Author: Shi Qian
In January 1946, Chen Mingren was ordered to lead the 71st Army to the northeast, and at the same time, there were six armies of the New 1st and 6th Armies, with a total strength of more than 310,000 troops, in an attempt to seize the fruits of the victory of the People's War of Resistance. On March 27, the Kuomintang army launched an offensive, first at the strategic points of Benxi, Anshan, and SipingJie (present-day Siping City), and then into Changchun and Harbin to achieve their goal of monopolizing the entire northeast.
On April 17, the 71st Army and the New 1st Army approached the area east and south of Siping Street, and the northeast Democratic Coalition Army troops moved to the outskirts of Siping Street to carry out defensive operations. Siping Street was the seat of the government of Liaobei Province (now part of Jilin) at that time, located at the intersection of the Zhongchang, Sitao (present-day Jingha, Pingqi), and Simei Railways.
Its northeastern suburbs are mountainous and the southwest rivers are longitudinal, and its strategic position is very important, which is a place where soldiers and families of all generations must compete. The next day, the Nationalist army launched an attack with 7 divisions, and the defense of Siping Street officially began. Chen Mingren's troops were organized as a left-wing corps, mainly attacking the line from Bamian City to old Siping, and after paying heavy casualties, on April 25, they entered and occupied part of Bamian City and part of old Siping.
Chairman Mao paid enough attention to the Battle of Sipingjie, and from March 24 to May 19, he telephoned Lin Biao, Peng Zhen, and the Northeast Bureau dozens of times, pointing out: "It is very correct to concentrate 6 brigades to annihilate the enemy in the Siping area"; "I hope to pay attention to repelling his attack and defend Siping under possible conditions"; "Concentrate absolute superiority forces and hold several major battles in the southern and northern areas of Siping to solve the problem"; "The Siping defenders are very brave and hope to pass on the rewards"; "Please consider adding a part of the defenders, Turn Siping Street into Madrid"; "Hope to die and keep Siping, every inch of land must be fought";
"It is a brave plan to cut off the enemy's rear road, surround and annihilate the enemy in Siping"; "The longer the siping street defense war is supported, the more favorable it is"; "The longer siping street defense war is supported, the more favorable our troops will be, the larger the area occupied by the recalcitrant army and the longer the supply line, the more difficult it will be": "Siping has become difficult to defend anymore, and it has decided to abandon the city and fight a mobile war," and so on.
From April 25 to May 14, Chen Mingren's command post, in coordination with the 38th Division of the New 1st Army, launched dozens of fierce attacks on the two wings of Siping, and under the heroic resistance of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army, no land was advanced. After adjusting the deployment of the Kuomintang army, on May 15, it launched a comprehensive attack on Siping Street in three routes.
Chen Mingren led 2 divisions of the 71st Army on the left road to the north, detouring to Siping Street from the west; 3 divisions of the New 1st Army on the Middle Road launched a frontal attack on Siping Street; and 4 divisions of the New 6th Army and other units of the Right Road advanced side by side along the two roads from Kaiyuan to Xifeng and Kaiyuan to Yehe Station, and detoured from the east to Siping Street. When the main force of the 71st Army was blocked when it reached the line of Huanzidong and Haiqing Shacks northwest of Siping Street, Chen Mingren immediately ordered the 91st Division to charge more than 10 times with the strength of the whole battalion and the whole regiment, all of which were stubbornly resisted by the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army and stagnated.
At this time, after two days of fierce fighting, the New 1st Army captured the 331.5 heights on the 17th; the New 6th Army, supported by aircraft and tanks, captured Yehe Station on the 16th, and on the 17th captured Flint Lingzi and Pinggang, and continued to rush to Hersu, northeast of Siping Street; after the 195th Division of the Kuomintang Army, which served as the general reserve, entered the battle, it also captured Hafutun on the 18th; the 71st Army, after repeatedly charging and killing, reached the outskirts of the city west and south of Siping Street with heavy casualties.
On the morning of the 18th, the Kuomintang army began to attack Tazishan, the throat position of Siping Street on three sides. The Northeast Democratic Coalition Army was eventually outnumbered and suffered too many casualties, and withdrew from its position in the afternoon. After the Nationalist army occupied Tazishan, the New 6th Army detoured northeast of Siping Street in an attempt to cut off the defenders' retreat. In view of the unfavorable situation on the battlefield and the relatively large casualties, the headquarters of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army ordered the 14 divisions (brigades) that were put into battle to withdraw from the battlefield one after another on the night of the 18th in order to get rid of passivity and preserve their strength. On the morning of May 19, Chen Mingren took the lead in entering Siping Street.
Chen Mingren, Sun Liren, commander of the New 1st Army, and Liao Yaoxiang, commander of the New 6th Army, rode on war horses to inspect Siping Street, which was less than 2 kilometers from north to south and 1.5 kilometers from east to west, and almost all of the residual snow on the land of projectiles was melted by the war, and mud, human blood, intestines, skin and flesh, broken bones, broken military uniforms and broken bricks and tiles, broken wood, shell casings, broken guns, and broken sacks and broken ammunition boxes were completely integrated, and it was unbearable to see.
What surprised Chen Mingren even more was that they stepped through several streets but did not find the body of a soldier of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army, and how did nearly 100,000 soldiers of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army disappear overnight on Siping Street, which was surrounded by water? And it's so calm!
According to the statistics of both sides after the war, in this battle, the Kuomintang army lost nearly 10,000 troops, and the total number of casualties of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army has reached more than 8,000, which is almost equal. When issuing the order to evacuate Siping Street, Lin Biao said in front of many staff officers at the headquarters: "It is said that Chen Mingren is a tiger general, I just don't believe in this evil, sooner or later I will take revenge for this battle!" ”
Chen Mingren, who had entered and occupied Siping Street, was not in a relaxed mood at this time, but he, who had always been known for his proficiency in tactics, said to Du Yuming and Zheng Dongguo: "The principal, who is known as a strategist, gave me a death order to let me capture Siping Street. Unexpectedly, this view of his coincided with that of Chairman Mao thousands of kilometers away.
After the fall of Siping, the headquarters of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army was moved to Harbin, and the total strength of the army soon grew to 360,000 people. In May 1947, the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army launched a powerful summer offensive. After the first phase of the battle, the connection between the Kuomintang troops in Changchun, Shenyang, and Jilin was severed; the Nationalist defenders in Gongzhuling, Guojiadian, Lishu, zhengjiatun and other places around Siping had been eliminated. In order to further expand the results of the summer offensive and unite the northeast liberated areas, with the consent of the Central Military Commission, it was decided to capture Siping Street.
In early June, Siping Street was surrounded by the Democratic Coalition. Chen Mingren saw that the troops he could command only had the remnants of 2 and a half divisions, 1 regiment of the 54th Division, 2 security regiments in Liaobei Province, and 3 railway traffic police brigades totaling more than 20,000 people, and deeply felt that the city was alone and alone, and it was bound to face an extremely difficult battle of holding out. However, he felt that he had always been known as a famous general who won battles, and at this time he must not be timid, so he was determined to make a desperate bet, resolutely stick to it, and coexist with Siping.
After Chen Mingren entered Siping, on the basis of the original fortifications, he built a large number of strong fortifications and longitudinal and horizontal traffic trenches, constituting a relatively complete ring defense system. As Mao Zedong predicted before the war, Chen Mingren was not only good at tackling tough problems, but also good at sticking to them. In the besieged Northeast Democratic Coalition Army, the strength of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army was 3-4 times that of the defenders, and there were still some local miscellaneous troops among the more than 20,000 defenders, and the combat effectiveness was extremely poor, Chen Mingren's mind was sober, knowing that comprehensive defense was impossible, and it was also the next strategy.
Therefore, he resolutely ordered the abandonment of some secondary positions, the reduction of troops, the emphasis on holding the city, and the airfield to the defense of the miscellaneous troops, with no intention of sticking to it, the purpose of which was to cut off the back road and put himself "to death and be born later", which was his consistent tactical thinking of commanding operations, and it was also determined by his loyal to the principal and the foolish and loyal ideological system of "if he did not succeed, he would become a benevolent".
The Siping Offensive of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army was divided into two stages. The first phase, from 11 June to 20 June, swept away all garrison positions west of the railway. On the morning of 11 July, the Democratic Coalition Army concentrated more than 150 mountain artillery, field artillery, and howitzers to fiercely bombard the outer strongholds of Siping, especially the strongholds west of the railway, firing a total of more than 6,000 shells. ”
Two days later, the Democratic Coalition launched a general offensive, the fortifications west of the railway were all broken, the 88th Division, which was mostly recruits, collapsed east of the railway, and 2 security regiments were completely annihilated. By the 20th, the core position of the military headquarters was also destroyed by artillery fire, and Chen Mingren's brother and head of the military special service regiment, Chen Mingxin, was captured; Chen Mingren's command post was forced to move to the reserve command post east of the railway and continued to resist tenaciously.
Liu Handong, chairman of Liaobei Province, saw that his 2 security regiments were reimbursed at once, was frightened, wanted to take his head, fled by plane, asked Chen Mingren to send guard troops to escort them to the airport, and said that there would be heavy thanks in the future.
"No!" Chen Mingren said emphatically: "The airport has been lost!" As long as I'm here, no one is allowed to go!" ”
"The airport is our only way back, why don't we send heavy troops to hold on?" Liu Handong was anxious.
"I didn't want to stay at the airport." Chen Mingren said what he really thought.
"Then aren't you taking our own lives?"
"The military department was determined to coexist and die with Siping, and lost the airfield early, but the commander retreated early. In the future, if anyone dares to speak up again, I will send him to the Western Heavens first! Chen Mingren said very firmly.
Liu Handong was speechless and left the military command post in a daze.
In the second phase, from 21 June to 30 June, the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army attacked the Nationalist defenders east of the railway from the direction of NamCheon-dong and Tianqiao. On the 21st, the 17th Division of the 6th Column of the Democratic Coalition Army and the 3rd Division of the 1st Column fought in coordination with each other, and soon broke through the east of the city and captured some important support points of the 71st Army, including the outer strongholds of the Catholic Church. At this time, the Western Manchurian Column of the Democratic Coalition Army was seriously hindered in its assault from the north side of the overpass to Kant and the Fire Mill, and the two sides confronted each other and could not stand each other, forming a glue.
Chen Mingren's troops suffered heavy casualties, and Du Xingming quickly reinforced. Du Yuming replied: "Brother Ziliang, everywhere in the northeast battlefield is in a hurry, and reinforcements are very tight. I want to first sweep away the Benxi communist army to consolidate Shenyang, and then gather possible forces to relieve the siege of Siping. I hope that you will do your best to stick to Siping and wait for help. Reinforcements will be available by 30 June. ”
Chen Mingren threw the telegram aside, sighed, and said to himself, "It is better to rely on anyone than on yourself!" ”
Late on the night of the 23rd, the Democratic Coalition Army once again launched a fierce attack to the east of the railway, chen Mingren commanded the remnants to desperately block the attack, and the two sides collided with each other! After 1 hour of fierce fighting, the Democratic Coalition Army took the initiative to retreat due to heavy casualties. At this time, the supplies and ammunition of the 71st Army were nearly exhausted, and Chen Mingren telegraphed Du Yuming twice a day: "Please send reinforcements quickly, and immediately drop grain and ammunition in the air to solve the urgent need!" ”
Before dusk, 2 large transport planes hovered overhead, dropping various materials and ammunition according to the targets indicated by the ground. The large wooden boxes hanging under the parachute have obvious "USA" character patterns on them, and due to the problem of wind direction, some wooden boxes fell on the positions occupied by the Democratic Coalition Army, and the "Tuba Road" also ate "foreign cans". The airdrop of materials alleviated the shortage of grain and ammunition in Chen Mingren's department.
The next day, the offensive and defensive sides continued to fight. By this time, three-fifths of the positions in the entire Sipingcheng area had been occupied by the Democratic Coalition Army. Chen Mingren was so anxious that he screamed hysterically on the phone: "All troops must hold their positions, and if there are those who abandon their positions, they will be shot immediately!" ”
On the 28th, Du Yuming painstakingly organized nearly 100,000 reinforcements, rushed to the outskirts of Siping, and vainly attempted to counter-encircle the Democratic Coalition Army and annihilate it when it was tired. The arrival of reinforcements greatly encouraged the remnants of Chen Mingren's army to be defeated, and Chen Mingren immediately launched a counterattack on the attacking forces of the Democratic Coalition Army at the first order, leaving them all in an unfavorable situation of being attacked on both sides by the enemy on their stomachs and backs.
On the 29th, Lin Biao urgently sent a telegram to the Central Military Commission, requesting a temporary withdrawal from the battle. After this telegram was approved, the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army took the initiative to withdraw from Siping on the 30th, and the Siping Offensive Battle ended. In this bloody battle, Chen Mingren's troops suffered about 17,000 casualties, and the Democratic Coalition army also lost more than 13,000 people.
Chen Mingren held the Siping area for more than 40 days with a small number of troops and engaged in street battles for 19 days and nights, which was rare since the beginning of the Liberation War, and for a time won the admiration of Chiang Kai-shek's clique and the strong praise of Chiang Kai-shek. Chen Mingren, wearing a steel helmet, carrying a submachine gun and a tattered military uniform, came out of the bunker and saw that his eyes were blood-red, his beard was full of beard, his face was sallow, and he looked tired.
Reporters from all over the army and reporters from local newspapers rushed up and asked this and that. Chen Mingren did not answer a word, and said sarcastically: "I have just escaped Lin Biao's siege and fallen into your siege, which is really unfortunate." I don't know when I will be able to completely get rid of the fate of being surrounded! ”
About author:Shi Kui, history teacher at colleges and universities, history researcher. He has been cultivating the history of the Party, the Military and the History of War for a long time. History lovers are welcome to exchange criticisms.