The Yellow River in China is prone to flooding, due to the broad expanse of largely flat land around it. The 1887 Yellow River floods devastated the area, killing between 900,000-2,000,000 people. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded.
For centuries, the farmers living near the Yellow River had built to contain the rising waters, caused by silt accumulation on the riverbed. In 1887, this rising riverbed, coupled with days of heavy rain, overcame the dikes, causing a massive flood.
The waters of the Yellow River are generally thought to have broken through the dikes in Huayankou, near the city of Zhengzhou in Henan province. Owing to the low-lying plains near the area, the flood spread very quickly throughout Northern China, covering an estimate 50,000 square miles, swamping agricultural settlements and commercial centers. After the flood, two million were left homeless. The resulting pandemic and lack of basic essentials claimed as many lives as those lost directly by the flood itself. It was one of the worst floods in history, though the later 1931 Yellow River flood may have killed as many as two million.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Second Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet
The Second Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet was a campaign launched by the Chinese Nationalist Government that was intended to destroy Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet and its Chinese Red Army in the local region. It was responded by the Communists’ Second Counter- at Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet , also called by the communists as the Second Counter- at Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base , in which the local Chinese Red Army successfully defended their soviet republic in the border region of Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi provinces against the attacks from February 1935 to April 18, 1935.
Order of battle
*Nationalist
**115th Brigade
**2nd Garrison Brigade
**3rd Garrison Brigade
**local security forces
*Communists
**26th Army of Chinese Red Army
After the defeat in the First Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet, the immediately regrouped and launched their Second Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet in the hope of not letting their communist enemy to have enough time to rest, regroup and recover from the previous . The nationalists deployed the veteran unit of the First Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet, the 2nd Garrison Brigade as the force to chase the enemy main force, while the nationalist 115th Brigade and Garrison Regiment stationed at Blue Field , Shanyang , and Merchant County regions were also mobilized to attack the town of Gepai .
The campaign begun in mid February, 1935 when nationalist attack on town of Gepai . The 25th Army of Chinese Red Army was no match for their nationalist adversary which enjoyed both the numerical and technical superiorities, and decided to withdraw to the region of Yunxi in the south. While on their retreat, the communists took the towns of Ningshan and Foping , completely annihilating the security forces defending the towns in the process. On March 8, 1935, communist forces took Huayang Town. The nationalist 2nd Garrison Brigade followed closely behind, reaching the region to the east of Huayang Town in the same time, but two day later on March 10, 1935, it was ambushed in the region of Stone Pagoda Temple by the communists to the southeast of Huayang Town, with five battalions completely annihilated by the enemy. The communists managed to kill over six hundred nationalist troops and captured over five hundred guns, while the nationalist 2nd Garrison Brigade was forced out of action after suffering the disastrous defeat.
In late March, 1935, communist 25th Army returned to the region between Blue Field and the town of Gepai in the east, and although the nationalist 3rd Garrison Brigade at Zuoshui and Zheng’an could not stop their communist adversary, it did manage to follow closely in an attempt to catch up. However, on April 9, 1935, the nationalist 3rd Garrison Brigade was ambushed by the communists in the region of Nine Houses to the south of the town of Gepai , with two regiments completely annihilated by the enemy. The communists captured more than a thousand nationalist troops, including the brigade commander of the nationalist 3rd Garrison Brigade, and riding on their victory, the communists took the town of Luonan on April 18, 1935.
With more than three fifth of their force deployed in Second Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet out of action after continuous defeat, the nationalists were forced to call off the , which resulted in communist victory. Taking advantage of their victory, the communist further solidified their position in the Five Star , Shanyang , Zhenzuo , Yunxi , and Luonan counties, boosting their regular force to 3,700 and also established a 2,000 member strong guerrilla forces by the beginning of May, 1935. This second nationalist defeat in the resulted in no more further large scale nationalist operations against communist base of Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet centered around the region of Can Family’s Plot and the town of Gepai and the communists victory ensured that the nationalist would not launch anymore major offensives thus providing the valuable times for communists to rest, recover and regroup from Long March.
Order of battle
*Nationalist
**115th Brigade
**2nd Garrison Brigade
**3rd Garrison Brigade
**local security forces
*Communists
**26th Army of Chinese Red Army
After the defeat in the First Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet, the immediately regrouped and launched their Second Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet in the hope of not letting their communist enemy to have enough time to rest, regroup and recover from the previous . The nationalists deployed the veteran unit of the First Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet, the 2nd Garrison Brigade as the force to chase the enemy main force, while the nationalist 115th Brigade and Garrison Regiment stationed at Blue Field , Shanyang , and Merchant County regions were also mobilized to attack the town of Gepai .
The campaign begun in mid February, 1935 when nationalist attack on town of Gepai . The 25th Army of Chinese Red Army was no match for their nationalist adversary which enjoyed both the numerical and technical superiorities, and decided to withdraw to the region of Yunxi in the south. While on their retreat, the communists took the towns of Ningshan and Foping , completely annihilating the security forces defending the towns in the process. On March 8, 1935, communist forces took Huayang Town. The nationalist 2nd Garrison Brigade followed closely behind, reaching the region to the east of Huayang Town in the same time, but two day later on March 10, 1935, it was ambushed in the region of Stone Pagoda Temple by the communists to the southeast of Huayang Town, with five battalions completely annihilated by the enemy. The communists managed to kill over six hundred nationalist troops and captured over five hundred guns, while the nationalist 2nd Garrison Brigade was forced out of action after suffering the disastrous defeat.
In late March, 1935, communist 25th Army returned to the region between Blue Field and the town of Gepai in the east, and although the nationalist 3rd Garrison Brigade at Zuoshui and Zheng’an could not stop their communist adversary, it did manage to follow closely in an attempt to catch up. However, on April 9, 1935, the nationalist 3rd Garrison Brigade was ambushed by the communists in the region of Nine Houses to the south of the town of Gepai , with two regiments completely annihilated by the enemy. The communists captured more than a thousand nationalist troops, including the brigade commander of the nationalist 3rd Garrison Brigade, and riding on their victory, the communists took the town of Luonan on April 18, 1935.
With more than three fifth of their force deployed in Second Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet out of action after continuous defeat, the nationalists were forced to call off the , which resulted in communist victory. Taking advantage of their victory, the communist further solidified their position in the Five Star , Shanyang , Zhenzuo , Yunxi , and Luonan counties, boosting their regular force to 3,700 and also established a 2,000 member strong guerrilla forces by the beginning of May, 1935. This second nationalist defeat in the resulted in no more further large scale nationalist operations against communist base of Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet centered around the region of Can Family’s Plot and the town of Gepai and the communists victory ensured that the nationalist would not launch anymore major offensives thus providing the valuable times for communists to rest, recover and regroup from Long March.
Operation Ichi-Go
Operation Ichi-Go was a campaign of a series of major battles between the Imperial Japanese Army forces and the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, fought from April to December 1944. It consisted of three separate battles in the Chinese provinces of Henan, Hunan and Guangxi, which were the Japanese Operation Kogo or Battle of Central Henan, Operation Togo 1 or the Battle of Changheng, and Operation Togo 2 and Togo 3 or the Battle of Guilin-Liuzhou respectively. The two primary goals of Ichi-go were to open a land route to French Indochina, and capture air bases in southeast China from which American bombers were attacking the Japanese homeland and shipping.
In the operation was called ''Tairiku Datsū Sakusen'' while the Chinese refer to it as the ''Battle of Henan-Hunan-Guangxi'' . The words Ichi-Go directly translate to "Number One".
There were two phases to the operation. In the first phase, the Japanese secured the Pinghan Railway between Beijing and Wuhan; in the second, they eliminate the US air forces stationed in Hunan province and reached the city of Liuzhou, near the border with Japanese-held Indochina. 17 divisions, including 400,000 men, 12,000 vehicles and 70,000 horses participated in this operation.
In the , 390,000 Chinese soldiers, led by General Tang Enbo , were deployed to defend the strategic position of Luoyang. The 3rd Tank Division of the IJA crossed the Yellow River around Zhengzhou in late April and defeated Chinese forces near Xuchang, then swung around clockwise and besieged Luoyang. Luoyang was defended by three Chinese divisions. The 3rd Tank Division began to attack Luoyang on May 13 and took it on May 25.
The second phase of Ichigo began in May, following the success of the first phase. Japanese forces advanced southward and occupied Changsha, Hengyang, Guilin and Liuzhou. In December 1944, Japanese forces reached French Indochina and achieved the purpose of the operation. Nevertheless, there were few practical gains from this offensive. US air forces moved inland from the threatened bases near the coast. The U.S. Fourteenth Air Force often disrupted the continuous railway between Beijing and Liuzhou that had been established in Operation Ichigo. Japan continued to attack airfields where US air forces stationed up to the spring of 1945.
The XX Bomber Command operating Strategic B-29 bombers of the Twentieth Air Force, which were attacking the Japan in Operation Matterhorn, were forced to move as well, but although this affected their efficiency for a short time, in early 1945 the Twentieth Air Force moved to newly established bases in the Marianas under the command of the newly established . This nullified the limited protection that the Japanese home islands had received from Operation Ichigo.
The failure to hold onto the coastal airfields led to a loss of confidence in the American General Joseph Stilwell by Chiang Kai-Shek and Stilwell was recalled to the United States in October 1944 by . He was replaced as Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai-Shek and commander of the U.S. Forces, China Theater by Major General Albert Wedemeyer. His other command responsibilities in the were divided up and allocated to other officers.
A highly different interpretation of events was that General Joseph Stilwell, pressing for a more full engagement of Chinese forces, had made diplomatic inroads with the Chinese Communist Red Army commanded by Mao Zedong. He had gotten them to agree to follow an American commander. Because of the displeasure of Chiang Kai-Shek of being bypassed by the American general, he had Stilwell recalled to the United States. ''New York Times'' reporter Brooks Atkinson wrote at the time: The decision to relieve General Stilwell represents the political triumph of a moribund, anti-democratic regime that is more concerned with maintaining its political supremacy than in driving the Japanese out of China. America is now committed... to support a regime that has become increasingly unpopular and mistrusted in China, that maintains three secret police services and concentration camps for political prisoners, that stifles free speech and resists democratic forces... The Chinese Communists... have good armies that are now fighting guerrilla warfare against the Japanese in North China... The regards these armies as the chief threat to his supremacy... has made no sincere attempt to arrange at least a truce with them for the duration of the war... No diplomatic genius could have overcome the Generalissimo's basic unwillingness to risk his armies in battle with the Japanese....
But the ''Time Magazine'' article in which Atkinson was quoted went on to analyze the true failure of Stilwell's aims by stating that: The Chinese, exhausted by seven years of almost singlehanded war against Japan, were reluctant to give General Stilwell the troops he wanted for the Burma offensive; the Japs might suddenly crack down on them in earnest. When the Japs began the drive that last week seemed on the verge of cutting China in two, Chiang Kai-shek's Government might well have felt that its go-slow policy was justified..."
This devastating loss coupled with the negative public opinion in the U.S. that followed caused the U.S. to lose confidence in the Chinese troops' ability to fight the Japanese, and subsequently the China-Burma-India Theatre lost its priority. Instead the U.S. focussed all its resources on the Island-hopping offensive in the Pacific.
''Mountain Road'', by Theodore White, Time Magazine correspondent in China at the time, deals with a group of American soldiers retreating before this Japanese offensive.
In the operation was called ''Tairiku Datsū Sakusen'' while the Chinese refer to it as the ''Battle of Henan-Hunan-Guangxi'' . The words Ichi-Go directly translate to "Number One".
Course of the campaign
There were two phases to the operation. In the first phase, the Japanese secured the Pinghan Railway between Beijing and Wuhan; in the second, they eliminate the US air forces stationed in Hunan province and reached the city of Liuzhou, near the border with Japanese-held Indochina. 17 divisions, including 400,000 men, 12,000 vehicles and 70,000 horses participated in this operation.
In the , 390,000 Chinese soldiers, led by General Tang Enbo , were deployed to defend the strategic position of Luoyang. The 3rd Tank Division of the IJA crossed the Yellow River around Zhengzhou in late April and defeated Chinese forces near Xuchang, then swung around clockwise and besieged Luoyang. Luoyang was defended by three Chinese divisions. The 3rd Tank Division began to attack Luoyang on May 13 and took it on May 25.
The second phase of Ichigo began in May, following the success of the first phase. Japanese forces advanced southward and occupied Changsha, Hengyang, Guilin and Liuzhou. In December 1944, Japanese forces reached French Indochina and achieved the purpose of the operation. Nevertheless, there were few practical gains from this offensive. US air forces moved inland from the threatened bases near the coast. The U.S. Fourteenth Air Force often disrupted the continuous railway between Beijing and Liuzhou that had been established in Operation Ichigo. Japan continued to attack airfields where US air forces stationed up to the spring of 1945.
The XX Bomber Command operating Strategic B-29 bombers of the Twentieth Air Force, which were attacking the Japan in Operation Matterhorn, were forced to move as well, but although this affected their efficiency for a short time, in early 1945 the Twentieth Air Force moved to newly established bases in the Marianas under the command of the newly established . This nullified the limited protection that the Japanese home islands had received from Operation Ichigo.
Aftermath
The failure to hold onto the coastal airfields led to a loss of confidence in the American General Joseph Stilwell by Chiang Kai-Shek and Stilwell was recalled to the United States in October 1944 by . He was replaced as Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai-Shek and commander of the U.S. Forces, China Theater by Major General Albert Wedemeyer. His other command responsibilities in the were divided up and allocated to other officers.
A highly different interpretation of events was that General Joseph Stilwell, pressing for a more full engagement of Chinese forces, had made diplomatic inroads with the Chinese Communist Red Army commanded by Mao Zedong. He had gotten them to agree to follow an American commander. Because of the displeasure of Chiang Kai-Shek of being bypassed by the American general, he had Stilwell recalled to the United States. ''New York Times'' reporter Brooks Atkinson wrote at the time: The decision to relieve General Stilwell represents the political triumph of a moribund, anti-democratic regime that is more concerned with maintaining its political supremacy than in driving the Japanese out of China. America is now committed... to support a regime that has become increasingly unpopular and mistrusted in China, that maintains three secret police services and concentration camps for political prisoners, that stifles free speech and resists democratic forces... The Chinese Communists... have good armies that are now fighting guerrilla warfare against the Japanese in North China... The regards these armies as the chief threat to his supremacy... has made no sincere attempt to arrange at least a truce with them for the duration of the war... No diplomatic genius could have overcome the Generalissimo's basic unwillingness to risk his armies in battle with the Japanese....
But the ''Time Magazine'' article in which Atkinson was quoted went on to analyze the true failure of Stilwell's aims by stating that: The Chinese, exhausted by seven years of almost singlehanded war against Japan, were reluctant to give General Stilwell the troops he wanted for the Burma offensive; the Japs might suddenly crack down on them in earnest. When the Japs began the drive that last week seemed on the verge of cutting China in two, Chiang Kai-shek's Government might well have felt that its go-slow policy was justified..."
This devastating loss coupled with the negative public opinion in the U.S. that followed caused the U.S. to lose confidence in the Chinese troops' ability to fight the Japanese, and subsequently the China-Burma-India Theatre lost its priority. Instead the U.S. focussed all its resources on the Island-hopping offensive in the Pacific.
''Mountain Road'', by Theodore White, Time Magazine correspondent in China at the time, deals with a group of American soldiers retreating before this Japanese offensive.
First Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet
The First Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Sichuan Soviet was a campaign launched by the Chinese Nationalist Government that was intended to destroy Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet and its Chinese Red Army in the local region. It was responded by the Communists’ First Counter- at Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Soviet , also called by the communists as the First Counter- against Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base , in which the local Chinese Red Army successfully defended their soviet republic in the border region of Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi provinces against the attacks from January 1935 to February 5, 1935.
Order of battle:
*s: :
**116th Brigade
**126th Brigade
**2nd Garrison Brigade
*s: :
**25th Army
In late January, 1935, nationalist 126th Brigade and the 2nd Garrison Brigade occupied regions to the east and to the south of Zhen’an County as they begun their against the local communists. The 25th Army of the Chinese Red Army only number around 2,500 and simply could not face an enemy almost twice its strength. The communists decided to trick the enemy into dispersing its forces and then destroy their enemy by concentrating their own forces. To do so, the communists deployed their forces to the region of the End of Yuan Family’s Ditch by marching northward from the border region of Shanyang and Yunxi . The communist force subsequently moved to the region of Phoenix Mouth , suddenly appearing directly behind the enemy line.
On January 31, 1935, the town of Zuoshui fell into the communist hands, forcing the nationalist 2nd Garrison Brigade to move westward to reinforce the region, thus communists had successfully achieved their objective of dispersing the enemy. On February 1, 1935, as the 252nd Regiment of the nationalist 116th Brigade reached the region of Caiyuyao , it was ambushed by the waiting enemy and one battalion of the 252nd Regiment of the nationalist 116th Brigade completely annihilated while the other two were badly mauled. The communists subsequently withdrew to Gepai Town to rest and regroup.
On February 5, 1935, the nationalist commander-in-chief of the encirclement campaign, Liu Yanbiao , the commander of the nationalist 116th Brigade, personally led the 251st Regiment and 248th Regiment of the nationalist 116th Brigade to attack Gepai Town, in attempt to avenge the previous annihilation of the 252nd Regiment of the nationalist 116th Brigade. The communists first checked the nationalist advance at the Wengo Ridge by taking advantage of the terrain, and then launched their counterassault on the front and left flank. After two battalions were completely annihilated by the communist onslaught, the nationalist morale collapsed and the nationalist troops fled southward. This final nationalist defeat marked the end of the First Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Sichuan Soviet.
The nationalist defeat in the campaign cost them over 1,200 casualties and in addition, five counties in southern Shaanxi that were originally plagued heavily with communist guerrilla activities had since become communist bases, resulting in the expansion of the communist Hubei-Henan-Sichuan Soviet.
Order of battle:
*s: :
**116th Brigade
**126th Brigade
**2nd Garrison Brigade
*s: :
**25th Army
In late January, 1935, nationalist 126th Brigade and the 2nd Garrison Brigade occupied regions to the east and to the south of Zhen’an County as they begun their against the local communists. The 25th Army of the Chinese Red Army only number around 2,500 and simply could not face an enemy almost twice its strength. The communists decided to trick the enemy into dispersing its forces and then destroy their enemy by concentrating their own forces. To do so, the communists deployed their forces to the region of the End of Yuan Family’s Ditch by marching northward from the border region of Shanyang and Yunxi . The communist force subsequently moved to the region of Phoenix Mouth , suddenly appearing directly behind the enemy line.
On January 31, 1935, the town of Zuoshui fell into the communist hands, forcing the nationalist 2nd Garrison Brigade to move westward to reinforce the region, thus communists had successfully achieved their objective of dispersing the enemy. On February 1, 1935, as the 252nd Regiment of the nationalist 116th Brigade reached the region of Caiyuyao , it was ambushed by the waiting enemy and one battalion of the 252nd Regiment of the nationalist 116th Brigade completely annihilated while the other two were badly mauled. The communists subsequently withdrew to Gepai Town to rest and regroup.
On February 5, 1935, the nationalist commander-in-chief of the encirclement campaign, Liu Yanbiao , the commander of the nationalist 116th Brigade, personally led the 251st Regiment and 248th Regiment of the nationalist 116th Brigade to attack Gepai Town, in attempt to avenge the previous annihilation of the 252nd Regiment of the nationalist 116th Brigade. The communists first checked the nationalist advance at the Wengo Ridge by taking advantage of the terrain, and then launched their counterassault on the front and left flank. After two battalions were completely annihilated by the communist onslaught, the nationalist morale collapsed and the nationalist troops fled southward. This final nationalist defeat marked the end of the First Encirclement Campaign against Hubei-Henan-Sichuan Soviet.
The nationalist defeat in the campaign cost them over 1,200 casualties and in addition, five counties in southern Shaanxi that were originally plagued heavily with communist guerrilla activities had since become communist bases, resulting in the expansion of the communist Hubei-Henan-Sichuan Soviet.
Campaign at the Eastern Foothills of Funiu Mountain
Campaign at the Eastern Foothills of Funiu Mountain was a series of battles fought between the s and the communists during the Chinese Civil War after World War II for the control of western Hubei, and the border areas of Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi provinces. The campaign resulted in the communist victory.
In mid October 1947, the s had gathered forces included the V Corps centered at Luoyang at the east, and the Reorganized 1st and the Reorganized 36th at Tongguan County at the west for the preparation to reopen the Longhai railway transportation / communication line by first surrounding and then annihilating the communist force lead by commander Chen Geng and political commissar Xie Fuzhi. On October 20, 1947, the communist high command ordered Chen Geng and Xie Fuzhi to split their force into three: one part would remain along the railroad to distract the enemy, and the other would strike southern Shaanxi. The third part, the main force, should cross the railroad to push southward, and would strike regions included Nanzhao , Wuyang , and Square City in western Hubei to establish new bases. To carry out this strategy, Chen Geng and Xie Fuzhi decided to launch the Campaign at the Eastern Foothills of Funiu Mountain.
Both sides were equally matched in terms of numbers, but the s enjoyed significant technical advantage in terms of weaponry.
* order of battle: 9 s total
**The Reorganized 1st
**The Reorganized 3rd
**The Reorganized 10th
**The Reorganized 15th
**The 20th
**The Reorganized 36th
**The Reorganized 41st
**The 206th
**Local security brigades and regiments
*Communist order of battle: 9 s total
**The 4th Column
**The 9th Column
**The 38th Army
The campaign started on October 29, 1947 with the communist 55th of the 38th Army deployed along the Longhai Railroad to tie down the forces, and the rest units of the communist 38th Army and the 12th Brigade of the communist 4th Column struck toward southern Shaanxi. The rest units of the communist 4th Column and the communist 9th Column struck the controlled regions in multiple fronts. From November 1, 1947 thru November 4, 1947, Linru , Jia County, Dengfeng , Lushan , and Baofeng fell into the communist hands. The Reorganized 15th guarding these regions suffered greatly in the process, with more than 2,500 killed in the battle of Jia County alone on November 4, 1947. The s were forced to redeploy by dispatching the Reorganized 3rd and the 20th toward Baofeng and Jia County, the 124th Brigade of the Reorganized 41st toward Linru , and the 125th Brigade of the Reorganized 41st toward Xiang City in hope of luring the communists out to fight a decisive battle. However, the enemy would not take the bait and instead, took advantage of the redeployment by striking regions where defense was weakened by the redeployment.
On November 3, 1947, the communist 27th Brigade of the 9th Column besieged the town of Nanzhao , and launched the assault on the town at 1:00 AM on November 4, 1947. The strongest fortification at the Eastern Pass was blown up and attacking enemy subsequently penetrated into the town and annihilated most of the garrison consisted of two battalions. As the survivors attempted to flee via the western gate, they were ambushed by the waiting enemy and the entire 500 strong garrison was thus completely wiped out. After taking the town, the communists opened up the food depot and treasury to distribute food and money to the local populace, most of which was in severe poverty, and thus completely won over the local popular support. On November 5, 1947, the 75th Regiment of the 25th Brigade of the communist 9th Column reached the outskirt of the Square City . Although the s had built many fortifications both inside and outside the town, the local commander Wang Jingxiu was well aware that his four-regiments strong security brigade was not a match for the enemy, and in order to avoid annihilation, the garrison wisely abandoned the town without a fight, thus successfully retreated before the enemy besieged the town. After entering the town, the communist force with strict discipline discredited the negative propaganda about the communists and consequently, the local popular support drastically switched to the communist side.
The initial communist success was totally unexpected by the s, who was completely shocked by the rapid territorial expansion of the enemy. Chiang Kai-shek immediately ordered the of the 5th Corps Li Tiejun to personally lead the Reorganized 3rd and the 20th totaling seven brigades to pursuit the communists for the subsequent elimination. The communists held a conference in the town of Nanzhao on November 8, 1947 and decided not to engage the technically superior adversary. Instead, the s would be lured into the Funiu Mountains and tricked into dispersing themselves into smaller fragments first, and then when the situation allowed, the communists would annihilate these small fragments one by one. While some communist units would fake as the main force to lure the s into the mountains, the actual main force would take advantage of the overstretched defense by establishing new communist bases in the remote and rural regions.
The communist 13th Brigade of the 4th Column and the 25th Brigade of the 9th Column under the political commissar Huang Zhen and the deputy Huang Xiyou of the communist 9th Column had successfully tricked the s in believing that they were the main communist force by faking as a much larger force on their attack toward Zhenping , Internal Township and Western Gorge Entrance regions. The s were tricked to deploy the 3rd Reorganized and the 125th Brigade of the 41st to pursuit the fake enemy main force, and after wasting more than half a month at Summer Hotel and regions, the force not only failed to annihilate the enemy, but was also incapable of stopping the enemy from cutting the communication / transportation line between and Jingzi Pass . The enemy had planned to lure the s into the Funiu Mountains and then annihilate them in ambushes when the opportunity presented itself, but due to the lack of supplies, the s was forced to withdraw and thus escaped unscratched. The enemy did, however, successfully establish two new bases in the regions: the sixth military district by the communist 39th Regiment of the 13th Brigade in the region of Li Qing’s Hotel of Nanzhao county, under the command of the deputy commander of the communist 13th Brigade, Li Xifu , and the seventh military district by the communist 33rd Regiment of the 11th Brigade under the command of the political commissar of the 11th Brigade, Hu Rungui . Meanwhile, the main force of the communist 9th Column and the 22nd Brigade of the communist 4th Column threatened Luoyang by penetrating into the vicinity of the city, forcing the 206th to be redeployed to strengthen the defensive of the city. The 10th Brigade and the 11th Brigade of the communist 4th Column penetrated into regions of Wuyang , Square City , and Miyang , forcing the Reorganized 10th and the 124th Brigade of the Reorganized 41st to be redeployed to east of Beijing-Hankou railroad.
In order to take the initiative by luring the s to overstretch themselves, the newly taken towns of Square City and Nanzhao were intentionally abandoned by the communists, and the s subsequently fell for the trick by ordering Song Kezun , the of the sixth regional security command of Henan to reenter the Nanzhao as the new mayor of the town and the commander the local garrison. The former garrison of the Square City , meanwhile, was ordered back to the town under Wang Jingxiu , the commander. On November 1, 1947, the communist 10th Brigade of the 4th Column in the eastern foothills of the Funiu Mountain launched a surprise attack on Square City , and the defenders abandoned the town and fled, and the town fell into the enemy hands for the second time. On November 13, 1947, the fleeing s were caught up by the 31st Regiment of the 11th Brigade of the communist 4th Column at Temple, and were thus badly mauled by the pursuing enemy. The commander Wang Jingxiu learned that the 20th was moving toward Square City , so he ordered his surviving troops to move toward the town in an attempt to link up with his comrades-in-arms. Little did the s know that their enemy was waiting to ambush them.
On November 21, 1947, the communist 10th Brigade of the 4th Column suddenly struck the town of Nanzhao , and the garrison consisted on a security regiment and two companies was overwhelmed. After losing three companies, including more than 50 killed and over 270 captured alive by the attacking enemy, the surviving s were forced to abandon the town and flee, and thus town of Nanzhao had fallen into the enemy hands for the second time, and this time for good. On November 22, 1947, as the commander Wang Jingxiu ’s surviving Self Defense of the Square City reached Eight Mile Intersection , King Yu’s Village , and Eastern Qi Village regions south of Square City , it was ambushed by the communist 31st Regiment of the 11th Brigade of the 4th Column. Only 100 or so under the command of the commander of the force Bai Guixuan was lucky enough to escape, while all of the rest were annihilated by the waiting enemy. The s suffered 740 fatalities and another 400+ were captured alive by the enemy, including the deputy commander Ma Lianfu , who was able to successfully escape later during a forced march. After his escape, Ma Lianfu immediately went to Kaifeng to ask the provincial chairman Liu Maoen for help, but instead, he was executed on the spot for his failure as Liu Maoen ordered him to be shot in front of other commanders. On the other front, the communist 38th Army established a new base in the regions of Merchant County , Luonan and Merchant Southern , while the communist 12th Brigade established another new base in the regions of Mountain Sun , Yun Xi , Zhen’an , Upper Pass .
On November 23, 1947, the 133rd Brigade of the 20th under the al commander Yang Gancai begun its push toward Square City from Independent tree Town, but the progress was slow due to the stubborn resistance from the 10th Brigade and the 11th Brigade of the communist 4th Column at Yueyang Village , Zan Village , and Northern New Street regions. On November 24, 1947, the 134th Brigade of the 20th also begun its push toward Square City from Nanyang, Henan, and after some setback at Pengyao regions due to enemy resistance, managed to link up with the 133rd Brigade of the 20th in the region to east of Square City . The enemy gave up the town without a fight in attempt to lure the s into the mountain for an ambush but the s refused to be baited and would not venture out of the protection of the city wall. Realizing the isolated was in danger being besieged by the enemy and thus suffering possible annihilation, the s wisely decided to abandon Square City on November 25, 1947, and retreated toward Wuyang , and the campaign concluded with Square City fell into the enemy hands for a third time, and this time for good.
The s suffered more than 12,000 fatalities in their defeat, and a total of eighteen cities and towns had fallen into the enemy hands. In addition, the enemy had successfully turned the guerilla base in the Funiu Mountain into a new communist base, furthermore, the enemy was successful in establishing several brand new communist bases and thus further threatened the reign in the North China Plain. The communist success was mainly due to the correct strategy of first luring the technically superior opponent into dispersing its forces into many smaller fragments, and then to concentrate overwhelmingly numerically superior force in one battle on a single fragmented force for annihilation, and eventually, accumulate many small victories into large ones. The result of the communist strategy was that a total of eighteen towns and cities fell into the communist hands, and the communists had established themselves firmly in the border areas of Henan, Hubei and Shaanxi provinces.
Prelude
In mid October 1947, the s had gathered forces included the V Corps centered at Luoyang at the east, and the Reorganized 1st and the Reorganized 36th at Tongguan County at the west for the preparation to reopen the Longhai railway transportation / communication line by first surrounding and then annihilating the communist force lead by commander Chen Geng and political commissar Xie Fuzhi. On October 20, 1947, the communist high command ordered Chen Geng and Xie Fuzhi to split their force into three: one part would remain along the railroad to distract the enemy, and the other would strike southern Shaanxi. The third part, the main force, should cross the railroad to push southward, and would strike regions included Nanzhao , Wuyang , and Square City in western Hubei to establish new bases. To carry out this strategy, Chen Geng and Xie Fuzhi decided to launch the Campaign at the Eastern Foothills of Funiu Mountain.
Order of battle
Both sides were equally matched in terms of numbers, but the s enjoyed significant technical advantage in terms of weaponry.
* order of battle: 9 s total
**The Reorganized 1st
**The Reorganized 3rd
**The Reorganized 10th
**The Reorganized 15th
**The 20th
**The Reorganized 36th
**The Reorganized 41st
**The 206th
**Local security brigades and regiments
*Communist order of battle: 9 s total
**The 4th Column
**The 9th Column
**The 38th Army
First Stage
The campaign started on October 29, 1947 with the communist 55th of the 38th Army deployed along the Longhai Railroad to tie down the forces, and the rest units of the communist 38th Army and the 12th Brigade of the communist 4th Column struck toward southern Shaanxi. The rest units of the communist 4th Column and the communist 9th Column struck the controlled regions in multiple fronts. From November 1, 1947 thru November 4, 1947, Linru , Jia County, Dengfeng , Lushan , and Baofeng fell into the communist hands. The Reorganized 15th guarding these regions suffered greatly in the process, with more than 2,500 killed in the battle of Jia County alone on November 4, 1947. The s were forced to redeploy by dispatching the Reorganized 3rd and the 20th toward Baofeng and Jia County, the 124th Brigade of the Reorganized 41st toward Linru , and the 125th Brigade of the Reorganized 41st toward Xiang City in hope of luring the communists out to fight a decisive battle. However, the enemy would not take the bait and instead, took advantage of the redeployment by striking regions where defense was weakened by the redeployment.
On November 3, 1947, the communist 27th Brigade of the 9th Column besieged the town of Nanzhao , and launched the assault on the town at 1:00 AM on November 4, 1947. The strongest fortification at the Eastern Pass was blown up and attacking enemy subsequently penetrated into the town and annihilated most of the garrison consisted of two battalions. As the survivors attempted to flee via the western gate, they were ambushed by the waiting enemy and the entire 500 strong garrison was thus completely wiped out. After taking the town, the communists opened up the food depot and treasury to distribute food and money to the local populace, most of which was in severe poverty, and thus completely won over the local popular support. On November 5, 1947, the 75th Regiment of the 25th Brigade of the communist 9th Column reached the outskirt of the Square City . Although the s had built many fortifications both inside and outside the town, the local commander Wang Jingxiu was well aware that his four-regiments strong security brigade was not a match for the enemy, and in order to avoid annihilation, the garrison wisely abandoned the town without a fight, thus successfully retreated before the enemy besieged the town. After entering the town, the communist force with strict discipline discredited the negative propaganda about the communists and consequently, the local popular support drastically switched to the communist side.
The initial communist success was totally unexpected by the s, who was completely shocked by the rapid territorial expansion of the enemy. Chiang Kai-shek immediately ordered the of the 5th Corps Li Tiejun to personally lead the Reorganized 3rd and the 20th totaling seven brigades to pursuit the communists for the subsequent elimination. The communists held a conference in the town of Nanzhao on November 8, 1947 and decided not to engage the technically superior adversary. Instead, the s would be lured into the Funiu Mountains and tricked into dispersing themselves into smaller fragments first, and then when the situation allowed, the communists would annihilate these small fragments one by one. While some communist units would fake as the main force to lure the s into the mountains, the actual main force would take advantage of the overstretched defense by establishing new communist bases in the remote and rural regions.
Second Stage
The communist 13th Brigade of the 4th Column and the 25th Brigade of the 9th Column under the political commissar Huang Zhen and the deputy Huang Xiyou of the communist 9th Column had successfully tricked the s in believing that they were the main communist force by faking as a much larger force on their attack toward Zhenping , Internal Township and Western Gorge Entrance regions. The s were tricked to deploy the 3rd Reorganized and the 125th Brigade of the 41st to pursuit the fake enemy main force, and after wasting more than half a month at Summer Hotel and regions, the force not only failed to annihilate the enemy, but was also incapable of stopping the enemy from cutting the communication / transportation line between and Jingzi Pass . The enemy had planned to lure the s into the Funiu Mountains and then annihilate them in ambushes when the opportunity presented itself, but due to the lack of supplies, the s was forced to withdraw and thus escaped unscratched. The enemy did, however, successfully establish two new bases in the regions: the sixth military district by the communist 39th Regiment of the 13th Brigade in the region of Li Qing’s Hotel of Nanzhao county, under the command of the deputy commander of the communist 13th Brigade, Li Xifu , and the seventh military district by the communist 33rd Regiment of the 11th Brigade under the command of the political commissar of the 11th Brigade, Hu Rungui . Meanwhile, the main force of the communist 9th Column and the 22nd Brigade of the communist 4th Column threatened Luoyang by penetrating into the vicinity of the city, forcing the 206th to be redeployed to strengthen the defensive of the city. The 10th Brigade and the 11th Brigade of the communist 4th Column penetrated into regions of Wuyang , Square City , and Miyang , forcing the Reorganized 10th and the 124th Brigade of the Reorganized 41st to be redeployed to east of Beijing-Hankou railroad.
In order to take the initiative by luring the s to overstretch themselves, the newly taken towns of Square City and Nanzhao were intentionally abandoned by the communists, and the s subsequently fell for the trick by ordering Song Kezun , the of the sixth regional security command of Henan to reenter the Nanzhao as the new mayor of the town and the commander the local garrison. The former garrison of the Square City , meanwhile, was ordered back to the town under Wang Jingxiu , the commander. On November 1, 1947, the communist 10th Brigade of the 4th Column in the eastern foothills of the Funiu Mountain launched a surprise attack on Square City , and the defenders abandoned the town and fled, and the town fell into the enemy hands for the second time. On November 13, 1947, the fleeing s were caught up by the 31st Regiment of the 11th Brigade of the communist 4th Column at Temple, and were thus badly mauled by the pursuing enemy. The commander Wang Jingxiu learned that the 20th was moving toward Square City , so he ordered his surviving troops to move toward the town in an attempt to link up with his comrades-in-arms. Little did the s know that their enemy was waiting to ambush them.
On November 21, 1947, the communist 10th Brigade of the 4th Column suddenly struck the town of Nanzhao , and the garrison consisted on a security regiment and two companies was overwhelmed. After losing three companies, including more than 50 killed and over 270 captured alive by the attacking enemy, the surviving s were forced to abandon the town and flee, and thus town of Nanzhao had fallen into the enemy hands for the second time, and this time for good. On November 22, 1947, as the commander Wang Jingxiu ’s surviving Self Defense of the Square City reached Eight Mile Intersection , King Yu’s Village , and Eastern Qi Village regions south of Square City , it was ambushed by the communist 31st Regiment of the 11th Brigade of the 4th Column. Only 100 or so under the command of the commander of the force Bai Guixuan was lucky enough to escape, while all of the rest were annihilated by the waiting enemy. The s suffered 740 fatalities and another 400+ were captured alive by the enemy, including the deputy commander Ma Lianfu , who was able to successfully escape later during a forced march. After his escape, Ma Lianfu immediately went to Kaifeng to ask the provincial chairman Liu Maoen for help, but instead, he was executed on the spot for his failure as Liu Maoen ordered him to be shot in front of other commanders. On the other front, the communist 38th Army established a new base in the regions of Merchant County , Luonan and Merchant Southern , while the communist 12th Brigade established another new base in the regions of Mountain Sun , Yun Xi , Zhen’an , Upper Pass .
On November 23, 1947, the 133rd Brigade of the 20th under the al commander Yang Gancai begun its push toward Square City from Independent tree Town, but the progress was slow due to the stubborn resistance from the 10th Brigade and the 11th Brigade of the communist 4th Column at Yueyang Village , Zan Village , and Northern New Street regions. On November 24, 1947, the 134th Brigade of the 20th also begun its push toward Square City from Nanyang, Henan, and after some setback at Pengyao regions due to enemy resistance, managed to link up with the 133rd Brigade of the 20th in the region to east of Square City . The enemy gave up the town without a fight in attempt to lure the s into the mountain for an ambush but the s refused to be baited and would not venture out of the protection of the city wall. Realizing the isolated was in danger being besieged by the enemy and thus suffering possible annihilation, the s wisely decided to abandon Square City on November 25, 1947, and retreated toward Wuyang , and the campaign concluded with Square City fell into the enemy hands for a third time, and this time for good.
Outcome
The s suffered more than 12,000 fatalities in their defeat, and a total of eighteen cities and towns had fallen into the enemy hands. In addition, the enemy had successfully turned the guerilla base in the Funiu Mountain into a new communist base, furthermore, the enemy was successful in establishing several brand new communist bases and thus further threatened the reign in the North China Plain. The communist success was mainly due to the correct strategy of first luring the technically superior opponent into dispersing its forces into many smaller fragments, and then to concentrate overwhelmingly numerically superior force in one battle on a single fragmented force for annihilation, and eventually, accumulate many small victories into large ones. The result of the communist strategy was that a total of eighteen towns and cities fell into the communist hands, and the communists had established themselves firmly in the border areas of Henan, Hubei and Shaanxi provinces.
Battle of Yique
Battle of Yique 293 BC, levied by King Zhaoxiang of Qin against the alliance of and at Yique , commanded by general Bai Qi. With half of the alliance force, Bai Qi's army took the alliance's strongholds one by one. The battle ended with the capture of the alliance general Gongsun Xi ，240,000 casualties on the alliance side and the capture of 5 Han and Wei cities including Yique. After the battle, Han and Wei were forced to trade their land to ensure further peace.
Battle of Yinji
The battle of Yinji was a battle fought at the Yin Village of Wuyang County in southern Henan, 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. The battle was one of the Chinese Civil War in the immediate post World War II era, and resulted in victory.
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.
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.
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.
On August 26, 1945, the 13th Brigade of the 5th Division of the communist New Fourth Army decided to take Yin Village of Wuyang County in southern Henan by force after the local defenders consisted of former s turned Japanese puppet regime force who rejoined the s after World War II refused to surrender. The 38th Regiment, 2 battalions of 39th Regiment, and 4 companies of the 4th Marching-on Regiment of the 13th Brigade of the 5th Division of the communist New Fourth Army attacked the village from both the east and the west. The communist 38th Regiment first annihilated a regiment of defenders at the outskirt of the village while at night, the two battalions of the communist 39th Regiment annihilated another regiment of defenders at Cypress Village Camp . After losing two regiments and all of strongholds outside the village, the remaining defenders lost the will to fight and escaped to Wuyang on August 27, 1945. The communists managed to capture more than 800 defenders alive and over 300 guns in their victory.
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 government.
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
On August 26, 1945, the 13th Brigade of the 5th Division of the communist New Fourth Army decided to take Yin Village of Wuyang County in southern Henan by force after the local defenders consisted of former s turned Japanese puppet regime force who rejoined the s after World War II refused to surrender. The 38th Regiment, 2 battalions of 39th Regiment, and 4 companies of the 4th Marching-on Regiment of the 13th Brigade of the 5th Division of the communist New Fourth Army attacked the village from both the east and the west. The communist 38th Regiment first annihilated a regiment of defenders at the outskirt of the village while at night, the two battalions of the communist 39th Regiment annihilated another regiment of defenders at Cypress Village Camp . After losing two regiments and all of strongholds outside the village, the remaining defenders lost the will to fight and escaped to Wuyang on August 27, 1945. The communists managed to capture more than 800 defenders alive and over 300 guns in their victory.
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 government.
Battle of Yanling
The Battle of Yanling was fought in 575 BC between the armies of and at Yanling in ancient China during the Spring and Autumn Period. The Chu army was in poor condition. The Jin attacked the flanks of the Chu knowing that the best Chu troops were in the centre. This tactic resulted in a Jin victory.
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Reference - Men-At-Arm / Ancient Chinese Armies
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Reference - Men-At-Arm / Ancient Chinese Armies
Battle of Xingyang
The Battle of Xingyang is a battle during the campaign against Dong Zhuo in 190 during the to the Three Kingdoms period in China between the retreating forces of Dong Zhuo led by Xu Rong and the pursuing Cao Cao.
In 190, dissenting officials formed a coalition against the Dong Zhuo, who controlled the child emperor . Dong Zhuo was concerned that the capital Luoyang was not as easy to defend as Chang'an to the west, and thus moved all civilians and court officials, including the emperor, to Chang'an while the military under Dong Zhuo stayed to defend Luoyang. During the mass relocation on April 9, Dong Zhuo ordered his soldiers to raze Luoyang, confiscate from the rich, and looted from the Han emperor tombs. According to the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', the people who died during the relocation was "beyond measure".
Cao Cao, stationed in Suanzao , saw this as an opportunity to attack Dong Zhuo and announced to the dormant alliance:
Apparently, Cao Cao did not manage to rally anyone else in the alliance except his personal friend under Zhang Miao. Nonetheless, the detachment marched west from Suanzao with the intention to occupy Chenggao.
Cao Cao and Wei Zi's armies advanced to the Bian River at Xingyang, an important staging post en route to Luoyang, and met the opposing army led by Xu Rong there. In a day of fierce fighting, the coalition force was heavily defeated and Wei Zi was killed. Also, Cao Cao was hit by a stray arrow and his horse was injured. A younger cousin, Cao Hong, offered Cao Cao his horse but Cao Cao would not accept at first. Cao Hong then said, "The empire can do without me, but it cannot do without you." Cao Hong then followed Cao Cao on foot and they withdrew back to Suanzao by night.
Xu Rong considered an attack on Suanzao, but he observed that even though Cao Cao's men were few in number they fought fiercely throughout the day, and so assumed that an attack on Suanzao against these sort of men would be difficult. He, too, withdrew.
Cao Cao returned to Suanzao to see the warlords feasting every day with no intention of attacking Dong Zhuo, he reproached them. Learning from his defeat in Xingyang where he tried to attack Chenggao head-on, Cao Cao came up with an alternate strategy and presented it to the coalition:
Instead of attempting another direct attack from Suanzao, the plan involved taking strategic points to blockade Luoyang and Chenggao. Then Yuan Shu, the coalition general in the south could, instead of attacking Luoyang, threaten Dong Zhuo's new capital in Chang'an. The coalition would position themselves behind fortifications and avoid actual fighting. This arrangement, Cao Cao argued, could show the world that the coalition is on the move while applying pressure on Dong Zhuo's court. In this, Cao Cao was hoping that Dong Zhuo's government would eventually become over-strained, lose credit and collapse. Cao Cao concluded his plan with the words, "Our men have come to us because the cause is just, but if we hesitate and delay we shall lose the hopes of the empire, and I would be ashamed
for you."
However, the generals in Suanzao would not agree to his plan. Cao Cao abandoned the generals in Suanzao to gather troops in the Yang province with Xiahou Dun, then went to camp with the coalition commander-in-chief Yuan Shao in . Soon after Cao Cao's departure, the generals in Suanzao ran out of food and dispersed, some even fought amongst themselves. The coalition camp in Suanzao collapsed on itself.
In the historical romance ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' by Luo Guanzhong, the coalition were successively victorious and pressed on Luoyang. Dong Zhuo asked his aid Li Ru for advice, and Li Ru replied that he should move the capital to Chang'an. Dong Zhuo did so and burned Luoyang to the ground to force everyone to leave. The coalition generals saw the smoke coming from Luoyang and advanced, only to find the charred ruins of Luoyang.
Cao Cao went to Yuan Shao and said that the coalition should pursue Dong Zhuo, but Yuan Shao replied that everybody was worn out and there would be nothing to gain by pursuing, and all the lords agreed that they should do nothing. After this Cao Cao exclaimed, "These unworthy people cannot discuss worthy things!" Cao Cao then took Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, Cao Ren, Li Dian, Yue Jin, and 10,000 troops to chase in pursuit.
In the novel, the road west from Luoyang to Chang'an was through Xingyang . When Dong Zhuo reached Xingyang, Xu Rong welcomed him. Li Ru, hearing of Cao Cao's approach, suggested to lure Cao Cao into an ambush with Lü Bu. In Xingyang, Cao Cao engaged Lü Bu, as predicted, and while Xiahou Dun was dueling Lü, Dong Zhuo's generals Li Jue and Guo Si attacked from both flanks and surrounded Cao Cao. Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren to hold them off, but Cao Cao's forces were eventually overwhelmed and retreated.
As Cao Cao's men were preparing to settle for the evening, Xu Rong came out of his ambush and scattered Cao Cao's camp. Cao Cao quickly mounted his horse to escape, but he was shot in the shoulder by Xu Rong and his horse was slain. Cao Cao became captured by two enemy soldiers but Cao Hong killed them and freed his master. Cao Hong offered his horse to Cao Cao, but there was a river ahead and Cao Cao could ride no more, while Xu Rong's men drew ever closer. Cao Hong then carried Cao Cao as he waded across the river. Xu Rong's men initially fired arrows at them, but soon turned around to cross the river in a ford upstream. When Cao Cao and Cao Hong finally reached the other side of the river, Xu Rong came charging from upstream, but Xiahou Dun intercepted and killed Xu Rong on the spot. Cao Cao's forces then came together, all relieved that Cao Cao is safe, and retreated back to Yuan Shao's main camp at Henei. Dong Zhuo's remaining forces left to follow Dong Zhuo to Chang'an.
Background
In 190, dissenting officials formed a coalition against the Dong Zhuo, who controlled the child emperor . Dong Zhuo was concerned that the capital Luoyang was not as easy to defend as Chang'an to the west, and thus moved all civilians and court officials, including the emperor, to Chang'an while the military under Dong Zhuo stayed to defend Luoyang. During the mass relocation on April 9, Dong Zhuo ordered his soldiers to raze Luoyang, confiscate from the rich, and looted from the Han emperor tombs. According to the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', the people who died during the relocation was "beyond measure".
Cao Cao, stationed in Suanzao , saw this as an opportunity to attack Dong Zhuo and announced to the dormant alliance:
Apparently, Cao Cao did not manage to rally anyone else in the alliance except his personal friend under Zhang Miao. Nonetheless, the detachment marched west from Suanzao with the intention to occupy Chenggao.
Battle
Cao Cao and Wei Zi's armies advanced to the Bian River at Xingyang, an important staging post en route to Luoyang, and met the opposing army led by Xu Rong there. In a day of fierce fighting, the coalition force was heavily defeated and Wei Zi was killed. Also, Cao Cao was hit by a stray arrow and his horse was injured. A younger cousin, Cao Hong, offered Cao Cao his horse but Cao Cao would not accept at first. Cao Hong then said, "The empire can do without me, but it cannot do without you." Cao Hong then followed Cao Cao on foot and they withdrew back to Suanzao by night.
Xu Rong considered an attack on Suanzao, but he observed that even though Cao Cao's men were few in number they fought fiercely throughout the day, and so assumed that an attack on Suanzao against these sort of men would be difficult. He, too, withdrew.
Aftermath
Cao Cao returned to Suanzao to see the warlords feasting every day with no intention of attacking Dong Zhuo, he reproached them. Learning from his defeat in Xingyang where he tried to attack Chenggao head-on, Cao Cao came up with an alternate strategy and presented it to the coalition:
Instead of attempting another direct attack from Suanzao, the plan involved taking strategic points to blockade Luoyang and Chenggao. Then Yuan Shu, the coalition general in the south could, instead of attacking Luoyang, threaten Dong Zhuo's new capital in Chang'an. The coalition would position themselves behind fortifications and avoid actual fighting. This arrangement, Cao Cao argued, could show the world that the coalition is on the move while applying pressure on Dong Zhuo's court. In this, Cao Cao was hoping that Dong Zhuo's government would eventually become over-strained, lose credit and collapse. Cao Cao concluded his plan with the words, "Our men have come to us because the cause is just, but if we hesitate and delay we shall lose the hopes of the empire, and I would be ashamed
for you."
However, the generals in Suanzao would not agree to his plan. Cao Cao abandoned the generals in Suanzao to gather troops in the Yang province with Xiahou Dun, then went to camp with the coalition commander-in-chief Yuan Shao in . Soon after Cao Cao's departure, the generals in Suanzao ran out of food and dispersed, some even fought amongst themselves. The coalition camp in Suanzao collapsed on itself.
In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''
In the historical romance ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' by Luo Guanzhong, the coalition were successively victorious and pressed on Luoyang. Dong Zhuo asked his aid Li Ru for advice, and Li Ru replied that he should move the capital to Chang'an. Dong Zhuo did so and burned Luoyang to the ground to force everyone to leave. The coalition generals saw the smoke coming from Luoyang and advanced, only to find the charred ruins of Luoyang.
Cao Cao went to Yuan Shao and said that the coalition should pursue Dong Zhuo, but Yuan Shao replied that everybody was worn out and there would be nothing to gain by pursuing, and all the lords agreed that they should do nothing. After this Cao Cao exclaimed, "These unworthy people cannot discuss worthy things!" Cao Cao then took Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, Cao Ren, Li Dian, Yue Jin, and 10,000 troops to chase in pursuit.
In the novel, the road west from Luoyang to Chang'an was through Xingyang . When Dong Zhuo reached Xingyang, Xu Rong welcomed him. Li Ru, hearing of Cao Cao's approach, suggested to lure Cao Cao into an ambush with Lü Bu. In Xingyang, Cao Cao engaged Lü Bu, as predicted, and while Xiahou Dun was dueling Lü, Dong Zhuo's generals Li Jue and Guo Si attacked from both flanks and surrounded Cao Cao. Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren to hold them off, but Cao Cao's forces were eventually overwhelmed and retreated.
As Cao Cao's men were preparing to settle for the evening, Xu Rong came out of his ambush and scattered Cao Cao's camp. Cao Cao quickly mounted his horse to escape, but he was shot in the shoulder by Xu Rong and his horse was slain. Cao Cao became captured by two enemy soldiers but Cao Hong killed them and freed his master. Cao Hong offered his horse to Cao Cao, but there was a river ahead and Cao Cao could ride no more, while Xu Rong's men drew ever closer. Cao Hong then carried Cao Cao as he waded across the river. Xu Rong's men initially fired arrows at them, but soon turned around to cross the river in a ford upstream. When Cao Cao and Cao Hong finally reached the other side of the river, Xu Rong came charging from upstream, but Xiahou Dun intercepted and killed Xu Rong on the spot. Cao Cao's forces then came together, all relieved that Cao Cao is safe, and retreated back to Yuan Shao's main camp at Henei. Dong Zhuo's remaining forces left to follow Dong Zhuo to Chang'an.
Battle of West Henan–North Hubei
The Battle of West Henan-North Hubei , was one of the 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was in northern and western . While it was a tactical stalemate, the battle was also a strategic victory for the Japanese forces, who seized control of local airbases, denying Chinese forces of any localized air support.
*59th Army
*69th Army
*77th Army
*New 8th Army
*68th Army
*55th Army
*45th Army
*15th Army
*85th Army
*89th Army
*39th Division
*5th Brigade
*11th Brigade
*B Army
*22nd Army Group
:*2 divisions
*110th Division
*115th Division
*11th Brigade
*4th Cavalry Brigade
*3rd Armoured Brigade
Order of battle
Chinese
*59th Army
*69th Army
*77th Army
*New 8th Army
*68th Army
*55th Army
*45th Army
*15th Army
*85th Army
*89th Army
Japanese
*39th Division
*5th Brigade
*11th Brigade
*B Army
*22nd Army Group
:*2 divisions
*110th Division
*115th Division
*11th Brigade
*4th Cavalry Brigade
*3rd Armoured Brigade
Battle of Wancheng
The Battle of Wancheng was a historical battle fought in the later years of the Han Dynasty between the warlords Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu in 197.
Cao Cao led his army to attack Wancheng, while Zhang Xiu, the ruler of Wancheng, was worried and afraid of Cao Cao's mighty army. Cao Cao invaded Jingzhou, upon reaching Wan, Zhang Xiu offered to surrender. His strategist Jia Xu suggested that he feigned surrender first and then later draw up a plan to defeat Cao Cao. As Jia Xu had predicted, Cao Cao accepted Zhang Xiu's surrender and allowed him to remain in control of Wancheng. Later, Cao Cao was attracted to Zhang Xiu's deceased uncle Zhang Ji's widow, and took her as a concubine. Zhang Xiu felt humiliated and longed to get back at Cao Cao. Cao Cao heard about Zhang Xiu's displeasure and plotted to kill Zhang. However, the plan was leaked out and Zhang Xiu revolted and launched an attack in the night on Cao Cao's camp.
Zhang Xiu's forces stormed Cao Cao’s camp. The battle went against Cao Cao, with no advantage, he fled on a light horse. Dian Wei battled at the gate preventing the traitors from entering. The troops then entered from the other gates. At the time Dian Wei had about ten or so men; they all fought a desperate battle; each fought like ten men. The traitors numbered many and were coming from front and rear. Dian Wei using his long crescent halberds attacked left and right destroying ten or more. The surrounding area littered with many casualties and dead. Dian Wei received over ten cuts, yet he continued to fight despite lacking troops. Dian Wei held onto two traitors underneath his arms, killing them. The remaining traitors dared not to advance any further. Dian Wei continued attacking the traitors, killing numerous men. His wounds took its toll, he let out a great cry and then died. The traitors dared not to advance and take his head, instead returned to the army. Cao Cao had retreated back to Wu Yin where he then heard about Dian Wei’s death. The news brought tears to his eyes. Cao Cao's son Cao Ang offered his steed to his father and bravely stayed behind to hold off the enemy, allowing his father to escape while he was killed in the battle. Cao Cao's beloved nephew Cao Anmin was also killed in battle.
This battle was one of the most humiliating moments in Cao Cao's life.
This battle appears in video games such as ''Dynasty Warriors'', where the stage is the highlight of Dian Wei's story. Chronologically, Dian Wei as an non-playable character makes his last appearance and doesn't appear anymore in the next stages.
Background
Cao Cao led his army to attack Wancheng, while Zhang Xiu, the ruler of Wancheng, was worried and afraid of Cao Cao's mighty army. Cao Cao invaded Jingzhou, upon reaching Wan, Zhang Xiu offered to surrender. His strategist Jia Xu suggested that he feigned surrender first and then later draw up a plan to defeat Cao Cao. As Jia Xu had predicted, Cao Cao accepted Zhang Xiu's surrender and allowed him to remain in control of Wancheng. Later, Cao Cao was attracted to Zhang Xiu's deceased uncle Zhang Ji's widow, and took her as a concubine. Zhang Xiu felt humiliated and longed to get back at Cao Cao. Cao Cao heard about Zhang Xiu's displeasure and plotted to kill Zhang. However, the plan was leaked out and Zhang Xiu revolted and launched an attack in the night on Cao Cao's camp.
Battle
Zhang Xiu's forces stormed Cao Cao’s camp. The battle went against Cao Cao, with no advantage, he fled on a light horse. Dian Wei battled at the gate preventing the traitors from entering. The troops then entered from the other gates. At the time Dian Wei had about ten or so men; they all fought a desperate battle; each fought like ten men. The traitors numbered many and were coming from front and rear. Dian Wei using his long crescent halberds attacked left and right destroying ten or more. The surrounding area littered with many casualties and dead. Dian Wei received over ten cuts, yet he continued to fight despite lacking troops. Dian Wei held onto two traitors underneath his arms, killing them. The remaining traitors dared not to advance any further. Dian Wei continued attacking the traitors, killing numerous men. His wounds took its toll, he let out a great cry and then died. The traitors dared not to advance and take his head, instead returned to the army. Cao Cao had retreated back to Wu Yin where he then heard about Dian Wei’s death. The news brought tears to his eyes. Cao Cao's son Cao Ang offered his steed to his father and bravely stayed behind to hold off the enemy, allowing his father to escape while he was killed in the battle. Cao Cao's beloved nephew Cao Anmin was also killed in battle.
This battle was one of the most humiliating moments in Cao Cao's life.
Modern references
This battle appears in video games such as ''Dynasty Warriors'', where the stage is the highlight of Dian Wei's story. Chronologically, Dian Wei as an non-playable character makes his last appearance and doesn't appear anymore in the next stages.
Battle of South Henan
The Battle of South Henan , was one of the 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Battle of Shangcai
Battle of Shangcai was a series of clashes fought between the and the during Chinese Civil War in the post World War II era, and resulted in the communist victory. The battle is also called the Blocking Actions at Shangcai by the , who launched the battle to support their Eastern Hennan Campaign, with intention to prevent the nationalist force from reinforce their comrades-in-arms fighting the Eastern Hennan Campaign.
During the first half of the Chinese Civil War, communists lacked the necessary weaponry to destroy large formations of nationalist troops who were stationed in fortifications, so they must be lured out of the fortifications and engaged in the open field where communists would have a chance, and one of such occasion rose in June, 1948. On June 15, 1948, had decided to launch Eastern Hennan Campaign to attack Kaifeng, thus forcing the to reinforce the defense of the city via redeployment. Communists planned to take the opportunity to destroy the nationalist reinforcement force while it was on the move.
Order of battle:
*Army-sized 11th Reorganized Division commanded by Hu Lian 胡琏
**3 division-sized brigades
Order of battle:
*10th Column commanded by Song Shilun 宋时轮
**28th Division
**29th Division commanded by Xiao Feng 肖锋 political commissar Li Mancun 李曼村
***Brigade-sized 85th Regiment
***Brigade-sized 86th Regiment
***Brigade-sized 87th Regiment
Communist strategy
*The nationalist 11th Reorganized Division was already on its northern march toward Kaifeng, to prevent it from reinforcing nationalist force defending the city, the communist commander Song Shilun decided to attack Shangcai , where the nationalist 11th Reorganized Division setup its headquarter, thus forcing the nationalist division to return to save its own headquarter.
Nationalist strategy
*Hu Lian , the nationalist commander of the 11th Reorganized Division was well aware the communist strategy and adjust his plan accordingly. Giving up the mission to reinforce Kaifeng, Hu Lian ordered all of his force to turn back, and planned to use his headquarter as a bait to attract the enemy, while his main force would attack the enemy from the other side, destroying the enemy in a two fronts assault. Though this move would mean that he had to give up the rescue of the city exactly as his enemy had hoped, it was a good price to pay in exchange of totally destroying the enemy’s 10th Column.
In the morning of June 16, 1948, Song Shilun ’s 10th Column at Leave County and Dancing Sun in western Henan received order to reach north of Shangcai and be ready for the incoming battle no later than 9:00 AM next morning. When the 28th and the 29th Divisions of the communist 10th Column were ready to move out, it was already 2:00 PM in the afternoon of June 16, 1948. To travel to their destination in 17 hours at 90 km away, many communist troops were force to sleep while on the move. To ensure the timely arrival and preparation, the communist commander himself and his chief-of-staff Gong Zuoyao traveled with the 29th Division, and the communist troops reached their destination on time.
The communists begun their attack on the town of Shangcai after taking a short break, with the three regiments of the 29th Division shouldered the main responsibility of attacking the nationalist headquarter: the 85th Regiment attacked the regions of Single Hamlet and Little Village to the north of the town after taking regions including Wheat Store , and Plum Hamlet , the 86th Regiment attacked and took the regions Western Flood Bridge , Liu Bridge , Kudzu Hamlet , Sloped Zhao Village , of the 87th Regiment attacked and took the regions of Dong Hamlet , and Juan Liu . By the night of June 17, 1948, all of the dispatched units of the nationalist 11th Reorganized Division had turned back to rescue the headquarter at Shangcai , and much heavier fighting was expected by both sides.
The only way to return to Shangcai was via the narrow strip of land beginning at the Eastern Flood Bridge in the east and ended at the Wheat Store in the west. The local rugged terrain, however, was ill-suited for the highly mechanized nationalist force, and this was exploited by the communists to the maximum. At 8:00 AM in the morning of June 18, 1948, the nationalist 11th Reorganized Division launched its all out attack on the communists but the progress was painfully slow due to the unfavorable terrain. After eight hour of continuous fighting, the nationalist offensive stopped and both sides rested and prepared for the next round of fighting. By 10:00 PM, the communists withdrew to the second line of the defense by redeploying their 28th Division to the regions of Fan Hamlet , Luo Pavilion , Jiang Hamlet , Xiao Slope , and their 29th Division to the regions of King’s Pavilion , Xiadi Pass , Hundred Feet Village , and Thunder Hamlet .
Fierce fighting resumed and continued to the next day. After suffering five thousand casualties and realizing the rugged terrain had severely limited the effectiveness of the superior firepower, the nationalist commander refused to be drawn into a war of attrition anymore in a terrain favoring the enemy and decided to call it a quit. Since turning back to reinforce Kaifeng was too late to do, the nationalists withdrew southward, abandoning the hope of annihilating the communist 10th Column. The communists, in the meantime, successfully achieving their original objective of preventing the nationalists from reinforce Kaifeng did not pursuit and ended the battle.
Prelude
During the first half of the Chinese Civil War, communists lacked the necessary weaponry to destroy large formations of nationalist troops who were stationed in fortifications, so they must be lured out of the fortifications and engaged in the open field where communists would have a chance, and one of such occasion rose in June, 1948. On June 15, 1948, had decided to launch Eastern Hennan Campaign to attack Kaifeng, thus forcing the to reinforce the defense of the city via redeployment. Communists planned to take the opportunity to destroy the nationalist reinforcement force while it was on the move.
Order of battle
Order of battle:
*Army-sized 11th Reorganized Division commanded by Hu Lian 胡琏
**3 division-sized brigades
Order of battle:
*10th Column commanded by Song Shilun 宋时轮
**28th Division
**29th Division commanded by Xiao Feng 肖锋 political commissar Li Mancun 李曼村
***Brigade-sized 85th Regiment
***Brigade-sized 86th Regiment
***Brigade-sized 87th Regiment
Strategies
Communist strategy
*The nationalist 11th Reorganized Division was already on its northern march toward Kaifeng, to prevent it from reinforcing nationalist force defending the city, the communist commander Song Shilun decided to attack Shangcai , where the nationalist 11th Reorganized Division setup its headquarter, thus forcing the nationalist division to return to save its own headquarter.
Nationalist strategy
*Hu Lian , the nationalist commander of the 11th Reorganized Division was well aware the communist strategy and adjust his plan accordingly. Giving up the mission to reinforce Kaifeng, Hu Lian ordered all of his force to turn back, and planned to use his headquarter as a bait to attract the enemy, while his main force would attack the enemy from the other side, destroying the enemy in a two fronts assault. Though this move would mean that he had to give up the rescue of the city exactly as his enemy had hoped, it was a good price to pay in exchange of totally destroying the enemy’s 10th Column.
Battle
In the morning of June 16, 1948, Song Shilun ’s 10th Column at Leave County and Dancing Sun in western Henan received order to reach north of Shangcai and be ready for the incoming battle no later than 9:00 AM next morning. When the 28th and the 29th Divisions of the communist 10th Column were ready to move out, it was already 2:00 PM in the afternoon of June 16, 1948. To travel to their destination in 17 hours at 90 km away, many communist troops were force to sleep while on the move. To ensure the timely arrival and preparation, the communist commander himself and his chief-of-staff Gong Zuoyao traveled with the 29th Division, and the communist troops reached their destination on time.
The communists begun their attack on the town of Shangcai after taking a short break, with the three regiments of the 29th Division shouldered the main responsibility of attacking the nationalist headquarter: the 85th Regiment attacked the regions of Single Hamlet and Little Village to the north of the town after taking regions including Wheat Store , and Plum Hamlet , the 86th Regiment attacked and took the regions Western Flood Bridge , Liu Bridge , Kudzu Hamlet , Sloped Zhao Village , of the 87th Regiment attacked and took the regions of Dong Hamlet , and Juan Liu . By the night of June 17, 1948, all of the dispatched units of the nationalist 11th Reorganized Division had turned back to rescue the headquarter at Shangcai , and much heavier fighting was expected by both sides.
The only way to return to Shangcai was via the narrow strip of land beginning at the Eastern Flood Bridge in the east and ended at the Wheat Store in the west. The local rugged terrain, however, was ill-suited for the highly mechanized nationalist force, and this was exploited by the communists to the maximum. At 8:00 AM in the morning of June 18, 1948, the nationalist 11th Reorganized Division launched its all out attack on the communists but the progress was painfully slow due to the unfavorable terrain. After eight hour of continuous fighting, the nationalist offensive stopped and both sides rested and prepared for the next round of fighting. By 10:00 PM, the communists withdrew to the second line of the defense by redeploying their 28th Division to the regions of Fan Hamlet , Luo Pavilion , Jiang Hamlet , Xiao Slope , and their 29th Division to the regions of King’s Pavilion , Xiadi Pass , Hundred Feet Village , and Thunder Hamlet .
Fierce fighting resumed and continued to the next day. After suffering five thousand casualties and realizing the rugged terrain had severely limited the effectiveness of the superior firepower, the nationalist commander refused to be drawn into a war of attrition anymore in a terrain favoring the enemy and decided to call it a quit. Since turning back to reinforce Kaifeng was too late to do, the nationalists withdrew southward, abandoning the hope of annihilating the communist 10th Column. The communists, in the meantime, successfully achieving their original objective of preventing the nationalists from reinforce Kaifeng did not pursuit and ended the battle.
Battle of Northern and Eastern Henan
During the Second Sino-Japanese War the Japanese 1st Army under Lt. General Kiyoshi Katsuki drove the Chinese forces of General Cheng Chien's 1st War Area out of Northern and Eastern Honan until they were stopped by the disastrous 1938 Yellow River flood caused by the diversion of the Yellow River by the Chinese Army into the and Huai Rivers.
Order of battle for Campaign of Northern and Eastern Henan 1938
Battle of Muye
The Battle of Muye was fought in China in 1046 BC. The battle led to the end of the Shang dynasty, and the beginning of the Zhou dynasty. The Zhou dynasty marks the beginning of the feudal phase of Chinese history.
By the 13th century BC, Shang influence had reached what is now Gansu Province, a region that was occupied by a people known as the Zhou. King Wen of Zhou , the ruler of the Zhou, who was a Shang vassal, was given the title "Count of the West" by the King Di Xin of Shang . Di Xin used Duke Wen to guard his rear while he was involved in a south-eastern campaign.
Eventually Di Xin, fearing Duke Wen's growing power, imprisoned him. Although Wen was later released, the tension between Shang and Zhou grew. Wen prepared his army, and conquered a few smaller loyal states to Shang, slowly weakening Shang's allies. However, Duke Wen died in 1050 BC before Zhou's actual offense against Shang.
Di Xin paid very little attention to these, as he viewed himself as the rightful ruler of China, a position appointed by the heavens.
Duke Wen's son Duke Wu led the Zhou in a revolt a few years later. The reason for this delay was because Duke Wu believed that the "heavenly order" to conquer Shang had not been given.
Chinese civilians greatly supported Ji's rebellion. In legend, Di Xin, initially, had been a good ruler. But after he married Daji, he became a ruthless ruler. Many called for the end of the Shang Dynasty.
Duke Wu of Zhou led an army of about 50,000. Di Xin's army was at war in the east, but he still had about 530,000 men to defend the capital city of . But to further secure his victory, he gave weapons to about 130,000 slaves to protect the capital. The slaves did not want to fight for the corrupted Shang Dynasty, and defected to the Zhou army instead.
This event greatly lowered the morale of the Shang troops. When engaged, many Shang soldiers did not fight and held their spears upside down, as a sign that they no longer wanted to fight for the corrupted Shang. Some Shang soldiers joined the Zhou side altogether.
Still, many loyal Shang troops fought on, and a very bloody battle followed. The Zhou troops were much better trained, and their morale was high. In one of the Chariot charges, Duke Wu broke through the Shang 's defense line. Di Xin was forced to flee to his palace, and the remaining Shang troops fell into further chaos. The Zhou were victorious and showed little mercy to the defeated Shang, shedding enough blood "to float a log".
After the battle Di Xin placed many valuable jewelry on himself, and lighted a fire and burned himself to death in his palace. Duke Wu personally killed Daji after he found her. Shang officials were released without charges, and some later worked as Zhou officials. The imperial rice storage was opened right after the battle, to feed the starving population.
This Battle leaves Duke Wu as master of all of Shang's important cities. Duke Wu proclaimed the Zhou dynasty as King Wu of Zhou.
Background
By the 13th century BC, Shang influence had reached what is now Gansu Province, a region that was occupied by a people known as the Zhou. King Wen of Zhou , the ruler of the Zhou, who was a Shang vassal, was given the title "Count of the West" by the King Di Xin of Shang . Di Xin used Duke Wen to guard his rear while he was involved in a south-eastern campaign.
Eventually Di Xin, fearing Duke Wen's growing power, imprisoned him. Although Wen was later released, the tension between Shang and Zhou grew. Wen prepared his army, and conquered a few smaller loyal states to Shang, slowly weakening Shang's allies. However, Duke Wen died in 1050 BC before Zhou's actual offense against Shang.
Di Xin paid very little attention to these, as he viewed himself as the rightful ruler of China, a position appointed by the heavens.
Duke Wen's son Duke Wu led the Zhou in a revolt a few years later. The reason for this delay was because Duke Wu believed that the "heavenly order" to conquer Shang had not been given.
Chinese civilians greatly supported Ji's rebellion. In legend, Di Xin, initially, had been a good ruler. But after he married Daji, he became a ruthless ruler. Many called for the end of the Shang Dynasty.
Battle
Duke Wu of Zhou led an army of about 50,000. Di Xin's army was at war in the east, but he still had about 530,000 men to defend the capital city of . But to further secure his victory, he gave weapons to about 130,000 slaves to protect the capital. The slaves did not want to fight for the corrupted Shang Dynasty, and defected to the Zhou army instead.
This event greatly lowered the morale of the Shang troops. When engaged, many Shang soldiers did not fight and held their spears upside down, as a sign that they no longer wanted to fight for the corrupted Shang. Some Shang soldiers joined the Zhou side altogether.
Still, many loyal Shang troops fought on, and a very bloody battle followed. The Zhou troops were much better trained, and their morale was high. In one of the Chariot charges, Duke Wu broke through the Shang 's defense line. Di Xin was forced to flee to his palace, and the remaining Shang troops fell into further chaos. The Zhou were victorious and showed little mercy to the defeated Shang, shedding enough blood "to float a log".
Aftermath
After the battle Di Xin placed many valuable jewelry on himself, and lighted a fire and burned himself to death in his palace. Duke Wu personally killed Daji after he found her. Shang officials were released without charges, and some later worked as Zhou officials. The imperial rice storage was opened right after the battle, to feed the starving population.
This Battle leaves Duke Wu as master of all of Shang's important cities. Duke Wu proclaimed the Zhou dynasty as King Wu of Zhou.
Battle of Maling
The Battle of Maling was conducted in Maling, currently Dazhangjia Town , Shen County , , in 342 BC during the Warring States Period. The combatants were the state of , who fought on behalf of state of , and the state of . This battle is well recorded in history texts and is famous for the tactics of Sun Bin, known as the Tactic of Missing Stoves, in which the enemy is led to underestimate the enemy by creating an illusion of a soldiers running away from the army.
Pang Juan, commander of , was lured to a narrow pass at night, where his army was ambushed by 10,000 archers of . Pang Juan committed suicide, and Wei was defeated. The power of Wei was decreased significantly, making it unable to compete for Kingship of the Zhou Dynasty.
In 342 BC, the state of Wei attacked the state of , and Han turned to Qi for help. Sun Bin advised to provide military aid for Han, but only send out troops when the army of Wei has been depleted after prolonged fighting in order to preserve their own strength while garnering respect from Han.
Han was mislead to believe that they could rely on the army of their ally, Qi, and thus fought without reserve. After a year of resistance, Han was no longer able to resist, and asked for help from Qi a second time. Instead of sending troops to save Han directly, Sun Bin suggested to aim for the capital of Wei, Daliang.
When King Hui of Wei learned of the attack, he had to order Pang Juan, general of Wei, to retreat in order to defend against the oncoming army of Qi. Pang Juan was incensed at the news, because he was only days away from taking the capital of Han. King Hui of Wei appointed Prince Shen of Wei as Chief commander and Pang Juan as commander, and ordered an army of 100,000 to mobilize against Qi.
Learning from the Battle of Guiling, Pang Juan ordered his troops to go around the Qi troops, to avoid getting ambushed in the main path. Pang Juan also ordered his troops to make haste to the capital, before Qi can set up any effective ambushes. Instead of rushing and trying to ambush the high morale Wei troops, Sun Bin decided to let a great majority of his troops rest. These Qi troops were ordered to slowly move back into Qi and prepare equipments for an ambush when needed. Sun bin took a smaller force to face Pang Juan. Once the two forces draws close to each other, Sun Bin immediately ordered a retreat.
In order to mislead his enemy, Sun Bin ordered his soldiers to make less stoves day by day. On the first day, Qi had stoves enough for 100,000 people; on the second day, there were only stoves for 50,000 people. On the third day, there were only stoves for an army of 20,000. As Pang Juan saw this, he judged that the soldiers of Qi were deserting their army and decided to pursue the Qi army with a small elite cavalry. This small elite cavalry, with their recent victory in Han, was over confident. As Qi retreated into their own territory, Sun Bin ordered his troops to abandon some of their heavy artillery. This further gave the impression of a state of confusion amongst the Qi army. As Qi arrived at Maling, Sun Bin noticed a heavily wooded and narrow pass that could be used for ambush. Estimating the arrival of Pang Juan around nightfall, he ordered to have a tree cut down, its bark removed, and the words "Pang Juan shall die in Malingdao, under this tree" carved, which was a proverb spoken by the teacher of both Sun Bin and Pang Juan .
Pang Juan had moved to Malingdao, and when he saw the sign, he paid no attention to it, instead ordering the words to be scraped off, and the army advance. Suddenly, a flush of Qi troops had surrounded the Wei. In the darkness, Qi archers managed to shoot down many of the Wei soldiers, before the rest of soldiers charged in. The Wei troops did not expect that Qi still had so many troops under their command, and were quickly overran. Pang Juan, sensing his end was near, committed suicide. In some versions, Pang Juan was among the first of his troops to be shot to death.
Even though it was Pang Juan whom had tricked Sun Bin and maimed him by removing his knee caps, Sun Bin felt very sad to see his former classmate dead. He had hoped they would make their relationship better after the battle.
After the death of Pang Juan, Prince Shen was captured by Qi. The power of the state of Wei decreased considerably after this battle.
Pang Juan, commander of , was lured to a narrow pass at night, where his army was ambushed by 10,000 archers of . Pang Juan committed suicide, and Wei was defeated. The power of Wei was decreased significantly, making it unable to compete for Kingship of the Zhou Dynasty.
In 342 BC, the state of Wei attacked the state of , and Han turned to Qi for help. Sun Bin advised to provide military aid for Han, but only send out troops when the army of Wei has been depleted after prolonged fighting in order to preserve their own strength while garnering respect from Han.
Han was mislead to believe that they could rely on the army of their ally, Qi, and thus fought without reserve. After a year of resistance, Han was no longer able to resist, and asked for help from Qi a second time. Instead of sending troops to save Han directly, Sun Bin suggested to aim for the capital of Wei, Daliang.
When King Hui of Wei learned of the attack, he had to order Pang Juan, general of Wei, to retreat in order to defend against the oncoming army of Qi. Pang Juan was incensed at the news, because he was only days away from taking the capital of Han. King Hui of Wei appointed Prince Shen of Wei as Chief commander and Pang Juan as commander, and ordered an army of 100,000 to mobilize against Qi.
Learning from the Battle of Guiling, Pang Juan ordered his troops to go around the Qi troops, to avoid getting ambushed in the main path. Pang Juan also ordered his troops to make haste to the capital, before Qi can set up any effective ambushes. Instead of rushing and trying to ambush the high morale Wei troops, Sun Bin decided to let a great majority of his troops rest. These Qi troops were ordered to slowly move back into Qi and prepare equipments for an ambush when needed. Sun bin took a smaller force to face Pang Juan. Once the two forces draws close to each other, Sun Bin immediately ordered a retreat.
In order to mislead his enemy, Sun Bin ordered his soldiers to make less stoves day by day. On the first day, Qi had stoves enough for 100,000 people; on the second day, there were only stoves for 50,000 people. On the third day, there were only stoves for an army of 20,000. As Pang Juan saw this, he judged that the soldiers of Qi were deserting their army and decided to pursue the Qi army with a small elite cavalry. This small elite cavalry, with their recent victory in Han, was over confident. As Qi retreated into their own territory, Sun Bin ordered his troops to abandon some of their heavy artillery. This further gave the impression of a state of confusion amongst the Qi army. As Qi arrived at Maling, Sun Bin noticed a heavily wooded and narrow pass that could be used for ambush. Estimating the arrival of Pang Juan around nightfall, he ordered to have a tree cut down, its bark removed, and the words "Pang Juan shall die in Malingdao, under this tree" carved, which was a proverb spoken by the teacher of both Sun Bin and Pang Juan .
Pang Juan had moved to Malingdao, and when he saw the sign, he paid no attention to it, instead ordering the words to be scraped off, and the army advance. Suddenly, a flush of Qi troops had surrounded the Wei. In the darkness, Qi archers managed to shoot down many of the Wei soldiers, before the rest of soldiers charged in. The Wei troops did not expect that Qi still had so many troops under their command, and were quickly overran. Pang Juan, sensing his end was near, committed suicide. In some versions, Pang Juan was among the first of his troops to be shot to death.
Even though it was Pang Juan whom had tricked Sun Bin and maimed him by removing his knee caps, Sun Bin felt very sad to see his former classmate dead. He had hoped they would make their relationship better after the battle.
After the death of Pang Juan, Prince Shen was captured by Qi. The power of the state of Wei decreased considerably after this battle.
Battle of Lanfeng
The Battle of Lanfeng was part of the larger campaign for and was occurring at the same time as the Battle of Xuzhou . It involved a counterattack at by elements of the 1st War Area on the , the vanguard of the Japanese First Army of its North China Area Army numbering 20,000 men and tanks. It was the first action of the Chinese 200th Division the first mechanized division in the Chinese Army.
Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War 2nd Ed. ,1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung , Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China.
page 230-235
Map. 9-2
Order of Battle Battle of Lanfeng
Sources:
Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War 2nd Ed. ,1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung , Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China.
page 230-235
Map. 9-2
Battle of Kunyang
The Battle of Kunyang was fought in June-July of 23 between the resurgent and forces. The Han forces were led by Liu Xiu, while the far more numerous Xin were led by Wang Yi and Wang Xun . Wang Xun was killed during a foolish attack on Liu's force with a small contingent of his force, and the Han forces disrupted the remainder of the Xin army, forcing Wang Yi to retreat. This battle was the decisive battle that led to the fall of the Xin Dynasty.
By the end of the Xin Dynasty, peasants all over the country rebelled against Wang Mang for the years of his incompetent rule. Calls for the reestablishment of the Han Dynasty, which Wang Mang overthrew, was on the rise. Heeding these voices, the leaders of the rebellions supported to be the emperor of the new Han Dynasty.
Xin Emperor Wang Mang decided that he must crush the newly constituted Han regime before the new regime gained momentum, and sent his cousin Wang Yi and his prime minister Wang Xun with what he considered to be overwhelming force, some 430,000 men, to attack the Han forces. The Han forces were split in two — one led by Wang Feng, Wang Chang, and Liu Xiu; while the other, the majority, was led by . Wang Feng, Wang Chang, and Liu Xiu soon took the castles of Kunyang , Dingling , and Yanxian . Liu Xiu's forces had started attacking Yangguan , but after hearing of the arrival of the main Xin forces, he decided to retreat to Kunyang. The nine thousand rebels in Kunyang, vastly outnumbered by the Xin force, initially wanted to scatter and retreat to Jingzhou, but Liu Xiu opposed it. He advocated that they guard Kunyang securely, since a scattered army would be easy prey. Liu Xiu promised to gather all other available troops in surrounding areas and attack the Xin forces from the outside. After initially rejecting Liu Xiu's idea, the rebels eventually agreed.
With the Xin forces approaching Kunyang from the north, Liu Xiu led 13 horsemen out of Kunyang at night to rally for reinforcements from Dingling and Yanxian.
The Xin commander, Wang Yi, confident of his overwhelming numbers, stated that his army would "annihilate all in his path, massacre the town, and dance in its blood" and laid siege to the town. Faced with siege towers and tunnels dug under its castle walls, Kunyang's defenses held on until Liu Xiu returned with ten thousand footmen and cavalry on July 7. By then, the Xin forces' morale was dropping while the Han forces' morale was booming with Liu's return. Liu Xiu took this chance to lead a thousand men to engage the Xin forces, while another brigade of 3000 marched around to the rear of the Xin army and attacked the Xin main camp. Wang Yi, still underestimating the Han forces, led ten thousand men with Wang Xun to meet the enemy while ordering the rest of his troops to stand ground unless he orders them to attack. Once they engaged in battle, however, after minor losses, the other units were hesitant to assist them, and Liu Xiu killed Wang Xun in battle. Once that happened, the Han forces inside Kunyang burst out of the city and attacked the other Xin units, and the much larger Xin forces suffered a total collapse. Adding to the misery of the Xin forces is a sudden rainstorm which caused a flashflood drowning many of the fleeing men.
Unable to gather most of his men, Wang Yi had to withdraw with the remaining several thousand men back to Luoyang. Once the news about the battle of Kunyang spread throughout the empire, the people rose everywhere else simultaneously, often killing the local government officials and claiming to be officials under the new Han regime. Within a month, nearly the entire empire slipped out of Xin control.
Background
By the end of the Xin Dynasty, peasants all over the country rebelled against Wang Mang for the years of his incompetent rule. Calls for the reestablishment of the Han Dynasty, which Wang Mang overthrew, was on the rise. Heeding these voices, the leaders of the rebellions supported to be the emperor of the new Han Dynasty.
Xin Emperor Wang Mang decided that he must crush the newly constituted Han regime before the new regime gained momentum, and sent his cousin Wang Yi and his prime minister Wang Xun with what he considered to be overwhelming force, some 430,000 men, to attack the Han forces. The Han forces were split in two — one led by Wang Feng, Wang Chang, and Liu Xiu; while the other, the majority, was led by . Wang Feng, Wang Chang, and Liu Xiu soon took the castles of Kunyang , Dingling , and Yanxian . Liu Xiu's forces had started attacking Yangguan , but after hearing of the arrival of the main Xin forces, he decided to retreat to Kunyang. The nine thousand rebels in Kunyang, vastly outnumbered by the Xin force, initially wanted to scatter and retreat to Jingzhou, but Liu Xiu opposed it. He advocated that they guard Kunyang securely, since a scattered army would be easy prey. Liu Xiu promised to gather all other available troops in surrounding areas and attack the Xin forces from the outside. After initially rejecting Liu Xiu's idea, the rebels eventually agreed.
The battle
With the Xin forces approaching Kunyang from the north, Liu Xiu led 13 horsemen out of Kunyang at night to rally for reinforcements from Dingling and Yanxian.
The Xin commander, Wang Yi, confident of his overwhelming numbers, stated that his army would "annihilate all in his path, massacre the town, and dance in its blood" and laid siege to the town. Faced with siege towers and tunnels dug under its castle walls, Kunyang's defenses held on until Liu Xiu returned with ten thousand footmen and cavalry on July 7. By then, the Xin forces' morale was dropping while the Han forces' morale was booming with Liu's return. Liu Xiu took this chance to lead a thousand men to engage the Xin forces, while another brigade of 3000 marched around to the rear of the Xin army and attacked the Xin main camp. Wang Yi, still underestimating the Han forces, led ten thousand men with Wang Xun to meet the enemy while ordering the rest of his troops to stand ground unless he orders them to attack. Once they engaged in battle, however, after minor losses, the other units were hesitant to assist them, and Liu Xiu killed Wang Xun in battle. Once that happened, the Han forces inside Kunyang burst out of the city and attacked the other Xin units, and the much larger Xin forces suffered a total collapse. Adding to the misery of the Xin forces is a sudden rainstorm which caused a flashflood drowning many of the fleeing men.
Aftermath
Unable to gather most of his men, Wang Yi had to withdraw with the remaining several thousand men back to Luoyang. Once the news about the battle of Kunyang spread throughout the empire, the people rose everywhere else simultaneously, often killing the local government officials and claiming to be officials under the new Han regime. Within a month, nearly the entire empire slipped out of Xin control.
Battle of Hulao
The Battle of Hulao of 28 May 621, located just east of Luoyang, was a decisive victory for , through which he was able to subdue two warlords, Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong. Li Shimin led a siege on the city of Luoyang, head of the self-declared emperor Wang Shichong, who solicited help from Dou Jiande from the east. However, Dou Jiande delayed and when he finally arrived, Li Shimin brought forces to meet the new threat. Li Shimin's army avoided conflict until the troops of Dou Jiande were exhausted and then led a cavalry charge, effectively capturing Dou Jiande. Afterwards, Wang Shichong, seeing no other choice, surrendered Luoyang. Dou Jiande was later executed, resulting in some of his followers, led by Liu Heita, raising an unsuccessful rebellion against Tang.
Battle of Guandu
The Battle of Guandu was a battle during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history that took place at the Yellow River in 200.
It was a crucial victory for the leader Cao Cao in which he led a rebellion against Yuan Shao . He destroyed Yuan Shao's grain supplies and his army, and Yuan Shao died soon after. This resulted in .
From 196 onwards it became increasingly clear that there would be a confrontation between the two warlords Yuan Shao and Cao Cao for dominion of the north sooner or later. Long before the battle, Yuan Shao's adjutants Ju Shou and Tian Feng had foreseen the danger posed by Cao Cao, and advised Yuan Shao to defeat Cao Cao before he grew any stronger. Yuan Shao ignored this advice.
The position of Guandu gave it strategic importance. It was close to the Yan Ford on the Yellow River and lay directly on the route to Xuchang. Cao Cao was the first to recognize its importance and in the autumn of 199, he moved forces there and prepared fortifications. The next year, Liu Bei defected from Cao to his rival Yuan Shao. Yuan took the opportunity to mount a campaign in the south and in the first month of 200, his vanguard attacked the garrison of Liyang, just north of the Yellow River. The commander at Liyang, Yu Jin, signaled to headquarters the approach of Yuan Shao. Cao Cao immediately regrouped his troops and stationed 20,000 men at Guandu in preparation for a decisive battle.
Soon Yuan Shao's main army arrived, boosting his numbers to 110,000, including 10,000 cavalry. Ju Shou noticed that Cao Cao's army was already short of food. He suggested careful planning to cut Cao Cao's supply lines to ensure total victory. Yuan Shao was confident of his numerical superiority and ignored Ju Shou's advice since it might delay his victory. When Ju Shou insisted, Yuan Shao threw him into prison. He then pressed on with the attack. His general Yan Liang crossed the Yellow River and attacked Cao Cao's city of . Heeding the advice of Xun Yu, Cao Cao led a battalion across the Yan Ford on the Yellow River. But this maneuver was only a feint. As soon as Yuan Shao drew troops from Baima to counter Cao's attack, Cao Cao retreated and struck east to relieve Baima. In the ensuing battle, General Yan Liang was killed and the Yuan troops disastrously routed. After this Cao Cao prepared to abandon the city and evacuated the residents south. Taking advantage of the situation, Wen Chou and Liu Bei, leading 6,000 light cavalry, were sent from the Yuan camp in pursuit. But again, Cao Cao anticipated his opponents' move and had prepared a snare. Horses, equipment and other valuables were discarded and as the enemy troops broke ranks to loot, they were smashed by six hundred elite cavalry. In the chaotic slaughter, the commander Wen Chou was slain. Thus, in the opening moves, Yuan Shao had lost two of his great leaders and his army's morale had plummeted.
In the aftermath, he reorganized his forces and Liu Bei was sent out to attack Runan, and expose Cao Cao's flank. Ever the strategist, Cao Cao recognized this and wary of fighting under disadvantageous circumstances, commanded a general withdraw to Guandu. At the same time, Cao Ren and Yu Jin were sent to harass the enemy rear. Orders were given for administrators to govern leniently to offset any chance of civilian disruptions in the rear. In the eighth month the Yuan army pushed to Yangwu, directly north of Guandu and began construction on earthen fortifications. The Cao army also began reinforcing their own defenses. Both sides harassed each other with ballistas and catapults without effective result. To break the stalemate, it was suggested to Yuan Shao that he use his superior numbers to his advantage and outflank the enemy to attack Xuchang. Yuan refused, preferring to wait for the food supply in the Cao army to run out.
Indeed the grain was falling short in Cao Cao's granaries and he considered a withdrawal. Such a situation called for immediate action. Shock troops were dispatched to burn Yuan Shao's grain carts, forcing him to send out for relief food supplies. In the tenth month, Chunyu Qiong's ten thousand-strong force returned with large reserves of grain and lodged around twenty kilometers from the main Yuan camp, in a place called Crow's Nest . The wisdom of such a position was questioned by Ju Shou, who argued that there were too few troops to guard such an important resource as grain. Soon, a defection from Yuan Shao's ranks alerted Cao Cao to this weakness and he seized the opportunity. Leaving the main camp in the hands of Cao Hong, a force of 5,000 elite infantry was led by Cao Cao himself into enemy controlled territory.
Traveling rapidly under the enemy banner at night and feigning to be Yuan's reinforcements, Cao Cao besieged Chunyu Qiong's supply camp, burning it along with much of Yuan Shao's grain. In the emergency, Yuan Shao refused to send his main forces to relieve Chunyu's defenders, as his commander Zhang He urged him to do. Instead he chose to send a smaller force of light cavalry, whilst attacking Guandu with the bulk of his army. By dawn, Wuchao had fallen to the furious attack and Cao's victorious soldiers then proceeded to defeat the small relief force. At Guandu, Yuan Shao failed to break through and army morale dropped sharply because of the capture of the food supplies. Zhang He and Gao Lan surrendered and their battalions burned their weapons. Cao Cao seized the day once more and attacked when the enemy was at its weakest. 70,000 of Yuan's force was destroyed and he lost countless provisions, escaping over the Yellow River with little more than 800 horsemen.
The victory was a decisive one; Yuan Shao no longer provided a serious threat to Cao Cao's ambitions. When he died a dejected man the next year, his sons fought internal battles among themselves, and Cao Cao conquered them all one by one. Unlike Yuan Shao, Cao knew the value of tactical withdrawals. On the strategic level he could understand and anticipate his opponent's moves and took calculated risks to counter them. The victory of Cao Cao over superior forces was because of his capacity for superior planning on the tactical and strategic levels. He rendered his inferior numbers irrelevant with the use of disruption and dislocation. In short, dislocation is the art of canceling out the enemy's strength. Instead of having to fight a hostile force on its own terms, the friendly force avoids any combat in which the enemy can bring his might to bear. In contrast, Yuan Shao had none of this brilliance and has often been criticized for not heeding the reasonable suggestions of his senior advisers. Certainly this was an important part of his defeat. If Yuan had recognized the importance of the grain supply and taken appropriate measures as his counselors Tian Feng advised, the outcome could have been very different. The Battle of Guandu will forever be testimony to the fact that superior numbers do not always gain victory. Ironically this fact would be demonstrated to Cao Cao himself eight years later at the Battle of Red Cliffs.
The battle is one of the highlights of Cao Cao's story in the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series for the Playstation 2. Players have the option to follow history and burn down the Wu Chao supply depot, allowing the player to easily win the battle.
It was a crucial victory for the leader Cao Cao in which he led a rebellion against Yuan Shao . He destroyed Yuan Shao's grain supplies and his army, and Yuan Shao died soon after. This resulted in .
Background
From 196 onwards it became increasingly clear that there would be a confrontation between the two warlords Yuan Shao and Cao Cao for dominion of the north sooner or later. Long before the battle, Yuan Shao's adjutants Ju Shou and Tian Feng had foreseen the danger posed by Cao Cao, and advised Yuan Shao to defeat Cao Cao before he grew any stronger. Yuan Shao ignored this advice.
The position of Guandu gave it strategic importance. It was close to the Yan Ford on the Yellow River and lay directly on the route to Xuchang. Cao Cao was the first to recognize its importance and in the autumn of 199, he moved forces there and prepared fortifications. The next year, Liu Bei defected from Cao to his rival Yuan Shao. Yuan took the opportunity to mount a campaign in the south and in the first month of 200, his vanguard attacked the garrison of Liyang, just north of the Yellow River. The commander at Liyang, Yu Jin, signaled to headquarters the approach of Yuan Shao. Cao Cao immediately regrouped his troops and stationed 20,000 men at Guandu in preparation for a decisive battle.
Soon Yuan Shao's main army arrived, boosting his numbers to 110,000, including 10,000 cavalry. Ju Shou noticed that Cao Cao's army was already short of food. He suggested careful planning to cut Cao Cao's supply lines to ensure total victory. Yuan Shao was confident of his numerical superiority and ignored Ju Shou's advice since it might delay his victory. When Ju Shou insisted, Yuan Shao threw him into prison. He then pressed on with the attack. His general Yan Liang crossed the Yellow River and attacked Cao Cao's city of . Heeding the advice of Xun Yu, Cao Cao led a battalion across the Yan Ford on the Yellow River. But this maneuver was only a feint. As soon as Yuan Shao drew troops from Baima to counter Cao's attack, Cao Cao retreated and struck east to relieve Baima. In the ensuing battle, General Yan Liang was killed and the Yuan troops disastrously routed. After this Cao Cao prepared to abandon the city and evacuated the residents south. Taking advantage of the situation, Wen Chou and Liu Bei, leading 6,000 light cavalry, were sent from the Yuan camp in pursuit. But again, Cao Cao anticipated his opponents' move and had prepared a snare. Horses, equipment and other valuables were discarded and as the enemy troops broke ranks to loot, they were smashed by six hundred elite cavalry. In the chaotic slaughter, the commander Wen Chou was slain. Thus, in the opening moves, Yuan Shao had lost two of his great leaders and his army's morale had plummeted.
In the aftermath, he reorganized his forces and Liu Bei was sent out to attack Runan, and expose Cao Cao's flank. Ever the strategist, Cao Cao recognized this and wary of fighting under disadvantageous circumstances, commanded a general withdraw to Guandu. At the same time, Cao Ren and Yu Jin were sent to harass the enemy rear. Orders were given for administrators to govern leniently to offset any chance of civilian disruptions in the rear. In the eighth month the Yuan army pushed to Yangwu, directly north of Guandu and began construction on earthen fortifications. The Cao army also began reinforcing their own defenses. Both sides harassed each other with ballistas and catapults without effective result. To break the stalemate, it was suggested to Yuan Shao that he use his superior numbers to his advantage and outflank the enemy to attack Xuchang. Yuan refused, preferring to wait for the food supply in the Cao army to run out.
Battle
Indeed the grain was falling short in Cao Cao's granaries and he considered a withdrawal. Such a situation called for immediate action. Shock troops were dispatched to burn Yuan Shao's grain carts, forcing him to send out for relief food supplies. In the tenth month, Chunyu Qiong's ten thousand-strong force returned with large reserves of grain and lodged around twenty kilometers from the main Yuan camp, in a place called Crow's Nest . The wisdom of such a position was questioned by Ju Shou, who argued that there were too few troops to guard such an important resource as grain. Soon, a defection from Yuan Shao's ranks alerted Cao Cao to this weakness and he seized the opportunity. Leaving the main camp in the hands of Cao Hong, a force of 5,000 elite infantry was led by Cao Cao himself into enemy controlled territory.
Traveling rapidly under the enemy banner at night and feigning to be Yuan's reinforcements, Cao Cao besieged Chunyu Qiong's supply camp, burning it along with much of Yuan Shao's grain. In the emergency, Yuan Shao refused to send his main forces to relieve Chunyu's defenders, as his commander Zhang He urged him to do. Instead he chose to send a smaller force of light cavalry, whilst attacking Guandu with the bulk of his army. By dawn, Wuchao had fallen to the furious attack and Cao's victorious soldiers then proceeded to defeat the small relief force. At Guandu, Yuan Shao failed to break through and army morale dropped sharply because of the capture of the food supplies. Zhang He and Gao Lan surrendered and their battalions burned their weapons. Cao Cao seized the day once more and attacked when the enemy was at its weakest. 70,000 of Yuan's force was destroyed and he lost countless provisions, escaping over the Yellow River with little more than 800 horsemen.
Aftermath
The victory was a decisive one; Yuan Shao no longer provided a serious threat to Cao Cao's ambitions. When he died a dejected man the next year, his sons fought internal battles among themselves, and Cao Cao conquered them all one by one. Unlike Yuan Shao, Cao knew the value of tactical withdrawals. On the strategic level he could understand and anticipate his opponent's moves and took calculated risks to counter them. The victory of Cao Cao over superior forces was because of his capacity for superior planning on the tactical and strategic levels. He rendered his inferior numbers irrelevant with the use of disruption and dislocation. In short, dislocation is the art of canceling out the enemy's strength. Instead of having to fight a hostile force on its own terms, the friendly force avoids any combat in which the enemy can bring his might to bear. In contrast, Yuan Shao had none of this brilliance and has often been criticized for not heeding the reasonable suggestions of his senior advisers. Certainly this was an important part of his defeat. If Yuan had recognized the importance of the grain supply and taken appropriate measures as his counselors Tian Feng advised, the outcome could have been very different. The Battle of Guandu will forever be testimony to the fact that superior numbers do not always gain victory. Ironically this fact would be demonstrated to Cao Cao himself eight years later at the Battle of Red Cliffs.
In Popular culture
The battle is one of the highlights of Cao Cao's story in the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series for the Playstation 2. Players have the option to follow history and burn down the Wu Chao supply depot, allowing the player to easily win the battle.
Battle of Central Henan
The Battle of Central Henan, was the first offensive in the Japanese Operation Ichi-Go during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
In the Battle of Central Henan, 390,000 Chinese soldiers, led by General Tang Enbo , were deployed to defend the strategic position of Luoyang. The the spearheaded by the of the IJA crossed the Yellow River around Zhengzhou in late April and defeated Chinese forces near Xuchang, then swung around clockwise and besieged Luoyang. Luoyang was defended by three Chinese divisions. The 3rd Tank Division began to attack Luoyang on May 13 and took it on May 25.
Order of Battle: Battle of Central Henan
Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War 2nd Ed. ,1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung , Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China.
中国抗日战争正面战场作战记
*Guo Rugui, editor-in-chief Huang Yuzhang
*Jiangsu People's Publishing House
*Date published : 2005-7-1
*ISBN 7214030349
*Online in Chinese: http://www.wehoo.net/book/wlwh/a30012/A0170.htm
April 16, 2008
Topo Maps covering the area of the battle:
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In the Battle of Central Henan, 390,000 Chinese soldiers, led by General Tang Enbo , were deployed to defend the strategic position of Luoyang. The the spearheaded by the of the IJA crossed the Yellow River around Zhengzhou in late April and defeated Chinese forces near Xuchang, then swung around clockwise and besieged Luoyang. Luoyang was defended by three Chinese divisions. The 3rd Tank Division began to attack Luoyang on May 13 and took it on May 25.
Order of Battle: Battle of Central Henan
Sources
Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War 2nd Ed. ,1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung , Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China.
中国抗日战争正面战场作战记
*Guo Rugui, editor-in-chief Huang Yuzhang
*Jiangsu People's Publishing House
*Date published : 2005-7-1
*ISBN 7214030349
*Online in Chinese: http://www.wehoo.net/book/wlwh/a30012/A0170.htm
April 16, 2008
Topo Maps covering the area of the battle:
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Battle of Bowang
The Battle of Bowang , more famously known as the Battle of Bowang Slope , was a battle fought near Fancheng, Henan between the forces of Cao Cao and Liu Bei during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period in China. It is popularly remembered as famous strategist Zhuge Liang's first battle, although that is only a fabrication carried by the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''.
Liu Bei originally sought refuge under Yuan Shao, but after Yuan's defeat at the Battle of Guandu, Liu Bei went to Jing province to seek a position under Liu Biao. Liu Biao initially welcomed him and stationed him in Xinye, but Liu Bei's virtue soon attracted many competent men to his camp and made Liu Biao suspicious. Thus Liu Biao sent Liu Bei to Bowang, near Jing province's northern frontiers, to defend against Cao Cao.
Cao Cao, at the time, was engaged in battles against Yuan Shao's remnant forces, namely his sons Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, and Yuan Shang. To counter Liu Bei's maneuvers, Cao Cao sent Xiahou Dun, Li Dian, and Yu Jin south to attack Liu Bei.
During the battle, Liu Bei suddenly burned his camp and retreated to the south. Xiahou Dun gave chase, but Li Dian warned against it, saying "The bandits retreats for no reason, I suspect there is an ambush. The paths to the south are narrow and the bushes are thick there. Do not give chase." Xiahou Dun ignored the caution, but left Li Dian behind to guard the camp while the rest of the army followed Liu Bei's retreating armies. As predicted by Li Dian, Xiahou Dun's men were ambushed and they were utterly defeated. Li Dian's regiment came to rescue them, and Liu Bei retreated after seeing Li Dian's reinforcements.
In the battle, Zhao Yun captured Xiahou Lan , who shared Zhao Yun's hometown. Zhao Yun asked Liu Bei to spare him, and recommended him to become an army judge.
In the novel by Luo Guanzhong, the credit for this victory went to Zhuge Liang, as Zhuge Liang's intelligence is exemplified soon after Zhuge became Liu Bei's strategist. The battle in the novel also took place in 208 instead of 202.
After Liu Bei's three visits to Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei sang nothing but praises for Zhuge Liang, drawing the ire of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who thought Zhuge Liang was nothing more than a bookworm. So when Cao Cao sent Xiahou Dun with an overwhelming hundred thousand men to attack Xinye, Zhang Fei suggested that Zhuge Liang can go repel the enemy by himself.
Zhuge Liang understood the tension between himself, a newly appointed strategist, and the established warriors of Liu Bei's camp, such as Zhang Fei and Guan Yu; and was worried that they would not follow his commands easily. Thus, he asked Liu Bei for his sword and seal, the symbols of a supreme commander, and announced that anyone who disobeys his orders shall be executed. He went ahead to describe the battle plan: Guan Yu would lead 1000 men to ambush on a hill left of Bowang, and Zhang Fei to lead another 1000 men to lay ambush in a forest to the right of Bowang. Both were to burn the enemy's supplies when they see the fires to the south; Guan Ping and Liu Feng were charged with the task of setting fire to Bowang Slope once the enemy approaches; and Zhao Yun were to serve as vanguard with the orders "not to win, only lose"; Liu Bei himself would be backup. Zhuge Liang also told Liu Bei to prepare for victory celebrations.
When Xiahou Dun came to Bowang, he picked out half of the elite troops as vanguard, while the rest guarded the supplies. Zhao Yun came to battle Xiahou Dun, but feigned defeat and retreated. Liu Bei came to challenge Xiahou Dun next, but did the same as Zhao Yun to lure Xiahou Dun's troops to pursue them. Xiahou Dun led the pursuit, but his subordinate general Han Hao warned him against ambushes, to which Xiahou Dun replied "Seeing the enemy as weak as such, even if they had ambushes on ten sides, what have I to fear?" Chasing deeper into the valley, Liu Bei came to attack Xiahou Dun, but soon retreated as well. Laughingly, Xiahou Dun said to Han Hao, "So this is the ambush you were talking about!", and pressed toward Xinye.
When giving chase, Yu Jin and Li Dian came to a narrow point, and a worried Li Dian told Yu Jin, "One who underestimates the enemies would certainly meet defeat. The terrain here is difficult, what if the enemy uses fire here?" Yu Jin understood, and rode ahead to tell Xiahou Dun while Li Dian tries to stop his men. When Xiahou Dun realized the danger and tried to turn back, his surroundings were already raging with fire. The heavy winds picked up the fire, and helped the fire spread. The panicked armies of Cao Cao were stumbling on each other while Zhao Yun turned around to attack them. Xiahou Dun had to flee through the fire and smoke.
Han Hao and Xiahou Lan attempted to save the burning supplies, but they encountered Zhang Fei, who killed Xiahou Lan in one round. Han Hao fled, and so did Li Dian and Yu Jin. In the next morning, Xiahou Dun collected his surviving men and retreated to Xuchang.
After this battle, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei gave Zhuge Liang their full respect and never doubted him again. In Xuchang, Xiahou Dun tied himself up to see Cao Cao, requesting a punishment by death for his defeat. Cao Cao released him, and rewarded Li Dian and Yu Jin for their foresight.
The Battle of Bowang served as the basis for many skits for the different sects of Chinese operas; for example, it is featured in the Cantonese opera and the zaju .
Recently, the battle is featured in many Three Kingdoms-themed video games such as ''Warriors of Fate'', ''Sangokushi Eiketsuden'', ''Sangokushi Koumeiden'', ''Sangokushi Sousouden'', and ''Dynasty Warriors 4'' . In ''Warriors of Fate'' and ''Sangokushi Koumeiden'', the latter of which follows Zhuge Liang's life, the Battle of Bowang is the games' very first stage.
The ancient battlefield is now designated a county-level heritage , where a stone monument commemorates this battle. Broken halberds and ashes of grains were discovered here, and were archaeologically determined to be from the Three Kingdoms period.
Background
Liu Bei originally sought refuge under Yuan Shao, but after Yuan's defeat at the Battle of Guandu, Liu Bei went to Jing province to seek a position under Liu Biao. Liu Biao initially welcomed him and stationed him in Xinye, but Liu Bei's virtue soon attracted many competent men to his camp and made Liu Biao suspicious. Thus Liu Biao sent Liu Bei to Bowang, near Jing province's northern frontiers, to defend against Cao Cao.
Cao Cao, at the time, was engaged in battles against Yuan Shao's remnant forces, namely his sons Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, and Yuan Shang. To counter Liu Bei's maneuvers, Cao Cao sent Xiahou Dun, Li Dian, and Yu Jin south to attack Liu Bei.
Battle
During the battle, Liu Bei suddenly burned his camp and retreated to the south. Xiahou Dun gave chase, but Li Dian warned against it, saying "The bandits retreats for no reason, I suspect there is an ambush. The paths to the south are narrow and the bushes are thick there. Do not give chase." Xiahou Dun ignored the caution, but left Li Dian behind to guard the camp while the rest of the army followed Liu Bei's retreating armies. As predicted by Li Dian, Xiahou Dun's men were ambushed and they were utterly defeated. Li Dian's regiment came to rescue them, and Liu Bei retreated after seeing Li Dian's reinforcements.
In the battle, Zhao Yun captured Xiahou Lan , who shared Zhao Yun's hometown. Zhao Yun asked Liu Bei to spare him, and recommended him to become an army judge.
In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''
In the novel by Luo Guanzhong, the credit for this victory went to Zhuge Liang, as Zhuge Liang's intelligence is exemplified soon after Zhuge became Liu Bei's strategist. The battle in the novel also took place in 208 instead of 202.
After Liu Bei's three visits to Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei sang nothing but praises for Zhuge Liang, drawing the ire of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who thought Zhuge Liang was nothing more than a bookworm. So when Cao Cao sent Xiahou Dun with an overwhelming hundred thousand men to attack Xinye, Zhang Fei suggested that Zhuge Liang can go repel the enemy by himself.
Zhuge Liang understood the tension between himself, a newly appointed strategist, and the established warriors of Liu Bei's camp, such as Zhang Fei and Guan Yu; and was worried that they would not follow his commands easily. Thus, he asked Liu Bei for his sword and seal, the symbols of a supreme commander, and announced that anyone who disobeys his orders shall be executed. He went ahead to describe the battle plan: Guan Yu would lead 1000 men to ambush on a hill left of Bowang, and Zhang Fei to lead another 1000 men to lay ambush in a forest to the right of Bowang. Both were to burn the enemy's supplies when they see the fires to the south; Guan Ping and Liu Feng were charged with the task of setting fire to Bowang Slope once the enemy approaches; and Zhao Yun were to serve as vanguard with the orders "not to win, only lose"; Liu Bei himself would be backup. Zhuge Liang also told Liu Bei to prepare for victory celebrations.
When Xiahou Dun came to Bowang, he picked out half of the elite troops as vanguard, while the rest guarded the supplies. Zhao Yun came to battle Xiahou Dun, but feigned defeat and retreated. Liu Bei came to challenge Xiahou Dun next, but did the same as Zhao Yun to lure Xiahou Dun's troops to pursue them. Xiahou Dun led the pursuit, but his subordinate general Han Hao warned him against ambushes, to which Xiahou Dun replied "Seeing the enemy as weak as such, even if they had ambushes on ten sides, what have I to fear?" Chasing deeper into the valley, Liu Bei came to attack Xiahou Dun, but soon retreated as well. Laughingly, Xiahou Dun said to Han Hao, "So this is the ambush you were talking about!", and pressed toward Xinye.
When giving chase, Yu Jin and Li Dian came to a narrow point, and a worried Li Dian told Yu Jin, "One who underestimates the enemies would certainly meet defeat. The terrain here is difficult, what if the enemy uses fire here?" Yu Jin understood, and rode ahead to tell Xiahou Dun while Li Dian tries to stop his men. When Xiahou Dun realized the danger and tried to turn back, his surroundings were already raging with fire. The heavy winds picked up the fire, and helped the fire spread. The panicked armies of Cao Cao were stumbling on each other while Zhao Yun turned around to attack them. Xiahou Dun had to flee through the fire and smoke.
Han Hao and Xiahou Lan attempted to save the burning supplies, but they encountered Zhang Fei, who killed Xiahou Lan in one round. Han Hao fled, and so did Li Dian and Yu Jin. In the next morning, Xiahou Dun collected his surviving men and retreated to Xuchang.
After this battle, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei gave Zhuge Liang their full respect and never doubted him again. In Xuchang, Xiahou Dun tied himself up to see Cao Cao, requesting a punishment by death for his defeat. Cao Cao released him, and rewarded Li Dian and Yu Jin for their foresight.
Cultural references
The Battle of Bowang served as the basis for many skits for the different sects of Chinese operas; for example, it is featured in the Cantonese opera and the zaju .
Recently, the battle is featured in many Three Kingdoms-themed video games such as ''Warriors of Fate'', ''Sangokushi Eiketsuden'', ''Sangokushi Koumeiden'', ''Sangokushi Sousouden'', and ''Dynasty Warriors 4'' . In ''Warriors of Fate'' and ''Sangokushi Koumeiden'', the latter of which follows Zhuge Liang's life, the Battle of Bowang is the games' very first stage.
The ancient battlefield is now designated a county-level heritage , where a stone monument commemorates this battle. Broken halberds and ashes of grains were discovered here, and were archaeologically determined to be from the Three Kingdoms period.
2000 Luoyang Christmas fire
2000 Luoyang Christmas fire is a that occurred in Luoyang, People's Republic of China on Christmas Day in 2000.
A fire at the Dongdu building broke out at 9:35 p.m. local time, trapping construction workers on the second and third floors. It was extinguished by 12:45 a.m Tuesday. Some 800 police officers and firefighters and 26 fire engines rushed to the scene after receiving the call. Leading government officials of Henan Province and the city of Luoyang, including Governor Li Keqiang, went to the scene to direct rescue work.
A total of 309 people were killed in the fire comprised of 135 males and 174 females, who were attending a gala celebration for Christmas Day at a dancing hall on the fourth floor.
An emergency meeting was held early Tuesday morning in the province and in the afternoon, Shi Wanpeng, vice-minister of the State Economic and Trade Commission, also arrived in Luoyang. To prevent similar accidents, the Ministry of Public Security released an urgent circular, asking local governments to spare no efforts to ensure safety during the New Year's Day and the Spring Festival holidays.
Incident
A fire at the Dongdu building broke out at 9:35 p.m. local time, trapping construction workers on the second and third floors. It was extinguished by 12:45 a.m Tuesday. Some 800 police officers and firefighters and 26 fire engines rushed to the scene after receiving the call. Leading government officials of Henan Province and the city of Luoyang, including Governor Li Keqiang, went to the scene to direct rescue work.
A total of 309 people were killed in the fire comprised of 135 males and 174 females, who were attending a gala celebration for Christmas Day at a dancing hall on the fourth floor.
Aftermath
An emergency meeting was held early Tuesday morning in the province and in the afternoon, Shi Wanpeng, vice-minister of the State Economic and Trade Commission, also arrived in Luoyang. To prevent similar accidents, the Ministry of Public Security released an urgent circular, asking local governments to spare no efforts to ensure safety during the New Year's Day and the Spring Festival holidays.
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