Cai Changfeng (1910—2001)
A native of Jishui County, Jiangxi Province, he joined the Communist Youth League of China in 1930, joined the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in the same year, joined the Communist Party of China in 1932, and was awarded the rank of major general in 1955. During the Lunan Campaign, he served as deputy director of the Logistics Department of the Shandong Military Region.
1947
The masses at the Time of Lunan Campaign were in front of the front
After Japan's surrender, Chiang Kai-shek, in order to eliminate the revolutionary forces and maintain dictatorial rule, tore up all agreements on the cessation of the civil war in June 1946, and with the full support of the United States and relying on its absolute military and economic superiority, began a large-scale offensive against our liberated areas.
In accordance with the spirit of the instructions of the central authorities, after more than ten days of rest after the Battle of Subei, in early January 1947, the strength of more than twenty regiments in central China and Shandong was concentrated, and with lightning speed, it suddenly launched a full-line attack on the enemy who invaded Lunan, such as the 26th Division and the First Rapid Column of the Kuomintang Reorganized Division, and surrounded the enemy in the areas of Taizitang, Shangyan, Qingshan, and Mazhuang in the southwest of Linyi. Under the powerful offensive of our army, the Twenty-sixth Division and the First Rapid Column, which the Kuomintang painstakingly managed with American weapons and equipment, were completely annihilated. Subsequently, our army took advantage of the victory to pursue, expanded the results of the battle in the direction of Yixian and Zaozhuang, and completely annihilated the two cities of Yi and Zaozhuang to defend the enemy. The entire campaign lasted nineteen days and achieved a major victory on the battlefield of Shandong since the Liberation War.
The Battle of Lunan was a complete victory, and the superior conditions for internal warfare were fully brought into play. The full support of the broad masses of the people and the logistical support for the campaign have played an important role in the victory of the campaign.
In order to ensure the smooth progress of the campaign, the Shanye Logistics Department cooperated with the governments at all levels in the Shandong Liberated Areas, and the broad masses of the people quickly mobilized. In a very short period of time, a great deal of preparations were made for material support. The Mountain Logistics Department and the supply departments and departments of various divisions and regiments immediately organized competent cadres to be sent to the front-end organizations of local governments to assist in mobilizing the front-line migrant workers, raising grain and grass, and presetting military stations, material supply stations, and transportation lines. Because the organizations at all levels in the Liberated Areas attach great importance to it and the broad masses of the people hate the Kuomintang incomparably, the masses of the people are very enthusiastic about the front of the branch, not only taking the initiative to donate grain, but also men, women, old and young volunteering to join the front team. According to the statistics after the battle, more than 600,000 civilian workers participated in the entire campaign, more than 6,500 stretchers were paid, and more than 1,300 non-motorized vehicles of all kinds were paid, forming a huge army of support fronts that were several times that of the combat troops, so that the enemy was completely in the ocean of people's war.
In order to facilitate the unified command of the work of the front branch, a joint branch headquarters was formed with the participation of the troops, and the brigades, squadrons, and squads were formed in three levels, and divided into two echelons. The front echelon is dominated by young men and middle-aged men, who directly follow the activities of the troops, where the troops fight, where they follow, at any time to send materials to the position, carry the wounded down the line of fire; the rear echelon takes the military station as the activity center, responsible for forward delivery and rear transportation.
In the course of our army's roundabout encirclement of the enemy-occupied areas, the masses of the people in various localities braved the severe wind and snow and cold, traveled at night to sleep, acted as guides for the troops, blocked news, and monitored the enemy. Because of the tight seal of the news by the broad masses of the people, the enemy was unaware of this large-scale operation of our army. On January 1, the encirclement of the enemy was successfully completed.
Front-line support for former migrant workers
After our army launched a general offensive against the enemy, our combat service personnel and former civilian workers bravely marched forward at the risk of their lives under the enemy's artillery fire. Wherever the troops rushed, they followed, promptly delivered ammunition and food to the positions, replenished them into the hands of the soldiers, and quickly carried (backed) the seriously wounded fighters down the line of fire, bandaged and rescued, and safely transferred to the rear. On the transport lines around the entire battlefield, thousands of frontal teams, especially on both sides of the Taiwei Highway west of Linyi, surged like a spring tide. There are shoulders on their backs, there are cattle on their backs, there are unicycles, there are creaks and creaks along the way, the creaking of unicycles, the cry of livestock, and the laughter of the people are intertwined, forming a magnificent picture of the people's war.
On the morning of 4 January, the command issued an order to the troops to encircle and annihilate the enemy's rapid column. Unfortunately, at this time, the weather suddenly changed, from cloudy to rainy, with snow in the rain, thick fog and smoke filling the entire battlefield, the visibility was very small, and the roads were muddy. As the saying goes: there is much help for the way, and there is little help for the wrong way, and even God has helped us. Rain and snow are even more unfavorable to the enemy's mechanized troops, tanks and cars are crowded with each other, especially cars stuck in mud and unable to move. Our warriors were brave and tenacious, braving the wind and snow, wearing soaked cotton clothes, and rushing straight to the enemy's positions under the resistance of enemy fire, and fighting with the enemy in close combat. Our migrant workers witnessed the soldiers blowing up tanks with explosive packs, grenades, and cluster grenades. Some fighters even climbed into tanks, lifted the top cover and threw grenades into them, or lattes destroyed radio antennas, making enemy tanks deaf and blind. The heroic deeds of the soldiers in fighting tanks have greatly encouraged the migrant workers in the front of the branch, and they love the people's children and soldiers even more, and the strength of the front of the branch has become even greater. They risked their lives to send supplies to the battlefield, carried the wounded out of the pool of blood, and took care of the wounded like relatives, some preferring to take off their cotton clothes and cover the dying wounded. Some migrant workers wore broken shoes and snatched the wounded barefoot. In order to rescue the wounded, many comrades of migrant workers were honorably injured, and some even gave their precious lives.
Cai Changfeng (first from right) in Lunan
Because our soldiers and people fought bloodily, the kuomintang fast column, which was known as the "essence of the national army," was beaten into a pile of scrap iron and completely eliminated. On the battlefield, there were only tanks, cars, and artillery scattered all over the mountains, lying there in all directions, and there were piles of communications and sapper equipment, and American-made living utensils, canned food, medical equipment, medicines, and quilts were everywhere. Comrades have not only never seen what a tank looks like in the past, but they have also seen many booty for the first time, especially the vast number of former migrant workers who have opened their eyes and are very excited. Some of them cooperated with the troops to escort groups of prisoners to the battlefield, some helped to direct the captured drivers to drive the tanks and cars that were still able to move out of the battlefield, and some pushed and pulled cannons. Due to the cold and freezing, many items were frozen together in the mud, unable to take away and unable to move. Some of them dug with shovels, some burned fires, and everyone said humorously that cleaning the battlefield is also a hard task! So much loot, who is not happy to see it! They carefully counted every item, and their cheeks, frozen red in the bitter cold wind, revealed a triumphant smile. As the spoils of war continued to move, they stretched out their frozen thumbs everywhere they went, praising our warriors for their bravery and tenacity and beautiful fighting! The exciting news of how our soldiers fought tanks and ten-wheeled trucks quickly spread all the way and quickly spread to all corners of the Liberated Areas, and the broad masses of the people were greatly encouraged.
In accordance with the central arrangements, our army took advantage of the victory to pursue and expand the results of the battle in the direction of Yixian and Zaozhuang, and launched a general offensive against Yixian on the night of 9 January. By the early morning of the 11th, it occupied Yixian County, completely annihilated the enemy, and captured Ma Liwu, commander of the reorganized 26th Division. Backed by hundreds of thousands of former troops, our army became more and more courageous in the Vietnam War, marched toward Zaozhuang on the 11th, fought fiercely for nine days, and on the 20th completely annihilated zaozhuang to defend the enemy, and captured Zhou Yuying, commander of the reorganized Fifty-first Division, alive. At this point, the Lunan Campaign was a complete victory, annihilating more than 50,000 enemy troops, capturing 24 tanks, 47 cars, and 89 cannons of various calibers, and achieving the greatest victory in the East China Battlefield after the liberation war began!
In his later years, Cai Changfeng recalled the Battle of Lunan
Don't miss the excitement
Author: Cai Changfeng
Micro Tour Zaozhuang Compilation