In mid-September 1945, under the leadership of commanders Liu and Deng, our Jinji-Hebei Luyu troops launched the Shangdang Campaign and launched an attack on the Yan Xishan department of Chiang Kai-shek's army.
The key to this campaign was to capture Changzhi City, and Commander Liu decided to use the tactic of "besieging the city to fight for reinforcements", by simultaneously attacking the city on the east, south and west sides of Changzhi City, opening the mouth of the north side, luring enemy reinforcements, and annihilating the enemy in the field battle.
By September 24, Liu Deng's army had captured many strongholds of Chengguan and was scheduled to begin the siege that night.
At this time, Yan Xishan sent reinforcements, and he dispatched three divisions of 7,000 men from Taiyuan to the south of Zihong Town, and it seemed that he had come to reinforce Changzhi.
When he received this news on September 28, Commander Liu's tightly locked eyebrows suddenly unfurled, and he said happily: "Good, the enemy has finally sent the door!" ”
However, should we continue to attack the city, or should we first come to the rescue?
Commander Liu walked over to the large battle map hanging, carefully measured it, and then paced around and pondered it repeatedly.
In the end, he immediately made a decision and decided to adopt the method of "fake siege and real reinforcement, first attack and then attack the city".
Enemy reinforcements marched in and out surprisingly slowly, no more than twenty or thirty miles a day (it was later learned that their soldiers had brought too much ammunition, which affected the speed of the march).
Commander Liu ordered Chen Zaidao to command the Southern Hebei Column and some other troops to continue the siege of the city, but not a real attack but a feint attack, but to make a real attack, it was also necessary to expand the momentum of the siege, in order to speed up the long rule to defend the enemy's cry for help, and to urge the enemy to come quickly.
The reinforcements were divided into two wings: the right wing was commanded by Li Da and Chen Xilian, with the Taihang column as the main force; the left wing was commanded by Chen Geng and the Taiyue column was the mainstay.
In addition, Liu Deng sent an independent detachment to the north, from the north to pursue the enemy from the south.
This is another pincer attack, and another pocket array, placed on both sides of the White Jin line.
The order for reinforcements had just been given, and the next day it was discovered that the reinforcements were not 3 divisions but 5 divisions, not 7,000 but 12,000.
Commander Liu said happily: "Very well, the original plan was for our army to mainly attack the city, Yan Xishan would not send such reinforcements, but I did not expect that we caught a big fish!" ”
Although the number of enemy reinforcements exceeded expectations, Commander Liu was not moved, and still fought with 10,000 people to fight Changzhi and 20,000 to help, and the position remained unchanged.
On September 30, the enemy situation changed again, and the enemy suddenly left the Baijin Line and advanced along the road.
The enemy changed and we changed, and the original position was arranged according to the enemy situation at that time. Now if the enemy is not in our position, I will go to the enemy.'
Commander Liu took advantage of the situation to transfer his forces on both sides of the Yuting and Tunliu highways, with Chen Xilian on the right wing and Chen Geng on the left wing, still in a pincer-shaped offensive.
At the same time, the Seventeenth Division, which had been changed to a right wing, followed up with the enemy reinforcements of the independent detachment, or a pocket formation.
On October 2, the main reinforcements encountered the Yan army in the expected area, and immediately lured the enemy from the front to continue to advance, and cut off the enemy's retreat, and surrounded the enemy reinforcements in the area of Laoye Ridge and Mopan (垴) Yulin.
When the Yan army found it surrounded, it immediately used the mountainous terrain to build fortifications and carry out defenses.
There are three peaks facing each other, the terrain is dangerous, since ancient times for the military to rush, according to this place, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Yan army had strong firepower, and Liu Deng's troops were very short of ammunition.
One night, Commander Liu, accompanied by Li Da and Chen Xilian, inspected the forward troops. He heard particularly sparse gunfire on the front line, and although he knew that there was little ammunition, he was still stunned. He asked why there were so few gunshots?
Chen Xilian replied: "Now each veteran has only 5 rounds of ammunition, and we are trying to find a way to capture the prisoners." Capturing a soldier of Yan Xishan can get more than 200 rounds of ammunition. Each of them carried 300 rounds of ammunition, 100 of which were for their own use and 200 of which were sent to Changzhi. ”
Commander Liu was overjoyed to hear this and said, "Destroy this enemy army, the oil and water are not small!" ”
A few days after the fierce fighting, the situation surprised Commander Liu again, and it turned out that the reinforcements were not the 7,000 people who were initially learned, nor the 12,000 people who continued to investigate, but 20,000 people. Not 5 divisions but 8 divisions, and 2 artillery regiments.
The commander-in-chief of this reinforcement was Peng Yubin, deputy commander-in-chief of the enemy's Seventh Army, and Hu Sanyu, who was also the commander of the artillery.
Both sides have 20,000 troops, which is equal. But Commander Liu had to make a quick decision. He was forced to fight this battle, and he must hurry back to guard the gate, and he must not miss a big thing!
At another juncture when he dared to make a decision, Commander Liu immediately made a decision, changed his deployment, and from the 10,000 people of the Changzhi siege troops, 6,000 people of The Southern Column of Chen Zaidao and Hebei rushed to rush to join the battle, leaving the local troops to continue to besiege Changzhi City.
Commander Liu ordered Chen Zaidao to march during the day and "show his form to the enemy," causing the enemy to lose his nerve and aggravate the wavering of the army's heart.
In order not to let the besieged enemy fight with trapped beasts, the method of "encircling three nets and one net" was adopted, opening a hole in the north and leaving a false way for the enemy to survive, so that it could be divided and surrounded and annihilated in the movement.
At the same time, the troops were ordered to storm the millstones (垴) and Laoye Ridge on both flanks of the position, and press the enemy to flee north from the position.
A unit of Chen Geng's column climbed in a roundabout way to occupy the water source north of Laoyeling Mountain.
The Yan army was already hungry and tired, and at this time it was in the predicament of thirst, and naturally the army was in a state of confusion.
In the eager wait of Commander Liu, Chen Zaidao's Southern Column arrived, and they ran through the middle of the left and right wings to meet the pursuing forces on the left and right at the village of Zhao north of Yulin.
On October 5, various reinforcements violently interspersed in pursuit, and the enemy collapsed and surrendered.
By October 6, Yan Xishan's 20,000 reinforcements, except for about 2,000 who had fled into Qinzhou City, had all been annihilated.
Peng Yubin, commander-in-chief of reinforcements, was killed in the breakout, and more than 10 senior officers, including Hu Sanyu, deputy commander-in-chief and artillery commander, were taken prisoner.
Liu Deng's army originally planned to besiege Changzhi City, but unexpectedly caught a "big fish". This is Commander Liu's ingenious interpretation of the tactic of "besieging the city and providing assistance", and the principle is exactly what the ancient art of war said: "Attack it and destroy its saviors."
Two days after Yan Xishan's reinforcements were completely annihilated, Shi Zebo, the commander-in-chief of the Yan army trapped in Changzhi, broke through to the west.
Commander Liu had already anticipated this step, ordered the besieging troops to follow the pursuit, and then ordered the Taiyue column, which had freed its hands, to go straight out of Qinshui to attack.
On October 12, Shi Zebo was captured, and the Battle of Shangdang ended, annihilating 11 divisions and 1 advancing column of the Yan Army, totaling more than 35,000 people. Liu Deng's troops suffered about 4,000 casualties.
At this point, Commander Liu, the founding commander, skillfully interpreted the tactic of "besieging the city and fighting for aid", annihilating 35,000 enemy 35,000 people with 31,500 people, and fighting a great annihilation war on the battlefield with fewer victories and more victories, which has become another classic example of military history.