text/Zhang Xiongwen
General Xiao Feng was an old subordinate of Su Yu. During the War of Liberation, he fought south and north under the command of Su Yu, the actual highest commander of the East China Field Army for a long time. He had a good habit of writing a diary every day during his lifetime. After his death, he left behind a 60-year diary and memorial article, which truly recorded his own battle history and objectively reflected the history of the growth and growth of the People's Army. It is a rare original historical material. During this period, it can be seen that he sincerely respected General Su Yu, the commander of the Chinese wilderness.
As the founding major general, General Xiao Feng was naturally relieved that the process of Chinese history has its own sweat. But like Xu Xiangqian, who led the Western Route Army to defeat Qilian Mountains, he also had a regret that was difficult to relieve, and even before his death, his guilt had not decreased slightly. This is the failure of the Kinmen battle he commanded. What made him admire for his life was Su Yu, because he had taken responsibility for the failure of Kinmen Battle many times.
In September 1949, after the 10th Corps of the Third Field Army crossed the sea to capture Pingtan Island, Fujian, Xiao Feng, then acting commander and chief of staff of the 28th Army, participated in the combat meeting chaired by the Corps Commander Ye Fei. A decision was made at the meeting: while attacking Xiamen , attacking Kinmen.
On October 7, Ye Fei reported this combat plan to the Third Field Command. Because it is an extremely important combat deployment, Tang Liang, the third secretary of the Party Committee of the East China Military Region, who is in charge of daily work, Yuan Zhongxian, acting chief of staff, and Zhou Mingjun, deputy chief of staff, dare not take the initiative and forwarded the report to Su Yu, who is attending a military meeting in Beijing. After careful consideration, Su Yu called the 10th Corps on October 11:
" But please consider: Based on the enemy forces in Jin and Xiamen and the internal situation of the enemy ( Liu Ruming , Wang Xiushen’s relationship) and our degree of preparation (especially ships); if 5 divisions attack Xiamen (confidence) is it completely certain to attack Kinmen with two divisions at the same time? If the conditions are relatively mature, you can launch an attack at the same time. Otherwise, whether to use two units of troops (mainly strengthen artillery fire to block the enemy ships and block reinforcements and intercept the fleeing) to clamp down the enemy in Kinmen, and first seek to attack and annihilate the enemy in Xiamen... Please We decided on our own according to the actual situation. We always made it appropriate to launch the battle with full preparation and confidence. "
However, due to underestimating the enemy and confined to a battle of only a division-level battle, the leader of the corps did not make the fully confident preparations emphasized by Su Yu during the preparation and execution of the battle. Regardless of the different opinions raised by Xiao Feng, who directly led the army to undertake this battle task, he rashly decided to launch the battle with insufficient ships and ship labour and unclear enemy situation. As a result, 9,000 troops of the 28th Army participated in the battle and fought alone with seven times his Kuomintang army, almost destroyed, and made a big mistake of leaving but not returning.
After learning of this shocking battle report, the Third Field Front Committee took the initiative to assume the responsibility for the failure of Kinmen. Instead, the front-line commanders were held accountable, they guided them to summarize their experiences and lessons. Su Yu also decided to allocate all the 101st Division to the 10th Corps, and called Ye Fei and others: "Although the battle between Kinmen was defeated, the troops and combat operations were extremely brave. I hope to encourage the troops more."
On November 1, Ye Fei presided over an enlarged meeting of the Party Committee in the Tiger Cave in Xiamen to summarize the battle between Kinmen. General Xiao Feng cried bitterly and was the first to stand up and speak: "I have committed a great crime. I requested the Party Committee of the Corps and the Third Field Army to give me a severe punishment!"
Ye Fei was the second speech and said sadly: "The main responsibility for the failure of Kinmen in the battle is me. I am the commander of the Corps and cannot be pushed to Xiao Feng. He had different opinions. I underestimated the enemy and refused to listen. When I was about to start the ship, I insisted on going up to two battalions on the phone. Xiao Feng was sure to win the second echelon. The battle was won. It was the losses I caused. I requested a severe punishment."
Half a month later, on November 15, Su Yu took the initiative to assume the responsibility for the failure of Kinmen and Dengbu Islands, and since then he repeatedly reiterated his responsibility on other occasions, which made Xiao Feng very moved.
In early May 1950, the Third Field Army held a meeting to streamline and reduce the number of troops, and the commanders and chiefs of staff of each army participated and conducted research. During the meeting, Commander Su Yu asked Xiao Feng alone to discuss the failure of Kinmen for the first time.After Xiao Feng said the passage in pain, Su Yu said: "We have said a long time ago that the defeat in the Kinmen battle cannot be attributed to Ye Fei, let alone you Xiao Feng. The main reason is that the Third Field Army Front Committee has carried the burden of Shanghai and Nanjing, and thought that the Corps of Kinmen, Fujian and Zhejiang Yangtze River Islands can be solved by themselves, but the Front Committee is actually unattended. The main responsibility lies with the Front Committee, especially the person in charge of the fight, cannot be held accountable from the lower part. As long as you learn from the bloody lessons and increase your confidence in fighting Kinmen again."
1961, General Xiao Feng was admitted to a Beijing hospital due to illness, and Su Yu was also hospitalized in the hospital. From his study of military command art, Su Yu loved maps all his life, and even hospitalization was no exception. Xiao Feng saw him wearing reading glasses and magnifying glasses on the side, looking at the map in the room, thinking about several aspects of the enemy's future invasion of China.
On the evening, Xiao Feng went to Su Yu's residence and watched the "May Day" fireworks with him in front of the large window of the west room. Afterwards, while sitting down to rest, Xiao Feng mentioned the defeat of Kinmen again.
"The responsibility is not on you, Xiao Feng, mainly the front committee of the Third Field Army", Su Yu said, "You proposed three conditions to attack Kinmen, and I made a reply! The reply is: I know, it doesn't matter if I extend the time. I also ordered the Jiangsu Military Region and Shandong Military Region to draw 1,500 ship workers to support the 10th Corps to report directly to the 28th Army. I did not check these tasks in depth."
Xiao Feng was still in a heavy mood: "I mistakenly executed the order that was out of reality and bear certain responsibilities."
( selected from "The Record of Famous General Su Yuzhen", Beiyue Literature and Art Publishing House December 2009 edition )
