Why did the Kuomintang lose the Huaihai Battle?

The reason for the failure of the Kuomintang was that the determination of the headquarters changed again and again, and the various corps did not cooperate with each other. The most important and critical reason was that the Kuomintang government lost the hearts of the people.

As for the Kuomintang army, Liu Zhi, the commander-in-chief of the Xuzhou Suppression Campaign, believed that in this battle, there were more strategic failures than tactics, and more tactical failures than battles. General Secretary Xi Jinping listed thirteen mistakes, the main ones being: hesitation in making plans for advance and retreat, resulting in a temporary battle instead of a planned and prepared battle, resulting in a disadvantage in terms of strength and posture.

Concerned about the defense of the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, the result was that the troops were scattered due to concerns and weaknesses everywhere; there was poor coordination between the theaters and a lack of flexibility in the transfer of troops. In particular, the Huangwei Corps failed to advance eastward to join the war early and lost its fighter opportunities. .

Du Yuming’s abandonment of Xuzhou was an adventure, but he was unable to use his bravery and decisiveness to defeat the Japanese army with rapid action, thus putting the entire army in danger; there was usually a mental gap between the individual commanders of each army. , unable to coordinate effectively during wartime, so that even though there is a large army, it is difficult to exert the maximum combined force.

The Kuomintang Headquarters’ post-war review said: The main reason for the failure was strategic errors, and the second reason was the lack of improvement in tactics, which made it difficult to support the strategy. Other aspects, such as the maintenance of sustained combat effectiveness, integrated combat effectiveness and counterintelligence, have made major mistakes.

Extended information:

At 7:00 on September 24, 1948, Su Yu sent a telegram "Proposing the Huaihai Campaign" to the Military Commission, East China Bureau, and Central Plains Bureau. In the afternoon of that day, Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi and others called back and said they "agreed to take advantage of the victory to carry out the Huaihai Campaign." Mao Zedong called back on the 25th, saying that "it is very necessary to hold the Huaihai Campaign." It also specified that "the first operation should be aimed at annihilating Huang Baitao's regiment on the line between Xin'an and the Canal."

In this way, the gunfire of the Battle of Jinan has not stopped, and the prelude to the Battle of Huaihai has begun. The East China Field Army invested in intense pre-war preparations. Su Yu held three combat meetings and repeatedly discussed with the Military Commission.

In late October, the Central Plains Field Army captured Zhengzhou and Kaifeng and continued to advance towards the Xubeng Line. On the Huaihai battlefield at this time, there were 15 columns in Huaye and 5 columns in Zhongye. Su Yu believed that a unified command system must be established to maximize the overall power of the two field armies.

On October 31, Su Yu sent a telegram to the Military Commission suggesting: "This battle is very large in scale. Please ask Commander Chen and Political Commissar Deng to unify the command." The next day, the Military Commission responded with instructions: "The entire campaign is under the unified command of Chen and Deng." ".

On November 16, the Military Commission decided that Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi, Deng Xiaoping, Su Yu, and Tan Zhenlin would form the Huaihai Campaign General Front Committee, with Liu Chen and Deng as the standing committee members, and Deng Xiaoping as the secretary, to uniformly lead and command the Huaihai Front. Combat and support work. The issue of unified command in the Huaihai Campaign was successfully resolved by taking Su Yu's suggestion as an opportunity.

In the final stage of the Huaihai Campaign, the "liberation fighters" in the army accounted for 80% of the total number of soldiers in Huaye. After "complaining education", many Chiang Kai-shek soldiers immediately joined the battle without even having time to change their military uniforms. Su Yu ordered 100,000 military caps to be made and distributed to them in order to identify ourselves and the enemy. Someone told a joke: On the Huaihai battlefield, "the Kuomintang army commanded by the Communist Party fought against the Kuomintang army."

On January 10, 1949, all 300,000 troops of Du Yuming's group were wiped out, and Du Yuming was taken prisoner. The Battle of Huaihai lasted 66 days, and 555,000 enemies were wiped out, of which the East China Field Army wiped out 443,500 enemies, achieving a decisive victory in the War of Liberation.

When Stalin learned of the victory in the Huaihai Battle, he wrote in his notebook: "600,000 defeated 800,000, a miracle, really a miracle!" Later, he sent his first ambassador to China, Eugene, to report directly to Mao Zedong. Ask about the Huaihai Campaign. Mao Zedong said that this campaign was proposed by Comrade Su Yu at the end of the Jinan Campaign. "Comrade Su Yu made the first contribution in the Huaihai Campaign."

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