After March 1946, the national military situation and the formation of a situation of "small fights inside the Guanxi and large battles outside the Guanxi" developed until June, and a full-scale civil war broke out.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" >, how to defeat Chiang Kai-shek? Chairman Mao put forward specific policies</h1>
Militarily, the first is the operational policy of "victory over Chiang Kai-shek is generally a mobile war"; the second is the operational policy of "concentrating superior forces and annihilating the enemy individually".
Politically, "we must cooperate closely with the masses of the people, we must win over all those who can be won." ”
Economically, he demanded that "we must make lasting plans, we must use our human and material resources very economically, and we must vigorously guard against waste", "work hard to produce", "rely on self-reliance to stand in an invincible position", "work hard, and take care of both military and civilian".
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek was still in an advantageous position, with the support of the United States. The United States has the atomic bomb in its hands.
In order to make people clearly understand the weak nature of Chiang Kai-shek and US imperialism, Chairman Mao met with the American journalist Anna Louis Strong in Yan'an and put forward the famous thesis that "all reactionaries are paper tigers."
At the beginning of the civil war, Chairman Mao still held the wish that "fighting is for peace."
On 20 July, Chairman Mao drafted an intra-party directive for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (crushing Chiang Kai-shek's offensive in a war of self-defense): "Chiang Kai-shek broke the armistice agreement, undermined the RESOLUTION OF the CHINESE People's Political Consultative Conference, and after occupying Siping and Changchun in the northeast, he is now launching a large-scale attack on us in east and north China, and may also attack the north in the future." Only after crushing Chiang Kai-shek's offensive in the war of self-defense could peace be restored Chinese. ”
Chairman Mao also said in response to a question from American journalist Strong: "If the American people hold the hands of the American reactionaries who helped Chiang Kai-shek fight the civil war, there is hope for peace." ”
While Chairman Mao made strategic arrangements, he still sought to restore peace with Chiang Kai-shek after the victory of the war, and he demanded that the CPC delegation in Nanjing headed by Zhou Enlai work in the direction of continuing to strive for a long-term and comprehensive peace.
On October 11, the same day that Chiang Kai-shek occupied Zhangjiakou, he announced the convening of the "National Assembly" on November 12. In this way, Chiang Kai-shek completely closed the door to peace negotiations.
On November 15, the "National Convention" organized by Chiang Kai-shek was officially opened, and Chairman Mao had fully seen the impossibility of seeking peace with Chiang Kai-shek, and decided that the Chinese people had only one way to go, that is, to overthrow Chiang Kai-shek's rule by war. Therefore, he immediately informed the CPC delegation in Nanjing that zhou Enlai and others should return to Yan'an immediately, leaving only Dong Biwu and a few others to maintain contact with the Kuomintang.
On the 18th, he drafted instructions within the Party for the CPC Central Committee: "Chiang Kai-shek has taken a dead end, opened the 'National Congress' and fought yan'an, and all his deceptions have been exposed; this is conducive to the development of the people's liberation war, and all localities should fully explain to the party inside and outside the party the two points of Chiang Kai-shek's opening of the 'National Congress' and the fight against Yan'an, unite the whole party, the whole army, and the entire people, and strive to crush Chiang Kai-shek's offensive and build a democratic China." ”
Replacing the "war of self-defense" with the "people's war of liberation" is indeed a turning point in Chairman Mao's thinking. On the 19th, Zhou Enlai led many members of the CPC delegation back to Yan'an.
On the 21st, the CPC Central Committee held an important decision-making meeting: Chairman Mao said at the meeting: "Our policy is the policy of war, and this is determined. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" >2. After Chiang Kai-shek launched an all-out war, Peng Dehuai, in addition to assisting Chairman Mao in deploying the whole country for combat, concentrated a great deal of energy on the deployment of the defense of Yan'an</h1>
On October 19, 1946, Peng Dehuai drafted a plan for the defense of Yan'an on behalf of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, pointing out: Hu Zongnan is actively preparing to attack Yan'an, and we must be prepared to break this conspiracy.
In this regard, Zhang Zongxun of the Jinsui Military Region quickly led two main brigades to Yan'an, and the sooner the better.
At the same time, he called Chen Geng and Xie Fuzhi, hoping to arrange for the local regiments in southern Jin to step up their activities in the triangle and delay Hu Zongnan's attack on Yan'an.
In mid-December, Peng Dehuai was entrusted by the CPC Central Committee to preside over a meeting of high-ranking cadres from the Taiyue region of Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia, Jinsui, and Jin-Hebei-Luyu in Lishigaojiagou, Shanxi, which was attended by He Long, Chen Geng, Li Jingquan, Wang Zhen, and Luo Guibo.
Subsequently, on behalf of the Central Military Commission, Peng Dehuai drafted a telegram stipulating that the structure of Chen Geng's Fourth Column still belonged to the Liu Deng clique, and the military command was temporarily subordinated to the Central Military Commission. Peng Dehuai assisted the Central Military Commission and Chairman Mao in making extensive preparations to crush Chiang Kai-shek's key offensive against the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.
After Chiang Kai-shek's all-out offensive was crushed, in early February 1947, Hu Zongnan, commander of the First Theater of Operations, a member of the Northwest Military and Political Congress, was summoned to Nanjing to determine the idea of attacking Yan'an.
On the 28th, he flew to Xi'an with Wang Shuming, deputy commander of the Air Force, and summoned Hu Zongnan, Zhu Shaozhou (chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Government), Sheng Wen (chief of staff of the Xi'an Sui Bureau), and Liu Dingguo (commander of the Third Military Region of the Air Force) to arrange an attack on Yan'an.
On March 11, Hu Zongnan held an operational meeting in Luochuan with the participation of officers at and above the brigade level, conveyed the decision of the Xi'an conference, and decided to organize a forward command post in Luochuan and unify the offensive operations of the various departments under the Xi'an Appeasement Office (renamed from the First Theater Headquarters).
Chiang Kai-shek formed 250,000 troops from 34 brigades in the northwest into three groups in the south, west, and north, with Ma Hongkui and Ma Bufang of the "northwestern march" and Deng Baoshan's army serving as auxiliary assaults on the western and northern fronts, with Hu Zongnan as the main force, breaking through from the southern front and taking Yan'an by surprise.
Its intention was to expel the headquarters of the CPC Central Committee and the People's Liberation Army from the northwest, encircle and annihilate the Northwest People's Liberation Army in Yan'an and its vicinity, or force the People's Liberation Army to cross the Yellow River in the east, and be destroyed by the Kuomintang forces in the south of Huzong and east of the Yellow River.
At that time, in addition to the teaching brigade transferred from Jin-Cha-Ji and the newly organized Fourth Brigade transferred from Taihang in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region at that time, the first column (under the jurisdiction of the 358th Brigade and the Independent First Brigade) and the second column (under the jurisdiction of the 259th Brigade and the Independent Fourth Brigade) that were crossing the west were all newly transferred from the Jinsui Military Region.
The total field army has only 6 brigades and more than 26,000 people, compared with the Kuomintang army, it is 1:1 plus the first and third brigades of the local corps, and there are only more than 30,000 people, about 1:8.
The disparity between the enemy and our forces is enormous, and not only does the enemy have an absolute superiority in terms of strength, but also the enemy in weapons and equipment. The Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region has a population of only 1.5 million, the land is poor, the field army's replenishment and material supply are extremely difficult, and the enemy's support is well supplied.
On the basis of the above situation, the basic operational policy determined by the CPC Central Committee is: to lure the enemy to go deep, abandon Yan'an if necessary, maneuver with the enemy in the mountainous areas north of Yan'an, fall into the enemy's dilemma of being very tired and very short of grain, and clamp down on the main force of Hu Zongnan's clique in the northern Shaanxi battlefield, so as to facilitate the PLA to strike and destroy the enemy from other battlefields and recover the lost territory.
On March 8, tens of thousands of people from all walks of life in Yan'an held a mobilization meeting to defend the border area and defend Yan'an, and Lin Boqu, Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Yingchao spoke one after another.
In his speech, Peng Dehuai enumerated historical experience and expounded the irresistible law that we must win and the enemy must perish, saying: "There is a great possibility that Hu Zongnan's 35 regiments will be wiped out here!" ”
The next day (that is, the 9th), Peng Dehuai went to the southern line of Yan'an to inspect, he went to the jinbin to Fuxian line, observed the terrain of the main defensive zone, inspected the work, and studied the battle plan with the commanders of the front line.
Peng Dehuai first went to Jinbin Bay and then to Fu County, and it was already dusk on the 12th when he returned to Yan'an.
On the 12th, the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee had already prepared peng Dehuai to command the Northwest Field Army.
On the day after the meeting, Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, and Ren Bishi then led the front echelon of the central organs to withdraw to work near Wayao Fort, while Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai stayed at the headquarters of the People's Liberation Army in Wangjiaping, Yan'an, waiting for Peng Dehuai to return to organize and command.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="7" >3. Why does Peng Dehuai, who has always been fast-talking, want to stop talking? </h1>
At dusk, after Peng Dehuai returned from the front, he immediately reported to Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai on his inspection at the front.
After Peng Dehuai's report, he wanted to ask for command of the Northwest Field Army to fight Against Hu Zongnan, but Peng Dehuai, who had been speaking quickly, wanted to stop talking.
It turned out that when Chiang Kai-shek launched a civil war in an all-round way, in a discussion, someone said that Chiang Kai-shek had more than 4 million troops, and I was afraid that it would be difficult to deal with, Peng Dehuai listened to it and patted his thigh and jumped up, "What's great, it's a big deal to fight guerrilla warfare with old Chiang Kai-shek for a few more years, I only need the central authorities to give 1 regiment of troops, I can fight with him to the end." ”
As a result, Peng Dehuai was accused of arrogance and wanted to commit warlordism. For this, he was annoyed for a while.
However, after all, he was a man of honor and honesty, and his heart was straight and fast, but he still expressed his thoughts: "At present, the great enemy is now several brigades in northern Shaanxi, plus local troops and logistics personnel, but there are only more than 20,000 people, and there should be a unified command." ”
Chairman Mao said: "Jin Sui is reorganizing the party, the army, and the land reform, and Comrade He Long is busy with the affairs there, and he can't get out of the house for a while; besides, as the rear of northern Shaanxi, northwestern Jin also needs him." ”
At this time, Peng Dehuai said what he was about to say: "Before Commander He Long came to Yan'an, whether the troops in northern Shaanxi would be temporarily under my command." Chairman Mao said happily: "You are in danger and brave enough to shoulder heavy burdens, Comrade Dehuai, you have shared your worries for me again!" On the spot, it was determined that Peng Dehuai would command the Northwest People's Liberation Army to fight, and Zhou Enlai would act as chief of the general staff of the Central Military Commission.
On 16 March, the third day of Hu Zongnan's offensive, the Central Military Commission ordered that all corps and all units of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Military Region be "under the command of Comrade Peng Dehuai from 17 March"; according to the order of the Central Military Commission, the First Column of Zhang Zongxun, Liao Zhengsheng, the Second Column of Wang Zhen, the Teaching Brigade of Luo Yuanfa, and the New Fourth Brigade of Zhang Xianyue were formed into the Northwest Field Army.
Peng Dehuai served as commander and political commissar. On the same day, Chairman Mao, in the name of the chairman of the Central Military Commission, issued a combat order, requiring the field army to "concentrate more than 5 brigades to fight a mobile war after fatigue and depletion of the enemy in defensive battles, annihilate the enemy each, and completely crush the enemy's attack."
On March 13, Hu Zongnan's troops attacked Yan'an in two directions. The first route attacked the town of Linzhen in Gulin County led by Dong Zhao, commander of the reorganized First Army, and attacked Fu County under the leadership of Liu Chu, commander of the reorganized Twenty-ninth Army.
Hu Zongnan personally went to Luoyang to take command, threatening to capture Yan'an in 3 days. On the 15th, it was already the fourth day of Hu Zongnan's attack, and the enemy soldiers were approaching the city, and Peng Dehuai was indeed ordered to be in danger.
At that time, he solemnly said to his subordinates: "The Central Committee has entrusted us with such a heavy burden, and if the command is not good, it will bear the heavy trust of the Central Committee, and then it will be guilty of the people." At the same time, leading troops to fight is a very serious and responsible matter, and I hope that everyone will fulfill the mission entrusted to us by the Party Central Committee with a high degree of fighting spirit!
Later, at the meeting of party representatives of the Northwest Field Army in January 1949, he recalled: At that time, I returned to Yan'an and held a meeting in Wangjiaping, and the central authorities ordered me to take charge of the northwest.
Some comrades said that there were only more than 20,000 people in the team, was it too few? As I said at the meeting, it is not a question of the shortage of people, the question is whether I can be an example for the bravery of more than 20,000 people.
Peng Dehuai is taking on the heavy responsibility of command with this precious spirit of fearlessness.
On March 18, Hu Zongnan's troops were approaching the city of Yan'an, and the sound of gunfire could be heard in the city, and the organs and masses in Yan'an had also been evacuated. In the afternoon of the same day, the CPC Central Committee and some members of the Russian section of the Northwest Bureau met in Chairman Wang Jiaping's cave to study the work of withdrawing from Yan'an and the operational arrangements of the Northwest Field Army. After the meeting, Peng Dehuai and others repeatedly asked Chairman Mao to set off.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="9" > Peng Dehuai attached great importance to Chairman Mao's security</h1>
Peng Dehuai summoned Chairman Mao's guard staff officers and guard platoon leaders to his cave and solemnly exhorted: At present, the whole party, the whole army, and the people of the whole country are concerned about the safety of the party Central Committee and Chairman Mao, and many comrades hope that Chairman Mao will cross the Yellow River as soon as possible.
However, Chairman Mao did not agree, and did not want to leave the people of northern Shaanxi when the enemy came, but to stay in northern Shaanxi to command the battle. You are fighters who directly defend the safety of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao, and you must ensure the absolute safety of Chairman Mao, and he commanded: "Chairman Mao has always disregarded himself, and if necessary, you must carry him away!" ”
It was not until dusk that Chairman Mao came out of the cave and said to Peng Dehuai: "Hu Zongnan's occupation of Yan'an will not save the fate of Chiang Kai-shek's demise. He held out a finger to Peng Dehuai and said, "You only need to destroy 1 regiment of the enemy in 1 month, and you can retake Yan'an in less than 3 years." ”
Then Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai left Wangjiaping, took a car through Dongguan and the airport, and evacuated Yan'an, where they had fought and lived for 10 years, along the Xianyu Highway to the northeast, and began to fight in northern Shaanxi. Peng Dehuai personally sent Mao and thoughtful to the airport.
After sending Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai away, Peng Dehuai went to the Northwest Bureau, the Joint Defense Headquarters, Yangjialing, and other places to inspect the withdrawal of organs and the masses.
He also spoke by telephone with the commander of the front-line troops, laid out the route of retreat, and told him the intention and time of retreat, especially the 358th Brigade to retreat to the north of Anse.
By the early morning of the 19th, the enemy had begun to enter the city, and the airfield was no longer accessible. Peng Dehuaicai led his field army command to retreat eastward from Wangjiaping Hougou Over the Mountain.
At noon on the 20th, he arrived at Liangcun, northwest of Qinghua County: he gathered all the personnel of the headquarters here and formally organized the command structure of the Northwest Field Army, with Zhang Wenzhou as chief of staff, Wang Zhengzhu as deputy chief of staff, Xu Liqing as director of the political department, and Liu Jingfan as logistics commander.
On the 19th, Hu Zongnan occupied Yan'an, he spent not 3 days but 7 days, paying a heavy price, but occupying an empty city. However, Chiang Kai-shek was overwhelmed, and on the 21st, he called to commend Hu Zongnan and awarded him the Second Class Grand Slow Yunmo Medal.
On 15 May, Chiang Kai-shek told his general officers in Nanjing: After the capture of Yan'an, the head of the Chinese communist army will have nothing to pin down on and can only wander around, even if they still have radio propaganda, but no one can contact him, and for this reason it is absolutely impossible to establish the central force.
He also boasted to U.S. Ambassador to China Stuart Redden: "By the end of August or early September, the Communists were either exterminated or driven to the remote interior." ”
In fact, on the contrary, what awaited Chiang Kai-shek would be the annihilation of one brigade and one brigade of Hu Zong's southern army.