Longhai Campaign
Encyclopedia
Longhai Campaign also known as the Campaign along the Longhai (Lanzhou
– Lianyungang
) Railway (陇海路战役), was a campaign launched against the nationalists
by the communists
during Chinese Civil War
in the post World War II
era. The campaign was a coordinated offensive in support of the other two campaigns the Communists launched against the nationalists, namely, the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
and the Central Jiangsu Campaign. Longhai Campaign resulted in the communist victory, achieving the Communists objective of relieving the pressure on their comrades in the other two campaigns this one supported, enabling those in the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
successfully escape from the nationalists and those in the Central Jiangsu Campaign to also score a huge victory over the nationalists.
and southern Shaanxi
in the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
, and thus causing the offensives against the Communists in other theaters to fail due to insufficient strength. Only three nationalist armies were deployed to guard a vast area covering the region along the section of Longhai (Lanzhou
– Lianyungang
) Railway from Kaifeng
to Xuzhou
, and the region to the south of this section bordered by the northern shore of the Yellow River
. Nationalists were not worried, however, because they were already to deploy additional troops for a preemptive strike to wipe out the Communists in the area. Unbeknown to the nationalists, the Communists were planning a preemptive strike of their own, before the much greater nationalist reinforcement could be ready, thus forcing the nationalist reinforcement to remain in the region after the campaign, hence relieving the pressure faced by the Communists in other campaigns.
Units specifically deployed for this campaign but too late to participate in any major engagements:
was confident that he could wipe out the enemy and destroy their bases. In late July, 1946, Xue Yue
revealed his battle plan to Hu Lian (胡琏), the commander of the army-sized nationalist Reorganized 11th Division in his headquarter in Xuzhou
: the main battlefield would be the region to the northwest of Xuzhou
, with nationalist troops first attacking northward, eradicating the Communists along the Jinpu railway
, thus relieving the besieged nationalist strongholds of Lincheng (临城) and Yanzhou
. After the Jinpu railway
was secured, it would be used to mobilize nationalist troops to destroy the communist Hebei
– Shandong
– Henan
base in the border region of these three provinces, and this would be the job for the army-sized nationalist Reorganized 11th Division. Meanwhile, other nationalist units were tasked to secure the surrounding regions of Xuzhou
by eradicating the Communists in the area.
Nationalists were certain of the success of this plan because the main force of the communist Shanxi
– Hebei
– Shandong
– Henan
Field Army was still resting, re-supplying and regrouping in the region between Handan
and Daming (大名) on the northern shore of the Yellow River
, and only its 7th Column was in the southwestern Shandong
on the southern shore of the Yellow River
. The bulk of other communist force in Shandong
was busy fighting nationalists in northern Jiangsu
in the Central Jiangsu Campaign, and the rest was besieging the nationalist strongholds along the Jinpu railway
. As the Communists were either tied down or needing more time to recover, nationalists would achieve their victory in a preemptive strike thanks to their mechanized forces. Little did the overly optimistic and overly confident nationalists know that as things developed, this plausible battle plan made before the campaign proved to be impossible to materialize afterward, and eventually, it had to be scrapped completely, because they had gravely underestimated their enemy.
To carry out the communist high command’s order of reducing the pressure of communist forces in the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
and the Central Jiangsu Campaign, Liu Bocheng
and Deng Xiaoping
decided to launch an offensive against nationalists in the central section of the Longhai (Lanzhou
– Lianyungang
) Railway, targeting nationalist strongholds between Kaifeng
and Xuzhou
. Afterward, the Communists would take the region to the south of the railway, destroying the railroad, and thus forcing nationalists to withdraw some of their forces originally deployed in the other two campaigns and redeploying them to face the new threat. The communist force would be grouped into two, with the left group attacking toward the regions of Dang (砀) Mountains and Yellow Mouth (Huangkou, 黄口), and the right group attacking toward the regions of Lanfeng (兰封) and Minquan (民权).
– Hebei
– Shandong
– Henan
Field Army and some units of the communist Hebei
– Shandong
– Henan
Military region infiltrated the 30 km deep nationalist defense to the north of Longhai (Lanzhou
– Lianyungang
) Railway in two directions, and launched a surprised attack on the unsuspecting nationalist defenders on a 150 km wide front along the middle section of Longhai (Lanzhou
– Lianyungang
) Railway that lasted from Lanfeng (兰封) to Yellow Mouth (Huangkou, 黄口). The overconfident defenders had gravely underestimated their enemy, and were completely unaware of the enemy offensive, and consequently, suffered a huge loss. After three days of fierce fighting, regions including Lanfeng (兰封) and Dang (砀) Mountains, plus more than a dozen important railway stations including Li’s Hamlet (Lizhuang, 李庄), Poplar Village (Yangji, 杨集), Willow River Village (Liuheji, 柳河集), Wild Chicken Hill (Yejigang, 野鸡岗), Luowang (罗王) fell into the enemy hands. The engineering battalion and the medical battalion of the 18th Brigade of the nationalist Reorganized 11th Division taking of railway stations riding on the train was intercepted near Lanfeng (兰封), and all of the engineering and medical equipments of the division was captured intact by the enemy, along with most of the personnel. Additionally, the nationalists also suffered over five thousand casualties, and over 100 km stretch of railway and its adjacent regions had also fallen into the enemy hands.
Meanwhile, in the night of August 10, 1946, other communist forces including the 7th Column of the communist Shanxi
– Hebei
– Shandong
– Henan
Field Army, Units from the 3rd Military Sub-region of the Hebei
– Shandong
– Henan
Military region, the Independent Brigade of the Hebei
– Shandong
– Henan
Military region, and units from the 8th Military Sub-region of the communist Central China Military Region had joined their forces in a coordinated attack on the nationalist strongholds at Yellow Mouth (Huangkou, 黄口) and Dang (砀) Mountains. The nationalist commander of the region, the commander-in-chief of the nationalist 1st Jiangsu
Security Column, Sun Liangcheng (孙良诚), ws the first nationalist commander to have a real understanding of the scope of the communist attack, and immediately informed his superior, Xue Yue
, and asked for reinforcement.
As the local nationalist frontline commander-in-chief Xue Yue
learned the news of communist offensive to the west of Xuzhou
, he was surprised because it had completely disrupted his original plan of exterminating the Communists and overrunning their bases in the border region of Hebei
– Shandong
– Henan
provinces, and based on his intelligence, it was simply impossible for the enemy to be ready and launch an offensive of this scale in such a short time. Still dubious about the enemy’s capability of launching a campaign against the superior nationalist force on this scale, Xue Yue
’s initial reinforcement plan was mainly geared toward as an eradication campaign with the following troop deployment:
However, before this battle plan could be fully materialized, the rapid change on the battlefield forced the nationalists to replace the plan with a different one that deployed much more troops in response to the communist threat.
, all the way to the city wall, threatening the ancient capital. Under the unexpected pressure, the nationalist garrison of Yu (虞) City totaled more than four thousands defected to the Communists. In a desperate attempt to ask for reinforcement to be sent and arrived promptly, the outnumbered nationalist defenders in the local area gravely exaggerated both their loss and the enemy strength in the messages they sent out. In their urgent appealing for help, the defenders gravely exaggerated their loss to a ridiculously high amount, totaling ninety thousand, a number that was even rejected by the enemy. The city of Kaifeng
was claimed to be fallen into the enemy hands at any moment, despite the fact that the enemy themselves never had any plan to even attempt to take the city because they were well aware it was beyond their capability. The city of Kaifeng
would remain firmly in the nationalist hands throughout the entire campaign, but due to the lack of communications and chaos of the war, when the news reached the capital, Nanjing
, it was erroneously misread as the city had fallen into the enemy hands when the defenders were fighting a fierce street battle in attempts to drive-out the communist advance guards that breached the defense and penetrated into the city. In reality, the defense was strong enough to prevent the enemy from approaching the city wall throughout the campaign. However, the false rumor that was even rejected by the enemy was believed to be true by nationalist politicians and thus a significant portion of the population in the capital in the panic.
Being the 2nd most populous province in China
after Sichuan
, Henan also had the 2nd highest number of seats in the national congress, and one of the largest immigrant communities in the capital. Nationalists from Henan living in the capital and the Henan representatives in the national congress were shocked by the communist offensive and mobilized quickly into the actions in attempting to pressure the nationalist government to immediately sent reinforcement to the region. In addition to actions in the national congress, the Henan representatives also took other drastic actions of kneeing down in front of government / public buildings, including presidential palace to cry for help, and they were joined by the numerous Henan populace residing in the capital. The political stake was simply too much, just as the pressure was simply too great for the nationalist government to ignore. Additionally, there were several practical reasons that could not be ignored: the 2nd most populous province would provide the enemy an abundant pool of conscripts if it was fallen into the enemy hands in a domino effect after the downfall of Kaifeng
. The important strategic location of the province controlled vital transportation / communication lines that were critical to the other theaters of operation, and could not be afforded to be severed. As a result of these combined factors, the nationalist government decided that the original goals in the other two theaters of operation had to be sacrificed and postponed, and thus a nationalist redeployment was ordered. Three army-sized reorganized divisions in the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
deployed to annihilate Li Xiannian
’s communist forces, the 3rd, 41st and 47th Reorganized Division were redeployed to rescue Kaifeng
. Nationalist units in the Central Jiangsu Campaign were also redeployed for the rescue, including two army-sized reorganized divisions, the 11th and the 88th Reorganized Divisions in Xuzhou
and the 5th Army in Huainan
. However, such redeployment took time and these units never saw any actions because the campaign had concluded by the time they approached the planned battlefield, but most of these units would be participating in the following Dingtao Campaign
.
On August 21, 1946, in the region to the west of Willow River Village (Liuheji, 柳河集), a regiment of the 29th Brigade and the 181st Brigade of the nationalist Reorganized 55th Division was completely destroyed by the Communists. By this time, the nationalist reinforcement in the east had reached the regions of the Dang (砀) Mountains and Xiayi (夏邑), and in the west, the nationalist reinforcement had reached Kaifeng
, Xinxiang
and Changyuan County, and the Communists decided to end the campaign on August 22, 1946 by retreating to the north of the railway to rest and regroup. Nationalists also ended their operations to recover and rest, and thus the campaign concluded with a communist victory.
remained firmly in the nationalist hands throughout the campaign, and even the Communists themselves had never planned to take the city, fully aware that it was an impossible task for them at the time. It should also be noted that another gravely exaggerated communist threat was the nationalist loss once announced by the local nationalist defenders themselves in order to draw more help / reinforcement, the nationalist loss was only sixteen thousands, (which was agreed by the enemy), it was never as high as ninety thousand, a number that was dismissed even by the enemy. Furthermore, the true casualty of sixteen thousand was only a drop in a bucket, totaling less than 10% of the total nationalist force deployed for this campaign, and though it was too late for most of them to participate in actual fighting, they would have the chance later in the Dingtao Campaign
soon to come.
For the Communists, just they had expected, Longhai Campaign they launched had successfully achieved its objective in relieving the pressure of their comrades in other theaters, namely, Li Xiannian
’s communist force in the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
and Su Yu
’s communist force in the Central Jiangsu Campaign. The communist victory in Longhai Campaign forced the nationalists to redeploy their troops in the other two campaigns in an effort to reinforce Longhai theater, thus the reduced nationalist strength in the other two theaters had contributed respectively to the successful escape of Li Xiannian
’s the Communists force in the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
and Su Yu
’s victory in Central Jiangsu Campaign. In addition, the Communists had taken five towns, more than a dozen railroad stations, and huge amount of supplies.
Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....
– Lianyungang
Lianyungang
Lianyungang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north...
) Railway (陇海路战役), was a campaign launched against 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...
by the communists
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
during 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. The campaign was a coordinated offensive in support of the other two campaigns the Communists launched against the nationalists, namely, the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
The Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket is also called the Breakout on the Central Plains by the Communist Party of China, and it was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists during the Chinese Civil War, resulting in successful communist breakout from the...
and the Central Jiangsu Campaign. Longhai Campaign resulted in the communist victory, achieving the Communists objective of relieving the pressure on their comrades in the other two campaigns this one supported, enabling those in the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
The Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket is also called the Breakout on the Central Plains by the Communist Party of China, and it was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists during the Chinese Civil War, resulting in successful communist breakout from the...
successfully escape from the nationalists and those in the Central Jiangsu Campaign to also score a huge victory over the nationalists.
Prelude
In the early August, 1946, over a dozen army-sized nationalist (reorganized) divisions were tied down in western HenanHenan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
and southern Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
in the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
The Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket is also called the Breakout on the Central Plains by the Communist Party of China, and it was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists during the Chinese Civil War, resulting in successful communist breakout from the...
, and thus causing the offensives against the Communists in other theaters to fail due to insufficient strength. Only three nationalist armies were deployed to guard a vast area covering the region along the section of Longhai (Lanzhou
Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....
– Lianyungang
Lianyungang
Lianyungang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north...
) Railway from Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
to Xuzhou
Xuzhou
Xuzhou , otherwise known as Pengcheng in ancient times, is a major city in and the fourth largest prefecture-level city of Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China...
, and the region to the south of this section bordered by the northern shore of the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
. Nationalists were not worried, however, because they were already to deploy additional troops for a preemptive strike to wipe out the Communists in the area. Unbeknown to the nationalists, the Communists were planning a preemptive strike of their own, before the much greater nationalist reinforcement could be ready, thus forcing the nationalist reinforcement to remain in the region after the campaign, hence relieving the pressure faced by the Communists in other campaigns.
Order of battle
Originally, the nationalist had gravely underestimated their enemy and felt that the insufficient force deployed to the region would not be a problem because more troops were already mobilized for a preemptive strike against the enemy, which could not be ready for a large scale battle based on the intelligence. However, the rapid and unexpected development on the battlefield meant otherwise.Nationalist order of battle
Units originally stationed in the area and did bulk of the fighting (three armies total):- 1st JiangsuJiangsu' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
Security Column - Army-sized Reorganized 55th Division
- Army-sized Reorganized 68th Division
Units specifically deployed for this campaign but too late to participate in any major engagements:
- 5th Army
- Army-sized Reorganized 3rd Division
- Army-sized Reorganized 41st Division
- Army-sized Reorganized 47th Division
- Army-sized Reorganized 88th Division
- Division-sized Newly Organized 21st Brigade
- Army-sized Reorganized 11th Division commanded by Hu LianHu LianHu Lian was a Chinese Nationalist general, he participated the Northern Expedition, anti-communist Encirclement Campaigns, Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War.- Whampoa Military Academy :...
- Division-sized Reorganized 18th Brigade commanded by Qin Daoshan (覃道善)
- Division-sized Reorganized 118th Brigade commanded by Gao Kuiyuan (高魁元)
Communists order of battle
The main thrust of the Communists was consisted of two groups:- Left group:
- 7th Column of the ShanxiShanxi' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
– 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...
– ShandongShandong' 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...
– HenanHenanHenan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Field Army - Units from the 3rd Military Sub-region 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...
– ShandongShandong' 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...
– HenanHenanHenan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Military region, - Independent Brigade 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...
– ShandongShandong' 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...
– HenanHenanHenan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Military region - Units from the 8th Military Sub-region of the Central China Military Region
- 7th Column of the Shanxi
- Right group:
- 3rd Column of the ShanxiShanxi' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
– 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...
– ShandongShandong' 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...
– HenanHenanHenan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Field Army - 6th Column of the ShanxiShanxi' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
– 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...
– ShandongShandong' 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...
– HenanHenanHenan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Field Army - Units from the 5th Military Sub-region 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...
– ShandongShandong' 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...
– HenanHenanHenan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Military region - Units from the Eastern Water Military Sub-region
Strategies
Due to overall numerical and technical superiority, the nationalist commander-in-chief of the theater, Xue YueXue Yue
Xue Yue was a Chinese Nationalist military general, nicknamed by Claire Lee Chennault of the Flying Tigers as the Patton of Asia.-Early Life and Career:...
was confident that he could wipe out the enemy and destroy their bases. In late July, 1946, Xue Yue
Xue Yue
Xue Yue was a Chinese Nationalist military general, nicknamed by Claire Lee Chennault of the Flying Tigers as the Patton of Asia.-Early Life and Career:...
revealed his battle plan to Hu Lian (胡琏), the commander of the army-sized nationalist Reorganized 11th Division in his headquarter in Xuzhou
Xuzhou
Xuzhou , otherwise known as Pengcheng in ancient times, is a major city in and the fourth largest prefecture-level city of Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China...
: the main battlefield would be the region to the northwest of Xuzhou
Xuzhou
Xuzhou , otherwise known as Pengcheng in ancient times, is a major city in and the fourth largest prefecture-level city of Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China...
, with nationalist troops first attacking northward, eradicating the Communists along the Jinpu railway
Jinpu railway
The Tianjin–Pukou or Jinpu Railway runs from Tianjin to Pukou outside Nanjing in Jiangsu province.In September 1898 at a conference in London, British and German capitalists decided to build a railway from Tianjin to Zhenjiang. In May 1899, the Qing government agreed to the financing of the...
, thus relieving the besieged nationalist strongholds of Lincheng (临城) and Yanzhou
Yanzhou
Yanzhou is a county-level city of Jining, in the southwest of Shandong province, People's Republic of China.-Administration:The County-level city of Yanzhou administers 10 township-level divisions.-Transportation:*Beijing-Shanghai Railway...
. After the Jinpu railway
Jinpu railway
The Tianjin–Pukou or Jinpu Railway runs from Tianjin to Pukou outside Nanjing in Jiangsu province.In September 1898 at a conference in London, British and German capitalists decided to build a railway from Tianjin to Zhenjiang. In May 1899, the Qing government agreed to the financing of the...
was secured, it would be used to mobilize nationalist troops to destroy 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...
– 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...
– Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
base in the border region of these three provinces, and this would be the job for the army-sized nationalist Reorganized 11th Division. Meanwhile, other nationalist units were tasked to secure the surrounding regions of Xuzhou
Xuzhou
Xuzhou , otherwise known as Pengcheng in ancient times, is a major city in and the fourth largest prefecture-level city of Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China...
by eradicating the Communists in the area.
Nationalists were certain of the success of this plan because the main force of the communist Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
– 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...
– 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...
– Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Field Army was still resting, re-supplying and regrouping in the region between Handan
Handan
Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwestern part of Hebei Province of China.- History :Handan was the capital of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period , after the capital moved from Zhongmu. The city was conquered by the State of Qin after the virtual annexation of...
and Daming (大名) on the northern shore of the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
, and only its 7th Column was in the southwestern 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...
on the southern shore of the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
. The bulk of other communist force 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...
was busy fighting nationalists in northern Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
in the Central Jiangsu Campaign, and the rest was besieging the nationalist strongholds along the Jinpu railway
Jinpu railway
The Tianjin–Pukou or Jinpu Railway runs from Tianjin to Pukou outside Nanjing in Jiangsu province.In September 1898 at a conference in London, British and German capitalists decided to build a railway from Tianjin to Zhenjiang. In May 1899, the Qing government agreed to the financing of the...
. As the Communists were either tied down or needing more time to recover, nationalists would achieve their victory in a preemptive strike thanks to their mechanized forces. Little did the overly optimistic and overly confident nationalists know that as things developed, this plausible battle plan made before the campaign proved to be impossible to materialize afterward, and eventually, it had to be scrapped completely, because they had gravely underestimated their enemy.
To carry out the communist high command’s order of reducing the pressure of communist forces in the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
The Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket is also called the Breakout on the Central Plains by the Communist Party of China, and it was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists during the Chinese Civil War, resulting in successful communist breakout from the...
and the Central Jiangsu Campaign, Liu Bocheng
Liu Bocheng
Liu Bocheng was a Chinese Communist military commander and Marshal of the People's Liberation Army.Liu is known as one of the "Three and A Half" Strategists of China in modern history...
and Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
decided to launch an offensive against nationalists in the central section of the Longhai (Lanzhou
Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....
– Lianyungang
Lianyungang
Lianyungang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north...
) Railway, targeting nationalist strongholds between Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
and Xuzhou
Xuzhou
Xuzhou , otherwise known as Pengcheng in ancient times, is a major city in and the fourth largest prefecture-level city of Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China...
. Afterward, the Communists would take the region to the south of the railway, destroying the railroad, and thus forcing nationalists to withdraw some of their forces originally deployed in the other two campaigns and redeploying them to face the new threat. The communist force would be grouped into two, with the left group attacking toward the regions of Dang (砀) Mountains and Yellow Mouth (Huangkou, 黄口), and the right group attacking toward the regions of Lanfeng (兰封) and Minquan (民权).
1st Stage
In the night of August 10, 1946, communist forces including the three columns of the communist ShanxiShanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
– 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...
– 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...
– Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Field Army and some 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...
– 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...
– Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Military region infiltrated the 30 km deep nationalist defense to the north of Longhai (Lanzhou
Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....
– Lianyungang
Lianyungang
Lianyungang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north...
) Railway in two directions, and launched a surprised attack on the unsuspecting nationalist defenders on a 150 km wide front along the middle section of Longhai (Lanzhou
Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....
– Lianyungang
Lianyungang
Lianyungang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north...
) Railway that lasted from Lanfeng (兰封) to Yellow Mouth (Huangkou, 黄口). The overconfident defenders had gravely underestimated their enemy, and were completely unaware of the enemy offensive, and consequently, suffered a huge loss. After three days of fierce fighting, regions including Lanfeng (兰封) and Dang (砀) Mountains, plus more than a dozen important railway stations including Li’s Hamlet (Lizhuang, 李庄), Poplar Village (Yangji, 杨集), Willow River Village (Liuheji, 柳河集), Wild Chicken Hill (Yejigang, 野鸡岗), Luowang (罗王) fell into the enemy hands. The engineering battalion and the medical battalion of the 18th Brigade of the nationalist Reorganized 11th Division taking of railway stations riding on the train was intercepted near Lanfeng (兰封), and all of the engineering and medical equipments of the division was captured intact by the enemy, along with most of the personnel. Additionally, the nationalists also suffered over five thousand casualties, and over 100 km stretch of railway and its adjacent regions had also fallen into the enemy hands.
Meanwhile, in the night of August 10, 1946, other communist forces including the 7th Column of the communist Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
– 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...
– 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...
– Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Field Army, Units from the 3rd Military Sub-region of the 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...
– 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...
– Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Military region, the Independent Brigade of the 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...
– 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...
– Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Military region, and units from the 8th Military Sub-region of the communist Central China Military Region had joined their forces in a coordinated attack on the nationalist strongholds at Yellow Mouth (Huangkou, 黄口) and Dang (砀) Mountains. The nationalist commander of the region, the commander-in-chief of the nationalist 1st Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
Security Column, Sun Liangcheng (孙良诚), ws the first nationalist commander to have a real understanding of the scope of the communist attack, and immediately informed his superior, Xue Yue
Xue Yue
Xue Yue was a Chinese Nationalist military general, nicknamed by Claire Lee Chennault of the Flying Tigers as the Patton of Asia.-Early Life and Career:...
, and asked for reinforcement.
As the local nationalist frontline commander-in-chief Xue Yue
Xue Yue
Xue Yue was a Chinese Nationalist military general, nicknamed by Claire Lee Chennault of the Flying Tigers as the Patton of Asia.-Early Life and Career:...
learned the news of communist offensive to the west of Xuzhou
Xuzhou
Xuzhou , otherwise known as Pengcheng in ancient times, is a major city in and the fourth largest prefecture-level city of Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China...
, he was surprised because it had completely disrupted his original plan of exterminating the Communists and overrunning their bases in the border region of 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...
– 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...
– Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
provinces, and based on his intelligence, it was simply impossible for the enemy to be ready and launch an offensive of this scale in such a short time. Still dubious about the enemy’s capability of launching a campaign against the superior nationalist force on this scale, Xue Yue
Xue Yue
Xue Yue was a Chinese Nationalist military general, nicknamed by Claire Lee Chennault of the Flying Tigers as the Patton of Asia.-Early Life and Career:...
’s initial reinforcement plan was mainly geared toward as an eradication campaign with the following troop deployment:
- 1st JiangsuJiangsu' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
Security Column was tasked to secure the railway section from Yellow Mouth (Huangkou, 黄口) to Dang (砀) Mountains, and the nationalist strongholds along the section. - The division-sized Newly Organized 21st Brigade of the army-sized Reorganized 88th Division would advance westward to reinforce Yellow Mouth (Huangkou, 黄口)
- The division-sized 118th Brigade and a brigade-sized regiment of the division-sized 18th Brigade of the army-sized Reorganized 11th Division would arrive Yellow Mouth (Huangkou, 黄口) no later than the dawn of August 12, 1946, and then advance westward from the east along the railway, to eradicate enemy forces around Dang (砀) Mountains.
- The remaining brigade-sized regiments of the division-sized 18th Brigade of the army-sized Reorganized 11th Division, and a brigade-sized regiment of the army-sized Reorganized 55th Division would be deployed to Guide (归德) from Lanfeng (兰封), and then attacking eastward from the west to eradicate enemy forces around Queshan (确山).
- The 5th Army was order to regroup in Xiu (宿) County to act as the general reserve.
However, before this battle plan could be fully materialized, the rapid change on the battlefield forced the nationalists to replace the plan with a different one that deployed much more troops in response to the communist threat.
2nd Stage
On August 13, 1946, the Communists launched their general offensive along the railway, advancing southward. Regions including Ba (把) County and Tongxu (通许) had fallen into communist hands, and the Communists penetrated into the suburbs of KaifengKaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
, all the way to the city wall, threatening the ancient capital. Under the unexpected pressure, the nationalist garrison of Yu (虞) City totaled more than four thousands defected to the Communists. In a desperate attempt to ask for reinforcement to be sent and arrived promptly, the outnumbered nationalist defenders in the local area gravely exaggerated both their loss and the enemy strength in the messages they sent out. In their urgent appealing for help, the defenders gravely exaggerated their loss to a ridiculously high amount, totaling ninety thousand, a number that was even rejected by the enemy. The city of Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
was claimed to be fallen into the enemy hands at any moment, despite the fact that the enemy themselves never had any plan to even attempt to take the city because they were well aware it was beyond their capability. The city of Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
would remain firmly in the nationalist hands throughout the entire campaign, but due to the lack of communications and chaos of the war, when the news reached the capital, Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
, it was erroneously misread as the city had fallen into the enemy hands when the defenders were fighting a fierce street battle in attempts to drive-out the communist advance guards that breached the defense and penetrated into the city. In reality, the defense was strong enough to prevent the enemy from approaching the city wall throughout the campaign. However, the false rumor that was even rejected by the enemy was believed to be true by nationalist politicians and thus a significant portion of the population in the capital in the panic.
Being the 2nd most populous province in 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...
after Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
, Henan also had the 2nd highest number of seats in the national congress, and one of the largest immigrant communities in the capital. Nationalists from Henan living in the capital and the Henan representatives in the national congress were shocked by the communist offensive and mobilized quickly into the actions in attempting to pressure the nationalist government to immediately sent reinforcement to the region. In addition to actions in the national congress, the Henan representatives also took other drastic actions of kneeing down in front of government / public buildings, including presidential palace to cry for help, and they were joined by the numerous Henan populace residing in the capital. The political stake was simply too much, just as the pressure was simply too great for the nationalist government to ignore. Additionally, there were several practical reasons that could not be ignored: the 2nd most populous province would provide the enemy an abundant pool of conscripts if it was fallen into the enemy hands in a domino effect after the downfall of Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
. The important strategic location of the province controlled vital transportation / communication lines that were critical to the other theaters of operation, and could not be afforded to be severed. As a result of these combined factors, the nationalist government decided that the original goals in the other two theaters of operation had to be sacrificed and postponed, and thus a nationalist redeployment was ordered. Three army-sized reorganized divisions in the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
The Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket is also called the Breakout on the Central Plains by the Communist Party of China, and it was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists during the Chinese Civil War, resulting in successful communist breakout from the...
deployed to annihilate Li Xiannian
Li Xianniàn
Li Xiannian was President of the People's Republic of China between 1983 and 1988 and then chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference until his death. He was an influential political figure throughout the PRC, having been a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of...
’s communist forces, the 3rd, 41st and 47th Reorganized Division were redeployed to rescue Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
. Nationalist units in the Central Jiangsu Campaign were also redeployed for the rescue, including two army-sized reorganized divisions, the 11th and the 88th Reorganized Divisions in Xuzhou
Xuzhou
Xuzhou , otherwise known as Pengcheng in ancient times, is a major city in and the fourth largest prefecture-level city of Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China...
and the 5th Army in Huainan
Huainan
Huainan is a prefecture-level city with 2,334,000 inhabitants in central Anhui Province, People’s Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south, Lu’an to the southwest, Fuyang to the west, Bozhou to the northwest, Bengbu to the northeast and Chuzhou to the east.Its...
. However, such redeployment took time and these units never saw any actions because the campaign had concluded by the time they approached the planned battlefield, but most of these units would be participating in the following Dingtao Campaign
Dingtao Campaign
Dingtao Campaign was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists during Chinese Civil War in the post World War II era, and resulted in the communist victory.-Prelude:...
.
On August 21, 1946, in the region to the west of Willow River Village (Liuheji, 柳河集), a regiment of the 29th Brigade and the 181st Brigade of the nationalist Reorganized 55th Division was completely destroyed by the Communists. By this time, the nationalist reinforcement in the east had reached the regions of the Dang (砀) Mountains and Xiayi (夏邑), and in the west, the nationalist reinforcement had reached Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
, Xinxiang
Xinxiang
Xinxiang is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to its southwest, Kaifeng to its southeast, Hebi and Anyang to its north, Jiaozuo to its west, and the provinces of Shanxi and Shandong to its northwest and...
and Changyuan County, and the Communists decided to end the campaign on August 22, 1946 by retreating to the north of the railway to rest and regroup. Nationalists also ended their operations to recover and rest, and thus the campaign concluded with a communist victory.
Outcome
It must be said that unlike the nationalist propaganda that exaggerated the communist threat, despite being threatened, KaifengKaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
remained firmly in the nationalist hands throughout the campaign, and even the Communists themselves had never planned to take the city, fully aware that it was an impossible task for them at the time. It should also be noted that another gravely exaggerated communist threat was the nationalist loss once announced by the local nationalist defenders themselves in order to draw more help / reinforcement, the nationalist loss was only sixteen thousands, (which was agreed by the enemy), it was never as high as ninety thousand, a number that was dismissed even by the enemy. Furthermore, the true casualty of sixteen thousand was only a drop in a bucket, totaling less than 10% of the total nationalist force deployed for this campaign, and though it was too late for most of them to participate in actual fighting, they would have the chance later in the Dingtao Campaign
Dingtao Campaign
Dingtao Campaign was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists during Chinese Civil War in the post World War II era, and resulted in the communist victory.-Prelude:...
soon to come.
For the Communists, just they had expected, Longhai Campaign they launched had successfully achieved its objective in relieving the pressure of their comrades in other theaters, namely, Li Xiannian
Li Xianniàn
Li Xiannian was President of the People's Republic of China between 1983 and 1988 and then chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference until his death. He was an influential political figure throughout the PRC, having been a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of...
’s communist force in the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
The Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket is also called the Breakout on the Central Plains by the Communist Party of China, and it was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists during the Chinese Civil War, resulting in successful communist breakout from the...
and Su Yu
Su Yu
Su Yu was a Chinese Communist military leader. He was considered by many to be among the best commanders of the PLA only next to Lin Biao and Liu Bocheng. Su Yu fought in the Sino-Japanese War and in the Chinese Civil War...
’s communist force in the Central Jiangsu Campaign. The communist victory in Longhai Campaign forced the nationalists to redeploy their troops in the other two campaigns in an effort to reinforce Longhai theater, thus the reduced nationalist strength in the other two theaters had contributed respectively to the successful escape of Li Xiannian
Li Xianniàn
Li Xiannian was President of the People's Republic of China between 1983 and 1988 and then chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference until his death. He was an influential political figure throughout the PRC, having been a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of...
’s the Communists force in the Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket
The Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket is also called the Breakout on the Central Plains by the Communist Party of China, and it was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists during the Chinese Civil War, resulting in successful communist breakout from the...
and Su Yu
Su Yu
Su Yu was a Chinese Communist military leader. He was considered by many to be among the best commanders of the PLA only next to Lin Biao and Liu Bocheng. Su Yu fought in the Sino-Japanese War and in the Chinese Civil War...
’s victory in Central Jiangsu Campaign. In addition, the Communists had taken five towns, more than a dozen railroad stations, and huge amount of supplies.
See also
- List of battles of the Chinese Civil War
- 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...
- 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:...
- 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...