Chapter 23 Section 10: In the Battle of Siping, the New 1st Army occupied an empty city

A fierce battle broke out around Siping City Changtu's setback did not prevent the New 1st Army from taking the wheel of Siping in the north. Chiang Kai-shek knew very well that at this time, out of consideration of its own interests, the United States came forward to mediate the disputes between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. Although the Kuomintang and the Communist Party signed the "Northeast Region Armistice Agreement" on March 17 under the supervision of the US representative Marshall, Marshall returned to China. After that, this agreement has not yet come into effect.According to the agreement, Mrs. Ma will come to China in mid-April. If the military mediation composed of representatives from the country, the Communist Party, and the United States becomes serious at that time, if Chiang Kai-shek fights again in the Northeast, won't he even lose face to the people of the country?Even though the Americans are partial to him and someone like Jiang, I am afraid that it would be impossible to cover him up for him at that time.Therefore, before Marshall came to China, trying his best to seize large and medium-sized cities was a strategy that Chiang Kai-shek had planned long ago.

On April 15, Du Yuming, who suffered from renal tuberculosis and had just had his left kidney removed in Beiping, issued an order through his deputy, Zheng Dongguo, to march eastward along the banks of the Taizi River with the New 6th Army (less than the 207th Division) and the 88th Division of the 71st Army to occupy Benxi; Capture Siping with the New 1st Army and Chen Mingren's 71st Army (less than the 88th Division). At that time, the Kuomintang designated the Northeast as nine provinces and two cities. Siping, the capital of Northern Liaoning Province, was located at the intersection of the Zhongchang, Sitao and Simei railways. It was a transportation hub and an important industrial town in the Northeast.The mountains in the northeastern suburbs are continuous, and the rivers in the southwest are networked. The terrain with mountains behind and water in front has always been a place for military strategists to occupy.

For the Communist Party, Siping is the fruit of the people's victory and should be defended; the second is to defend Siping, which is beneficial to the implementation of the armistice agreement in the future, at least to achieve the purpose of consuming the enemy's vital strength.Therefore, when Lin Biao hesitated to make a decision on the issue of sticking to Siping, Mao Zedong, after explaining the reasons many times, telegraphed Lin Biao in an unquestionable tone on April 22: "I hope to stick to Siping, defeat the enemy's spirit, and strive for a better situation in the war." ", "Turn Siping Street into Madrid"!

Madrid is the capital of Spain. In October 1936, the Spanish people fought against the Franco rebellion supported by German and Italian fascists there for two and a half years. The Battle of Madrid became the most famous defense war before World War II. So Lin Biao took the case and made a decision: "We should resolutely implement it and stick to Siping." In this way, a fierce battle was fought around Siping City.This battle of Siping was the second time the Kuomintang and the Communist Party fought in Siping, which was called "Second Guarantee Siping" in the history of PLA warfare.

A regiment of the 71st Army was immediately beaten by the Communist Party On April 17, the New 1st Army advanced towards Siping in three ways: the right wing Pan Yukun's 50th Division aimed at Mangniu Shao and Banla Mountain Gate in the southeast of Siping; The direction of the 38th Division is the old Siping in the south of Siping.The attack points of the 71st Army (less than the 88th Division) were from Bamiancheng to Lao Siping.The total reserve of the New 1st Army and the 71st Army is the 195th Division. Siping is surrounded by an arc surrounded by the New 1st Army and the 71st Army.

The Northeast Democratic Allied Forces guarding Siping are: Bao 1 Brigade, the former 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 7th Divisions of Shandong, the former 3rd Division of Central China, the former 359th Brigade of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia, and the 7th and 7th Divisions of the 3rd Column of South Manchuria 8 brigades, with a total strength of 100,000 troops. On April 18, the New 30th Division of the New 1st Army attacked our 1st Brigade from multiple routes south of Siping, but were all repelled.The new 38th Division tried to attack the north of Siping in Sandaolinzi, but it was also blocked.The bullets from both sides scurry like locusts, and the fighting is so fierce that these soldiers who came back from India and Burma also took a breath!

Two days later, the Northeast Democratic Alliance replaced the 1st Regiment of the 1st Bao Brigade commanded by Deng Hua and the 56th Regiment of the Wanyi Column with the 3rd and 7th Divisions respectively, while the 50th Division of the New 1st Army replaced them with cannons and more than 120 Light and heavy machine guns lined up to blast and sweep the Boluozi position of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army, and the Boluozi position was beaten to pieces.Decades later, the old people who participated in the defense of Siping said that more than 100 machine guns were roaring in one voice. The gap was quickly closed by the 7th Division of the Allied Forces, and these two companies finally "served their allegiance to the party-state".

At this time, Sun Liren went to London to receive an honor at the invitation of the King of England, and then went to the United States for a while, but has not returned yet, and Chen Mingren of the 71st Army is not in the army.As a result, the New 1st Army and the 71st Army were under the unified command of Liang Huasheng, the deputy chief of the Northeast Security Commander's Department, and attacked Siping. The offensive of the New 1st Army and the 71st Army was frustrated. Chiang Kai-shek was anxious and impatient in Chongqing. Xiong Shihui, the director of the Northeast Camp, was also restless.

"Liang Maoming (Liang Huasheng is from Maoming, Guangdong) is too impatient, and he complains when he encounters difficulties. Gui Ting (Zheng Dong's Chinese characters), you go to the front, let him come back and relax!" Xiong Shihui said angrily. Liang Huasheng was replaced. As soon as Zheng Dongguo arrived at the front line, he pushed the command post to Hongmiao Station and used plane bombing to guide the attack of the New 1st Army and the 71st Army. But at this time, the backup of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army arrived one after another. With the steel defense line, Zheng Dongguo fell into the dilemma of a dog biting a hedgehog and having nowhere to gnaw his teeth.

On April 25, the 87th Division of Jiang's 71st Army marched from Jinjiatun in Faku to the Bamiancheng position, preparing for a side attack.When passing a market near Dawa, the soldiers of the advance regiment of the 87th Division, who were thirsty and hungry, saw that the market was full of pancakes, steamed buns, and broth, so they asked the commander to stop for a meal and rest before going to the war.The officer asked the locals if they had seen the communist army. Everyone in the market said that the communist army had come and left early. Some people even sent food and drink to the officers and soldiers of the 87th division. Rest assured and boldly eat and drink at the market, the scene is so lively.But when there was laughter and laughter on the street, there was a shout and gunshots all around, and the soldiers of the Democratic Alliance Army who were ambushing in the market and disguised as traders rushed forward and disarmed all the advance regiment of the 71st Army, and the subsequent troops were also intercepted. In a few paragraphs, even the teacher Huang Yan was beaten and fled.

The entire regiment was crushed by the Communist Party at once. This was the first disastrous defeat Jiang Jun had suffered since entering the Northeast, and Chiang Kai-shek's shock can be imagined.When the secret agent reported the failure of Dawa in the 87th Division and the news that Chen Mingren, the commander of the 71st Army, was not in the army, Chiang Kai-shek vented all his anger on his student and ordered Du Yuming to strictly investigate and report. Du Yuming and Chen Mingren are both students of Whampoa Phase 1, and they have a very good personal relationship.After receiving Chiang Kai-shek's telegram, on the one hand, Du Yuming replied that Chen had come to the front to fool the "principal" before the war, and on the other hand, he telegraphed Chen Mingren to return to the team quickly to make up for his mistakes. After Chen Mingren arrived at the front line, he stepped up his attack on Siping. However, until April 27, they exhausted their energy in front of the stubborn Northeast Democratic Alliance Army, but made little progress, so that they were no longer able to launch a large-scale offensive. Exhausted during the period, except for launching counterattacks at night, most of the time was in a state of stalemate and confrontation, and the Siping front line was once silent. Sun Liren personally drove a tank and rushed to the front of the team The brief silence heralds a greater conflict to come. On May 12, after Chiang Kai-shek occupied Benxi, the 14th Division, the 22nd Division of the New 6th Army, and the 88th Division of the 71st Army were all transferred north to Siping to strengthen Siping's strike force. Chiang Kai-shek also ordered Sun Liren to return home immediately to command the New 1st Army to fight. On May 15, Du Yuming issued an order to issue a general attack order: use the New 1st Army as the central group to attack Siping City head-on; use the 88th Division attached to the New 6th Army as the right-wing group to besiege the southeast of Siping; The two divisions marched north from Bamian City for the left-wing group.For a while, Jiang Jun's planes and artillery blew up the black soil on the outskirts of Siping, and the sky was dark. The new 38th Division once again encountered resolute resistance from the commanders and fighters of the 7th Brigade of the 3rd Division of Central China in the Beishan position of Sandaolinzi.Beishan is less than 20 meters high and less than 100 meters wide. However, on this small hill, soldiers from the 7th Brigade fought offensive and defensive battles with a battalion of the New 38th Division. The division's battalion was wiped out! It was only because of the heavy casualties of other troops that the positions were lost one after another that the 7th Brigade took the initiative to withdraw from this small highland. On May 18, Liao Yaoxiang's New Army detoured from the northwest of Siping, and the retreat of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army was in danger of being intercepted.In view of this, at the request of Lin Biao, the Central Committee replied: "If you feel that it is impossible to stick to Siping, you will take the initiative to give up Siping, use one to delay the enemy in the front, withdraw to the two wings to rest, and prepare to change from positional warfare to mobile warfare. .” That night, Lin Biao led his troops to withdraw from Siping. On the 19th, the New 1st Army took the lead in rushing into the urban area of ​​Siping. Although Sun Liren participated in the battle of Siping in the later period, a small Siping made his new 1st army gnaw here for a month, which made Sun Liren lose the share he brought with him when he first returned from the United States. Complacent and confident.He personally drove a tank and rushed ahead of the team eagerly. Unexpectedly, there were ruined walls, smoke and dust everywhere in front of him, and the streets were empty. What he and his new 1st army occupied was just an empty Rotten city!