Liaoshen campaign
Liaoshen campaign | |||||||||
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Part of the Chinese Civil War | |||||||||
Battle of Jinzhou | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Communist Party
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Wei Lihuang Fan Hanjie (POW) Zheng Dongguo Du Yuming Liao Yaoxiang (POW) Lu Junquan (POW) Zhou Fucheng (POW) Hou Jingru |
Lin Biao Luo Ronghuan Liu Yalou Xiao Jinguang Cheng Zihua | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
580,000[1] | 700,000 | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
~472,000 (including non-combat losses)[2] | 69,000 |
Liaoshen campaign | |
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Hanyu Pinyin | Líaoshên Zhànyì |
The Liaoshen campaign (
Background
Race for Manchuria
Manchuria, alternatively known as the Northeast China in contemporary accounts, was the most industrialized region in China. In the immediate aftermath of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Manchuria was placed under Soviet occupation. Both the Nationalists and the Communists began their expansion in the region after the Soviet withdrawal in March 1946.[3] After the Communist Winter Offensive of 1947 in Northeast China, the PLA had expanded considerably in the Northeast, surpassing the Nationalists in total operational strength in Northeast China for the first time since the beginning of the civil war. In response to the deteriorating situation for the Nationalists, Chiang Kai-shek decided to replace Chen Cheng with Wei Lihuang as the commander of the Nationalist forces in the Northeast.[4]
Prelude
In January 1948, the Communist forces in the Northeast were renamed as the
By spring 1948, the Communist forces were in control of the countryside across Northeast China, isolating the Nationalist forces in Shenyang, Changchun and Jinzhou from each other.
Communist advance (12 September – 20 October)
Jinzhou
By 8 October, the Northeast Field Army have amassed 250,000 troops and completed the encirclement of Jinzhou. Between 10 and 15 October, the Nationalist reinforcements for Jinzhou from both the west and the east were closing in on the Communists, but they were decisively stopped in Tashan. The final assault on Jinzhou began on 14 October. The city was captured in the next evening, along with the Nationalist commander Fan Hanjie and 80,000 Nationalist troops.[15][16]
Changchun
Changchun had been encircled for more than five months prior to the campaign. Already weakened by starvation since February 1948, civilians were fleeing Changchun in large numbers on daily basis by June 1948. Many refugees were unable to pass through the Communist blockade, and unable to return as the Nationalist defenders blocks refugees from returning to the city.[17] The Nationalist garrison were unable to break out of the city despite the order from Chiang. Following the fall of Jinzhou, the Nationalist 60th Army stationed in the east side of the city defected to the Communist side on 17 October.[18] Following their defection, the Nationalist New 7th Army agreed to the terms of surrender on 19 October. The remaining Nationalist forces in Changchun surrendered the city to the PLA on 23 October, and Nationalist commander Zheng Dongguo became a prisoner of war.[19]
Nationalist counter-offensive (21–28 October)
Heishan
After the Nationalist forces suffered heavy losses in Jinzhou and Changchun, Chiang Kai-shek intended to stage a counteroffensive and quickly recapture Jinzhou. He ordered Liao Yaoxiang and the Ninth Army Group which had been advancing from Shenyang to continue marching west and attack Jinzhou. However, Liao and other senior Nationalist officers contested this decision. On 16 October, the Nationalist high command reached a consensus and decided to attack Heishan and Dahushan instead, covering their withdrawal to Yingkou in the process. The decision was approved by Chiang, and on 21 October the Ninth Army Group launched an attack on Heishan.[20]
The Communist forces successfully defended Heishan and Dahushan, and the Nationalist forces were unable to make any progress. The Ninth Army Group was subsequently encircled by the main forces of the PLA and decisively defeated. Over 25,000 Nationalist soldiers had been killed in action, and Liao Yaoxiang was captured by the PLA.[21][22]
Fall of Shenyang (29 October – 2 November)
After the Ninth Army Group was destroyed, the Northeast Field Army began to encircle Shenyang on 29 October. As the city fell into disarray, the Nationalist's Eighth Army Group collapsed as the commander Wei Lihuang fled from Shenyang by plane on 30 October. The Communist forces launched the final assault on Shenyang the next morning on 1 November against the Nationalist garrison of 140,000 men, which quickly surrendered soon after.[2] On 2 November, Yingkou was also captured by the Communist forces, with the Nationalist 52nd Army narrowly retreating by ship. The remainder of the Nationalist forces, mostly from the West Army, managed to preserve some of their strength as they withdrew from Huludao to Tianjin. With the Northeast being completely clear of the Nationalist forces, the Liaoshen campaign effectively came to its conclusion.[2][22]
Aftermath
According to Lew, the Liaoshen campaign was both a major "strategic and tactical defeat" for Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist government, as the initial objective of containing the Communists in the Northeast failed after the fall of Jinzhou.[2] Between 1945 and 1948, Chiang committed some of his best troops from the Chinese Expeditionary Force in the Northeast against the CCP, and many of these troops were lost in the subsequent campaigns. The role of Mao Zedong in pushing Lin Biao to fully commit in the final attack of Jinzhou elevated the reputation of Mao in the CCP.[23] With the CCP fully in control of the Northeast, Nationalist garrisons in Beiping and Tianjin led by Fu Zuoyi were now exposed to Communist attacks.[24]
See also
References
Citations
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 112.
- ^ a b c d Lew 2009, p. 113.
- ^ Westad 2003, p. 36.
- ^ Lew 2009, p. 95.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 5.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 115–120.
- ^ Westad 2003, p. 27.
- ^ Westad 2003, p. 175.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 163.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 186.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 189.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 193.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 194.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 197–98.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 201.
- ^ Lew 2009, p. 112.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 239.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 247.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 332.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 267.
- ^ Westad 2003, p. 196.
- ^ a b Tanner 2015, p. 268.
- ^ Tanner 2015, p. 288.
- ^ Lew 2009, p. 114.
Sources
- Lary, Diana (2015). China's Civil War. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107054677.
- Lew, Christopher R. (2009). The Third Chinese Revolutionary Civil War, 1945–49: An Analysis of Communist Strategy and Leadership. New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 978-1135969738.
- Tanner, Harold M. (2015). Where Chiang Kai-shek Lost China: The Liao-Shen Campaign, 1948. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253016997.
- Taylor, Jay (2009). The Generalissimo. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-03338-2.
- Westad, Odd Arne (2003). Decisive encounters : the Chinese Civil War, 1946–1950. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4478-5.