On April 21, 1949, a million male divisions of the People's Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River and successfully liberated Nanjing, the capital of the Nationalist government. A month later, the Central Military Commission ordered the First Field Army led by Peng Dehuai to approach the Great Northwest and make preparations for the liberation of the Great Northwest.
The five northwestern provinces, including Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Xinjiang, accounted for one-third of China's territory, and Chiang Kai-shek had always wanted to make a comeback on this land.
Chiang Kai-shek
As early as January 26, 1949, Chiang Kai-shek wrote a handwritten letter to Hu Zongnan, mentioning the importance of Shaanxi Province, as follows:
"Zongnan's director, Brother Xunjian, has changed the political situation in recent days, but Shaanxi Province is important, doing the struggle to survive in death, and with regard to the increase in the number, two armies and four other divisions have been designated, and weapons have also been assigned, and it is hoped that they will be replenished within three months."
On May 10, a report from the Air Force's reconnaissance was delivered to Hu Zongnan, which read: "Peng Dehuai and the 18th Corps and the 19th Corps of the North China Corps of the People's Liberation Army, totaling 300,000 people, have crossed the Yellow River in the west and entered Shaanxi. ”
After reading the report, Hu Zongnan suddenly became nervous, and his troops were only 240,000 people. In the face of the PLA's 300,000 troops, he was not sure that he could win the war.
Peng Dehuai and Hu Zongnan, as outstanding generals of the People's Liberation Army and the Kuomintang, respectively, had many confrontations from 1947 to 1949. Peng Dehuai once led more than 20,000 people of the Northwest Field Army against Hu Zongnan's 230,000 men, and in the Battle of Qinghua, he ate one of Hu Zongnan's brigades in only six days. In the Battle of Yangma River, hu Zongnan's brigade was once again annihilated, and Hu Zongnan's sharp qi was greatly defeated.
Hu Zongnan
Therefore, Hu Zongnan made a plan to abandon Xi'an in his heart, and he began to sell plane tickets to officials in Xi'an at high prices.
At this time, the 159th Regiment of the 53rd Division of the Kuomintang 90th Army and the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, stationed on the south bank of the Wei River in Xianyang, were suddenly attacked by the People's Liberation Army. The director of the raid was Zhang Zongxun, then deputy commander of the First Field Army, and since Peng Dehuai was not in Shaanxi at the time, the heavy responsibility of commanding the First Field Army fell on him.
Zhang Zongxun ranked third in the list of founding generals, behind Xiao Ke and Li Da, and was a heroic figure with great courage, and even Chiang Kai-shek called him "a tiger of the Northwest Liberation Army"
In the combat headquarters of the First Field Army, Zhang Zongxun said to Zhao Shoushan, who was next to him: "Hu Zongnan is going to withdraw, he thought that the 18th Corps and the 19th Corps of our army have arrived in Shaanxi, in fact, he saw seven regiments from Beiping. ”
First Field Army
Zhao Shoushan replied, "There are only Yang Deliang's 17th Army and a small number of security forces in Xi'an City, which is a very good fighter!" ”
Zhang Zongxun stood up excitedly and said: "The fighter planes are fleeting, the time is not waiting for me, pass on my orders, the whole army is on standby, and then launch a general offensive after the advance troops occupy the north bank of the Wei River." ”
The Wei River is a river between Xi'an and Xianyang, and the headquarters of the First Field Army at that time was set up in Qinjiazhuang, Xianyang, and if the People's Liberation Army wanted to capture Xi'an, it had to cross the Wei River, and Hu Zongnan had already sent heavy troops on the north and south banks of the Wei River.
At that time, the mayor of Xi'an was Wang Youzhi, one of Hu Zongnan's most trusted people. However, what Hu Zongnan did not know was that Wang Youzhi had already been successfully countered by the People's Liberation Army and had passed on the information obtained in a timely manner through the "Lü Chu Intelligence Group".
As early as May 12, five days before Hu Zongnan held a meeting to sell high-priced air tickets, the "Lü Chu Intelligence Group" reported the news that "Hu Zongnan was preparing to retreat" to the First Field Army.
Zhang Zongxun
On May 18, Hu Zongnan flew to Baoji, Shaanxi, by special plane, and his main force also retreated to the Hanzhong area of Shaanxi.
"I controlled Xi'an and Qinling with a part of my troops, and the main force withdrew to the Baoji front, preparing to retreat into Hanzhong, which could not only protect Sichuan and Gansu, but also threaten Guanzhong.
At the same time, under the command of Zhang Zongxun, the First Field Army almost completely annihilated the Nationalist troops stationed on the north bank of the Wei River.
Under these circumstances, Hu Zongnan had no choice but to issue the last order before retreating: "The Nationalist defenders in Xi'an were all concentrated south of the Wei River, and at the same time blew up the Xianyang Bridge, the only passage on the Wei River, and emptied all the ships on the Wei River." In addition, strong fortifications were built on the south bank of the Wei River, aiming all the remaining cannons at the north bank and bombarding them with cannons once the PLA was ready to cross the river. ”
In response to the enemy's fire deployment, Zhang Zongxun tried to avoid a head-on exchange of fire with the Nationalist defenders in order to reduce the damage to the city of Xi'an, and decided to sneak across the Wei River on the night of May 20.
The First Field Army entered Xi'an
At midnight on May 20, shortly after the warriors had jumped into the river, they were spotted by the enemy on the south bank, and they fired several flares. With the bright light of the flares, the enemy used artillery to shell the PLA river crossing troops.
Seeing that the plan of smuggling was exposed, Zhang Zongxun resolutely ordered the troops: "Forcibly cross the Wei River, strike hard at the Kuomintang troops, and do not give the enemy any respite." ”
After receiving the order, the warriors bravely swam towards the south bank of the Wei River. For those who couldn't swim, the nearby crowd built a pontoon bridge with door panels and wooden sticks.
After 40 minutes of fighting and crossing, all the soldiers of the First Field Army successfully crossed the Wei River, and they quickly assembled on the south bank and marched towards the destination of Xi'an City.
Liberation of Xi'an
However, at this time, the city of Xi'an was not very peaceful, and although Hu Zongnan withdrew the main force of the Kuomintang, he still left a hand and planted explosives in important places such as xi'an power plant and railway station in advance.
Zhang Zongxun, who has been in the battlefield for a long time, is not a vegetarian, and he is also fully prepared. Before the First Field Army had entered Xi'an City, he repeatedly instructed: "We must thoroughly inspect the key positions in Xi'an City, just in case." ”
Sure enough, after careful investigation by the soldiers, about 2,000 kilograms of high explosives were found at various points in Xi'an City, which completely cleared the security risk left by the enemy.
When Zhang Zongxun heard the news, he said excitedly: "Great, I didn't expect Hu Zongnan to leave us this big gift, just to fill our arsenal!" ”
Ma Bufang, the leader of the Ma family army in Qinghai
Hu Zongnan withdrew without a fight, led the main force to retreat to Hanzhong in Shaanxi, and ceded the city of Xi'an to the People's Liberation Army. It was at this time that he received a piece of intelligence that read:
Upon learning of this information, Hu Zongnan, who was angry and demoralized, said to the aide-de-camp next to him: "Go and find out who the person who sent the information is, and directly engage in military law." My retreat, Qinghai Ma Bufang and Ningxia Ma Hongkui, these two old fritters, can be regarded as finding the opportunity to perform. ”
On May 25, Peng Dehuai returned from Taiyuan to the headquarters of the First Field Army, and Chairman Mao Zedong sent an urgent telegram the next day:
"According to your current strength, you can fight Hu Zongnan, you can't deal with ma jiajun at the same time, you must wait for the 18th Corps and the 19th Corps to arrive, or at least one of the corps to arrive, before you can be sure of winning the battle, otherwise you are not sure." Therefore, you should wait patiently for three or four weeks and not be in a hurry. ”
Chairman Mao Zedong's meaning was obvious: if you want to attack majiajun, you must wait until the arrival of the 18th and 19th Corps of the People's Liberation Army to have a chance of victory.
Ma Hongkui, the leader of the Ma family army in Ningxia
The Majia army in the northwest, including the Majia army in Qinghai led by Ma Bufang and the Majia army in Ningxia led by Ma Hongkui, their cavalry was known as "the first in the world" at that time. As the "King of Qinghai", Ma Bufang is the most powerful, he is very fierce, killing people without blinking, the local folk song has such lyrics: "The tiger that goes up the mountain and the wolf who goes down the mountain is not as fierce as Ma Bufang in Qinghai." ”
As early as the spring of 1938, ma jiajun fought fiercely against the invading Japanese army in the Huaiyang area of Henan. Although their weapons and equipment were backward, the soldiers' spirit of not being afraid of death made the Japanese army frightened.
With the arrival of Japanese reinforcements, cutting off the retreat of the Ma family army, hundreds of soldiers were reluctant to surrender and were captured, and they chose to commit suicide after running out of ammunition. In this battle, the Ma family army annihilated more than a thousand Japanese troops.
When the news of the People's Liberation Army's occupation of Xi'an City reached Ma Bufang, he angrily shouted: "Hu Zongnan has a breed, and he didn't put a single fart, so he gave Xi'an City to the People's Liberation Army in vain." Those surnamed Hu did not dare to fight, and those of us surnamed Ma came to fight, and without teaching the People's Liberation Army a lesson, they did not yet know who was in charge in the northwest. ”
Peng Dehuai, commander of the First Field Army
Therefore, after discussing with Ma Bufang and Ma Hongkui, they decided to ask Chiang Kai-shek for war, and patted his chest and promised: "As long as Hu Zongnan is willing to send troops to help, we will certainly be able to retake Xi'an City." ”
Because the Kuomintang army had repeatedly routed in the War of Liberation, Chiang Kai-shek also knew that it would be difficult to reverse the defeat and began to become sluggish. At this time, he received Ma Jiajun's request for battle, which made him see the hope of overturning the market again.
Hu Zongnan, who had already retreated to Hanzhong, in order to preserve his strength and had no desire to fight, Chiang Kai-shek sent him three urgent telegrams in a row, which read:
"Turn back to the east and attack, do your best, and cooperate with the Ma family army to jointly retake Xi'an City."
Looking at the telegram sent by Chiang Kai-shek, Hu Zongnan helplessly said a sentence: "Principal, you are so confused!" ”
However, as a soldier, especially an excellent commander, Hu Zongnan knew the truth that "military orders cannot be violated", so he had to send his general Pei Changhui to lead a part of the troops to assist ma jiajun.
Before Pei Changhui left, Hu Zongnan repeatedly instructed him: "The Ma family army is more slippery than a loach, and it must not be deceived, and the troops must slow down the march, even if they stand still." ”
At the same time, Ma Bufang sent his son Ma Jiyuan to lead the Qinghai Ma family army to Xi'an, and said to him: "The old thing in Ningxia (Ma Hongkui) has always been scheming and calculating, and his heart is different. Hu Zongnan is also a fox spirit, and he must be cautious in this battle. ”
Regarding the joint capture of Xi'an by Hu Zongnan and Ma Jiajun, the "Lü Chu Intelligence Group" installed by the Communists around Hu Zongnan once again passed on the enemy's plans and deployment to Peng Dehuai's hands. The specific troop deployments are:
Peng Dehuai and Chairman Mao
At this time, the main strength of the First Field Army was only 30,000 people, most of them were gathered near Xianyang and Xi'an, and the 18th Corps and 19th Corps that came to reinforce had not yet arrived. If the enemy attacks at this time, Xianyang and Xi'an will be in danger in the case of a huge disparity in strength between the two sides.
Faced with this situation, Peng Dehuai came up with a plan to confuse the enemy, and he deliberately sent out some people, claiming to be soldiers of the 18th and 19th Corps of the People's Liberation Army, to inquire around xi'an city whether there were empty houses to live in.
In addition, the streets and alleys of Xi'an City also posted slogans that read, "Welcome the North China Corps to Fight in the Northwest," creating the illusion that the 18th Corps and the 19th Corps have arrived in Xi'an.
In order to make the "fake drama" more realistic, Peng Dehuai also sent someone to publish such a message in the "Xi'an Mass Daily":
"We welcome Hu and Ma to Xi'an as guests, I heard that Ma Jiyuan is a playboy, Xi'an has lamb wine, there are many beautiful girls, welcome you in!"
Ma Jiajun
The news soon reached Hu Zongnan's ears, and he began to hesitate. To be on the safe side, he immediately ordered the troops led by Pei Changhui to stop advancing and stand still.
On June 9, Peng Dehuai held a pre-war mobilization meeting at the headquarters of the First Field Army, and said confidently to the generals at all levels: "Although our army's current strength has no superiority, the Majia army is tired of cars, and Hu Zongnan's troops are demoralized, so our current policy is to fight while waiting, and after a few rounds of fighting, our reinforcements will arrive!" ”
The next day, Ma Jiyuan led majia's army to the area of Qianxian near Xianyang as originally planned, and Ma Zhenwu, commander of the forward division of the Majia army in Qinghai, sent a telegram saying:
"Although there was a sign in Xianyang City that read 'Welcome to the North China Army,' after reconnaissance, it was found that there were very few PLA troops, and reinforcements should not have arrived."
After reading this telegram, Ma Jiyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and said to the people next to him: "I see that Hu Zongnan did not misunderstand the news at all, but deliberately turned into a shrunken-headed turtle and ordered the troops to attack immediately." ”
Chiang Kai-shek, Ma Jiyuan (later), Ma Bufang
Receiving Ma Jiyuan's order, the Qinghai Ma family army did not rest, and launched a fierce attack on Yangyuling and other places at the juntou town of Xianyang. Because the Qinghai Majia Army was not familiar with the local terrain, it did not have the upper hand in the battle, while the small number of outposts of the People's Liberation Army became more and more courageous.
At this moment, Peng Dehuai suddenly ordered the main force of the First Field Army to retreat and move. Ma Jiyuan felt that the opportunity to eliminate the People's Liberation Army had come, and he decisively ordered a pursuit, but was stopped by Wang Zhiqi, then chairman of the Nationalist government's Gansu Province and commander of the 119th Army.
Wang Zhiqi frowned tightly and said to Ma Jiyuan: "There must be deception in this, before the Yongshou operation, we were obviously suppressed by the artillery fire of the People's Liberation Army, but they did not pursue, but quietly withdrew themselves." ”
Ma Jiyuan, who was eager to win, could not take care of so much, and he could not listen to Wang Zhiqi's advice, and insisted on deciding to pursue the retreating main force of the People's Liberation Army.
Knowing that Ma Jiyuan led the troops to catch up, Peng Dehuai smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth and said to Zhang Zongxun next to him: "Ma Jiyuan is still young and vigorous in the end, and the fish have been hooked and are ready to collect the net." ”
In fact, the reason why Peng Dehuai ordered the main force of the First Field Army to retreat was, on the one hand, to lure the Qinghai Majia Army to go deep alone, and on the other hand, to delay time and buy time for the 18th Corps, which was rushing to reinforcements.
In the early morning of June 13, while the First Field Army was circling with the Majia Army in Qinghai, five divisions of the 18th Corps of the People's Liberation Army finally arrived in Xi'an, and Peng Dehuai immediately issued the operational order to "start a counter-offensive."
Only at this time did Ma Jiyuan soberly realize that he had been deceived, and his only hope was that the Ningxia Ma Family Army, who was behind him, came to reinforcements. However, he repeatedly sent urgent telegrams to Ma Jiajun in Ningxia, but he never saw the figure of Ma Jiajun in Ningxia.
Just the day before Ma Jiajun was about to go on the expedition, Ma Hongkui personally came to the front line to cheer up the soldiers. Although he shouted the slogan "Qingning is not divided, unite as one," he instructed the commander-in-chief of the Ningxia Majia Army behind his back that "the troops of the Ningxia Majia Army must not cross Xianyang."
It can be seen from this that Ma Jiyuan led the Qinghai Majia Army to fight alone and would not wait for the Ningxia Majia Army to come to reinforcements.
In the battle on June 13 alone, the Qinghai Majia Army suffered more than 600 casualties. Unwilling to accept defeat, Ma Jiyuan attacked again the next day, killing and wounding more than 300 people, dealing a heavy blow to the arrogance of the Ma family army in Qinghai.
In desperation, Ma Jiyuan had no choice but to lead his troops to retreat westward, and his hope of retaking Xi'an was completely ruined. Taking advantage of the good situation, Peng Dehuai decided to lead his army to continue to the west to liberate more cities in the northwest region.