One early morning in November 1948, Xuzhou.
This city has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. Over the past two thousand years, the 158 bloody battles that have appeared in writing have shined through the annals of history.
Only ten years ago, an earth-shattering bloody battle broke out in the surrounding area of this city. The regular army of China and Japan invested a total of hundreds of thousands of troops here. The battle was fierce and the casualties were unprecedented. Yes, the pride of the Japanese army , the Sakagaki Division, was severely damaged here. The bones of tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers were buried here, while the number of Chinese soldiers killed in battle was several times that of the Japanese. The Battle of Taierzhuang left an indelible impression on the Chinese and Japanese soldiers.
Today, ten years later, another great war broke out here. This great war is not a war between two countries, but a war between two political parties of the same country and the same nation. The scale of this war has surpassed any previous ones. The Kuomintang and the Communist Party have invested a total of 1.4 million troops. Compared with the wars that took place here and now, previous wars are really insignificant.
Regarding this war, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party have different names, and the Kuomintang's history textbooks call it the Battle of Xu Bang.
In the history textbooks of the Communist Party, it is called the Huaihai Campaign. In this decisive battle that will determine the fate of a country and a nation, the Kuomintang army has invested 800,000 troops, and the People's Liberation Army has invested 600,000 troops. In the end, 600,000 wiped out 800,000. Just after the end of the World War, the generals and trainees of the Frunze Military Academy of the Soviet Union, the second largest military power in the world at that time, included it in the classic battle case and studied it as a major topic.
How many years have passed, and in the war history textbooks of military academies in various countries, this war is called a classic example. Generations of professional soldiers of different nationalities, skin colors, and political beliefs are no strangers to this battle example, and it is the process that makes people feel keenly interested. How did 600,000 people who were at a disadvantage in terms of strength and equipment defeat 800,000 people who were superior in strength and equipment?
Dozens of U.S.-made B-25 bombers formed several attack waves and swooped down to drop bombs on the ground. Hundreds of heavy artillery and more than a hundred tanks turned the more than 40-mile-wide front from Denglou to Tuanshan on the east side of Xuzhou City into a massacre. A sea of fire. The citizens in the eastern suburbs of Xuzhou City were stunned by this earth-shattering war scene. The window panes were shattered by the strong sound waves and poured down, the houses were shaking, and the beams and columns were creaking, like It was about to collapse at any time, and the overwhelming gunpowder smoke made the sun and the moon dark. People were deafened by the loud noise that continued without any intermission.
Lieutenant General Qiu Qingquan, commander of the Second Corps of the Kuomintang Army, raised his binoculars in the Corps headquarters. The scene of fierce battle appeared in the binoculars. With the sound of tank tracks colliding, a gray-white water line suddenly appeared for more than 40 miles from north to south, rushing towards the east like sea water at high tide, and the explosions of various light and heavy firearms were inaudible Out of the point, the explosion of grenades and mortar shells, the impact of bayonets and guns, and the hoarse shouts merged into a huge sound wave. Qiu Qingquan picked up the phone receiver: "You want the 89th Division, hello, Master Chu? The front of your division is Zhaozhuang. I order you to take down Zhaozhuang at all costs."
On the other end of the phone was Chu Yunfei, Major General of the 89th Division under the Second Corps of the Kuomintang Army. Chu Yunfei, Colonel and Commander of the 358th Regiment of the Jinsui Army who was active in Northwest Shanxi at that time, after the end of the Anti-Japanese War, was sent to the general officer class of Nanjing Army University for further study because of his illustrious military exploits. After graduation, he left the Jinsui Army and was assigned to the direct line He served as the commander of a major general in the army, and his early experience in Huangpu made him a man of both sides . Whether it was the Jinsui Army or the Central Army, he was regarded as his own.
Chu Yunfei was wearing an American-style yellow woolen military uniform, with shiny long riding boots on his feet, a golden general star on his epaulettes and the general officer's logo on his collar - golden plum blossoms complement each other. His black sword eyebrows were raised high, and there was no passion or anger in his eyes, only calmness like water. On his left hand holding the binoculars, he wore a platinum ring inlaid with a huge diamond. He looked happy and angry. The intangible aristocratic temperament, facing the landslide-like artillery fire in front of him, a large amount of death and blood seemed to turn a blind eye, and there was a cold .
Ms. Manlin, a reporter from the Central News Agency, was standing behind Chu Yunfei admiring his charming demeanor. In Ms. Manlin's eyes, the aristocratic demeanor of this general was definitely different from those in the upper-class salons who used nepotism as an excuse. The aristocratic demeanor of the son-in-law in a high position is a kind of calmness and self-confidence mixed with a good education and a long experience in the battlefield. He is polite and slightly cynical. Among the star-studded Kuomintang army, the Manlin team has never seen such a charismatic general.
In Chu Yunfei's binoculars, Zhaozhuang, shrouded in the smoke of gunfire, appears and disappears from time to time. The officers and soldiers of the Kuomintang army rush forward like gray waves again and again, and have to retreat again and again. Every time they retreat, they stay behind. A piece of Chen Heng's corpse and wriggling dying wounded, Chu Yunfei's beautiful sword eyebrows slightly twitched, and he was secretly surprised that there was a death row composed of machine guns, rifles, and grenades within such an impact distance of tens of meters. No one can enter this high wall. He remembered the famous words of the German military strategist Clausewitz: "Use unlimited violence to annihilate the enemy's combat power. To achieve this goal, only the combined momentum of maneuvering power and firepower can be achieved."
He re-adjusted the configuration of heavy firearms, used the radio to coordinate with the air force commander to cooperate with air guns, rearranged the coordination between artillery groups and armor groups, and infantry units, and then ordered the formation of death squads. Under the heavy reward, there must be a brave man. Soon, a death squad of more than 1,000 people composed of 30 yuan per person has entered the attack position. Most of them are fanatical young lieutenant officers. They don’t care much about money. Withdrew the silver dollars they had just received to the soldiers of the second echelon like a goddess scattering flowers: "Brothers, take them to buy wine and drink after the war, what do I want money for..." In addition to the Three People's Principles in their minds to save China In their minds, the party is the country, and the country is the party. Opposing the Kuomintang is opposing the country and is an enemy. It is an honor to devote oneself to the party and the country. They are fighting for the destiny of the country and the nation.
A new round of aerial bombardment and artillery bombardment began, and Zhaozhuang seemed to be flattened, torn to pieces, and drowned in the flames.
More than a dozen American-made Sherman M4 tanks lined up and advanced towards Zhaozhuang. The fierce fighters took off their shirts, their naked upper bodies were covered with grenades and magazines, and they held all Thomson submachine guns in their hands. They roared up, and the gray waves rolled towards Zhaozhuang again. Zhao Zhuang seemed to be dead, without making a sound. The attacking tank column approached Zhaozhuang , and it was about to be done. The corners of Chu Yunfei's mouth slightly curved upwards, and his face became more and more peaceful. Yes, even if you are a piece of iron, it should be melted by now.
Asking suddenly, Zhao Zhuang suddenly revived, bursting out a circle of blazing and dazzling white light. In the continuous explosion of landslides and ground cracks, more than a dozen tanks burst into flames. The death squads did not flinch. Roaring and rushing into the opponent's firepower circle... There was an earth-shattering cry of killing, and the People's Liberation Army in Zhuangnai launched a counter-charge. In the binoculars, soldiers of the People's Liberation Army in ragged clothes jumped out of the collapsed bunker with shining bayonets in their hands, forming a A khaki tide, the two tides collided suddenly, countless white bayonets gleamed dazzlingly in the sun, the two sides shot at each other without any cover, and the crowd fell one by one... Twenty minutes later, Zhao Zhuang was silent again, as quiet as if he had died. None of the death squads of the Kuomintang army survived.
Chu Yunfei felt that the cold sweat on his back was slowly oozing out. He leaned on the support wood in the shelter and murmured to himself wearily: "God! What kind of army is this..." Said in a loud voice: "Master, the defender of Zhaozhuang is the Second Division of the 11th Column of the enemy Huaye, and the division commander is Li Yunlong..."
Chu Yunfei remained still as if struck by lightning. He closed his eyes and thought, Brother Yunlong, it's been a long time. It's God's will that you and I meet each other on the battlefield. Zhou Jiazheng, the chief of staff of the division, threw the slide rule on the map in frustration and said: "This place is less than 40 kilometers away from Nianzhuang, and this 40 kilometers has become an insurmountable dead zone. It's over, the besieged Huang Baidao Corps hanging."
Chu Yunfei would never have imagined that the regiment of the Huaye 11th Division and 2nd Division, which was sticking to Zhaozhuang's position, now has less than a hundred people, and the staff, guards, clerks, and cooks all took up their guns and went into the bunker , Li Yunlong, the commander of the second division, has become a heavy machine gunner.
Li Yunlong had just become a division commander, and when the Liberation War first started, he was still the regiment commander. His situation is rare in the whole army. During the period of the Red Army, he was the head of the main regiment, and he was the head of the regiment again in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War. In the early days of the Liberation War, he became the head of the regiment again. The leader became the leader again.
Oddly enough, every time he was relegated, he would fight a good fight again, so he was promoted again. Before the Battle of Huaihai, Li Yunlong’s regiment belonged to the Central Plains Field Army. Once this regiment cooperated with the East China Field Army and did a great job. General Su Yu, the acting commander of Huaye, heard about Li Yunlong’s anecdote, so he tried every means to find an excuse not to allow this regiment Guijian, as for how he talked with Commander Liu Bocheng, Nakano, no one knows. Anyway, this regiment was confusedly organized into the battle order of Huaye Eleventh Column.
In Li Yunlong's own words, I joined the Red Army in 2027. If I hadn't made a mistake, now let alone a division commander, the commander of the column is nothing. Besides, even the division commander's position is not for nothing. I earned it of. A few days ago, the Seventh Corps of the Kuomintang Army withdrew from Xin'an Town and shrank towards Xuzhou. Corps commander Huang Baidao led hundreds of thousands of troops to retreat slowly to Xuzhou in order to cover alternately. In the eyes of General Su Yu, the acting commander of Huaye, this Seventh Corps was a big piece of fat that was dripping with oil, and he had been staring at it for a long time.
This time the Seventh Corps withdrew from Xin'an Town. As long as it crossed the canal and leaned against Xuzhou, it would be difficult to surround and annihilate it. Can it be allowed to escape? Yesi issued such a combat order for the first time: "Don't be afraid of fatigue, don't be afraid of difficulties, don't be afraid of hunger, don't be afraid of casualties, don't be afraid of disrupting the establishment, and don't be afraid of being blocked by rivers. , capture Huang Baitao alive."
After Yesi's order was issued, the entire Huaihai Plain became noisy. On both sides of the Longhai Line, hundreds of thousands of Huaye officers and soldiers spread their legs, rolled up yellow dust, and chased eastward in response from the north and the south. Hundreds of thousands of troops were thrown into disarray, all organizational systems were disrupted, and even the battalion-level organizational system ceased to exist. The regimental commander could not find the battalion commander, and the battalion commander could not find the company commander. It has become an empty shelf, where are the troops? No one knows. It doesn't matter if the system is in chaos, everyone knows what to do, chase east, fight when you catch up, the squad fights for itself, and everyone fights for itself. Footboards made of human flesh and car wheels made of rubber are racing.
The 63rd Army of the Kuomintang Army, which served as the rear cover of the Seventh Corps, found a huge khaki wave coming from the yellow dust in the sky behind, and hurriedly stopped the car to prepare for cover. The waves swept away, and the men and horses of the two regiments were instantly wiped out. This is what Huaye Jiuzong did. I haven't figured it out yet, Huaye 11th Column has surpassed the marching column of the 63rd Army and is waiting in front, so the head is turned again, and the forward troops of the 63rd Army have been swept away by two regiments, this time it is Li Yunlong's regiment of.
In this big pursuit, Li Yunlong's regiment was one of the few teams that maintained a complete organizational system among the hundreds of thousands of Huaye troops. After all, it is an old army that has been battled for a long time. The combat formation of the whole regiment has not changed at all. Except for weapons and ammunition, the officers and soldiers of the whole regiment threw away everything else, and set a speed of marching 180 miles day and night during the raid.
When the troops of the Nine Columns bit the rear guard of the 63rd Army, Li Yunlong also led the troops to arrive. There was a loud noise, and there was a crowd of three people, a group of two people, each fighting his own way, only recognizing the clothes but not the people, and hugging anyone wearing the Kuomintang army uniform.
When Li Yunlong saw it, he sucked his teeth. What kind of fight is this? It’s okay to say it’s herding sheep, or it’s okay to go to the market. He gave an order that the whole regiment maintain a combat formation, not to love to fight, and keep pushing deep. They finally surpassed the marching column of the 63rd Army. Taking advantage of the cover of the night, they used cluster grenades to blow up seven or eight tanks in the vanguard of the 63rd Army. The whole regiment rushed up and divided the enemy column into several sections. , Compete to kill two regiments of the enemy. The seized materials piled up like a mountain.
The troops are usually poor and afraid. This time, they threw away all the pots and pans in order to pack lightly. Now that they have made a lot of money, they can't hold them all anymore. They all rush to grab the spoils. The establishment will soon be chaotic. Li Yunlong also made quick calculations in his mind. Before he took this loot into his eyes, he knew that if he wanted to eat fat, he had to chase it down. If he wanted to take advantage of it, he would stop chasing. That would be petty. Children's booty is at best a bit of broth, chase! Eat fat! Of course, the meat must be eaten, and the soup cannot be poured. He left a company to guard the spoils, and the regiment continued in pursuit. Several regiments of the 63rd Army were eaten up, and the main force retreated into Yaowan Town. Although Yaowan Town's fortified towers were high enough to rely on, it was another fierce battle to be able to stop the attack of Huaye Yizong who came later.
Li Yunlong's regiment finally got fat. They arrived before Yizong attacked, and before they even had time to catch their breath, the avant-garde company caught fire with the defending enemy. Before Li Yunlong's order, the whole regiment swarmed forward, and Pingpong was done. stand up. The commander here is still wondering, why did the attack start before I gave the order to attack?
Li Yunlong also has his own ideas here, to attack an entire army with a mere regiment, even if he is brave enough, he still has to think about it, but today's timing is good, there is a column behind him to support him, and there will be more people arriving later. Huaye has an army of 400,000, what am I afraid of? Beat the fuck up.
The fierce battle lasted for a day and a night, and Yaowan Town was in ruins. Chen Zhang, the commander of the 63rd Army, was killed by drinking bullets, and the 63rd Army fell apart in an instant. One of the arms of the Seventh Corps was severed.
In this fight, Li Yunlong's regiment somehow became an avant-garde regiment. Naturally, they couldn't get away with the first attack. Li Yunlong's regiment became famous in the first battle among the Huaye troops. Su Yu, the acting commander of Huaye, personally issued an order to promote Li Yunlong to the deputy commander of the second division. Unexpectedly, Li Yunlong would not do it. He said, I will not be a deputy. If the superiors can trust me, Li Yunlong, then I will do it for a teacher, or I will still be the head of the regiment. Su Yu listened to the report, pondered for a while, then slapped the table and said, let him be the teacher.
Li Yunlong, who had just become a division commander, almost made another old mistake. The spoils he captured when he was fighting the forward of the 63rd Army were snatched by the brother troops who came later. He slapped him twice. Li Yunlong was furious, without saying a word, he led the whole regiment to surround the battalion that was grabbing the loot, and set up machine guns. He yelled: "Whoever dares to touch me, I'll make a fool of him, what's wrong? There's no law yet? If you have the ability to capture it yourself, that's a man. I'm not a landlord and rich man, so I don't need you to beat the local tyrants. First company commander, who hit you? Go! Give him two slaps in the face, so that he will remember it in the future." The first company commander rushed forward as if he had received an imperial order, grabbed the battalion commander who had slapped him, and returned it left and right. Two slaps. The battalion commander's superior, the division commander of the Ninth Vertical and Fifth Division, was passing by here, and when he saw this, he lowered his face and said, "Why do you, the division commander, order your subordinates to beat me?" Li Yunlong waved his hand contemptuously: "I With this kind of temper, if you want to file a lawsuit, go to the wild division to meet, first company commander, you boy is such a bear, remember that in the future, if you meet someone who beats someone with your hands, don't care about his official position, beat him first, and then get beaten Those who don't fight back don't hang out with my second teacher, I can't afford to lose that person."
Jiu Zong sued the Yesi, but in the end, nothing happened. With the teacher as an example, the soldiers of the Second Division have also grown in temper. Not only do they risk their lives in fighting, but they also risk their lives in grabbing spoils.
In Huaye's battle sequence, the Second Division of the Eleventh Column was recognized as a screaming army, and they wanted to be top-notch in everything, including fighting and grabbing trophies. If it is said that fighting the 63rd Army in the big pursuit took advantage of the right time and place, then in the Zhaozhuang blockade, Li Yunlong led his old troops to indeed play awe-inspiring.
The Fifth Army under the Qiu Qingquan Corps is known as one of the five main forces of the Kuomintang Army. China's first mechanized army was the trump card among the elite. In the blocking battle in Zhaozhuang this time, Li Yunlong insisted on not letting the five armies move forward. Lieutenant General Du Yuming, the coach of the Kuomintang army on the Huaihai battlefield, witnessed the tragic blockade of Zhaozhuang through the binoculars. He threw down the binoculars with a pale face and did not speak for a long time. This little-known Li Yunlong left a deep impression on him.
At dusk, when Li Yunlong led the surviving soldiers of the whole regiment to withdraw from the Zhaozhuang position, all the soldiers cried. Li Yunlong felt heart-piercing pain. This regiment was the foundation of the independent regiment he brought from Northwest Shanxi, and now it was almost wiped out. After the Zhaozhuang blockade ended, a large number of supplementary soldiers arrived, most of whom were prisoners of the Kuomintang army. The Second Division was supplemented and became a fully staffed division with tens of thousands of troops. Before he had time to rest his troops, a new combat mission arrived.
Supplement: Qiu Qingquan's 2nd does not have the 89th Division, which belongs to the North China 13th Army. Before the Huaihai Campaign, the Nakano 11th Zong, which was assigned to the command of Hua Huaye, was later returned to the Nakano organization and reorganized into the 17th Army of the Second Field. Huaye 11 was organized under the North Jiangsu Corps, and later organized into the 29th Army of the 10th Corps. In the first stage of the Huaihai Campaign, the task of the 11th Column was to advance from the south side of Longhai Road to Xuzhou, cooperate with the northern front troops to cut off the retreat of Huang Baitao's corps, and did not participate in the battle of Yaowan. But from the map, there is a troop passing through the front line of Yaowan, and the specific situation is unknown.