The Campaign of the North China Plain Pocket, also called the Breakout on the Central Plains (
communists during the Chinese Civil War, resulting in a successful communist breakout from the nationalist encirclement. The campaign marked the beginning of the full-scale civil war fought between the communists and the nationalists in the post-World War II
era.
The communist victory was largely attributed to their ability to surprise the nationalists with movements and avoid battle in locations with overwhelming Nationalist forces. In a sense, the Nationalists did not evenly distribute their forces, which created pocket holes in their encirclement. The Nationalists were also easily distracted by small Communist forces used to draw attention away from their main forces. The communist was able to locate the relatively weaker defended points of the Nationalist defense and break them. Communists also engaged in close-quarters combat in order to limit the power of the Nationalist artillery and air force, making them less effective than they could have been.
Prelude
The
communist base and divided it into three isolated pieces. The nationalist headquarters at Zhengzhou was tasked with the job to eliminate the enemy in the region with the help of the nationalistWuhan
, Jingfu (经扶), Huangchuan (潢川) regions, especially those at Xuanhua Hotel (Xuanhua Dian, 宣化店) and Pobo (泼陂) River regions would be the most desirable target.
communists called their base the Central Plains Military Region with a total force of 60,000, including two columns and three military districts totaling six division-strength brigades
The remaining of units were tasked to cover the main force to break out and then remain in the region afterward to fight
guerrilla
wars against the enemy, and the majority of the forces of the Jianghan (江汉) Military District would withdraw to the west of the Xiang River (襄河).
Strategies
The nationalist strategy
The
Queshan and Minggang was deployed to Xinyang and Luo Mountain (Luo Shan, 罗山) to take regions included Hill Mountain Gate (Gang Shan Meng, 岗山门), Dragon Town (Long Zhen, 龙镇), Light Mountain (Guang Shan, 光山), and Chen Xing's Hotel (Chen Xing Dian, 陈兴店), and attack northward to Xuanhua Hotel (Xuanhua Dian, 宣化店) region. The nationalist 47th Division guarding the Light Mountain (Guang Shan, 光山) and the Luo Mountain (Luo Shan, 罗山) regions was deployed to the east and west of Light Mountain (Guang Shan, 光山) region in order to occupy regions included Sleeping Dragon Stage (Wo Long Tai, 卧龙台), Fuliu Hotel (Fu Liu Dian, 付流店), and then would attack northeastward toward Pobo (泼陂) River and adjacent regions. The 174th Brigade of the nationalist 48th Division under the command of Wei Lihuang
was redeployed to the north and the south of Merchant City (Shang Cheng, 商城) to occupy regions included Fuliu Hotel (Fu Liu Dian, 付流店), Dachong (大冲), Shuangmenlan (双门拦), and then would also attack in the Pobo (泼陂) River direction.
The
Mulan Magnolia Mountains from Huangpi (黄陂). The nationalist 66th Division guarding Xinyang and Garden (Huayua, 花园) regions was deployed to regions included Summer Hotel (Xia Dian, 夏 店), Guo Family's Hotel (Guo Jia Dian, 郭家店), Great New Hotel (Da Xin Dian, 大新店) to attack Xuanhua Hotel (Xuanhua Dian, 宣化店) region. The nationalist 15th guarding Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城) and Noon Sun (Wu Yang, 午阳) regions was deployed to Xinyang and Guangshui
to occupy Great New Hotel (Da Xin Dian, 大新店) and Three Miles Hotel (San Li Dian, 三里店) regions, and then would attack Xuanhua Hotel (Xuanhua Dian, 宣化店) region.
force was concentrated in the eastern direction, which appeared to be the most obvious direction that the enemy would be likely to take.
Communist strategy
The
guerrilla war south of the Yellow River in Hubei, Henan, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces, and even to expand south of the Yangtze River when the situation allowed. The second opinion preferred to withdraw to North China Plain because it was simply too difficult to stay in the original region. On July 19, 1946, Yan'an
replied by claiming that there were two possibilities: one was that the northern withdraw was successful, and the other that the withdraw was impossible, so that preparation must be made to achieve the first objective whenever possible, and to be safe, plans must be also made to create new communist base if the northward withdraw was not possible.
In accordance with the instructions from Yan'an, the local communists made the decision to
Qins, gradually reaching southern Gansu or Shaanxi to link up with the communists in these bases. If unable to achieve this first objective, the communists were also prepared to enter Wudang Mountains by crossing the Xiang (襄) River to create new communist base, and when the situation permitted, enter southern Gansu via Sichuan, but the first objective should be achieved whenever it was possible. The second part of the plan involved leaving at least 10,000 troops behind in central and eastern Hubei to fight a guerrilla war and if the guerrilla warfare was not sustainable, then the communist force remained in central Hubei would break out into the Wudang Mountains, and eastern Hubei would break out to southern Anhui
.
To carry out the plan, the communist force was divided into three forces along different routes. The communist Right Route Force would attempt to break out in northwestern direction to reach the communist base in the border area of Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi provinces after crossing the Beijing–Hankou railroad between Xinyang and Guangshui. The communist Left Route Force would attempt to break out in a southwestern direction by crossing the same railroad between Garden (Huayua, 花园) and Xinyang, reaching the town of Qiyi (祁仪) south of Tanghe (唐河) county. The Eastern Route force was tasked to fake as the main force and attract the enemy for three days in order to guarantee the rest of the force had crossed the Beijing–Hankou railroad. Afterward, the Eastern Route Force was to go eastward, reaching the communist base in the border area of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces.
Right Route Force had reached regions of Spring Hotel (Quankou Dian, 泉口店), Wu Family's Hotel (Wu Jia Dian, 吴家 店), and Jiang Creek Hotel (Jiang Creek Hotel, 浆溪店) north of Ying Mountain (Ying Shan, 应山) regions.
On July 3, 1946, the
communist forces in a second trap. However, after a forced march of 90 km in a single day, these forces had already passed the town of Cangtai (苍苔), Tang River (Tang He, 唐河) and White River (Bai He, 白河) counties. Thereby escaping the second trap planned by the nationalists, they reached the region of Teacher's Hill (Shi Gang, 师岗) south of Inner Township County (Nei Xiang, 内乡) in southwestern Henan
on July 11, 1946.
To distract the
communist 2nd Column totaling 7,000 people, and would march toward the region of Nanhua Pound (Nan Hua Tang, 南化塘) via the town of Xichuan (淅川). The right column under the command of Wang Zhen consisted of 359th Brigade and the Cadres Brigade would take the town of Xichuan (淅川) and Jingzi Pass (Jingzi Guang, 荆紫关) in advance for the main force, and then continue to its destinations at Mountain Sun (Shan Yang, 山阳) and Zuoshui (柞水) regions in southern Shaanxi
after the left column had passed Nanhua Pound (Nan Hua Tang, 南化塘) region.
In the meantime, the
communists in turn, were determined to avoid this fate by crossing the Dan River (Dan Jiang, 丹江) and continue westward, eventually entering Shaanxi
.
The Right Column
The
communist Left Route Force successfully crossed the Dan River (Dan Jiang, 丹江) despite constant nationalist aerial attacks. This maneuver dashed the nationalist
hope of eliminating the enemy on the eastern bank of the Dan River (Dan Jiang, 丹江) in the third trap.
On July 15, 1946, when the
communists
the break they needed.
As the
communist right column successfully defeated the nationalists attempted to stop them and eventually managed to reach their planned destinations, the Mountain Sun (Shan Yang, 山阳) and Zuoshui (柞水) regions in southern Shaanxi. Although the nationalist force was in hot pursuit, it was only a matter of time before the communist right column reached safety. It did so by the end of August 1946 by reaching the communist base in Shaanxi, with no major nationalist forces in their way any longer. Wang Zhen's 359th Brigade suffered the heaviest communist casualties in the campaign: 2,917 were lost, and only 1,983 remained when the surviving forces reached Shaanxi
, where their number were boosted when 3,000 troops had to be sent to the brigade to make up the loss.
The Left Column
On July 17, 1946, the
communist
left column in the valley of Nanhua Pound (Nan Hua Tang, 南化塘).
The situation was apparent to both sides and
communists
successfully continued their westward march afterward.
On July 20, 1946, when the
communist left column reached its destination of Shangnan (商南) county in southern Shaanxi on July 29, 1946, successfully evaded the nationalist encirclement, and by August 3, 1946, the communist left column of the Right Route force had successfully established a new communist guerrilla base in the border region of Shaanxi, Hubei and Henan
provinces.
Left Route
On June 25, 1946, the
communist Left Route force left the Pobo (泼陂) River and White Sparrow Garden (Baique Yuan, 白雀园) regions of Light Mountain (Guangshan, 光山) counties to march in southwestern direction. However, once reached Yangping Pass (Yangping Kou, 阳平口) to the west of the Gift Mountain (Li Shan, 礼山), their path was blocked by the nationalist 554th Regiment of the 185th Brigade of the 66th Division, the communists thus turned westward instead, begun their crossing of the Beijing – Hankou railroad at the section between Wang's Family's Hotel (Wang Jia Dian, 王家店) and Wei's Family's Hotel (Wei Jia Dian, 魏家店). While fighting off the 6th Brigade of the nationalist 75th Division and the bulk of the 185th Brigade of the nationalist 66th Division that attempted to stop them, the nationalist 11th Division at Xiaogan
sent out its 18th Brigade to reinforce their nationalist comrades-in-arms with armor and air supports on June 30, 1946. However, the technical superiority was successfully negated by the enemy by fighting in close quarters at night, and before the dawn of July 1, 1946, the entire enemy force had successfully crossed the Beijing – Hankou railroad, reaching Anlu (安陆) and Ying Mountain (Ying Shan, 应山) regions.
The communists of the Left Route had not escaped danger yet, and they still had to cross the Xiang (襄) River southeast of Xuan City (Xuan Cheng, 宣城). Once the communist Left Route force reached the crossing points at Yakou (垭口) and Flowing Water Ditch (Liu Shui Gou, 流水沟) on July 11, 1946, they discovered that local communist force of the Jianghan (江汉) Military District had already crossed the river and the nationalists had destroyed most of the ships. The communists managed to found seven ships and begun the crossing immediately, and the 7th Regiment and the 9th Regiment of the communist 3rd Brigade successfully crossed the river at Yakou (垭口) crossing point. The 4th Regiment of the communist 2nd Brigade at Flowing Water Ditch (Liu Shui Gou, 流水沟) crossing point was in the process of crossing when the nationalist 16th Brigade of the 75th Division reached the crossing point, but under the cover of the 8th Regiment of the communist 3rd Brigade on the eastern bank, the 4th Regiment of the communist 2nd Brigade was able to complete the crossing. The remaining communists on the eastern bank, however, were cut off by the dawn of July 11, 1946.
However, such setback turned out to be a blessing for the communists who were cut off on the eastern bank of Xiang (襄) River, because the nationalists were putting emphasis on the communist main force that had already crossed, and thus did not deploy enough troops to stop those communists remained on the eastern bank of the Xiang (襄) River. The communist units that were cut off on the eastern bank of Xiang (襄) River included the 8th Regiment of the communist 3rd Brigade and the 6th Regiment of the communist 2nd Brigade, and portions of the Garrison Regiment and the 15th
The main communist force of the Left Route Force consisted of units that had successfully crossed the Xiang (襄) River and was not too far behind either in that they only face one more obstacle, the last nationalist defense line manned by the 185th Brigade of the nationalist 66th Division and the 64th Brigade of the nationalist 15th Division. With the earlier failures of stopping the enemy by the nationalist units with much superior strength and the reinforcement nowhere in sight, nationalists manning the last defensive line were well aware that the enemy was unstoppable. After suffering a thousand or so casualties, the nationalists had had enough and the nationalist commanders decided to save the surviving troops instead of wasting lives on the futile attempts to stop the enemy. On July 21, 1946, the nationalists abandoned their last defensive line in a hasty retreat that left over 300 cadavers of their fallen comrades-in-arms, and thus allowing the communist Left Route force to successfully escape the encirclement. After another failed nationalist attempt to eliminate the enemy which resulted in the successful link-up between the communist Left Route force and the communist units of Jianghan (江汉) Military District in Wudang Mountains, the communist Left Route force successfully established a new base: the Northwestern Hubei Guerrilla Base by August 27, 1946.
Eastern route
In accordance with the original plan, the
communist 1st Brigade of the 1st Column faked itself as the communist main force at White Sparrow Garden (Baique Yuan, 白雀园) region southeast of Light Mountain (Guang Shan, 光山) County. At the dawn of June 26, 1946, the 174th Brigade and an independent regiment of the nationalist 48th Division attacked the region with help of the nationalist 47th Division from both the north and the south sides. After fierce fighting, the communist 1st Brigade of the 1st Column penetrated deep behind the nationalist line from Liujiachong (刘家冲) on June 28, 1946, thus creating the false impression that the main communist force was attempting to break out in the south. Immediately afterward, the communist 1st Brigade of the 1st Column turned eastward, reaching Little Border Ridge (Xiao Jie Ling, 小界岭), the chokepoint of the link between the Hubei and Henan
provinces, after successfully breaching the first nationalist blockade line and beaten back the Newly Organized 13th Brigade of the nationalist 72nd Division, hence completed its mission of attracting the enemy to itself and thus providing the opportunity for the communist main force to cross the railroad.
By July 1, 1946, the communist 1st Brigade of the 1st Column had reached another chokepoint of the link in between the Hubei and Henan provinces in Merchant City (Shang Cheng, 商城) county, the 1,900-metre-high mountain pass named Pine Seed Pass (Song Zi Guan, 松子关), which was guarded by local nationalist security regiments from the Merchant City (Shang Cheng, 商城) and the Gold Camp (Jin Zhai, 金寨) counties. However, the local defenders proved to be no match for the attacking enemy, and after the mountain peak to the right of the mountain pass fell into the enemy hands, the defense collapsed and the enemy was able to pass under heavy rain and without any replenishment. By July 3, 1946, the communist 1st Brigade of the 1st Column reached the region of Wu's Family's Hotel (Wu Jian Dian, 吴 家店) in the center of Dabie Mountains, but when the communists reached the Green Wind Ridge (Qingfeng Ling, 青风岭), the nationalist 48th Division had already occupied the peak, thus blocking the way, and in the meantime, the nationalists were also closing in from behind. The communists deployed their 1st Regiment to attract the attention of the nationalist 48th Division while the 2nd Regiment outflanked the defenders from the right and attacked from the rear, successfully taking the peak and dispersed the defenders. With the favorable landscape, it was the nationalists turn to be blockaded and there was nothing the pursuing nationalist force could do to stop the enemy.
The victory of the Green Wind Ridge enabled the communists to control the high ground directly opposite to the Mozi Deep Pool (Mozi Tan, 磨子潭) region on the western bank of Pi (淠) River, and under the heavy fire from the enemy on the higher ground on the eastern bank, the defenders of the crossing point on the western bank had no choice but to withdraw, thus enabling the enemy to safely across Pi River, and thus successfully escaped the nationalist encirclement. The communist 1st Brigade of the 1st Column subsequently crushed the 138th Division of the nationalist 48th Army in its futile attempt to stop the communists in the region between Lu'an (六安) and Hefei, and successfully reached the communist base in the border area of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces with the remaining 5,000 troops before the rest units of the nationalist 48th Army could have a chance to catch up with the enemy. After twenty-three battles in twenty-four days and traveling more than 500 km, the communist Eastern Route Force became the first among the three to successfully break out.
Outcome
Although the
communists who wisely chose to avoid any provocation of its own. The sentiment was still widely held by the general civilian population, especially in the local regions when the full scale Chinese Civil War had broken out, and the military sensible alternative had put the nationalists in a dilemma because of the political fallout due to the nationalists
military actions before the breakout of the full-scale civil war.
If the bad timing of the
communists who had successfully establishing bases mostly in the rural regions where better life was provided to the general populace in comparison to that of Japanese occupied regions, and instead of attacking the enemy in regions where at least there were some forms of the nationalists presence during World War II so that there were some legitimacy and popular support, the nationalist assaults on this regions with absolutely no nationalist presence during the war not only caused them the popular support, but also turned the local popular opinion against the nationalists
warlords to dominate the region after the campaign. As a result, when the two previous nationalist blunders on the time of the offensive and the location of the offensive had turned the local populace from alienation to resentment, this third blunder had certainly turned the local population against the nationalists by driven their support firmly to the enemy side, and not only this contributed to the nationalist failure of this campaign, but it also paved the way for another nationalist defeat in the Campaign of Marching into the Dabie Mountains
when enemy returned to the region a year later.
The deployment of the
warlords' had never put any real effort to fight the enemy and the majority of the nationalist casualties in this campaign were among Chiang Kai-shek
's own troops.
Again,
warlords
would often simply refuse to take the commands or send their own troops during the campaigns and battles just to keep their own strength.
The last blunder the
guerrilla warfare, these troops were tied down, because it was difficult to exterminate the elusive enemy and safeguard the territory at the same time when a static defense posture was adopted in order to hold on to the land. In the meantime, the remaining mobile strike force was insufficient to exterminate the main force of the enemy attempting to breakout, thus neither the extermination of the enemy nor the long-term safeguard of the newly conquered territory could be effectively achieved. Although the nationalists failed to eliminate the enemy, they did succeed in eradicating the enemy and temporarily taking the enemy base in the region, though this success was negated by the political fallouts such as failing to achieve its original objective of exterminating the enemy within the region in this first campaign of the full scale Chinese Civil War after World War II
Liu Shi
Li Xiannian
.svg){kind=small}
