There are only more than 20,000 field troops in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, which is the main force defending Yan'an. There is an urgent need for someone to lead this army to deal with Hu Zongnan's 300,000 troops.

Author: Mo Guyan

In March 1947, after the failure of the all-out attack, Chiang Kai-shek changed his strategy and launched a focused attack on Shandong and northern Shaanxi. There are only more than 20,000 field troops in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, which is the main force in defending Yan'an. There is an urgent need for someone to lead this army to deal with Hu Zongnan's 300,000 troops.

In terms of historical origin, the troops of the Northwest Field Corps are basically the troops of the original Red Second Front Army and the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army. In other words, they were basically brought out by He Long. From this point of view, it should be a matter of course for He Long to serve as the commander of the Northwest Field Corps. However, the chairman asked Peng Dehuai to shoulder this heavy responsibility.

Mr. Zhu and Mr. Peng together

Since Peng Dehuai was transferred back to Yan'an from the North China front line in 1943, he no longer commanded the troops on the front line. In the early days of the Liberation War, he served as deputy commander-in-chief and chief of general staff. He was the person in charge of the Central Military Commission. At the critical moment in northern Shaanxi, it was inevitable that he, instead of He Long, would command the northwest army.

During the Anti-Japanese War, the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, which was adapted from the Second Red Front Army, opened up the Shanxi-Suiyuan base area and became a barrier to defend the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. Because of this, the 120th Division and the troops of the Jinsui Military Region did not receive much development. By the time the Anti-Japanese War was won, both the territory and the number of troops were much smaller than those in other base areas. In the late period of the Anti-Japanese War, He Long served as the commander of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia and Shanxi-Suiyuan joint defense forces. His main task was to consolidate and develop the Shanxi-Suiyuan base area. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, He Long served as the commander of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Field Army, so he was away from Yan'an for a long time. When Hu Zongnan attacked northern Shaanxi, it was unrealistic to rush He Long back.

He Long and his wife Xue Ming took a group photo at the Jinsui Military Region Headquarters

The "mountain" phenomenon in the army exists objectively. The soldiers led by He Long will naturally listen to He Long the most. If someone else leads them, they may not be very obedient unless they are led by others. He is a person with higher prestige in the army than He Long. As a result, Mr. Peng was the best choice to lead the northwest army at that time. Regardless of his position, prestige, or ability and experience in commanding large corps, Mr. Peng was the best candidate at the time.

The Jinsui Field Army has three columns, all of which are He Long's own troops. When the battlefield in northern Shaanxi was at its most anxious, the headquarters mobilized three times. As a result, He Long personally sent the three columns across the Yellow River and handed them over to General Peng without saying a word. By the establishment of the Northwest Field Army in July 1947, President Peng commanded all troops in the northwest region, while He Long actually assumed the responsibility of logistics support and no longer led troops to fight.

[In December 1949, He Long led the 18th Corps and part of the 7th Army into Sichuan. The picture shows He Long studying battle deployment with Wang Weizhou (second from left) and Zhou Shidi during the march]

As a soldier, who doesn’t want to fight on the battlefield, and who doesn’t want to have as many soldiers as possible? But He Long handed over all his troops to Commander-in-Chief Peng without any reservations, and he had no complaints in the process. This state of affairs is a model!

Mr. Peng has not directly commanded the troops of the Second Front Army before, so there is still a process of getting used to the command. In particular, General Peng always managed the army with an iron fist and did not give face to critics. This also made many former cadres of the Second Front Army find it difficult to accept. As a result, some conflicts appeared and some incidents were very unpleasant. When

Nishino attacked Yulin , 1st Column was unable to capture it for several days and had to retreat as a whole. As a result, as soon as we evacuated to a safe area, the phone rang up, and Mr. Peng called and cursed. The person who answered the phone was Liao Hansheng, political commissar of the 1st Column. He was still explaining patiently, but President Peng said, "If a soldier is a coward, he will be a coward for a whole group of cowards. He Long will lose your face." This made Liao Hansheng completely angry. , shouting with red eyes: "I'll let you take a good look at what He Long's troops look like!"

Mr. Peng was mobilizing before the war.

With the material conditions in Xiye at that time, it was normal for him to be unable to capture Yulin. Column 1 has a total of 1 field gun and 20 shells. When it hits the city wall, it will be a white spot. Yulin is surrounded by large deserts, and it is impossible to obtain food locally. If the fighting cannot end in three days, the troops must withdraw.I was already very angry after losing the battle, and was scolded by President Peng, and even implicated He Long. How could "He Long's troops" accept this?

A few months later, the 1st Column was ordered to attack Raizi Mountain, but it was impossible to capture it for a long time, and a regiment leader was sacrificed. Mr. Peng called the 1st Column headquarters and angrily scolded the 1st Column, "What are you doing?" and ordered them to capture the position. Commander He Bingyan suddenly became angry and shouted, "We can't capture it! There are heavy casualties and there are difficulties!" Then he threw down the phone.

He Bingyan also had a hot temper, and he was the only one who dared to throw Mr. Peng's phone at him. However, the 1st Zong finally captured Raezi Mountain, but felt very unhappy from top to bottom.

The conflict between the Northwest Field Army during the battle

1 The conflict between Zong and General Peng was already known to everyone in Xiye. He Long, who was far away in Jinsui, was deeply uneasy and determined to come forward to resolve this conflict. At the end of May 1948, the Northwest Field Army held a front committee meeting in Tuji to summarize the experiences and lessons of the just-concluded Xifu Longdong Campaign. This meeting was of great significance. All the cadres from the Nishino regiment and above came, including He Long.

In the Battle of Longdong, Xifu, they won first and then lost. The 6th Column was surrounded by the Ma Jiajun in Tunzi Town, and the entire army was almost annihilated. The 1st Zong was ordered to provide reinforcements, but due to unclear intelligence, they took the wrong path and almost caused a catastrophe.

The main leaders of the Northwest Field Army, from left to right, are Zhao Shoushan, Zhang Zongxun, Peng Dehuai, and Gan Siqi

At the soil base meeting, General Peng focused on criticizing the 4th column for their poor performance in the Xifu Campaign, and at the same time scolded 1 vertical. The commander is certainly responsible for this matter, but Mr. Peng jumped over the command several times during the battle, which objectively had an impact on the command. He Bingyan and Liao Hansheng couldn't bear it and contradicted Mr. Peng in public at the meeting. Liao Hansheng said: "Since you can't trust the column cadres, then just withdraw us all, and you can directly command the regiments!" He Bingyan said: "If we do something right, you have to scold us, and if we do something wrong, you have to scold us even more. I Quit!"

He Long, who was attending the meeting, saw this scene and thought, "Is this okay?" He immediately stood up and scolded Liao Hansheng and He Bingyan: "You have all grown up, can't you stand being scolded?"

Liao Hansheng and He Bingyan are both He Long's favorite generals. They have been together since joining the Red Army Liao Hansheng has been following He Long, and he is still He Long's nephew. He may not listen to what others say, but he does follow He Long's words. After the meeting, He Long left Liao Hansheng and He Bingyan alone to talk, and ordered them to make a review to Mr. Peng and to implement Mr. Peng's orders unconditionally without any room for bargaining.

He Long was with two one-armed generals, He Bingyan on the left and Peng Shaohui on the right

Liao Hansheng and He Bingyan realized their mistakes and took the initiative to go to Mr. Peng to admit their mistakes. Mr. Peng, who was straightforward and straightforward, naturally did not care about them. Instead, he admired their fiery personalities and also conducted self-examination. In this way, the unhappiness in the hearts of both sides disappeared, and the whole army was united as one.

In the past, when people talked about the history of the Northwest Liberation War, they always focused on General Peng and the Northwest Field Army troops he commanded, and paid little attention to General He. In fact, He Long made a huge contribution to the liberation of northwest China. He not only fully supported the front line with financial supplies, but also promoted the unity of the entire army, playing a role that others could not play. Peng was always very moved by this aspect of . When the war history of the First Field Army was compiled in the 1990s, many senior comrades of the First Field Army said that He Long's contribution and role must be emphasized in the war history, otherwise, it would be disrespecting history!

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