Core tip: In May 1949, Peng Dehuai led the First Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to advance into the Great Northwest, thus opening the prelude to the liberation of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and Xinjiang. On the night of June 27, Stalin mentioned Ma Bufang in a meeting with our representatives in Moscow and proposed a plan to help our First Field Army eliminate Ma Bufang's cavalry.
The First Field Army occupied the Yellow River Iron Bridge in Lanzhou
Peng Dehuai, commander of my First Field Army
Ma Bufang's Lanzhou City Fortifications
In the Liberation War, the Battle of Lanzhou was one of the most tragic battles. In July 1949, the northwest war situation caused Ma Bufang to be alone in Lanzhou. Ma Bufang (1903-1975) was the chairman of the Kuomintang Qinghai Province, the commander-in-chief of the 40th Army, and the chief of the Northwest Military Administration. Lanzhou, known as Jincheng in ancient times, takes the meaning of solid gold. Lanzhou City is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and Gaolan Mountain, which is 20 kilometers long from east to west, is a natural barrier, and the Yellow River runs through the city to form a natural barrier. Cen Shanshiyun: Gushu is heavily dangerous, high-rise buildings see wuliang; mountain roots pan yidao, river water soaked wall roots. This small poem vividly depicts the precarious situation in Lanzhou.
Since the Republic of China, successive governors in charge of Lanzhou have strengthened the city defenses at different times, and by the time of Ma Bufang, a strong and permanent city fortification had been formed here. Ma Bufang was blindly confident and said: "With Lanzhou's terrain of being surrounded by mountains and waters, and the national defense fortifications during the anti-Japanese period, I not only want to protect Lanzhou, but also go straight down to Xi'an." Ma Bufang had illusions that World War III would soon break out, and as long as Lanzhou was held, the situation would soon change.
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang placed his elite Longdong Corps in Lanzhou. The north and south mountains of Lanzhou are natural military barriers, and the positions scattered throughout the alpine Ka Pass are reinforced concrete fortifications, pillboxes and fortresses in the shadows, forming a cluster offensive. At the forefront of the position, a large number of aerial bombs were buried, each about 30 pounds, and each bomb was inlaid in the shape of a plum blossom. All the bunkers did not have any shooting dead ends, and were measured by sappers with a leather ruler. The main position, Gaolan Mountain, has no trees on the mountain, even the grass is very small, the field of vision is very open, there is no shelter, Ma Bufang's troops are condescending, easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Remains of the fortifications of Lanzhou City in Mabufang
The Chairman refused Stalin's assistance
Ma Bufang's stubborn preparations for war in Lanzhou attracted Stalin's attention.
In late June 1949, our delegation secretly visited Moscow to discuss the specific matters of the alliance between the new China and the Soviet Union, which was about to be established. Late on the night of June 27, Stalin and our representatives mentioned Ma Bufang in their talks. Stalin said: "Ma Bufang's troops are mainly cavalry, which is very easy to destroy with artillery. If you wish, we can provide 40 fighters. Fighters could quickly disperse and crush Ma Bufang's cavalry units. ”
Stalin
This conversation of Stalin appeared in the Russian declassified archives. In 2014, stalin's vision was disclosed in detail in the book "Declassified Russian Archives" published by the Xinjiang People's Publishing House. However, Stalin's plan to send 40 fighters to help our First Field Army deal with the MaBufang cavalry was rejected by the chairman.
The blood stained the gushing yellow river water red
On August 21, 1949, the First Field Army launched a test attack on Lanzhou. In the first battle, our army sacrificed 2,500 officers and men. Yang Dezhi, commander of my Nineteenth Corps, recalled: "We have not laid a position in a day, and we have never encountered it. "August 25
Buddha
At that hour, our First Field Army launched a general offensive. Our army took the form of digging a communication trench and attacked the enemy at Doujia Mountain in Lanzhou. The defender of Doujiashan was Ma Bufang's Qinghai Security Regiment. The First Regiment of Qinghai Security, riding on a large horse, bare arms, wielding a large knife, rushed down from the position on the top of the hill and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with our army. This kind of ferocious scene of counterattack on the battlefield was extremely rare in the Kuomintang army. The enemy and we fought and killed more than 20 times, and by 5 p.m., our army had crushed the First Regiment of Qinghai Security, then occupied the position of Doujiashan and smashed open the eastern gate of the liberated Lanzhou.
The First Field Army liberated the Great Northwest
……
The Battle of Lanzhou was the largest and most arduous war on the battlefield of liberating the northwest. The most tragic scene was that Ma Bufang's troops and more than 4,000 people of our army fell on a narrow front of no more than 300 meters in total. At a heavy price of sacrificing more than 8,700 officers and men, our First Field Army annihilated more than 27,000 people of Ma Bufang's troops, and after the war, a large number of troops fled to Qinghai and Hexi. Our army controlled Lanzhou Xiguan, occupied the Yellow River Iron Bridge, and declared the liberation of Lanzhou on August 26. At this time, the chairman expected that the scene of "the rest of the things is basically walking and taking over" appeared in the northwest land. (Text/Fan Forward)