Xiangfan campaign background
From 65438 to 0948, the war of liberation entered its third year, which was a crucial year for both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. The two sides held a high-level military meeting to study the war situation and military strategy. The Kuomintang held a "military review meeting" and * * * held a Politburo meeting of the Chinese Communist Party. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to wage a life-and-death battle with the Kuomintang army. On February 6th, he drafted a telegram for the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, and agreed to Liu and Deng's suggestion on February 4th to organize two powerful detachments, one for Sichuan, Hunan and Hubei, and the other for Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi. In February and March, he made full preparations and crossed the river south after passing through Su Yu to contain some enemy troops. At the end of March or early April, the two brigades headed by Chen Zaidao strengthened the Jianghan Military Region, including the management of western Hubei and the middle reaches of Hanshui River. On February 7th, Mao Zedong called Liu Bocheng and instructed the field army command post to transfer from Dabie Mountain to Huaihe River, Longhai River, Shahe River and Funiu Mountain, commanding three columns of Liu and Deng, four columns of Chen Shiju and Tang Liang, and one and a half columns of Chen Geng and Xie Fuzhi, making a total of eight and a half columns. "Concentrate on the Huaihe River, Hanshui River, Longhai and Jinpu, and maneuver to fight a medium-and large-scale annihilation war. It is also emphasized that this deployment can attract the enemy's main force to the north of Huaihe River and Hanshui River, which is conducive to the maneuver of Suyu Department and the free development of Dabie Mountain and Jianghan, and is also conducive to the war of annihilation, because the north has a solid rear area. According to Mao Zedong's instructions, Deng Xiaoping led the front command post of the field army from Xinxian County in Dabie Mountain area to the north, and on February 24th, he joined forces with Liu Bocheng at Linquan County in northwest Anhui.
1948, after the main forces of Liu and Deng were transferred from Dabie Mountain to the Central Plains, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to adjust and change the original regional system according to the actual situation and the needs of the development of the situation, in order to unify and strengthen the leadership of various regions. The troops and local institutions in the Central Plains Liberated Area are led by the New Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region. On May 9, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Military Commission appointed Deng Xiaoping as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Zhongyuan Bureau, Chen Yi as the second secretary and Deng Zihui as the third secretary. Liu Bocheng is the commander of the Central Plains Military Region, and Deng Xiaoping is a political commissar. Chen Yi is the first deputy commander (still the commander and political commissar of the East China Field Army), and Li Xiannian is the second commander. Deng Zihui is the deputy political commissar, Zhang Jichun is the deputy political commissar and director of the political department, and Li Da is the chief of staff. The Central Plains Military Region has seven military regions: Henan, Hubei, West Anhui, Jiangsu, West Henan, Tongbai, Jianghan and Southern Shaanxi. Chen Tang Corps of the East China Field Army (under the jurisdiction of the third, eighth and tenth columns) is temporarily under the command of the Central Plains Field Army. A large number of cadres in the liberated areas of North China went to the Central Plains to strengthen local work and the construction of new political power. After this adjustment, the strength of the Central Plains Liberated Area has been greatly strengthened, the organization has been unified, and the main force has been concentrated. The Central Plains Liberation War entered a new stage.
On June 13, Liu Deng released the deployment of Xiangfan Campaign. Chen Geng was ordered to command the second and fourth longitudinal as the western legion. The first step is to annihilate the enemy of Laohekou and Gucheng, and its main force will control the west bank of Hanshui River in time and wait for an opportunity to attack Xiangyang. Wang Hongkun commanded the main force of Tongbai Military Region, and the Sixth Longitudinal Corps was the South Corps. The first step was to annihilate the enemy in Xiangyang, attack the enemy who might escape on the west bank of Hanshui River with appropriate forces, and control the Jiangzhou of Hanshui River. The above two regiments are under the command of Chen Geng, and the campaign is scheduled to start on 2 1.
Xiangfan campaign process
Surprised the old river mouth and the ancient city
On July 2nd, 1948, the commanders and fighters of the 6th Longitudinal Army launched a long-distance attack on Laohekou from the Tanghe area in western Henan. When we arrived at Laohekou on the same day, the 487th Regiment of the Garrison 163 Brigade had retreated to Gucheng, and the 6th Longitudinal Army crossed the Hanshui River in pursuit. The troops of the Southern Shaanxi Military Region moved eastward from Caodian, Xun County, Hubei Province. Commander Liu ordered two battalions of the regiment to stop the enemy who might flee westward on both sides of the Han River west of Laohekou, and ordered the 34th regiment to attack Shihua Street. At dawn on July 3, a battalion of the 34th Regiment of the South Shaanxi 12 Brigade launched a surprise attack on the enemy troops crossing the mountain pass to the west of Gucheng, annihilating most of the enemy companies and occupying positions. When the enemy troops on the defensive in Gucheng County heard the arrival of the People's Liberation Army, they panicked and hurriedly abandoned the city and fled to Laojun Mountain. At this time, Commander Liu urgently ordered the 35th Regiment and the Independent Regiment 1 Regiment to cross the river from Zhangfeicheng and quickly detour to the side of Laojun Mountain, thus cutting off the road for the enemy to flee south.
On 3rd 14, 34th Regiment, with the cooperation of 6th Longitudinal Division and 35th Regiment, attacked from front to back, annihilated most of the enemy163rd Brigade, and captured more than 800 officers and men under Yan, the enemy's deputy brigade commander 1800. The 28th Brigade of Tongbai Military Region entered the Zhangjiaji area east of Fancheng to contain and monitor the enemy in Xiangyang. At this point, the first phase of the Xiangfan campaign ended successfully.
Leaving the city to attack the mountain, "the knife splits three levels"
After the People's Liberation Army wiped out Gucheng and the main force of the enemy 163 brigade who escaped from Laohekou in lightning speed, on the night of July 4th and 5th, 1948 moved closer to Xiangyang along the banks of the Han River as scheduled.
Xiangyang has a dangerous terrain, and the locals call it "Xiangyang made of iron". The enemy is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and I am difficult to attack. At this time, the Sixth Column had just come out of Dabie Mountain, and there was no heavy artillery to support the siege. The troops are insufficient. There are only six regiments in the whole column (three of which remain in Dabie Mountain), and the enemy forces are quite equal, carrying little explosives and bullets. In addition, time is pressing, and some people worry that enemy reinforcements will attack. In this extremely difficult situation, commander Wang Jinshan, the frontline commander of Xiangyang siege operation, relied on his previous operational experience, proceeded from objective reality, adopted the suggestions of his subordinates, broke the historical convention of attacking Xiangyang, attacking the mountain first, and then attacking the city. He took the knife to split the three passes, opened the corridor, contained the enemy on the mountain with a few troops and firepower, and approached the city wall with the courage and superb command art of the war commander. The move of "Tiger General Tao Tao" was really brilliant and unexpected. Secondly, I will focus on the west of the siege, which can avoid the fortified highlands in the south of the city and directly attack the enemy's weak points. At the same time, I will buy time and turn disadvantages into advantages.
Our army completed the encirclement of the enemy on July 6, and on July 7, various detachments and reconnaissance detachments contacted the enemy to conduct combat reconnaissance to further find out the enemy's situation and terrain. On the 8 th, a meeting of cadres above the brigade was held. Participants listened to the briefing by Chief of Staff He Guanghua. After full discussion, Commander Wang Jinshan immediately decided on the determination to deploy siege operations and submitted it to the chief for approval. Its deployment is: "17 brigade is the main attack, and the knife splits three levels to open the breakthrough of siege." One is to capture Pipa Mountain and Zhenwu Mountain with one force and concentrate on Ximen to carry out the main assault; Pretend to attack the highland south of the city, confuse and contain the enemy with the troops of the 12 th Brigade and the 3 rd Division of Tongbai in southern Shaanxi; A 18 brigade was inserted into Dongguan to contain the enemy, and 16 brigade was used as the reserve. In order to ensure the coordinated operation of all units, the column was decided to be under the unified command of Li Desheng, brigade commander of 17, and You Taizhong, brigade commander of 16.
According to the operational plan, 17 brigade believes that attacking Pipa Mountain and Zhenwu Mountain and opening up the west corridor are the primary links to realize the whole siege plan and break the defensive chain of Xiangyang. At dusk on the 8th, 17 brigade attacked Pipa Mountain with 50 regiments and 2 battalions. The mountain was reinforced by 104 brigade, 15 regiment and 1. It is an important defensive support point in the west of the enemy city and constitutes an annular defensive position with bunkers and bunkers as the core. The attack was unsuccessful because the second battalion was not well organized. 12 brigade captured the foot of Black Tiger Mountain. On the 9th, 17 brigade attacked Pipa Mountain with 49 regiments and 3 battalions. After full preparation, the battalion, under the cover of four cannons, was led by Comrade Gou, the head of the battalion, and launched a brave attack on the enemy at 18: 30. After a fierce battle of 15 minutes, the enemy was completely destroyed and all positions were occupied. Comrade Gou, the head of the regiment, stepped on a mine in the enemy position and died gloriously. The knife won the first level.
10 night, 17 brigade attacked Zhenwushan with 49 regiments and 2 battalions. The mountain is defended by 104 brigade, 15 regiment, 3 company and 1 heavy machine gun platoon, and nearly 30 complete permanent or semi-permanent bunkers are built. After receiving the task, the Second Battalion piled up sand tables in advance according to the enemy's fortification conditions for repeated research, and selected similar terrain for repeated actual combat deduction. From the class to the battalion, a detailed operational plan was formulated, and from cadres to soldiers, they knew the tasks and tactics like the back of their hands, which greatly enhanced the confidence of all commanders and soldiers in winning. 19: 20, the battalion launched an attack on the enemy defending Zhenwu Mountain under the cover of artillery fire, adopting the mobile tactics of small soldiers and bombing the enemy bunker with explosive charges. Destroy the enemy 18 bunker continuously within 20 minutes, fight until 20 o'clock and occupy all positions. Knife will win again after the second level.
That night, 17 Brigade 50 Regiment 1 Battalion took the opportunity to conquer Zhang Tang Village in the west of the city and annihilate a platoon. Comrade Yang Yi, deputy head of the regiment, died heroically in the battle. Our 49th regiment cracked two levels in a row, and both won, which made the first contribution to opening the western corridor. Since then, Brigadier General Li Desheng and the cadres of the 49th Regiment have concentrated on the preparation for the third level, that is, the siege has opened a breakthrough. During this period, Shannan 12 Brigade and Tongbai 3rd Division fought bravely, captured Phoenix Mountain and Tiemao Mountain respectively, and wiped out the enemy 1 unit. The brothers on the north bank of Hanshui River also destroyed an enemy. All these have effectively cooperated with the preparations for opening corridors to attack the city. This series of victories dealt a heavy blow to the enemy. Kang Zeling 164 Brigade abandoned Fancheng and retreated to Xiangyang to strengthen its garrison in an attempt to stick to Xiangyang.
According to the development of the war situation, Liu Deng issued an order in time to adjust the operational deployment, so that the 28th brigade of Tongbai Military Region on the north bank of Hanshui River went south to Jin Dong Bay, concentrated on the siege of Xiangyang, and our army attacked Dongguan. 10 On the night, under the cover of Tongbai 3rd Division 18 Brigade attacking Wenbifeng, my 6th Brigade took covert actions to bypass Wenbifeng, pushed northward along the embankment on the west bank of Hanshui River, joined Tongbai 28th Brigade, crossed the Hanshui River from Jin Dong Bay, and established the starting position of the siege of Dongguan. This sudden and bold action greatly shocked the enemy, and Kang Ze was deeply "in danger". He used several telegrams to call for help to Bai Chongxi every day, but he dared not go out of the city to fight back. Shannan 1 1 day and night, Shannan 12 brigade took over 18 brigade and moved to Yinjiaji area in the southwest of the city as the general reserve. At the same time, the 17 brigade completed two traffic ditches and reached Xiguan directly after two days of geotechnical work. On the night of 13, one of the 50th and 47th regiments, after full preparation, captured the Tiefo Temple in Xiguan and tongji hospital along the traffic ditch, annihilated the 2nd Battalion of the 409th Regiment, wiped out more than 0/00 people, established the main siege position of the general assault, and created conditions for the siege victory. Our 47th Regiment conquered Qiu Shu and opened the starting position of the northwest corner siege. After the 50 th Regiment captured Xiguan, its main task was to protect the Dashiqiao crossing three outer trenches outside Ximen as a springboard to approach Ximen during the general attack. The knife split three passes, approaching Xiangyang city wall.
At this point, Xiangyang city has been directly exposed to the attack of our army, towering above the mountains in the south of the city, and has completely lost its barrier function to Xiangyang. The supply of the enemy guarding the mountain was also in trouble, and Kang Ze was exhausted, unable to get rid of the fate of being destroyed. So he sent an urgent telegram to Chiang Kai-shek asking for help. Jiang Fudian: "The Communist army will have no long-range guns and heavy weapons, abandon the mountains and defend the city, and stick to aid." 14, 17, the enemy of the south highland retreated into the city under the cover of its air force. In this way, our army won Yanghushan and Hutou Mountain without fighting. At this point, Xiangyang peripheral operations have come to an end.
Attack the city with blood, encircle and annihilate the enemy.
On June 5438+05, the PLA launched a general attack on Xiangyang City. The troops were deployed in a highly centralized way, and all six columns were used to break through &; On the west gate, the 12th Brigade of southern Shaanxi attacked from the northeast corner, and the 28th Brigade of Tongbai waded into the city from the southeast corner. At 20: 20 on June 5438+05, No.6 Battalion bombed Ximen and its two sides with various heavy weapons, destroying five turrets and three bunkers in front, back and north of Ximen, and covering the engineers for four consecutive explosions. While the enemy was dizzy and the smoke was filled, the commandos launched a charge and successfully crossed the 100-meter stone bridge and rushed under the city wall. When the ladder leading to Chengtou was blown off, the ladder was used to quickly climb the Chengtou, which continuously defeated the enemy's 10 counterattack and consolidated the breakthrough.
At the same time, the thirty-fifth regiment of the twelve brigades in southern Shaanxi and the eighty-third regiment of the twenty-eighth brigade in Tongbai, which attacked the city from the northeast corner, reached Chengtou after fierce fighting and great sacrifice.
After entering the city, the three forces went hand in hand according to the predetermined plan, bravely advanced, divided and surrounded the enemy, quickly confused the enemy's command system, and made the enemy ignore each other and be paralyzed. After a fierce battle all night. 16 in the morning, our army completely controlled Xiangyang city. After the ministries joined forces, they surrounded the headquarters of 15 in the appeasement area of Yangjia Ancestral Hall. The Yangjia Ancestral Temple is a quadrangular courtyard with a regular rectangle and no houses around it. There are two strong bunkers at the four corners of the ancestral hall, and there is a three-story main bunker in the center. There is a tunnel from the commander's residence to the main bunker. 15 night, our army invaded the city, Kang Ze hid in the tunnel, and only Guo Xunqi commanded the central bunker. The phone was disconnected all night. I don't know what happened. 16 in the morning, the people in the headquarters looked at the four gates from the top of the bunker, only to see the white flag standing on the wall, then they knew that Xiangyang City had been controlled by the People's Liberation Army, and they became turtles in a jar. In the afternoon, when the attack began, our military engineers exploded, machine guns, rifles and grenades, and the morale in the headquarters completely collapsed. We elected representatives to negotiate with Kang Ze and Guo Xunqi, asking them to lay down their arms and strive for leniency. Kang Ze wore a helmet in the central bunker and refused to speak. In fact, he was stunned. Guo Xunqi had to fight back and ordered the machine gunner to shoot. Before long, the PLA rushed into the yard. A Grenade was stuffed into the shooting hole of the bunker with a loud bang. The people under the bunker were either dead or injured, and some shouted "Stop fighting!" " Guo Xunqi was forced out of the bunker, and then Kang Ze was captured by our army and became a prisoner of the People's Liberation Army.
Achievements of Xiangfan campaign
Fight to 16, and wipe out the defenders. This is a heavy blow to the Chiang Kai-shek clique. This campaign wiped out 2 1000 Kuomintang troops, captured Kang Ze, commander of the first 15 "appeasement zone", and liberated Xiangyang, Fancheng, Guanghua, Laohekou, Gucheng, Nanzhang and Yicheng, which created favorable conditions for later opening up new areas on the south bank of Hanshui River.
The battle of Xiangfan ended on July 6 18. The whole campaign lasted 14 days. Our army wiped out the headquarters of the enemy's No.1 15 appeasement area, all the No.1 104 brigade and most of the No.1 163 brigade, captured more than 7,000 people from Kang Ze and Guo Xunqi, and killed 3,500 people. Seven towns including Xiangyang, Fancheng, Laohekou, Guanghua, Gucheng, Nanzhang and Yicheng were recovered, and 4 chemical mortars, 44 field guns 1 doors, 60 mortars 10 doors, 43 small guns, more than 4,400 rifles, 305 light machine guns and 53 heavy machine guns were seized. Our army sacrificed 7 19 people and injured more than 3000 people. After cleaning up the battlefield, our army withdrew from Xiangyang and crossed the Hanshui River to rest.
Historical influence of Xiangfan campaign
The battle of Xiangfan was the biggest victory in military and political struggle since our army opened the Tongbaishan revolutionary base. As far as the victory of Xiangfan Campaign was concerned, it forced our army to completely collapse the enemy's "Hanshui defense line", further broke through the enemy's "Changjiang defense line" and "Dabashan defense line", and enabled our army to open up a new area in the middle reaches of Hanshui River, turn Hanshui River into an inland river operation, establish a strategic forward base, force Wuhan in the east, cross the Yangtze River in the south and enter Sichuan in the west, and prevent the enemy from going north to cooperate with the East China Field Army in fighting in eastern Henan.
The battle of Xiangfan was one of the "five great victories" that was famous all over the country, and it was also one of the "ten great victories" of our army. Because our army changed from time to time in the battle, it adopted the unconventional tactic of "attacking the city from the mountain" and won a great victory. Commander-in-Chief Zhu De praised the campaign as "a small model campaign". In the telegram congratulating Xiangfan on its victory, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China pointed out: "This victory in the middle reaches of the Hanshui River wiped out 265,438+10,000 enemy troops and liberated 7 towns,&; Hellip& amphellip is very helpful to the development of the Central Plains war situation. "