First Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army: Files of the First Field Army

Author: Hong Bing, Wang Xu and
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: The Field Army was one of the five main forces of the People's Liberation Army during the War of Liberation and a crack force under the command of the Central Military Commission. It was formed by the reorganization and establishment of the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army and local armed forces during the Anti-Japanese War in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia liberated area and the Jin-Sui liberated area. Its development underwent stages such as the Jin-Sui Field Army, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Jin-Sui Joint Defense Army, the Northwest Field Army, and the Field Army. Under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Central Military Commission, and Chairman Mao Zedong, and under the command of Peng Dehuai, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the People's Liberation Army and (Northwest) Field Army Commander-in-Chief and Political Commissar, with the participation in decision-making and assistance in command by Zhong Xun, Political Commissar of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Jin-Sui Joint Defense Army (Northwest Military Region), relying on the strong support of the masses and coordination from friendly units at all levels, the army successfully completed the glorious task of defending the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chairman Mao Zedong, and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, and liberating the Northwest. This heroic force made great contributions to the victory of the War of Liberation, the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the safeguarding of national sovereignty and security, establishing an unmatched historical merit.
When Chiang Kai-shek, supported by the United States, openly "descended from the mountain" to seize the fruits of the Anti-Japanese War victory and encircled and blockaded the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region with his army, the Jin-Sui Military Region and the Jin-Sui Field Army, under the unified command of Commander-in-Chief Jialong and Political Commissar Li Jingquan, immediately launched a major counterattack against the Japanese and puppet forces, cutting off the Ping-Sui Railway and liberating vast areas. After Japan's surrender, the Jin-Sui Military Region was separated from the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Jin-Sui Joint Defense Army, while the units in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region retained the designation of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Jin-Sui Joint Defense Army, governing five divisions and five military districts, with a total of over 28,000 personnel. At the time, the Kuomintang encircled and blockaded the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region with eight armies and three cavalry divisions, totaling 200,000 troops, constantly provoking military skirmishes, and even attempting to raid the Communist Party of China's headquarters in Yan'an. The people of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region engaged in a countermeasure struggle against the Kuomintang's raids and localized offensives. The Northwest People's Liberation Army launched offensives southward, welcoming the Third and Fifth Regiments of the 359th Brigade, which had broken out of the Central Plains, back to Shaanxi. Through the campaign, they struck back at the northern raids of Deng Baoshan's forces in the Jin-Shan-Sui Border Region. They crushed the Kuomintang's plan to launch a surprise attack on Yan'an led by Hu Zongnan and Ma Hongkui. In the Guanzhong Military District battle, they inflicted heavy casualties on the invading enemy. Zhou Shidi commanded the Jin-North Field Army to launch the Jin-North campaign, and Zhang Zongxun commanded the People's Liberation Army at the Datong Front to launch the Datong and Jining campaign, delivering a heavy blow to the Kuomintang forces.
In the more than one year from September 1945 to February 1947, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region People's Liberation Army, along with militia and guerrilla units, fought 250 battles, eliminating over 10,000 enemy troops, winning over 5,000 enemy soldiers to defect, and defending and consolidating the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, laying a foundation for the Kuomintang's focused offensives. When the Hu Zongnan Group launched a major offensive against Yan'an in February 1947, Peng Dehuai volunteered for the mission, assuming the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Northwest Field Army. Faced with an enemy ten times his size and better equipped, Peng remained calm under pressure, commanding the Northwest People's Liberation Army to rely on the superior mass conditions and advantageous terrain of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, correctly applying Chairman Mao Zedong's "mushroom" tactics. Through the Yan'an Defense Campaign and three consecutive victories in Qinghuabian, Yangmaha, and Panlong, they weakened the morale of the Hu Zongnan Group and turned Chairman Chiang Kai-shek's plan to "solve the Shaanxi problem within three months" into a.
After the establishment of the Northwest Field Army, to draw the main force of the Hu Zongnan Group northward and support the Chen-Xie army crossing the Yellow River southward, Peng Dehuai commanded his forces to launch the Yulin and Shajiaodian campaigns and a series of counter-offensive operations, significantly destroying the Hu Zongnan Group's combat power. In 1948, the Northwest Field Army, facing an enemy five times its size, decisively shifted to offensive operations outside the lines, launching successive campaigns such as Yichuan, Huanglongshanfu, Xifu, Chenghe, Libei, and the winter campaign, shifting the war from northern Shaanxi to the Guanzhong region north of the Wei River, continuing to pin down and weaken the Hu Zongnan Group and effectively supporting and coordinating operations on other battlefields.
After the Liaoshen, Pingjin, and Huaihai campaigns, the War of Liberation entered the strategic pursuit phase, but on the northwest front, the situation of the enemy being stronger than the self remained unchanged. Under this circumstances, the Field Army launched the Spring Offensive and the Shaanxi Central Campaign before the 18th and 19th Corps entered Shaanxi, liberating the capital of Shaanxi, Xi'an, and the vast areas of Shaanxi Central, repelling the joint counterattack of the Hu and Ma armies, and creating conditions for liberating the Northwest. After the 18th and 19th Corps entered Shaanxi, the Field Army had a relative advantage in numbers, and the motor for the northwest showdown was ripe. To accelerate the liberation of the Northwest, the Field Army launched the Fumei Campaign according to the decision to "pin Ma and hit Hu first, then Hu then Ma," annihilating the Hu Zongnan heavy force group; and launched the Lanzhou Campaign, which was decisive to the northwest battlefield, according to the principle of "pinning Hu and hitting Ma," capturing Lanzhou, which the Qing Ma called the "unbreakable iron city."
Advancing victoriously, the Field Army liberated Xitai, completely destroying the feudal rule of the Ma Buofang family. Starting from September 1949, the Field Army's commanders and soldiers demonstrated the spirit of "shoulder the remaining courage to chase the fleeing enemy," liberating the entire Northwest with overwhelming force. the Field Army divided its forces to launch the Ningxia Campaign, the Hexi Campaign, and to clear the remaining enemy in southern Shaanxi and Longnan, liberating the entire territory of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai. Subsequently, they divided into two routes: one led by Peng Dehuai to advance into Xinjiang, and the other led by He Long to advance into northern Sichuan. the Field Army also supported the Southwest Military Region in advancing into Tibet, planting the five-starred flag across the northern mountains of the motherland.
After the Field Army merged with the Northwest Military Region, the units carried out tasks such as suppressing bandits, production, land reclamation and border defense, assisting local organizations in establishing the Party and government, and land reform, making important contributions to consolidating the people's regime, maintaining social order, restoring and developing production, and ensuring the supply of the army. the Field Army's soldiers sacrificed their heads and blood for the cause of the Chinese people's liberation. At the foot of the Baota Mountain, on the Guanzhong Plain, by the banks of the Yellow River, and in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, they left their footprints and buried the loyal bones of the martyrs. The people of all ethnic groups in China will forever remember this heroic force and cherish the heroic soldiers. the Field Army's immortal merits will go down in history forever!