On November 28, 1948, a meeting concerning the life and death of the 300,000-strong Kuomintang army was held nervously in the conference room of the "President's" official residence on Huangpu Road. The words " specifically let my troops take the water route" that came out with the shooting of the case, what are your intentions? " brought the atmosphere of the meeting to freezing point.
So, who is this general who took action? Who was he yelling at? What is the final result? Let us explore what is right and wrong here together!
The Battle of Huaihai broke out on November 6, 1948. Su Yu led the East China Field Army to attack decisively and surrounded the 7th Corps of Huang Baitao , the main force of the Kuomintang army.
At that time, Liu Zhi, who was the commander-in-chief of the Xuzhou "Suppression General", was at a loss and could not come up with any combat plan. Chiang Kai-shek could only leave the matter to the deputy commander-in-chief of the Northeast Suppression General (acting commander-in-chief). Du Yuming processing.
Du Yuming
At this time, Du Yuming had just finished cleaning up the mess in Northeast China. Before he had time to rest, he received a telegram from Chiang Kai-shek, asking him to rush to Xuzhou to serve as deputy commander-in-chief of Xuzhou Suppression and deal with military issues in Xuzhou. After Du Yuming arrived in Xuzhou, he investigated the local war situation and quickly proposed two specific plans.
The first plan is to encircle Wei and save Zhao.
At that time, the Central Plains Field Army led by Liu Bocheng was fighting with the East China Field Army led by Su Yu, and the Kuomintang Huang Wei 12th Corps was following it. Du Yuming proposed to use Li Mi Corps (13th Corps) to defend Xuzhou, and use Qiu Qingquan Corps (2nd Corps) and Sun Yuanliang Corps (16th Corps) to go south and meet Huang Wei Corps. The four corps combined would have a strength of nine and a half armies. Then he sent his troops to break Huang Baitao's siege.
The second method is to directly send troops to rescue Huang Baitao.
The premise and basis for Du Yuming's plan one was that the Kuomintang army had geographical advantages at that time, and the Central Plains Field Army came from afar and was not very familiar with the East China region.
Huang Baitao
If Du Yuming's plan one is adopted, even if the main force of the Central Plains Field Army cannot be captured in time, it can cause significant damage to the East China Field Army's troops encircling and annihilating Huang Baitao's regiment.
Taking a step back, even if the above goal is not achieved, the People's Liberation Army will be greatly restricted, and the Kuomintang will be able to gain a certain initiative. After that, there was no way to talk about such a clever strategy as capturing Suxian.
Things will never develop as smoothly as expected. After Du Yuming's plan was proposed, Liu Zhi, the commander-in-chief of Xuzhou's "Suppression General", rejected Plan 1 almost immediately. Although Du Yuming also made some refutations, it was still the commander-in-chief who had Liu Zheng, and he was only the deputy commander-in-chief. All decisions were made by the commander-in-chief.
Since the first option does not work, the only option is to adopt the second option - direct rescue by the Corps. The result of the matter was not as expected, and Huang Baitao's regiment was not able to escape the result of annihilation.
Chairman Mao
We later found out by looking at historical materials that Chairman Mao anticipated the enemy's opportunity and ordered Su Yu to command the Huaye Army to prepare in advance to block the reinforcements, and tried several times to trap and kill the Kuomintang reinforcements.
Because Du Yuming had certain expectations about this, the complete demise of the Kuomintang was artificially postponed.
Just when the Kuomintang rescued Huang Baitao, the Central Plains Field Army took the opportunity to occupy Suxian. Suxian was the key point of the Jinpu Line , which meant that the Central Plains Field Army cut off the retreat route of the Xuzhou Kuomintang Army. At the same time, Suxian was also an important logistics supply base for the Kuomintang Army. .
In order to restore Suxian County, Huang Wei's regiment went deep alone, but was surrounded by the Central Plains Field Army in the Shuangduiji area.
At this point, the defeat of the Kuomintang army in the Huaihai Campaign has been determined.
Suyu
Chiang Kai-shek still refused to give up at this time, and still insisted on the idea of coming out and fighting again. So he summoned the commanders of Xu Beng battlefield to discuss the plan.
Du Yuming held a different view: the plan of "abandoning Xuzhou and coming out to fight again" was unrealistic. There was only one choice between Xuzhou and war, otherwise the losses would be very heavy.
He believed that if you want to give up Xuzhou, you can't love to fight, and if you want to love fighting, you can't give up Xuzhou. If the plan of "abandon Xuzhou, come out and fight again" is adopted, all three regiments in Xuzhou will be lost.
Du Yuming also further proposed the retreat plan of the troops. In the end, Chiang Kai-shek agreed and appointed Du Yuming to be fully responsible for the military command of the Xuzhou front line.
Du Yuming
The Kuomintang's air force detected a large number of People's Liberation Army stationed near the Shuangduiji area of Suxian County, forming blocking positions in the north and south of Suxian County.
The Kuomintang concluded from this that the People's Liberation Army was preparing to encircle and annihilate the Huangwei Corps.
Chiang Kai-shek saw the Air Force's reconnaissance report and Huang Wei requested that the four main forces take the lead and send an urgent message to the south of Shuangdui as shown in the picture. He had to make a decision and conditionally agreed to Huang Wei's assault.
On November 26, 1948, Chiang Kai-shek called Huang Wei's Corps, asking him to attack the east at all costs with the main force and meet up with Li Yannian's Corps.
At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek also ordered the two corps of Qiu Qingquan and Sun Yuanliang in the north and the two corps of Li Yannian and Liu Ruming in the south to attack the People's Liberation Army in front of them to help Huang Wei's corps break out.
Chiang Kai-shek
At dawn on November 27, 1948, the four main forces of the Huangwei Corps broke out according to the original plan, and other corps also provided assistance according to the plan. But the result was not as Chiang Kai-shek expected.
On November 27, 1948, the Central Military Commission called Su Yu, acting commander of the East China Field Army: " When Huang Wei's regiment is about to be annihilated but has not yet been annihilated, it is necessary to attack Li Yannian's corps to cause in-depth attacks, so as to use the main force to To annihilate the side, at least one of them must be annihilated. ”
At this time, the Huangwei Corps was using all its strength to break through, and the situation was not yet clear. Su Yu was worried that if he attacked Li Yannian at this time, he would have no chance of winning. Moreover, if Du Yuming came out to attack again, the situation might get worse. This was the last thing he wanted to see.
Therefore, in order to accurately grasp the information on the battlefield, he stayed in the war room all day long and received reports from the front line as soon as possible.
Li Yannian and Liu Ruming in the south began to attack in the direction of Guzhen, hoping to meet up with Huang Wei's regiment.
Suyu
The important role of military command is particularly important at every critical moment. The fundamental purpose of military command is to unify will and action. You must be able to give full play to the combat effectiveness of your troops, destroy the enemy most effectively, preserve your own power, and ultimately win the war.
On November 28, 1948, the Huang Wei Corps received a telegram from Chiang Kai-shek, asking him to stand firm where he was and wait for rescue. At the same time, he also ordered the Li Yannian and Liu Ruming regiments to retreat.
The Huangwei Corps in Suxian County is stepping up its deployment, using cars, armored vehicles, , etc. that are currently out of use as barriers to build a unique line of defense. They were prepared to stick to Chiang Kai-shek's order to stay where they were and wait for rescue.
His eyes returned to the Huaye Army. Su Yu, the acting commander of the East China Field Army, had not slept for several nights. He stood in front of the map for several hours, deep in thought, and no one dared to disturb him.
Su Yu (left), Zhang Zhen (middle) and others are studying the battle situation at the battle front command post
Huang Wei Corps is already a turtle in the urn and has nothing to fear. At present, Su Yu is most concerned about the direction of the three corps led by Du Yuming. No matter which direction the 300,000-man regiment goes, it will cause huge changes in the battle situation.
In order to better analyze Du Yuming's next direction, he conducted a lot of research and made three judgments about Du Yuming's movements based on enemy information:
The first one may be that Du Yuming led his troops eastward along Longhai Road, from Escape from Lianyungang seaport.But if Du Yuming wanted to take the sea route, it would be very difficult to deal with the ships and docks carrying three corps.
The second possibility is to reach the Huaihe and Huaihe areas directly from the southeast, and then turn from Suzhou to Beijing and Shanghai. Although it is relatively convenient, there are many rivers along the way and the river network is densely covered.
The third possibility is to go south along the west side of Jinpu Road through the mountainous area.
Chiang Kai-shek and Du Yuming
Su Yu made repeated conjectures and analyses. If plan one is implemented, it will be very difficult to solve the problem of loading ships and docks with three corps. Option two is inconvenient for the movement of large corps and heavy equipment.
He believes that the Du Yuming Group is highly likely to choose the third option. The terrain of this road is flat, and it is very close to the Yellow Sea Corps. At the same time, it can form an echo with the Liu Ruming Corps and Li Yannian Corps in the south. By advancing from the north to the south, Huang Wei's siege can be solved, and troops can be concentrated to defend the Huaihe River.
If Du Yuming and Huang Wei's regiment join forces, the situation on the current battlefield will change drastically. This change was very detrimental to the East China Field Army, and Su Yu was also very worried that Du Yuming would choose this route.
When Su Yu was about to deploy most of his troops on Jinpu Road, he received a telegram from the Central Military Commission: "According to foreign news agencies, the enemies of Xuzhou led by Du Yuming will retreat to Lianghuai. Regarding this, you Corresponding preparations must be carried out. "
Du Yuming
The main task of military command in the battle is to summarize the practical experience of army command and predict the next direction of the army according to the general rules of the past. Every general on the battlefield must make military deployments and adopt appropriate tactics based on the enemy's situation to attack the enemy more effectively. Therefore, every plan and implementation has a crucial impact on the outcome of the war.
In the course of actual battles, the enemy situation often changes, which often becomes a test of whether the commander can exert his subjective initiative well. This requires commanders in theaters to have a sound brain, be able to analyze problems independently, and not be credulous, blindly obedient, or be fooled by superficial illusions.
Then, faced with the difference between his own analysis and the Central Military Commission’s intelligence, what would Su Yu do?
Foreign news agencies sometimes do have some reliable information from authoritative sources, but there are also some baseless speculations.
Su Yu
At this time, Su Yu's ideological struggle was very fierce, and he murmured in his heart: "This makes me very embarrassed. Although I don't think the enemy will flee in this direction, the Central Military Commission has intelligence. If the enemy really If he fled in this direction, wouldn't it mean that I had improper deployment? This is still a small matter. If it affects the subsequent strategic deployment, wouldn't it be a big mistake? "
"If I believe this information, and Du Yuming. If you don't go this way, just make a feint, and eventually go southwest to rendezvous, the situation will be even worse. "
At this time, Su Yu stood in front of the map for a long time, and his eyes were confused. He had the responsibility to get it at this time. He gave a clear opinion and thought about it repeatedly. It is believed that it is unlikely that the enemy will take Lianghuai, but the possibility of adopting plan three will be greater.
So Su Yu decisively decided that our troops could deploy the seven columns of the northern line on Jinpu Road south of Xuzhou, and the focus of attention should still be on the southwest.
Suyu
If Du Yuming really breaks through from the Huaihe River direction as mentioned in the intelligence, then they will definitely have to pass through the water network area, and the speed will definitely not be fast. We can catch up by speeding up our pace by then.
Under the guidance of this thought, Su Yu began to arrange his troops.
In accordance with the ideas of Military Commission , he sent Bohai Column to tighten the defense line in the area east of Xuzhou as the first line of defense. As a mobile force, if the enemy breaks through to the Lianyungang area, it can also temporarily resist to buy time for the arrival of rescue forces.
Although Su Yu's current approach is somewhat risky, he believes that leaders such as Chairman Mao will understand his current approach.
Before November 30, Su Yu received information that Kuomintang planes were flying frequently between Xuzhou and Bengbu . The situation was abnormal, so more attention should be paid.
Chairman Mao
Throughout the day on November 30, the Kuomintang’s troops in Xuzhou had closer contact with Qiu Qingquan, Li Mi, and Sun Yuanliang. The frequency of telegram communication exceeded normal. After 12 o’clock in the middle of the night, many of the Kuomintang’s troops The telegraph suddenly closed.
This attracted Su Yu's great attention, because usually, such a situation would only occur when the troops were mobilized and retreated.
Su Yu received another telegram from Zhang Yixiang, the deputy commander of the first column. According to the reconnaissance results of the column's reconnaissance personnel, the enemy troops in Xuzhou may have to make a large-scale retreat.
According to reports from the Huaye North Army south of Xuzhou, Qiu Qingquan and Sun Yuanliang showed signs of escaping. Immediately afterwards, Xie Zhenhua, the commander of the 12th Column, also sent a telegram, saying that they and their troops had entered Xuzhou Airport, but they did not see a person or a plane, and they suspected that they were planning to escape.
Su Yu
Relevant information came to Su Yu's ears in a rush. Although there is a lot of news, all of them express that the enemy troops want to retreat.
So where will the enemy retreat to? This raises a big question mark. At this time, everyone was very nervous and wanted to know the exact whereabouts of the enemy as soon as possible. However, the Xuzhou Corps' confidentiality was very good. I didn't see a single word in any information and could only wait quietly for the enemy to reveal the flaws.
Waiting will always yield results. The three regiments of Qiu Qingquan, Li Yannian, and Sun Yuanliang have already begun to move toward the southwest. All this is thanks to the heroes who worked silently behind the scenes and learned of the Kuomintang's actions based on the enemy's telegrams.
The astute Su Yu reported to the Central Military Commission and leaders on the one hand, and on the other hand sent Zhang Zhen to inform each column to quickly organize personnel to pursue and intercept the retreating enemies. You must complete the capture of the enemy.
The two armies launched a fierce speed competition.
Suyu
At this time, Du Yuming felt very confused. He really couldn't figure out why the confidentiality work was done so well before, and they had just left Xuzhou, why did the other party catch up so quickly?
A bad omen emerged in his mind.
Although Du Yuming was greatly confused at this time, he still analyzed and thought calmly.
He recalled: On November 28, he went to Nanjing to attend the meeting to decide on the retreat. Only some senior leaders could attend. He was very confident that it was absolutely impossible for someone in this meeting to leak this matter.
So how did Su Yu know about Xuzhou's retreat?
Du Yuming
His thoughts returned to the day of the meeting again.
Du Yuming once considered the plan of "defending the river must defend the Huaihe River". In his plan, he wanted to retreat the troops to Xuzhou, find ways to join the corps of Huang Wei, Liu Ruming, and Li Yannian, and then rely on the Huaihe River to fight with the People's Liberation Army?
But at that time, Du Yuming was very worried that Chiang Kai-shek would not agree with his idea of temporarily abandoning Xuzhou.
At that time, Wang Yaowu proposed the idea of abandoning Jinan and relying on Xuzhou. Although Du Yuming did not agree with this idea very much at the time, he failed to stick to his idea in the end and eventually lost Jinan, and Wang Yaowu also suffered a disastrous defeat.
Now, he has to persuade Chiang Kai-shek to give up Xuzhou again. What reasons will he use to persuade him? How much hope does he have?
Wang Yaowu
Now has reached a very important moment. This may be the last chance. He must persuade Chiang Kai-shek to give up Xuzhou.
He has more than 300,000 soldiers, and together with the corps under Li Yannian, Liu Ruming, and Huang Wei, there are more than 500,000 at least. If Xuzhou is not abandoned, the consequences may be even worse than Wang Yaowu's.
How could Du Yuming watch so many soldiers die in vain?
Du Yuming came to Chiang Kai-shek's conference room with a complicated and nervous mood. Gu Zhutong, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of National Defense, and Political Affairs Councilor of the "Executive Yuan" and Minister of Defense He Yingqin, Director of the Department of Operations of the Ministry of National Defense Guo Rugui, Air Force Headquarters Major General Deputy Commander-in-Chief Wang Shuming and other important officials were already sitting in this conference room, waiting for Chiang Kai-shek's arrival.
While everyone was waiting, Du Yuming heard a conversation between Gu Zhutong and Guo Ruhuai. Both of them said that they no longer insisted on sticking to Xuzhou and believed that there was no point in persisting. In the end, they might lose their wives and lose their troops. lost heavily.
The conversation between Gu Zhu and
made Du Yuming very surprised. He did not expect that there would be someone in the Supreme Command who had the same idea as him.
Gu Zhutong walked past Du Yuming and motioned for him to follow Gu Zhutong. They came to the edge of the conference room.
Gu Zhutong lowered his voice and said to Du Yuming: " Yuming, the current situation is very dangerous. We must make other plans, otherwise we will really suffer heavy losses! Do you think we give up Xuzhou first and wait until we get out? Is it possible to fight again? Can you retreat safely now? "
" If it is retreating from Xuzhou, it should not be a problem. It may be difficult to retreat to Woyang. Relying on the Huaihe River to move forward and retreat freely can also alleviate Huang Wei's situation. " Du Yuming did not analyze this in depth. Gu Zhutong nodded.
Chiang Kai-shek walked into the conference room, and a tense and serious atmosphere quickly enveloped the entire conference room.
Guo Rugui
Guo Rugui first reported the battle situation.
When talking about the Central China battlefield, he said: "According to the current situation, the east and west sides of the Xuzhou and Bengbu battlefields are fortified by the People's Liberation Army. As a result, the offensive situation on the Xuzhou and Beng battlefields is very slow, and the railways on this battlefield are also slow. It was destroyed, which brought us great inconvenience. "
" If this situation continues, our casualties will increase sharply. Therefore, I suggest that the main force of our army should go south from the southeast of Xuzhou. Li Yannian and Liu Ruming gathered together to solve Huang Wei's dilemma. "
Du Yuming was furious when he heard this idea. He slammed the table and yelled: " What are your intentions for suggesting that my 300,000 soldiers take the water route? You asked my Suzhou army to retreat from Shuanggou and Wuhe. Did you know that there are dense rivers and lakes everywhere? How can we effectively escape from this situation? "
Ru Gui was shocked. He did not expect Du Yuming's reaction to be so strong.
Guo Rugui
Before Guo Rugui had time to explain, the other people became even more anxious and discussed in a hurry.
The final result of the meeting was to agree with Du Yuming's idea and hand over the matter to Du Yuming for resolution. Du Yuming was relieved and flew back to Xuzhou that day to preside over the evacuation.
Du Yuming is full of confidence. He will stage an unprecedented great escape on the battlefields of Xuzhou and Bengbu. Not only did he have to make this escape watertight, but he also had to make it clean and beautiful.
Thinking of this, a name appeared in Du Yuming's mind. "Is it him?" Du Yuming was filled with doubts.
Guo Rugui
Everyone must already know the result of Du Yuming's leadership of the Xuzhou 300,000 Corps. On December 6, the East China Field Army finally surrounded Du Yuming's group in the Chenguanzhuang and Qinglongji areas. Du Yuming kept trying to break out, but failed miserably.
In the early morning of January 10, 1948, Du Yuming was captured, which completely ended his career as a general who made all the changes.Although Du Yuming never served in the military again, he enjoyed considerable preferential treatment as a prisoner of war.
On December 4, 1959, Du Yuming received an amnesty notice from the Supreme People's Court. After being released from prison, Du Yuming joined the CPPCC, made suggestions for the development of the Republic, and made outstanding contributions to the development of the motherland.
In 1981, Du Yuming was seriously ill, but the doubt about whether the person who leaked the secrets in the Huaihai Battle was Guo Rugui still lingered in his mind.
It is said that Guo Rugui once visited Du Yuming when he was seriously ill. Du Yuming asked his doubts, " Are you a spy? " However, Guo Rugui's eyes dodged and he looked around him, leaving Du Yuming in the dark. He didn't figure out the answer before he died.
