When it comes to Hu Zongnan, we will think of his title of "the first protégé of the Son of Heaven", indeed, as a student of the first phase of Whampoa, he followed Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition, Civil War, Anti-Japanese War and Liberation War, and can be called one of Chiang Kai-shek's most confidant generals, with his outstanding military exploits and attitude towards Chiang Kai-shek, he became the real "King of Northwest" in the Kuomintang , Zhou Enlai also once praised Hu Zongnan as the most commanding general of the Kuomintang, but he was such a hero, but he was crushed by Peng Dehuai many times on the northwest battlefield, and in the many battles between the two, the Panlong Battle that occurred on May 2, 1947 was the most eye-catching.
In March 1947, Hu Zongnan was appointed as the director of the Northwest Xi'an Pacification Office, in the yellow earth where the red regime has taken root for many years, Hu Zongnan can be described as menacing, the first army under his command is equipped with equipment, army structure and military salary, it can be called the highest treatment of the Kuomintang, he himself also made up his mind to carry out a north-south pincer attack on the base area in northern Shaanxi, occupy Yan'an, in the face of the situation that the enemy is strong and I am weak, Mao Zedong decided to lead the central organs to withdraw from Yan'an, and began to circle the years with Hu Zongnan in northern Shaanxi, Hu Zongnan fell into the dilemma of riding a tiger and unable to advance or retreat.
From March to April, Hu Zongnan was ambushed by Peng Dehuai's Northwest Field Army many times in northern Shaanxi, in order to quickly solve the Northwest War, Chiang Kai-shek used the air force to block the Yellow River transportation line of the Northwest Field Army, and ordered Hu Zongnan to go north and south, trying to carry out a decisive battle against the Northwest Field Army that was transferred to Wayaobao to rest , all the way south to Hu Zongnan's material town of Panlong, risking the danger of being surrounded by the Kuomintang's heavy troops, determined to take Panlong. The Northwest Field Army began a surprise attack on the evening of May 2 and completely occupied Panlong on the 4th, seizing countless materials, including more than 10,000 bags of flour alone, and countless military weapons and ammunition.
The duel between Peng Dehuai and Hu Zongnan, the old enemy, is very similar to the battle of Guandu between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, with the successful capture of Panlong Town, the fate of Hu Zongnan's so-called heavy army group has been doomed, in addition to the gap in tactical command, the corruption of the Kuomintang at that time has also penetrated into the grassroots of the army, due to inflation, the soldier's annual salary can not even afford to buy a pair of military boots on the market, resulting in Hu Zongnan's so-called large corps, the implementation of the order has been greatly weakened, which is also a reason why Mao Zedong has repeatedly rubbed shoulders with the Kuomintang army but turned the danger into a disaster。
For Hu Zongnan, Peng Dehuai can be described as the nightmare of his military career, so much so that in his later years, he said many times: Peng Dehuai is my military nemesis. It seems that in the end, he didn't think clearly that the real problem of the Kuomintang was internal, and the fate of defeat and retreat was no longer something that could be reversed by their soldiers.