Prelude
After the end of World War II, the conflict between the communist and Kuomintang intensified and surfaced. Under the direction of Chiang Kai-shek, the commander-in-chief of the second war zone Yan Xishan ordered the commander of the 19th Shi Zebo to lead the 19th , part of the 61st and other units totaled more than 17,000 to invade the communist base in the Shangdang region of southeastern Shanxi in the mid August, 1945. Three nationalist divisions were stationed in the largest city of the region, Changzhi, while the rest stationed in the following cities/towns: Xiangyuan , Changzi , Tunliu , Lucheng, Huguang and other counties, and from these newly established bases, the nationalists planned to take the entire southeastern Shanxi region from the communists. The communists were not to let that happen and mobilized 31,000 troops from the Taihang , Taiyue , and Southern Hebei military districts to prepare for the upcoming battles.
The communist commander Liu Bocheng was helped by his political commissar Deng Xiaoping, who was great in political motivation. Many communist troops worried about the safety of Mao Zedong, who was in Chongqing negotiating a peace treaty with Chiang Kai-shek. Deng Xiaoping told his soldiers that the greater the victory for the upcoming battle, the safer Mao Zedong would be, and the strong the position communists would have gained on the negotiation table. Deng’s bet was correct. In addition to political motivations, the communists also mobilized an additional 50,000 militia to help the logistics and to fill the vacancies left behind by the regular troops who went off fighting.
First Stage
The campaign officially started on September 10, 1945 when the first shot of the first battle was fired. The communist Taihang column first attacked Tunliu , while Taiyue and Southern Hebei prepared for an ambush. One next day, more than 6,000 nationalist troops from Changzhi, but the nationalist commander was extremely careful and once the contact with the communist force was made, the nationalist force immediately withdrew back to Changzhi. Although the communist ambush failed, but they did achieve in taking Tunliu on September 12, 1945. On September 13, 1945, the communist played the same trick again, with the Taihang attacking Changzi , while Taiyue and Southern Hebei prepared for another ambush. However, the nationalist commander Shi Zebo would not fall for the communists’ trick and did not sent out anymore reinforcement from Changzhi.
Realizing that their original plan would not work out, Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping promptly changed their strategy from decimating the nationalist force to retake the lost regions, and consequently took the Xiangyuan , Changzi , Tunliu , Lucheng, Huguang and other counties by September 19, 1945, annihilating more than 7,000 nationalist troops in the process. The next day, communist force attacked garrisons outside Changzhi city from the south, east and west. The communists planned to let the nationalists escape to the north and ambush them on the way. Again, the communist plan failed to materialize when nationalist commander Shi Zebo at Changzhi would not fall for the communists’ trick and decided to hold out. When the attack on the city started on September 24, 1945, the communists failed to take the city due to the technical superiority of the nationalist defenders, and a stalemate was reached.
Second stage
After Yan Xishan learned the emergency his commander Shi Zebo at Changzhi had, he sent out reinforcement lead by the deputy commander-in-chief of the 2nd Army Group, Peng Yubin , who led the 23rd , the 83rd Army and other divisions totalling more than 20,000. Learning the news on September 28, 1945, the communists planned an ambush in the area between Tunliu and Xianghuan by leaving the Southern Hebei and local militia attacking Changzhi, while redeploying Taihang and Taiyue columns to the north.
On October 2, 1945, the nationalist reinforcement clashed with the waiting communist forces at a region northwest of Tunliu called the Ditch of the Wang's Family . After the initial battle, the nationalist reinforcement was besieged at regions along Old Master's Ridge , Nether Millstone Brain , and Elm Grove line. However, when the nationalists were suppressed into small regions, it turned out to be an advantage for them because communications became much more efficient due to shorter distance, and the nationalists were able to concentrate their superior firepower and utilize their technical superiority to the maximum by inflicting heavy casualties on the attacking communist force. The communists were forced to redeploy the Southern Hebei Column for reinforcement, leaving only the local militia attacking Changzhi. The communists also changed their tactic by attacking from 3 sides, leaving the north side open so that the enemy would escape to the north and thus be ambushed on the way. The tactic worked and on October 5, 1945, Peng Yubin escaped to the north exactly as the communists had hoped. His force was soon defeated, and Peng Yubin himself was killed at Siting by the waiting communist Taiyue column.
Third Phase
Learning his reinforcements were annihilated, the nationalist commander Shi Zebo at Changzhi planned to breakout to west on October 8, 1945 under the cover of darkness, hoping to reach Linfen. Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping immediately ordered Taiyue to move to Horse Wall from Siting to intercept the fleeing enemy. On October 12, 1945, the communist force caught up with the fleeing nationalist force at General’s Ridge and Peach River regions, decimating the demoralized enemy, capturing the nationalist commander Shi Zebo alive.
Conclusion
The Shangdang Campaign cost the Kuomintang 13 totaled more than 35,000 troops, with more than 31,000 out of the 35,000 being captured alive by the communists, including the commander, while the communists suffered more than 4,000 casualties. In addition to decimating the numerically and technically superior nationalist force with relatively light casualties, the communist force also obtained an important supply of weapons its force desperately needed by capturing 24 mountain guns, more than 2,000 machine guns, and more than 16,000 rifles, submachine guns, and handguns from its enemy.
The campaign had an additional importance to the communists in that it was the first campaign in which the communist force engaged in the regular mobile warfare and succeeded, marking the transition from the guerrilla warfare commonly practiced by the communists.
On the political front, the campaign was a great boost for the communist on the negotiation table at the peace talk in Chongqing just like other communist victories on the battlefield, and Kuomintang suffered accordingly, losing its bargaining chips and losing face in the public, which strongly urged the Kuomintang to produce results for the peace talk.
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