Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Campaign
Encyclopedia
The Hebei
– Rehe
– Chahar
Campaign (冀热察战役) was a series of battles fought in Northern China
between the nationalists
and the communists during the Chinese Civil War
in the post World War II
era, and resulted in communist victory.
totaling 550,000 troops were besieged in three isolated pockets in Changchun
, Shenyang
and Jinzhou
. In order to reinforce the nationalists in Northeast China, Chiang Kai-shek
redeployed the nationalist Reorganized 54th Division
from Qingdao
to Jinzhou, and attempted to send reinforcement from Northern China as well. To prevent nationalist forces in Northern China from reinforcing Northeast China, the communists decided to launch a campaign in northern China to tie down the local nationalist forces.
Communist order of battle
s returning to Chengde
from Flat Spring (Ping Quan, 平泉) at regions of Three Ditches (三沟) and Six Ditches (六沟), badly mauling the nationalist units. At night of May 13, 1948, the communist 2nd Column started its eastward push by striking the nationalist strongholds in Yanqing
. The nationalists redeployed their 35th Army, 94th Army, 3rd Army and 4th Army to Huailai
, Yanqing and Xuanhua
, while detachments from the nationalist 16th Army and 92nd Army were redeployed to Shahe
and Nakou
in an attempt to besiege the enemy, but the enemy had already passed the region to the east of Yanqing and continued its eastward push. By June 2, 1948, with the help of the 11th Column of the communist Northeast Military District and units of the communist Hebei
– Rehe
– Liaoning
Military District, the communist II Corps had severed the Beijing
– Chengde
Railway, taking towns / counties including Luanping (滦平) County, Longhua (隆化), Fengning (丰宁), and Flat Spring (Ping Quan, 平泉). As Chengde in the north and Beijing in the south were both threatened by the communist success, the nationalists were forced to redeploy three armies and two divisions
from Huailai and Yanqing to Pinggu, and along the railroad from Huairou
to Beijing to boost the local defense.
In order to disperse the nationalists, the communists redeployed their forces. Three independent divisions of the communist Hebei
– Rehe
– Liaoning
Military District and the 3rd Column of the communist II Corps were organized into Right Flank Corps to penetrate into Pinggu
region, while the communist 4th Brigade
of the 2nd Column and the communist 4th Column were organized into the Left Flank Corps to strike eastern Hebei. By June 15, 1948, a dozen nationalist strongholds had fallen into enemy hands, including Fengrun (丰润), Renge Village (Rege Zhuang, 任各庄), Hazel Town (Zhenzi Zhen, 榛子镇) and Wild Chicken Tuo (Yeji Tuo, (野鸡坨). The nationalist 151st Division defending the region was badly mauled by the enemy, losing over 5,000 troops and Tangshan
was gravely threatened. In order to ensure the safety of Tangshan and the Beijing
– Shanhai Pass
Railway, the nationalists were forced to redeploy seven divisions from Pinggu, reaching Fengrun (丰润) on June 18, 1948. Meanwhile, two nationalist brigade
s of the nationalist 8th Army in Shandong
were transported to Qinghuangdao by sea and then pushed toward to the region west of Luan (滦) county in an attempt to besiege the enemy, but the enemy was already withdrawn to Lulong (卢龙) and Qian’an (迁安) regions, thus successfully avoided the nationalist trap. Taking the advantage of the failed nationalist attempt to trap the enemy, the communist Right Flank Corps struck northward, taking Stone Box (Shixia, 石匣), Little Battalion (Xiao Ying, 小营) and besieged Ancient North Mouth (Gu Bei Kou, 古北口) on June 19, 1948, thus forcing the nationalists to withdrew their troops elsewhere and redeploy them to reinforce the northern front. Taking the advantage of the nationalist redeployment, the communist 11th Column and the communist Left Flank Corps launched another offensive on June 23, 1948, and by June 25, 1948, successfully took all of the nationalist strongholds along the Stone Gate Street (Shi Men Jie, 石门街) to Lichang (昌黎) City line, thus concluding the campaign by severing the important link between northern China and Northeast China on land.
– Suiyuan Railway, Beijing – Chengde
Railway, Beijing – Liaoning
Railway, and Beijing – Hankou
Railway. In contrast, the communists had successfully prevented the nationalists from sending nationalist force in northern China to Northeast China, in addition to the successes just described. The nationalist defeat was mainly due to the Chiang Kai-shek’s uncompromising doctrine of holding on to as much land as possible, and as long as possible, which overstretched the numerically superior nationalist forces as they were dispersed to garrison vast regions. As a result, none of the garrison had enough strength to fight when enemy concentrated their forces and attacked with overwhelmingly numerically superior force.
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
– Rehe
Rehe
Rehe , also known as Jehol, is a defunct Chinese Special administrative district and later province.-Administration:Rehe was located north of the Great Wall, west of Manchuria, and east of Mongolia. The capital of Rehe was the city of Chengde. The second largest city in the province was Chaoyang,...
– Chahar
Chahar (province)
Chahar , also known as Chaha'er, Chakhar, or Qahar, was a province of China in existence from 1912 to 1936, mostly covering territory in what is part of eastern Inner Mongolia. It was named after the Chahar Mongolians....
Campaign (冀热察战役) was a series of battles fought in Northern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
between the nationalists
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
and the communists during the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
in the post World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era, and resulted in communist victory.
Prelude
In the spring of 1948, the nationalist forces in Northeast ChinaNortheast China
Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
totaling 550,000 troops were besieged in three isolated pockets in Changchun
Changchun
Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin province, located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China, in the center of the Songliao Plain. It is administered as a sub-provincial city with a population of 7,677,089 at the 2010 census under its jurisdiction, including counties and...
, Shenyang
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...
and Jinzhou
Jinzhou
Jinzhou , is a prefecture-level city of Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the "Liaoxi Corridor" , which connects land transportation between North China and Northeast China. Jinzhou is China's northernmost seaport and the coastal economic center of West...
. In order to reinforce the nationalists in Northeast China, Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
redeployed the nationalist Reorganized 54th Division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
from Qingdao
Qingdao
' also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.It borders Yantai to the...
to Jinzhou, and attempted to send reinforcement from Northern China as well. To prevent nationalist forces in Northern China from reinforcing Northeast China, the communists decided to launch a campaign in northern China to tie down the local nationalist forces.
Order of battle
Nationalist order of battleOrder of battle
In modern use, the order of battle is the identification, command structure, strength, and disposition of personnel, equipment, and units of an armed force participating in field operations. Various abbreviations are in use, including OOB, O/B, or OB, while ORBAT remains the most common in the...
- The 3rd Army
- The 4th Army
- The 16th Army
- The 35th Army
- The 92nd Army
- The 94th Army
- The 151st Division
- 2 brigadeBrigadeA brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s of the 8th Army
Communist order of battle
- The 3rd Column of the II Corps
- The 4th Column of the II Corps
- The 4th BrigadeBrigadeA brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
of the 2nd Column - The 11th Column of the Northeastern Military District
- Three independent divisionsDivision (military)A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
of the HebeiHebei' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
– ReheReheRehe , also known as Jehol, is a defunct Chinese Special administrative district and later province.-Administration:Rehe was located north of the Great Wall, west of Manchuria, and east of Mongolia. The capital of Rehe was the city of Chengde. The second largest city in the province was Chaoyang,...
– LiaoningLiaoning' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
Military District
Campaign
On May 12, 1948, the 11th Column of the communist Northeastern Military District ambushed two nationalist regimentRegiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
s returning to Chengde
Chengde
Chengde , previously known as Jehol or Re He , is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China, situated northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by the Qing emperors as summer residence...
from Flat Spring (Ping Quan, 平泉) at regions of Three Ditches (三沟) and Six Ditches (六沟), badly mauling the nationalist units. At night of May 13, 1948, the communist 2nd Column started its eastward push by striking the nationalist strongholds in Yanqing
Yanqing County
Yanqing County is a subdivision of the municipality of Beijing located northwest of the city proper of Beijing...
. The nationalists redeployed their 35th Army, 94th Army, 3rd Army and 4th Army to Huailai
Huailai County
Huailai is a county in the Hebei province of northern China, under the administration of Zhangjiakou prefecture-level city.Huailai County is a center for grape wine production, with the China Great Wall Wine Company, Ltd. headquartered in the town of Shacheng. Huailai Tianyuan Special Type Glass...
, Yanqing and Xuanhua
Xuanhua District
Xuanhua is a district in Zhangjiakou prefecture-level city in Hebei Province, China.Xuanhua is 180 km North-West of Beijing. It has a population of 274,000 people. Xuanhua is a very old city with a rich military and agricultural history...
, while detachments from the nationalist 16th Army and 92nd Army were redeployed to Shahe
Shahe
Shahe is a county-level city in the prefecture-level city of Xingtai, in the southern part of Hebei province of the People's Republic of China.-Administrative Divisions:Subdistricts:...
and Nakou
Nankou railway station
Nankou railway station is a railway station in Beijing.- Schedules :10 passenger trains stop at the station every day, they are trains 7235, 4434, 7236, 1455, K274, 7173, 7174, 1456, K273, and 4433....
in an attempt to besiege the enemy, but the enemy had already passed the region to the east of Yanqing and continued its eastward push. By June 2, 1948, with the help of the 11th Column of the communist Northeast Military District and units of the communist Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
– Rehe
Rehe
Rehe , also known as Jehol, is a defunct Chinese Special administrative district and later province.-Administration:Rehe was located north of the Great Wall, west of Manchuria, and east of Mongolia. The capital of Rehe was the city of Chengde. The second largest city in the province was Chaoyang,...
– Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
Military District, the communist II Corps had severed the Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
– Chengde
Chengde
Chengde , previously known as Jehol or Re He , is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China, situated northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by the Qing emperors as summer residence...
Railway, taking towns / counties including Luanping (滦平) County, Longhua (隆化), Fengning (丰宁), and Flat Spring (Ping Quan, 平泉). As Chengde in the north and Beijing in the south were both threatened by the communist success, the nationalists were forced to redeploy three armies and two divisions
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
from Huailai and Yanqing to Pinggu, and along the railroad from Huairou
Huairou District
Huairou District is situated at northern Beijing. Huairou District, covering an area of 2,557.3 square kilometers, is divided into 2 subdistricts of the city of Huairou, 12 towns and 2 ethnic rural townships with a population of 296,002...
to Beijing to boost the local defense.
In order to disperse the nationalists, the communists redeployed their forces. Three independent divisions of the communist Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
– Rehe
Rehe
Rehe , also known as Jehol, is a defunct Chinese Special administrative district and later province.-Administration:Rehe was located north of the Great Wall, west of Manchuria, and east of Mongolia. The capital of Rehe was the city of Chengde. The second largest city in the province was Chaoyang,...
– Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
Military District and the 3rd Column of the communist II Corps were organized into Right Flank Corps to penetrate into Pinggu
Pinggu District
Pinggu District , formerly Pinggu County , lies at the extreme eastern end of Beijing municipality, and borders Tianjin municipality near Ji County. It has an area of 950 square kilometers and a population of 396,701...
region, while the communist 4th Brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
of the 2nd Column and the communist 4th Column were organized into the Left Flank Corps to strike eastern Hebei. By June 15, 1948, a dozen nationalist strongholds had fallen into enemy hands, including Fengrun (丰润), Renge Village (Rege Zhuang, 任各庄), Hazel Town (Zhenzi Zhen, 榛子镇) and Wild Chicken Tuo (Yeji Tuo, (野鸡坨). The nationalist 151st Division defending the region was badly mauled by the enemy, losing over 5,000 troops and Tangshan
Tangshan
"唐山"redirects here. For an alternative name of China, see Names of China#TangTangshan is a largely industrial prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has become known for the 1976 Tangshan earthquake which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale and killed at least...
was gravely threatened. In order to ensure the safety of Tangshan and the Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
– Shanhai Pass
Shanhai Pass
Shanhai Pass , or Shanhaiguan, along with Jiayu Pass and Juyong Pass, is one of the major passes of the Great Wall of China It is located in Shanhaiguan District, Qinhuangdao, Hebei. In 1961, Shanhaiguan became a site of China First Class National Cultural Site.It is a popular tourist destination,...
Railway, the nationalists were forced to redeploy seven divisions from Pinggu, reaching Fengrun (丰润) on June 18, 1948. Meanwhile, two nationalist brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s of the nationalist 8th Army in Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
were transported to Qinghuangdao by sea and then pushed toward to the region west of Luan (滦) county in an attempt to besiege the enemy, but the enemy was already withdrawn to Lulong (卢龙) and Qian’an (迁安) regions, thus successfully avoided the nationalist trap. Taking the advantage of the failed nationalist attempt to trap the enemy, the communist Right Flank Corps struck northward, taking Stone Box (Shixia, 石匣), Little Battalion (Xiao Ying, 小营) and besieged Ancient North Mouth (Gu Bei Kou, 古北口) on June 19, 1948, thus forcing the nationalists to withdrew their troops elsewhere and redeploy them to reinforce the northern front. Taking the advantage of the nationalist redeployment, the communist 11th Column and the communist Left Flank Corps launched another offensive on June 23, 1948, and by June 25, 1948, successfully took all of the nationalist strongholds along the Stone Gate Street (Shi Men Jie, 石门街) to Lichang (昌黎) City line, thus concluding the campaign by severing the important link between northern China and Northeast China on land.
Outcome
The nationalists lose over 24,390 troops in this campaign, including over 17,350 captured alive by the enemy and over 7,040 killed. Seven cities / towns and vast rural regions fell into the enemy hands, and additionally, the enemy had severed the communication / transportation lines of BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
– Suiyuan Railway, Beijing – Chengde
Chengde
Chengde , previously known as Jehol or Re He , is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China, situated northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by the Qing emperors as summer residence...
Railway, Beijing – Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
Railway, and Beijing – Hankou
Hankou
Hankou was one of the three cities whose merging formed modern-day Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers where the Han falls into the Yangtze...
Railway. In contrast, the communists had successfully prevented the nationalists from sending nationalist force in northern China to Northeast China, in addition to the successes just described. The nationalist defeat was mainly due to the Chiang Kai-shek’s uncompromising doctrine of holding on to as much land as possible, and as long as possible, which overstretched the numerically superior nationalist forces as they were dispersed to garrison vast regions. As a result, none of the garrison had enough strength to fight when enemy concentrated their forces and attacked with overwhelmingly numerically superior force.
See also
- List of battles of the Chinese Civil War
- History of the People's Liberation ArmyHistory of the People's Liberation ArmyThe history of the People's Liberation Army began in 1927 with the start of the Chinese Civil War and spans to the present, having developed from a peasant guerrilla force into the largest armed force in the world.-Historical background:...
- National Revolutionary ArmyNational Revolutionary ArmyThe National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
- People's Liberation ArmyPeople's Liberation ArmyThe People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
- Chinese Civil WarChinese Civil WarThe Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...