The beacon of youth

Chapter 355 Li Yong's Suggestion in the Battle of Libei

The Northwest Field Army, in order to cooperate with other field armies' major counter-offensives on the battlefields across the country, is preparing to launch an attack on the Kuomintang troops stationed in the vicinity of Dali County, east of the Guanzhong Plain, at the end of September or early October. The main force cannot escape, and then achieve the purpose of cooperating with other battlefields across the country.

At the pre-war meeting held by the Second Column, Commander Wang habitually asked Li Yong, the commander of the Independent Brigade, what opinion he had on the campaign plan.

This is also an old habit of the Second Column in meetings. Commander Wang likes this young and forward-thinking commander very much, so he likes to ask a few questions when there is nothing to do. The independent brigade commanded by Li Yong is Commander Wang. A trump card under his hand, such a commander must of course be valued by his superiors.

Li Yong went back and forth several times in his mind, what should I say?Say it or not?As someone who has been there, Li Yong is very clear about the process and results of this battle. In the history of our army, the Libei Battle did not wipe out the surrounded enemies as smoothly as the Field Army planned, but turned into a wild The rout battle that the directors don't want to see, it should be said that the battle plan has only realized half of what was originally formulated.

During this period, the Field Army Command also encountered unexpected dangers. Even Boss Peng and the leaders of the Field Division were in extremely dangerous situations.

How to euphemistically express or reflect the little information he can grasp is the problem that Li Yong has to consider now.

It must be Li Yong's reluctance to say nothing, and I'm sorry for his identity as a person who has been here, and he is afraid that his small role will be disgusted by his superiors if he speaks out. Boss Peng and the leaders of Yesi are veterans who have been tested by the flames of war. The revolution has rich combat experience, and it is a somewhat sensitive topic to have opinions on the combat plans formulated by these characters.

After thinking for a while, Li Yong still stood up. No matter how he was understood by his superiors, what should be said must be said. When it comes to how to destroy the enemy and protect himself, the older generation of Communists are very tolerant. You should not embarrass yourself. It is not appropriate to put the thinking of modern people on the older generation.

Having figured this out, Li Yong no longer has any worries in his mind. He just says what he should say, and he feels good when he says it. As for the arrangement of his superiors, it is beyond his control: "Commander, I have nothing to do with Ye Si's battle plan. Opinion, just a little worried."

Hearing Li Yong say that he was a little worried about the campaign plan, Commander Wang's heart skipped a beat, because Commander Wang knew Li Yong's character very well, and he wouldn't speak like that without certain assurance and judgment. , Sometimes he is very accurate in seeing things. Before several major battles, his judgments were very accurate. This is why Commander Wang often called him up to speak: "What are you worried about? Say it out, don't hide it Yes, no one will blame you if you make a mistake."

"Commander, it's not wrong to take the initiative to contain Hu Zongnan's main force in the northern Shaanxi battlefield. It is also the most important task of our field army at present, but I personally think that our appetite is a little bigger."

When Li Yong said this, Commander Wang encouraged him: "It's nothing, let's go on, it's the best thing to give advice to Ye Si's plan, don't worry about it."

Li Yong: In the previous campaign, our field army set the goal of destroying one division of the enemy. Through the efforts of all the commanders and fighters of the field army, we achieved our goal and wiped out the reorganized 36th division of the Kuomintang. I think there are two key points in the battle. .

First, the KMT's reorganized 36th Division was reorganized after Shajiadian was wiped out. Its personnel and combat effectiveness were not very good. The superior force fought the battle of annihilation, and the elimination of the 36th Division was in the process of liquidation.

Second, in order to create opportunities for our column, the field army used all of its main force to contain the enemy's main force. As a result, the Kuomintang's reinforcements were not in place, or there were no reinforcements at all, and our column attacked with all its strength without any worries. , the above two points are the key to victory in the battle.

When Li Yong said this, not only Commander Wang, but also the brigade cadres who came to the meeting in the column nodded frequently. These people did not feel proud and complacent because they fought well in the last battle. It is impossible to wipe out the 36th Division so smoothly with the full cooperation of the Second Column. The victory is the result of the joint efforts of all field army soldiers. This is the consensus of everyone.

Seeing that everyone supports his point of view, Li Yong is more confident to continue speaking: Although our field army has rested for a period of time, we have added some prisoners and a large number of North China soldiers, and our weapons and equipment have also been greatly improved. Compared with the strength, it is still in a weak position. It is difficult to destroy the enemy's two divisions in one battle. The 36th Division of the Kuomintang, like the [-]th Division, was formed after it was eliminated (the [-]th Division of the Kuomintang was eliminated in the Yan'an Campaign , the current Seventeenth Division is reorganized), and its combat effectiveness is not high.

However, the strength of the 38th Division reorganized by the Kuomintang is very complete, with a full staff (more than 5000 people), and excellent weapons and ammunition. There may be unexpected difficulties in dealing with such troops. Therefore, I think that after the battle begins, our two There is no problem encircling the 38th Division with a column and a column. Our two columns add up to nearly [-] people. To deal with a Kuomintang [-]th Division with only a few thousand people, the strength is four to one. It should not take much to eat it However, it is not easy for three or four columns to encircle the [-]th Division of the Kuomintang.

On the surface, the third and fourth columns have more than 38 personnel, twice that of the Kuomintang's 38th Division. However, the Kuomintang's [-]th Division is engaged in defensive warfare. Positional defensive warfare is the strength of the Kuomintang army. Our advantage lies in mobile field warfare. I am short on the enemy's strengths, and the two to one force does not have much advantage. It is difficult to wipe out in a short time. Once entangled with the enemy, it will be troublesome. Our field army is responsible for containing the main force of the enemy's large corps. A six-column, if the six-column cannot withstand the attack of the enemy's main force, the troops will fall into a very dangerous and passive situation.

Therefore, our field army has two difficulties in this battle. The first difficulty is whether the third and fourth columns can quickly solve the 38th Division of the Kuomintang. If it can be solved quickly, all our worries are unnecessary and superfluous. After the end, it is enough for the troops to withdraw quickly. If the battle cannot be ended quickly, then it will depend on the performance of our six columns.

The second difficulty lies in whether the six columns can withstand the enemy's attack. Although the Kuomintang's command is very rigid, not all frontline commanders are fools. It is impossible not to rescue the two divisions when they are surrounded. Once the enemy's main force rushes towards us Only rely on the six columns, and the six columns only have more than 2 people. It is very troublesome to use the six columns of more than 2 people to meet the main force of the 10,000+ KMT Corps. time?

When Li Yong said this, there was a lot of discussion in the meeting room of the second column, and the head of the second regiment Zhao patted Li Yong on the shoulder: "Dayong, your boy always surprises us every time. , But what you said is indeed reasonable. Our containment force is too small. I guess the chiefs of the field department want to use a thunderous blow to quickly resolve the battle, or they will not send out all the troops in their hands. Only one six-column remains."

Commander Wang and the several commanders around him looked at each other, and the meaning in their eyes was very obvious. This little brigade commander is becoming more and more difficult to see through. He analyzes the problem clearly and logically, and his mature mind does not seem to be 20 years old. Young people, but it is not a bad thing, the more powerful the better.

Looking at the steaming conference room, Commander Wang put his hands on the table: "Comrades, I will report Li Yong's opinion to the leaders of the field department. If everyone agrees, it is the collective opinion of our second column, but The battle is about to start tomorrow night, and since the superior has made a decision, we must resolutely carry it out, and everyone will take control of the troops when we go back, prepare for the battle, and start on time tomorrow night."

At night, it was pitch black, with no moon or stars. Thick clouds piled up in the sky, and the autumn wind blew over with a bleak chill. Shadowy people and horses were walking in the ravine beside the woods. The large group of people and horses watched I don't know how many there are, but judging from the soldiers' short passwords, the small sounds of weapons bumping on their bodies, and the snorting of war horses, it can be judged that this is a large army marching at night.

It was the main force of the Northwest Field Army, the well-known second column, that was carrying out the task of crossing the chasm. The visibility at night was poor, but it was the best cover for the entire column of tens of thousands of horses.

Walking in the front of the entire column, a platoon of soldiers was responsible for leading the way. Dozens of smart soldiers, led by their battalion commander, led the group forward while identifying the terrain and features.

At the end of the pre-war preparation meeting of the Second Column, Commander Wang approached Li Yong and Wang Chengde and borrowed a reconnaissance platoon from the Independent Brigade to lead the way for the whole army. Good scouts, Ning Erzi's scouting platoon.

The soldiers of this platoon were personally led by their battalion commander Zhang Jinsong, and searched and advanced in front of the large troops along the terrain and roads that had been scouted a few days ago.

It is very difficult to identify the direction and position on a night without moon and stars, although it is easy to misunderstand after walking once, but fortunately Zhang Jinsong and his scouts have received professional training, dead trees, stones, mounds, rivers, The growth of trees and weeds and their sun-facing positions are all references for their orientation.