Su Yu was definitely a God of War-level general. Su Yu's military career can be said to be invincible and invincible, and he has made outstanding achievements in the democratic revolutionary war. Su Yu grew from an ordinary soldier to a founding general of the republic, and ranked first among the founding generals. Many leaders of our party gave Su Yu high praise. Chairman Mao once commented on Su Yu: "The command is correct, flexible and courageous, so it can achieve great victories." Liu Bocheng commented on Su Yu: "Comrade Su Yu is profoundly wise and courageous, very outstanding, victorious in every battle, with the style of an ancient famous general, the best general in our army, and a Chinese strategist."
During the period of the Agrarian Revolutionary War and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Su Yu had already come to the fore and made outstanding military achievements. At that time, the strength of our army was relatively weak, and Su Yu could not give full play to his talents. During the Liberation War, Su Yu had the opportunity to give full play to his talents. Under the leadership of Su Yu and Chen Yi, the East China Field Army became an army with super combat effectiveness and made great achievements in building a new China. Because of the accumulation of battle achievements, Su Yuyi became a candidate for marshal. Although he was defeated as a marshal, Su Yu became the head of the ten generals. After the outbreak of the Korean War, Su Yu was the first choice for the commander-in-chief of the Volunteer Army. Su Yu was unable to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Volunteer Army due to illness, and finally Mr. Peng served as the commander-in-chief.
In June 1946, the Kuomintang army attacked the Liberated Areas of the Central Plains. In the face of the attack of the Kuomintang army, Li Xiannian led his troops to break through, which history called the Central Plains Breakthrough. After the breakthrough of the Central Plains, the Liberation War officially broke out. After the outbreak of the Liberation War, Chiang Kai-shek appointed Li Mo'an as the commander of the First Appeasement Zone, in an attempt to seize the opportunity to capture the Liberated Areas of Central Jiangsu and Northern Jiangsu. Northern Jiangsu and Central Jiangsu Liberated Areas are only one river away from Nanjing, including a vast area of central Jiangsu, northern Jiangsu, Huaibei and other vast areas, with a total area of 110,000 square kilometers, with a population of more than 20 million, and the capital is in Huaiyin. The soviet-central and northern Jiangsu Liberated Areas were close to Nanjing, directly threatening the security of the Kuomintang's henchmen. On the side of Chiang Kai-shek's bed, no one else was allowed to sleep soundly. Chiang Kai-shek appointed Li Mo'an as the commander of the First Appeasement Zone, hoping that he would occupy the Liberated Areas of Central Jiangsu and Northern Jiangsu.
After Li Mo'an arrived in Wuxi, he immediately analyzed the situation on both sides. At that time, the Kuomintang army had occupied the cities of Nantong and Yangzhou in the north of the jiangsu, and the People's Liberation Army controlled the cities of Rugao and Hai'an, and the two sides basically confronted each other along the Yangtze River. At the beginning of his tenure, Li Mo'an began to prepare for war. Li Mo'an himself was also full of confidence, thinking that he could easily capture the base areas of central And northern Jiangsu. Li Mo'an also did have reason to be confident.
Li Mo'an was born at the Whampoa Military Academy and was a cadet of the Whampoa Phase I. Among the cadets of the Whampoa Military Academy, the first and fourth stages had the highest achievements, and the most famous generals appeared. Compared with the Huangpu Phase IV, the Huangpu Phase I has a higher color and higher achievements. In the first phase of Huangpu, there were famous generals such as Xu Xiangqian, Chen Geng, Guan Linzheng, Hu Zongnan, He Zhihan, and Zuo Quan. During his time at the Whampoa Military Academy, the most famous cadets in the first phase were the Whampoa Three Masters: Chen Geng, He Zhihan, and Jiang Xianyun. Among the students of the first phase of Huangpu, there was a saying circulating: "Wen you he zhihan, Wu you have Hu Zongnan, and Wen and Wu Li Mo'an." In the eyes of the Huangpu Phase I students, Li Mo'an can be on a par with Huangpu Sanjie and Hu Zongnan, or even better than them. After graduating from the Whampoa Military Academy, Li Mo'an's military career was also relatively smooth, and during the Liberation War, he had become the commander of the first appeasement area of the Kuomintang army.
At that time, Li Mo'an commanded five integrated divisions, two integrated brigades and two traffic police corps of the Kuomintang Army, with a total strength of 120,000 troops. The military leaders of central And Northern Jiangsu were Su Yu. Su Yu had only two divisions and two columns under his command, with a total strength of only 30,000 men. In terms of troop strength, Li Mo'an's strength is 4 times that of Su Yu; in terms of weapons and equipment, Li Mo'an's troops have been equipped with American equipment, and the Central China Field Army is millet plus rifles. Li Mo'an and his subordinates were full of confidence, and Li Tianxia even said:
"There is nothing wrong with my troops, and one of my regiments can fight with the communists."
Li Mo'an and Li Tianxia had never fought with the People's Liberation Army, and they did not know the strength of the People's Liberation Army, let alone the strength of Su Yu. Gu Zhutong, the chief of Li Mo'an, once commented on Su Yu: "Su Yu is not tall, polite, reticent, and murderous." Before Li Xiannian broke through the Central Plains, Su Yu had already realized that the Liberation War was about to begin. Su Yu told the press: "Jiang does not attack Li, Su does not attack Jiang; if Jiang attacks Li, Su will attack Jiang." Before Su Yu's voice could fall, the news came from Li Xiannian of the breakthrough of the Central Plains. In light of the new situation, the CPC Central Committee began to deploy the War of Liberation. The instructions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China are:
Su Yu led the main force of the Central China Field Army to Huainan, and in coordination with the main force of the Shandong Field Army, captured the railway between Bengbu and Pukou, and annihilated the enemy advancing north from Pukou.
After receiving the instructions of the CPC Central Committee, the Central China Bureau put forward its own proposal according to the actual situation, holding that it was not the best choice for all the main forces to be dispatched, and that the main forces of the Central China Field Army should continue to hold on to the Soviet Union and contain the enemy's internal forces. After thinking about it, Chairman Mao changed his original idea, agreed to the suggestions of the comrades of the Central China Bureau, and instructed:
It is more politically advantageous to fight a few victories on the inside and then move on to the outside.
Li Mo'an held a combat conference in Changzhou and decided to launch an offensive against the Liberated Areas of Central Jiangsu on July 13, 1946. Due to the early disclosure of the battle plan, Li Mo'an had to postpone the battle plan. After Su Yu learned of Li Mo'an's battle plan, he decided to preemptively gather around Xuanjiabao and Taixing to wait for an opportunity to attack Li Tianxia's reorganized Eighty-third Division.
Before the outbreak of the Soviet-Chinese Campaign, the objectives of the Kuomintang and the Communists were different. The Kuomintang's goal was to occupy the liberated areas of central Jiangsu, occupy the cities controlled by the Plaster, and remove the PLA threat to Nanjing. The goal of the Plagiddon was to deplete the Kuomintang army as much as possible on the inner front and eliminate the effective forces of the Kuomintang army. The operational objectives of the Kuomintang and the Communists were different, and the final criteria for judging the outcome of the war might also be different.
The operational policy of "concentrating forces to destroy the enemy's living forces, preserving people and losing ground, and destroying the enemy in the movement" was tried and tested many times during the period of the democratic revolutionary war. During the period of the agrarian revolutionary war, Chairman Mao led the Red Army to lure the enemy deep and concentrate its forces, and cleanly broke the first three encirclements and suppressions of the Kuomintang. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army also attacked the Japanese army in this way, accumulating small victories into big victories, and finally driving out the Japanese invaders. In the early days of the War of Liberation, our army used mobile warfare to find favorable opportunities in the movement and concentrate its forces on annihilating the enemy's living forces. In the end, the People's Liberation Army gradually achieved a reversal and won the victory in the Liberation War.
Su Yu invested 6 regiments of troops to attack Xuanjiabao and Taixing, attacked Xuanjiabao with the strength of one regiment, and attacked Taixing with the strength of 3 regiments. After the battle began, the Kuomintang army still despised the combat effectiveness of the People's Liberation Army. In the face of the plausibility of the People's Liberation Army, Li Tianxia only said lightly:
"I was attacked by two regiments of the communist army, both of which were still good in combat, and the two regimental commanders had some ways to fight. Rest assured commander that everything is under control. ”
Li Tianxia soon paid the price for her arrogance. Soon after Li Tianxia hung up the phone, the People's Liberation Army invaded Taixing City. Li Mo'an immediately ordered reinforcements, and before they reached Taixing, they were blocked by the People's Liberation Army. After Li Tianxia's reinforcements were defeated, Su Yu intensified his attacks on Xuanjiabao and Taixing. After the PLA annihilated most of the defenders, Su Yu ordered the attacking forces to end the battle.
Immediately after the end of the battle, Chairman Mao sent a telegram inquiring about the results of the battle. Su Yu immediately called back to Chairman Mao:
Two regiments of the 19th Brigade of the 83rd Division, the brigade's mountain artillery battalion and one battalion of the Sixty-third Brigade, totaling more than 3,000 men, were annihilated.
The reorganized Eighty-third Division was a Kuomintang subordinate unit, originally the Kuomintang 100th Army. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, this army participated in the Battle of Changsha. At the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the 100th Army was equipped with a full set of US military equipment and was a team with strong combat effectiveness. Li Mo'an never imagined that Su Yu would first pick the reorganized Eighty-third Division with strong combat effectiveness to open the knife. After the war, Li Tianxia did not admit to being defeated by the People's Liberation Army, but only said that the two regiments suffered a little loss.
After the battles of Taixing and Xuanjiabao ended, Li Mo'an redeployed the battle plan, urgently adjusted the 49th Division and the reorganized 56th Division, and cooperated with the reorganized 83rd Division to attack the People's Liberation Army in three ways, in an attempt to encircle SuYu with the strength of three divisions. How could Li Mo'an's trick escape Su Yu's eyes. Su Yu had already left his back hand to guard against Li Mo'an. As early as the battle of Taixing, Su Yu ordered the army to complete the detour and circle behind the reorganized Forty-ninth Division, ready to attack the division at any time. Wang Tiehan and the reorganized Forty-ninth Division had just set out when they were besieged by su Yu's two divisions and a column. Su Yu surrounded the reorganized Forty-ninth Division with several times the strength of his troops.
Because Su Yu launched an early attack on the reorganized Forty-ninth Division, it disrupted Li Mo'an's original deployment. Li Mo'an could only temporarily mobilize his army to rescue the besieged reorganized Forty-ninth Division. Although Li Mo'an sent reinforcements, it did not prevent the collapse of the reorganized Forty-ninth Division. After fierce fighting, Su Yu annihilated a brigade and a half of the reorganized Forty-ninth Division, totaling more than 10,000 people. The casualties of Su Yubu also reached more than 5,000. With the 105th Brigade, the Reorganized Sixty-fifth Division, and the Reorganized Eighty-third Division of the Reorganized Forty-ninth Division reinforced by the Kuomintang reaching the battlefield, the combat tasks of the Central China Field Army had been achieved, and Su Yu ordered the troops to stop the attack and withdraw from Rugao.
Although he lost more than 10,000 troops, Li Mo'an still felt that he had won the victory, after all, he had "captured" the strategic location of Rugao City. The kuomintang top brass also felt that Li Mo'an had won the victory, and Chen Cheng personally went to Nantong to express congratulations. After the battle of Rugao, Li Mo'an, who thought he had won the victory, planned to attack Hai'an. Hai'an is an important transportation hub and strategic location in Central Jiangsu, and Su Yu did not dare to give up Hai'an easily. The leaders of Su Yu and the Central China Bureau finally decided:
Carry out the movement defense in the Hai'an area, and then take the initiative to withdraw, creating new fighters in the movement. The Seventh Column was responsible for the defense of Hai'an, and the rest of the troops took the opportunity to rest.
On July 30, 1946, more than 50,000 Kuomintang troops began to attack Hai'an City. At that time, there were only more than 3,000 troops in Hai'an City, and only one regiment had combat experience. Although the People's Liberation Army was at a disadvantage, its combat effectiveness was strong, and it only suffered more than 200 casualties and annihilated more than 3,000 enemy soldiers in four days of fighting. On August 3, after completing its defensive mission, the Seventh Column voluntarily withdrew from Hai'an. Although the Kuomintang army suffered heavy losses, Li Mo'an was very satisfied with his achievements. Li Mo'an said excitedly:
"My department doesn't seem to be exerting much effort. After two days of fighting, the reorganized Sixty-fifth Division occupied Hai'an and the 105th Brigade occupied Fort Lee. In terms of the battle plan, our unit achieved its goal. ”
After capturing Rugao and Hai'an, Li Mo'an felt that Su Yu's momentum was gone, so he redeployed his troops to defend themselves. Li Mo'an ordered the 19th Regiment of the reorganized 7th Brigade to take over the defense of Fort Lee and replace the reorganized 105th Brigade stationed there. Su Yu keenly grasped the fighter and ordered the resting troops to surround the 19th Regiment. In less than half a day, Su Yubu annihilated the 19th Regiment and defeated the 21st Regiment of the 7th Brigade, which was reinforced. In less than a day, Su Yubu eliminated more than 9,000 people of the reorganized 7th Brigade.
On August 21, 1946, Su Yu sent troops to attack the Kuomintang traffic police force. Thanks to the support of the people in the Liberated Areas, Su Yu was able to march quietly and secretly. Li Mo'an couldn't understand how Su Yu's thirty thousand troops could be so "invisible." Su Yu's army sneaked into the belly of the enemy and launched an attack on DingYan and Lin Zi, where the Kuomintang army was stationed. After a day and a night of fighting, more than 5,000 enemy troops were annihilated and a large number of weapons and equipment were captured. In this battle, Su Yu cut off the main communication route between Nantong and Rugao, and opened a passage to attack Taizhou and Yangzhou.
At this time, Li Mo'an gradually saw Su Yu's strength. Li Mo'an believed that Su Yu would attack Rugao, so he adjusted the 99th Brigade to Rugao to strengthen Rugao's defensive strength. At the same time, the reorganized Twenty-fifth Division was ordered to move north, attack the area around Shaobo and Gaoyou, and cooperate with the Fifth Army to attack Huaiyin and Huai'an. Once Shao Bo fell, the Kuomintang army would form a pinch attack on Huaiyin and Huai'an. Li Mo'an believed that Su Yu would definitely rescue Shao Bo and sent heavy troops to ambush the central China Field Army. Su Yu's tactics were unexpected by Li Mo'an. Su Yu did not directly send troops to rescue Shao Bo, but pretended to attack Hai'an with the Seventh Column, and the First Division, the Sixth Division, and the Fifth Brigade attacked Taizhou, came to a siege to save Zhao, adjusted the Twenty-fifth Division to return to Taizhou, and then intercepted the reorganized 99th Brigade around Huangqiao. Li Mo'an originally planned to give Su Yu a "round point to help", but Su Yu in turn gave Li Mo'an a "round point to help".
The 99th Brigade of the reorganized 69th Division had just left its garrison at Huangqiao when it was besieged by Su Yu's main forces. After the attack on the 99th Brigade, Li Mo'an urgently adjusted the 187th Brigade and the 79th Brigade of the Sixty-fifth Division to reinforce the 99th Brigade. Su Yu had already thought of this move, and the reinforcement troops had long been waiting for the Kuomintang army. After fierce fighting, the 6th Division of the Central China Field Army surrounded the 99th Brigade and the 1st Division surrounded the 187th Brigade. Su Yu divided and surrounded the various units of the Kuomintang army, making it difficult to communicate with each other.
After the reinforcements were surrounded, Li Mo'an adjusted the 25th Brigade to rescue the 99th Brigade near the Yellow Bridge. The reorganized Twenty-fifth Division, with the cooperation of aircraft, tanks, and ships, launched an attack on Shaobo and other places in an attempt to rescue the 99th Brigade. On August 26, Su Yu concentrated his forces to annihilate the 99th Brigade, which was surrounded at the demarcation, and captured the brigade commander Zhu Zhixi. Then they deployed their forces to besiege the 187th Brigade and the 79th Brigade in the Jiali area, and after fierce fighting, completely annihilated the enemy in the encirclement. After that, Su Yu commanded an army to occupy the Yellow Bridge. With the 99th, 187th, and 79th Brigades completely annihilated, the 25th Division was also within the range of Su Yu's attack. The Twenty-fifth Division could only withdraw from the battle and retreat to Yangzhou and Jiangdu.
Li Mo'an had originally planned to encircle Huai'an and Huaiyin, and then encircle the area around Shaobo to provide reinforcements and consume Su Yubu. As a result, according to the situation on the battlefield, Su Yu instead gave Li Mo'an a "siege to save Zhao" and "siege point to help". Li Mo'an's "encirclement point to fight for aid" did not work, but was defeated by Su Yu's "encirclement point to help". Li Mo'an originally wanted to capture Shaobo, but instead of capturing Shaobo, he lost more than 17,000 people.
From July 13 to August 27, 1946, Su Yu successively fought seven battles, including the Xuantai Offensive Battle, the Runan Rapid Attack Battle, the Hai'an Movement Defense Battle, the Li Fort Offensive Battle, the Dingyan Linzi Offensive Battle, the Ruhuang Highway Encounter, and the Shaobo Defense Battle, and all of them won victories, annihilating a total of 6 and a half brigades of the Kuomintang army and 5 traffic police brigades of about 53,000 people. The Battle of Soviet Union and China is an important masterpiece of Su Yu's military career, and it is also a major victory won by the People's Liberation Army in the early stage of the Liberation War. After the war, Chairman Mao personally drafted a telegram and highly praised the seven victories of the Seven Wars and Seven Victories of the Soviet Union. The cable stated:
In a month and a half from noon to the end of the day, Su Tan annihilated six and a half brigades and 5,000 transportation columns, resulting in brilliant results. And our army has only fifteen regiments ... In each battle, the absolute superiority of troops is concentrated to fight the enemy one... Therefore, the battle was invincible and morale was very high; the capture was very large, so the equipment was excellent; the operation in the liberated areas could be replenished with convenience; and the command was correct. Both flexible and courageous, great victories can be achieved.
Su Yu won seven battles and seven victories in the Soviet Union, but did not alleviate the situation of the Kuomintang army pressing the border, the towns in the Liberated Areas were constantly occupied, and the area of the Liberated Areas was constantly shrinking. From Li Mo'an's point of view, he was a hero in "recovering the lost land", achieved the predetermined combat objectives, and won the battle. Li Mo'an once said:
"The combat objectives of the two sides are different, and their respective evaluations are also different. At that time, I was ordered to fight mainly to recover lost land, occupy cities, drive out the People's Liberation Army, and maintain security in the occupied areas. Therefore, despite the loss of some troops, it eventually recovered most of the area south of Yancheng, guaranteed the railway from Pukou to Nanjing and the transportation of the lower Reaches of the Yangtze River, and lifted the threat of the People's Liberation Army to Nanjing. From the perspective of the People's Liberation Army, Su Yu did not count the gains and losses of one city and one pool, and mainly annihilated my living forces. Su Yu annihilated more of our troops at a small cost, and from this point of view, Su Yu was also victorious. ”
From the perspective of historical development, Su Yu undoubtedly won victory. During the Battle of Suzhong, Su Yu demonstrated superb command art and combat literacy. Su Yu was flexible and eclectic in his use of troops, and was always able to surprise and attack li Mo'an in places that li Mo'an could not imagine. With his outstanding tactical qualities and the support of the people in the Liberated Areas, Su Yu annihilated 53,000 elite Kuomintang troops in only one and a half months, which has to be said to be a miracle.
In the early days of the Liberation War, the overall strength of the People's Liberation Army was inferior to that of the Kuomintang Army. In the face of the situation in which the enemy is strong and we are weak, our party has established the operational policy of "taking the elimination of the opponent as the living force as the goal and not considering the gains and losses of one city and one pool." In the early days of the Liberation War, although the People's Liberation Army lost some territory, including Yan'an, it preserved its living forces and annihilated a large number of enemies in the movement. In the end, the PLA's strategy of "saving people and losing land" won a victory, not only "everyone and land", but also defeated the Kuomintang and liberated all of China.