Chapter 12 Chapter 12 The "Amethyst" escaped, the dawn of Nanjing

When the 29th Army crossed the river, Tao Yong was commanding the 23rd Army to arrive in the south of the Yangtze River.When they were crossing the river, the "Amethyst Incident" happened that shocked the world. Regarding the injury of the "Amethyst" by me, there were different opinions before the Cultural Revolution, but Ye Fei disclosed the truth in his memoirs. It was the afternoon of April 21. All the commanders and fighters of the 23rd Army were preparing to cross the river when they suddenly found several foreign warships blocking their way across the river.After Tao Yong received the report, he immediately called Ye Fei to report: "There are several foreign warships cruising about two kilometers away from the section where our 23rd Army crosses the river. What do you think should be done?"

Ye Fei's mind immediately appeared in the notice of the General Front Committee two days ago: The Second Coastal Defense Fleet of the Kuomintang Navy under the command of Lin Zun is about to stage an uprising.He thought, could it be an uprising warship?So he asked Tao Yong: "Are these warships flying the signal flag of the uprising?" "No!" Tao Yong told Ye Fei affirmatively, "They are flying a foreign flag, so they must be foreigners. Do you think it is sinking?" Ye Fei thought for a moment, and said firmly: "Whoever prevents us from crossing the river, we will destroy him. However, you should first notify the frontier observation post, raise the signal flag, warn them, and ask them to leave consciously. If you don't leave, order to fire!"

Tao Yong answered, put down the phone, and conveyed Ye Fei's order to the Third Howitzer Regiment, and the Third Howitzer Regiment obeyed.However, the warships on the river did not respond in the slightest to retreat. Instead, they gathered the entire crew to the rear and pointed their guns at the 23rd Army's position in Jiangbei.Tao Yong found out that it was a British warship that blocked them from crossing the river, so he reported to Ye Fei in time.When Ye Fei heard about the actions of the British warship, he was furious and said angrily: "These foreign devils are too rampant. It is no longer the era of the Opium War in 1840. How dare they rampage on my territory! Now I order to punish these hateful foreign devils." fire!"

With an order, the muzzles of the third howitzer regiment aimed at the British ship on the river and fired an angry artillery fire. Suddenly, thick smoke billowed on the British ship and the flames shot into the sky.The two sides began an artillery battle that lasted nearly an hour.The British ship "Black Swan" slipped away dragging thick smoke.Another warship "Amethyst" was also hit in more than 30 places. After being severely damaged, it ran aground on the riverside while shaking like a drunken man.The British army was in a state of desperation, and another warship named "Mate" came to rescue, but was hit by my artillery fire. After being hit by five shells, it turned around in a hurry and sailed down at full speed.

Seeing the foreign warship fleeing in embarrassment after being beaten by me, the commanders and fighters of the 23rd Army jumped for joy.For nearly a hundred years, foreigners thought that the Chinese never dared to touch a hair of their warships.Today, the Chinese not only touched, but beat up the foreign devils severely, which strengthened the Chinese people's aspirations and destroyed the prestige of the foreigners.The Chinese people applauded for it, and even the Kuomintang officers and soldiers were secretly happy. After the artillery battle, the phone in Ye Fei's command post rang rapidly.Ye Fei picked up the phone, and there was a stern reprimand: "What did you do? How did you start a fight with the British? Who fired the first shot? You must find out!"

Ye Fei was stunned for a moment. He ordered to fire on the British ship because he was too angry just now, but he forgot the political consequences for a while.After being reminded by his superiors, he became soberly aware of the seriousness of the problem.He quickly called Tao Yong and said, "Oops, we bombarded the British ship just now, and the higher-ups called to investigate and asked who fired the first shot." "What are you afraid of?" Tao Yong said nonchalantly, "What is there to investigate? They blocked our way across the river, so why should they do anything wrong on our Yangtze River?" He said heartbrokenly, "Commander Ye, Deng Ruobo, one of our best commanders, was beaten to death by the British. He is a talented man with both civil and military skills in our army. Do you know that? I suffered a total of 252 casualties!"

Ye Fei was silent for a moment after hearing Tao Yong's narration. He thought that the British would definitely make a big fuss about the shelling issue and would not let it go.Then he told Tao Yong that no matter who asked about this matter, he insisted that it was the British who fired the first shot.The two set up an "offensive and defensive alliance".Sure enough, the investigation team was quickly dispatched from above. On the one hand, they learned about the situation and on the other hand, they went to the field to inspect the situation. The incident became more and more troublesome.

A few days later, the British Royal Navy issued a statement saying that they were attacked by hostile forces. The British ship injured 66 people and killed 42 people, including Captain Cagley. Shrapnel pierced several holes. On April 26, Churchill, the leader of the British Conservative Party, said in a speech in the House of Commons that the People's Liberation Army's bombardment of British ships was an atrocity, and asked the British government to send an aircraft carrier to China to retaliate by force. On April 31, Li Tao, a spokesman for the PLA headquarters, issued a statement regarding the atrocities committed by the British warship: We condemn the arrogant statement of the warmonger Churchill. On April 26, in the House of Commons, Churchill asked the British government to send two aircraft carriers to the Far East to "retaliate by force". Mr. Churchill, what are you "revenge" for?British warships and Kuomintang warships broke into the defense zone of the Chinese People's Liberation Army together and fired at the People's Liberation Army, causing as many as 252 casualties among the loyal and brave soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.The British ran into China to commit such a large crime, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army has reason to ask the British government to admit its mistakes and demand an apology and compensation.Could it be that what you should do in the future is not these, but instead mobilize troops to China to "retaliate" against the Chinese People's Liberation Army?Prime Minister Attlee's words are also wrong. He said that Britain has the right to launch warships into China's Yangtze River.The Yangtze River is an inland river in China. What right do you British have to bring your warships in?No, you have no such right at all!China's territorial sovereignty must be defended by the Chinese people, and foreign governments will never be allowed to infringe upon it.Attlee said: The People's Liberation Army "is ready to let the British ship Amethyst sail to Nanjing, but there is one condition, that is, the ship will assist the People's Liberation Army to cross the river."Attlee was lying, the People's Liberation Army did not allow the Amethyst to sail to Nanjing.The People's Liberation Army does not want any foreign armed forces to help cross the river, or do anything else.On the contrary, the People's Liberation Army demands that the warships, military aircraft, marines, and other armed forces of the United Kingdom, the United States, and France on the Yangtze River, Huangpu River, and other places in China quickly withdraw from China's territorial waters, territorial sea, territory, and airspace, and not to help the enemies of the Chinese people. Fight a civil war.

Ye Fei's order to bombard the British ships has great military and political significance.After the incident, Su Yu ordered Yuan Zhongxian, political commissar of the Eighth Corps, and Kang Maozhao, political commissar of the Third Artillery Regiment of the 23rd Army, to negotiate with the commander-in-chief of the Far East Fleet of the Royal Navy and his representative, the captain of the "Amethyst" warship Lieutenant Commander Krens . The "Amethyst" incident lasted 102 days from April 20 to July 30, 1949.During this period, in addition to 4 armed conflicts, more than 10 negotiations were held.

After many rounds of negotiations and statements, in view of the fact that the British side did not have the sincerity to negotiate, and our side was in an active position in this incident, both militarily and politically, and the international public opinion was also in our favour, therefore, although the British side We don't have to entangle with it for a long time if we are shameless and procrastinated. On June 10, 1949, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China called the General Front Committee and the Nanjing Municipal Party Committee regarding the handling of the British warship "Amethyst", stating: "You estimate that the Amethyst will not be stolen in general, but you should prepare for the ship if it is taken. Countermeasures when stealing the method. We believe that if the Amethyst is used to steal it, our warships, river banks, and artillery should pretend that they do not know it is the Amethyst, and let her escape (this point should be notified in advance to the relevant parties) ), do not attack, and then immediately issue a statement condemning it. At the same time, you should prevent the British warships from Hong Kong from stealing into our Yangtze River defense line to pick up the Amethyst. ... If the Amethyst is stolen through Jiangyin, you can not bombard it; If the Swan tries to steal through Wusong or Jiangyin and enter the inland river, it must be attacked. Before the first shot is fired, it can be ordered to stop. If it does not listen, it will be bombarded." At 9:00 pm on July 30, "Amethyst "" took advantage of the passenger ship "Jiangling Jiefang" to abscond after the ship, and finally escaped from the Yangtze River through the north mouth of Chongming Island.

Forty years later, in 1989, Kang Maozhao recorded in his memoir "The Incident of the British Ship "Amethyst"", the article said: It was not an American warship that appeared on the Yangtze River on April 20, but the arrival of a British warship was beyond our expectations. After we damaged the "Amethyst" and stranded it in the Sanjiang Camp, it was another British warship "Companion" who came to rescue "No. It is also our negligence that the "Mate" stopped in Nanjing long ago.After the two British warships were severely damaged, the Kuomintang announced the breakdown of the peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party that night. Several routes of the People's Liberation Army west of Wuhu began to use the night to smuggle and succeeded.Several routes of the People's Liberation Army east of Zhenjiang repelled the ships of the British Far East Fleet "London" on the 21st before launching a general offensive across the river.At that time, thousands of sails covered the clouds, thousands of oars rattled the waves, and shelled the south bank.Jiang Fang broke through in an instant and began to chase north.This great victory inspired the enthusiasm and ambition of the soldiers of the People's Liberation Army to fight continuously.Our skirmish with the British warships seemed insignificant by comparison.It was not until April 23 that the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China notified the People's Liberation Army that "the news of the bombardment of the British ship has shocked the world" based on the earliest reports and comments from foreign media, which aroused our attention and joy. World public opinion reports on the Chinese People's Liberation Army's bombardment of British warships are basically objective and fair.This reflects the sympathy and support of the people of the world for the Chinese people who are striving for independence and liberation and are about to win national victory.Although the British comments were mixed, they also criticized the gunboat policy and its damage to Sino-British relations in history. British progressives and scholars also regarded the "Yangtze River Incident" as the end of the British gunboat policy in China. During the battle of crossing the river, Ye Fei also experienced another thrilling thing. It is said that before the battle of crossing the river, Chen Yi and Su Yu asked Ye Fei to cross the river with the first echelon and command the vanguard to advance deep into the south of the Yangtze River.Ye Fei always commanded from the front in battle. After boarding the boat that day, he crossed the river with the 28th Army. When he got ashore and looked back, he found that he had only brought a platoon of guards with him and forgot to bring the radio.Without a radio, it is impossible to contact the 28th Army headquarters.It was almost dawn when they came to a small village.Ye Fei and Wei Guoqing sat down by the side of the village to rest, and first let Staff Officer Huang Yun enter the village to contact the 28th Army.After Huang Yun entered the village, he couldn't help but gasped in fright. It turned out that the village was full of Kuomintang troops.As soon as Huang Yun entered the village, he was discovered by three or four Kuomintang sentries with machine guns on their backs. It was only because it was not yet daylight that the other party didn't see Huang Yun's identity clearly, so they thought he was one of their own, so they asked, "Are you From which unit, who is sitting outside the village?" Although Huang Yun was sweating profusely, he didn't appear to be flustered at all. He replied in a hurry, "That's our teacher. He's addicted to cigarettes. He doesn't have a match to start a fire. I'm here to find a match. Brother, can you give me one?" box for me?" Hearing that it was a division commander, the sentinel didn't want to inquire anymore, so he took out a box of matches from his pocket and said flatteringly, "I have them here, I'll give them to you, just in time to see what the division commander looks like." Huang Yun thought to himself, I want to catch you as a tongue, but I'm afraid of alarming these Kuomintang soldiers. Now you send it to your door, isn't that what you wish for, so he nodded and said, "Okay, the division commander is over there, let's go." Huang Yun Bringing the sentinel in front of Ye Fei, winking at Ye Fei, then turned around sharply, swept his right leg, the sentry fell to the ground, and before he recovered, he was held down by Huang Yun and his mouth was blocked When it's on, I can't shout out.After interrogation, I found out that the 28th Army did not pass through this village, and that a regiment of the Kuomintang Army was stationed here. Huang Yun was scared after thinking about it, and said to Ye Fei: "Commander Ye, it's so dangerous, we almost became his captives!" "That's right," Ye Fei said with a smile, "If the commander and political commissar of the Corps of the Communist Party come to your door and become prisoners of others, it will be a big joke." After joking, they continued to search for the 28th Army, and they didn't find it until Changshu.At this time, the 29th Army had occupied Wuxi and Suzhou, the 20th Army occupied Danyang, the 26th Army occupied Tianwangsi and Shangpei, the 23rd Army occupied Huzhou, and was approaching Hangzhou. When they arrived in Changzhou, the 34th Army occupied Zhenjiang.After crossing the river, the East Group and the Central Group adopted two wings to outflank, and Nanjing became a pocket.The Nanjing enemy fled without a fight. Lin Zun, commander of the Kuomintang Navy's Second Fleet, led 30 ships and staged an uprising on the Patou Mountain River in Nanjing.Another 23 ships revolted and surrendered on the Zhenjiang River. Experienced the flames of war The capture of Nanjing is an important part of the East Road Assault Group's cross-river operation, and it is also an important part of the cross-river campaign.The main tasks are completed by the 35th Army of the Sanye Eighth Corps.I was the chief of the reconnaissance section of the 103rd Division of the army at the time.The enemy's defense of Nanjing is divided into two layers: inner and outer.The periphery is Jiangpu, Puzhen and Pukou, which are located on the north bank of the Yangtze River.The Nanjing Ministry of National Defense regards the "Miura" area as the gate to defend Nanjing, and ordered its elite 28th Army to defend it to "ensure the safety of the capital."Obviously, to overcome Nanjing, you must first overcome "Miura".Before the start of the battle, our 35th Army had approached the enemy of "Miura".The division reconnaissance company completed the reconnaissance mission of Jiangpu enemy situation.Several scouts stepped on enemy mines and died. At 8 o'clock in the evening on April 20, the 103rd Division launched an attack on the enemy of Jiangpu, and the 104th Division launched an attack on the enemy of Puzhen.The reconnaissance company ambushed about 10 miles southwest of Jiangpu to intercept the fleeing enemy and prevent the enemy on the other side from crossing the river for reinforcements.After a night of bloody battle, our division suffered more than 400 casualties, and captured Jiangpu on the morning of the 21st.As soon as Comrade Reconnaissance Company escorted more than a hundred prisoners into the county seat, Comrade Lin Yi, chief of staff of the division, ordered us to search for Pukou immediately, seize the opportunity to occupy Pukou Wharf, find a boat, and prepare to cross the river.Only then did I know that the Zhonglu Assault Group had successfully crossed the Yangtze River and successfully broken through the enemy's defense line in the south of the Yangtze River.The Nanjing defenders are afraid of being encircled and wiped out, and may want to run away.We ate dry food, traveled day and night, chased after the fleeing enemies, and arrived at Pukou Wharf at dawn on the 22nd.It was vaguely seen that the last ship of the enemy's 28th Army had just left the shore. "Fight" With an order, the scouts immediately fired fiercely at the enemy ships, and many enemies were shot.The enemy also shot at us from the boat.The enemy's gunboat came out from nowhere and fired at us with fierce firepower.We watched the enemy flee to the other side.I also saw with my own eyes that dozens of ships, large and small, were set on fire by them.We gritted our teeth with hatred.Since there were no boats nearby, three teams were sent to look for boats in the distance. At about 3 pm, I finally found a small sampan that can only seat 5 people.After asking Chief of Staff Lin for instructions, five capable scouts were sent to the opposite bank in a sampan to find the ship.Under the cover of our artillery fire, they successfully landed on the opposite bank and received strong support from the workers of the Xiaguan Power Plant.When it was almost dusk, the workers drove a small coal steamer hidden in the river branch.All the divisions went to snatch the ship, and the military department instructed the 104th division to pass first. Seeing that the 104th division was about to board the ship, I stared at the blood-red eyes that hadn't closed for two days and two nights, and said loudly to Chief of Staff Lin, don't let it go. The 103rd division will pass first, at least let the reconnaissance company of our division pass first.Not to mention that we risked our lives to find the boat, the most important thing is that we already have 5 scouts on the other side of the river.They have already established contact with comrade workers on the other side of the river, and are familiar with the situation on the riverside, so that they can easily meet the troops to cross the river.Let's go first, so we can start reconnaissance work as soon as possible, which is beneficial to the battle.Chief of Staff Lin believed that this reason was sufficient, and decisively decided to ask the army again for instructions.He directly called Comrade He Kexi, the military political commissar, for instructions.Commissar He thought about it and finally agreed to our request.It was clearly instructed that the first ship would be passed by the 103rd Division's reconnaissance company first, and then the ship would be handed over to the 104th Division.I was so excited that tears filled my eyes.In this way, under the gaze of thousands of envious eyes on the shore, I led a reconnaissance company with more than 60 warriors, boarded the first ship to liberate Nanjing, and arrived at Xiaguan Wharf at about 8:00 p.m. Land that has been ruled by the Kuomintang reactionaries for more than 20 years. I found a small hotel near the pier as a base.After sending out the sentry post, I went to thank the workers at the Xiaguan Power Plant. The news that "the People's Liberation Army has arrived in Xiaguan" spread like wildfire.At about 9 o'clock in the evening, a middle-aged man in his 30s was sent by the Nanjing underground party to contact us.I saw that he had brought a truck, and decided to go into the city by car to scout the enemy's situation and complete the main task assigned to us by our superiors. I sat with him in the pilothouse, and a platoon of scouts sat in the compartment.After entering Yijiang Gate, the truck drove slowly along Zhongshan North Road under the dim street lights.Suddenly, comrades from the underground party patted me nervously, pointed to a yard ahead and whispered: "KMT Judicial Yuan." I looked in the direction he pointed, and saw a KMT military truck parked outside a yard, 10 A number of Kuomintang soldiers are loading things on the car.I immediately jumped out of the car and gestured to the scouts on the car. They quickly jumped out of the car and followed me quietly to surround the enemy.Someone suddenly asked in the dark: "What are you doing?" I replied loudly: "Chinese People's Liberation Army! Surrender quickly!" The enemy opened fire, and we immediately returned fire and gradually approached the car.The enemy wounded several of them, and quickly yelled: "Stop hitting! Stop hitting!" We went over and saw that the car was loaded with shells.Due to the urgency of the mission, we confiscated their weapons and threw them into our vehicle, ordering them to stay where they are and wait for the troops behind to contain them.We move on. At about 10 o'clock in the evening, we arrived at Xinjiekou.Comrades from the underground party told me that this is the city center.I saw that there were more people here.Many Kuomintang military and political personnel, stragglers, and wounded refugees fled in the direction of Zhongshan Gate in a hurry.I thought that although the large Kuomintang troops had already fled, there might still be a small group of remnants of the enemy, so I led the scouts to search and move forward.Just to the south of the intersection, a military jeep drove up from Zhongshan East Road.The scout ordered it to stop, but it accelerated and ran away.The scouts fired several shots at the fleeing car, causing panic around the area.I don't know where a few bullets were fired, and they hit us with screams.I saw that the surrounding area was all concrete ground, and there was no way to repair the fortifications.We have less than 20 people, and it is very dangerous if we are attacked by the remnants of the enemy.I want the comrades of the underground party to quickly find a building to rely on.He knocked on several doors but failed to open them.Finally, on the next street, after repeated explanations by the underground party comrades, they knocked on the door of a power company building.We flashed in immediately, and the scouts ambushed on both sides of the gate, closely monitoring the situation outside. After more than 10 minutes, I saw that there was no abnormality on the street, so I drove back immediately. At the south turn of Linsen Road, another open jeep drove up, and five people in plain clothes and armed with weapons were sitting in the car.Based on years of experience in reconnaissance work, I concluded that there was something wrong with them. I straddled the door of the car and gestured to the scout on the car to get off, and then ordered the other party to stop.The other party was also aggressive and asked us to stop.I asked who they were, and they asked who we were.I said we were the People's Liberation Army, and they also said they were the People's Liberation Army.I asked what part they were from and they asked what part I was from.I said we were the East China Field Army, but he said they were the "East China Advance Column".I couldn't help but sneered when I heard it. Except for the troops of the 35th Army entering Nanjing at this time, there is no "advancing column"!As soon as you hear this number, it must be fake.I sternly said: "Stop talking, surrender!" A man sitting in the back row suddenly fired.The scouts fired a burst of fire, and the "advancing column" fell, with one dead and two wounded, and the driver was also injured.Only then did they honestly confess that they were spies who stayed behind to sabotage. This is the second time our reconnaissance team has entered Nanjing and exchanged fire with the enemy. In the words of the scouts, it is "a piece of cake". At about 11 o'clock in the evening, we ran into the vanguard of the 104th Division at Yijiangmen, which looked like a company.I briefly introduced the situation in the city to them, and immediately returned to Xiaguan to prepare for our division troops. At about 7 o'clock in the morning on the 23rd, comrades from the Nanjing Public Security Committee brought two jeeps from the military attache of the Chinese embassy and asked us to get in the car immediately and go to Shanxi Road to deal with an "ammunition depot that was about to be detonated by the enemy agents."I rushed to check, not the ammunition depot but the military supply depot.When we passed by the American embassy on the way back, the embassy staff in the car stopped the car and invited us to sit in. The American ambassador, Mr. Leighton Stuart, wanted to meet me and talk to me.I replied according to the relevant regulations of my pre-war study: "I don't know any American embassy, ​​we only recognize you as expatriates living in China." He got angry and said: "Then please get out of the car! We are going back to eat Breakfast." I felt it was a shame to get out of the car like this.So he said seriously: "We didn't even eat breakfast. You are sent by the Security Committee to assist us in carrying out our mission. Wherever you pick us up, you should send us back. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, you will be responsible .” The American shook his head and had no choice but to continue driving us back to Xiaguan. On the way back, I saw that our large army had entered the city.They marched down the street in a single file.Nanjing masses, especially workers and students, flooded the streets to welcome them.They kept shouting slogans celebrating the liberation of Nanjing.At this time, it was after 9 o'clock on April 23, 1949. On the morning of April 23, Li Zongren, the acting president of the Kuomintang, took a flight from Ming Xiaoling Airport to Guilin in a hurry and fled.The Kuomintang had no leader for a while, all the military and police fled, and all the agencies were gone. On the walls beside the road, on the telephone poles, and on the door panels, there were message notices everywhere: Commander Wang is in Hangzhou today, and my wife Wang Meijuan is looking for me in Shanghai; The brigade gathered in Yixing... It was really a mess. April 23 is a day that will never be forgotten by the people of Nanjing.Su Yu considered that Nanjing was the enemy's key defense area. In order to reduce casualties and ensure that Nanjing was captured in one fell swoop, in terms of combat steps, the 35th and 34th armies first restrained the three surges in the north of the Yangtze River to ensure the assault of the first echelon of the brothers crossing the river. success.After the first echelon crossed the river successfully, the 34th Army continued its feint attack in Yizheng to distract and attract the attention of the Nanjing defenders. The 35th Army launched an attack on Miura at zero o'clock on April 21. The enemy's defensive deployment of Nanjing is divided into two layers: internal and external.The peripheral Pukou, Jiangpu and Puzhen are a triangular area.The Nanjing Ministry of National Defense regards this area as the gate to defend Nanjing.The position here is entirely composed of strongholds.There is an outer trench filled with water dug in front of the position, which is the elite troops of the late Nanjing government of the Kuomintang. The enemy's deployment of Nanjing city defense cost a lot.Chen Xi, the deputy commander-in-chief of the garrison, also served as the director, and was specifically responsible for the construction of the city defense fortifications.The city defense fortification structure is centered on the city wall fortification, and a reinforced concrete fortification is built outside, and then a number of field fortifications are built to form three defensive systems that support each other at the front and back.These three blockade lines start from Zijin Mountain in the northeast and extend around the east, south, and west sides of Nanjing. The Yangtze River is naturally dangerous in the north, and the entire Nanjing is defended from all sides. After the offensive was launched, the first thing our 35th Army captured was Jiangpu Town.Jiangpu is the enemy's outlying position, surrounded by a city wall about seven meters high and three meters wide, densely covered with bright and dark firepower points.After several hours of fierce fighting, the 103rd Division occupied Jiangpu Town and wiped out more than 2,000 enemies.Occupying Puzhen was an uphill battle in capturing Miura.The 80th Division of the 28th Army defending the enemy is a direct descendant.In order to destroy this elite force with certainty, the 104th Division of our 35th Army was the main attacker. The 103rd Division that had captured Jiangpu quickly moved eastward, attacked the enemy's left side, threatened the enemy's back, and coordinated to destroy the enemy's force. On April 21, our army advanced to Puzhen.In order to prevent our army from advancing, the enemy tried their best to block it with firepower. The cannons on the south bank of the river and the warships bombarded our army together. Our army braved the intensive artillery fire to move forward and surrounded Puzhen.The enemy launched a frantic counterattack, and tanks and armored vehicles rushed towards our army together.Our main force and the enemy started a point-by-point, line-by-line, and block-by-block battle between the mountains north of Puzhen and the enemy's main position.After fighting all night, our army captured the commanding heights of Pingdingshan, Dadingshan and Erdingshan and all other important positions. In the early morning of the 22nd, the enemy was afraid of being completely wiped out by our army, and the remnant enemy hurriedly fled towards Pukou. After our army captured Puzhen, the soldiers did not disarm, the horses did not unload their saddles, and kept chasing Pukou. On the afternoon and evening of the 22nd, the enemy fled to the south of the Yangtze River in a panic.an american mark the day In the early morning of April 23, 1949, I was awakened by the sound of artillery and explosions in the north of Nanking. I hurriedly put on my clothes, and drove towards the Xiaguan Wharf where the sound of explosions came from the Yangtze River. The Kuomintang troops had abandoned the city, and the 26th Corps, which was ordered to defend the city, never showed up. The mob began to loot the mansions of KMT officials, including those of Li Zongren, He Yingqin, and Mayor Deng Jie.Mayor Deng's legs were broken by the driver and the guards when he tried to escape by car with 300 million gold bills from the city treasury.The next day, the gold dollar coupons were devalued to 1.5 million to one US dollar.The public funds embezzled by Deng Jie were only worth US$200. Looters are mostly poor people.All kinds of belongings were taken away by the trips of farm carts and excited people on their shoulders.A smiling soldier gave up his gun and walked out cautiously with a desk lamp in one hand.An old woman was holding four exquisitely embroidered cushions, and she was walking tremblingly, unable to restrain herself from joy. I came to Ming Xiaoling Airport outside the city. This is an internal airport, and dozens of transport planes are busy loading goods.I saw a Kuomintang general ordering soldiers at the top of his voice to carry his grand piano and other furniture onto the plane. It was unbelievable.Members of the Legislative Yuan line up to board another plane.Some wore floppy cloth hats suited to the southern climate, and one or two carried tennis rackets. "We'll be back," one MP told me, but not firmly.There were planes reserved for senior officers and their families and their property, but wailing townspeople tried to squeeze in, and bribes were attempted; soldiers waved bayonet-loaded rifles at them. Li Zongren and He Yingqin left the Ministry of National Defense Building at 9 am.Before leaving, Acting Foreign Minister Ye George (namely Ye Gongchao) called the French ambassador and chief envoy of the diplomatic corps, Jacques Merrill, and told him that the Kuomintang government was about to withdraw, and he hoped that the diplomatic envoys from various countries would accompany him to Guangzhou.Melier replied that all the ambassadors wanted to stay in Nanjing, except for the Soviet ambassador, who had already gone to Guangzhou.The Western countries are watching to see how the situation will develop for the opportunity to establish official links with the Communist Party through their ambassadors in Nanking. Bill Guan, the Chinese assistant for AFP, and I went to General Ma, the head of the security committee.When we were driving through Zhongshan Road, we were suddenly stopped by a row of eight soldiers with their guns pointed at us.They were the last eight sentinels on the Nanjing Jiangfang front line, and they left their post after dark to get a ride.When the car reached the Sun Yat-sen roundabout, Kwan explained that we had to turn left.The soldiers jumped out of the car.Guan asked where they were going, and the leader said, "Outside the south gate." We watched as the last batch of Kuomintang soldiers stationed in Nanjing disappeared into the night. We found the horse in a bedroom in the Cairo Hotel. At midnight on April 22, Ma, the former Kuomintang Army division commander, was woken up by the call of Nanjing Garrison Commander Zhang Yaoming.Zhang told him that the garrison was about to withdraw and asked him to take full responsibility during the transition period.At this time, Ma was most concerned about how to remove the fuel and bombs piled up at Xiaoling Airport in the Ming Dynasty before dawn. They estimated that the Kuomintang bombers would come again with air strikes at dawn.At 7:00 p.m., the military airport that Guan and I had been to had already taken to the sky amid the sound of explosions.Ma said he had contacted the Communist Party to inform them that they were ready to surrender at any time.Communist forces were expected to enter the city by dawn. After leaving the Cairo Hotel, Guan and I went straight to the Central Telegraph Office to send out the manuscript.Walking out of the telegraph building, we found that the area around Zhongshan Road was ablaze.The stately yellow building of the Legislative Yuan was on fire.I drove slowly along Zhongshan Road to the northwest gate.It was 3:20 in the morning. We were driving along the main road when we suddenly heard someone yelling in Chinese: "Stop!" Two soldiers jumped out of the bushes under the plane trees on both sides of the road and approached our jeep with guns in hand. "Who? What are you doing?" A soldier pointed a flashlight at us.Guan replied, "I am a reporter from the French news agency, and he is from the Associated Press of the United States." "American! American!" the soldier exclaimed, shining a flashlight on my face, and scrutinized me. "Do you know who I am? We are the Chinese People's Liberation Army." They were the vanguard of Chen Yi's troops marching into Nanjing. We were taken to a Communist commander.He was yelling at the soldiers, urging them to hurry toward the city.This was not a large group of people who were going to enter the city in the morning as planned, but the vanguard of the troops who forcibly marched into the city from the northwest gate due to the fire in the city.The commander asked a few quick questions, then ordered us to get back in the car and drive back to the city.A civilian jeep was leading the way, and there were six people sitting in the car, some were military commanders of the Communist Party, and some were members of the Nanjing Public Security Committee.We stepped on the gas and headed for the telegraph building. In the telegraph office building, Guan and I tossed a coin to decide who would publish first.He won.He sent a three-character telegram—RedstakeNanking ("Red Party" occupying Nanjing).Immediately afterwards, I sent out a 66-character telegram.No, just after the telegram was sent, the Communist army cut off the communication between Nanjing and Shanghai.Guan's three-character telegram was quickly placed on the desk of Agence France-Presse in Paris, but the detailed content that the editors had been waiting for was not sent until the next morning when Nanjing started radio transmission.This missed the headlines about the fall of Guan and Nanking.My telegram was immediately broadcast to the world through the Associated Press telecommunications system.When the sun shone on Zijin Mountain, the Communist Party had completely occupied Nanjing. At dawn, I rushed to the northwest gate of Nanjing City.All the members of the Communist brigade were wearing yellow military uniforms and flat hats, preparing to enter the city.Sitting neatly on backpacks along the sidewalk, rifles leaning over their shoulders, they listened to political commissars and sang revolutionary songs.The crowd of onlookers looked at them curiously.Neighbors brought hot tea, which they enthusiastically poured into bowls and cups they had untied from their belts.But when the Kuomintang soldiers who had put down their weapons passed by, they were ignored. College students flooded the streets, some chanting slogans to welcome the People's Liberation Army from large trucks.However, the soldiers did not react and walked past them silently. The orderliness of the Communist troops was praised by everyone, but the episode at Leighton Stuart's residence made the whole incident a bit of a fly in the ointment.At 6 o'clock in the morning, 12 soldiers who grew up in the countryside happened to come to the US embassy while wandering around to see the scenery.They asked the concierge to open the iron gate, and some of them broke into the ambassador's bedroom in a daze, waking the 72-year-old ambassador awake. "Who are you? What do you want to do?" the ambassador asked loudly.A few soldiers with guns exited the door while muttering, and came back with some other people after a while. One of them explained that they were just wandering around without any malicious intentions.After the embassy commissioner Anderberg and Situ's personal assistant Fu Jingbo arrived.They left the ambassador's bedroom.As they were leaving, a soldier turned to Fu and said, "Everything here will soon be ours." After the embassy reported the matter to Washington, the U.S. State Department ordered the military attache in China, Brigadier General Saul, to protest to the Communist military authorities.But Saul couldn't find anyone to accept the protest letter. The only newspaper still in print is the Christian "Justice", which is full of articles welcoming the Communist Party.Xinhua News Agency began to operate, and most of the editors and editors were still working for the "Central News Agency" two days ago. Liu Bocheng was appointed chairman of the Nanjing Military Control Committee, and then the mayor.Since April 28, Nationalist bombers from Taiwan have been visiting every few days, flying at rather low altitudes because the Communists have only limited-range 50-caliber machine guns. In May, the cultural life in Nanjing did not change much.The students welcomed the communist regime with great enthusiasm.They formed a speech team to publicize and explain "New Democracy" throughout the city, sang communist songs on the street, performed Yangko, and crawled in and out under the "arch bridge" built by their arms one by one.Soldiers taught students how to dance the revolution. On the morning of the 23rd, various units of our army arrived at the Pukou River.In the afternoon, the Thirty-fifth Army held a meeting at Pukou Station to study the combat plan for quickly crossing the river and seizing Nanjing.In order to overcome the difficulty of lack of ships, the military party committee called on all military officers and fighters to actively look for ships.Therefore, each combat unit sent people to look for ships in the north of the river, and sent scouts to seize the ships from the enemy on the south bank. At 7 o'clock in the evening on the 23rd, the 35th Army found two small boats with the help of local boatmen. The military headquarters ordered 18 scouts to be divided into two small boats, set off from Pukou, and cross the surging river four miles wide. In the absence of resistance, they arrived at Xiaguan, Nanjing, and landed.At this time, the enemy had already fled without a trace wrapped in gold and silver.下关发电厂的工人们听到解放军进南京的消息后，派六名工人驾驶着“京电”号小火轮，将35军从江北运到了南京城。半夜时分，35军大队人马以整齐的队列，迈着坚定的步伐，雄赳赳气昂昂地从挹江门开进了南京市区。 104师控制了紫金山天文台、中山陵，103师占领了清凉山、水佐岗、五台山等制高点，105师从下关沿中山北路到鼓楼、新街口。 104师312团的指战员们如潮水般涌向总统府大门，冲开红漆大门，高声呐喊着，冲进了总统府内，对前后大殿、各条通道、各办公室进行搜索后，登上门楼，扯下了门楼上的国民党青天白日旗，将鲜红的红旗插上了总统府。南京解放了！总统府上空，欢呼声如春雷滚动。 第35军是华东野战军鲁中南纵队与济南战役中起义的国民党军整编第96军合编而成的，他们占领总统府，对蒋介石是个绝妙的讽刺。 4月27日晚8时，陈毅、邓小平带着总前委机关成员王德、庄杰等，从合肥坐着吉普车赶到中山码头。这时，码头找不到车，侦察参谋李伏仇费了九牛二虎之力，找到了一辆公共汽车，匆匆将陈毅、邓小平送到了总统府。当陈毅、邓小平来到蒋介石、李宗仁的办公室时，桌上的台历翻在4月X日。当晚，他俩在总统府的西花园留宿，第二天移居中山北路萨家湾。 1927年4月，蒋介石在南京成立国民政府，从此定南京为首都。抗战期间，国民党曾迁都武汉和重庆达八年之久，抗战胜利后又迂回南京。南京作为国民党首都前后有14年，1949年人民解放军占领南京，国民政府垮台，标志着蒋家王朝被扫进了历史的垃圾堆。 陈毅拿起电话，给北平的新华社范长江打电话，他自豪而又兴奋地告诉范长江：“南京已经解放了，我们正在蒋介石、李宗仁的办公室里给你打电话。” 南京解放的消息通过电波传到了毛泽东那里，他欣喜万分，浮想联翩。30年前，蔡元培、李石曾在北京组织华法教育会，搞起了勤工俭学。1919年4月，毛泽东送蔡和森、萧子升到上海，去法国留学。他俩走后，毛泽东经南京浦口转车时，游览了南京。他坐在高高的古城墙上，尽情地欣赏南京的大好景致，石头城给他留下了永远磨灭不掉的美好印象。 1949年4月23日，《人民日报》号外发表了人民解放军百万大军渡江的消息，毛泽东诗兴大发，挥毫写下了历史的篇章：《人民解放军占领南京》钟山风雨起苍黄，百万雄师过大江。The tiger dominates the dragon, the present is better than the past, and the world is turned upside down and generous.It is advisable to use the remaining courage to chase the poor, and not to be known as the overlord.天若有情天亦老，人间正遭是沧桑。 4月29日晚9时，刘伯承风尘仆仆从安徽赶到南京总统府，陈毅听说刘伯承到了，从萨家湾赶到长江路上的总统府。两位老战友相见，相互问候，相互拥抱。他俩谈起革命形势的飞速发展不由心潮起伏，感慨万分，说不尽的喜悦荡漾在他俩那历经战风霜的脸上，阵阵欢声笑语从他们口中飞出 5月1日，“南京长江路人民大会堂”里，中共中央华东局召开了解放军与地下党干部的会师大会。华东局和第二、三野战军的领导人邓小平、刘伯承、陈毅等出席了大会。会场里洋溢着热烈、欢乐的气氛，口号声、歌声此起彼伏。邓小平、陈毅分别代表华东局和第三野战军，发表了讲话，勉励第二、三野战军的干部和南京共同奋斗。刘伯承代表第二野战军作了即席讲话，他说：“同志们，国民党22年的反动统治被推翻了，中国人民渴望的日子来到了，然而，正像毛主席教导我们的，'这只是万里长征走完了第一步'，我们要把革命进行到底，要下苦功夫，花大力气，建设人民的南京，建设一个新的中国。” 三位领导的讲话，赢得了阵阵欢呼声和掌声。与会的同志们亲眼目睹了仰慕已久的三位领导人那和蔼可亲的形象，激动得泪水挡住视线，喊哑了嗓门，拍痛了双手。会场上高潮迭起，他们感到从末有过的痛快。 附件：解放南京时哪支部队占领总统府 1948年9月，吴化文率领国民党整编84师之155旅、161旅及96军独立旅等共约两万余人，在济南起义，后改编为中国人民解放军第35军及步兵第103师、第104师、第105师。吴化文任35军军长。 1949年1月中旬，35军与鲁中南纵队合编。4月，35军参加了渡江战役，其任务是攻占浦口、浦镇、江浦，钳制南京，掩护东路大军渡江作战，并趁机攻占南京。 4月21日，103师全歼江浦之敌，104师扫清浦镇敌前沿阵地。 24日，104师312团特务连占领蒋介石的总统府；105师从浦口渡江后直插南京中心，315团进入总统府，在总统府门楼上升起鲜艳的红旗。so far. 35军和兄弟部队一起胜利完成解放南京的光荣任务。