At the end of April and the beginning of May 1949, our heroic People's Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River and liberated Nanjing with the momentum of destruction and decay, and basically encountered no resistance along the way.
However, just when he successfully entered the outskirts of Shanghai and launched the campaign to liberate Shanghai, he encountered unexpected difficulties. Before the war, our army thought that it would not be difficult, but in the actual battle, it was shocked by the unusually stubborn resistance of the Kuomintang army. The number of people killed by our army in this battle was nearly 8,000, which was really unexpected by our army.
First, Chiang Kai-shek did not rest for several days to deploy Shanghai
After the liberation of Nanjing at the end of April, our army and troops advanced into Shanghai and Hangzhou, and how to liberate Shanghai, an international metropolis, is a major problem facing our party and our army.
Shanghai was the financial center of the Kuomintang side, and when Chiang Kai-shek made arrangements for retreating from Taiwan, one of the most important items was to take away all 2.775 million taels of gold, 15.2 million silver dollars and 15.37 million US dollars stored in Shanghai as economic capital to be changed in the future. In order to ensure that Shanghai could hold out long enough, Chiang Kai-shek, despite the embarrassing reality of having already left the field, personally took a boat to Shanghai to summon officers at and above the nationalist level and issued a death order, demanding that it must be held for 6 months, so that the US military and other international forces could intervene in China and jointly solve the Communist Party problem.
To this end, Chiang Kai-shek did not rest for several days in a row, constantly summoned officers at all levels, deployed garrison tasks, inspected the defensive lines of various positions, and cheered up his subordinates.
Since the fall of Shanghai in 1937, the Japanese army has continuously strengthened its defenses, built many bunkers and permanent, semi-permanent fortifications. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Nationalist army took over Shanghai and strengthened it on the basis of the Japanese fortifications. In particular, since January 1949, Chiang Kai-shek, feeling that the situation was unfavorable, ordered Shanghai to step up the construction of positions in a hurry, and the Shanghai side built three defensive fortifications of peripheral positions, main positions, and core positions in the urban area, with more than 4,000 reinforced concrete bunkers, plus some other civil structures totaling more than 10,000. The barbed wire fence, power grid, minefield, horse repellent, antlers and other systematic defense facilities around the bunker are also very complete. More than 30 high-rise buildings in Shanghai were also placed on fire by the Nationalist Garrison.
At that time, the defenders of Shanghai, including those who were originally stationed in Shanghai, escaped from the Yangtze River defense line, and were transferred from all over jiangnan, totaled 200,000 troops, which was equivalent to the strength of the three fields that we were ready to attack. Tang Enbo, who was then the commander-in-chief of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou garrison, shouted arrogantly, don't look at Shanghai is not big, it is a horse and a flat river, but Shanghai's defensive position is indestructible, and the nationalist army wants to turn Shanghai into "Stalingrad second" and make the communist army pay the price of blood.
Tombaugh also issued a bloody "Ten Killing Orders":
1. Disobey the order and kill those who retreat from the battle. 2. The will is not strong, and the traitor who collaborates with the enemy is killed. 3. Kill the departed without permission.
4. Abandon the position and kill those who cannot recover. 5. Create rumors to confuse the public and disturb the hearts of the military to kill. 6. Do not pay attention to secrecy, and those who leak military aircraft are killed.
7. Sit back and watch the success or failure, and do not kill the rescuers. 8. Delay communication, resulting in the killing of those who have lost contact. 9. Those who do not cherish weapons and ammunition and withhold military pay are killed.
10. Killing those who violate military discipline and slacken off and neglect.
Although this series of killings and killings can be understood from the perspective of governing the army, it is inevitable to chill at the time of the great war with such a harsh tone.
Second, Chen Su reported the plan, and Chairman Mao approved four "very good" in a row
In contrast, while preparing for a vicious war, our army has also made warm arrangements politically.
As early as a month ago, the central authorities made meticulous arrangements for liberating Shanghai and taking over Shanghai. The spirit of the Central Committee pointed out that entering Shanghai is a major test for our party and our army, and we must be able to quickly resume production after taking over. Fighting Shanghai is not only a military war, but also a political war and an economic war... At the same time as the military entered the city, it was necessary to make the political entry into the city, so as to minimize the damage to Shanghai.
Therefore, the general guiding principle is to eliminate Tang Enbo's 200,000 troops and minimize the damage to the shanghai urban area.
The Third Field Army, which was in charge of the main offensive, under the specific planning of Su Yu, formulated three offensive plans.
First, the long-term siege of Shanghai forced the enemy to surrender.
Second, choose to attack on the south bank of the Suzhou River, where the enemy's defense is weak, so as to reduce the casualties of our army.
Third, focus the attack on Wusong, attacking from both flanks of Shanghai and settling the battle in the suburbs.
On the whole, the siege of Article 1 could not be completely encircled, because the Kuomintang army controlled the sea control and could transport supplies from Wusongkou at any time. The second article goes against the intention of the central authorities and destroys Shanghai, which we cannot accept. The third article has the least damage to the downtown area of Shanghai, but our army is fighting on the enemy's well-defended periphery, and the casualties are bound to be very heavy.
However, the central policy has been decided and must be followed. After Chen Yi and Su Yu agreed, they reported the third plan, which was quickly approved by the Central Military Commission.
At the same time, chen Yi also formulated the "Ten Rules of the Three Conventions on Entering the City" of the Third Field Army in accordance with the spirit of the central authorities' acceptance of Shanghai, the general content of which is to strictly abide by the discipline of the masses and the discipline of the city, and not to infringe on the interests of any of the masses. Chairman Mao approved four consecutive "very good" words in this convention.
On May 10, Chen Su formally issued the order for the Songhu campaign, and the entire campaign was expected to be divided into two stages, the first stage, from May 12 to attack Wusongkou, cut off the Huangpu River, and make Tang Enbo a turtle in an urn. In the second stage, a general offensive was launched against the downtown area of Shanghai, liberating the whole of Shanghai.
Su Yu commanded the 20th Army, 27th Army, 30th Army, and 31st Army with the Ninth Corps, the 26th Army, 28th Army, 29th Army, and 33rd Army with the Ninth Corps, and the 23rd Army, 25th Army, and Special Column Artillery Corps to jointly attack Shanghai.
Third, the "catch the mouse in the porcelain shop" style of fighting
Campaign ideas are easier said than done.
If the Nationalist army has accurately grasped our army's attempt to make a dying resistance in downtown Shanghai and take 6 million Shanghai citizens as battlefield hostages at any cost, then our army will not be able to fight this battle.
Su Yu did not make Tang Enbo too afraid in terms of momentum as much as possible, and the troop deployment did not appear too strong, basically launching an attack with equal troops.
At the same time, in order to gradually transfer Tombaugh's main force out of the urban area, it is necessary to gradually exert pressure in the suburbs and solve its main force in the suburbs as much as possible.
It is necessary to annihilate them in an all-round way, but also to fight skillfully and not to alarm the enemy. This is the first time in the history of our army's war for more than twenty years. Commander Chen Yi figuratively compared the battle to "catching rats in a porcelain shop."
Su Yutong ordered the entire army of Sanye to try not to use cannons during the attack, but only to use explosive packs.
On May 12, the units of the Ninth and Twelfth Corps rushed into Shanghai and began contact with what Tombaugh called the "Stalingrad II".
Since the Huaihai Campaign, our army has been invincible, and although cadres at all levels have repeatedly warned and educated, there is still a considerable feeling of light enemy in the troops, and many grassroots cadres and fighters believe that as long as our army rushes forward courageously, even if the enemy has a strong fortress, it will certainly collapse at a touch, and no matter how strong Shanghai's defense and position are, can it be hard enough to pass the Jiangyin fortress of the Yangtze River defense line.
In the midst of this light hostility, some undeserved casualties occurred.
In the early morning of May 12, an avant-garde battalion of the Tenth Corps, without adequate reconnaissance, mistakenly entered a group of sub-mother-and-daughter bunkers in the enemy's position in Yuepu Town. The cunning enemy waited for the battalion to enter the line of fire, suddenly blocked the rear of the vanguard battalion with dense crossfire, and then frantically strafed. Our army was caught off guard, and one battalion suffered casualties.
At that time, it was the rainy season in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with continuous rain, muddy and slippery roads, and many national military fortifications could not be recognized. In particular, some very vicious minefields, attached with knife arrays, barbed wire, traps, as long as people enter it is difficult to come out alive.
Some national military fortifications were also hidden in crop fields, cemeteries, and mounds, disguised as graves, causing great damage to our army.
The Sanye troops were not accustomed to using the three-three-system combat formation of the four fields, and there were many dense charge at the battalion level, which was more conducive to the blockade and killing of the national army's bunkers and fortifications. Hu Wenjie, commander of the 259th Regiment of the 87th Division of the 29th Army under the command of the Tenth Corps, died heroically during the attack on Baoshan because of the excessive enemy firepower.
Because Noji ordered that artillery should not be used, although the heavy artillery unit was in hand, the divisions and regiments on the front line could only bear their anger and adopted the primitive infantry charge and explosive blasting tactics, one by one to attack and blow up the enemy bunker fortifications.
After 10 days of fierce fighting, except for Wusongkou, which had not yet been completely closed – because the enemy had seized sea supremacy, the rest of the land passage had been completely locked. But Tombaugh was trapped in the beast and still insisted on resisting in the city.
Su Yu ordered the second phase of the battle, the attack on downtown Shanghai. At this stage, the combat requirements are even higher, not only the cannons are not allowed to be used, but even the "heavy weapons" such as mortars are not allowed to be used, and the explosive packages are also strictly restricted, and all troops can only rely on machine guns and rifles and grenades to fight.
Commanders and fighters at all levels in Sanye strictly abided by this stipulation; with a fearless revolutionary spirit and with their flesh and blood, they launched a surprise attack on the enemy's fortifications in the urban area, and a large number of soldiers who had been in battle for a long time and were skilled did not die in the battlefield of East China, where the battle situation was a hundred times more tragic than that of Shanghai, but here they fell like wheat and fell on the banks of the Suzhou River.
The soldiers looked at the bullets fired from the high-rise buildings in Shanghai and their comrades who had fallen into pools of blood, and their eyes almost spewed fire. Dong Wanhua, commander of the first battalion of the 235th Regiment, was really intolerable in the battle of attacking Sichuan Road bridge, and used two mountain cannons in violation of the law to resist the pressure and bombard the enemy bunkers and tanks on the opposite side, effectively suppressing the enemy's firepower. During this battle, a shell hit the Shanghai General Post Office building, leaving a bullet mark on the window on the second floor, which was also the only shell mark in the entire campaign to liberate Shanghai.
Nie Fengzhi, commander of the 27th Army, heard about the use of mountain artillery and quickly went to the front line to carry out severe criticism and education. But he also could not bear the soldiers to attack the enemy's fortifications with their flesh and blood, and later when noji explained the situation, he also complained to General Zhang Zhen, the chief of staff of Sanye, about the pain of the front-line soldiers.
Su Yu knew these situations well, The 580,000 troops in Sanye, the palms of their hands and the backs of their hands were all meat, and everyone's life was extremely precious, but under the overall situation, who could break through the bottom line? If the opening is opened with cannons, the downtown area of Shanghai will certainly be filled with cannons, and the high-rise buildings and millions of citizens in Shanghai will be destroyed in the artillery fire, and he will not be able to bear this responsibility, nor will the generals of the three fields and all the soldiers. No cannon can be used, and no one can break through this bottom line.
In the ensuing battle, the Mino general resolutely carried out the orders of his superiors and continued to attack and attack again without fear. After paying a price of 31,700 casualties (including as many as 7,613), most of the Nationalist army was finally annihilated and the Victory of the Battle of Shanghai was won. Perhaps by coincidence, this casualty figure is exactly equivalent to the casualties of the reorganized 74th Division of the East China Field Army in 1947...
Sanye faithfully implemented the decision of the central government, this battle also created a miracle in the history of war, the National Communist Party of more than 400,000 troops fought fiercely in the urban areas and suburbs of Shanghai, in the course of ten days of fighting, Shanghai urban areas are constantly electrified, continuous water, residents' lives are basically not disturbed, responsible for the power supply of the entire urban area, Yangshupu power plant and municipal waterworks, always intact.
After the People's Liberation Army entered the city, the citizens of Shanghai invited the People's Liberation Army who had entered the city to rest at home, and some commercial buildings that had been requisitioned by the Kuomintang army as fortifications went to the empty building and opened the door. However, due to prior discipline, 200,000 People's Liberation Army entered the urban area, and not a single soldier entered the house to rest.
The then director of the Yangshupu Power Plant left the house early in the morning and was surprised to find that the streets were full of PLA soldiers lying in their clothes. He said with emotion, I know that the Kuomintang army will never come back.
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