In late April 1947, in order to annihilate the enemy in large numbers, the East China Field Army did its best to disperse the enemy's troops, but it was difficult to see results. Even if the two columns on the western front annihilated the enemy's entire 72nd Division at Tai'an and then attacked Yanzhou, Ningyang, and other places, they still failed to disperse the enemy's forces and could not cause a large number of good fighters to annihilate the enemy. Chen Shiyu, chief of staff at Huaye, recalled: "Our thoughts and emotions were a little impatient, anxious to find an opportunity to annihilate the enemy. ”
To this end, in early May, Chen Yi and Su Yu agreed: Send two columns on the western front to continue to the south, capture Fei County and other places, and threaten the enemy's flank and rear from the west; send seven columns on the eastern front to attack northern Jiangsu and threaten the enemy's flank and rear from the east, in order to "mobilize" the enemy to return to reinforcements.
After they have finalized the plan, they are preparing to issue it to the troops for implementation. Unexpectedly, on May 4, the Central Military Commission called and instructed:
"As long as there is patience, there is always a chance to annihilate the enemy." It is not too late for your rear to move to a vast area south of Jiaodong, Bohai, and Jiaoji lines to lure the enemy deeper, so that the enemy can occupy Laiwu, Yishui, and Juxian, fall into extreme difficulties, and then annihilate. Only (i) have great patience, (ii) master the maximum strength, and (iii) do not alarm the enemy's rear prematurely. Therefore, it is advisable whether the 1st and 6th columns should postpone their march south for a while, because if they go south prematurely, the enemy may retreat in surprise and it will be difficult to annihilate them afterwards. But it's up to you to decide. ”
Chen Yi and others originally wanted to mobilize the enemy in three directions: east, west, and south, but the central directive was to let the enemy advance north in order to mobilize the enemy. After studying, Chen Yi, Su Yu, and others believed that the enemy who had been instructed by the central authorities to advance northward was willing. Because the enemy thinks that going north is "victory." So it was decided to give this apparent "victory" to the enemy in exchange for a chance to annihilate the enemy.
On May 6, the Central Military Commission called again: "In the current situation, the enemy is in a hurry, and our side is not in a hurry. He also stressed: "First, do not be anxious, second, do not divide the troops, as long as the main force is in hand, there is always a chance to annihilate the enemy." ”
Chen Shiyu later said: "The telegram pointed out the impatience of our rush to achieve at that time, and the shortcomings of lack of patience. ”
Subsequently, Chen Yi, Su Yu, Tan Zhenlin and Chen Shiyu studied and decided on the following measures and deployments:
First, the first step is to first release the enemy into the first line of Mengyin, Xintai, and Laiwu, and seek opportunities to annihilate the enemy; if there is no chance of annihilating the enemy, the second step is to put the enemy on the first line of Zibo.
The two columns of the second, second, and seventh will not go south for the time being.
Third, the six columns that have been inserted into the rear of the enemy in Fei County will not be withdrawn for the time being, and according to the changes in the battlefield situation, they will either go north to annihilate the enemy or support the main force and transfer them to the rear of the enemy together. Ask them not to expose their targets, not to launch an active offensive, not to attract the attention of the enemy.
Fourth, by May 12, several main columns would retreat and deploy in Juxian County, Yishui, Huangshanpu and other places.
Chen Yi, Su Yu, and others held that Huaye's nine columns should retreat one step back and be deployed in these areas, and if there were any enemy fighters annihilated, they would concentrate at an appropriate time; if there was no opportunity to annihilate the enemy, they would continue to retreat; if they needed to turn behind enemy lines, the sixth column would create conditions for the main force to move. This deployment is able to cope with several possible scenarios. After the report, the Central Military Commission was very satisfied.
As a result, Huaye's troops retreated one step, abandoning some places and letting the Kuomintang troops occupy them. Who knew that Chiang Kai-shek immediately shouted in Nanjing for "unprecedented victory" and "brilliant victory."
Chiang Kai-shek trumpeted a "great victory," but he was anxious to spoil a person.
He was Tang Enbo, commander of the Kuomintang First Corps.
Tang Enbo believed that Huaye's main force was retreating, was unable to fight, and was eager to win, so on May 11, unusually, he changed the original deployment of steady and steady fighting, did not wait for other corps to enter the predetermined position, ordered his subordinate 74th Division and 25th Division to advance from the area of Duozhuang and Taoxu to Tanbu, and ordered the 74th Division to capture Tanbu on the 12th, so that the 83rd Division attacked in the direction of Ma Muchi, covering the right wing of the 74th Division, and the 65th Division to serve as the defense of Mengyin.
In this way, several front-line troops of Tang Enbo's First Corps advanced northward in an all-round way, with a prominent position, forming a posture of fighting alone with the main force of Huaye.
The 74th Division led by Zhang Lingfu, which had always been taking the lead after the outbreak of the civil war, had originally dismissed Gu Zhutong's method of fighting steadily and marching in tandem, but this time in order to seize the lead, it acted most actively, leading its troops to the front of Tang Enbo's corps, in a prominent position, and there was a large gap between it and its friendly and neighboring troops. The terrain of the Yimeng Mountains is conducive to Huaye's division and encirclement. Therefore, Huaye's nine columns suddenly surrounded it together, cutting off its rear road with one unit, and then, with the help of reinforcements and the encirclement and annihilation of the annihilation, in just three days, they annihilated more than 30,000 people of Zhang Lingfu and achieved the famous Meng Lianggu victory.
When Chiang Kai-shek heard that Zhang Lingfu's entire division had been annihilated, he was so angry that he could not sleep in the middle of the night. As far as Hua Ye's troops were concerned, they annihilated the First Ace Army of the Kuomintang in one fell swoop, and the upper and lower factions were elated! Chen Yi happily wrote the poem "The Battle of Menglianggu", Yun:
"Meng Lianggu boarded the Ghost God, and the Seventy-fourth Division fled without a place.
The signals are dotted with stars, and the lighting is full of fire.
The knife bushes flew to the top of the mountain, and the blood rained wet battle robes.
I am glad to see that the thieves are exhausted, and our army is a hero.
Our army is heroic, and the reactionary trump card must escape.
The violent Jiang Dynasty was desperate, and the desolate US Emperor was willing to work hard.
The battlefield in East China looks at the changes, and the military aircraft in northern Shaanxi transport Miaotao.
More like the rain to urge wheat ripening, the day of success is happy pottery. ”