Battle of Xiangshuikou

The Battle of Xiangshuikou was a battle fought between the s and the communists in northern Jiangsu during the Chinese Civil War in the immediate post-World War II era, and resulted in a communist victory.

Prelude

Like other similar clashes immediately after the end of World War II between the communists and the nationalists in China, this conflict also rooted from the fact that Chiang Kai-shek had realized that his nationalist regime simply had neither the sufficient troops nor enough transportation assets to deploy his troops into the Japanese-occupied regions of China. Unwilling to allow the communists, who had already dominated most of the rural regions in China, to further expand their territories by accepting the Japanese surrender and thus control the Japanese-occupied regions, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the Japanese and their turncoat Chinese puppet regime not to surrender to the communists and keep their fighting capabilities to “maintain order” in the Japanese-occupied regions, fighting off the communists as necessary, until the final arrivals and completion of the deployment of the nationalist troops. As a result, most members of the Japanese puppet regimes and their military forces rejoined the nationalists.

However, it must be noted that most of these former nationalists turned Japanese puppet regime forces were not from Chiang Kai-shek’s own clique, but instead, they were mainly consisted of troops of who were only nominally under the Chiang Kai-shek’s before World War II, since they were nationalists in name only and mostly maintained their independent and semi-independent status. These warlords were only interested in keeping their own power and defected to the Japanese side when Japanese invaders offered to let them keep their power in exchange for their collaborations. After World War II, these forces of former Japanese puppet regimes once again returned to the nationalist camp for the same reason they defected to the Japanese invaders. Obviously, it was difficult for Chiang to immediately get rid of these warlords for good as soon as they surrendered to Chiang and rejoined the nationalists, because such a move would have alienated other factions within the nationalist ranks, and these former Japanese puppet regime's warlords could still help the nationalists to gain more territories by holding on to what was under their control until Chiang completed the deployment of his own troops to takeover. Chiang Kai-shek’s objective was to simultaneously solve the warlord problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together, which proved to be an extremely fatal mistake for him and his nationalist regime later on, as shown in this conflict.

Nationalist strategy

In accordance with his strategy to simultaneously solve the warlord problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together, Chiang Kai-shek and his followers had hoped that these former Japanese puppet regime's warlords who rejoined the nationalists would be able to hold on to the regions long enough for Chiang to deploy his own troops by holding off communists. If the communists were victorious in such conflicts, however, the result would still benefit to Chiang and China because the power of these warlords would be reduced as their military forces were smashed by the communists, and the warlord problem plagued China for so long could thus be greatly reduced, while at the same time, communists would be weakened by the fights and Chiang's own troops would have easier time to take control.

For the former nationalist turned Japanese puppet regime forces, these warlords and their troops had no problem of following Chiang Kai-shek’s orders, and they were eager to prove themselves. These warlords and their troops were well aware that due to the collaboration with the Japanese invaders during the Second Sino-Japanese War, they were well hated by the general population in China, including those nationalists who refused to surrender to the enemy and fought the enemy until the eventual victory. Therefore, in the impending demilitarization after World War II, they were certainly be disarmed and discharged, which would probably be the best outcome and the power of these warlords would be reduced or even completely eliminated as a result. Chiang Kai-shek’s ordering them not surrendering to the communists and fighting off the communists was a savior for them because by carrying out such orders, these warlords and their troops could legitimize themselves and thus retain their power by fighting the communists who were targeted as rebels by Chiang Kai-shek and his nationalist regime.

Communist strategy

The communist strategy was much simpler than that of the nationalists because there was not any huge division within the communist rank like in that of the nationalists. The communists had already earned considerable popular support by being the only Chinese force left in the region fighting the Japanese invaders and their puppet regime after the nationalists withdrew, and after successfully establishing communist bases in the rural regions where better life was provided to the general populace in comparison to that of Japanese occupied regions, the general Chinese populace agreed that the communists were well deserved to represent the China to accept the invaders’ surrender in the region and takeover the regions occupied by the invaders.

Battle

On September 18, 1945, the 10th Brigade of the 3rd of the communist New Fourth Army with the help of local communist militia launched their assault in the Xiangshuikou region of Jiangsu, China, after the nationalist garrison consisted of four battalions refused to surrender. The nationalist battalions were the former nationalists turned Japanese puppet regime force rejoined nationalist after World War II, and they were ordered by Chiang Kai-shek’s regime to hold on the land they controlled, and not to surrender to the communists, and fight off communists if necessary until Chiang could deploy his own troops to the region. However, these units were no match for their long time communist adversary, and just like previous battles during the Second Sino-Japanese War, they were easily defeated without popular support, with nearly all of the force totaling over a thousand being wiped out by the attacking enemy. As the few remaining survivors fled, they left behind important cities and town to the enemy, including Xiangshuikou , Chen Family’s Port , Guanyun and Guannan . The communist victory ensured their total control of the region along the Guan River, and the important cash generating salt production fields in northern Jiangsu.

Outcome

Like other similar clashes immediately after the end of World War II between the communists and the nationalists in China, this conflict also showed that Chiang Kai-shek’s attempt to simultaneously solve the warlord problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together proved to be a fatal mistake. Although the result of the campaign turned out exactly like Chiang Kai-shek and his subordinates had predicted, and consequently the power of the warlords in this region was indeed reduced as their military forces were smashed by the communists, so that the warlord problem plagued China for so long was thus reduced for this particular region, and Chiang Kai-shek’s secondary objective was achieved here, any positive gains obtained by the nationalists were negated by the politic fallout. The reason was that this success of achieving the secondary objective came at a huge cost in nationalists’ loss of popular support in this region formerly dominated by the Japanese, because the local population had already blamed nationalilsts for losing the regions to the Japanese invaders, while reassigning these former Japanese puppet regime forces as the nationalist forces to fight the communists, the only Chinese force left in the regions, only further alienated the local populace and strengthened the popular resentment to Chiang Kai-shek and his nationalist regime.

Battle of Tangtou-Guocun

The Battle of Tangtou-Guocun was a series of clashes between the s and the s during the Chinese Civil War in the immediate post-World War II era in Jiangsu, China and resulted in the communist victory.

Prelude

Like other similar clashes immediately after the end of World War II between the communists and the s in China, this conflict also rooted from the fact that Chiang Kai-shek had realized that his regime simply had neither the sufficient troops nor enough transportation assets to deploy his troops into the Japanese-occupied regions of China. Unwilling to let the communists who had already dominated most of the rural regions in China to further expand their territories by accepting the Japanese surrender and thus would consequently control the Japanese occupied regions, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the Japanese and their turncoat Chinese puppet regime not to surrender to the communists and kept their fighting capabilities to “maintain order” in the Japanese occupied regions, fighting off the communists as necessary, until the final arrivals and completion of the deployment of the troops. As a result, most members of the Japanese puppet regimes and their military forces rejoined the s.

However, it must be noted that most of these former s turned Japanese puppet regime forces were not from Chiang Kai-shek’s own clique, but instead, they were mainly consisted of troops of who were only nominally under the Chiang Kai-shek’s before World War II, since they were s in name only and mostly maintained their independent and semi-independent status. These were only interested in keeping their own power and defected to the Japanese side when Japanese invaders offered to let them keep their power in exchange for their collaborations. After the World War II, these forces of former Japanese puppet regimes once again returned to the camp for the same reason they defected to the Japanese invaders. Obviously, it was difficult for Chiang to immediately get rid of these warlords for good as soon as they surrendered to Chiang and rejoined s, because such move would alienate other factions within the ranks, and these former Japanese puppet regime's warlords could still help the s to gain more territories by holding on to what was under their control until Chiang completed the deployment of his own troops to takeover. Chiang Kai-shek’s objective was to simultaneously solve the problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together, which proved to be an extremely fatal mistake for him and his regime later on, as shown in this conflict.

Strategy

In accordance with his strategy to simultaneously solve the problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together, Chiang Kai-shek and his followers had hoped that these former Japanese puppet regime's warlords who rejoined the s would be able to hold on to the regions long enough for Chiang to deploy his own troops by holding off communists. If the communists were victorious in such conflicts, however, the result would still benefit to Chiang and China because the power of these warlords would be reduced as their military forces were smashed by the communists, and the warlord problem plagued China for so long could thus be greatly reduced, while at the same time, communists would be weakened by the fights and Chiang's own troops would have easier time to take control.

For the former turned Japanese puppet regime forces, these s and their troops had no problem of following Chiang Kai-shek’s orders, and they were eager to prove themselves. These s and their troops were well aware that due to the collaboration with the Japanese invaders during the Second Sino-Japanese War, they were well hated by the general population in China, including those s who refused to surrender to the enemy and fought the enemy until the eventual victory. Therefore, in the impending demilitarization after World War II, they were certainly be disarmed and discharged, which would probably be the best outcome and the power of these would be reduced or even completely eliminated as a result. Chiang Kai-shek’s ordering them not surrendering to the communists and fighting off the communists was a savior for them because by carrying out such orders, these s and their troops could legitimize themselves and thus retain their power by fighting the communists who were targeted as rebels by Chiang Kai-shek and his regime.

Communist Strategy

The communist strategy was much simpler than that of the s because there was not any huge division within the communist rank like that of the . The communists already earned considerable popular support by being the only Chinese force left in the region fighting the Japanese invaders and their puppet regime after the withdrew, and after successfully establishing communist bases in the rural regions where better life was provided to the general populace in comparison to that of Japanese occupied regions, the general Chinese populace agreed that the communists were well deserved to represent the China to accept the invaders’ surrender in the region and takeover the regions occupied by the invaders.

The Battle

After those former nationalist-turned Japanese puppet regime force had rejoined the nationalists after the end of World War II, they refused to surrender to the communists, the only Chinese force in the region according to Chiang Kai-shek’s order. This had obvious lead to numerous clashes with the communists and the local population that strongly supported the communists, and eventually the full scale battle between the two sides erupted in December, 1945.

The communist 7th Column of the New Fourth Army and the Independent Brigade of the communist Central Jiangsu Military District joined their forces in attacking the positions held by the former nationalist-turned Japanese puppet regime force who rejoined the nationalist, and with strong popular support, the communists easily overwhelmed their nationalist adversary and by the time the battle concluded in the end of December 1945, over sixteen major cities, towns and vast area along the highway from Yangzhou to Taizhou, Jiangsu including Yiling , Embankment Head and the Village of Guo had fallen into communist hands.

Outcome

Like other similar clashes immediately after the end of World War II between the communists and the s in China, this conflict also showed that Chiang Kai-shek’s attempt to simultaneously solve the problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together proved to be a fatal mistake. Although the result of the campaign turned out exactly like Chiang Kai-shek and his subordinates had predicted, and consequently the power of the in this region was indeed reduced as their military forces were smashed by the communists, so that the problem plagued China for so long was thus reduced for this particular region, and Chiang Kai-shek’s secondary objective was achieved here, any positive gains obtained by the nationalists were negated by the politic fallout. The reason was that this success of achieving the secondary objective came at a huge cost in nationalists’ loss of popular support in this region formerly dominated by the Japanese, because the local population had already blamed nationalilsts for losing the regions to the Japanese invaders, while reassigning these former Japanese puppet regime forces as the nationalist forces to fight the communists, the only Chinese force left in the regions, only further alienated the local populace and strengthened the popular resentment to Chiang Kai-shek and his nationalist regime.

Battle of Shaobo

The battle of Shaobo was a battle fought in the Shaobo region in central Jiangsu, and it was a clash between the communists and the former s turned Japanese puppet regime force who rejoined the s after World War II, and it is a prelude to Gaoyou Campaign. The battle resulted in communist victory was one of the Chinese Civil War in the immediate post World War II era.

Prelude

Like other similar clashes immediately after the end of World War II between the communists and the s in China, this conflict also rooted from the fact that Chiang Kai-shek had realized that his regime simply had neither the sufficient troops nor enough transportation assets to deploy his troops into the Japanese-occupied regions of China. Unwilling to let the communists who had already dominated most of the rural regions in China to further expand their territories by accepting the Japanese surrender and thus would consequently control the Japanese occupied regions, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the Japanese and their turncoat Chinese puppet regime not to surrender to the communists and kept their fighting capabilities to “maintain order” in the Japanese occupied regions, fighting off the communists as necessary, until the final arrivals and completion of the deployment of the troops. As a result, most members of the Japanese puppet regimes and their military forces rejoined the s.

However, it must be noted that most of these former s turned Japanese puppet regime forces were not from Chiang Kai-shek’s own clique, but instead, they were mainly consisted of troops of who were only nominally under the Chiang Kai-shek’s before World War II, since they were s in name only and mostly maintained their independent and semi-independent status. These were only interested in keeping their own power and defected to the Japanese side when Japanese invaders offered to let them keep their power in exchange for their collaborations. After the World War II, these forces of former Japanese puppet regimes once again returned to the camp for the same reason they defected to the Japanese invaders. Obviously, it was difficult for Chiang to immediately get rid of these warlords for good as soon as they surrendered to Chiang and rejoined s, because such move would alienate other factions within the ranks, and these former Japanese puppet regime's warlords could still help the s to gain more territories by holding on to what was under their control until Chiang completed the deployment of his own troops to takeover. Chiang Kai-shek’s objective was to simultaneously solve the problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together, which proved to be an extremely fatal mistake for him and his regime later on, as shown in this conflict.

strategy

In accordance with his strategy to simultaneously solve the problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together, Chiang Kai-shek and his followers had hoped that these former Japanese puppet regime's warlords who rejoined the s would be able to hold on to the regions long enough for Chiang to deploy his own troops by holding off communists. If the communists were victorious in such conflicts, however, the result would still benefit to Chiang and China because the power of these warlords would be reduced as their military forces were smashed by the communists, and the warlord problem plagued China for so long could thus be greatly reduced, while at the same time, communists would be weakened by the fights and Chiang's own troops would have easier time to take control.

For the former turned Japanese puppet regime forces, these s and their troops had no problem of following Chiang Kai-shek’s orders, and they were eager to prove themselves. These s and their troops were well aware that due to the collaboration with the Japanese invaders during the Second Sino-Japanese War, they were well hated by the general population in China, including those s who refused to surrender to the enemy and fought the enemy until the eventual victory. Therefore, in the impending demilitarization after World War II, they were certainly be disarmed and discharged, which would probably be the best outcome and the power of these would be reduced or even completely eliminated as a result. Chiang Kai-shek’s ordering them not surrendering to the communists and fighting off the communists was a savior for them because by carrying out such orders, these s and their troops could legitimize themselves and thus retain their power by fighting the communists who were targeted as rebels by Chiang Kai-shek and his regime.

Communist strategy

The communist strategy was much simpler than that of the s because there was not any huge division within the communist rank like that of the . The communists already earned considerable popular support by being the only Chinese force left in the region fighting the Japanese invaders and their puppet regime after the withdrew, and after successfully establishing communist bases in the rural regions where better life was provided to the general populace in comparison to that of Japanese occupied regions, the general Chinese populace agreed that the communists were well deserved to represent the China to accept the invaders’ surrender in the region and takeover the regions occupied by the invaders.

Battle

The 7th Column of the New Fourth Army launched its offensive against the Japanese and their puppet regime force that refused to surrender station at the town of Shaobo of Jiangdu County of Jiangsu province on December 19, 1945. By December 21, the battle was over with communist victory. The communists managed to have killed more than 110 Japanese troops, over 100 troops of Japanese puppet regime troops, capturing over 40 Japanese troops and over 550 troops of Japanese puppet regime force. In addition, the poorly equipped communists also captured one heavy machine gun, one infantry support gun and over 300 rifles.

Outcome

Like other similar clashes immediately after the end of World War II between the communists and the s in China, this conflict also showed that Chiang Kai-shek’s attempt to simultaneously solve the problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together proved to be a fatal mistake. Although the result of the campaign turned out exactly like Chiang Kai-shek and his subordinates had predicted, and consequently the power of the in this region was indeed reduced as their military forces were smashed by the communists, so that the problem plagued China for so long was thus reduced for this particular region, and Chiang Kai-shek’s secondary objective was achieved here, any positive gains obtained by the nationalists were negated by the politic fallout. The reason was that this success of achieving the secondary objective came at a huge cost in nationalists’ loss of popular support in this region formerly dominated by the Japanese, because the local population had already blamed nationalilsts for losing the regions to the Japanese invaders, while reassigning these former Japanese puppet regime forces as the nationalist forces to fight the communists, the only Chinese force left in the regions, only further alienated the local populace and strengthened the popular resentment to Chiang Kai-shek and his nationalist regime.

The communists did not have the dilemmas faced by the s and enjoyed popular support, and thus was able to easily overwhelm their adversary, and thus achieving victory without much difficulty. Like other similar clashes immediately after the end of World War II between the communists and the s in China, the political gain was much greater than the military one for the communists as result of this battle.

Battle of Rugao

The Battle of Rugao was a battle fought between the s and s for the control of town of Rugao in Jiangsu province during the Chinese Civil War in the immediate post-World War II era, and resulted in the communist victory.

Prelude

Like other similar clashes immediately after the end of World War II between the communists and the s in China, this conflict also rooted from the fact that Chiang Kai-shek had realized that his regime simply had neither the sufficient troops nor enough transportation assets to deploy his troops into the Japanese-occupied regions of China. Unwilling to let the communists who had already dominated most of the rural regions in China to further expand their territories by accepting the Japanese surrender and thus would consequently control the Japanese occupied regions, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the Japanese and their turncoat Chinese puppet regime not to surrender to the communists and kept their fighting capabilities to “maintain order” in the Japanese occupied regions, fighting off the communists as necessary, until the final arrivals and completion of the deployment of the troops. As a result, most members of the Japanese puppet regimes and their military forces rejoined the s.

However, it must be noted that most of these former s turned Japanese puppet regime forces were not from Chiang Kai-shek’s own clique, but instead, they were mainly consisted of troops of who were only nominally under the Chiang Kai-shek’s before World War II, since they were s in name only and mostly maintained their independent and semi-independent status. These were only interested in keeping their own power and defected to the Japanese side when Japanese invaders offered to let them keep their power in exchange for their collaborations. After the World War II, these forces of former Japanese puppet regimes once again returned to the camp for the same reason they defected to the Japanese invaders. Obviously, it was difficult for Chiang to immediately get rid of these warlords for good as soon as they surrendered to Chiang and rejoined s, because such move would alienate other factions within the ranks, and these former Japanese puppet regime's warlords could still help the s to gain more territories by holding on to what was under their control until Chiang completed the deployment of his own troops to takeover. Chiang Kai-shek’s objective was to simultaneously solve the problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together, which proved to be an extremely fatal mistake for him and his regime later on, as shown in this conflict.

Strategy

In accordance with his strategy to simultaneously solve the problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together, Chiang Kai-shek and his followers had hoped that these former Japanese puppet regime's warlords who rejoined the s would be able to hold on to the regions long enough for Chiang to deploy his own troops by holding off communists. If the communists were victorious in such conflicts, however, the result would still benefit to Chiang and China because the power of these warlords would be reduced as their military forces were smashed by the communists, and the warlord problem plagued China for so long could thus be greatly reduced, while at the same time, communists would be weakened by the fights and Chiang's own troops would have easier time to take control.

For the former turned Japanese puppet regime forces, these s and their troops had no problem of following Chiang Kai-shek’s orders, and they were eager to prove themselves. These s and their troops were well aware that due to the collaboration with the Japanese invaders during the Second Sino-Japanese War, they were well hated by the general population in China, including those s who refused to surrender to the enemy and fought the enemy until the eventual victory. Therefore, in the impending demilitarization after World War II, they were certainly be disarmed and discharged, which would probably be the best outcome and the power of these would be reduced or even completely eliminated as a result. Chiang Kai-shek’s ordering them not surrendering to the communists and fighting off the communists was a savior for them because by carrying out such orders, these s and their troops could legitimize themselves and thus retain their power by fighting the communists who were targeted as rebels by Chiang Kai-shek and his regime.

Communist Strategy

The communist strategy was much simpler than that of the s because there was not any huge division within the communist rank like that of the . The communists already earned considerable popular support by being the only Chinese force left in the region fighting the Japanese invaders and their puppet regime after the withdrew, and after successfully establishing communist bases in the rural regions where better life was provided to the general populace in comparison to that of Japanese occupied regions, the general Chinese populace agreed that the communists were well deserved to represent the China to accept the invaders’ surrender in the region and takeover the regions occupied by the invaders.

The Battle

After the former turned Japanese puppet regime forces who rejoined the nationalists after World War II had refused to surrender to the communists, the only Chinese force in the region under the order of Chiang Kai-shek’s regime, unit of the communist New Fourth Army from the 4th Sub-Military Region of the communist Central Jiangsu Military Region launched its offensive in Rugao, Jiangsu, China against these units. Unable to fend off the communist attack and without any popular support from the local populace, the entire nationalist Independent Brigade of the Second Front Army garrisoning Rugao totaling more than 3,000 was completely annihilated, everyone including the commander Kong Ruiwu and the deputy commander Li Ruisheng was either killed or captured alive. Additionally, the communists also succeeded in capturing two , twenty-two machine guns, and more than 2,600 other firearms.

Outcome

Like other similar clashes immediately after the end of World War II between the communists and the s in China, this conflict also showed that Chiang Kai-shek’s attempt to simultaneously solve the problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together proved to be a fatal mistake. Although the result of the campaign turned out exactly like Chiang Kai-shek and his subordinates had predicted, and consequently the power of the in this region was indeed reduced as their military forces were smashed by the communists, so that the problem plagued China for so long was thus reduced for this particular region, and Chiang Kai-shek’s secondary objective was achieved here, any positive gains obtained by the nationalists were negated by the politic fallout. The reason was that this success of achieving the secondary objective came at a huge cost in nationalists’ loss of popular support in this region formerly dominated by the Japanese, because the local population had already blamed nationalilsts for losing the regions to the Japanese invaders, while reassigning these former Japanese puppet regime forces as the nationalist forces to fight the communists, the only Chinese force left in the regions, only further alienated the local populace and strengthened the popular resentment to Chiang Kai-shek and his nationalist regime.

Battle of Rugao-Huangqiao

The Battle of Rugao-Huangqiao was a battle fought between the and the during the Chinese Civil War in the post World War II era and resulted in communist victory. The battle was a one seven major battles in Central Jiangsu Campaign.

Order of battle
*Nationalists
**A regiment of the 79th Brigade
**99th Brigade of the Reorganized 69th Division
**The 160th Brigade
**The 187th Brigade
**The Reorganized 25th Division
*Communists
**The 1st Division
**The 6th Division
**The 5th Brigade
**The Specialized Regiment

After battles fought at Dingyan and Linxin in Central Jiangsu Campaign, the communists had severed the Rugao – Nantong Highway, and the nationalist 187th Brigade defending Rugao was isolated. To avert the situation, the nationalist 99th Brigade of the Reorganized 69th Division was ordered to be deployed from the Yellow Bridge Town to reinforce Rugao. Meanwhile, the nationalist Reorganized 25th Division deployed at Yangzhou and Jiangdu was ordered to attack Shaobo in the north. The communist, in response, ordered their 1st Division, 6th Division, 5th Brigade and the Specialized Regiment to attack Taizhou, Jiangsu from Dingyan and Linxin regions, in the hope of luring the nationalist Reorganized 25th Division to abandon its attack on Shaobo and reinforce Taizhou, Jiangsu, so that it could be ambushed on its way. Although the communist plan succeeded in forcing the nationalists to abandon their attack on Shaobo , the planned ambush of the nationalist Reorganized 25th Division failed to materialize. Instead, the nationalist 99th Brigade of the Reorganized 69th Division became the unfortunate victim.

In the morning of August 25, 1946, the nationalist 99th Brigade of the Reorganized 69th Division begun its march toward Rugao from Yellow Bridge Town, with nationalist 187th Brigade and a regiment of the nationalist 79th Brigade coming out of Rugao to meet their comrades-in-arms. By the noon, the nationalist 99th Brigade of the Reorganized 69th Division met the communist main force on the road from Yellow Bridge Town to Rugao. The communist 1st Division and 6th Division immediately launched their assault on the nationalists, successfully besieging the enemy in isolated pockets in the regions of Fenjie and Jiali . The communists decided to concentrate their forces 4 to 5 times than that of their enemy to annihilate the weakest enemy first, and then the stronger one.

On August 26, 1946, the nationalist 99th Brigade of the Reorganized 69th Division at Fenjie region was first to be completely annihilated, and on the next day, the nationalist 187th Brigade and a regiment of the nationalist 79th Brigade at Jiali region was also annihilated completely. The victorious communists then launched their assault on Yellow Bridge Town, and remaining 5 companies of the nationalist 160th Brigade simply could not challenge the overwhelmingly superior enemy force, and gave up the town and surrendered. With the fall of Yellow Bridge Town, the nationalists was forced to cease their offensive to regroup for the next stage of the campaign and the battle ended.

Battle of Huaiyin-Huai'an

Battle of Huaiyin-Huai'an is also called by the Campaign to Defend Huaiyin-Huai'an by the Communist Party of China, and it was a struggle between the s and the communists for the control of Huaiyin and Huai'an, the two richest cities in China during the Chinese Civil War in the post World War II era, and resulted in the victory.

Order of battle

*Nationalist order of battle
**The 7th Army
**Reorganized 26th Division
**Reorganized 28th Division
**Reorganized 69th Division
*Reorganized 74th Division
*Communist order of battle
**The 5th Brigade
**The 13th Brigade
**The 9th Column
**Communist force from Shandong

First Stage

After the Battle of Si County, the nationalists redeployed the Reorganized 74th Division and a brigade of the reorganized 26th Division to Huaibei from Huainan, and by the middle of August 1946, the nationalists had taken regions including Chaoyang Village and Temple Mountain Yu . On August 19, 1946, the nationalist of the region, Chen Cheng, held a military conference at Xuzhou, and decided the nationalist strategy of the next stage: 4 nationalist divisions under the command of the nationalist commander Li Yannian would push eastward across the Tianjin-Pukou Railway in Huaibei. On August 21, 1946, the nationalists begun their push toward Suining , Xiuqian , and Taier Village .

On August 26, 1946, Chen Yi telegraph the communist high command to report the three options for the communist force from Shandong under his command to fight in Huaibei: First, the 2nd Division, 7th Division and the 8th Division of the communist force in Shandong would attack the nationalist 28th Army. Second, the communist force in Shandong would regroup at Siyang and the eastern bank of the Grand Canal of China to have a month long break. Third, all of the communist force in Shandong would go south to join forces with the communist force under Su Yu’s command to concentrate their forces. Chen Yi and his subordinates preferred the second option because they could strike in north, south or west when they wanted. The communist high command telegraphed back on August 29, claiming that the nationalists had struck eastward across the Lanzhou-Lianyungang Railway and thus threatened Huaiyin and Linyi, so it was impossible to for the communist troops to rest for a month continuously. The communists would be in a bad position if they were not to actively engaging the enemy. The communist force from Shandong under the command of Chen Yi should strike eastward to Suining region and fight enemy, and then rest for a short period, and repeat the process, so that morale would remain high. September was a good time to engage the enemy and the communist force under the command of Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping and the communist force under the command of Li Xiannian had all wished your corporation . If there was no battle, then the enemy would gain more lands, and thus further boost their morale, and our morale would suffer as a consequence. Therefore, we must engage the enemy to decrease their morale and increase ours by annihilating a regiment or a brigade a time, and after five or six times, the situation would turn for the better for us.

In accordance with the order from the communist high command, the communist force from Shandong under the command of Chen Yi regrouped to the east of Suining in attempt to ambush the advancing nationalists, however, their plan was foiled by the skillful and careful nationalists who would not provide any opportunities for the enemy by concentrating their forces. Both side subsequently had to cease their operations due to heavy rains that followed and by the end of August, 1946, the communist force from Shandong under the command of Chen Yi withdrew to the east of Siyang to regroup and re-supply. By the beginning of September, 1946, the nationalist Reorganized 69th Division and the Reorganized 74th Division stopped its advance at Xiuqian and Suining regions while two divisions of the nationalist 7th Army stopped its advance at Oceanic River and Ling River regions to the north of Siyang . Mother Nature had imposed an intermission that both sides were forced to accept.

Second Stage

The intermission caused by heavy rain had provided the opportunity for the communists to rethink their strategy, but unfortunately, the new strategy formed lead to the eventual communist defeat in the campaign. On September 4, 1946, Chen Yi provided three options for the next move for his communist force in Shandong. The first option was to move to Shuyang in the north to face the incoming nationalist Reorganized 74th Division and 69th Division thus securing the link to southern Shandong, but this would leave only the communist 9th Column to defend Huaiyin, which was obviously not enough. The second option was to strike the town of Oceanic River to fight the nationalist force of the New Guangxi Clique, which would be at least two divisions strong, but this would not worth it. The third option was to wait, if the of nationalist forces of the New Guangxi Clique came to attack, then they would be ambushed, and if not, then the communist forces from Shandong under Chen Yi ’s command would wait until Chiang Kai-shek’s force to begun their eastward push, and then strike north to fight Chiang’s forces.

Su Yu and his political commissar Tan Zhenlin were concerned about the next move their comrades would make, and from September 5 thru September 7, 1946, they had sent four telegraphs to Chen Yi , strongly recommending that his communist force from Shandong should remain in Huaiyin and Shuyang regions so that the communists could concentrate their forces to ensure victories. On September 7, 1946, Chen Yi personally reached Huai'an to discuss the situation with Deng Zihui and Zhang Dingcheng , the communist party bosses in Jiangsu and central China, and reached the following conclusions: The communists needed several victories badly and it was possible to achieve victories in Huaibei, so in September and October, communist forces in Huaibei would attempt to alter the situation for the better. On the same day, the communist force from Shandong under the command of Chen Yi received order to move to regions including Si County, Xiuqian and Shuyang to defend off the possible nationalist attack on Shuyang from Suqian , or the possible nationalist attack on Huaiyin from the town of Oceanic River , and the troops begun their new deployment on September 8, 1946.

Su Yu and his political commissar Tan Zhenlin strongly opposed the new troop deployment by Chen Yi and on August 8, 1946, they sent two telegraphs to Chen Yi and his colleagues to voice their concern. The first was to ask not to take Hai’an so that their troops could have ten days to rest and regroup, and then move to Siyang to stop the nationalist forces of New Guangxi Clique in order to stabilize the situation in central China. . The second telegraph sent by Su Yu and his political commissar Tan Zhenlin to Chen Yi accurately pointed out the plan Chen Yi was ordered to follow was in fact a disaster because when the communist forces were deployed in the regions between Suqian and Shuyang , it would in fact allow the nationalists easily taking the regions along the Grand Canal of China and Huaiyin-Huai'an region, thus forcing the communist force from Shandong to return to where it was originally from. Meanwhile, the communist force in Jiangsu lost their base, and were surrounded by the nationalists from three sides, and thus forced to cross the Yangtze River into the south when supply run out. If Chen Yi still had to follow the order by deploying the majority of the troop in the north, then the communist 2nd Column under commander Wei Guoqing must be retained in the region to check the nationalist southward advance. Otherwise, Su Yu and political commissar Tan Zhenlin could not be responsible for the situation .

The pleas from Su Yu and political commissar Tan Zhenlin were rejected by Chen Yi , who telegraphed back on August 9, 1946, claiming that the situation has changed and the nationalist 7th Army had moved southward to regions including Lingbi , Siyang , Xiuqian and Suining and its original defense perimeter was filled by other nationalist units. The communist should wait for several days to see if the nationalists would move eastward, and if so, the communists would ambush them in regions including Xin'an County, Shuyang and Xiuqian . Otherwise, the communists would attack westward into the region of Suining and Xiuqian , so that the communist standing in Southern Shandong, Shuyang , Huaiyin and Huai'an would remain favorable, and Su Yu still should direct his force to take Hai’an . After receiving this telegraph from Chen Yi , Su Yu and political commissar Tan Zhenlin made one last attempt to avert the Chen’s decision by telegraphing back on the same day, claiming that the situation for the communist in Huaibei was not optimistic and both Huaiyin and Huai'an were threatened, so taking Hai’an should not be a priority, and their troops should be give up the mission and turn northward to defend Huaiyin and Huai'an. However, before they could exchange anymore telegraphs with Chen Yi , the rapid nationalist advance had turned the table against the communists, just exactly as Su Yu and political commissar Tan Zhenlin had feared.

Third Stage

The nationalist assault was with lightning speed that was completely unexpected by the enemy: on August 10, 1946, the nationalist Reorganized 28th Division and the Reorganized 74th Division struck the regions of the town of Oceanic River and Storage Village and threatened Huaiyin directly. Chen Yi was forced to readjust his troop deployment again: the communist 5th Brigade and the 13th Brigade in central Jiangsu were ordered to Huaiyin to help the communist 9th Column to set up a defensive line along the southern bank of the Grand Canal of China, the communist forces attacking Hai’an abandoned their original plan and turned to Huaiyin to reinforce the threatened city. On September 12, 1946, the nationalist 7th Army crossed the Grand Canal of China and took Siyang , approaching Huaiyin. On September 13, 1946, the nationalist Reorganized 74th Division attacked from the right flank of the nationalist 7th Army, taking the Yuan Family’s Village and Xu Family’s Village the communist 9th Column. Rao Zijian , the deputy of the communist 9th Column personally lead the communist 75th Regiment counterattacked, but without any success and the defenders’ perimeter was limited to the pier.

On September 15, 1946, the nationalist Reorganized 74th Division attacked the pier on the eastern bank of the Grand Canal of China, and by the evening, had successfully driven the defenders consisted of the communist 9th Column and the communist 13th Brigade from the positions, taking the pier and adjacent Yang’s Family’s Village . Pi Dingjun , the communist commander of the 13th Brigade gravely underestimated the nationalists when he reached Huaiyin with the 1st Regiment of the communist 13th Brigade, and ordered each of three regiment of the 13th Brigade would have two of their battalions sent out to counterattack the nationalists. The idea was strongly opposed by the communist commander of the 2nd Regiment of the 13th Brigade, Zhong Fasheng , who reached the city earlier and fought with the nationalists and thus was well aware their adversary’s potent capability. Zhong Fasheng claimed that the 1st Regiment reached the city by noon and was aware of the situation and geography while the 3rd Regiment just got to the city, so it would be better for the communist 1st Regiment and the 2nd Regiment to fight and the 3rd Regiment would act as reserve, but his suggestion was rejected by Pi Dingjun , the commander of communist the 13th Brigade. As a result, the communist 13th Brigade launched a total of nine assaults on the nationalist Reorganized 74th Division which had crossed the Grand Canal of China, but all were beaten back, suffering over 600 casualties, the heaviest ever for the 13th Brigade. A total of four nationalist brigades from the Reorganized 74th Division and the Reorganized 28th Division attacked the city in two waves under the cover of air bombardment and artillery shelling, while the communist reinforcement from Shandong were successfully checked by the nationalist 7th Army. In the riverine region in the south, the communist reinforcement was stopped by nature: due to the heavy rain and lack of boats, the communist reinforcement was completed stopped.

The failure of the communist counterattack meant that the defenders’ days were numbered when they were pushed to the edge of the city wall. Before the dawn of September 19, 1946, two companies of the nationalist Reorganized 74th Division crawled passed the defenders’ perimeter at the junction of the position of the communist 9th Column and the position of the communist the 5th Brigade, reached the gate of the city, and after capturing a sentry alive, they had successfully obtained the password. In the heat of ensuing battle, the two companies of the nationalist troops were able to enter the city from the southern gate by disguising as the communist troops outside the city wall going back into the city for re-supply. During the precise moment in the ensuing battle at the dusk, the nationalists inside the city opened the gate and the defenders had no choice but to abandon the city as the attacking nationalists entered the city en mass. On September 21, communists abandoned Huai'an after fierce fights and on the next day, the nationalists declared the city was secured. Although the nationalists had suffered over 14,000 casualties in taking the region, it was only a drop in the bucket and the reward was far greater. The communist reinforcement from Shandong withdrew to Lianshui region upon hearing the news of the fall of the cities, ending the battle.

Outcome

The nationalist victory resulted in a great blow to the morale of the enemy when Huaiyin, the capital of the communist base in central Jiangsu was taken by the advancing nationalists. Some nationalists blamed the communist failure on the communist leader Mao Zedong for that he had made the same mistake Chiang Kai-shek would have made in the latter stage of the Chinese Civil War by interfering with the local command with impractical strategic objective, but this was a subject of debate remain to this day: there were many communist commanders participated in this battle who insisted on Mao was right due to the following reasons: The lost of Huaiyin and Huai'an region, which was the economic center of central China where industrial and commerce were concentrated meant that the no more supplies could be provided to the communist forces. Furthermore, all of the communist bases in central and northern Jiangsu were lost as a consequence because the natural barriers that would help to defend these communist bases such as Lake Hongze, Lake Gaoyou , and Grand Canal of China were in nationalist hands when Huaiyin – Huai'an region was lost by the communists. The collapse of the communist bases in northern and central Jiangsu as a consequence of the fall of Huaiyin – Huai'an region meant that the rural area as a rich source in grain production and providing soldiers was no longer within the communist grasp.

On the other hand, many communists also supported Su Yu for his decision to disengage the nationalist to withdraw because although the consequences of giving up the region was severe, the peasantry communist force at the time simply was no match to the elite mechanized nationalist forces attacking them and certainly did not have any capability to annihilate their nationalist adversary either. If the region was to hold at all cost, it might well be the communists themselves be completely annihilated. In fact, after the battle, the nationalists were so confident that they no longer encrypted their messages in their radio communications so that their every move was known by their communist enemy, yet the communists chose to avoid direct confrontation with the nationalists despite this advantage, because they were well aware that they were not strong enough at the time. To defend the city to the death just because the region was the heart and capital of the communist base would be disastrous for the communists. As the unexpected political fallout, this became an excuse to struggle and criticize Su Yu decades later during the Cultural Revolution what he had done in this battle.

Battle of Dazhongji

The Battle of Dazhongji was fought between the s and the s during the Chinese Civil War in the immediate post-World War II era in Jiangsu, China and resulted in the communist victory.

Prelude

Like other similar clashes immediately after the end of World War II between the communists and the s in China, this conflict also rooted from the fact that Chiang Kai-shek had realized that his regime simply had neither the sufficient troops nor enough transportation assets to deploy his troops into the Japanese-occupied regions of China. Unwilling to let the communists who had already dominated most of the rural regions in China to further expand their territories by accepting the Japanese surrender and thus would consequently control the Japanese occupied regions, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the Japanese and their turncoat Chinese puppet regime not to surrender to the communists and kept their fighting capabilities to “maintain order” in the Japanese occupied regions, fighting off the communists as necessary, until the final arrivals and completion of the deployment of the troops. As a result, most members of the Japanese puppet regimes and their military forces rejoined the s.

However, it must be noted that most of these former s turned Japanese puppet regime forces were not from Chiang Kai-shek’s own clique, but instead, they were mainly consisted of troops of who were only nominally under the Chiang Kai-shek’s before World War II, since they were s in name only and mostly maintained their independent and semi-independent status. These were only interested in keeping their own power and defected to the Japanese side when Japanese invaders offered to let them keep their power in exchange for their collaborations. After the World War II, these forces of former Japanese puppet regimes once again returned to the camp for the same reason they defected to the Japanese invaders. Obviously, it was difficult for Chiang to immediately get rid of these warlords for good as soon as they surrendered to Chiang and rejoined s, because such move would alienate other factions within the ranks, and these former Japanese puppet regime's warlords could still help the s to gain more territories by holding on to what was under their control until Chiang completed the deployment of his own troops to takeover. Chiang Kai-shek’s objective was to simultaneously solve the problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together, which proved to be an extremely fatal mistake for him and his regime later on, as shown in this conflict.

Strategy

In accordance with his strategy to simultaneously solve the problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together, Chiang Kai-shek and his followers had hoped that these former Japanese puppet regime's warlords who rejoined the s would be able to hold on to the regions long enough for Chiang to deploy his own troops by holding off communists. If the communists were victorious in such conflicts, however, the result would still benefit to Chiang and China because the power of these warlords would be reduced as their military forces were smashed by the communists, and the warlord problem plagued China for so long could thus be greatly reduced, while at the same time, communists would be weakened by the fights and Chiang's own troops would have easier time to take control.

For the former turned Japanese puppet regime forces, these s and their troops had no problem of following Chiang Kai-shek’s orders, and they were eager to prove themselves. These s and their troops were well aware that due to the collaboration with the Japanese invaders during the Second Sino-Japanese War, they were well hated by the general population in China, including those s who refused to surrender to the enemy and fought the enemy until the eventual victory. Therefore, in the impending demilitarization after World War II, they were certainly be disarmed and discharged, which would probably be the best outcome and the power of these would be reduced or even completely eliminated as a result. Chiang Kai-shek’s ordering them not surrendering to the communists and fighting off the communists was a savior for them because by carrying out such orders, these s and their troops could legitimize themselves and thus retain their power by fighting the communists who were targeted as rebels by Chiang Kai-shek and his regime.

communist Strategy

The communist strategy was much simpler than that of the s because there was not any huge division within the communist rank like that of the . The communists already earned considerable popular support by being the only Chinese force left in the region fighting the Japanese invaders and their puppet regime after the withdrew, and after successfully establishing communist bases in the rural regions where better life was provided to the general populace in comparison to that of Japanese occupied regions, the general Chinese populace agreed that the communists were well deserved to represent the China to accept the invaders’ surrender in the region and takeover the regions occupied by the invaders.

The Battle

After those former nationalist-turned Japanese puppet regime force had rejoined the nationalists after the end of World War II, they refused to surrender to the communists, the only Chinese force in the region according to Chiang Kai-shek’s order. This had obvious lead to numerous clashes with the communists and the local population that strongly supported the communists, and eventually the full scale battle between the two sides erupted in the beginning of September, 1945.

The clashes was concentrated around the Great Central Village , an important town of Dongtai, Jiangsu and the communist units of the New Fourth Army of the communist Central Jiangsu Military District first took the outposts outside the Great Central Village , and finally launched the final assault on the town on September 13, 1945. After fierce battle, the town fell on the same day and the entire garrison, the nationalist 7th Brigade was completely annihilated, with majority of the troops killed, including the commander, Gu Zhenzhi , while the surviving 1,500 were captured alive by the attacking enemy.

Outcome

Like other similar clashes immediately after the end of World War II between the communists and the s in China, this conflict also showed that Chiang Kai-shek’s attempt to simultaneously solve the problem that had plagued China for so long and the problem of the extermination of communism together proved to be a fatal mistake. Although the result of the campaign turned out exactly like Chiang Kai-shek and his subordinates had predicted, and consequently the power of the in this region was indeed reduced as their military forces were smashed by the communists, so that the problem plagued China for so long was thus reduced for this particular region, and Chiang Kai-shek’s secondary objective was achieved here, any positive gains obtained by the nationalists were negated by the politic fallout. The reason was that this success of achieving the secondary objective came at a huge cost in nationalists’ loss of popular support in this region formerly dominated by the Japanese, because the local population had already blamed nationalilsts for losing the regions to the Japanese invaders, while reassigning these former Japanese puppet regime forces as the nationalist forces to fight the communists, the only Chinese force left in the regions, only further alienated the local populace and strengthened the popular resentment to Chiang Kai-shek and his nationalist regime.