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On December 26, 1946, the land of Lunan was cold and windy, and Ma Liwu, who was sleeping in the headquarters of the 26th Division of the Majiazhuang Reorganization, was awakened by a nightmare, he dreamed that in his hometown of Huaxian County, Shaanxi Province, he accidentally slipped down from a high mountain, and it was raining in the sky, so he fell down, and the wind in his ears sounded as clearly as a whistle.
Lieutenant General Ma Liwu of the Nationalist Army
Ma Liwu is not tall, but he looks relatively strong, like a dwarf winter melon, although he is not outstanding, but the rank of lieutenant general on his body makes him attract attention on many occasions, because it symbolizes wealth, status and unlimited future.
Having such a nightmare is rare for Ma Liwu, who was originally a relatively fat body and had made his body sweat slightly after this nightmare, and he fixed his mind before he knew that he had had a nightmare.
As the saying goes, dreams are born from the heart, and when a person's status is higher, the more he believes in the metaphysics of feng shui, face, and dream interpretation, and Ma Liwu is even more so. This calmed his otherwise excited heart a little.
Since entering the Shandong Theater, Ma Liwu, commander of the Kuomintang Reorganized 26th Division, has often had an uncontrollable excitement in his heart, and this excitement of course comes from Chiang Kai-shek's trust and importance to himself.
Born in 1904 in Miaoqian Village, Hua County, Shaanxi Province, Ma Liwu graduated from Chengguanxi National Primary School and County Middle School in his early years, graduated from China University in Beijing, and was admitted to the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy and graduated, thus beginning his military career. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Ma Liwu made many achievements in the Burmese battlefield.
In March 1946, Chiang Kai-shek was preparing for the civil war, and he held a demobilization and reorganization conference in Nanjing. The so-called demobilization of the whole army is to mobilize the whole army in order to fight the civil war. At the meeting, Chiang Kai-shek said in a very provocative manner:
"We have great confidence in both economically, politically and diplomatically. The question is whether your army can defeat the communist army militarily, even in you senior generals, and that is the key to the matter. ”
After this meeting, Ma Liwu asked Chiang Kai-shek alone to express his determination to oppose communism to the end. Chiang Kai-shek was very happy and took a group photo with Ma Liwu.
In the photo, Chiang Kai-shek is sitting on a chair, and Ma Liwu is standing respectfully on the left back. Later, Ma Liwu always treasured this photo with his family photo as a great honor.
Chiang Kai-shek did not fully recognize Ma Liwu's military prowess, and he prepared to make Ma Liwu the chairman of the Hunan provincial government, which at that time belonged to the rear and did not belong to the main battlefield.
But Ma Liwu politely postponed the matter, and he vowed to Chiang Kai-shek that if he did not destroy the communist army one day, he would not take office for a day. Chiang Kai-shek then transferred his reorganized 26th Division to the Shandong battlefield.
Before the reorganized 26th Division moved north, Chiang Kai-shek officially assigned the 1st Rapid Column to the reorganized 26th Division, which surprised Ma Liwu.
The 1st Rapid Column had more than 10,000 men, all of whom were equipped with American equipment, all tanks, artillery, vehicles and all kinds of equipment were made in the United States, and even the leather shoes worn by soldiers were authentic American goods.
At the end of 1946, the Kuomintang had 3 mechanized units, one of which was the 1st Rapid Column in Lunan. Bai Chongxi once said the following passage when he was training the soldiers of the 1st Rapid Column:
"The rapid column is the essence of the national army, the best unit in the country, the foundation of our national army, and the commission has great hopes for you in the civil war."
Chiang Kai-shek's allocation of the 1st Rapid Column to Ma Liwu not only greatly increased the strength of the reorganized 26th Division, but more importantly, had political significance, which reflected Chiang Kai-shek's trust and appreciation for Ma Liwu.
Tanks of the 1st Rapid Column
Ma Liwu thought that he was deeply trusted by Chiang Kai-shek, which made him develop an arrogant and domineering personality. When Ma Liwu entered the Battlefield of Shandong, he considered himself to be a concubine of Chiang Kai-shek and did not take Xue Yue, director of the Xuzhou Appeasement Office, in his eyes, so the two quarreled and were able to calm down under Chiang Kai-shek's personal mediation.
After Ma Liwu went to the Battlefield in Shandong, he conscientiously studied the CHINESE Communists' campaign tactics and found out that there is a basic operational principle for the Chinese Communists' armies in combat: First fight the weak enemy and then the strong enemy.
In this regard, Ma Liwu believes that after the reorganized 26th Division was assigned to the 1st Rapid Column, there were more than 30,000 people, and the degree of mechanization was high, and the Chinese communist army could not take him for a while. He wrote in his diary:
For me, it's a raw land. But I think victory will always follow us. The party-state will win, and the communist army will be defeated.
On October 8, 1946, Ma Liwu captured Zaozhuang, Yicheng and other places, which made him feel that the communist army was nothing to fear, and he put on a feast to celebrate the "Lunan Victory". At the feast, Ma Liwu raised his wine glass high and said to his subordinates:
"Don't say that the communist army has only three divisions, even the entire New Fourth Army, will be crushed by our 26th division."
At the end of the feast, Ma Liwu once again encouraged: "Brethren, cheers! We are going to Linyi for the New Year! ”
At this time, Su Yu was commanding a large army to carry out the Battle of Subei, and Ma Liwu soon learned the news that Dai Zhiqi had committed suicide surrounded by the People's Liberation Army, and although he was shaken, he quickly attributed all this to the poor equipment of the reorganized 69th Division and to Dai Zhiqi's incompetence.
After the end of the Subei Campaign, the Nationalist army urgently needed a victory in the East China battlefield to boost morale, which made Ma Liwu's enthusiasm for making new achievements rise to the extreme. The reorganized 26th Division marched all the way to Linyi, the capital of the Shandong Liberated Areas, which also made it feel that victory was in sight.
Just when Ma Liwu was full of ambition and self-satisfaction, he had a nightmare, which affected his emotions, but he quickly recovered, thinking that the dream was just a dream, and the American equipment in his hand was real.
When he was about to finish breakfast, Zheng Fuzeng, the chief of staff of the division, dipped chopsticks in water and painted Bibi on the dinner table, and reported to Ma Liwu that a large number of Chinese communist troops were found around. Ma Liwu was shocked and said:
"It seems that there are indeed quite a few bandits gathered around our division!"
Zheng Fuzeng nodded, and Cao Yuheng, the deputy division commander next to him, frowned.
Su Yu was directing the battle
Looking at the worried looks of the chief of staff and Cao Yuheng, Ma Liwu was slightly unhappy, and his fat purple face became even more purple. He sneered:
"Rest assured, I don't believe the communists can gnaw on our hard bones." They dare to nibble, and if they don't lose their lives, they must also take a bite of their teeth, and besides, the surrounding areas are all our troops, so does the CCP really dare to pull out their teeth! ”
At this time, the vanguard of Ma Liwu's army was less than 60 miles away from Linyi, and although he spoke lightly, he was not an incompetent person, and he was thinking bitterly about who the ccp's next target was, although all indications showed that the main force of the communist army was moving from northern Jiangsu to lunan, but he could not be sure of its ultimate intention.
By December 27, Ma Liwu had finally confirmed through various military intelligence that a large number of communist troops had formed a trend of encirclement of the 26th Division.
This news somewhat surprised Ma Liwu, which violated the military principles of the Chinese Communists, and he did not know that Su Yu had not played his cards according to the conventions in fighting, and that the target of Su Yu's encirclement and annihilation was the reorganized 26th Division.
Ma Liwu did not think that the Chinese communist army could eat itself, but it was better to be careful, and he immediately telegraphed this news to Xue Yue, director of the Xuzhou Office, and strongly demanded that the troops retreat quickly, because the current position was too prominent, and he asked the troops on the left and right to move closer to him so as not to be surrounded and annihilated by the East China Field Army.
After Xue Yue of Xuzhou received this telegram from Ma Liwu, he actually laughed indifferently, thinking that Ma Liwu was completely surprised, because his analysis of the military situation was completely different from Ma Liwu's.
At that time, the source of intelligence of the Kuomintang mainly relied on aerial reconnaissance, and Xue Yue learned through aerial reconnaissance that the East China Field Army was moving from northern Jiangsu to Lunan. And from the beginning of the night march to the day march. Isn't this too abnormal for the communist army, which has always been good at night operations?
Moreover, according to reliable information, although the East China Field Army annihilated Dai Zhiqi's reorganized 69th Division in the Battle of Subei, it suffered heavy losses and was unable to fight again.
Therefore, Xue Yue judged that the East China Field Army was fleeing in Lunan, and it was a good time for Lunan to annihilate the East China Field Army, and Ma Liwu's reorganized 26th Division was only 60 kilometers away from Linyi.
Xue Yue did not know that he had fallen into Su Yu's trap, in fact, a few days ago, when the Kuomintang plane flew over the head of the East China Field Army, the combat staff officer had asked Su Yu whether to hide, and Su Yu said four words:
"Count it in!"
Xue Yue was recognized as a man of war in the Kuomintang army, and this person was particularly conceited, and he was very firm in his judgment, and he repeated Ma Liwu' telegram:
"Most of the main force of the communist army is still in northern Jiangsu, and some of them have fled to Lunan, just annihilated, there is no need to panic, there is no need to retreat!"
Xue Yue
Xue Yue said these words very harshly, but he thought about it for a moment, Ma Liwu was a close confidant of Chiang Kai-shek, and he had always contradicted himself, and such a blunt tone did not seem to be very good, so he picked up a pen and added:
The forward troops east of Majiazhuang could be slightly retreated, and the main force could build fortifications near Majiazhuang.
After receiving this telegram from Xue Yue, Ma Liwu was very annoyed, and at this time he could have called Xue Yue to communicate, but he thought that if he took the initiative to call, it would be too faceless, and he decided to fight hard.
He immediately retreated the forward troops to the Majiazhuang area, and the division headquarters and the direct subordinate units and the rapid column took Majiazhuang as the core, and built positions in the southwest area of Majiazhuang as the central defensive area. All troops were ordered to strengthen fortifications and defensive facilities.
At the same time, Ma Liwu held a meeting of officers at and above the regimental level, at which he repeated the superiority of equipment and stressed: "This is a critical moment of life and death, and only by fighting desperately can we survive in death." ”
At the same time as Ma Liwu reorganized its armaments, the East China Field Army was making preparations for the war under the command of Su Yu, who ordered that before dawn on January 1, 1947, all units participating in the battle should enter the designated assembly area according to regulations.
The Battle of Lunan was scheduled to be launched at 24:00 on January 2.
January 1, 1947 was New Year's Day, and there was a lot of fog in the morning, and it wasn't until about 9 a.m. that the sun revealed a little shadow in the thick fog, and Ma Liwu in the Majiazhuang headquarters felt much more relaxed.
Because Ma Liwu judged that the time for the East China Field Army to launch an attack should be on December 30 and 31, he ordered all troops to be ready for battle at all times. Almost every hour, he made telephone contact with Commander Huang of the 1st Rapid Column.
Ma Liwu's nerves were highly tense these days, but on the morning of New Year's Day, the East China Field Army did not move at all, and Ma Liwu's nerves in the headquarters began to relax, and he secretly blamed himself for being nervous.
He summoned Deputy Division Commander Cao Yuheng and Chief of Staff Zheng Fuzeng and told them his judgment: There has been no war in recent days.
In the past, when Ma Liwu spoke, the deputy division commander and the chief of staff always echoed the voice, but today's chief of staff Zheng Fuzeng did not speak up and expressed silence. Deputy Division Commander Cao Yuheng glanced at Ma Liwu and said in an inquiring tone:
"I hope so. The brethren have been nervous and tired for several days, but now that they have happened to meet New Year's Day, do they want to take a break? ”
Ma Liwu had this intention, and immediately said, "Well, there will be lunch at noon!"
Accompanied by the chief of staff and the deputy division commander, Ma Liwu took a look at the defensive positions he had constructed and found that the defensive positions were well constructed, and he said to the chief of staff and the deputy division commander:
"If the communists attack, we can lure the communists around the central garrison and tour themselves with chariots. The communists had no heavy weapons, and there was no way to take our chariots. ”
The lunch began on time, and after Ma Liwu had eaten enough wine, he gave a few explanations to Cao Yuzhi and Zheng Fuzeng, and then left the army in a jeep with his adjutant and other entourage and went straight to Yi County.
Peking Opera "Wind Wave Pavilion"
Ma Liwu knew that the army was surrounded and a great battle was imminent, so why did the commander of the reorganized 26th Division, as the main commander, abandon his troops and leave his command post? Because Ma Liwu is a Beijing opera fan, it just so happens that there is a Peking Opera troupe performing in Yixian these days.
Majiazhuang is not far from Yi County, Ma Liwu arrived in Yi County that afternoon, in the evening in the rear organs of the division to watch Peking Opera, staged is the Peking Opera "Wind Wave Pavilion", when he saw Yue Fei killed, he felt particularly uncomfortable, unconsciously sweaty, he vaguely felt that today's performance of this play is a bit unlucky.
Under the dim light, Ma Liwu's aide-de-camp Ji Chaosheng hurriedly walked over to Ma Liwu, who was sitting in the front row, bowed his head and whispered, "Division commander, Li Yutang, commander of the 113th Brigade of the 51st Division, called and said that there was a fight ahead."
As soon as Ma Liwu heard this, he immediately threw down the melon seeds that were bumping in his hand, stood up, and hurriedly walked outside.
The 51st Division is a miscellaneous army, if placed in the past, Ma Liwu was dismissive of these troops, but now it is an extraordinary period, the reorganized 26th Division has been surrounded by the East China Field Army, as a friendly neighbor of the 51st Division's attitude is very important, so yesterday on the way to Yixian County, Ma Liwu specially detoured the 113th Brigade to meet with brigade commander Li Yutang.
Ma Liwu grabbed the phone, and Li Yutang said at the end: "The front line is fighting, the 26th Division and the fast 1st are attacked on their backs, and we can hear the fierce sound of gunfire..."
Hearing this, Ma Liwu was furious: "This Zheng Fuzeng, why don't you report it!" ”
He immediately asked for the phone of the headquarters of the 26th Division, but the phone could not be answered, and Ma Liwu put down the phone in a depressed mood and panicked for a while.
He immediately used the radio to contact the headquarters of the reorganized 26th Division, the telephone was quickly contacted, the chief of staff and the deputy division commander quickly reported the situation in the front, Ma Liwu asked them not to panic, he listed the advantages of the 26th Division over and over again, saying that even if it was surrounded by the East China Field Army, it was delusional to eat the 26th Division.
At this time, Ma Liwu couldn't care about the face problem, and he wanted to call Xue Yue's phone:
"We are surrounded and the troops are fighting fiercely!"
Xue Yue asked, "Where are you now?" You make it clear! ”
Ma Liwu replied, "I am in the county seat of Yixian County. ”
Xue Yue asked, "Isn't your headquarters in Majiazhuang, why aren't you in the command post, you ran to Majiazhuang, why didn't you report when you left the command post?" ”
Chiang Kai-shek
Xue Yue was right to ask, Ma Liwu left the command post as a division commander to report to his superiors, but Ma Liwu thought that this was no big deal, so he left the command position privately.
Ma Liwu was in a hurry and could not hide it, and immediately said, "I will come to Yi County to watch the play!" ”
Xue Yue scolded when he heard it: "It is important to watch the drama or the troops are important, it is really mud that cannot support the wall!" ”
If it were in normal times, Ma Liwu would definitely quarrel with Xue Yue, but at this time, he knew that he was in a wrong, and did not dare to sharpen his mouth, and Xue Yue ordered: "I order you to return to the command post immediately, if you can't go back, use the radio to remotely control the command, and stick to help!" ”
The front was fighting, the division commander was remotely controlling the command in the rear, he knew that this was not the way to go, and at dawn, he ordered the troops of the two companies to reconnoiter along the road by car and planned to return to the front to command. But the reconnaissance force soon reported that the traffic was blocked and it was impossible to advance.
The reorganized 26th Division was thus overthrown under the remote control command of Ma Liwu.
A few days later, the East China Field Army surrounded the county seat of Yixian County, and Ma Liwu was captured by our army.
"I was very conflicted at the time, on the one hand, I wanted to take the opportunity to escape, but I didn't have a chance to be physically tired, and I lacked courage. On the other hand, I also want to settle for the status quo and see how the communist army will deal with me. Especially thinking that I have lost the battle, lost so many things, and gone back is also nine deaths. Thinking of this, it is better to be a prisoner and wait for a later look. ”
Ma Liwu was sent to Linyi shortly after his capture, and Chen Yi received him. Chen Yi warmly held out his hand:
"We've been friends ever since."
The army was surrounded by Su Yu, but Ma Liwu, the commander of the Nationalist Division, left his troops to watch the Peking Opera and was reprimanded by Xue Yue: the mud could not support the wall. This illustrates three issues:
First, the sense of responsibility of the generals of the national army is not strong, and many people are not thinking about fighting.
Second, the factional contradictions inherent in the Kuomintang army made it impossible for the upper and lower levels to unite as one, and it was difficult to form a joint force.
If we understand these two points, we can understand why the Kuomintang army, which had initially gained absolute superiority, collapsed in more than 3 years.
Nationalist contradictory cartoons
Tianxuan is the author's pen name, who has studied history and philosophy and is welcome to pay attention to it.