Shanghai Campaign
Encyclopedia
Shanghai
Campaign (國共內戰之上海战役) was a series of battles fought between the nationalists
and the communists for the control of the largest city in China
in the latter stage of the Chinese Civil War
, and resulted in the city being taken over by the attacking communists who enjoyed the numerical superiority.
was the largest city in China
in 1949 and provided around a third of the total GDP of China
by that time. Both the communists and the nationalists
believed that World War III was a real possibility and this perception influenced the strategic decisions of both sides. For the nationalists
who defended the city, had hoped that by using the resources of the wealthiest city of China
, they would last until World War III when foreign intervention would occur, and with foreign help, not only they would be able to defend the city,but then would counterattack and take China
back from the enemy. If the city could not last until World War III, the nationalist
would withdraw via sea and transfer the wealth with them, after destroying the city completely, just like the scorch-earth policy used against the Japanese invaders in many part of the China
during World War II
. Although the truthfulness of this perception of the nationalists
remained in question, the enemy certainly believed that there was a possibility, as many of the nationalist
propaganda had claimed, and thus was determined not to let it happen by taking the city as early as possible.
commander divided the city into two sectors along the Huangpu River
. The western half of the city and the surrounding regions including Taicang
, Kunshan
, Jiaxing
, and Golden Mountain Jinshan
, were defended by a total of 20 divisions (including all of the armored force) belonging to the 21st Army, the 51st Army, the 52nd Army, the 54th Army, the 75th Army and the 123rd Army. The 12th Army and the 35th Army totaled five divisions and the naval and air assets were tasked to defend Pudong
, with emphasis on regions included Wusong (吴淞), Yuepu (月浦), Yang’s Firm (Yang Hang, 杨行), Liu’s Firm (Liu Hang, 刘行), Greater Field (Da Chang, 大场), Gao’s Firm (Gao Hang, 高行), and High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥), in order to secure the escape route via sea. The nationalist
force defending the city totaled more than 210,000. The buildings in the city were perfect defending positions which were further boosted by large amount of the concrete bunkers built.
and deputy commander-in-chief Su Yu
was tasked to take the city. The communists massed more than 290,000 troops totaled 10 armies to attack the city, while the communist 2nd Field Army under the commander-in-chief Liu Bocheng
and political commissar
Deng Xiaoping
massed at Jinhua
and Dongxiang (东乡) via Zhejiang
-Jiangxi
railway, in order to prevent any foreign intervention that never came. The primary goal of the communists was to take the city with minimal damage to the city and minimal civilian casualties, so that future reconstruction would be easy by utilizing the existing infrastructure and skilled labor force. To prevent the defenders from transferring large amount of wealth via sea, a pincer movement would be launched from both the east and west, targeting Wusong (吴淞), so that the defenders’ escape route via sea would be cut and the city would be attacked afterward and by isolating the defenders into separate pockets, and then the city would be taken by decimating the isolated defenders.
One prong of the communist pincer movement included the 26th Army, the 28th Army, the 29th Army, the 33rd Army of the communist X Corps and a part of the communist Artillery Column attacking from Changshu
and Suzhou
toward Kunshan
, Taicang
, and Jiading
, eventually reaching Wusong (吴淞), Baoshan
, thus blocking off the defenders’ escape route via sea by cutting off the traffic of Huangpu River
. Afterward, this prong of the pincer movement would attack the city from northwest.
The other prong of the communist pincer movement included the 20th Army, the 27th Army, 30th Army, and the 31st Army of the communist IX Corps and a part of communist Artillery Column. Two armies would attack from Nanxun
and Wujiang
, toward Fengxian
, Nanhui
, River Sand (Chuan Sha, 川沙) regions near/in Pudong
, helping the communist X Corps to blockade the Wusong (吴淞) after approaching High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥). Another two armies would group at the regions south of Songjiang
and east of Jiaxing
, taking Qingpu
when the situation permitted, and then attack the city from the east, south and west.
In case of the defenders were successful in transferring materials away from the city, the attackers also prepared large amount of food and coals for the civilian population, and over 5,000 communist civilian cadres were also drafted to take over the administrative functions after the city was taken.
order of battle
:
Attackers: communist order of battle
:
, Nanhui
, Qingpu
, Songjiang
, threatened the flank of the defenders at River Sand (Chuan Sha, 川沙). The nationalist
51st Army was forced to be redeployed from the city to strengthen the defense of White Dragon Port (Bailong Gang, 白龙港), Lin’s Family’s Pier (Linjia Matou, 林家码头) and other positions at outer defensive zones. Meanwhile, the communist X Corps succeeded in taking Taicang
, Kunshan
, Jiading
, and Liu River (Liu He, 浏河) regions, and continued their attack on Yuepu (月浦), Yang’s Firm (Yang Hang, 杨行), Liu’s Firm (Liu Han, 刘行) regions. However, from their concrete bunkers and with the help of naval and air support, the defenders held on and when the nationalist
99th Division of the 21st Army was redeployed from the city to Yuepu (月浦), Yang’s Firm (Yang Hang, 杨行), Liu’s Firm (Liu Han, 刘行) regions for reinforcement, the defenders was able to successfully beaten back the attacking enemy.
After the setback, the enemy adjusted their tactic by adopting small formations to take one bunker at a time, and with the rapid utilization of the experienced gained in fighting against the fortified positions consisted of concrete bunkers, the speed of attack was greatly accelerated. By May 19, 1949, the communist X Corps had managed to take Yuepu (月浦) and the International Broadcasting Station, and annihilated the defenders stationed at Liu’s Firm (Liu Han, 刘行) region. Meanwhile, the communist IX Corps had managed to take Zhoupu (周浦) and River Sand (Chuan Sha, 川沙) region, and completely annihilated the nationalist
51st Army defending the White Dragon Port (Bailong Gang, 白龙港), and isolated the nationalist
12th Army at High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥) region, while cutting off the links between the nationalist
37 Army at Pudong
with other nationalist
units via land.
75th Army was redeployed from the city to reinforce High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥) region, but after two armies and a division were withdrawn from the city to reinforce the positions of outer defensive perimeters, there was not enough force within the city to suppress the civilians who vehemently opposed the destruction of the city and organized themselves to protect infrastructure facilities within the city. As a result, the nationalist
plan of destroying the city and transferring the wealth was not carried out fully as it had planned. The defenders’ naval assets also faced great difficulties in that it was forced to fight at the enemy’s turf: the inland riverine navigational channels were simply too narrow for the naval vessels to maneuver and they become sitting ducks for the enemy’s long range shore batteries. After many extraordinarily brave but completely futile engagements by the outgunned nationalist
naval assets which resulted in seven nationalist
naval vessels damaged, it was painfully obvious that the naval asset must withdraw in the hopeless fights. When the nationalist
naval fleet was forced to withdraw on May 23, 1949, the enemy’s attempt to cut off the defenders’ maritime escape route succeeded, and the sea to the east of High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥) region was blockaded by the enemy.
After ten days of fierce fighting, the defenders suffered more than 20,000 casualties and lost all of the positions in the outer defensive perimeters. However, this might not be a bad thing because the defenders were able to concentrate their force in the city. The attacking enemy was well aware of this situation and adjusted their tactic once again: the 23rd Army of the communist VII Corps and the 25th Army of the communist VIII Corps were assigned to help the communist IX Corps and X Corps to take the city.
and the communist 27th Army took the train station at Xujiahui
and Hongqiao region
. The nationalist
commander-in-chief, Tang Enbo already boarded naval ships on May 18, 1949, realized the inevitable and in order to strengthen the defense around the pier at Wusong (吴淞), ordered the surviving 6th Division of the nationalist
75th Army at High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥) region to withdraw to Yuepu (月浦), and the nationalist
units north of Suzhou Creek
to withdraw to Wusong (吴淞), for the preparation to withdraw via sea.
Under the cover of darkness, the communist 23rd Army and the 27th Army penetrated the city from Xujiahui
and Longhua Region
respectively while the communist 20th Army crossed the Huangpu River
at Gaochang Temple (Gaochang Miao, 高昌庙) and by the dawn of May 25, 1949, everything south of the Suzhou Creek
was firmly under the communist control. The enemy’s offensive continued during the day with the communist 26th Army took Greater Field (Da Chang, 大场) and Riverine Bay (江湾) regions, and the communist 25th Army and the 29th Army took Wusong (吴淞) and Baoshan
, while the communist 28th Army and the 33rd Army took Yang’s Firm (Yang Hang, 杨行). At night, the communist 27th Army, 23rd Army and a portion of the 20th Army crossed the Suzhou Creek
under the cover of darkness, and regions north of the creek fell into the attackers’ hands. The deputy commander of the Shanghai
defense, the commander of the Shanghai
garrison, General Liu Changyi (刘昌义) was forced to surrender.
At the night of May 25, 1949, the communist 31st Army took High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥) with the help of the communist 30th Army after fierce battle, and by the noon of May 26, 1949, the last defense in Pudong
was wiped out. By May 27, 1949, the city had fallen to the enemy hands. Soon afterward, the communist 25th Army launched its assault on Chongming
Island and badly mauled the defending force, and by June 2, 1949, the campaign had ended with the communist victory completed.
commander-in-chief Tang Enbo who managed to escape via sea, the entire 37th Army, the 51st Army and the 5 Traffic Police Divisions were totally annihilated, while the nationalist
12th Army, 21st Army, 52nd Army, 75th Army, and the 123rd Army were badly mauled, and the total nationalist
casualties numbered more than 153,000. In addition to the city, more than 1,370 artillery pieces of various caliber, 1,161 automobiles, 11 naval vessels and 119 tanks and armored vehicles were captured by the enemy intact. Although the nationalists
attempted to completely destroy the city, the enemy nonetheless managed to taken the city relatively intact due to the local populace’s strong opposition which had prevented the nationalists
to carry out the scorch-earth policy as planned.
The nationalists
had committed a serious blunder before the campaign had even begun in that due to the political and psychological propaganda reasons, they had refused to evacuate the city, partially to avoid panic. The local populace was not allowed by the defenders to leave the city to surrender to the attacking enemy either and thus when the battle had begun, there were simply not enough transportation assets to evacuate everyone so the stranded populace felt helpless and abandoned. As the nationalists
attempted to leave nothing behind for the attacking enemy by trying to transfer the wealth from the city and to destroy the city, such actions enraged the local populace because the very necessities which were essential to the survival of the local populace threatened and had the nationalists
plan succeeded as it intended to, the stranded local populace that was already ravaged by the fierce battle would be further left in much greater destitution after the campaign. Like the general populace elsewhere in China
, the stranded local populace in Shanghai
was already alienated by the mistakes nationalists
made earlier, such as corruption, but at least they were not unanimously against the nationalist
regime, at least not yet. However, when the nationalist
defenders of the city adopted these militarily correct strategies that would cause great harm to the local populace and threaten their very survival, the popular alienation toward the nationalist
regime inevitably turned to resentment and the popular support was driven to the enemy side. Although enemy agents certainly played a part in organizing the local populace to protect factories, banks, shops and other infrastructure facilities, which had prevented the nationalists
from carrying out the scorch-earth policy as they had planned, these actions were mostly voluntary at the local people’s own wills and it had much more to do with the local populace’s own concern of their survival after the campaign which would depend on these infrastructure, than helping out the attacking communists.
The other nationalist
blunder made was more in the military aspect: spending too much resource defending a political symbol instead of utilizing the resources to evacuate the city and transferring the wealth. Much of the nationalist
force was spent at Shanghai
, leaving other regions vulnerable, and the bulk of the communist VII Corps was able to take the advantage by taking Ningbo
and Wenzhou
during the campaign. As a result, not only the city was lost to the enemy relatively intact, along with a great portion of its wealth, many other surrounding regions also fell into the enemy hands, many with their wealth and resources.
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
Campaign (國共內戰之上海战役) was a series of battles fought 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 for the control of the largest city 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...
in the latter stage of 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...
, and resulted in the city being taken over by the attacking communists who enjoyed the numerical superiority.
Prelude
With six million population, ShanghaiShanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
was the largest city 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...
in 1949 and provided around a third of the total GDP of 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...
by that time. Both the communists and 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...
believed that World War III was a real possibility and this perception influenced the strategic decisions of both sides. For 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...
who defended the city, had hoped that by using the resources of the wealthiest city of 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...
, they would last until World War III when foreign intervention would occur, and with foreign help, not only they would be able to defend the city,but then would counterattack and take 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...
back from the enemy. If the city could not last until World War III, the nationalist
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...
would withdraw via sea and transfer the wealth with them, after destroying the city completely, just like the scorch-earth policy used against the Japanese invaders in many part of the 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...
during 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...
. Although the truthfulness of this perception of 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...
remained in question, the enemy certainly believed that there was a possibility, as many of the nationalist
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...
propaganda had claimed, and thus was determined not to let it happen by taking the city as early as possible.
Defending force: the nationalist strategy
The nationalistKuomintang
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...
commander divided the city into two sectors along the Huangpu River
Huangpu River
The Huangpu River is a -long river in China flowing through Shanghai...
. The western half of the city and the surrounding regions including Taicang
Taicang
Taicang is a coastal city in Jiangsu Province of People's Republic of China. It is approximately to the northwest of Shanghai, and to the east of Suzhou. It is a county level city under jurisdiction of Suzhou prefecture level city. In 2008, the registered population was at 466,300, and total GDP...
, Kunshan
Kunshan
Kunshan is a satellite city in the greater Suzhou region. Administratively, it is a county-level city within the prefecture-level city of Suzhou. It is located in southeastearn part of Jiangsu Province, China, adjacent to Jiangsu's border with the Shanghai Municipality.The total area of Kunshan...
, Jiaxing
Jiaxing
Jiaxing is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province of Eastern China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the province of Jiangsu to the north....
, and Golden Mountain Jinshan
Jinshan District
Jinshan District of Shanghai is neighbouring Zhejiang and near Hangzhou Bay. It has a land area of 586.14 km² and a population 536,900 as of 2001....
, were defended by a total of 20 divisions (including all of the armored force) belonging to the 21st Army, the 51st Army, the 52nd Army, the 54th Army, the 75th Army and the 123rd Army. The 12th Army and the 35th Army totaled five divisions and the naval and air assets were tasked to defend Pudong
Pudong
Pudong |Bank]]") is an area of Shanghai, China, located along the east side of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai in Puxi. Formerly a little-developed agricultural area linked only by ferries, Pudong has grown rapidly since the 1990s and emerged as China's financial...
, with emphasis on regions included Wusong (吴淞), Yuepu (月浦), Yang’s Firm (Yang Hang, 杨行), Liu’s Firm (Liu Hang, 刘行), Greater Field (Da Chang, 大场), Gao’s Firm (Gao Hang, 高行), and High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥), in order to secure the escape route via sea. The nationalist
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...
force defending the city totaled more than 210,000. The buildings in the city were perfect defending positions which were further boosted by large amount of the concrete bunkers built.
Attacking force: the communist strategy
The communist 3rd Field Army under the commander-in-chief Chen YiChen Yi (communist)
Chen Yi was a Chinese communist military commander and politician. He served as the 2nd Mayor of Shanghai and the 2nd Foreign Minister of China.-Biography:Chen was born in Lezhi, near Chengdu, Sichuan, into a moderately wealthy magistrate's family....
and deputy commander-in-chief 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...
was tasked to take the city. The communists massed more than 290,000 troops totaled 10 armies to attack the city, while the communist 2nd Field Army under the commander-in-chief 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 political commissar
Commissar
Commissar is the English transliteration of an official title used in Russia from the time of Peter the Great.The title was used during the Provisional Government for regional heads of administration, but it is mostly associated with a number of Cheka and military functions in Bolshevik and Soviet...
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...
massed at Jinhua
Jinhua
Jinhua is a prefecture-level city in central Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It borders the provincial capital of Hangzhou to the northwest, Quzhou to the southwest, Lishui to the south, Taizhou to the east, and Shaoxing to the northeast....
and Dongxiang (东乡) via Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
-Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
railway, in order to prevent any foreign intervention that never came. The primary goal of the communists was to take the city with minimal damage to the city and minimal civilian casualties, so that future reconstruction would be easy by utilizing the existing infrastructure and skilled labor force. To prevent the defenders from transferring large amount of wealth via sea, a pincer movement would be launched from both the east and west, targeting Wusong (吴淞), so that the defenders’ escape route via sea would be cut and the city would be attacked afterward and by isolating the defenders into separate pockets, and then the city would be taken by decimating the isolated defenders.
One prong of the communist pincer movement included the 26th Army, the 28th Army, the 29th Army, the 33rd Army of the communist X Corps and a part of the communist Artillery Column attacking from Changshu
Changshu
Changshu is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, and is located in the south-eastern part of eastern-China’s Jiangsu Province as well as the Yangtze River Delta...
and Suzhou
Suzhou
Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part...
toward Kunshan
Kunshan
Kunshan is a satellite city in the greater Suzhou region. Administratively, it is a county-level city within the prefecture-level city of Suzhou. It is located in southeastearn part of Jiangsu Province, China, adjacent to Jiangsu's border with the Shanghai Municipality.The total area of Kunshan...
, Taicang
Taicang
Taicang is a coastal city in Jiangsu Province of People's Republic of China. It is approximately to the northwest of Shanghai, and to the east of Suzhou. It is a county level city under jurisdiction of Suzhou prefecture level city. In 2008, the registered population was at 466,300, and total GDP...
, and Jiading
Jiading District
Jiading District is one of the 18 districts of Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It has a population of 1,471,100 .-Geography:...
, eventually reaching Wusong (吴淞), Baoshan
Baoshan District
The Baoshan District of Shanghai has a land area of 424.58 km² and a population of 1,905,000 as of 2010.-Landmarks:Downtown Baoshan is the location of Baosteel's head office. The main campus of Shanghai University is also located in Baoshan District...
, thus blocking off the defenders’ escape route via sea by cutting off the traffic of Huangpu River
Huangpu River
The Huangpu River is a -long river in China flowing through Shanghai...
. Afterward, this prong of the pincer movement would attack the city from northwest.
The other prong of the communist pincer movement included the 20th Army, the 27th Army, 30th Army, and the 31st Army of the communist IX Corps and a part of communist Artillery Column. Two armies would attack from Nanxun
Nanxun District
Nanxun District is a district in the prefecture-level city of Huzhou, Zhejiang province, China. Nanxun Town , an old town, is located in the district. It is one of the most well-preserved old towns in this region and is known for its cultural heritage. Other towns in the district include...
and Wujiang
Wujiang
Wujiang may refer to the following associated with China:*Wujiang , was a military class in Ancient China*Wujiang, Jiangsu , county-level city*Wujiang District, Shaoguan, Guangdong...
, toward Fengxian
Fengxian District
Fengxian District of Shanghai has a land area of and a population of 1,083,400 as of 2010. It is famous for its beaches and ocean resorts. "碧海金沙"（which means "blue sea and golden beach"） is a famous place for Shanghainese to spend their weekend....
, Nanhui
Nanhui District
Nanhui District , formerly Nanhui County, was a district of Shanghai, China's largest city, until its merger with Pudong in May 2009. It had a land area of about 809.5 km² and 59.5 kilometers coastline. The population of Nanhui was 975,017 as of 2006...
, River Sand (Chuan Sha, 川沙) regions near/in Pudong
Pudong
Pudong |Bank]]") is an area of Shanghai, China, located along the east side of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai in Puxi. Formerly a little-developed agricultural area linked only by ferries, Pudong has grown rapidly since the 1990s and emerged as China's financial...
, helping the communist X Corps to blockade the Wusong (吴淞) after approaching High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥). Another two armies would group at the regions south of Songjiang
Songjiang District
Songjiang District of Shanghai has a land area of 605.64 km² and a population of 1,582,398 as of 2010. Its main town is Songjiang, connected to Shanghai by Shanghai Metro Line 9.It was Songjiang County until 1998.-Significant Features:...
and east of Jiaxing
Jiaxing
Jiaxing is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province of Eastern China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the province of Jiangsu to the north....
, taking Qingpu
Qingpu District
Qingpu District is a district of Shanghai Municipality, China. The only freshwater lake of Shanghai, Lake Dianshan, the source of the Huangpu River, is located in Qingpu.The population of Qingpu was 1,081,000. It has an area of 675.11 km²....
when the situation permitted, and then attack the city from the east, south and west.
In case of the defenders were successful in transferring materials away from the city, the attackers also prepared large amount of food and coals for the civilian population, and over 5,000 communist civilian cadres were also drafted to take over the administrative functions after the city was taken.
Order of battle
Defenders: nationalistKuomintang
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...
order of battle
Order 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 21st Army
- The 51st Army
- The 52nd Army
- The 54th Army
- The 75th Army
- The 123rd Army
- The 12th Army
- The 35th Army
- The 1st Naval District
- Air Force units
- 5 Traffic Police Divisions
Attackers: communist order of battle
Order 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 20th Army of the IX Corps
- The 23rd Army of the VII Corps
- The 25th Army of the VIII Corps
- The 26th Army of the X Corps
- The 27th Army of the IX Corps
- The 28th Army of the X Corps
- The 29th Army of the X Corps
- The 30th Army of the IX Corps
- The 31st Army of the IX Corps
- The 33rd Army of the X Corps
- The Artillery Column
First stage
The campaign begun on May 12, 1949 when the planned assaults on the outer defense perimeters of the city had begun. Two days later, the communist IX Corps succeeded in taking regions included Flat Lake (Ping Hu, 平湖), Golden Mountain Guarrison (Jin Shan Wei, 金山卫), FengxianFengxian District
Fengxian District of Shanghai has a land area of and a population of 1,083,400 as of 2010. It is famous for its beaches and ocean resorts. "碧海金沙"（which means "blue sea and golden beach"） is a famous place for Shanghainese to spend their weekend....
, Nanhui
Nanhui District
Nanhui District , formerly Nanhui County, was a district of Shanghai, China's largest city, until its merger with Pudong in May 2009. It had a land area of about 809.5 km² and 59.5 kilometers coastline. The population of Nanhui was 975,017 as of 2006...
, Qingpu
Qingpu District
Qingpu District is a district of Shanghai Municipality, China. The only freshwater lake of Shanghai, Lake Dianshan, the source of the Huangpu River, is located in Qingpu.The population of Qingpu was 1,081,000. It has an area of 675.11 km²....
, Songjiang
Songjiang District
Songjiang District of Shanghai has a land area of 605.64 km² and a population of 1,582,398 as of 2010. Its main town is Songjiang, connected to Shanghai by Shanghai Metro Line 9.It was Songjiang County until 1998.-Significant Features:...
, threatened the flank of the defenders at River Sand (Chuan Sha, 川沙). The nationalist
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...
51st Army was forced to be redeployed from the city to strengthen the defense of White Dragon Port (Bailong Gang, 白龙港), Lin’s Family’s Pier (Linjia Matou, 林家码头) and other positions at outer defensive zones. Meanwhile, the communist X Corps succeeded in taking Taicang
Taicang
Taicang is a coastal city in Jiangsu Province of People's Republic of China. It is approximately to the northwest of Shanghai, and to the east of Suzhou. It is a county level city under jurisdiction of Suzhou prefecture level city. In 2008, the registered population was at 466,300, and total GDP...
, Kunshan
Kunshan
Kunshan is a satellite city in the greater Suzhou region. Administratively, it is a county-level city within the prefecture-level city of Suzhou. It is located in southeastearn part of Jiangsu Province, China, adjacent to Jiangsu's border with the Shanghai Municipality.The total area of Kunshan...
, Jiading
Jiading District
Jiading District is one of the 18 districts of Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It has a population of 1,471,100 .-Geography:...
, and Liu River (Liu He, 浏河) regions, and continued their attack on Yuepu (月浦), Yang’s Firm (Yang Hang, 杨行), Liu’s Firm (Liu Han, 刘行) regions. However, from their concrete bunkers and with the help of naval and air support, the defenders held on and when the nationalist
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...
99th Division of the 21st Army was redeployed from the city to Yuepu (月浦), Yang’s Firm (Yang Hang, 杨行), Liu’s Firm (Liu Han, 刘行) regions for reinforcement, the defenders was able to successfully beaten back the attacking enemy.
After the setback, the enemy adjusted their tactic by adopting small formations to take one bunker at a time, and with the rapid utilization of the experienced gained in fighting against the fortified positions consisted of concrete bunkers, the speed of attack was greatly accelerated. By May 19, 1949, the communist X Corps had managed to take Yuepu (月浦) and the International Broadcasting Station, and annihilated the defenders stationed at Liu’s Firm (Liu Han, 刘行) region. Meanwhile, the communist IX Corps had managed to take Zhoupu (周浦) and River Sand (Chuan Sha, 川沙) region, and completely annihilated the nationalist
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...
51st Army defending the White Dragon Port (Bailong Gang, 白龙港), and isolated the nationalist
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...
12th Army at High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥) region, while cutting off the links between the nationalist
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...
37 Army at Pudong
Pudong
Pudong |Bank]]") is an area of Shanghai, China, located along the east side of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai in Puxi. Formerly a little-developed agricultural area linked only by ferries, Pudong has grown rapidly since the 1990s and emerged as China's financial...
with other nationalist
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...
units via land.
Second stage
To secure the escape route via sea, the nationalistKuomintang
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...
75th Army was redeployed from the city to reinforce High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥) region, but after two armies and a division were withdrawn from the city to reinforce the positions of outer defensive perimeters, there was not enough force within the city to suppress the civilians who vehemently opposed the destruction of the city and organized themselves to protect infrastructure facilities within the city. As a result, the nationalist
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...
plan of destroying the city and transferring the wealth was not carried out fully as it had planned. The defenders’ naval assets also faced great difficulties in that it was forced to fight at the enemy’s turf: the inland riverine navigational channels were simply too narrow for the naval vessels to maneuver and they become sitting ducks for the enemy’s long range shore batteries. After many extraordinarily brave but completely futile engagements by the outgunned nationalist
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...
naval assets which resulted in seven nationalist
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...
naval vessels damaged, it was painfully obvious that the naval asset must withdraw in the hopeless fights. When the nationalist
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...
naval fleet was forced to withdraw on May 23, 1949, the enemy’s attempt to cut off the defenders’ maritime escape route succeeded, and the sea to the east of High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥) region was blockaded by the enemy.
After ten days of fierce fighting, the defenders suffered more than 20,000 casualties and lost all of the positions in the outer defensive perimeters. However, this might not be a bad thing because the defenders were able to concentrate their force in the city. The attacking enemy was well aware of this situation and adjusted their tactic once again: the 23rd Army of the communist VII Corps and the 25th Army of the communist VIII Corps were assigned to help the communist IX Corps and X Corps to take the city.
Third Stage
The assault on the city begun at the night of May 23, 1949 when the communist 29th Army took the high ground in the southern suburb under the cover of darkness, while the communist 28th Army penetrated to Wusong (吴淞) region and shelled the pier. On May 24, 1949, the communist 20th Army took PudongPudong
Pudong |Bank]]") is an area of Shanghai, China, located along the east side of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai in Puxi. Formerly a little-developed agricultural area linked only by ferries, Pudong has grown rapidly since the 1990s and emerged as China's financial...
and the communist 27th Army took the train station at Xujiahui
Xujiahui
Xujiahui , also spelt Zikawei or Siccawei is an historical and cultural area in Xuhui District of Shanghai, China. The area is a well known precinct for shopping and entertainment in Shanghai....
and Hongqiao region
Hongqiao Lu
Hongqiao Road Station is an interchange station between Lines 3, 4 and 10 on the Shanghai Metro. It is the southernmost station of which Lines 3 and 4 share the same tracks.The station is located in Changning District, Shanghai....
. The nationalist
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...
commander-in-chief, Tang Enbo already boarded naval ships on May 18, 1949, realized the inevitable and in order to strengthen the defense around the pier at Wusong (吴淞), ordered the surviving 6th Division of the nationalist
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...
75th Army at High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥) region to withdraw to Yuepu (月浦), and the nationalist
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...
units north of Suzhou Creek
Suzhou Creek
Suzhou Creek is a river in China that passes through the Shanghai city centre. It is named after Suzhou, a city in neighbouring Jiangsu province which was the predominant city in this area prior to the rise of Shanghai as a metropolis.One of the principal outlets of Lake Tai, Suzhou Creek has a...
to withdraw to Wusong (吴淞), for the preparation to withdraw via sea.
Under the cover of darkness, the communist 23rd Army and the 27th Army penetrated the city from Xujiahui
Xujiahui
Xujiahui , also spelt Zikawei or Siccawei is an historical and cultural area in Xuhui District of Shanghai, China. The area is a well known precinct for shopping and entertainment in Shanghai....
and Longhua Region
Longhua temple
The Longhua Temple is a Buddhist Temple dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha located in Shanghai, China. Although most of the present-day buildings date from later reconstructions, the temple preserves the architectural design of a Song Dynasty monastery of the Buddhist Chan sect...
respectively while the communist 20th Army crossed the Huangpu River
Huangpu River
The Huangpu River is a -long river in China flowing through Shanghai...
at Gaochang Temple (Gaochang Miao, 高昌庙) and by the dawn of May 25, 1949, everything south of the Suzhou Creek
Suzhou Creek
Suzhou Creek is a river in China that passes through the Shanghai city centre. It is named after Suzhou, a city in neighbouring Jiangsu province which was the predominant city in this area prior to the rise of Shanghai as a metropolis.One of the principal outlets of Lake Tai, Suzhou Creek has a...
was firmly under the communist control. The enemy’s offensive continued during the day with the communist 26th Army took Greater Field (Da Chang, 大场) and Riverine Bay (江湾) regions, and the communist 25th Army and the 29th Army took Wusong (吴淞) and Baoshan
Baoshan District
The Baoshan District of Shanghai has a land area of 424.58 km² and a population of 1,905,000 as of 2010.-Landmarks:Downtown Baoshan is the location of Baosteel's head office. The main campus of Shanghai University is also located in Baoshan District...
, while the communist 28th Army and the 33rd Army took Yang’s Firm (Yang Hang, 杨行). At night, the communist 27th Army, 23rd Army and a portion of the 20th Army crossed the Suzhou Creek
Suzhou Creek
Suzhou Creek is a river in China that passes through the Shanghai city centre. It is named after Suzhou, a city in neighbouring Jiangsu province which was the predominant city in this area prior to the rise of Shanghai as a metropolis.One of the principal outlets of Lake Tai, Suzhou Creek has a...
under the cover of darkness, and regions north of the creek fell into the attackers’ hands. The deputy commander of the Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
defense, the commander of the Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
garrison, General Liu Changyi (刘昌义) was forced to surrender.
At the night of May 25, 1949, the communist 31st Army took High Bridge (Go Qiao, 高桥) with the help of the communist 30th Army after fierce battle, and by the noon of May 26, 1949, the last defense in Pudong
Pudong
Pudong |Bank]]") is an area of Shanghai, China, located along the east side of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai in Puxi. Formerly a little-developed agricultural area linked only by ferries, Pudong has grown rapidly since the 1990s and emerged as China's financial...
was wiped out. By May 27, 1949, the city had fallen to the enemy hands. Soon afterward, the communist 25th Army launched its assault on Chongming
Chongming
Chongming County is the only county under the jurisdiction of Shanghai, China. The county consists of three main islands: Chongming Island ; Changxing Island; and Hengsha Island. These are low-lying alluvial islands in the mouth of the Yangtze River. With an area of , Chongming Island is listed as...
Island and badly mauled the defending force, and by June 2, 1949, the campaign had ended with the communist victory completed.
Outcome
The campaign had cost defenders heavily, with the exception of 50,000 defenders included the nationalistKuomintang
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...
commander-in-chief Tang Enbo who managed to escape via sea, the entire 37th Army, the 51st Army and the 5 Traffic Police Divisions were totally annihilated, while the nationalist
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...
12th Army, 21st Army, 52nd Army, 75th Army, and the 123rd Army were badly mauled, and the total nationalist
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...
casualties numbered more than 153,000. In addition to the city, more than 1,370 artillery pieces of various caliber, 1,161 automobiles, 11 naval vessels and 119 tanks and armored vehicles were captured by the enemy intact. Although 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...
attempted to completely destroy the city, the enemy nonetheless managed to taken the city relatively intact due to the local populace’s strong opposition which had prevented 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...
to carry out the scorch-earth policy as planned.
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...
had committed a serious blunder before the campaign had even begun in that due to the political and psychological propaganda reasons, they had refused to evacuate the city, partially to avoid panic. The local populace was not allowed by the defenders to leave the city to surrender to the attacking enemy either and thus when the battle had begun, there were simply not enough transportation assets to evacuate everyone so the stranded populace felt helpless and abandoned. As 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...
attempted to leave nothing behind for the attacking enemy by trying to transfer the wealth from the city and to destroy the city, such actions enraged the local populace because the very necessities which were essential to the survival of the local populace threatened and had 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...
plan succeeded as it intended to, the stranded local populace that was already ravaged by the fierce battle would be further left in much greater destitution after the campaign. Like the general populace elsewhere 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...
, the stranded local populace in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
was already alienated by the mistakes 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...
made earlier, such as corruption, but at least they were not unanimously against the nationalist
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...
regime, at least not yet. However, when the nationalist
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...
defenders of the city adopted these militarily correct strategies that would cause great harm to the local populace and threaten their very survival, the popular alienation toward the nationalist
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...
regime inevitably turned to resentment and the popular support was driven to the enemy side. Although enemy agents certainly played a part in organizing the local populace to protect factories, banks, shops and other infrastructure facilities, which had prevented 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...
from carrying out the scorch-earth policy as they had planned, these actions were mostly voluntary at the local people’s own wills and it had much more to do with the local populace’s own concern of their survival after the campaign which would depend on these infrastructure, than helping out the attacking communists.
The other nationalist
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...
blunder made was more in the military aspect: spending too much resource defending a political symbol instead of utilizing the resources to evacuate the city and transferring the wealth. Much of the nationalist
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...
force was spent at Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, leaving other regions vulnerable, and the bulk of the communist VII Corps was able to take the advantage by taking Ningbo
Ningbo
Ningbo is a seaport city of northeastern Zhejiang province, Eastern China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,089,180 in the built up area made of 6 urban districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay,...
and Wenzhou
Wenzhou
Wenzhou is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. The area under its jurisdiction, which includes two satellite cities and six counties, had a population of 9,122,100 as of 2010....
during the campaign. As a result, not only the city was lost to the enemy relatively intact, along with a great portion of its wealth, many other surrounding regions also fell into the enemy hands, many with their wealth and resources.
See also
- List of Battles of 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...