In the midsummer of 1948, the cannon at the head of Kaifeng City, Henan Province rumbled. The large army of the East China Field Army pressed the border, and the defenders in the city were panicked. Mao Zedong, who was far away in Yan'an, was confident, and he was waiting for a decisive battle that could change the tide of the war. Who would have thought that the outcome of this battle would be unexpected and delight the leader?
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has taken the initiative to attack
In the third year of the War of Liberation, the communist army finally reversed the passive situation. Don't think they've been beaten up before! In fact, as early as 1947, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping led a large army to leap thousands of miles into the Dabie Mountain, burning the war to the hinterland of the Kuomintang. However, the communist army was still at a disadvantage, especially in the Central Plains and East China battlefields.
At that time, the East China Field Army could be described as a spring breeze. In May 1947, they annihilated the 74th Division, the ace unit of the Kuomintang, and their morale was high.
This kind of smug mood hurts them. Just like in football nowadays, the leading team tends to be reversed by their opponents in the second half. The same is true of the East China Field Army, which suffered setbacks one after another, and even lost the Yimeng Mountain base area that had been operating for many years.
Su Yu's whimsical idea turned the tide of battle
Su Yu, this person, his brain is spinning fast. He saw that the East China Field Army was in trouble, so he pondered about a big one. Originally, according to the central plan, the East China Field Army was to cross the Yangtze River and burn the flames of war to the south of the Yangtze River. But Su Yu felt that it was too risky to do so, so it was better to stay in the Central Plains and fight a decisive battle.
Mao Zedong really listened to his advice. In April 1948, Mao Zedong held a meeting in Fuping, Hebei Province, and agreed with Su Yu's idea.
However, he gave Su Yu a problem: he had to destroy 50,000 to 100,000 enemy troops in 4 to 8 months. That's not a small goal! The East China Field Army has only 100,000 men in the Central Plains, and it is really enough to complete this task.
Su Yu accepted the challenge, but he was no one to be reckless. He carefully analyzed the intelligence and found that the Kaifeng garrison was weak. Kaifeng is the capital of Henan Province, if it is knocked down, it can shock the four! So, he decided to start his big plan from here.
A thrilling siege battle
On June 17, 1948, the East China Field Army suddenly launched a fierce attack on Kaifeng. This attack was not a brute force, but the East China Field Army was fully prepared.
They learned the lessons of previous failures and conducted special training on the Kuomintang's defensive tactics. Just like the current football team studies the tactics of their opponents, they study the KMT's style of play thoroughly.
And guess what? In just 5 days, Kaifeng was taken down! The battle caught the Kuomintang by surprise and lost nearly 40,000 people. But don't think that's the end of it, the show is just beginning.
How could the Kuomintang swallow this breath? Immediately sent 5 corps to recapture Kaifeng. When Su Yu saw this battle, his heart blossomed. Wasn't that exactly what he wanted? Besieging the city and sending reinforcements, this is a wonderful trick in the art of war!
However, Su Yu also knew that he couldn't eat such a big appetite, so he targeted Ou Shounian's corps. Why? Because this district is a Cantonese soldier, he is not very good at dealing with other corps, and his unit has just been formed, and its combat effectiveness is not strong.
Su Yu's siege and reinforcement drama
Su Yu's trick of "besieging the city and sending reinforcements" is very slippery! He first made a feint to attack Kaifeng to lure the Kuomintang reinforcements to take the bait. When Ou Shounian's corps acted alone, Su Yu immediately seized the opportunity and swallowed the army in one gulp. How amazing do you say? It's like deliberately revealing flaws when playing chess to lure the opponent into falling for it.
As soon as the news of Ou Shounian's capture spread alive, Chiang Kai-shek was angry. He immediately transferred two generals, Huang Baitao and Qiu Qingquan, and personally flew to the front line to supervise the battle. This formation is similar to the current boss personally commanding the battle.
Su Yu is not having a good time now. He originally wanted to eat a soft persimmon, but he didn't expect to attract two hard stubbles. Huang Baitao and Qiu Qingquan are both strong generals of the Kuomintang, and the troops under them are the elite of the elite. The position of the East China Field Army was dangerous, like a besieged fortress.
Su Yu realized that he might be a little greedy at this time. He wanted to eat a fat man in one bite, but he almost choked. In the end, he had to order a retreat, and the retreat was quite hasty.
Fighting a war is not a game, and there will always be losses when retreating. In particular, the logistics department, which received the order to retreat the latest, suffered the greatest losses. In the end, 3,500 people were captured, most of them wounded.
After this battle, the East China Field Army lost 33,000 men, and the three main forces were all wounded. But don't think they've suffered a big loss, they've annihilated more than 90,000 enemies! It's like playing basketball, where you lose a lot of points, but you limit your opponent's score less, and you win in the end.
You may not believe it, but Mao Zedong was not angry when he learned of this result, but was very happy. Why? First of all, although the East China Field Army suffered a lot of losses in this battle, it destroyed more enemies, and on the whole it still won.
Second, the battle proved that Mao Zedong's decision to accept Su Yu's advice was correct. Moreover, this battle completely reversed the situation in the Central Plains and East China battlefields, and the Kuomintang army could only parry and no longer have the power to fight back.
The most important thing is that Mao Zedong once again saw Su Yu's ability to command a large army to fight. What do you think a leader is most afraid of? I am most afraid that there will be no talent under my subordinates. Now that there is a general like Su Yu, can Mao Zedong not be happy? This not only proves his vision of employing people, but also gives him more confidence in future wars.
Mao Zedong later said that the Liberation War was like climbing a mountain, and the battle of Eastern Henan was like crossing a mountain pass, and the most difficult part had passed. Since then, the strategic direction of the communist army has also changed. Originally, he thought that the Yangtze River should be fought to the south, but now he felt that the Kuomintang troops north of the Yangtze River should be wiped out first. In this way, Chiang Kai-shek's stronghold was self-defeating.
Although the Battle of Eastern Henan was fought a bit anticlimactic, its significance was greater. It not only changed the course of the war, but also laid the foundation for the later Huaihai Campaign.