Chapter 25 2. Zhou Enlai offered suggestions

The leaders of the Communist Party of China are very concerned about the situation of China's war of resistance. They not only have to formulate the strategic policy of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army against Japan and the combat plans of each battlefield, but also conduct a lot of research on the current situation of the national war of resistance and the world situation.During this period, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Ren Bishi and other far-sighted politicians and military strategists wrote a large number of theses and treatises on the War of Resistance, and also made many reports, speeches and propaganda work.Their understanding of the situation of the Anti-Japanese War in China and the current world situation is unified, sober, and in line with China's national conditions.Comrade Liu Shaoqi's "On Protracted War" is a representative work of the Chinese Communists, a crystallization of the wisdom of the whole party, and an action guide for the Chinese Communist Party to lead the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army in the War of Resistance Against Japan.

They not only understand the situation on the frontal battlefield of the Kuomintang army, but also see it very thoroughly. In many major strategies or tactics, they constantly provide information and help planning for the patriotic generals in the Kuomintang army or the anti-Japanese troops, and also give manpower and military support. Support and cooperation. When Teng County fell and Xuzhou was in a tight spot, Bai Chongxi, the deputy chief of staff of the Supreme Command of the National Government, was not sure.Chiang Kai-shek was also very anxious at this time. He kept calling Bai Chongxi, asking about the prospects of Xuzhou and the way of fighting in the Taierzhuang area.Bai Chongxi took Chiang Kai-shek's army, how to fight?If I have a good and feasible strategy, why don't I report it to you?What time is this?Burning ass!He paced back and forth in the war room of the General Staff Headquarters, constantly throwing temper tantrums at the staff.

Bai Chongxi thought of a way, and when this way came to his mind, he hesitated, would he help the situation?Although it is said that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party are cooperating to fight the war together, after all, there are still many gaps between the two parties.Besides, I have done many things that I am sorry for others.He stood on the ground and thought, he must think about this matter clearly. He knew in his heart that there were many high-level people in the Communist Party, including the instructors of the Whampoa Military Academy and a large number of students, as well as senior generals who had served as army commanders, division commanders, and brigade commanders in the Kuomintang army, and a large number of far-sighted Chinese elites.Otherwise, the Communist Party would have been wiped out by Chiang Kai-shek long ago.At this time, he suddenly thought of Zhou Enlai, who was then the deputy director of the Political Department of the Military Commission.

He knew Zhou Enlai quite well.This man is not only farsighted, but also very humble.He thought that Zhou Enlai would not lose face to him, and Zhou Enlai would help him based on his personality, kindness and conduct.After Bai Chongxi made up his mind, he ordered his secretary to arrange for him to meet Zhou Enlai as soon as possible. The CCP is also deeply worried about the current situation. Right now Xuzhou is in a tight spot, and the war situation is getting worse step by step.If Xuzhou is lost, it will be difficult to keep Wuhan.Wuhan has always been a battleground for military strategists. Once it falls, the entire hinterland of Central China will be opened.However, among the senior generals of the Kuomintang, Chiang Kai-shek's direct troops obeyed his orders. While fighting against the Japanese invaders, they kept their eyes on the Communists beside them, dreaming of completing their "ten-year unfinished business". ".Local troops such as the Sichuan Army, the Yunnan Army, the Guangdong Army, the Guangxi Army, the Northeast Army, and the Northwest Army, etc., have gone to the battlefield since the War of Resistance, and some have indeed shown the patriotic spirit that Chinese soldiers should have. admired.But it is undeniable that some people often have concerns when fighting the devils, worrying about losing the little money they have in their hands and losing the "capital" to bargain with Chiang Kai-shek in the future. Swords and guns to eliminate dissidents.This kind of suspicion, containment, and contradictions within the army greatly weakened the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army, and became an important reason why the Chinese army suffered repeated defeats in many wars since the July 7th War of Resistance.Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi are the main fighters among the senior generals of the Kuomintang, and their anti-Japanese attitude is resolute. The Guangxi faction has a certain status in the Kuomintang. Doing the work of Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi well is undoubtedly very important for consolidating and developing the anti-Japanese united front .

So after receiving Bai Chongxi's invitation, the CCP decided to send Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying there. Before seeing Bai Chongxi, Zhou Enlai had carefully read the combat materials on the Xuzhou battlefield specially sent by the commander-in-chief of the fifth war zone. He had thought about the war and formed his own views.Bai Chongxi asked Zhou Enlai what he thought about the upcoming battle of Taierzhuang.Zhou Enlai analyzed and pointed out: Itagaki and Isoya's attempt is obvious, to attack Xuzhou, the base camp of the Fifth Theater, from two directions.The goal of their meeting was Taierzhuang, and then they supported the enemy forces on Jinpu Road and jointly attacked Xuzhou.Although the Chinese army won the Linyi battle, it is not optimistic, because the whole battle situation has not changed fundamentally.Itagaki's spirit has been frustrated, but as far as I can see, the Isotani Division will not change its plan to attack Taierzhuang.On the contrary, perhaps it was Itagaki's frustration that made Isoya more willing to return to the south!

After receiving Zhou Enlai's advice, Bai Chongxi immediately understood.He said: "You mean that Jigu is eager to ask for credit, arrogant and resourceful, and will inevitably advance to Taierzhuang alone. We just happen to fight it fiercely?" "Yes! However, Taierzhuang is a small town located on a low slope, and there is no danger to defend it. Therefore, we must first have a defensive force to guard Taierzhuang and the canal line. After the enemy's offensive is contained, Then send another surprise soldier to cross the canal and detour from Yixian County to Taierzhuang, causing the enemy to be beaten from the front and back. Even if the enemy cannot be completely wiped out, it can still cause heavy damage. Therefore, I suggest that Li Pinxian and Liao Lei be sent to the southern section of the Jinpu Railway The two armies adopted a joint action based on mobile warfare and supplemented by guerrilla warfare. They moved in the vast Huaihe River Basin, which threatened the Japanese troops in the southern section of Jinpu from time to time, and did not dare to go north to support the Japanese troops going south. In the north of Xuzhou, the main force took The policy of combining positional warfare with mobile warfare, defending points and attacking reinforcements, in order to achieve the goal of defeating each."

Bai Chongxi appreciated Zhou Enlai's suggestion very much. Zhou Enlai finally added: "I am going to order the 4th detachment of Zhang Yunyi of the New Fourth Army to cooperate with the joint action taken by the two armies of Li Pinxian and Liao Lei of your department to move in the vast Lianghuai River Basin. The Japanese army in the southern section of the Jinpu line is always threatened. Hastily went north to support the Japanese army going south." Bai Chongxi was deeply moved. He knew that Zhou Enlai, as the vice chairman of the CCP Military Commission, had to carry out his orders.With the assistance of the New Fourth Army, the threat south of the Jinpu Line can be avoided.He looked at Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying with great admiration in his heart.There are talents in the CCP, and there are capable people and talented people.

Li Zongren in Xuzhou has had trouble sleeping and eating these two days.He sat in front of the topographic map of Taierzhuang, thinking hard, how to fight Taierzhuang?This is the first question he thinks about. He must think about this matter clearly, and consider all aspects of the problem thoroughly.He had made up his mind to fight the battle at Taierzhuang. If you don't make up your mind, you can't do it. If you don't stop the Japanese army from going south in Taierzhuang, Xuzhou will be lost. The loss of Xuzhou is not a big deal, anyway, it will fall sooner or later, this is obvious.

The key problem is not here, but in Wuhan.The Supreme Command of the Nationalist Government has not yet been deployed in the Wuhan area.What Wuhan needs most is time.In order to defend Wuhan, it is necessary to hold back the enemy in Taierzhuang, even if it takes ten and a half months. Xuzhou has become the focus of national military and civilian attention, and is also the center of the current national anti-Japanese battlefield.In the north of Xuzhou, the Chinese army fought bloody battles in Baoteng County, showing the spirit of the Chinese.The first victory of the Kuomintang army in the frontal battlefield was achieved in Linyi, and the people of the whole country were proud, with laughter hanging on their faces.It is impossible not to fight Taierzhuang, and it is impossible to fight well, otherwise I, Li Zongren, would be ashamed of the people of my country, and I might become a sinner.People will compare Taierzhuang with Teng County and Linyi.Li Zongren's pressure is very great, like a mountain pressing down on the top.

Li Zongren was not the only one who saw the importance of Xuzhou.In order to ensure Wuhan, the central military command center, when both Linyi and Tengxian County were in emergency, Chiang Kai-shek believed that from a strategic point of view, it was necessary to strengthen the defensive forces of the fifth theater, and it would not do to just send some miscellaneous troops there. So he hastily dispatched Tang Enbo and Sun Lianzhong, who were in Henan for supplementary training in the first theater, to reinforce them overnight.Neither Tang Enbo's 20th Army nor Sun Lianzhong's 2nd Army had completed supplementary training, and set off after receiving orders.

Tang Enbo's corps arrived in Xuzhou and took the train northward to support the 22nd Army's operations. Unfortunately, Teng County had fallen the day before. By the time Tang Enbo's 20th Corps had arrived, the defeat was irreparable. The 20th Corps had to passively cover The retreat of friendly forces and the delay of the enemy's southward pace. Fortunately, there are these two troops in Xuzhou, otherwise the situation would be even worse. In this way, the great task of the Battle of Taierzhuang fell on the shoulders of Sun Lianzhong's army and Tang Enbo's army.In Chiang Kai-shek's eyes, Sun Lianzhong was insignificant, but a miscellaneous name of the Northwest Army.Tang Enbo was different, he was a direct descendant of Chiang Kai-shek, and he was a well-equipped elite unit in the army of the Nationalist Government. With this army participating in the war, Chiang Kai-shek could not sit idly by. Although Li Zongren had already spoken to Chiang Kai-shek before Li Zongren went to the fifth theater as the commander-in-chief, please do not interfere with the affairs of the fifth theater.Later, Chiang Kai-shek did not intervene much.Li Zongren took office in the Fifth Theater, why did he make three chapters with Chairman Jiang?Because Li Zongren knew Chiang Kai-shek too well.This person loves to direct blindly, his personality is too strong, and he is impulsive.Once he issued an order on Xuzhou's strategic matters or the deployment of troops, he could not be discussed.Practice has proved that wherever Chiang Kai-shek intervenes, defeat often occurs. Chiang Kai-shek did not forget his promise to Li Zongren. He went to Xuzhou to conduct a pre-war inspection as the chairman of the committee.As the supreme officer of the military commander, as the chairman of the committee, he should be able to inspect the front line.That day, Chiang Kai-shek took Bai Chongxi, Lin Wei and a large number of staff members to Xuzhou. Before Chairman Jiang went to Xuzhou, Li Zongren had some immature plans for Taierzhuang in his mind.In view of the current situation and the intentions of the Japanese Isoya Division, Li Zongren realized that in order to successfully implement his plan and defeat the attack of the Japanese 10th Division, there are three key issues that must be resolved: First, the two armies of Zhang Zizhong and Pang Bingxun Whether it can hold on to the front line of Linyi, and whether it can block the Banyuan Division to the north of Linyi and prevent it from going south; second, whether the Chinese army can stop the Japanese offensive at Taierzhuang and the canal; third, the flanking troops of the Chinese army Can you contain the enemy with a powerful offensive and lose no time to annihilate the enemy.The second question is the key point.Because if the Japanese army captured Taierzhuang and the defense line of the Canal and approached Xuzhou, the Zhang Zizhong and Pang Bingxun armies defending the front line of Linyi, and the Tang Enbo Army, which was preparing to flank the enemy and entered the area east of Yixian County, would all be caught between the two sides of the Japanese army. In this case, the entire Lunan defensive operation plan of the Chinese army will go bankrupt. After Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Xuzhou, Li Zongren confessed his combat thinking.For the sake of secrecy during the war, he only talked to Chiang Kai-shek, Bai Chongxi, Lin Wei and other executives, and he only reported the battle situation to the staff led by Chiang Kai-shek and Bai Chongxi: ...At present, although the left arm of the enemy army in the northern section of Jinpu has been cut off by Zhang Zizhong's troops in the battle of Linyi, the enemy army is still advancing southward rapidly along the Jigu Division that went down Jinpu County.After resisting the enemy for a while on the Jinpu line, General Tang Enbo stepped aside one after another and retreated into the mountainous area southeast of Baodugang.The Tangbu Heavy Artillery Battalion was transferred back to the south bank of the Taierzhuang Canal, under the command of the Commander's Department.The Jigu Division abandoned Tang Enbo's troops and did everything they could. They followed the Linzao branch line of Jinpu Road and went straight to Taierzhuang.The total number of enemy troops is about 40,000, with 70 to 80 large and small tanks, more than 100 mountain artillery and heavy artillery, and a large number of aircraft to cheer. Xuzhou City and the bridges and stations along the railway have been bombed to pieces by the Japanese army... Chiang Kai-shek listened After Li Zongren's report on the battle situation, he did not issue any specific military strategy instructions. He just gave some instructions to the various commanders present in his capacity as chairman and supreme commander. His words were very objective. He said : The enemy is desperately trying to get through Jinpu Road, connect the north and south battlefields, suffocate Longhai Road, and threaten us on the side of Pinghan Road, in order to capture Xuzhou and prepare to attack our heart of Wuhan.Therefore, the center of the national battlefield has now shifted to Xuzhou.Taking a comprehensive look at the entire battle situation, Xuzhou has become the salient corner of our strategy. We should grasp the opportunity and must defend it in order to be safe.I decided to deploy another part of the troops to the Xuzhou battlefield to expand the results of the battle, and to control Huang Jie, Gui Yongqing, Yu Jishi, Song Xilian and other elite troops in Guide and Lanfeng in the east of Henan to consolidate the rear of the fifth theater and give the enemy a bigger blow. Consumption; for a longer time, in order to carry out the preparations for the Wuhan guards, and benefit the overall situation.Although the Fifth War Zone was exhausted from long-term battles, it was difficult to last for a long time, but Han Fuju's people were happy and his morale was strong. With the command of Commander Li and the strong support from the rear, it was not difficult to overcome all kinds of difficulties.After I left, the staff team stayed in Xuzhou to assist Commander Li in combat.I think that with the command of Commander Li and the assistance of Deputy Chief Bai, the battle between Taierzhuang and Xuzhou will definitely inflict heavy losses on the enemy and win.I am waiting for your good news in Wuhan! After listening to Chiang Kai-shek's instructions, Li Zongren felt that Chiang Kai-shek was very good at it, and his words were very loud and inspiring, but this was just his big talk.That's what big words have to say.When Chiang Kai-shek said this big talk, he had no foundation for Xuzhou. He had little confidence in Xuzhou, because he had talked with Li Zongren in private. When Li Zongren talked about this in his memoirs, it was like this Narrated: When the chairman of Taierzhuang before the war came to inspect Xuzhou, he felt that the situation in Xuzhou was critical, and asked me repeatedly, "Do you think Xuzhou can be defended?"I said: Chairman, please rest assured that there will be no problems in Xuzhou in the short term.If I can get enough replenishment, I may have to fight a moderate victory.Although the chairman didn't say much, I could see from his expression that he was skeptical. On the second day after Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Xuzhou, Bai Chongxi and Lin Wei were left behind and returned to Wuhan alone. As soon as Chiang Kai-shek left, Li Zongren immediately welcomed Bai Chongxi into his office alone to study the combat plan.Bai Chongxi said that the results of the research at the High Command mainly confirmed Liu Fei’s combat plan, that is, a mobile warfare-based plan, but I had no idea, so before I left Wuhan this time, I specially invited the CCP Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying , Asked face to face. What are their opinions on the battle of Xuzhou?Li Zongren asked eagerly.Now is the period of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and he really wants to know the CCP's views on the Xuzhou battle. Bai Chongxi conveyed Zhou Enlai's suggestion to Li Zongren. Zhou Enlai suggested that in the southern section of the Jinpu line, mobile warfare should be the main force, supplemented by guerrilla warfare.In the north of Xuzhou, the policy of positional warfare and mobile warfare can be adopted, and the goal of each defeat can be achieved. Zhou Enlai has vision!Li Zongren unabashedly agreed.The battle on the southern section of the Jinpu line, as Zhou Enlai said, our 31st Army fought bloody battles with the enemy in Mingguang for more than a month. I ordered Li Heling (Li Pinxian) to retreat westward, and the enemy swooped on Mingguang with the strength of a lion fighting a rabbit, but it was empty. The main force of the Chinese army was not captured.Unexpectedly, the Chinese army suddenly appeared on the enemy's side and cut the enemy's rear into several sections, preventing the enemy from advancing northward.The battles in Tengxian County and Linyi to the north of Xuzhou were a combination of positional warfare and mobile warfare, and they were fought well. Bai Chongxi also talked about Zhou Enlai's views on the current Xuzhou.He said that Zhou Enlai believed that Teng County had been lost, and the Jigu Division must be extremely arrogant. He estimated that the enemy probably did not wait to join forces with the frustrated Banyuan Division in Linyi, and did not wait for the Japanese troops in the southern section of Jinpu to go north to respond, so they went straight to Taierzhuang alone. Take Xuzhou in one fell swoop, and win the first victory in opening up the Jinpu line. Li Zongren nodded again and again. I have already estimated this point. In your opinion, should Tang Enbo's troops be strictly ordered to block it? In my opinion, it is better to let them in than to block them, Bai Chongxi said. You mean, you want Tang Enbo's army to not stop the enemy's advance on the Jinpu line, but to get out of the way, so that Jigu's lone army can go deep into Taierzhuang, and then concentrate its superior forces to encircle and wipe it out?Li Zongren asked. Stay on guard!Li Zongren had a plan in his mind. He had been thinking hard for a few days, and today he finally matured.In this battle in Taierzhuang, everything has to revolve around guarding the spot and fighting for aid. Li Zongren finally smiled.His confidence came from Zhou Enlai's advice. He coincided with Zhou Enlai, a well-known political figure in the CCP, and his confidence was strengthened. Besides, there was also Bai Chongxi, who is known as "Little Zhuge", by his side.