Central Plains Breakout
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Wang Shusheng fought against the Japanese army in the Taihang Mountains and western Henan. After the surrender of the Japanese Kou, Wang Shusheng led the troops of the Western Henan Military Region to the south, preparing to join Li Xiannian's Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army to form the Central Plains Bureau and the Central Plains Military Region. At that time, the southward detachment led by Wang Zhen was also incorporated into the Central Plains Liberated Area, and Wang Zhen served as deputy commander and chief of staff of the military region, mainly responsible for defending the western and northern flanks of the military region.
For the Central Plains Liberated Areas, Chiang Kai-shek has long regarded them as a thorn in his eye and has always wanted to find an opportunity to remove them. During the truce between the Kuomintang and the Communists, Chiang Kai-shek negotiated on the one hand and deployed troops on the other, hoping to eat the Liberated Areas of the Central Plains in one bite.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized 11 armies and 26 divisions, more than 300,000 regular troops, built more than 6,000 pillboxes, and surrounded the Central Plains Military Region layer by layer.
The PLA naturally reacted to the movement of troops of the Nationalist Army. Zhou Enlai rushed from Hankou to the garrison of the Central Plains Liberated Area and said to the leading comrades of the Central Plains Military Region: "The Central Committee trusts you and believes that you can whitewash the enemy's attack, and then it will blossom on all sides, make a strategic transfer, and scatter the enemy to pieces..."
Under such circumstances, our army can only preserve its living forces if it breaks through. At this time, the choice of the direction of the breakthrough has become a problem that the leaders of the Central Plains Liberated Areas need to determine.
To the south of the Central Plains Liberated Area is the Yangtze River, to the west is the Tongbai Mountains, both of which are headed to the rear of the Kuomintang forces. Only the north and east directions can smoothly enter our sphere of influence.
Chiang Kai-shek also understood this situation, so he deployed heavy troops in these two directions, trying to block the exit and catch turtles in an urn. As the commander of the Central Plains Military Region, Li Xiannian's view was to break through to the east and approach the main force of the New Fourth Army in East China. Deputy Commander Wang Zhen's view was to break through to the north and approach Liu Deng's army in the Taihang Mountains. Wang Shusheng was also a deputy commander at the time, and his view was that our side should move west to the Wudang Mountains in northwestern Hubei and southern Shaanxi.
At that time, General Wang Zhen did not agree with Wang Shusheng's point of view, so he said: "What to do when you go to Wudang Mountain?" When a monk? After hearing this, Wang Shusheng retorted: "Either join the local armed forces or fight guerrillas!" After hearing this, Wang Zhen said with dissatisfaction, guerrilla, guerrilla, you will fight guerrilla. Wang Shusheng was a little angry and said, "What's wrong with fighting guerrillas, and fighting guerrillas is also to preserve strength." ”
The two deputy commanders had been arguing over the direction of the breakthrough, and the quarrel became more and more intense, and in the end they both pulled out their guns.
Seeing that the situation was not right, Li Xiannian immediately stopped them and reported the plan of the three to the central authorities, which was decided by the Central Military Commission.
In the end, Wang Shusheng's plan was adopted, placing the main force on the border of Sichuan and Shaanxi, pinning down Hu Zongnan's troops, and breaking through to the east with a small number of troops to mobilize the enemy.
After discussion, the Central Plains Military Region led the 1st Brigade to the east to break through as a cover to mobilize the enemy. Wang Zhen led his troops and broke through to the west and went to southern Shaanxi. Wang Shusheng led the team to the northwest of Hubei on pinghan road in the west. At the time of separation, Wang Zhen and Wang Shusheng, although they had just quarreled inseparably, still wished each other a smooth breakthrough and success.
Make good use of strategy
Under the leadership of Wang Shusheng, the Central Plains Military Region successfully arrived at its destination. When he arrived in northwestern Hubei, Wang Shusheng received instructions from the central authorities to lead his troops to establish a base area and develop armed forces here.
Although this part of northwest Hubei is remote, it has unique military value and can easily threaten Chiang Kai-shek's rear.
When Chiang Kai-shek learned that the Red Army was preparing to establish a base area in northwest Hubei, he mobilized heavy troops to encircle and suppress it. At that time, the Nationalist army was a dragnet tactic, and it did not spare a single mountain, and was ready to directly gather heavy troops to annihilate Wang Shusheng in one fell swoop. Wang Shusheng knew the gap between the enemy and us, so he adopted the "sparrow tactic" to play a game with the enemy in guerrilla warfare that spread over the mountains.
Wang Shusheng is a Red Army general who is good at using his wisdom and strategy! In 1944, Wang Shusheng served as the commander of the Henan Military Region, leading his troops to break through the defense line of the Japanese puppet army and advance into Songshan. The Japanese attached great importance to the strategic position of Mount Song, so they tangled up their heavy troops and pounced on Wang Shusheng's team to prepare for a major armageddon.
Wang Shusheng grasped the enemy's eagerness to succeed, lured the enemy's main force with a small force, and played "hide-and-seek" in the Songshan Mountains. Wang Shusheng led the main force to raid the enemy's base camp and directly liberated Dengfeng. The captured Japanese troops lamented in succession that the Eighth Route Army used its troops like gods, and it was clear that our side took the initiative to attack, and as a result, it was encircled by the Eighth Route Army.
Will be handsome friendship
Wang Shusheng was able to achieve results during the war, which had a lot to do with Xu Xiangqian. Wang Shusheng has great respect for Marshal Xu Qianqian, and the relationship between the two is more of a teacher and a friend.
The first time the two met was in March 1929, when Xu Xiangqian served as the deputy commander of the Red Thirty-first Division, with four brigades under his command, of which Wang Shusheng was the party representative of the first brigade.
Xu Xiangqian has no shelf, and Wang Shusheng loves to explore military knowledge, so the two have a good friendship in private. Whenever Wang Shusheng encountered a problem, he would consult Xu Xiangqian. After the experience of revolution, Wang Shusheng's combat skills have also gradually increased, and the Battle of Huang'ancheng in 1931 is a classic battle fought by the two of them.
During the Red Army period, Xu Xiangqian was the commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front, and Wang Shusheng served as the commander of the army. After the three main forces met the division, Wang Shusheng followed Xu Shuai on the "Western Expedition" and served as the deputy commander-in-chief of the troops. It was precisely this kind of friendship during the revolutionary period that after the founding of New China, Wang Shusheng often went to Xu Shuai's house as a guest to talk about the military and recall the revolution.