Early one morning in 1978, the Huaihai Battle Memorial Hall welcomed a special visitor, Tan Zhenlin, a former senior general of the East China Field Army. The elderly general slowly paced between the exhibition halls, and the scenes of war reappeared before his eyes.
As the narrator's introduction gradually deepened, the tightening between General Tan's eyebrows became more and more serious.
When he was guided to a specific exhibition area describing the merits of the Huaihai Campaign, he suddenly stopped, and the expression on his face became elusive. The bright words on the display board praise the decisive contribution of the Central Plains Field Army, but there are few descriptions of the East China Field Army. The atmosphere was suddenly solemn, General Tan Zhenlin turned to face the crowd of onlookers, and reprimanded in a deep voice: "Greedy for heaven, shameless!"
Planning and decision-making of the Huaihai Campaign
In the autumn of 1948, as the situation of the Chinese Civil War became increasingly severe, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China began to plan a crucial campaign. At this time, the East China Field Army, under the acting command of Su Yu, had deployed heavy troops in the Xuzhou and Jining areas, while the Central Plains Field Army was engaged in a confrontation with the Kuomintang forces in the area around Wuhan.
As a strategist, Su Yu knew that it was often difficult for a single army to inflict a decisive blow, so he put forward a bold plan, suggesting that the Central Military Commission launch a large-scale encirclement campaign, which later became the Huaihai Campaign. This strategic thinking was quickly brought to the discussion table of the Central Military Commission.
At the strategic meeting of the Central Military Commission, Su Yu elaborated on his plan. He pointed out that the East China Field Army and the Central Plains Field Army can form a pincer offensive to encircle the Kuomintang army from the east and west at the same time and cut off its retreat route, so as to compress the enemy's space for movement to the greatest extent and improve the efficiency of the campaign.
As soon as this suggestion came out, it immediately attracted the attention of other high-ranking generals in the meeting. Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai expressed a high degree of interest in Su Yu's strategic arrangements and asked him to further elaborate on the specific implementation plan of the campaign.
Su Yu went on to point out that by quickly breaking through the enemy's defensive line and quickly penetrating deep behind enemy lines, it is possible to effectively divide the enemy's forces and make it impossible for them to form effective defenses and counterattacks. After intense discussions and repeated strategic assessments, on September 25, the Central Military Commission finally agreed to Su Yu's proposal. Chairman Mao personally instructed: "It is necessary to hold the Huaihai Campaign. ”
Formation of the command of the campaign
In the preparatory stage of the Huaihai Campaign, the Central Military Commission quickly responded to the instructions of Chairman Mao and the Central Military Commission and began to set up a command team composed of senior generals. Deng Xiaoping, as the core, was entrusted with the important task of coordinating the overall situation, while generals such as Su Yu, Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi, and Tan Zhenlin performed their own duties and were responsible for the specific command work at the front.
In Beijing, in a conference room of the Central Military Commission, the air is solemn, and maps are spread out on the table under the light. Deng Xiaoping nervously sorted out the materials and prepared to hold a campaign deployment meeting. Su Yu, Liu Bocheng and Chen Yi entered the conference room one after another, and the atmosphere gradually became tense.
At the meeting, the issues of coordination and logistics of the corps were discussed in detail. Tan Zhenlin, who is in charge of political work, stressed the importance of morale: "We want to make sure that the soldiers understand the importance of this battle, and I will personally go to the front line to mobilize." ”
In the following days, the generals of various stripes intensively deployed their troops and adjusted their equipment, and the pre-war preparations were complicated and intense. At the front-line command in Xuzhou, Su Yu personally supervised the deployment of troops, ensuring that every detail was in line with the battle plan. He held a number of meetings with local commanders, repeatedly emphasizing speed and timing.
On the eve of the official start of the Huaihai Campaign, Su Yu held the last pre-war meeting at the headquarters, and he faced the core members of the team and said profoundly: "Once this battle starts, speed determines success or failure, and we must quickly complete the encirclement before the enemy army can fully react." ”
Operational deployment at the beginning of the campaign
With the official opening of the Huaihai Campaign, the East China Field Army quickly launched a fierce attack on Li Mi's 13th Corps in accordance with Su Yu's instructions. This tactical arrangement was designed to quickly break the enemy's defensive line and thus form an effective encirclement of the enemy's army. Through intensive radio communications, the Su Yu Command constantly adjusted the deployment of troops to adapt to the rapidly changing situation on the battlefield.
The assault troops of the East China Field Army advanced toward the enemy's positions at an astonishing speed, and explained with practical actions what a "thunderball" was. Having broken through the enemy's outer defenses, they did not stop and continued to advance deep into the enemy's core positions.
At the same time, the Central Plains Field Army stabilized its position in the Suxian area, cut off the enemy's rear route, and ensured that the East China Field Army in front could attack boldly and with confidence. At a critical moment in the battle, Su Yu communicated with the front-line commander by radio: "How are we progressing?
Frontline Returns: "We have broken through the enemy's first line of defense and are advancing to the second line. The enemy forces seem to be showing signs of retreat, and we are intensifying our pursuit. Su Yu responded: "Continue to maintain pressure, do not give the enemy a chance to breathe, and fight quickly." ”
As the East China Field Army continued to advance, Li Mi's 13th Corps quickly fell to the brink of collapse. Only two hours later, this once famous corps was completely annihilated, and the military efficiency and combat effectiveness of the East China Field Army were fully demonstrated. After that, they did not stop at all, quickly adjusted their front, and turned to launch a full-scale attack on Qiu Qingquan's Second Corps in the west.
At the same time, the Central Plains Field Army was not far behind, and they were responsible for completing the cooperation with the East China Field Army, forming a situation of east-west attack. Liu Bocheng urgently dispatched reinforcements at the headquarters of the Central Plains Field Army to ensure that effective support could be formed when the East China Field Army attacked Qiu Qingquan's corps.
Two days later, the continuous offensive of the East China Field Army began to show results, and the main force of Qiu Qingquan's corps and the remnants of Li Mi's corps began to show signs of collapse under constant pressure. Qiu Qingquan had no choice but to lead the remnants to join Li Mi, trying to find an opportunity to break through.
After receiving the battle report, Su Yu immediately ordered: "Pursue closely and never give the enemy a chance to breathe." We must close the siege before nightfall to ensure that the enemy has nowhere to escape. ”
The battle situation in the main attack phase
As the Huaihai Campaign entered its final stage, the cooperation between the East China Field Army and the Central Plains Field Army became closer. Every aspect of the campaign was steadily advanced under strict supervision and command. Su Yu was on the front line, constantly monitoring changes in the battle situation through radio to ensure that every tactical deployment could be carried out quickly.
At the critical moment of the campaign, the East China Field Army concentrated its main forces on Du Yuming's group, which was the last important line of defense of the enemy. The order issued by Su Yu's command was clear and firm: "All units, concentrate firepower, strike at Du Yuming's group, and be sure to form a complete encirclement by tonight." ”
The response from the front was swift and effective. The troops of the East China Field Army poured into Du Yuming's line like a tidal wave, while the Central Plains Field Army worked closely together to prevent any possible breakthrough of the enemy army. During this offensive, the resistance of the Kuomintang troops gradually weakened.
Over the next few hours, the East China Field Army continued to tighten the encirclement. The command system of the Kuomintang army was completely paralyzed and could not form an effective command and organization. The soldiers of the enemy army began to surrender en masse, and the situation of the battle was noticeably tilted.
At this time, the troops of the Central Plains Field Army also launched a decisive attack on the center of the enemy army. The troops commanded by Liu Bocheng coordinated with the East China Field Army to form a perfect joint force, forcing Du Yuming's troops to have nowhere to retreat. Liu Bocheng conveyed to Su Yu by radio: "We have broken through the enemy's last line of defense, and the enemy's resistance is rapidly decreasing. ”
On the afternoon of the 10th, the PLA had destroyed thousands of enemy bunkers, as well as countless foxholes and trenches, and nearly 100 strongholds in villages and towns had also been taken. The victory in the Battle of Huaihai was clearly visible that the main forces of the Kuomintang army could no longer organize an effective resistance.
The results of the battle and the attribution of credit
With the victory of the Huaihai Campaign, the People's Liberation Army annihilated a large number of elite troops of the Kuomintang army, marking the final end of this battle that lasted more than two months. This battle not only changed the strategic landscape of China's civil war, but also significantly improved the military and political status of the PLA.
The PLA annihilated a total of 555,000 Kuomintang troops, including 5 corps, 22 military headquarters and 56 divisions, while the casualties of our army were only more than 130,000. After the war, the Central Military Commission began to organize summary meetings to evaluate the effectiveness and experience of the campaign. At the meeting, Chairman Mao, Zhou Enlai and other senior leaders fully affirmed the victory of the Huaihai Campaign.
Su Yu's tactical arrangement and command ability were highly evaluated, and Chairman Mao particularly emphasized Su Yu's strategic thinking and his performance in the campaign, believing that this was the key to ensuring victory.
Deng Xiaoping said at the summing up meeting: "The victory in the Huaihai Campaign has proved that our strategy is correct, and the cooperation and execution of all commanders are extremely outstanding. He then discussed the issue of post-war awards, pointing out that how to correctly evaluate the merits of various units and generals is the next important task.
Subsequently, the Central Military Commission conducted a series of meritorious service evaluations and awards. Su Yu was given special recognition for his outstanding contributions to the campaign, while other senior generals who participated in the command such as Chen Yi, Liu Bocheng, and Tan Zhenlin were also honored for their performance in the campaign.
However, when Tan Zhenlin visited the Huaihai Battle Memorial Hall in 1978, he found that the credit in the exhibition was mainly attributed to the Central Plains Field Army, while the contribution to the East China Field Army was relatively rarely mentioned. In his view, this description did not fully reflect the decisive role of the East China Field Army in the campaign.
After the visit to the memorial hall, Tan Zhenlin expressed his views at a small-scale exchange meeting: "Our East China Field Army played a vital role in the Huaihai Campaign. The main offensive of the campaign was initiated and undertaken by us, and this should be more accurately reflected in the commemorative exhibition. ”
In this regard, Su Yu also reaffirmed the key role of the East China Field Army at a discussion meeting: "The victory of the Huaihai Campaign is the credit of the entire PLA, especially the contribution of the East China Field Army. We need to document and evaluate this history impartially. ”
This discussion of the attribution of credit did not affect the relationship between Su Yu and Tan Zhenlin, and both generals focused on how to properly record and commemorate this important historical event. Their combined efforts ultimately led to a reassessment of the history of the Huaihai Campaign, ensuring that all contributions were fairly recognized.