Chapter 115 root cause of failure

In "Peng Dehuai's Self-Report", he regarded the fifth battle as one of the four major defeats in his military life. The other three were the Battle of Ganzhou during the Red Army period, the Battle of Guanjianao during the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the Xifu Long during the War of Liberation. Eastern campaign. Regarding the evaluation of the fifth campaign, military experts have said a lot, and these evaluations are reasonable to some extent and from a certain angle.In fact, the fact that this campaign was not well fought was neither a matter of tactics, the size of the opening, nor a matter of campaign command, nor even a matter of operational policy, but a matter of grand strategy beyond the battle.

As far as the Chinese army is concerned, such a large-scale battle against the United Nations army made of steel should not be fought at all. That is to say, it is not whether the fight is good or not, but whether the battle should be fought or not. The fifth battle, fighting, was wrong in itself. In this regard, Mao Zedong, who never made a second mistake in battle, seemed to have a premonition before the fifth battle was over. This is why Mao Zedong sent important generals of the Volunteer Army back to China in batches. He personally listened to reports, asked about the situation, and re-determined the new strategy.

If we analyze it "after the fact", after Li Qiwei figured out the strategy and tactics of the Chinese, the sudden and surprise effect of the Volunteer Army's offensive has disappeared, and its strength has been figured out.Then engage in a large-scale attack like a snake swallowing an elephant, and the elephant will be alert, and will no longer let you hug your arms and legs in a stupid way, and beat you with no buttocks and faces. In particular, Li Qiwei, the leader of the "Elephant", was a famous general who participated in the Second World War after all. , Adopt targeted tactical features, decipher the advantages of the volunteers, and take countermeasures.In this case, the military strength of both sides in the battle becomes the basic condition for determining the outcome.

Judging from the practical effect, no matter how clever the in-depth strategic penetration and tactical penetration are, when faced with the prepared modern fire defense composed of steel, even if the gap can be opened, it is difficult to complete the strategic depth and campaign goals, and it cannot be fully achieved. strategic results.And once the in-depth penetration fails to be effective, the battle will become a flat push. The two-footed attack of the Volunteer Army will hardly have a great effect on the modern offensive and defensive of the United Nations Army, and the hope of winning is very small.

Li Qiwei ordered the United Nations Army to retreat. It was not an escape, but a precisely calculated retreat. They retreated 30 kilometers in one day, which was exactly the distance that the Volunteers attacked overnight.In this way, the Volunteers attacking on foot could never reach the wheels of the United Nations Army's cars, and could only consume strength in a desperate state.