From June 17 to July 1, 1970, General Su Yu, then Vice Minister of National Defense of the People's Republic of China, led a Chinese military delegation to visit Congo and returned with a short stop in Paris, France. This was Su Yu's first visit to Paris, and Huang Zhen, the mainland ambassador to France, went to see him and asked, "What do you want to see here?" Su Yu said, "I want to go to Normandy to have a look." ”
Su Yu's answer was greatly unexpected by the embassy staff. Paris is a world famous city, and those who come to Paris for the first time have to visit the city's monuments and world-famous museums, but Su Yu chose the Landing Site of the Allied Forces in World War II - Normandy.
Early the next morning, Su Yu, accompanied by Han Kaihe, deputy military attaché of the embassy, went to the town of Arlomanche, the landing area of Normandy. Normandy is located in northwestern France, nearly 300 kilometers from Paris to the Dénes Bay landings in Normandy. The terrain is flat and the climate is pleasant. The gentle sunshine of the turquoise grasslands and the grazing cattle and sheep are delightful and Parisians love to spend their weekends here. Han Kaihe originally wanted to ask Su Yu to relax along the way to relieve him of the hardships of traveling to and from Africa, but as soon as he got on the bus, he asked this and that, and the topic never left the Normandy landing campaign.
After nearly 4 hours of travel, Su Yu and his party successfully arrived at the town of Arlomanches. This is the Normandy landing area, nearly 100 kilometers from Vivian Bay to the mouth of the Orne River is the middle-westerly section of the landing front, looking east, it is an endless beach, and 50 kilometers south is the depth of the landing field. Su Yu happily stood in front of the Normandy Landing Memorial Hall next to the town, with his hands at his waist and looking into the distance, just like observing the terrain on the battlefield.
Is he reliving the old battlefield scenes, or is he sketching a picture of future maritime warfare? Han Kaihe walked gently toward him, and when Su Yu found Han Kaihe standing next to him, he intermittently told him that the American and British troops landed in Normandy, seized and expanded the landing field, making it the largest landing campaign in World War II. It marked the opening of the second european battlefield, which was of great military and political significance and deserved serious study.
Su Yu did have a very deep study of the Normandy landings. He particularly emphasized that the Reason why the United States and British High Command chose the Gulf of Seine as the landing area was because of various indications that the German army thought that the Allies were most likely to land along the Strait of Calais, so they listed it as a key defense, and relaxed the defense of the Area of the Gulf of Seine, so that after the Allied landing offensive, the German command was still slow to reinforce the Bay of Seine. This is to avoid the real and the virtual.
The Landing Site in the Gulf of Seine was within the operational radius of various types of aircraft in southern England, and the Navy was also able to reliably defend it from east to west. That is to say, although the landing in The Bay of Zeena has unfavorable factors such as whether there is a supply port and the sea surface is not calm, it has the support of the navy and air force. In contrast, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
As for the landing time, Su Yu thought that the reason why he chose it in the early morning of June 6, 1944, was that after various factors measured, he thought that it was the best time to land. One is that the visibility is the best at this time, and the other is that the tide is the largest, which is convenient for landing ships to dock and clear obstacles. Due to the different times of high tide in different regions, the landing time is also different, that is, from 6:30 on the west side to 7:45 on the east side, a difference of 1 hour and 15 minutes.
After listening to Su Yu's thorough analysis and exposition of this battle, Han Kaihe had to sigh that he only knew half of it, and Su Yu was the one who was from a lofty height. It can be seen that he was not only a war practitioner, but also a critic with rich practical experience. In fact, it is not easy and rare to elevate experience to theory. This was Su Yu's second impression of Han Kaihe.
Su Yu seemed to see Han Kaihe's thoughts, and comforted me: "Don't be nervous, Xiao Han, let's study together, there is something unclear, you can ask the French more." ”
Su Yu's hint was very enlightening to Han Kaihe. In the process of visiting later, when he encountered a question raised by Su Yu and he could not make the ideal answer, Han Kaihe turned to the interpreters of the memorial hall for help. When watching the documentary on the development process of the campaign, Han Kaihe tried his best to translate every explanatory sentence to Su Yu, and through these efforts, he basically solved Su Yu's doubts.
But even so, Han Kaihe was still unable to satisfy Su Yu's "curiosity", not only Su Yu, but even the French people could not answer Su Yu's doubts.
Su Yu focused on studying some of the details of the Normandy landing process, such as the landing tools and means of transport used by the Allies during the landing, and the construction of artificial ports by the Allies in the Bay of Seine. He knew that in addition to the large number of landing barges and automatic barges used to carry infantry and tanks, the American and British armies also had flat-bottomed and mobile porter transport ships for tanks and cars to disembark on their own. In order to ensure the timely support of various combat materials of the wartime landing forces, in the first few days of the battle, the Allies also built two artificial ports in the Bay of Seine and laid submarine tubing in the English Channel.
Su Yu, in particular, was extremely interested in the artificial port, and asked various questions to the staff of the memorial hall: Why can the artificial port float? How large is the cement pier? Are they all the same size? How does it float and how is it fixed? Wait a minute. Some such questions cannot be answered satisfactorily by even French commentators.
Since the docent could not make a satisfactory answer, Su Yu went to the field to investigate. When they arrived at the beach, they had to walk two or three miles deep in the beachhead step by step, and only then did they find some cement pier remains in the artificial port, measure them one by one, and calculate them carefully, which solved the doubts in Su Yu's heart.
Here a question is raised, why did Su Yu examine the remnants of war in a foreign land so carefully? This is precisely an important characteristic of Su Yu; he attaches great importance to investigation and study, constantly draws useful things from the experience of war in ancient and modern China and abroad, and through continuous accumulation, focuses on the changed situation, and through meticulous thinking, draws new insights into the current army building, combat, and national defense construction. This is also the reason why Su Yu can be called the "God of War".
Before going abroad to investigate, Su Yu had just finished his work in the military management group of the national defense industry and joined the State Council at the invitation of Premier Zhou. But as a veteran, how can he rest assured of the army and national defense? He said to Premier Zhou: "I have fought all my life and will not engage in local work." I ask the Prime Minister to report to Chairman Mao on my behalf that in the future, if a war breaks out, I will go to the front! ”
Premier Zhou agreed to Su Yu's request and tried to provide him with opportunities for military research. Under Premier Zhou's arrangement, Su Yu went to various parts of the frontier to inspect the work, and by the way, he looked at the terrain and learned the combat readiness experience of the troops. Su Yu set off from Beijing and successively went to gansu, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia and Hebei provinces and autonomous regions, lasting nearly 50 days and traveling 7,000 kilometers.
As a military expert, Su Yu has always been haunted by the idea that "once there is a war in the future, he will have to go back to the front line", and he took this opportunity to conduct a field investigation and survey of the areas where there may be wars in the future anti-aggression war. From the angle of fighting a war, he conducted on-the-spot surveys of The Hexi Corridor in Gansu, Juyanhai and Ningxia, helan Mountain, Wolf Mountain, Daqingshan Mountain near the border of Inner Mongolia, the Gobi Desert and grasslands to the north, the Sea Current Map, Guyang, Baiyun, Bailing Temple, Jining, Huade near Inner Mongolia, Zhangbei in Hebei, and military areas of special military significance from Zhangjiakou to Beijing, and obtained a large amount of first-hand combat readiness materials.
Once, Su Yu was going to a border defense point close to the border, where the terrain was high in the north and low in the south, and it was under the control of the other side's fire. Pi Dingjun, commander of the Lanzhou Military Region, dissuaded him several times from going, but Su Yu insisted on going to see the terrain and visit the border guards. Border guards and soldiers were deeply moved to see the already famous General Su Yu come to their side. Some people boldly expressed to Su Yu their doubts about the defense policy and war preparations determined above, and their doubts about future operations.
After such an expedition, Su Yu wrote a very detailed investigation report, found many problems and found solutions. Soon after this inspection, Su Yu, as the head of the Chinese military delegation, led a delegation to visit the Congo and was able to conduct another inspection abroad.
Su Yu and the others visited the Normandy landing site all day, and he was very satisfied, and when he left, he excitedly said: "It is really worth the trip, it is worth the trip." And the reason why he conducted such a meticulous investigation of a foreign war relic, there is a deeper reason, general Duan Suquan, who accompanied the group to investigate, unveiled the "mystery" to everyone: the general has been thinking about how we will liberate Taiwan in the future, of which landing operations are indispensable campaign actions, and he wants to get inspiration from the Normandy landing campaign.
Duan Suquan
Indeed, Su Yu has indeed been thinking about how to liberate Taiwan, and has been thinking about it for decades.
In 1949, shortly after the end of the Battle of the Crossing River, in late May of that year, the Central Military Commission instructed the Third Field Army to prepare for the liberation of Taiwan, and ordered Su Yu to be specifically responsible for the relevant actions to attack Taiwan. On June 14, Mao Zedong drafted a telegram for the Central Military Commission to Su Yu, deputy commander of Sanye, Zhang Zhen, chief of staff, and Zhou Junming, deputy chief of staff, clearly proposing for the first time the issue of offensive operations against Taiwan. This was also the official beginning of Su Yu's appointment to preside over the preparations for the offensive against Taiwan.
On March 15, 1950, Xinhua News Agency published an opinion entitled "Chinese People Must Liberate Taiwan." This is the first time that the Chinese Communist Party has put forward the slogan of liberating Taiwan. In early July, Chairman Mao and President Zhu discussed the issue of attacking Taiwan. They believed that as long as the Soviet Union aided us with dozens of aircraft and seized air supremacy, the Platon Could Launch a Campaign against Taiwan.
On 3 July, Chairman Mao and President Zhu sent a telegram to Chen Yi, Su Yu, and Zhang Aiping of the East China Military Region: "New China is about to be established, and I hope that you will pay close attention to making preparations for the liberation of Taiwan, strengthen your naval strength, and annihilate the enemy at any time at any time under the orders of the central authorities." The defeat at the Battle of Kinmen in October 1949 did not shake the determination of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao to liberate Taiwan. After studying, the Party Central Committee decided that the task of the People's Liberation Army in 1950 was to liberate Hainan Island, Taiwan, and Tibet, and to eliminate all remnants of the Kuomintang in the territory. With the liberation of Hainan Island in May 1950, it was widely believed that the liberation of Taiwan was not far away.
On May 17, 1950, the Former Committee of the Third Field Army issued the "Several Opinions on Ensuring the Victory of the Offensive against Taiwan" and established a front-line command headquarters with Su Yu as the commander-in-chief, with 3 corps, 12 corps, and a total strength of 500,000 troops, to prepare for the war against Taiwan. At the Third Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee in early June 1950, Chairman Mao reiterated his determination to "liberate Taiwan and Tibet and fight imperialism to the end."
Su Yu, deputy commander of the East China Military Region, also reported at the meeting on the specific implementation steps for the liberation of Taiwan and the preparations for various offensive operations. Chairman Mao immediately decided that Su Yu would be specifically responsible for carrying out the campaign to liberate Taiwan. The U.S. Far East Intelligence Service lamented: "Taiwan will be attacked by the Chinese Communists by July 15, and due to the scattered government forces and the floating people's hearts, the Chinese Communists will successfully occupy Taiwan within a few weeks after the attack." ”
Just as Su Yu was actively preparing for the offensive against Taiwan under the leadership of Chairman Mao and the Central Military Commission, the international situation underwent drastic changes. On June 25, 1950, the Korean War broke out. Taking into account the security of the northeast and the overall strategic situation of the whole country, which are important in economic construction, Chairman Mao resolutely decided to suspend the plan for the campaign to liberate Taiwan, resist the United States and aid Korea, and defend the country.
Three years later, the Korean War ended. However, with the passage of time, certain conditions for the armed liberation of Taiwan no longer exist. Subsequently, certain factors favorable to peaceful reunification appeared, and Chairman Mao put forward the policy of peaceful liberation of Taiwan at an appropriate time, so that the Taiwan campaign plan planned in that year could only be shelved.
In early 1962, it was reported that the Kuomintang forces entrenched in Taiwan were planning to invade the mainland. Su Yu, who was recuperating in Shanghai at the time, immediately rushed to Fuzhou with an illness upon hearing about it, and after learning from the leaders of the Fuzhou Military Region about the CMC's operational policy and the deployment of the military region, he proposed to go to the following to have a look.
After that, Su Yu successively went to Quanzhou Bay in central Fujian and the Chihu Lake area in southern Fujian to seriously inspect the terrain, and then settled in Xiamen, on the one hand, continuing to investigate and study, on the other hand, in-depth thinking about the strategy for dealing with the enemy, and finally formed a combat concept that was different from the established policy of annihilating all the enemies in the future. After returning to Fuzhou from Xiamen, in order not to interfere with the original operational arrangements of the Fuzhou Military Region, Su Yu prepared to return to Beijing first, report his ideas to the Central Military Commission, and instruct the Fuzhou Military Region after the Central Military Commission decided, but at the repeated request of Han Xianchu, then commander of the Fuzhou Military Region, and others, Su Yu had no choice but to briefly explain his ideas, so that the leaders of the Fuzhou Military Region would be treasured.
Later, Chiang Kai-shek abandoned the counter-offensive operation, and Su Yu's battle plan did not come in handy.
According to the recollection of Su Rongsheng, Su Yu's son, his father's bedroom was covered with maps on all sides, and there was a map of Taiwan hanging behind the door.
Su Yu had promised his sons and daughters that when the whole country was liberated, he would take them back to their hometown of Hunan to meet. But later, Su Yu never returned to his hometown. Su Rongsheng speculated: "In his father's eyes, if Taiwan is not liberated, the whole country is not liberated, so he has been unable to fulfill his promises." ”
Resources
The Biography of Su Yu, Contemporary China Publishing House
"The Story Behind Su Yu's Visit to Normandy", Liu Xu, Literature and History Expo
"Su Yu Lands in Normandy", Yao Yunzhao, Iron Army
"Su Yu and preparations for the attack on Taiwan", Hu Zhefeng, Military History