Ten classic battles

I. Huaihai Campaign

Time: autumn of 1948.

Geographical location: Xuzhou is the center, starting from Haizhou in Jiangsu (now Lianyungang) in the east, Shangqiu in Henan in the west, Lincheng in Shandong (now Xuecheng) in the north and Huaihe River in the south.

Brief description of the activity:

The Huaihai Campaign was called "the Battle of Xu Bang" by the Kuomintang. In order to prevent the People's Liberation Army from attacking Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek launched 600,000 troops in Huanghuai area, and then reinforced them to 800,000, while the People's Liberation Army only invested 600,000. From1October 22nd 165438+ to the following year1October 20th, the Kuomintang Yellow Corps, Huang Wei Corps and Du Tuan were annihilated in turn. At this point, the Huaihai Campaign, in which fewer wins more, ended in the overall victory of the People's Liberation Army. The Huaihai Campaign was the one with the most tragic sacrifice, the most enemy-annihilated, the greatest political influence and the most complicated tactics among the three liberation campaigns. It completely lost the elite main force of the Kuomintang on the southern line, liberated the vast area north of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and laid the foundation for the PLA to cross the river.

Materials:

During the campaign, the East China Bureau, the Central Plains Bureau and the Central Hebei-Shandong-Henan Branch made every effort to organize the early support work. According to statistics, there are 5.43 million migrant workers (including migrant workers embedded in the army, second-line migrant workers and temporary migrant workers in the rear), 206,000 pairs of stretchers, 88 1 10,000 vehicles, 305,000 poles, 767,000 livestock, 8,539 ships and 257 vehicles. 7.3 million kilograms of ammunition and 4,000 grains were transported from the rear to the front.

Second, the battle of Verdun-Somme.

Time: 19 16 years

Location: Verdun.

Brief description of the activity:

From 2006 1965438+ 1, Fajinhan quietly assembled his troops to attack Verdun. At the same time, the Germans openly sent more troops to Chambeni and made a gesture of launching an offensive in Chambeni. Fei Xia, commander-in-chief of the French army, was really taken in. Since 19 14, when the German army was unable to conquer Verdun and diverted its attack direction, the French army thought that Verdun fortress was outdated, and Fei Xia stopped strengthening it in 19 15. At this time, the German movement to Xiangbeni made Fei Xia extremely alert. He thought that the Germans would attack Shanbeni and then March into Paris from here.

The Germans continued to quietly gather troops in the direction of Verdun. As the signs of assembly became more and more obvious and exposed, the British and French Coalition forces finally figured out the true intentions of the Germans. Fei Xia panicked and quickly sent more troops to Verdun. By February 2 1 day, only two divisions had arrived in Verdun. On this day, the Germans began to attack Verdun. German artillery bombarded Verdun fortress with heavy artillery, and then launched a charge.

The prologue of the battle of Verdun began. The German 1000 cannons, like thunder, took turns to charge higher and higher. Patten, commander of the fortress at the Battle of Verdun, commanded the defenders and reinforcements to resist desperately. However, because the reinforcements only came to two divisions, plus his own two divisions, there were only four divisions in total, and they were pushed by the Germans for 6 kilometers on the first day. But it finally stabilized.

The battle was very difficult for the French army. The German army has 27 divisions, 1000 cannons, while the French army has only 1 10000 men and 270 cannons. But at least it resisted the German attack. After the French reinforcements arrived, the two sides began a tug-of-war. The Germans didn't take Verdun in one fell swoop the day before, and they had already lost their fighters. Both sides are sending more troops to Verdun, and they are fighting a life-and-death war. After fierce fighting in April, the strength of the French army is comparable to that of the German army. The Germans were in a hurry, and the Crown Prince personally signed it, using gas bombs for the first time. But the French army stopped the German attack again and again in front of the fortress. In July, the German army launched its last offensive climax, but it was still resisted by the French army. In autumn, the French army began to counterattack.

In the Battle of Verdun, Germany and France invested nearly 2 million troops, and the number of casualties reached more than 6,543,800. The Germans exhausted their energy in this battle. After the French counterattack began, they successively recovered large areas of land east of Verdun, and the Germans were losing ground. By 19 17, the German-Austrian camp was gradually declining, and finally defeated and surrendered at 19 18, and the First World War ended immediately.

It is worth mentioning that the Battle of Verdun was the decisive battle and turning point of the First World War. The Germans failed to realize their plan to capture Verdun and outflank South Paris Road. After exhausting the troops, I couldn't find a way out and finally failed.

Third, the British air war.

Time: 1940 to 194 1 year.

Location: Over the British mainland and the English Channel.

Brief description of the activity:

The Battle of Britain was a large-scale air battle launched by Nazi Germany against Britain during the Second World War (1940 to 194 1). This war is also the largest air battle in the Second World War. In addition to Britain and Germany, aircrew members from New Zealand, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, Jamaica, Sri Lanka and Southern Rhodesia also joined the British army. In particular, many European countries occupied by Nazi Germany, including Poland, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France and other air forces evacuated to Britain, also joined the ranks of defending Britain; It is worth mentioning that at that time, the neutral United States also had volunteers to form EagleSquadrons to fight side by side with Britain. Italy, which belongs to the Axis, sent an "Aviation Corps" to fight with the German Air Force.

The war ended in Germany's defeat at 194 1, 10, 12. Due to the loss of too many fighters and pilots, it is impossible to gain air superiority in the English Channel, and it is impossible to disintegrate the British ground and naval combat power through air strikes. Germany had to give up its plan to invade Britain.

Previously, the German army customized the sea lion plan to invade Britain in an attempt to seize the air superiority first, thus destroying the British fortifications and the Royal Air Force. At the beginning of the campaign, the main force of the German Air Force consisted of 3 air teams and 2,669 fighters and bombers, while Britain had only 1 2,200 fighters and bombers, and Germany had an advantage of 2: 1. However, the number of fighters continued to increase in the later period, with about 4,000 fighters on each side. At that time, the British army had advanced radar technology, which made the Germans never seize the air superiority.

Four. Battle of El alamein

Time:194210/October 23rd-1942101October 3rd.

Location: North Africa, Alaman and other regions.

Brief description of the activity:

The Battle of El Alamein was a battle in Alaman between the African Panzer Corps under the command of Axis German Commander erwin rommel and the Commonwealth Army under the command of British General bernard montgomery. The war ended in the victory of the British-led allied forces.

The victory of this battle completely reversed the situation on the battlefield in North Africa. The victory of the Allied Forces in Alaman dashed the hopes of Nazi Germany and the Italian Kingdom to occupy Egypt, control the Suez Canal and occupy the Middle East with rich strategic resources. This battle ended the attack of the African Panzer Corps. After this war, the Axis countries turned to strategic retreat in North Africa. The Battle of El Alamein, the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Guadalcanal simultaneously became the beginning of the allied strategic counterattack.

In fact, Montgomery regarded this campaign as a war of attrition, just like World War I. He accurately predicted the duration of the battle and the losses of the allies. The Commonwealth troops used artillery support perfectly, but their armored forces also used cavalry tactics, which led to a large number of tanks attacking the enemy in the open ground with insufficient infantry and air support, causing heavy casualties. The Commonwealth forces used only limited air support, but in contrast, the German Air Force and the Italian Air Force provided almost no support to the ground forces, and their energy was concentrated on air combat.

The allied forces won a brilliant victory. The Battle of El Alamein was the first large-scale battle won by the Allies. Winston Churchill published his famous comment on this battle in1942165438+10/0: "This battle is not the end of the war, or even the beginning of the end stage of the war, but the end of the beginning stage of the war. This is Montgomery's most brilliant achievement. When he was knighted, he won the title of "Viscount Montgomery, Alaman".

Rommel retreated all the way to the highlands of Tunisia, where his troops were supplemented by personnel and equipment. It would be very useful to provide such support in the battle of El Alamein. Rommel faced the situation of fighting on two fronts. Commonwealth troops pursued his troops from the east, and American troops approached in the west. Because of the mistakes made by inexperienced American troops in the battle of Catherine Trail, the idea of defeating the Axis forces with small-scale battles was abandoned. This mistake made the battle of Tunisia a long and difficult one.

It was not until after the Battle of Tunisia that Rommel completely lost the hope of winning in North Africa. Even so, the battle of El Alamein was a brilliant victory of the Allies and became a decisive battle. By 1943, all Axis forces were expelled from the African battlefield, and the allies began to concentrate on the Mediterranean.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) The second campaign of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.

Time:1950165438+1evening of October 25th.

Location: North Korea

Brief description of the activity:

After the first campaign to resist US aggression and aid Korea, the United Nations forces launched a general attack on the east and west fronts. China Volunteers lured the enemy deep and launched an attack at dusk on June 25th. 1950+065438+ The enemy was defeated. On February 3, 65438, the United Nations troops retreated to the south of the 38th parallel.

On February 6th, 65438, China Volunteers recaptured Pyongyang. The 9 th Corps of the Eastern Front launched an attack in the Changjin Lake area. By February 24th, 65438, the volunteers had recovered Yuanshan and Nanxing. At this point, the second battle ended with a great victory for the volunteers. The victory of this campaign not only recovered all the occupied areas north of the 38th parallel (except Xiangyang), but also liberated Yan 'an and Wengjin Peninsula south of the 38th parallel, which fundamentally reversed the war situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Six, midway naval battle

Time: 65438+June 0942

Location: Central Pacific Ocean

Brief description of the activity:

Midway Island is the midway of the Pacific route, and it is also an important military base and transportation hub of the US military in the Pacific region. 1On June 4th, 942, the US Navy successfully repelled the Japanese Navy's attack on Midway Atoll, and the Japanese army was defeated. At the cost of losing an aircraft carrier, the US military sank four heavy main aircraft carriers of the Japanese army. In this campaign, the U.S. military won the initial victory in reversing the war situation in the Pacific, ended the long-term offensive of the Japanese navy, restored the balance of naval power in the Pacific region, and gradually lost Japan's strategic initiative in the Pacific battlefield, and the war situation turned in favor of the allies.

In the battle of midway, 1 Japanese heavy cruiser was sinking after being hit by American carrier aircraft (1942 June 6). On June 3rd, Shiro vice admiral led a northern formation (2 aircraft carriers, 82 carrier-based aircraft and 29 other warships) to launch a surprise attack on the Dutch port in the Aleutian Islands.

In the early morning of the 4th, Lieutenant General Nayun Zhong Yi led a 1 mobile formation (four aircraft carriers, more than 260 carrier-based aircraft and 17 other warships) to reach the sea area 240 nautical miles northwest of Midway Island, and dispatched 1 wave plane 108 to Midway Island at 4: 30. The US military on the island issued an alarm, and the plane took off to meet the enemy and launched a fierce battle. Japanese bombers attacked the airport and destroyed some ground facilities. Due to the strengthening of the island's defense, the airport runway was not damaged. During this period, Nanyun's mobile formation was repeatedly scouted, harassed and attacked by American shore-based aircraft. Nan Yun decided to attack Midway Island again.

At 7: 0015, the U.S. shore-based torpedo plane ended its attack, but Nan Yun ordered the second wave of planes that had been hit by torpedoes to attack the U.S. aircraft carrier and modify the bomb to attack Midway Island. At 7: 28, the Japanese reconnaissance plane reported the discovery of the American fleet.

At this time, the US special mixed fleet on standby in the northeastern waters of Midway Island is approaching the Japanese mobile formation, and more than 200 aircraft have been dispatched in the first and second waves. At 8: 20, the Japanese reconnaissance plane reported that the American fleet seemed to have 1 aircraft carrier. Nan Yun then ordered the first wave of planes attacking Midway Island and fighters patrolling in air combat to return, and then led the fleet northward to avoid the attack and redeploy the attack on the enemy fleet.

Seven. Stalingrad

Time:1942 July17-1943 February 2.

Location: Volga River Basin near Stalingrad, USSR.

Brief description of the activity:

Stalingrad is an important transportation hub from the central part of the Soviet Union to the important economic zone in the south, and the Germans tried to occupy it to cut off the Soviet strategic supply line. On July 1942 and 17, the war between the Soviet Union and Germany started.

On September 13, the Germans attacked the city slightly, but the offensive was slightly weak. 1 19 June 65438+ 10 October Soviet counterattacked, using the most advanced Katyusha rocket launcher at that time. After two months of stalemate, the Germans surrendered. The Battle of Stalingrad ended the offensive posture maintained by the German southern cluster since 194 1, which directly caused a fundamental change in the overall strength of the Soviet Union and Germany and became a turning point in the Eastern Front of World War II.

Stalingrad used to be the traffic throat from the central part of the Soviet Union to the important economic zone in the south, and its strategic position was extremely important. If the Germans occupy Stalingrad and the Caucasus, they can attack Moscow to the north and leave the Persian Gulf to the south. The west and south of Stalingrad are the main producing areas of grain, coal and oil in the Soviet Union. If the Germans occupy this area, the Soviet Union will lose the important resources needed for the war.

The Battle of Stalingrad was the most serious defeat of Nazi Germany in the strategic scope, which not only ended the offensive posture maintained by the German southern cluster since 194 1, but also directly led to a fundamental change in the overall strength of the Soviet Union and Germany.

The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in the Eastern Front of World War II. Judging from the number of casualties, this is also the bloodiest battle in modern history. It is estimated that there were more than 2 million casualties on both sides, and more people participated in this battle than in other battles in history. More famous is the casualties caused by both sides ignoring the difference between military and civilian.

Eight, Normandy landing campaign

Time:1June 6, 944

Venue: Normandy, northern France

Brief description of the activity:

1On June 6th, 944, the allied vanguard troops, mainly British and American troops, took the lead in marching, crossed the English Channel from England and landed in Normandy. Since then, 2.88 million allied forces have flooded into France, successfully opening up the second battlefield on the European continent. The Normandy landing campaign codenamed "Operation Overlord" was the largest and longest landing campaign during World War II. Its victory declared the opening of the allied forces' second battlefield on the European continent, which meant that Nazi Germany was caught in a double battle, relieved the pressure of the Soviet Union, cooperated with the Soviet Union to conquer Berlin, and the US military could put its main force into the Pacific Ocean to fight against Japan, thus accelerating the end of World War II.

Nine, the Gulf War

Time:1990 August 2nd-1991February 28th.

Venue: Persian Gulf

Brief description of the activity:

The Gulf War was a large-scale armed conflict against Iraq in 1990- 199 1, with the aim of restoring Kuwait's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and restoring its legitimate regime.

1991On February 27th, the United States announced the end of the war to liberate Kuwait and ceased fire at midnight that day. Iraq finally accepted the ceasefire agreement in April. In this war, the U.S. military used a large number of high-tech weapons and showed its overwhelming armed forces, which brought many inspirations and important influences to modern military strategy, campaign tactics and army building, thus greatly improving the status of the United States in the international arena.

It is worth mentioning that the direct economic losses caused by the Gulf War to Iraq amounted to about $200 billion. In the U.S. air strikes against Iraq, some infrastructure such as oil industry and transportation and some important military targets were bombed, which dealt a heavy blow to Iraq's future economic construction. Militarily, the Iraqi army lost more than two-thirds of its overall combat capability in the Gulf War, and more than forty divisions were destroyed. The number of casualties ranged from 85,000 to100,000. The Iraqi navy was completely destroyed in this war.

Before the outbreak of the Gulf War, with its rich oil and natural gas resources, Iraq's economic development was at the upper-middle level in the Middle East, and its per capita GNP was close to 4,000 US dollars. 199 1 After the Gulf War, Iraq's GDP only reached one-third of that before the war, and its per capita income fell to less than 400 dollars.

The whole NATO ranks among the best in 38,000 aircraft sorties, firing and dropping about 23,000 bombs and missiles, of which precision-guided weapons account for 35%. The air raid in Kosovo is a very typical aviation and missile battle, an "asymmetric battle" between high technology and low technology, and an important high-tech modern local war with wide influence at the end of the 20th century, which has had an important impact on the development of modern international strategic pattern and military theory.

X. Air strikes in Kosovo

Time: 1999

Location: Yugoslavia

Brief description of the activity:

In order to bring the Balkan region into the western strategic system, NATO, led by the United States, launched a large-scale air strike war against Yugoslavia, code-named "Allied Forces". The fighting lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 30, 1999. NATO suffered zero casualties, but Yugoslavia suffered heavy losses.