On November 23, 1948, the Battle of Huaihai entered the second phase. On November 27, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping commanded the Central Plains Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to complete the encirclement of an elite main force of the Kuomintang army in the areas of Maweizi, Yangzhuang, Shuangduiji, and Xuzhuang in Suxian County, Anhui Province. This Kuomintang army unit was ordered to set out from the Area of Qishan and Zhumadian in Henan to reinforce the Xu Beng Battlefield, with Huang Wei as the commander of the 12th Corps, under the jurisdiction of the 10th Army, the 14th Army, the 18th Army, the 85th Army, and the 4th Rapid Column, totaling 120,000 people.
Among them, the 18th Army (that is, the former reorganized 11th Division) was well-equipped, well-trained, and tenacious, belonging to the first-class main force, and was one of the "five main forces" of the Kuomintang Army, under the jurisdiction of the 11th Division, the 49th Division, and the 118th Division. The commander of the army was originally concurrently served by Hu Lian, the deputy commander of the corps, and after Huang Wei failed to break through on the 27th, he made personnel adjustments on the 29th, and Hu Lian was relieved of being the commander of the 18th Army, and Yang Botao, the deputy commander, was promoted to commander.
After the Central Plains Field Army reached a close encirclement of the Huang Wei Corps, it adopted the trench tactic of digging trenches to advance and close operations, and one after another communication trenches stretched out like a long dragon from all directions to the front of the Kuomintang army's positions, forming countless ropes and binding them tightly; then taking advantage of the darkness of the night, mobile troops entered the impact starting position, and with the cooperation of artillery fire, launched a sudden and fierce charge at close range. This greatly reduced the casualties of the troops when moving under enemy fire, and at the same time effectively reduced the firepower superiority of the Kuomintang army.
In terms of tactics, in the face of the PLA's close-range operations, it is difficult to give full play to the superiority of firepower; in terms of troop strength, one casualty is one less, and the personnel cannot be replenished. The 12th Corps was completely mired in a desperate situation of passive beatings and demoralization. Coupled with the news that the 7th Corps was completely destroyed in The Mill Zhuang and the commander Huang Baitao was killed in the army, many people realized that this time they were afraid that they would be doomed, and it was inevitable to repeat the mistakes of Huang Baitao's corps.
On November 30, Du Yuming, deputy commander-in-chief of Xuzhou's "Suppression General", was ordered by Chiang Kai-shek to lead 300,000 troops of Li Mi, Qiu Qingquan, and Sun Yuanliang to abandon Xuzhou and retreat to the southwest, in an attempt to attack the flank of the Central Plains Field Army through Xiao County and Yongcheng to the south to the Areas of Mengcheng and Fuyang, and attack the flank of the Central Plains Field Army in order to relieve the siege of Huang Wei's Corps. When Huang Weihe and his commanders and division commanders heard this news, their spirits were lifted, believing that as long as Du Yuming's clique copied the rear road of the Plaster and attacked westward with all their might, they would be able to open up the situation and turn the crisis into safety by relying on the posture of attacking from east to west.
But this illusion was soon crushed by reality. Du Yuming's group went to the areas of Chen Guanzhuang, Qinglongji, and Li Shilin, northeast of Yongcheng, and fell into the siege of the East China Field Army, encountering the same fate as the 12th Corps. Huang Wei and other generals woke up from their daydreams of breaking through, and their shaking emotions grew greatly, realizing that this time it was really going to be over. For example, Qin Daoshan, commander of the 10th Army, first called and asked Yang Botao, commander of the 18th Army, what else could be done? Later, when they met, the two of them smiled bitterly and said in a loud voice, "We're finished, it's over."
Some people cling to the idea of surviving in death and pulling the team to escape. For example, Wang Yuanzhi, the 18th deputy commander and commander of the 11th Division, met Yang Botao one day at the Shuangdui JiJun Headquarters and asked him what action he should take in such a critical situation. Wang Yuanzhi believed that there was only one way to stay here, and the current strength of the 18th Army still had 2 divisions (the 49th Division was wiped out on the 25th), and there was still a possibility of breaking through a gap to escape. Although Yang Botao had already had such a thought, he was also worried about leaving Huang Wei and several friendly armies to fight alone, and the matter was large, and morally and duties could not bear this responsibility, so he did not agree, but only said: "Let's obey the order and live one day at a time." ”
Another is to secretly communicate with the People's Liberation Army and negotiate surrender. First, they can save their lives, and second, they can take the opportunity to bargain and demand that the PLA give them a nominal status. For example, Yin Zhongyue, commander of the 118th Division, once handed Yang Botao a letter sent by the People's Liberation Army. Analyzing the situation in the letter, Chen said what was at stake, advised them to lay down their weapons and surrender, and ensured the safety of their lives, and demanded that telephone lines be set up to directly contact the surrender method. Yin Zhongyue was an old man of the 18th Army, and he was able to receive the MESSENGER of the People's Liberation Army and forward the letter of persuasion to Yang Botao, which was an extraordinary thing in the history of the 18th Army. Even he was shaken, which was enough to show that the situation had reached a critical juncture. However, Yang Botao was not moved, and said to Yin Zhongyue: "Since the third encirclement and suppression of Jiangxi, the 18th Army has fought against the Red Army and formed a bloody vendetta. ”
At 16:30 on December 6, the Central Plains Field Army launched a general offensive against the Huang Wei Corps, gradually narrowing the encirclement with multi-directional and focused continuous assaults. By noon on the 15th, Huang Wei and Hu Lian saw that the situation was irreparable and decided to start a breakthrough at dusk that day. When the time came, Yang Botao and Yin Zhongyue personally supervised the battle, but they could not break through the iron wall of the People's Liberation Army. Before the breakthrough, Yang and Yin chose one of the bravest battalion commanders and ordered them to charge in front, but this battalion commander was killed shortly after he went up. The troops in the darkness of the night were unattended, chaotic, and could not advance one step. At the same time, the People's Liberation Army in the south had already rushed into the double pile, and the Kuomintang army, which had completely collapsed, did not dare to shoot and resist, only to hear the noise of guns being surrendered.
Yang Botao and Yin Zhongyue saw that the situation was not good, so they led a group of chaotic soldiers to the direction of the 11th Division in the northwest, hoping to follow the division and escape. However, by this time, the 11th Division had been crushed, and Yang Botao and his party were blocked head-on by the People's Liberation Army, so they had to turn back to the double pile. In the midst of the rebellion, the accompanying aide-de-camp and guards fled in pursuit of the People's Liberation Army. Yang Botao, who became a lonely man, saw that there was no hope of a breakthrough, so he jumped into a small river outside the west gate of the double pile and planned to commit suicide, but he did not expect that the water of this small river was not deep, only more than 1 meter, and after Yang Botao jumped in, he could not even drown overhead.
Yang Botao fluttered in the river for a while, his clothes were soaked, it was a severe winter, and the cold and bone-soaking river water was so cold that he couldn't stand it, so he struggled to climb ashore and was captured by Liu Xiangzhi, instructor of the 3rd Battalion of the 109th Regiment of the 37th Division of the 13th Column of the East China Field Army. After Yang Botao was captured, after 10 years of reform, he was pardoned on September 17, 1959.
Yang Botao's suicide by jumping into the river but getting up because the water was too cold is quite similar to the anecdote that Qian Qianyi, the leader of the Donglin Party, was unwilling to throw himself into the lake and martyrdom because the water was too cold at the end of the Ming Dynasty.
The author is a master of history, a university lecturer, focusing on the history of the Sino-Vietnamese war.
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