1, kill Saeed
Zhang was killed in the cave of his command post. On May 30th 1947, Chen (Yi), Su (Yu), Tan (Zhenlin) and Yi jointly sent a telegram to the Central Military Commission. The original telegram reads as follows:
Liu Deng Military Commission:
(1) according to the final inspection, Zhang, the commander of the 74th division, and Lu Xing, the brigade commander of the 58th brigade, were killed by He Fengshan, deputy head of the 6th vertical special regiment, at 2 pm on 16. When the deputy head of the mission approached the cave where Zhang and others were hiding, he was introduced as Zhang and others by the adjutant of the division, and the cave is still in the prisoner's place.
(2) It was also found out that Chen Chuanjun, deputy brigade commanders Pi and Chen, chief of staff Wei Zhenyu, deputy chief of staff, deputy brigade commander He, and deputy director of the division's information office Zhao were all captured and now live in a wild prison camp.
Day 30 of Chen Su Beach Village
2. Suicide theory
Zhang and other senior officers collectively "committed suicide calmly" in the cave, which was the original version of the Kuomintang's post-war public propaganda. After Zhang and his 74th Division were annihilated, Chiang Kai-shek received Zhang's suicide note, which read:
"Today, the situation deteriorated, drinking water was cut off, food and ammunition were exhausted, and the whole division was surrounded by isolation. I fought with the generals to the end. In order to report to the party, the state and the leaders, I sent soldiers and sent subordinates. I am determined to serve the principal for many years. "
1On May 29th, 947, Chiang Kai-shek issued a "Notice to the officers and men of the National Army in memory of Master Zhang", informing all the officers and men of the Kuomintang and commending Zhang for "killing himself to death". The article says:
"It is a great honor for our revolutionary soldiers to be unyielding to death, such as all the officers and men of our 74th Division who died heroically in the recent Battle of Southern Shandong.
The inspector will win this time and go deep into the enemy's lair. When it entered the area near Tambu, it met more than four columns of enemy troops. There was a bloody battle for four days and nights, one after another, and it was black and blue. The fiercer the battle, the greater the strength. It was ordered to retreat to the highlands of Meng Lianggu, where the cliffs were stacked and the targets were exposed, forming a bomb nest. Within a few days, people died one after another, drinking water was cut off, food and ammunition were exhausted, and the whole division was fighting alone.
Although the officers and men of this division know that they can't finish the task, they still take it as their duty to obey orders completely. With one heart and one mind, make persistent efforts, stick to your post and swear to live and die. There are more than 10,000 officers and men such as deputy brigade commander 1 10,000, and more than 20 senior generals such as deputy division commander Zhang, brigade commander Lu Xing and colonel Zhou.
Oh! Tragic, unprecedented, do not grieve, revenge for my warrior, and inherit his legacy! It seems that this meticulous righteousness in the face of difficulties and the spirit of giving orders in the face of danger have enabled us to carry forward the lofty military virtues of our revolutionary soldiers and be worthy of being faithful followers of our Prime Minister's Three People's Principles. "
3. The theory of killing prisoners
After Zhang was captured, he was shot by a soldier who violated discipline. The so-called captive theory means that Zhang was first captured by the People's Liberation Army and then killed by the soldiers in charge of escort.
Although this statement is the most representative, it is a textual research article entitled "The Mystery of Zhang Zai's Despair in the Battle" published in the seventh issue of Centennial Tide magazine hosted by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The author said that he "interviewed Cui, director of the Party History Research Office of Linfen Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, and other comrades who participated in the investigation of Zhang's death and the textual research of his remains.
The most weighty article is Wang Bicheng's memoir "Flying Soldiers Hit Meng Lianggu", written by the commander of the sixth column of the East China Field Army at that time. It is based on the so-called "field trip", that is, a return visit to the battlefield after more than half a century.
Extended data
After the war, Ye Fei, commander of 1 longitudinal, once mentioned that if 1 longitudinal can preempt Meng Lianggu at that time and attack the 74th Division retreating on the highway with other columns, it may be possible to destroy the 74th Division within five hours. Visible at this time, the 74th division to seize Meng Lianggu is the best policy.
When Zhang decided to occupy it, more consideration was to be able to rely on the commanding heights to stabilize his position as soon as possible and then fight back, just like when he met the PLA attack on the Linmeng highway half a month ago, he did not intend to stick to it.
Because Meng Lianggu area is full of stone mountains, it is impossible to build fortifications and there is no water source. Not suitable as a tactical support point. Militarily, it is a Jedi, and most of the ammunition carried by the 74th Division itself has been exhausted. The best policy is to return to Duozhuang as soon as possible, instead of fighting the People's Liberation Army in Meng Lianggu.
But if Zhang wants to go again, it's not up to him. Because the Commander-in-Chief of the Kuomintang Army, after receiving the telegram of its occupation of Meng Lianggu, thought that the 74th Division occupied the commanding heights, had a superior geographical position, and had strong fighting capacity and powerful peripheral troops nearby, which was a good opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the main force of the East China People's Liberation Army, so Chiang Kai-shek personally ordered the 74th Division to stick to it and attract the main force of the People's Liberation Army to blossom to a central point!
Therefore, Xuzhou headquarters and 1 Corps successively ordered the 74th Division to stick to the center for assistance according to the plan of the high command. Zhang was originally prepared to break through, but also under the pressure of successive orders from his superiors, he finally gave up his plan to break through. At this time, the situation surrounded by the People's Liberation Army has not yet formed. If the 74th Division really tries its best to break through, there is still a great possibility of success.
However, Zhang's consideration of the breakthrough first violated the order, and secondly, he was bound to lose a lot of heavy equipment. Even if he breaks through successfully, he will be punished. And if you obey orders and insist on aiding Vietnam, at least 74 divisions have a complete organizational system to control the commanding heights, and the distance between friends and neighbors is only a few kilometers. With the strong fighting capacity of the 74th Division, it is natural to persist for a day or two.
As Zhang said to his men, "according to this favorable terrain, as long as friendly troops come quickly, it is possible to fight well!" Of course, if you want to play well, it depends not only on whether the 74th Division can hold on, but also on whether your friends and neighbors can come quickly. In any case, Zhang finally decided to obey orders and stick to them, which led to the final collapse of the 74th Division.
Facing the People's Liberation Army, the 74th Division held on for three days in the waterless Jedi Meng Lianggu without losing its true colors. However, the reinforcements of its friends and neighbors arrived late, and finally failed to make the center blossom and bear fruit, leaving the 74 th Division on the road of total annihilation.
Therefore, the key to Meng Lianggu's campaign is not the 74th Division itself. Zhang himself had a hunch about this. In his letter to Chiang Kai-shek on May 6, he wrote: "Those who display the national army on the battlefield, the brave let it go, did not dare to listen to its foot-binding, the victims sacrificed, and the smart people thought they were successful. It's hard to understand. Every time you are punished, you should wait to see each other and seldom cooperate. Strange strange bedfellows. "
These points hit the nail on the head. No matter whether Zhang led the department out of his own will or under the pressure of his superiors, the key point is that strange bedfellows, all units of the Kuomintang army, are planning for themselves and have no overall concept. If the 25th and 83rd Divisions had come to the rescue from the beginning, and the 1 1 Divisions of the second echelon, the 65th Division, the 48th Division and the 7th Army could have gone all out, then this would not have happened at all.
Therefore, it is no accident that the 74th Division fell in Meng Lianggu. If these problems within the Kuomintang army are not solved, even if the Kuomintang army is not in Meng Lianggu, it will perish elsewhere. Therefore, going to Meng Lianggu is not the key, but the contradiction within the Kuomintang army. This problem not only destroyed the 74th Division in Meng Lianggu, but also eventually lost the whole war.