Chapter 11 Appendix Witnesses say

War is a fight of blood and fire, the most unforgettable.Part of the senior commanders of the Second Field, the Third Field, and the Fourth Field who participated in the command of the cross-river operation wrote a large number of memoirs after the founding of New China. A few of the little-known insider stories are compiled here for readers. Su Yu served as a member of the General Front Committee, deputy commander of Sanye, and commander-in-chief of the East Group in the Battle of Crossing the River. He said in his recollection of the Battle of Crossing the River: After the prelude to the strategic offensive of the War of Liberation was unveiled, the central government had several plans for Huaye’s crossing of the river:

The first time was on July 23, 1947, when Liu Deng’s army advanced into southwestern Shandong, the Military Commission proposed that “the two columns of Ye and Tao (referring to the first and fourth columns of Huaye) go out of Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi to create the base areas of Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi.” ", and asked the Guangdong and Guangxi columns to accompany them to the south.After Liu and Deng's army decided to enter the Dabie Mountains ahead of schedule, and Huaye's first, third, fourth, and tenth columns moved into southwestern Shandong, the Central Military Commission believed that in southwestern Shandong, heavy forces were needed to contain the enemy and ensure that Liu Deng's southward march was dispersed. The overall situation was unfavorable, and the plan was abandoned.

The second time was on January 27, 1948. The Central Military Commission ordered me to lead the first, fourth, and sixth columns to form a corps and cross the south of the Yangtze River. At the beginning of May, the central government agreed to my suggestion that three columns temporarily cross the river and wipe out the enemy in the Huanghuai area.It is required that within 4 to 8 months, the main force of Huaye should wipe out the enemy in the north and south areas of the Bianxu line.The victory of the Battle of Eastern Henan proved that there are indeed conditions for annihilating a large number of enemies between the Yellow River and the Huaihe River. The 18th Army and other ministries opened up the road to the south, and then went south (do not annihilate the 5th Army, and the 18th Army will not leave)." On the 14th, Huaye proposed to "strive to capture Xuzhou", and in September the Central Meeting decided the third year of the War of Liberation Still all fighting north of the Yangtze River.This once again delayed the time to cross the river.

The third time was on October 11, 1948. The Military Commission changed its plan of "capturing Xuzhou in winter and spring" and proposed: after the Huaihai Campaign (at that time, the purpose of the campaign was only to annihilate Huang Botao and the enemies in Haizhou and the Lianghuai area), it is estimated that At this time, "the two corps of Qiu and Li firmly guarded the front line of Xubang and its surroundings, making it difficult for me to attack." The rest of the main force is the Western Corps, going out of Henan and Anhui provinces, and cooperating with Liu Deng to capture Heze, Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Queshan, Xinyang, Nanyang, Huaihe River Basin and Dabie Mountain cities", and instructed to rest and reorganize in January 1949, and transfer the Western Corps in February To the Central Plains, cooperate with Liu Deng to start the above-mentioned operations from March to July, "Your main force can probably carry out the cross-river operations in autumn."

The fourth time was on December 12, 1948. The Military Commission decided to cross the river around May or June 1949.At that time, the Battle of Huaihai was coming to an end, Du Yuming's group was tightly surrounded by me, and the Huangwei Corps was about to be wiped out. The victory of the Battle of Huaihai was set.The central government instructed that after the end of the Huaihai Campaign, the Huaye and Zhongye armies rested for two months to roughly prepare all the items needed for crossing the river (raincoats, currency, artillery shells, therapeutic medicine, steamboats, etc.) and initially completed political mobilization to occupy the Yangtze River. The towns in the north, south of the Huaihe River, east of Ping-Han, and west of the sea, mainly from Anding to Nantong, control the north bank of the Yangtze River, and then complete the preparations for crossing the river in a considerable amount of time, that is, hold the crossing of the river. fight.He also instructed the Huaye and Zhongye armies to work together to manage the southeast, including southern Anhui, southern Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, and a part of Jiangxi, and to seize and control the cities of Wuhu, Hangzhou, Zhenjiang, Suzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, and Fuzhou.The decision of the Military Commission to cross the river this time is different from the previous few times. This is a strategic decisive battle with the enemy on the southern front, annihilating the main force of the enemy on the southern front to the north of the Yangtze River and then crossing the river.

The "eight conditions" of our party are the conditions for carrying the revolution to the end and realizing real peace, and they have won the support of the people of the whole country.At this time, the leaders of the various democratic parties and democrats from all walks of life who had arrived in the liberated areas published "Opinions on the Current Situation" on January 24, 1949, in support of Chairman Mao Zedong's statement.This is February 25, 1949, at the Beiping East Railway Station to welcome the leaders of the democratic parties and democrats from all walks of life to the representatives of the Communist Party of China.From left: Ye Jianying, Luo Ronghuan, Peng Zhen, Bo Yibo, Lin Biao, Nie Rongzhen, Dong Biwu

Regarding the issue of crossing the river, as a theater commander, I often think about it.I think about it in connection with the future decisive battle on the southern front, which involves the question of what kind of tactics to use, whether to fight the enemy on the southern front in Jiangnan or in Jiangbei, and when.The victory in the Battle of Eastern Henan proved that it is more beneficial for us to expand the scale of the campaign in a timely manner and form a more powerful field corps to deal with the high concentration of the enemy than to use a smaller field corps to find and wipe out enemies with smaller targets. Going on, it is bound to become a decisive battle between our army and the enemy's main force.In the Battle of Jinan, the enemy's three corps on the southern front lingered at the front and did not dare to go north to fight. This shows that the enemy is fighting a large-scale battle with us while avoiding unfavorable conditions. It also shows that the favorable conditions for our decisive battle against the enemy have gradually matured.In large-scale decisive battles with the enemy, battlefield conditions and logistical support conditions must be considered.I think that a decisive battle north of the Yangtze River is much more beneficial than a decisive battle south of the Yangtze River.In the north of the Yangtze River, it is most advantageous to fight in the Xubeng area, because the Xubeng area not only has a wide terrain and many passages, it is suitable for large corps movements; moreover, most of the areas are old liberated areas, and the conditions of the masses are good; The base area is not far from North China, and the support of manpower and material resources will be more abundant and convenient.However, whether to fight in Jiangbei depends on the development of the overall situation.The Central Committee decided that the Central Plains Field Army would participate in the Huaihai Campaign and the Liaoshen Campaign to win, showing the reality of developing the Huaihai Campaign into a decisive battle on the southern front.So we sent a telegram to the Central Military Commission on November 8, 1948, stating that if the old liberated areas can still provide greater support for the war, it will be beneficial to force the enemy to fight us in Jiangbei. Huai offensive, and the main force turned to the Xubang line to attack, restrain the enemy in Xuzhou and its surroundings, and then weaken and gradually annihilate them respectively.Our proposal is in line with the intention of the Central Military Commission. On the 9th, Comrade Mao Zedong's reply to the Military Commission pointed out: "Qi (8th) Chen telegraphed, we should try our best to annihilate the enemy's main force near Xuzhou, and don't let them go south. East China, North China, and the Central Plains should use all efforts to ensure the strength of our army. supply".The Central Military Commission and Comrade Mao Zedong's major decision to develop the Huaihai Campaign into a decisive battle on the southern front will greatly benefit our army's subsequent operations across the river and operations south of the Yangtze River.Therefore, when the victory in the decisive battle was approaching, I received a call from the Central Military Commission on December 12. I couldn't help but feel very excited about the wise decision-making of the Central Military Commission and Comrade Mao Zedong and the smooth development of the war situation.

The General Front Committee met on December 17 to discuss the instructions of the Central Committee on the 12th. Comrades Liu Bocheng and Chen Yi went to Xibaipo to report to the Central Committee and participated in the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. The three major battles of Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin wiped out the main force of the Kuomintang army and fundamentally shook the reactionary Kuomintang rule. The reactionary Kuomintang group was on the verge of total collapse militarily, politically, and economically. In more than two years of combat, the Kuomintang army lost a total of 4.95 million people. The elite main force that Chiang Kai-shek relied on to launch the counter-revolutionary civil war has been wiped out by me.The remaining combat troops are less than 1.5 million, and they are distributed in a vast area from Xinjiang to Taiwan, making it impossible to organize effective defense strategically.Politically, the rivalry among the Kuomintang ruling clique intensified and forced Chiang Kai-shek to step down.Some senior generals publicly demanded that Chiang Kai-shek cease fighting and make peace.Economically, the finances are exhausted, prices are soaring, industrial and commercial enterprises have closed down one after another, the rural economy is rapidly going bankrupt, and public grievances are boiling.In short, the situation of the Kuomintang at that time was that the main force of the Kuomintang was wiped out militarily, demoralized, politically deserted, people lost their hearts, economically and financially collapsed, and their strength was exhausted.

After more than two years of combat, the People's Liberation Army has grown from 1.2 million to 4 million, of which the field army has grown to 2.18 million. The equipment has been further improved, the morale is high, and the large corps has richer combat experience.The guerrilla armed forces in the southern provinces have also developed greatly, with a total strength of more than 50,000.In the past two years, our army has liberated the whole of Northeast China, most of North China, and the area north of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The liberated areas have been connected together, with a total area of ​​more than 2.6 million square kilometers and a total population of about 200 million.

The united front led by our party expanded rapidly, and a large number of democrats came to the liberated areas one after another, preparing to participate in the new political consultation meeting proposed by our party to discuss the establishment of a people's democratic coalition government. Many local powerful factions of the Kuomintang south of the Yangtze River also joined forces with Our party makes contact. In order to buy time, Chiang Kai-shek organized and trained troops for a comeback. He issued a peace statement on New Year's Day in 1949, and announced his resignation on the 21st. Li Zongren will be the acting president to negotiate with our party, but in fact Chiang Kai-shek is still manipulating everything behind the scenes as the president of the Kuomintang. , Just before and after Chiang Kai-shek went to the field, he successively summoned and appointed some senior generals, and arranged the Yangtze River defense line.

Under such circumstances, Chairman Mao Zedong issued a New Year's message on New Year's Day 1949, "carrying the revolution through to the end", pointing out that the Chinese people and the Communist Party of China, who have full experience, will surely crush the enemy's military offensive. Similarly, smash the enemy's political conspiracy and carry the great People's War of Liberation to the end. On January 14, a "statement on the current situation" was issued, pointing out that although the Chinese People's Liberation Army has sufficient strength and sufficient reasons, it is indeed sure to completely wipe out the remnants of the Kuomintang reactionary government within a short period of time. However, in order to quickly end the war, realize real peace, and reduce the suffering of the people, the Chinese Communist Party is willing to conduct peace negotiations with the Nanjing Kuomintang reactionary government and any other Kuomintang local governments and military groups on the basis of eight conditions. In March, the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which was of great historical significance, was successfully held. Comrade Mao Zedong made an important speech at the meeting, proposing that "...the way to deal with the more than one million Kuomintang troops in the future is nothing but Tianjin, Beiping, Sui There are far three kinds. Using combat to deal with the enemy, such as dealing with the enemy in Tianjin, is still the first thing we must pay attention to and must prepare for.”He also said, "From now on, the period from the city to the countryside and the city leading the countryside has begun. The focus of the party's work has shifted from the countryside to the cities. In various places in the south, the People's Liberation Army will first occupy the cities and then the villages." "From the first day we took over the city, our eyes will be on the recovery and development of the city's production industry." In short, the Chinese People's Liberation Army was going to march south of the Yangtze River in 1949. If the peace negotiations were successful, our army would cross the river in peaceful ways. If the peace negotiations failed, we would cross the river in combat.Therefore, while preparing for peace negotiations with the Nanjing Kuomintang government, the Party Central Committee asked our army to step up preparations for crossing the river in combat. In the face of the above general situation, I have made some assumptions: starting from the management, development and construction of Jiangnan, it is best to cross the river in a peaceful way, but generally speaking, we must base ourselves on the Tianjin way and fight to solve the problem. question.When solving problems by means of combat, it is also necessary to minimize the degree of damage caused by the war, minimize direct damage to cities, important buildings, and industrial facilities, and try not to disperse the enemy troops. the scourge.For this reason, we should strive to achieve the following in the battle: carefully prepare before crossing the river, deploy carefully, strengthen reconnaissance and training, minimize casualties across the river, and maintain the vigor and strength after breaking through the river defense; Immediately adopt annihilation tactics to prevent them from fleeing or dispersing; try to reduce or not give the enemy the possibility of holding the city, and destroy as many enemies as possible in field battles; However, breaking down the city's tactics and breaking up big cities such as Shanghai will have a great impact on the country's economic construction. hit the Yangtze river From January 1949, under the smoke of peace talks, the Kuomintang government stepped up the construction of the Yangtze River defense line, expanded the Beijing-Shanghai Garrison Command into the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Garrison Command, appointed Tang Enbo as the commander-in-chief, and unified commanded the Soviet Union, Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi. The military of the East, together with Bai Chongxi, the military and political chief of Central China stationed in Wuhan, was jointly responsible for the defense of the Yangtze River.Its combat policy is: "Take the Yangtze River defense line as the periphery, focus on the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou triangle area, take Songhu as the core, adopt a persistent defense policy, finally stick to Songhu, and then wait for a counterattack."The enemy's defensive deployment is: Tang Enbo commanded 75 divisions, about 450,000 people, deployed on the 800-kilometer section from Hukou to Shanghai (the focus is between Nanjing and Shanghai), of which 54 divisions are on the first line of defense against the river , There are 21 divisions on the Zhejiang Road serving as the second line of defense.The 40 divisions under Bai Chongxi's command, with about 250,000 people, were deployed in the nearly 1,000-kilometer section from Hukou to Yichang. Among them, there were 27 divisions on the first line of Jiang defense and 13 divisions on the second line.In addition, the Jiangfang Fleet and the Second Fleet, with a total of more than 130 ships, are located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and more than 300 aircraft are placed in Nanjing, Shanghai, Wuhan and other places to cooperate with the army for defense.The obvious feature of the enemy's defense is that the front-line troops are weak and the depth is empty. The Yangtze River is the largest river in my country. The downstream river is more than 10 kilometers wide. It has always been called the natural moat.For me, the Yangtze River is not unfamiliar. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, I led my troops to cross the Yangtze River three times. At that time, the enemy was strong and we were weak. Smuggle through the weak points of the enemy.This time the situation of crossing the river is very different. We can adopt the method of crossing the river openly and openly with a large force, which can be said to be solid.We chose this method of warfare based on the strong superiority of our army. Our artillery fire is unprecedentedly strong and can suppress the enemy's firepower on the other side. Within a certain range, we still have the ability to deal with the enemy's warships and air force.However, the enemy's troops and firepower are insufficient, and there is a huge gap in defense.Our army crossed the river with a wide front, and the enemy was hard to defend against, so that we were absolutely sure of success in crossing the river.However, water warfare is different from land warfare. In addition to the necessary preparations for land warfare, it is also necessary to carefully investigate the terrain, water conditions, and weather along the coast; carefully calculate the equipment for crossing the river; political mobilization and training, and make various preparations more fully, more solidly, more scientifically, and more rigorously. It can be said that our preparations for crossing the river began in early 1948.At that time, in order to carry out the task that the Central Military Commission asked me to lead the first, fourth, and sixth columns across the south of the Yangtze River, I sent a reinforced battalion with 40 light machine guns and the whole battalion armed, and took more than 200 cadres to southern Anhui. .In addition, the Central Plains Bureau is requested to send a group of cadres to work in the Wanjiang area, Hanshan, Hexian, and Chaohu areas.After that, we sent another 10 battalions to form an advance column with Sun Zhongde as the commander and Tan Qilong as the political commissar, and brought some local cadres to the south to work by the river.The masses were mobilized extensively along the river to conduct investigations and studies. They made detailed investigations on the Yangtze River's ferry crossings, hydrology, and connected lakes, rivers, and ports, and drew maps.At the same time, I asked Northeast to purchase some engines on my behalf to convert civilian ships into steamboats.These tasks played an important role in the smooth crossing of the large troops. After the Battle of Huaihai, our East China Field Army did not go to the river immediately, but went to Xuzhou and Haizhou for training, so as not to take too long for the army to gather on the river, and the food supply was difficult, and a large amount of food was forced to be transferred from the north to the south, wasting manpower and material resources .During the training period, we fully deployed various preparations for crossing the river, and organized army and division cadres to lead reconnaissance teams to the riverside to investigate and understand the situation in advance. During this period, we organized the entire army to study "Carrying the Revolution Through to the End" written by Chairman Mao and "The Current Situation and the Party's Tasks in 1949" passed by the Political Bureau meeting of the Central Committee on January 8, 1949, and extensively launched new areas. The study of policies and urban policies and discipline education have laid a good ideological foundation for our army to cross the south of the Yangtze River. Each corps arrived at the starting position of the crossing operation successively in early March to make in-depth and specific preparations.By the beginning of April, the whole army had collected more than 8,000 wooden boats of various types, made some steamboats, bamboo rafts and wooden rafts for transporting artillery, vehicles, mules and horses; mobilized nearly 10,000 boatmen, selected and trained Thousands of sailors met the needs of carrying the first echelon across the river.In order to increase the enthusiasm of the boatmen to participate in the war, the boatmen's swearing-in meeting was held, and the compensation methods for ship damage and the regulations on preferential treatment for boatmen's casualties were formulated.At the same time, the military and civilians jointly conducted tactical and technical training for crossing the river.In order to sail smoothly and successfully break through the beachheads of the enemy's defense line, the troops used lakes and inland rivers to conduct tactical and technical drills such as swimming, rowing, disembarking, water shooting, attacking enemy ships, beachhead blasting, and landing shocks.And use the night to organize a trial voyage in the Yangtze River.All armies sent reconnaissance troops across the river to conduct on-the-spot reconnaissance of the terrain on the south bank, and established hidden point-line relationships on the south bank. We also reorganized the troops in accordance with the instructions of the Central Military Commission on unifying the organization of the whole army and the designation of the troops.The East China Field Army killed, wounded and captured more than 443,000 enemy troops (more than 44,000 surrendered during the internal uprising), and our side suffered more than 105,000 casualties.Due to our army's implementation of the policy of capturing and replenishing under the guarantee of strong political work, a large number of liberation fighters have been added to the army. By January 1949, our army had grown from 420,000 before the Huaihai Campaign to more than 550,000.After reorganization, the East China Field Army was renamed the Third Field Army, with Chen Yi as commander and political commissar, Tan Zhenlin and I as deputy commander and deputy political commissar, Zhang Zhen as chief of staff, and Tang Liang as director of the Political Department.Under the jurisdiction of the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Corps.Commander Wang Jianan of the Seventh Corps, political commissar Tan Qilong, commander Chen Shiju and political commissar Yuan Zhongxian of the Eighth Corps, commander Song Shilun and political commissar Guo Huaruo of the Ninth Corps, commander Ye Fei of the Tenth Corps, and political commissar Wei Guoqing.Each corps has 4 armies under its jurisdiction, and the special forces column is directly under the field army.Through reorganization, the establishment was unified, cadres and soldiers were enriched, and the combat effectiveness was further improved. In early February, the General Front Committee preliminarily determined the deployment of crossing the river: four corps of the Third Field Army (the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth corps) and one corps of the second field army (the third corps) ) is the first echelon crossing the river; the Tenth Corps is in Jiangyin and Yangzhou; the Eighth Corps is in the east and west of Nanjing; the Ninth Corps is in the east and west of Wuhu; the Seventh Corps is in Tongling and Guichi; something segment.Take the 5 armies of the Fourth and Fifth Corps of the Second Field as the general reserve.At the same time, it is suggested that the Fourth Field Army send more than 100,000 people from three armies to the south quickly, and enter the Wuhan area to contain the Bai Chongxi Group. On March 31, under the auspices of Comrade Deng Xiaoping, the General Front Committee formulated the "Outline for the Implementation of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou Campaign", which was approved by the Military Commission on April 3.The outline pointed out: The purpose of our army's campaign is to use all of the second and third field armies to wipe out all or most of the Jiang army in Shanghai, Zhenjiang, Nanjing, Wuhu, Anqing and other places and the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, and to occupy southern Jiangsu, Anhui and Zhejiang. Throughout the province, seize Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, and completely destroy the political and economic center of the reactionary Kuomintang government. The outline judged the four possible changes in the enemy's army after our army crossed the river, and determined our army's operational program and the deployment of the first phase of the campaign to cross the river.The outline points out: As long as our army successfully crosses the river, no matter what the enemy does, the development of the battle situation will change in our favor, and it may turn into a situation where the enemy is completely chaotic. The outline also pointed out: After our army has successfully crossed the river, the Seventh and Ninth Corps of the Three Fields should join up with the Eighth and Tenth Corps of the Three Fields quickly to achieve the goal of dividing and encircling the enemy. This is the key to the entire campaign. Unified deployment of the General Front Committee: Deng Xiaoping, secretary of the General Front Committee, and Commander Chen Yi, commanded the second field and the third field near Hefei, and presided over the overall situation.Commander Liu Bocheng of Erye, Deputy Political Commissar Zhang Jichun, and Chief of Staff Li Da commanded the troops of Erye as the West Group and fought across the river from Zongyang to Wangjiang.Sanye's acting commander, acting political commissar Su Yu, and chief of staff Zhang Zhen led the Sanye command organization to directly command the Eighth and Twelfth Corps as the East Group, and fought across the river from Zhanghuanggang to Sanjiangying.Tan Zhenlin, deputy political commissar of Sanye, commanded the Seventh and Ninth Corps as the Central Group, and fought across the river from Zongyang to Yuxikou.The three wild groups (4 corps) were under the unified command of Su and Zhang. Comrade Zhang Zhen and I led the Sanye Office on April 1st, set off from Bengbu, braved the spring rain and moved eastward, and arrived at Baima Temple in the southeast of Taizhou on April 5th. In order to realize the campaign intention determined by the General Front Committee, I linked the selection of the breakthrough site with the in-depth development of the enemy, and made further careful consideration of the front and tasks responsible for Sanye.In order to quickly encircle and annihilate the enemies in Nanjing, Zhenjiang, and Wuhu, after crossing the river, the Dong Group must use its main force to penetrate between Nanjing and Shanghai and cut off the Beijing-Shanghai railway. This will cut Tang Enbo's defense system in two.The direction of the Yangtze River is between Beijing and Shanghai, with Jiangyin as the center, and there is a bend protruding to the south. It is most advantageous for our Ten Corps to choose the east and west parts of Jiangyin to break through. After breaking through, we can go straight to Jintan and Yixing at the shortest distance , Wuxing area, and cut off the enemy's retreat from Nanjing and Zhenjiang to Shanghai and Hangzhou.After the Seventh and Ninth Corps of the Central Group break through the river defense from Yuxikou to Tongling, they must make a long-distance detour and advance rapidly to the Xuancheng, Guangde, and Wuxing areas, striving to join the Eighth and Tenth Corps of the Eastern Group in the Wuxing area , close the Heweikou, surround Wuhu, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Jiangfang and the enemy defending the city, and then try to annihilate them. If they abandon the city and flee, they can be annihilated in Langxi, Guangde, and Changxing, and they will not enter Hangzhou. Wait for the city. In order to make better use of the strengths of each unit, we have transferred the 23rd Army and the 20th Army, which are familiar with the situation in southern Jiangsu, from the Seventh and Ninth Corps of the Central Group to the Tenth and Eighth Corps of the Eastern Group respectively. The 24th Army and the 25th Army, which were familiar with the situation in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang border area and southern Anhui, were transferred from the Eighth Corps of the East Group to the Seventh and Ninth Corps of the Central Group respectively. On April 6, we convened a meeting of cadres above the Eighth and Twelfth Corps to convey the basic determination of the General Front Committee and the guiding ideology of the campaign. developments have been studied.I put forward three possible situations and corresponding countermeasures: (1) The enemy uses troops from the Nanjing and Wuhu areas to deal with our group and prevent it from developing eastward. fight with me.If this happens, the East Group is required to control the main force in the triangle area of ​​Jiangyin, Wujin and Wuxi after successfully crossing the river, and make up their minds to fight a fierce battle on the Beijing-Shanghai line for three to five days to achieve a good ending.At the same time, it is required that the Central Group, after successfully crossing the river, in addition to retaining enough troops to wipe out the enemies along the river, the main force will quickly develop eastward and establish contact with the East Group. (2) Enemies in Nanjing, Zhenjiang and other areas retreat to Hangzhou and Quzhou, and organize a second line of defense on the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line; enemies on the Beijing-Shanghai line shrink to Shanghai and stick to Shanghai.If this happens, the third field will first concentrate its forces to cooperate with the second field to solve the enemy on the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, and then besiege the enemy in Shanghai and defeat them one by one. (3) I successfully crossed the river in one fell swoop and quickly penetrated into the depths of the enemy's defense zone, cutting off the enemy's retreat in Nanjing and Zhenjiang, and the enemy retreated across the board in chaos.If this happens, the East Group is required to use only one force to monitor the enemy in Shanghai, and the main force will quickly advance to Wuxing, and cooperate with the Central Group to encircle and wipe out the fleeing enemies in the Langxi and Guangde areas.At the same time, the Central Group was also required to move eastward quickly after successfully crossing the river, and to join forces with the Eastern Group in the Wuxing area to encircle and wipe out the fleeing enemies.Among these three possible situations, we strive for the emergence of the third situation, and at the same time, prepare for the emergence of the first situation. Through research and discussion, everyone has unified understanding, and the campaign is scheduled to launch on April 15. On the afternoon of April 8, Comrade Zhang Zhen and I jointly issued instructions on the deployment of the Dongdong Group for crossing the river.Regulations: "The main force of our eighth and tenth corps depends on the forced crossing from Yangzhong to Hucaogang (southeast section of Jiangyin). The 13th Army and the main force of the special vertical force crossed the east and west areas of Jiangyin (the front troops used smuggling), and strive to cross most of the 3 armies or 4 armies to the south. They must control the triangle area of ​​Jiangyin, Wujin, and Wuxi that night, and resolutely attack the enemy's counterattack , and then take advantage of the victory to expand, open up a vast battlefield in the north and south areas of the Zhenjiang section, so as to benefit the main force of the field army and then fight." This instruction was issued to Comrade Tan Zhenlin and the Central Group at the same time as it was issued to the East Group, and asked the East Group to draw up a specific implementation plan report. On April 10, the Military Commission sent a telegram to the General Front Committee and Liu (Bocheng), Zhang (Jichun) and Su (yu), saying: "The negotiations with the Nanjing delegation have progressed, and a comprehensive peace agreement may be signed. Around April 15th, if this agreement is successfully signed, the originally planned combat crossing will be changed to a peaceful crossing, so the time for crossing the river will inevitably be postponed by half a month or a month. Regarding the situation of the river, If there is any disadvantage in postponing the time of crossing the river, let us know as soon as possible so that we can make a decision.” I immediately convened the front committee to discuss, and sent a telegram to the military committee on the same day, reporting the water situation in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River—if it is extended for one month, the river will rise and the rainy season will come again , now our small boats account for two-thirds, and it is difficult to drive in the river when the river is rising, and put forward our opinion: "I don't know whether Li (Zongren) can command Jiang's army after signing, and what kind of situation will arise in it. Changes, if the agreement fails to cross the river again, it will be more difficult for the lower reaches of Zhenjiang... If it is still necessary to cross the river by force, it is better to follow the original schedule (time), or focus on the Anqing and Nanjing sections of the river, and implement false crossings in the lower reaches of Jiangyin, but It is so difficult to cut off the enemy's retreat to Shanghai and Hangzhou." On the same day, the Second Field also suggested to the Military Commission that it is better to cross the river at the original time.The General Front Committee put forward the suggestion of "strike across the river first, and then strive for peaceful acceptance".After considering the opinions of the General Front Committee and the Second and Third Fields, the Military Commission replied to the General Front Committee on the 11th and told Su Zhang, Liu Zhang, and Li: "Decided to postpone the crossing of the river for a week, that is, by 15 The daily crossing of the river is postponed until the 22nd." On April 12, I suggested to the Military Commission and the General Front Committee that for the convenience of crossing the river, it should not be postponed until after the 22nd, "around the 20th is the best." On April 18, the Military Commission instructed the General Front Committee and the Second and Third Fields to start the attack on April 20, and the general offensive was carried out on the 22nd.On that day, the general front committee sent power to the second and third fields and pointed out: "The whole battle has been going on since the evening of the 20th. If you can cross the river first, you should cross the river first. You don't have to wait." There may be serious battles behind the river, so it is decided that the Central Group will cross the river one day earlier than the Eastern and Western Groups, so as to be able to effectively support the Eastern Group in operations. On the evening of April 20, the Kuomintang government finally refused to sign the domestic peace agreement.At 20 o'clock that night, our group launched an assault first on the section from Zongyang to Yuxikou.The 4 armies of the first echelon (the 21st and 24th armies of the 7th Corps, the 25th and 27th armies of the 9th Corps) under the cover of our powerful artillery fire captured the Heisha Island, Crucian Island, Wenxin Island, Zisha Island and other Jiangxin Islands approached the south bank, broke through the enemy's Yangtze River defense line, established a beachhead, and continued to develop in depth.The enemy fled south in a panic. On the 21st, our army captured Tongling, Shun'an, Fanchang and other towns.After our group broke through the Jiang defense, Tang Enbo immediately sent the 99th Army of the mobile unit to reinforce. The reinforcements arrived in Xuancheng. At noon on the 22nd, the Zhong Group penetrated into the enemy's defense to a depth of 50 kilometers. On the 23rd, all the armies of the second echelon of the Central Group also crossed to the south bank. On the night of the 21st, the East Group launched a powerful assault on the section from Sanjiangying to Zhanghuanggang, and the West Group on the section from Zongyang to Wangjiang.The 23rd, 28th, and 29th armies of the first echelon of our Tenth Corps first broke through the enemy's Jiang defense positions in Tianshenggang, Wangshitang, Changshan and other places, boarded the south bank, and repelled the enemy many times in a row After the counterattack, they arrived at the line of Baizhang Town, Nanzha Town, Qinhuang Mountain, and Xiangshan at noon on the 22nd.A beachhead with a frontal width of 50 kilometers and a depth of 10 kilometers was established, and continued to attack in depth.On that day, the Jiangyin fortress defended the enemy and our secret party members responded to an uprising. Our 29th Army occupied the fortress and took control of all the forts.Our special artillery blocked the Yangtze River and cut off the channel for the enemy ships to escape eastward. On the 23rd, they occupied Changzhou, Danyang and other cities, and cut off the Beijing-Shanghai Railway. The 20th Army of our Eighth Corps launched an assault on Yangzhong Island from Longwokou to Yonganzhou. Occupy Yangzhong Island on the 22nd, cross the Jiajiang River on the 23rd, land on the south bank, and take advantage of the victory to develop in depth.The 34th and 35th armies of the corps located in front of Nanjing and Zhenjiang occupied Zhenjiang, Pukou, and Puzhen on the morning of the 23rd, and occupied Nanjing, the capital of the Kuomintang government, that night.Under the leadership of Li Zongren, some government agencies of the Kuomintang in Nanjing have withdrawn hastily to Guangzhou. The West Group (Second Field Army) successfully forcibly crossed the section from Madang to Guichi, occupied Guichi, Pengze, etc., and the main force went straight to the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, quickly severing the connection between the enemy Tang Enbo and Bai Chongxi. Except for the uprising by the Second Fleet of the Kuomintang's navy, a part of the navy surrendered to us near Zhenjiang, and the other part fled to Shanghai. When our army was crossing the river, the British imperialists brazenly dispatched warships to sail into the crossing area of ​​our East Group twice on the 20th and 21st to bombard our army's positions.The powerful artillery of our army fought back powerfully, damaged its "Amethyst", and ran aground near Zhenjiang (and escaped at midnight on July 30), and the rest of the ships were forced to retreat to Shanghai. Nanjing was the political center where the Kuomintang ruled the Chinese people for 22 years.The great significance of the liberation of Nanjing, as pointed out in the congratulatory message of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China: "The reactionary Kuomintang rule has since come to an end, and millions of people in the south of the Yangtze River will soon see the light of day again, the whole country is jubilant, and the world is encouraged." Encircled and wiped out the fleeing enemies in Langxi and Guangde areas Our army quickly broke through the Jiang defense in one fell swoop.The enemy's Yangtze River defense line fell apart.At this time, the key is whether the division and encirclement of the enemy can be achieved. At 19:00 on the 21st, Comrade Zhang Zhen and I jointly suggested to the Military Commission and the General Front Committee: Since the Seventh and Ninth Corps have crossed the river, the enemy has not yet fully deployed and there is little resistance. To the enemy's depth, so that the enemy has no time to adjust the deployment, promote the enemy's greater chaos, and achieve division and encirclement.It is also suggested that after the Ninth Corps crosses the river, in addition to the 30th Army monitoring the enemy in Wuhu and waiting to hand over the Fourth Corps of the Second Field, the main force should not be hindered by small enemies, advance to the northeast, control Liyang, and cut off the "Beijing-Hangzhou National Road" ( That is, the road from Nanjing to Hangzhou), cut off the enemy's retreat from Nanjing to Hangzhou, isolate and divide the enemy, and effectively cooperate with the East Group to fight. The vanguard of the Corps strives to advance to Langxi and its northeast area on the 26th.After the Seventh Corps attacked and wiped out the enemy in front of them, after the Ninth Corps, they tried their best to enter the Guangde area around the 27th to stand by. The next day, I received a dispatch telegram from the Central Group to the Seventh and Ninth Corps at 11 o'clock on the 22nd, instructing the 25th and 27th Corps of the Ninth Corps to occupy Nanling, Qingyijiang, and Wanjun Towns on the 24th. , and surrounded Xuancheng, they gathered on the 25th to rest for a day so that the mules and horses could catch up. On the 26th, they continued eastward and arrived near Langxi at 10:00 on the 28th.The Seventh Corps entered near Guangde on the 29th.At this time, we judged that the enemy's main force would retreat to Hangzhou.In order to quickly cut off the "Beijing-Hangzhou National Highway", prevent the enemy's main force from retreating to Hangzhou, and achieve an encirclement and annihilation of the enemy, Comrade Zhang Zhen and I believed that it was necessary to speed up the operations of the Seventh and Ninth Corps, and immediately sent a power call at 17:00 on the 22nd. The Seventh and Ninth Corps: Order the Ninth Corps to lead all the 25th and 27th armies to advance through the Qingyi River and Xuancheng to Langxi and Liyang in a hurry, not to be hindered by small enemies; order The Seventh Corps quickly turned its attack arrow to the direction of Xuancheng, east of Nanling, and advanced in an echelon formation behind the Ninth Corps on the right.At the same time, this telegram was sent to Comrade Tan Zhenlin and reported to the General Front Committee. On the 23rd, the General Front Committee replied and agreed. On the night of the 22nd, the enemies in the areas of Nanjing, Zhenjiang, and Wuhu began to retreat to Hangzhou, the enemies from the west of Wuhu to the Hukou area retreated to the Zhejiang-Jiangxi line, and the enemies east of Changzhou retreated to Shanghai. The third situation we estimate appeared.At this time, I shifted the focus of my command to chasing and annihilating the fleeing enemies, and concentrated on commanding the troops of the Eastern Group and the Central Group to join forces in the Guangde, Changxing, and Wuxing areas, close the encirclement, and attack the retreating enemies on the Hangzhou and Zhejiang-Jiangxi lines. , Encircled and annihilated in the Langxi, Guangde and Changxing areas. On the way to pursue the enemy fleeing south, our army passed through the Qingyi River in southern Anhui On the map, I repeatedly calculated the distance and journey of the enemy and us to the Changxing and Guangde areas.It is about 140 kilometers from Nanjing to Changxing and Guangde, part of which is mountainous, and the enemy will be attacked and blocked by our chasing troops on the way of retreat, and its speed will be affected, so it is estimated that it will take 4 to 5 days to arrive. .我东集团从江边直插太湖，到达宜兴地区约50至80公里，如果发展顺利，仅用2至3天的时间，就可以在这里切断南京至上海的通路。再用1至2天的时间，就可以在长兴地区切断南京至杭州的通路。我中集团从渡江地区向东到广德、长兴地区约150至200公里，这是我们过去活动过的地区，干部熟悉那里的山山水水和道路情况，我军善于吃苦耐劳，猛打猛追，故有4至5天的时间，也可以到达那里切断南京到杭州的通路。 23日晚至24日晨，我连续几次电促各兵团加速向指定的合围地区前进。命令第十兵团除以第二十九军沿京沪路向苏州进逼，监视上海方向之敌外，以第二十八军、第三十一军沿太湖西侧以吴兴、长兴为目标兼程疾进，首先占领宜兴，再继续向长兴挺进，以求与第九兵团在此地区会师。以第二十三军从长荡湖东西地区向南疾进，切断溧阳、宜兴之间的通路。第八兵团之第二十军、第二十六军归第十兵团指挥，沿丹阳、金坛以西一线南下，配合各部歼灭逃敌。第九兵团之第二十五、第二十七军到达宣城后即向广德、长兴、吴兴疾进，务于25、26日赶到广德以东之天平桥、梅溪之线以东，与第二十八军取得联系。第八兵团部率第三十四、第三十五军在南京、镇江地区担任警备任务。 为及时指挥追歼战，我率领指挥机关于26日进驻常州。 追击战要求“快速”。我广大指战员在胜利的鼓舞下，高度发扬了连续作战的优良作风，不怕疲劳，不怕饥饿，不顾春雨连绵，踩着泥泞的道路，跋山涉水，快速行军。我军所过之处，群众以极大的热情夹道欢迎自己的子弟兵。他们把稻草铺在泥路上，以防战士滑倒，用木板和小船加固破烂的小桥，以便我军顺利通过，群众的这种热情，又给我们的部队以极大的鼓舞。所以经过长途跋涉的战士们，虽然脚底下已起了大大小小的泡，但仍然满怀豪情，一脚泥、一脚水地追赶敌人。当时上上下下的思想都集中在一个字上，就是“快”。 25日下午，第二十八军占领了宜兴，第二十三军于同日黄昏占领溧阳，南京至杭州公路遂被我切断。敌人不敢再沿京杭公路退却，改由宜兴以西的山区直向郎溪、广德方向逃窜，妄想突出重围。26日我中集团的先头部队已进到郎、广地区；同日我第二十八军进占长兴。27日，中集团之第二十七军在吴兴附近与东集团第二十八军打通了联系，这样，就封闭了合围口，把南逃之敌第四军、第二十八军、第四十五军、第六十六军及第五十一军的一部，逼入郎溪、广德之间的山区。敌军10万之众，乱作一团，东奔西突，妄图逃命，但却四处碰壁。我追击各军机动灵活，猛插猛打，战至29日上午，将敌全部歼灭。 这是一大胜利，因为如果不将这10万敌军歼灭，让它进入杭州，这座闻名中外的秀丽古城将遭受一场浩劫。当时我还很担心我国当年最长的现代化的钱塘江大桥受到破坏。所以再三嘱咐要抢占钱塘江大桥，我先头部队到达时，敌人来不及爆炸大桥就为我消灭了。三野在郎广围歼战中加上在长江南岸边及追击途中歼灭的敌人共139万余人。江防之敌仅第五十四军及第五十一军之一部，在我追击部队到达之前逃到上海。 在我围歼郎广地区之敌的同时，我第七兵团在谭震林同志指挥下加速向杭州挺进。28日占领宁国，5月1日占领孝丰，5月2日占领余杭，5月3日，进占浙江省会杭州。5月4日至7日，第二野战军占领了上饶、贵溪、横峰、金华、衢县等地，控制了浙赣线，切断了汤恩伯集团和白崇禧集团之间的联系。在此期间，第四野战军一部和中原军区部队先后占领了孝感、黄陂，逼进武汉地区，完成了牵制白崇禧集团的任务。渡江作战第二阶段胜利结束。 钳击吴淞，解放上海 郎广围歼战结束之后，我就把指挥的重点转到攻占上海这方面上来了。 5月初，总前委移驻京沪线上的丹阳城，我和张震同志率领三野机关自常州东移苏州，指挥上海战役。 中央军委和总前委考虑，由于接管上海的准备工作尚未完成，要求我第三野战军暂不要进攻上海，而且也不要靠近上海，不要惊动敌人，不使其过早地退出上海，以免仓促进去，陷于混乱，同时令第二野战军主力集结于浙赣线休整，随时准备支援我三野作战，并准备应付美帝国主义可能的武装干涉。 这时敌军退守上海的部队，有8个军，25个师，加上军舰30余艘，飞机120余架，共约20万人。 守备上海的敌军妄图采取陆海空联合作战，实行固守防御。敌人的防御阵地，分为警戒阵地、主阵地、中心要点工事。主阵地有：月浦、杨行、大场、真如和浦东的高桥、高行等地。主阵地的前沿，距市区3至6公里。中心要点工事包括国际饭店、四行仓库、百老汇大楼（即现在的上海大厦）等32座建筑物。整个上海，仅钢骨水泥的碉堡，就有4000余个。这些工事是抗日战争爆发前国民党请美国人、德国人修的，后来日本人、国民党军又加修过。 敌军将上海划分为沪西北、沪西南、浦东三个守备区。具体配置是：第一二三军及暂编第八师驻守太仓、昆山、青浦、嘉兴、平湖、金山卫之线；第五十二军驻守月浦、浏行、吴淞、宝山等地；第五十四军驻守真如、大场；第二十一军及第九十九师驻守江湾等地；第七十五军驻守虹桥、龙华；第三十七军驻守周浦及浦东市区和南汇之线；第十二军驻守高桥、高行地区；第五十一军残部及5个交警总队驻守市区。从敌人兵力部署上来看，其防御的重点是浦西市郊之吴淞、月浦、浏行、大场和浦东区之高桥、高行地区，借以保障吴淞和市区，维护其出海通路。在这些地区以钢骨水泥的碉堡为骨干，结合大量的土木结构的工事和蜘蛛网式的堑壕，外设多层障碍物，构成纵深达到3公里的防御地带。为了扫清射界，平毁了距阵地1公里以内的房屋和树木。这些地区，靠近长江，可以得到舰炮的直接火力支援。而市区和沪西南则是敌人防御的薄弱部分。 我们打上海的指导思想是：既要打一场城市攻坚战，而又不能把城市打烂了，要争取把上海基本上完整地接管过来。我们的一切作战部署及战法，都是围绕这一指导思想的。 从当时的情况看，打上海有三种方法可选择：第一，围困战法。解放战争后期，我军对内地的若干城市采用了此种战法。但是上海情况特殊，上海有600万居民，生活资料依靠外地运入，尤其是粮食和煤，所需数量很大，长期围困，人民不仅没有吃的，由于没有煤，不但机器不能运转，连自来水都没得喝，人民的生活将陷入绝境。而敌军因有海上通道，我们围不死。而且我军渡江以后，应力争迅速解放全中国，所以，长期围困的战法不可取。第二，选择敌人防御薄弱的苏州河以南实施突击。这一战法，虽避开了敌人设防的重点吴淞，伤亡也可能减少，但主战场将在市区，城市会被打烂。所以，这一战法也不可取。第三，把攻击的重点放在吴淞，钳击吴淞，暂不攻击市区。这样可以封锁敌人海上退路，并迅速切断敌人抢运上海物资的通道。如果敌人要坚守下去，必将为保护其唯一的海上退路而集中兵力在吴淞周围与我军决战。如出现这一情况，就可避免在市区进行大规模的战斗，使城市少受破坏，达到完整接管的目的。吴淞周围是敌防御的强点，因此，此种战法，将是硬碰硬的一场艰巨的攻坚战，一场激烈的反复争夺战，我军要付出较大的代价。但我们是人民的军队，为了保存城市的完整，保护上海人民的生命财产，付出一定的代价是必要的、值得的。为此，此案是我设想的最佳方案。 为了不打烂城市，当时我们还规定进入市区作战，应尽可能不使用重炮轰击。 由于接管上海的准备尚未做好，我们不得不推迟了攻占上海的时间，敌人却利用时间在上海大肆抢劫物资从海上运走。5月6日，中央军委指示，为了阻止敌人劫运物资，可先占领吴淞、嘉兴两点，以切断敌劫运物资和退逃之路。但不改变推迟占领上诲的计划，要我们部署进行。 军委的这一指示，与我们设想的第三种打法不谋而合。我们于5月7日巳时上报了作战方案：以第二十九军并配属两个炮兵团攻占吴淞、宝山，以第二十八军主力控制太仓、嘉定，以第三十军攻占嘉兴、嘉善、平湖、乍浦、金山卫线。为防敌向南汇、川沙撤退，以第三十、第三十一军进入浦东截敌退路。并预定12日、13日发起攻击。5月8日，军委给我和张震同志的复电说：“（一）同意七日巳时电部署，请即照此执行；（二）和攻占吴淞、嘉兴等处之同时，派足够兵力占领川沙、南汇、奉贤，将敌一切退路封闭是很必要的。”军委此电同时发给了总前委。 根据军委指示，我于5月10日下达了淞沪战役作战命令。战役预定分为两个阶段：第一阶段，从12日起，钳击吴淞，断敌海上通路；第二阶段，待接管上海工作就绪后，向市区发起总攻，解放全上海。兵力部署是：以第九、第十两个兵团指挥8个军（以后又增调第二十三、第二十五军配属给第九、第十兵团）及特纵炮兵一部，从上海两翼迂回，钳击吴淞；第十兵团之第二十八、第二十九两个军攻占宝山、吴淞；第二十六军攻占昆山、安亭；第三十三军集结常熟地区，为兵团预备队。该兵团的后续任务是待命由上海西北地区协同第九兵团围攻上海。第九兵团之第二十军攻占平湖、金山卫，打开向浦东前进的通路；第三十军、第三十一军向浦东挺进，协同第十兵团钳击吴淞；第二十七军集结嘉善地区。该兵团的后续任务是待命由东、南、西三面协同第十兵团围攻上海。 5月12日，第二十九军占领浏河，当晚向月浦进击；第二十八军占领太仓、罗店等地，继续向杨行、浏行进击；第二十六军攻占昆山。13、14两日，我军连续向月浦、杨行、浏行之敌猛烈攻击。但敌钢骨水泥碉堡林立，构成了许多子母堡群，并配以众多的副防御障碍。以这些子母堡群为核心，筑成多道阵地，依托阵地进行顽抗。我军攻克一个地堡群，往往要付出重大代价。而且敌在海军舰炮、空军飞机的支援下，以坦克、装甲车为掩护，频繁对我军发起反冲击，因此争夺十分激烈。15日，敌又调第二十一军及第九十九师增援。经几天激战，虽然我军付出较大的代价，但没有大的进展，仍对峙在月浦、杨行、浏行一带。 我仔细地考虑了这种情况，觉得要加快战斗进程，就必须以锥形队形力求打开几个口子，由缺口透入敌之纵深。因此，16日我们调整了部署，并且下达了战术指示，指出：对敌永久性设防阵地的进攻，必须周密组织，选择敌突出、薄弱部与接合部，揳入其纵深，从敌侧背或由内向外打；集中火力轰击其一点，挖交通壕接近碉堡，以小群动作，轮番攻击；充分发挥炸药的作用，以炸药包开路；发挥孤胆精神，纠正集团进攻的方式。我进攻吴淞外围的部队，研究了这一指示，总结了前一阶段的经验教训，改变了进攻方式，收到了一定的效果。第二十八军以小的伤亡，攻占了刘行等要点；第二十九军攻占了月浦街区。 第九兵团之第二十军于12日攻占平湖、金山卫后，进至松江地区，第二十七军进攻青浦以东地区；第三十军、第三十一军于14日攻占奉贤、南汇，15日攻占川沙，16日攻占周浦，18日逼近高桥。19日后，敌调其七十五军增援高桥，在飞机及舰炮支援下，对我军频繁地进行反击。因这一地区河流多，桥梁多被敌人破坏，我炮兵跟不上去，仅靠轻火器与敌反复冲杀，部队伤亡较大。23日，我炮兵赶到，对高桥以东海南之敌舰猛烈轰击，击中7艘，余舰逃逸，我控制了东翼的海面。 自我钳击吴淞以来，敌采用拆东墙补西墙的办法，陆续从市区调来吴淞及高桥3个军，市区更加空虚了。这对吸引敌人在郊区作战，保持城市的完整是很有利的，完全符合我们在战前的设想。但吴淞两侧濒江临海，正面狭窄，河流纵横，我兵力展不开，优势难以发挥出来。所以每攻克一点，伤亡消耗很大，战役时间拖长，而市区虽然已经空虚，因受接管准备时间的限制，不能乘虚攻占。 有鉴于此，5月18日辰时，我与张震同志联名向军委、总前委建议：如对沪攻击已不受时间地区限制，我们意见四面八方向市区发起攻击，北线力求揳入吴淞，而以第九兵团主力先解决苏州河南与南市之敌，而后会攻苏州河北，如此实施，则我揳入敌之纵深不致被动。“唯不知接管准备与其他方面是否已准备完毕”。 5月23日晚，我军向上海敌军发起总攻，迅速占领市区。这是我军占领黄浦江堤，继续向纵深发展 当日，总前委复示：“进入上海的政治准备业已初步完成，攻占上海的时间不受限制。”19日，又得到中央军委电示：“在上海已被我军包围后，攻城时间似不宜拖得太长，你们接收准备工作已做到何种程度，是否可于5月25日前后开始攻城。”于是，我们制定了总攻的部署，并于21日午时上报了军委。部署将总攻分为三步：第一步全歼浦东之敌；第二步夺取吴淞、宝山及其外围阵地，完成为苏州河以北地区敌军之包围，攻占苏州河以南并沪西区及南市区全部；第三步聚歼可能溃缩在苏州河以北，吴淞、宝山以南的江湾地区之敌，达成全部攻占淞、沪全区之目的。这个部署上报后，军委于22日复示：同意21日午电所述之攻沪部署，望即照此执行。 23日，我侦悉汤恩伯已率其一部兵力逃到吴淞口外的军舰上，苏州河以南仅剩下5个交警总队。根据这一情况，我们判断敌将撤离上海，便决定当晚发起总攻，第一步和第二步攻击计划，同时进行。 24日，第二十军攻占浦东市区；第二十七军攻占虹桥及徐家汇车站；第二十九军攻占月浦南郊之小高地。敌为保住海上的逃路，以4个营的兵力在8辆坦克支援下，向我月浦南郊之小高地反扑，并将已调至高桥的第七十五军1个师，调回月浦增援，但未能阻止我军之攻势。 24日夜，第二十七军由徐家汇、梵皇渡之线攻入市区，第二十三军由龙华附近攻入市区，第二十军主力从高昌庙西渡黄浦江攻入市区。25日晨，我军攻占了苏州河以南的市区。当晚第三十、第三十一行军攻克高桥。敌殿后部队指挥官派员与我接洽投降。我一面派人与其接洽，一面令各部迅速向各攻击点猛插。 26日，各部攻占吴淞、杨行、宝山、江湾、大场及苏州河以北之市区。当日，残留在杨树浦等地之敌人，在敌淞沪警备司令部副司令刘昌义率领下向我投降。27日肃清了在市区的残敌。至此，上海战役胜利结束。总前委在《京沪杭战役实施纲要》中，赋予我第三野战军的任务全部完成。 这次战役，在上海外围特别是吴淞口地区，打得十分激烈，用的时间也较长。但在市区打得并不激烈，用的时间也较短，这样既歼灭了大量的敌人，而市区也没有遭受大的破坏。这正是战前我们期望的最佳结局。 在这里我要特别提一下上海党组织的作用，上海党有悠久的斗争历史和坚强的群众基础。在抗日战争和解放战争中，他们为解放区输送了大批干部，帮助采购、转运了大量物资、药品，有力地支援了解放区军民的斗争。在上海的解放中，他们更做了大量艰苦扎实的工作，是我军解放上海的坚强内应。战斗发起前，他们对上海敌人的兵力部署、工事构筑、火力分布作了周密的调查，绘制成图，送给了我军。攻城战斗发起后，他们组织了工人护厂，学生护校，保护公共财物，维护社会治安，积极支援上海的解放斗争，使上海在攻城战斗中，没有停过电，没有停过自来水，电话局照常工作，成为战争史上的奇迹。 战上海的枪声刚停，我们接管的工作人员即随部队进入上海市区，在地方党和群众配合下，按系统有秩序地展开了接管工作。参战部队，除担负警备任务者外，立即撤离了市区。进入市区的机关和部队，严格遵守城市政策纪律，坚决执行约法八章，并把后方置于15公里路之外。当时正值黄梅雨季，部队露宿于阴雨连绵的街道上，吃的是从15公里路外送来的冷饭。在币制未有明确规定之前，不购买物品。同时积极维护社会秩序，制止不法行为，打击敌特破坏活动，收容散兵游勇；保护公共财产，保护民族工商业，保护外国侨民等。我军的这些行为，得到上