The Nationalist army has five main forces on the battlefield, namely the 5th Army, the 18th Army, the 74th Army, the New First Army and the New Sixth Army, these five ace units are Chiang Kai-shek's particularly important troops, and each army is equipped with advanced American weapons. The five main forces of the Nationalist Army had a very bright performance on the anti-Japanese battlefield, but during the Kuomintang Civil War, these five ace armies were all annihilated by the People's Liberation Army. In addition to the five main forces, the Nationalist army also has a sixth ace unit, the 52nd Army, and although the performance of the 52nd Army in the War of Resistance Against Japan was not as good as that of the five main forces, it survived the Kuomintang-Communist Civil War.
During the Liberation War, the five main forces of the Nationalist army were all destroyed
Records of the destruction of the five ace armies
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the New First Army went to the Indo-Burmese battlefield as an expeditionary force, annihilating the 18th Division, the main Force of Japan, and smashing the Japanese defense system in Burma. After the outbreak of the civil war, the New First Army was surrounded and annihilated by the Northeast People's Liberation Army in the Liaoshen Campaign, and finally defeated and surrendered to the People's Liberation Army. The New Sixth Army was an extension of the New First Army, which was also an excellent unit against the Japanese army on the Indo-Burmese battlefield, and made great achievements in the Burmese counter-offensive campaign, but was later annihilated in the Liaoshen Campaign.
The New First Army and the New Sixth Army were annihilated in the Liaoshen Campaign
The most astonishing battle of the 5th Army in the War of Resistance Against Japan was the Kunlun Pass Victory, which annihilated the Nakamura Brigade of the Banyuan Division, known as the Steel Army, and was later annihilated by the People's Liberation Army in the Battle of Huaihai. The 74th Army was the strongest of the five main forces, participating in the Battle of Wanjialing in the War of Resistance Against Japan, and was praised by the US Advisory Group for "Only the 74th Army in China can fight". In the Battle of Menglianggu, the 74th Army was completely annihilated by the People's Liberation Army. The 18th Army stubbornly persevered in the War of Resistance Against Japan, performed outstandingly, inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese army, and was later annihilated in the Huaihai Battlefield.
In the Battle of Menglianggu, the 74th Army was completely annihilated by the People's Liberation Army
The surviving 52nd Army
The performance of the 52nd Army, the sixth ace of the Nationalist Army, in the War of Resistance Against Japan was also very prominent, and it participated in the Battle of Taierzhuang, the Battle of Changsha and the Battle of Wuhan. The 52nd Army was formerly the CSKA Officers' School InstructionAlty, before it was expanded into the 52nd Army. The first commander of the 52nd Army was Guan Linzheng, who had the 2nd division and the 25th division under its command, and the division commanders were Zheng Dongguo and Zhang Yaoming. Guan Linzheng came from the Whampoa Military Academy, and his combat style on the battlefield has always maintained a decisive and courageous momentum, and the soldiers he brought out will naturally not be bad.
The 52nd Army of the Nationalist Army performed very well during the War of Resistance
The 25th Division under the jurisdiction of the 52nd Army has the title of "Thousand Mile Colt", which means that this division has a fast marching speed, can complete difficult mobile combat tasks in a short period of time, and has outstanding performance in the War of Resistance Against Japan. After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the 52nd Army was sent by Chiang Kai-shek to fight in the northeast. Both the New First Army and the New Sixth Army were annihilated at the Battle of Liaoshen, while the 52nd Army escaped and eventually retreated to Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek. The five aces of the Nationalist army were all annihilated by the People's Liberation Army, how did the 52nd Army escape from the Liaoshen Campaign? It may not be a fluke.
The Nationalist 52nd Army was not annihilated like the New First Army and the New Sixth Army, but all escaped
Lucky to survive?
The ability of the 52nd Army to escape in the Liaoshen Campaign depended on the command of the commander Liu Yuzhang, who commanded the 52nd Army to fight in the northeast, and the initial losses were very heavy, and they were constantly defeated and fled. After the Northeast Field Army occupied Jinzhou, the 52nd Army occupied Yingkou and wanted to escape, and the People's Liberation Army surrounded the 52nd Army at Yingkou in order to block its rear road. After the People's Liberation Army rushed to Yingkou, slightly tired, Liu Yuzhang immediately commanded a counterattack against the People's Liberation Army, desperately defending the Yingkou docks, and delaying the departure of the 52nd Army by boat.
Liu Yuzhang, commander of the 52nd Army
During this time, Liu Yuzhang quickly led his men to board the ship, and finally let more than 10,000 people of the 25th Division flee from Yingkou. The 25th Division's maneuverability was already strong, and the timely retreat also gave them living space. If the 52nd Army is a fluke to survive, it is too one-sided, and the ability to "escape" is sometimes a kind of strength on the battlefield.
The 2nd Division of the 52nd Army was completely annihilated by our army and captured a large number of weapons and ammunition. Liu Yuzhang was very proud after successfully leading the 52nd Army to escape, as the only army to escape from the Liberation War, Liu Yuzhang repeatedly showed off this matter, calling it the "Dunkirk Evacuation", and after returning to Taiwan, he was also trusted and valued by Chiang Kai-shek.
The successful escape of the 52nd Army was repeatedly shown off by Liu Yuzhang