introduction
As a famous general in the Nationalist army, Wei Lihuang was transferred by Chiang Kai-shek to the post of "Commander-in-Chief of the Northeast Suppression Campaign", but he had no real power in his hands and often said that he was like a puppet.
Chiang Kai-shek wanted to abandon the Northeast Theater
Beginning in the summer of 1948, Mao Zedong proposed to fight several major wars of annihilation, and as for the location of the decisive battle, after negotiations, the northeast region was located. As China's heavy industrial base, the northeast has a great strategic position, and the contingent of the Northeast People's Liberation Army has also been unprecedentedly developed and expanded.
Before the Liaoshen Campaign, the field army in the northeast region had reached 12 infantry columns, 36 divisions, 15 independent divisions, three cavalry divisions, an artillery column, a railway column and a tank regiment, with a total strength of about 700,000 people.
Chiang Kai-shek was very clear about the motives of the Northeast Field Army, and he had been hesitant to withdraw from the northeast region. In March 1948, Chiang Kai-shek received advice from his U.S. adviser, David Ba, that he abandon the northeast region and return to Guannei. In the eyes of the Americans, "it is meaningless to keep the isolated cities of Manchuria all the time." ”
Chiang Kai-shek also understood the Americans' suggestions. The U.S. Air Force cannot provide supplies for the troops stationed in the northeast for a long time, and if it chooses to persist, then the National Army team may be destroyed. Militarily, however, Chiang Kai-shek thought it would be very advantageous to garrison the northeast.
First, the Kuomintang was holding a congress to prepare to elect the President and Vice President of the Kuomintang. If, at this time, Chiang Kai-shek withdraws his troops from the northeast, it may cause heated discussion among the people and is not conducive to his election. Second, if the PLA succeeds in occupying the northeast, the communist party's strength will be greatly enhanced, threatening northern China and the Central Plains.
In the end, Chiang Kai-shek decided that Wei Lihuang and Zheng Dongguo must do their best to defend the two cities of Shenyang and Changchun. In this way, we can ensure the stability of the war situation in the northeast. If Chiang Kai-shek can let the generals play, then the situation in the northeast battlefield will not deteriorate rapidly, but Chiang Kai-shek has a strong desire for control and often likes to command blindly.
Will be handsome different from the heart
After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Wei Lihuang was thrown to an idle post by Chiang Kai-shek and asked him to "investigate" abroad on behalf of the Kuomintang. However, with the development of the situation in the northeast, Chiang Kai-shek remembered that he still had a capable general under him, so he wanted Wei Lihuang to send him to the northeast to clean up the mess.
Wei Lihuang sat on the cold bench for many years, and now Chiang Kai-shek asked him to go to the northeast to clean up the mess, then Wei Lihuang was definitely not happy. It was only when Chiang Kai-shek sent Gu Zhu and others to persuade him many times that wei Lihuang reluctantly agreed.
On January 17, 1948, Chiang Kai-shek appointed Wei Lihuang as the commander-in-chief of the "General Headquarters for Suppression of Bandits" in the northeast!
After Wei Lihuang took office, he reorganized the Kuomintang troops in the northeast region and divided them into four corps, 14 corps, and 44 divisions. In addition, there were some local security regiments, Wei Lihuang was stationed in Shenyang, Zheng Dongguo was stationed in Changchun, Fan Hanjie was stationed in Jinzhou, and the total strength of the Kuomintang in the northeast region was 550,000 people.
When Wei Lihuang first arrived in the northeast, Chiang Kai-shek's order was to guard the cities of Changchun and Shenyang. For this order, Wei Lihuang approved, in his opinion, if the main force rushed out of Shenyang and Changchun, then it would be wiped out by the People's Liberation Army along the way, so it was best to stand still.
On the overall strategic arrangement of the northeast, Wei Lihuang and Chiang Kai-shek had different opinions.
At first, Chiang Kai-shek agreed to stick to the northeast battlefield, which would facilitate operations in Guannei. With the development of the battlefield situation, Chiang Kai-shek also proposed that the Nationalist army must open up the communication route from Shenyang to Jinzhou, so as to facilitate the withdrawal of the main force to Jinzhou and solve the problem of army supply to a certain extent. For this plan, Wei Lihuang was opposed.
If Changchun and Shenyang are really abandoned according to Chiang Kai-shek's orders, then it is equivalent to abandoning the Northeast Theater, and This black cauldron, Wei Lihuang, is not going to give Chiang Kai-shek's back
。 In addition, if you really leave Shenyang and open the first line of Shenyang and Jinzhou, you will definitely be "eaten" by the communist army.
After Wei Lihuang became the commander-in-chief of the Northeast Theater, his combat style was cautious and did not dare to act rashly.
According to Wei Lihuang's plan, Zheng Dongguo served as the deputy commander-in-chief of the bandits, stationed in Changchun, and contained some of the PLA's troops. Wei Lihuang was stationed in the area of Shenyang and Tieling as a defensive hub for the Nationalist army. When Changchun and Jinzhou were under siege, troops could be sent to provide support. Fan Hanjie was stationed in Jinzhou to ensure contact between inside and outside the Guan.
Although Wei Lihuang had his own arrangements, Chiang Kai-shek still followed his own ideas. Although Wei Lihuang was the commander-in-chief of the northeast region, he was a light rod commander, and he had no real power in his hands and could not form his own troops.
Chiang Kai-shek allowed him to move personnel within the northeast battlefield, but he was not allowed to transfer his old subordinates from elsewhere.
Chiang Kai-shek's restrictions on Wei Lihuang were not only this, but also reflected in the command power. Chiang Kai-shek liked to command beyond the level, and from time to time he would directly command the strength of a division, which led to Wei Lihuang's work in the northeast not being carried out well. The most crucial thing is that although Chiang Kai-shek's troops were fighting in the northeast, Wei Lihuang could not take command.
In the face of Chiang Kai-shek's blind command, Wei Lihuang also thought of a way.
After being surrounded by the People's Liberation Army in Jinzhou, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Wei Lihuang to go to the rescue, but Wei Lihuang was resolutely opposed. It was believed that if the troops were sent, they would be ambushed by the People's Liberation Army, which was not conducive to the combat of the Kuomintang army, so the best way to do so was to send reinforcements from Guannei.
However, Chiang Kai-shek recalled Wei Lihuang from the northeast to Nanjing, trying to force him to act. In the end, Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to send Gu Zhutong to the northeast to supervise Wei Lihuang in carrying out his orders.
At that time, Wei Lihuang arranged for his subordinates to find all the military-level cadres on the northeast battlefield and guide them to oppose the dispatch of troops.
But Chiang Kai-shek didn't care about you, he still insisted on his own operational ideas, and let Wei Lihuang lead his troops to capture the Western Liaoning Corridor and support Jinzhou.
Things developed to this extent, there was no room for turning back, for which Wei Lihuang angrily scolded: "Send troops to Liaoxi, we only have to be beaten!" ”
Promises of impunity, but is placed under house arrest
When Wei Lihuang took office, Chiang Kai-shek promised that if he lost the northeast battlefield in the future, he would not be held responsible. Then, on November 2, with the northeast field army occupying Shenyang, the northeast region was successfully liberated. As a Kuomintang general, Chiang Kai-shek naturally could not let him be captured, and secretly sent a plane to pick him up the day before the liberation of Shenyang.
In order to be able to find a scapegoat who lost the northeast, Chiang Kai-shek forgot his previous promise and dismissed Wei Lihuang from his post to investigate. According to Li Zongren's recollection:
Wei Lihuang was not only detained, but even shot several times. It was not until Mr. Jiang went to the field that I ordered Wei Lihuang to be released. ”
After Wei Lihuang was released, he took his family to Hong Kong and lived a life of seclusion. It was not until after the founding of New China that Wei Lihuang was very excited and personally drafted a telegram and sent it to Beijing to congratulate Comrade Mao Zedong.
On March 15, 1955, Wei Lihuang returned to the mainland and successively served as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice chairman of the National Defense Commission.