The liberation of Hainan was completed under the unified command of Deng Hua, Lai Chuanzhu, and Hong Xuezhi, the leaders of the 15th Army Corps. Han Xianchu, commander of the 40th Army, played an important role in the entire decision-making process and the specific battle process

Author: Mo Guyan

The liberation of Hainan was accomplished under the unified command of Deng Hua, Lai Chuanzhu, and Hong Xuezhi, the leaders of the 15th Army Corps. 40 Army Commander Han Xianchu played a role in the entire decision-making process and the specific battle process. These are well-known historical facts. However, in recent years, there has been a view of "promoting Han and demoting Deng", believing that Deng Hua was indecisive during this period. If Han Xianchu had not argued hard and dared to take risks, the best opportunity to land in Hainan would have been missed, and history might have been rewritten.

So, what is the real decision-making process?

Signal officers and soldiers who participated in the Hainan Campaign

As early as late October 1949, after the 15th Corps captured Guangzhou, the Chairman considered choosing an opportunity to capture Hainan Island. When Guangxi achieved decisive victory in the encirclement and annihilation of the Bai Chongxi Group, the Fourth Army decided to launch the Hainan Campaign, and the 15th Corps took on this arduous task. The 15th Corps has jurisdiction over the 3rd Army, the 44th Army, and the 48th Army. The 44th Army is to suppress bandits in Guangdong, and the 48th Army is stationed in Jiangxi. Currently, the Corps Commander Deng Hua only has the 43rd Army.

On Hainan Island, there is an army of 100,000 put together by Xue Yue . Although their combat effectiveness is not strong, they are more powerful after all. In addition, with the natural barrier of the strait as a barrier and the help of navy and air force, they are enough to hold on to the danger. It is obviously not enough to rely on the 43rd Army alone to complete the task of crossing the sea. Lin Biao sent an additional 40th Army under the 12th Corps to participate in the war, and made it clear that the Hainan Campaign would be under the unified command of Deng Hua.

Deng Hua (right) and Mr. Peng (middle) Chen Geng (left) took a group photo

Deng Hua had an in-depth understanding of various examples of cross-sea island-seizing campaigns, especially the Allied landings in World War II Sicily and After carefully studying the two cases of Sanye's defeat in Kinmen, he finally proposed the idea of ​​​​smuggling a small force.

An important reason why failed in the Battle of Kinmen was that there was no internal response on the island. The attack on Hainan is different. The island is supported by the Qiongya Column, which has been fighting for more than 20 years. Therefore, the troops can take fishing boats, disguise themselves as fishermen, and sneak across in batches. Wait until the number of stowaways is enough to control the beach before launching a forced crossing. This is much safer than launching a forced crossing directly.

Deng Hua's suggestion was forwarded by the Fourth Field Headquarters to the Chairman who was visiting Moscow. After reading it, the Chairman called Lin Biao and pointed out that "it is necessary to concentrate all the troops that can carry an army at a time, carry more than three days of food, and land in front of the enemy to establish Secure the beachhead and then attack independently without relying on backup. "Obviously, the chairman did not agree with Deng Hua's plan to smuggle in a small group. Lin Biao then called the 15th Corps and ordered to launch an attack during the north wind season.

Deng Hua has different views on the chairman's instructions. He believes that under the current conditions, it is unrealistic to transport one army across the sea at a time, because there are simply not so many ships and there are not that many shipwrights. The narrowest part of the Qiongzhou Strait is 30 kilometers, and the widest part is hundreds of kilometers, which is much more difficult than landing in Kinmen. Therefore, when conveying the order, he said that of course the chairman's order must be resolutely implemented, but it must be implemented flexibly based on the actual situation on the battlefield.

This is not the first time for Deng Hua to raise different opinions on the instructions of his superiors. When he was the commander of the column, he had raised different opinions on Lin Biao's orders several times. In particular, he objected to attacking Tanggu first and then attacking Tanggu during the Battle of Pingjin. In attacking Tianjin, this idea was adopted by Lin Biao and proved to be correct in practice.

Deng Hua and Su Yu together

After detailed investigation, Deng Hua sent a report to the four fields, explaining the reasons why it was impossible to complete preparations for crossing the sea before the Lunar New Year, and the launch of the campaign must be postponed. Lin Biao, who was always cautious, did not express his position. He said that he had no experience in crossing the sea and could not make decisions, so he forwarded the telegram to the chairman. The chairman called back and said that if the conditions are not mature, don't force it. If the monsoon is unreliable, can you consider buying a motor-driven sailboat?

The chairman always respected the opinions of the forward commanders and agreed to the suggestion to postpone the operation. But the question is where to get a power boat? Deng Hua sent Hong Xuezhi, chief of staff of the Corps, to report to Lin Biao. Lin said that it would cost a lot of money and there was nothing he could do, so he asked Hong to report directly to Beijing.After Hong Xuezhi went to Beijing, he was received by Mr. Zhu. Zhu expressed financial difficulties and asked Hong to go to South China Branch Secretary Ye Jianying to find a way to raise foreign exchange.

In the process of preparing to buy a ship, Deng Hua made the decision to "combine small crossings in batches with large-scale landings" at the corps combat meeting. This decision was recognized by generals including the 40th Army Commander Han Xianchu.

With the help of Ye Jianying, the heads of relevant departments in the field went to Hong Kong Island with money to buy a boat, but found nothing. Since power boats are not available, we can only rely on wooden sailboats . Deng Hua came up with the idea of ​​dismantling the engine from the captured ten-wheel truck and installing it on a wooden boat, which could also solve part of the power problem. However, there are not that many ten-wheel trucks, and the limited engines can only accommodate a small number of ships. These ships have become the most critical command ships and communication ships.

The first batch of troops to successfully smuggle into China were the 383rd Regiment of the 128th Division of the 43rd Army and the 352nd Regiment of the 118th Division of the 40th Army. They successfully smuggled into China on the night of March 5. The 356th Regiment raided Weizhou Island and seized more than 300 fishing boats on the island. On March 26, a reinforced regiment of the 118th Division of the 40th Army set sail on 80 sailing ships. As a result, the formation could not be maintained during the journey. After being blown away by the wind, they fought independently. Although the stowaway was successful, more than 600 people were lost.

"Liberation of Hainan Island"

After the first batch of illegal immigrants, Xue Yue strengthened his defense, and subsequent illegal immigrants will become increasingly difficult. Deng Hua decided at this time to concentrate the strength of the two armies to carry out a large-scale forced crossing. There are more northerly winds in the Qiongzhou Strait before March every year, and southerly winds prevail after Guyu in April, so the best time to cross the sea is before Guyu. Deng Hua decided to concentrate the forces of the two armies before the Grain Rain season and use wooden sailing boats to carry out the forced crossing.

Deng Hua's doing this was tantamount to changing the chairman's instruction to use power boats as a means of crossing the sea. Facts have long proved that if Deng Hua just mechanically carried out the orders from his superiors and blindly waited for the power ship instead of thinking of other ways according to local conditions, he would have lost the best opportunity to cross the sea.

The dispute between Deng Hua and Han Xianchu took place on March 22, 1950. The 40th Army had previously seized many fishing boats in the Leizhou Peninsula, and together with the boats captured during the attack on Weizhou Island, the 40th Army had a relatively sufficient reserve of ships. Han Xianchu believed that there was no need to stow away and directly launch a forced crossing. But the problem is that the 43rd Army has less than half of the ships of the 40th Army, and the preparations are still insufficient. It is not possible to force the crossing yet. Han Xianchu stated that he could lead the 40th Army to launch an attack alone.

It is understandable that Han Xianchu is eager to fight, but saying this will undoubtedly hurt the feelings of the 43rd Army. As the commander of the Corps, Deng Hua must of course consider the interests of the two armies. The battle must be fought together. It is impossible for the 40th Army and the family to steal the spotlight while the 43rd Army stands aside. However, Han Xianchu couldn't listen to Deng Hua's patient explanation and said he would report it to the Siye headquarters.

The two men immediately broke down their conversation, and both reported their opinions to the heads of the four fields. Lin Luo quickly called back and expressed his support for Deng Hua's opinion. Han Xianchu's opinion of leading the 40th Army to force the crossing alone was rejected.

From a purely military point of view, Han Xianchu's opinion is certainly reasonable, but if you think about it, no matter who is in Deng Hua's position, they will not rashly support his opinion. The two armies are fighting together, and the issue of unity and cooperation is a top priority. If it is not handled well, it will "cold the hearts of the brothers" and it will be difficult to win the battle. What's more, the 43rd Army was originally a unit of the 15th Corps, Deng Hua's headquarters, and the 40th Army was drawn from the 12th Corps. If they are allowed to perform a one-man show, what else can the 15th Corps do?

On April 16, 1950, the 15th Corps of the Fourth Field Army commanded the 40th Army and the 43rd Army, plus two artillery regiments and the First Engineer Corps. A hundred thousand troops crossed the Qiongzhou Strait and, with the cooperation of the Qiongya Column, liberated Hainan in one fell swoop. island. Throughout the Hainan Campaign, the 40th Army assumed the main task. Among the 8 regiments that crossed the sea, there were 6 regiments from the 40th Army and only 2 regiments from the 43rd Army. In the previous debate over illegal immigration or forced immigration, it was Han Xianchu's desperate efforts that finally led to the determination to launch a large-scale forced immigration in mid-April.

[Photograph of the 15th Corps and the leader of the Qiongya Column after the liberation of Hainan Island. Li Zuopeng is on the first right in the front row, Han Xianchu is on the second right, and Deng Hua is on the third right]

However, the credit for the victory in the Hainan Campaign is entirely attributed to Han Xianchu, Of course it is incomplete. During the entire Hainan Campaign, Deng Hua was the leader from beginning to end, embodying the style of a general who took the overall situation into consideration and planned strategies. Therefore, there is no need to "promote Han and demote Deng" to liberate Hainan Island!

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