Chapter 17 Chapter 16 The arrow is on the string, and the second field plans to cross the river

The North China Plain is covered with snow in December.Thousands of miles of fertile fields shone with silver light under the sunlight.Everything is silent, whole?Winter is gestating a new and greater germ. A jeep speeds by.The fine snow mixed with ice particles brushed against the roof and glass windows of the jeep. The road was potholed and the car was bouncing up and down. Inside the car, Chen Yi had completely fallen asleep, his fat body bumping like soybeans rolling in a dustpan.Liu Bocheng was very envious of Chen Yi who was beside him, he didn't have this ability, the more tired he was, the harder it was to fall asleep, let alone in such a bumpy car.

On December 12, when the Huaihai Campaign came to an end and the Huangwei Corps was about to be wiped out, Mao Zedong sent a telegram to Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi, and Deng Xiaoping: "After the Huangwei corps is wiped out, please invite Comrade Bo Cheng to come to the central government to discuss the strategic policy. It is estimated that Huang Wei will be completely wiped out within a few days. Qiu and Li will take more time to be completely wiped out. After Huang Wei is wiped out? Please invite Comrade Liu Chen, Deng Su and Tan Wu Hold a meeting of the General Front Committee to discuss the rest plan after the annihilation of Qiu and Li, the next step of the battle plan and the future battle plan for crossing the river, and bring the opinions of the General Front Committee to the central government... We hope that Bo Cheng can arrive at the Arrive at the Central Committee for talks on December 25."

On December 28, 1948, Liu Bocheng and Chen Yi rushed to Xibaipo, Pingshan County, Hebei Province, where the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is located, to attend a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee. Liu Bocheng and his party were still on the road, and Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Zhu De were greeted by Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Zhu De at the intersection from a distance. Liu Bocheng smiled and shook hands with the three central leaders one by one, the one eye behind the lens was shining with calm and confidence. At the Politburo meeting, Mao Zedong made a report entitled "The Current Situation and the Party's Tasks in 1949", clearly stating that the main tasks in 1949 were: liberating Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shaanxi, All or most of Gansu and other provinces; convene a political consultative meeting to establish the People's Republic of China; further strengthen the regularization of the field armies.

Mao Zedong's strong Hunan accent echoed throughout the hall, inspiring every comrade attending the meeting. On January 7, Liu Bocheng spoke at the meeting.He focused on 4 questions: (1) Our leap-forward advance the year before last was a breakthrough in the center of the character shape, and this time crossing the river is a long snake formation going hand in hand.In the event of final victory, it is extremely important to use the steady concentration of forces. (2) Organizational issues in opening up new districts.It is best to have the equipment of the local party, government and military region before dispatching.

(3) Regularization.Now is the juncture of transformation, how to formalize and how to proceed, only start from the headquarters first, and only by strengthening the headquarters can we organize the war. (4) Issues concerning the field army and the rear.Supplies are mainly obtained from the front lines as much as possible, but to completely solve the problems of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, logistics must also be relied on.This time, 1.7 million people went south to fight in the south of the Yangtze River, and it was impossible without logistics. These four opinions are actually Liu Bocheng's overall vision for the battle of crossing the river and winning the national victory.

In the next few days, Mao Zedong convened a special meeting to study the next step of combat.Liu Bocheng said: "The General Front Committee has studied it. Once Du Yuming is eaten, the large troops can move south and prepare to cross the river. Now the time is tight and the troops are very tired. We need to hurry up and end the Huaihai Campaign." Liu Bo admitted that: In terms of military affairs, there is no problem in crossing the river. Compared with marching into the Dabie Mountains, our army was marching in leaps and bounds at that time, which was a breakthrough in the center of the character.This time it is going hand in hand, it is a long snake formation, and it is an all-out attack.However, the United States may send troops to intervene, which must be given sufficient attention.

Mao Zedong listened carefully to the opinions of the front commander, and then analyzed the pros and cons of crossing the south of the Yangtze River.He said: "The vastest area in the south is still under the rule of the Kuomintang. Our party organization is not yet strong, and the masses have not mobilized. This will bring some difficulties to the army's supplies and the management of the big cities after they are seized. However, The Kuomintang army has no main force, but we have a strong army; the Kuomintang's prestige has been lost, especially after Nanjing and Wuhan were captured by us, it will be even more prestige, while our party has great prestige; After the revolution from 1924 to 1927 and the agrarian revolution in the years after 1927, there are already many guerrilla units and guerrilla zones, as well as our underground party organizations. These are all favorable conditions. Chiang Kai-shek’s air force and navy also saved He had the air force to support him in the three major battles, but he lost all of them. As for the navy, the Yangtze River is not a sea, and the navy can't play a big role. We only need to send a cannon to the north bank, and the Kuomintang warships will not dare opened."

Regarding the possibility of the Americans sending troops to intervene, Mao Zedong believed that Liu Bocheng's considerations were justified.He said: "We still need to prevent the US from sending troops, and take the possibility of the US directly sending troops to occupy several cities along the coast to interfere with our army's operations, and include it in the combat plan. This kind of calculation cannot be given up now, lest in case of emergency When we arrived, we were at a loss. Although the United States sent troops to intervene, it was not a big deal, but in order to deal with the situation of the United States sending troops, when we crossed the river, we kept the middle field close to Huaye. Let’s attack Nanjing and Shanghai together. In short, we must cross the Yangtze River, and we must cross the Yangtze River.”

On February 11, 1949, the land of the Central Plains was frozen for thousands of miles, and snowflakes were flying.At this time, an American jeep was piercing through the morning snow and galloping on its way to the headquarters of the Second Field Army in Zhangcaiyuan near Shangqiu, Henan. Sitting in the car was Liu Bocheng, commander of the Second Field Army who had just been appointed by the Central Military Commission.He was under the command of the Central Military Commission and hurried back from Shijiazhuang to the headquarters of the Second Field Army to reorganize the troops and prepare for the battle across the river.

After arriving at the headquarters, Liu Bocheng had no time to rest, so he focused on presiding over the reorganization of the troops. In February 1949, according to the instructions of the central government, the Central Plains Field Army was reorganized into the Second Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, with Liu Bocheng as the commander and Deng Xiaoping as the political commissar.The former committee consisted of Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, Zhang Jichun, Li Da, and Chen Geng, with Deng Xiaoping as the secretary.Based on the original 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 9th, and 11th columns, the troops were upgraded and supplemented by local corps?Soldiers, prisoners, etc., expanded into the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Corps, with 9 armies under its jurisdiction.

The 3rd Corps was led by Chen Xilian as the commander, Xie Fuzhi as the political commissar, Wang Jinshan and Du Yide as the deputy commanders, under the jurisdiction of the 10th, 11th, and 12th corps. The 4th Corps was led by Chen Geng as the commander and political commissar, and under the jurisdiction of the 13th, 14th, and 15th armies. Yang Yong was the commander of the 5th Corps, and Su Zhenhua was the political commissar. The Second Field Army also established a special forces column directly under its jurisdiction, with a howitzer regiment, a tank convoy, and an engineer regiment. The chief of staff of the field army, Li Da, served as the commander and political commissar. After reorganization, the Second Field Army has a total strength of more than 280,000 people, greatly strengthened equipment, and has 1,500 various artillery pieces?It has taken a big step forward from a single infantry to the construction of a combined army and modernization, laying a more solid foundation for the successful execution of the mission of crossing the river and the liberation of southern China. The cross-river operation is a great march to win the victory of the whole country, and it is an unprecedented large-scale corps operation of the People's Liberation Army.It put the issue of regularization on the agenda.Liu Bocheng submitted a work report to Mao Zedong in March.The report revolves around the reorganization of troops and systematically expresses opinions on regularization construction.Three issues of organization adjustment, troop replenishment and logistics construction were raised.Regarding organizational adjustments, he said: "We must reorganize the troops into corps, corps, and divisions in accordance with the new organization and the principle of the three-three system. This is not only a change in name, but also an organizational change or expanded reorganization. Will it affect the adjustment of other organizations.” He also emphasized, “The leading organs, including the headquarters, the political department, and the logistics department, especially the organization of special forces, in the urgent need of regularization construction...should become one of the things we must pay close attention to. event." Regarding the replenishment of soldiers, he analyzed in detail the different forms of replenishing captives, replenishing recruits, and upgrading and returning local troops.He believes that: The second field army "replenishment sources are complex, according to the region, there are five regions: Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu, Hubei and Henan, and western Anhui. It is weaker than non-combatant soldiers such as the police, government agencies, and servants; according to the time, it is uneven, and it has been supplemented sporadically throughout the training period. It used to be against guerrillaism in the construction of the Nakano regular army, and now it has added yang In order to avoid such factors, it is necessary to strengthen political education, improve organization and discipline, and consolidate the army for a period of time. At the same time, under the slogan of regularization, we must resolutely oppose those bureaucrats that do not go deep into the actual situation of the army.” Regarding logistics construction, he believes that even today when large corps are fighting, it is necessary to establish a complete set of institutions and systems such as ordnance, munitions supply and transportation services, so as to meet the needs of large-scale operations of the troops.In view of the fact that hundreds of thousands of troops gathered in a small area before and after the Huaihai Campaign, the roads were not smooth, the supplies of the troops were crowded, and all supplies had to be supplied by the local people, which caused the people to be overburdened. The arrangement of the roads, the facilities of the gasoline station, and the establishment of the ordnance repair yard should be carried out in a planned manner. But the most important thing we should take care of is the environmental conditions and policies, and seek truth from facts. The tools should be fully organized for the urgent needs of the army, and those who cannot rely on the rear, this should become the policy of logistics work in the future.” Mao Zedong was deeply moved by Liu Bocheng's meticulous and meticulous work for the Battle of Crossing the River. With the morning breeze blowing, Mao Zedong reviewed the report, lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and couldn't help muttering to himself: "I have Liu Bocheng, Chiang Kai-shek is finished." On March 5, 1949, the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China opened in Xibaipo. Liu Bocheng stayed in Shangqiu to preside over the preparations for crossing the river just after returning from the Central Committee after the year.Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi attended the meeting.During the meeting, Mao Zedong studied the issue of crossing the river with Deng, Chen and others, and initially set April 10 as the launch time. At the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping was also entrusted by the Central Committee to propose personnel arrangements for East China after the victory of the Battle of Crossing the River. On the eve of leaving Xibaipo, Mao Zedong put on a cotton coat and stood under the persimmon tree that had spit out new leaves the size of copper coins, and discussed with Deng Xiaoping again on the issue of crossing the river. The crescent moon hangs in the western sky, and they have been talking for a long time.Mao Zedong was silent for a while, and said: "We want to open the door to the south of the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River is the key to open this door. We must cross the river. If the peace talks are successful, we will open them. If the peace talks fail, we will open them." In the past. This is something no one, no country can stop us!" The night was dark, and Mao Zedong finally ended their conversation with 6 words: "I leave it to you to command!" After Deng Xiaoping returned to the General Front Committee from the Central Committee, he immediately held a meeting to convey the Central Committee's instructions on crossing the river. On March 26, a meeting of the General Front Committee was held in a hut in a village in the southern suburbs of Bengbu, and some Corps commanders also attended the meeting. Deng Xiaoping first conveyed the instructions of the Central Committee on the operation of crossing the river, and then said that it would take a few days to study the specific issues of the operation of crossing the river. Please fully express your opinions and ask questions. The members of the former committee and the commanders of the corps expressed their opinions in one go, analyzed the specific situation of the battle across the river, and put forward some countermeasures and methods.To sum up, the main points are: There are many ports of the Yangtze River, especially in the east of Jingpu on the front of Sanye, from Taizhou to Haimen. There are many inland rivers near both banks that can directly lead to the Yangtze River, so there are many outlets into the river.Although the Kuomintang army has recently blocked the ports on the north coast, there are still many ports that can be used.Because there are many water networks on both sides of the Yangtze River, bridges need to be erected and repaired. Otherwise, it will be difficult for troops to pass through, which will greatly hinder the movement of troops.Therefore, when crossing the river, it is necessary to carry out reconnaissance in advance of the movement to the river and the landing operation, so as to grasp these situations as much as possible, so as to facilitate the actions of the troops. The condition of the banks of the Yangtze River changes greatly, and the banks often move.Some parts of the river bank on the 1/50,000th map issued to the troops have actually moved a lot.For example, Langshan in Nantong used to be several miles away from the river bank, but now the river is close to the foot of the mountain. There are many sandbars in the Yangtze River, with different sizes. The larger ones have many residents, houses and trees on them. These sandbars are mostly sandy.The sandbar can be used as a springboard for crossing the river, but this also has a disadvantage, because it has to be crossed twice, and it can be captured first if necessary. The soil on both sides of the Yangtze River is relatively soft, which is not convenient for setting up artillery positions. Therefore, the difficulties caused by the soil quality in the firing of cannons (such as the soft soil quality, which affects the change of gun positions after firing, etc.) must be studied and overcome in the pre-war training. Improve combat skills. The flow rate of the Dongjiang River in Nanjing is high. At the same time, due to the gravitational relationship of the moon, it rises and falls twice a day. The first and fifteenth day of the lunar calendar are high tides, and the eighth and 23rd are low tides.The ebb and flow of the tide directly affects the entry of ships into the river and their landing. The boat people on the Yangtze River have many strange customs.For example, the sails of a ship should not be called sails, but canopies; chopsticks should not be placed flat on the rice bowl after eating, but should be placed on the table; "Jiang pig", the big one can knock the boat over, and the boat people are forbidden to shoot with guns, for fear of causing trouble to the upper body; serving rice should not be called serving rice, but loading rice; the helmsman should be called the boss or the shopkeeper. After listening to everyone's discussion, Deng Xiaoping said: "The Yangtze River does have many characteristics. We have encountered many new problems this time. No matter how many problems there are, the core of the battle across the river is whether we can get on the other side. It's easy to handle. As for those strong fortifications, you can not attack them first." Chen Yi said: "I very much agree with Xiaoping's opinion. The key to crossing the river is to break through the defense line of the Yangtze River first. Chiang Kai-shek set up a 'long snake array' on the Yangtze River, which is called a 'three-dimensional defense', but his strength is simply not enough. 700,000 people have to guard the 1,400-kilometer front, and he can't hold it. In order to cross the river successfully, we can avoid the KMT's fortress, and we will cross the river wherever we can. As long as we move the troops to the south bank , things will be easy." Deng Xiaoping said: "In June 1947, the Second Field went south. Before forcibly crossing the Yellow River, Commander Bo Cheng conducted some research on the tactics of crossing the river in front of the enemy, and sent a document to the troops, which reflected very well. Recently, he has studied again. I wrote a material on the tactics of crossing the river called "Research on Crossing the River". It's just that he was organizing troops to march to the north bank of the Yangtze River these days, so he didn't come to the meeting. But his research materials are here, I'll read it for everyone. Commander Liu is a military theorist of our party. I'm here to follow the script, so please listen carefully!" Liu Bocheng wrote in the article: According to our understanding, pontoon bridges cannot be erected on the Yangtze River, only water can be crossed, and the main means of crossing the river are wooden boats.Secondly, the enemy has already prepared for our crossing operation, so it is not easy to make a surprise attack.Third, the Yangtze River is very wide, and our artillery on the shore is not easy to receive the effect of suppressing the enemy's firepower, and it is difficult to support the first echelon.Fourth, the enemy has the cooperation of the navy and air force, which poses a greater threat to our crossing the river.How do you view these issues? Deng Xiaoping read a lot in one breath, and the commanders of the corps were fascinated by it. These are the questions they have been thinking hard about in recent days. However, Deng Xiaoping stopped suddenly when the book was at a wonderful point. He smiled and waved his hands and said, "No more! No more! After I ask Mr. Liu for his opinion, I will print a copy of the material for you so that you will not have to remember it in a hurry. Forgetful." The enlarged meeting of the General Front Committee was held for four or five days to conduct specific research on the operation of crossing the river. Finally, it was decided to postpone the crossing time to the evening of April 15, because that day was the 18th day of the lunar calendar, and the moon would not rise before 9 p.m. It is beneficial for the first batch of troops of our army to cross the river. For the next few days, Deng Xiaoping has been deliberating on the overall plan for crossing the river.He brainstormed, held meetings many times, mobilized all the cadres of the Sanye Command, and presided over the formulation of the "Outline for the Implementation of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Campaign".The outline was completed on March 31 and sent to the Central Military Commission for review the next day. The "Outline" stipulates: use the second and third field armies to annihilate the Kuomintang troops assembled in the section from Shanghai to Anqing, occupy southern Jiangsu, southern Anhui, and Zhejiang provinces, seize Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, and completely destroy the political, political, and political power of the reactionary Kuomintang government. In the economic center, at 18:00 on April 15th, the crossing operation was carried out in the section from Jingjiang, Jiangsu to Wangjiang, Anhui, and the campaign was carried out by crossing the river across the board. With the Second Field Army as the west group, cross the river from Zongyang Town to Wangjiang section.With the Third Field Army as the central and eastern groups, cross the river from Guichi to Wuhu and from Yangzhong to Jiangyin.Deng Xiaoping, secretary of the General Front Committee, and Commander Chen Yi unified command of the second field and the third field near Hefei, and presided over the overall situation.Commander Liu Bocheng of the Second Field, Deputy Political Commissar Zhang Jichun, and Chief of Staff Li Da commanded the troops of the Second Field as the West Group and fought across the river from Zongyang Town to Wangjiang; Su Yu, Deputy Commander and Deputy Political Commissar of the Third Field, and Zhang Zhen, Chief of Staff Zhang Zhen led the command of the Three Fields , directly commanded the 8th and 10th Corps as the East Group, and fought across the river from Zhanghuanggang to Sanjiang Ying; Sanye and two routes (4 corps) were under the unified command of Su and Zhang. The campaign plan is divided into three stages: the first stage is to complete the task of crossing the river, and implement the campaign; the second stage is to divide and encircle the enemy, control a section of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, and cut off the enemy's retreat; the third stage divides and wipes out the encircled enemies. The key to the battle is that the Central Assault Group composed of the 7th and 9th Corps of the Third Field Army and the Eastern Assault Group composed of the 8th and 10th Corps quickly moved east and west, disrupting the enemy's combat system and completing the pincer encirclement. To achieve the purpose of splitting and surrounding the enemy. The Second Field Army focused on closely coordinating with the Third Field Army to advance eastward with the main force at the right time to take on the task of capturing Wuhu, Nanjing and Hangzhou, and quickly left the Quxian area with part of the main force to control the first section of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line and the Tunxi North-South Highway. , Cut off the enemy's retreat. The "Outline" also pointed out: As long as the crossing of the river is successful, the development of the battle situation will change in our favor, and it may evolve into a situation where the enemy is completely defeated. On the afternoon of April 1, Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi took the newly formed lightweight command organization of the General Front Committee, boarded a stuffy tank carriage at Bengbu Railway Station, and drove to the front line. When Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi woke up on April 2, the train had arrived at Hefei Station.After leaving the station, they drove eastward in a jeep and went straight to Yaogang Village, the command position of the General Front Committee's cross-river campaign. On April 3, as soon as they arrived at the new command post, they received telegrams from the Central Military Commission and Mao Zedong. Reported on April 1.Agree with the "Outline for the Implementation of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Campaign". Later Mao Zedong pointed out in a telegram on April 18: "This time our army of one million crossed the south of the Yangtze River, the relationship between the overall victory is great. I hope that the soldiers of the Second and Third Fields will work together with one heart and one mind, and complete the great task under the leadership of the General Front Committee and the Second and Third Field Committees." Yaogang is a small village, and a small river runs through the middle of the village, dividing it into two halves.According to the combat staff of the Third Field Army who once chose the location for the General Front Committee, the reason why Yaogang was chosen as the base of the General Front Committee for the Battle of Crossing the River was that the village had once stationed officers and soldiers of the 27th Army Reconnaissance Battalion, so the surrounding social situation is relatively clear .In addition, Yaogang is not far from Hefei, but it is not in Hefei, so it can avoid the danger of enemy air strikes; It is close to Chu County, the former station of the Nanjing terminal of the Jinpu Railway, and the southeast is next to the defense line from Wuhu to Jiujiang. Therefore, the command position of the General Front Committee is precisely at the midpoint connecting the troops crossing the river along the east and west lines. The environment in Yaogang is very quiet, and the village is full of shaded trees.The residence of Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi is a courtyard house with brick and tile structure. The owner's surname is Wang, and his name is Wang Shixin, a landlord.His eldest brother, Wang Shiyan, is the chief of the intelligence section of Tang Enbo's Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Police Headquarters. On the second day Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi lived, the wife of the owner Wang Shixin went to the front yard to ladle water and water vegetables. A soldier on duty came over and said softly, "Sister-in-law, please don't come here in the future." At that time, Chen Yi was having a haircut in the courtyard, when he heard the guard talking, he hurriedly asked the reason.Someone reported that the owner's elder brother was an official in Tang Enbo's headquarters.Chen Yi laughed loudly after hearing this, and said, "What are you afraid of! Rabbits don't even eat the grass beside the nest!" Chen Yi lives in the east wing of this courtyard house. The furnishings in the room are relatively simple, with an iron bed, a table, a tea table, a few chairs and square stools.In the West Wing Room lived Shu Tong, director of the Political Department of the East China Military Region and director of the Propaganda Department of the East China Bureau of the Communist Party of China. Heading into the middle of the room is the duty room, where Deng Xiaoping's secretary Gu Qi, Chen Yi's secretary Kuo Xubin, Zhang Dingcheng's secretary Shen Zenghua, Shu Tong's secretary Lin Lu, and Zeng Shan's secretary Zhang Hua are often on duty here. Deng Xiaoping lived in the east wing of the second entrance room, and he set up a canvas camp bed in the room.The three open rooms in the middle of the second entry room are the office space. Three square tables are placed side by side and covered with white cloth, which are used as dining tables and conference tables for meetings.On the table, there was a captured radio.A large military map hangs on the wall. There are three electric lamps installed in this courtyard house, which generate electricity by themselves.Between the second room and the third room where the landlord Wang Shirong lives, there is a white cloth curtain. On the east side of the courtyard where Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yi lived, there are several spacious thatched houses with more than 10 people living there, which are the confidential offices of the General Front Committee.Director Xiao Guang is an old secret from the Yan'an period, and he carefully kept the photo taken with Mao Zedong. The combat deployment of the Battle of Crossing the River is going on intensely and secretly in this little-known village.