepower equipment is obviously weaker than that of the west city. Only the weaker ones can be attacked first. It is possible to succeed, in order to reduce casualties!" Finally, Xu Shiyou stood up and said decisively: "Today's meeting was very good. Some people proposed to attack the east first, and some advocated that the east and west should be attacked together. As I said, we must concentrate our forces. If the east and west attack at the same time, it will not work, it will be very scattered." In terms of military strength. Judging from the characteristics of Wei County, the east city is of course low, but if we fight, we will be exposed to the enemy defending the west city, and will be killed by artillery. Even if we capture the east city, the conditions are not very favorable for us. " "I decided to use the armed forces of the 3rd Military Division of the Bohai Navy Region to besiege Changle and Tianma and cut off their connection with Weicheng; to surround Hanting with part of the West Navy Division of the Jiaodong Military Region, and to insert a part into the Shilibao Railway Station to generate electricity. The factory and the airport cut off the connection between Weicheng and Fangzi; the ninth column and the Bohai column attacked the enemy's vital points and captured Weicheng; the enemy; use part of the thirteenth column to block the enemy of Qingdao West Aid." Tan Zhenlin added: "The battle against Weixian County is of great significance. All troops participating in the battle must strictly abide by discipline, implement city policies, and strive to enter with honor and come out clean, so as to achieve a complete military and political victory!" On April 2, the Shandong Corps suddenly marched eastward and took Weixian directly. Weixian County is composed of two cities, East and West, also known as "Twin Cities".According to county chronicles, this place has been a strategically important town in history. Anyone who wanted to attack this place has never succeeded. The city defense fortifications have been repeatedly built and rebuilt by the Japanese, Puppet and Chiang Kai-shek for decades, forming three lines of defense with the west city as the core. semi-permanent defense system. At that time, Weixian County had more than 100,000 residents. This place was a stronghold for the Kuomintang army to survive, and it was also one of their important fortified cities in the Jiaoji section. It was called the "Central Lu Fortress" by the Kuomintang. The enemy defending Weixian is the reorganized 45th Division of Jiang's reorganized 96th Army, with a total of 10 regiments and a total strength of nearly 50,000.They are Chiang Kai-shek's direct troops and are well-equipped.There are also local armed forces in more than 10 nearby counties. These enemies are cruel, cruel, and have certain combat capabilities. Chen Jincheng, commander of the enemy's reorganized 96th Army, received the news that Xu Shiyou's corps was preparing to besiege Weixian, and immediately reported to Wang Yaowu, commander of the 2nd Sui District far away in Jinan.Wang Yaowu immediately rushed to Weixian secretly to cheer Chen Jincheng, and formulated a set of combat policies and steps to deal with the siege PLA. Its defense policy is: relying on Weixian's solid and complex fortifications, emphasizing "combat below the horizon", using peripheral operations to block the Communist army's attack, and then sticking to the east and west urban areas, waiting for reinforcements, and breaking the Communist army's offensive. At the same time, they also made the following decisions: Abandon some unimportant outlying strongholds if necessary. The principle is to set up more bunkers at the foot of the wall to prevent the Communist army from advancing; On April 8, the battle to clear the periphery of Weixian basically achieved its intended purpose. The troops successively captured Shilibao, Jiulong Mountain, and Phoenix Mountain, and took control of the airport, cutting off the air transport connection between Weixian County, Jinan, and Qingdao. . Chen Jincheng implemented the policy of abandoning some unimportant strongholds and concentrating his forces in the city.But he was still panicked, because he knew that the airlift reinforcement plan that Wang Yaowu had promised him had been aborted. His only two planes fell into the hands of the People's Liberation Army, and the airport was lost. After the peripheral battle is completed, fighting for the first line of defense becomes the main task.In this line of defense, the enemy places special emphasis on the role of commanding heights. Xu Shiyou took Nie Fengzhi's suggestion, and first feinted to attack the enemy's commanding heights on the periphery with a small amount of troops to contain the enemy, and then the main force suddenly launched an attack from the north and south, catching him by surprise. In less than a day, the comrades of the Nine Columns seized key points such as Yujiazhuang, Kangzhuang, and Zhangjiazhuang in Nanguan, causing the enemy to lose the commanding heights.Chen Jincheng had no choice but to continue to shrink the team back. The perimeter of the first line of defense has lost its defensive function. Chen Jincheng didn't seem to care. He declared to Wang Yaowu: "The communist army seized several commanding heights outside my first line of defense. On the surface they are the winners, but in fact they are all exposed in our sight. How dare they attack me? What about the core?" After all, Wang Yaowu fought against the People's Liberation Army many times and suffered a lot, so he repeatedly told: "Don't underestimate the enemy, and drive out the Communist Army as soon as possible." "We must do it! But our airport is lost, and we don't have a single plane. How can we drive the Communists away without air support?" "This is no problem. I will send planes to bomb as soon as possible. Even if the periphery of Weixian County is bombed into a piece of scorched earth, it is worth it! You have to live up to it. Chairman Jiang has asked about the battle situation in Weixian County several times. I said there is no problem." , with Chen Jincheng here, Wei County is ours!" The enemy quickly mobilized heavy firepower and fired wildly at my soldiers in motion.Seeing that the marching PLA was frustrated, the enemy thought it was retreating and dared not move out.However, at this time our army had dispersed and continued to advance along the favorable terrain in a small group formation. On the night of April 14, Xu Shiyou issued an order to attack the enemy's first line of defense, and the siege troops launched a fierce attack with overwhelming momentum.Braving the enemy's powerful firepower, the 73rd Regiment of the Nine Columns began to ascend the city one after another. The Bohai column in the south of the city also made several openings. The North and the South cooperated closely and went straight to the enemy's command organization. On the evening of April 24th, the Bohai column ascended the city and broke into the city, and the follow-up troops went into battle one after another.The defenders were defeated and fled, and Xicheng was liberated. After our army invaded Xicheng, the remaining enemy strongholds were completely useless.The defenders fled back one after another.The battle went relatively smoothly. From the 2nd to the 20th, Xu Shiyou Corps completed its first attack mission, wiped out more than 5,000 enemies, and broke through the first line of defense that Chen Jincheng boasted was "impregnable". Then, the second and third lines of defense appeared in front of the Shandong Corps. Attacking Nancheng is tantamount to occupying a corner of Wei County, and you have to try to break through the last two lines of defense.To break through these two lines of defense, the first thing to do is to attack from the Tucheng Walled City and clear away the defenders entrenched here. Tucheng Walled is just an outer periphery of Weixian City, and it is connected with the city. The Walled Wall is the inner wall of the inner and outer moats inside and outside the city. It is wide and deep, and the walls are steep, making it difficult to climb up. Nie Fengzhi decided to break through the routine, break through the two lines of defense at the same time, carry out tunnel blasting on the outer trench, try to blow down the wall of the village at the same time, fill up the outer trench, and then use a two-pronged approach to wipe out the enemies on the Tucheng village. In order to carry out the blasting, our army's tunnel operations are being carried out intensely. Before the general offensive, more than 300 meters of underground tunnels were completed and filled with explosives. On the night of April 23, with several loud bangs, the high walls of Tucheng Village were destroyed.The general offensive began, and the siege troops went into battle. The 79th Regiment of the 27th Division of the Nine Columns was the vanguard of the siege. They opened two breakthroughs east of the north gate of Xicheng.These two companies broke through the two openings like two sharp swords and plunged into the enemy's depth, starting a deep battle. On the afternoon of April 24, the 25th Division went to the city, expanded the breakthrough, and entered the street fighting.In the evening of the same day, the Bohai column ascended the city and broke into the city, and the follow-up troops entered the deep battle one after another. Under the fierce attack from the north and the south, the defense of the enemy was shaken, and Chen Jincheng led the remnants of the enemy to cross the Bailang River and flee to Dongcheng. At 18:00 on April 26, Xu Shiyou issued an order to the siege troops for the second attack. The main forces of the Nine Columns conquered Dongcheng in one fell swoop, and the Luzhong troops also attacked from the north. At this time, Wang Yaowu had transferred all five brigades from Qingdao to reinforce Weixian, but it was too late.As soon as they entered the Changwei area, they were blocked by the 13th Zong and Jiaodong local troops. After fighting for a day without any progress, the enemy had to turn around. The battle in Weixian City was not fierce that day, and the enemy had already lost their fighting spirit.Under the powerful offensive of the People's Liberation Army, more than 1,000 members of the Weixian Self-Defense Force surrendered.Chen Jincheng was about to take the opportunity to escape, but was finally captured alive by soldiers from the Nine Columns. On April 27, Weixian was liberated.The East China Bureau sent a congratulatory message saying: "The Chen division was wiped out and Weixian County was liberated. The news of the victory came, and the army and people in the rear were ecstatic. Our East Corps is brave and good at fighting, winning even battles." On May 15, Wang Yaowu flew to Nanjing in a hurry. Chiang Kai-shek met Wang Yaowu at his official residence.Chiang Kai-shek frowned, and chattered endlessly: "What did you do? Zhoucun and Weixian fell one after another. In less than two months, more than 80,000 people were lost. How can this battle be fought?" Wang Yaowu respectfully listened to Chiang Kai-shek's reprimand, and suggested: "Shandong's forces are now scattered and fortified everywhere, and sooner or later they will be defeated one by one. Given the current situation in Jinan, it is absolutely impossible to rely on the existing troops. I suggest abandoning Jinan, Withdraw the troops to Yanzhou and join forces with Xuzhou's "suppressing the general" to facilitate future operations." Chiang Kai-shek was very dissatisfied and said to Wang: "You don't think about the big picture. We must ensure Jinan and we cannot give up. Jinan is the capital of Shandong Province and a strategic location in East China. To master the railway traffic artery, we must defend Jinan." Wang Yaowu quickly said: "Yes! Yes!" Looking at Wang Yaowu's dejected look, Chiang Kai-shek urged: "If Jinan is besieged, I will personally urge the main force to quickly reinforce it. As long as you can hold it, the reinforcements will arrive in time. I have the strength to relieve your siege. The main purpose of fighting is to boost morale and encourage morale. First of all, don’t be discouraged. You have to know that our failure is due to the low morale. If you don’t work hard and strengthen your will, you will die without a place to die.” Wang Yaowu left Nanjing with pessimism and disappointment. He knew that defending Jinan was a deadly move, but he had to obey Chiang Kai-shek's order and stick to it. After the Shandong Corps ended the Weixian Campaign, it took a short-term rest. On May 7, the Central Military Commission called Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin to order the Shandong Corps to go south to the Jinpu line to cooperate with Su Yu's actions in the Central Plains. At the Corps meeting, Xu Shiyou waved his arms vigorously and said excitedly: "Our Huaye Corps fought side by side with the Central Plains Field Army and launched the Battle of Kaifeng. The Party Central Committee instructed our Corps to cooperate with them in fighting and continue to attack the enemy on Jiaodong Road. Now Wang Yaowu's life is difficult. They can only stick to the arm of Jinpu Road and the three burdens of Jinan, Yanzhou, and Qingdao. Their intention is very clear. They intend to hold back our Corps and secure Jinan and Xuzhou. This is impossible. We are still adopting the tactic of attacking the east and attacking the west, not attacking Jinan or Qingdao, but approaching Tai'an and threatening Yanzhou." In the end, Xu Shiyou made a decision: use the Bo Zong to contain the enemy in Jinan, the troops of the Luzhong Military Region to attack Tai'an, the Seventh and Thirteenth Zongs will first aid in the north and south of Tai'an, and then seize Yanzhou by camera.The Nine Columns took a temporary rest and served as a reserve team. On May 29, 4 regiments of Luzhong troops began to attack Tai'an.After Wang Yaowu got the information, he ordered the 155th Brigade of the 84th Division guarding Tai'an to adopt a mobile defense. Of course, the 155th Brigade was unwilling to defend the city. They first went out of the city with a small force to fight, and retreated to Jinan by train before our army launched a formal attack.Our army underestimated the enemy's escape, and did not encircle in the north. On May 30, the Thirteenth Zong occupied Tai'an, cutting off the connection between Jinan and Yanzhou. Yanzhou is an ancient battlefield, located in the middle of Shandong Plain, where military strategists often contend.It borders Xuzhou in the south, Jinan in the north, Yimeng in the east, and Luxi in the west.It is an important strategic defense point for the Kuomintang to stick to Shandong. The Yanzhou city wall is more than 10 meters high. The fortifications have been repeatedly built by the Japanese army and the Kuomintang. There is a reinforced concrete blockhouse every 50 meters.There are also artillery positions in the territory. The middle layer is connected from the opening at the top of the city wall to the half of the city, forming a firepower network of light and heavy machine guns. The lower layer is the dark fort and group fort leading to the outside of the city.There is also a moat around the city with a width of about 6 meters and a depth of more than 4 meters, and barbed wire fences are erected beside the river. The general defending the city was Li Yutang, Lieutenant General Commander of the 10th Sui District.He led the 12th Army and the Security Regiment, a total of 11 regiments, together with artillery and government personnel. At that time, there were about 28,000 troops in Yanzhou City.Huo Shouyi, the commander of the 12th Division of the Kuomintang Army Reorganization, is stationed here. On June 7, the Shandong Corps began to clear the outskirts of Yanzhou. When attacking Qufu, Huo Shouyi also ordered a regiment stationed there to quickly withdraw to Yanzhou, leaving the local security forces to fight with our army. Without much effort, Qi Zong annihilated a security regiment and liberated Qufu.Within a few days, the Shandong Corps successively recovered eight counties including Mengyin, Zouxian, and Sishui, and cleared the periphery of Yanzhou. On June 20, the Qizong and Luzhong troops surrounded Yanzhou.The Nine Columns and Thirteen Columns were also ordered to go south from Jinan to cooperate in the battle. Yanzhou was besieged, and Li Yutang hurried to Xuzhou for help.Liu Zhi, commander-in-chief of Xuzhou's "Suppression General", hurriedly transported Huang Baitao's 25th Division from northern Jiangsu to the north by train to reinforce Yanzhou.The Shandong Corps left one division of the Thirteenth Column to monitor the direction of Jinan, transferred the main forces of the Ninth and Thirteenth Columns to Surabaya and Qufu, ordered the Seventh Column to withdraw from the siege, and went south from Yanzhou to prepare for reinforcements. At this time, the Kuomintang army noticed the attempt of the Shandong Corps to besiege the city and fight for aid. In addition, the Shounian Corps in the eastern Henan battlefield area urgently asked for help, so they ordered the 25th Division to transfer to eastern Henan. On June 30th, the 25th Division turned around by train and went south. The Shandong Corps could not catch up and surrounded Yanzhou again. On July 1, the Shandong Corps approached the outskirts of Yanzhou. On the night of the 7th, the Seventh Column conquered Xiguan, and the Luzhong Military Region troops conquered Jiuguan. On the evening of July 12, the battle to attack Yancheng began. The seventh column also commanded the two divisions of the thirteenth column as the main attack, attacking the city from both sides of the old west gate.The troops of the Luzhong Military Region feigned an attack from the north of the city, and the 39th Division of the 13th Column made a feint attack to the east of the city to cooperate.That night, the siege troops broke through the city wall in multiple ways, broke into the city, and engaged in fierce street fighting with the enemy. At noon on July 13, our army had already controlled the west and south blocks of Yanzhou City. The remaining enemy troops in the southeast of the city had no fighting spirit. Outside the 13th vertical and 39th division surrounded.Except for Li Yutang who escaped in disguise, 20,000 people under Huo Shouyi were captured.The Yanzhou battle, which was originally expected to last for 10 days, ended victoriously in one day and night. When our army attacked Yanzhou, Wang Yaowu sent Wu Huawen to lead the 84th division from Jinan to help.The Wuhua Cultural Department was a unit reorganized from the puppet army. Wang Yaowu had always been repulsed by him. He assigned equipment and materials to the rear, and fought hard to make them the front.Wu Huawen felt aggrieved and could not disobey orders. Departing from Jinan in early July, I dawdled along the way, advancing 10 kilometers a day. On July 12, the 84th Division arrived at Dawenkou, and the next day the vanguard of the 161st Brigade crossed the Wenhe River and entered the Taiping Town area.When Xu Shiyou learned that the enemy of Jinan was going south, he ordered the Nine Columns to go north from Surabaya and annihilate the 84th Division. On the night of the 13th, the Nine Columns attacked in the rain from the Nanyi area and marched tens of miles overnight.After Wang Yaowu learned the news of Yanzhou's fall, he estimated that our army would turn around and fight Wu Huawen, so he ordered Wu Huawen to withdraw to Jinan on this day.Wu Huawen moved slowly forward, but quickly retreated. The other units of the Nine Columns crossed the Fen River to pursue the enemy, but Wu Huawen ran too fast and only stopped the 155th and 211th Brigades.By the end of the battle at 21:00 on the 15th, the Nine Columns had annihilated nearly 10,000 people from the 84th Division, and captured 7,584 people below the commander of the 161st Brigade.Our army once again occupied Tai'an, Dawenkou and other places.Wu Huawen lost his army and fled back to Jinan, but was severely reprimanded by Wang Yaowu. The Shandong Corps fought continuously for 50 days in the middle section of Jinpu Road, which caused a fundamental change in the situation in Shandong and the balance of forces between the enemy and ourselves.Our army conquered Yanzhou, Tai'an and other cities in the middle section of Jinpu Road, completely cut off the connection between Jinan and Xuzhou, and also cut off the railway traffic between the Fu Zuoyi Group in North China and the Kuomintang Army in the Central Plains. During the battle from March to July 1948, the Shandong Corps wiped out more than 140,000 regular troops of the Kuomintang army and local reactionary armed forces, restored the old liberated areas, and liberated a large area of ​​new areas.The Kuomintang army left only a few isolated cities in Shandong, Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai, and Linyi, and they were in a passive situation.The Shandong Liberated Areas are connected together and connected with the North China and Central Plains Liberated Areas.The liberation of a large number of small and medium-sized towns in Shandong greatly enhanced the population and economic strength of the liberated areas, creating a reliable rear for supporting the East China Field Army in strategic decisive battles.