Battle of Bamianshan
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The Battle of Bamianshan (八面山战斗) was a battle fought between the
Nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
and the
Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
during the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
in the post-
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
era and resulted in communist victory. Order of battle: *Nationalists: Temporarily Organized 1st Army (4,000+) *Communists: 141st Division of the communist 47th Army (7000+) Bamianshan (八面山), meaning Eight Sided Mountain literally, is located 10 km to the north of the town of Liye (里耶) in the border region of
Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
,
Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
and
Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...
. The difficult terrain made it ideal as a hideout for bandits, who had plagued the local region for more than a century. By the end of 1949 the bandits were led by Shi Xingzhou (师兴周). In late December 1949 the Nationalist Temporarily Organized 1st Army led by its commander Chen Zixian (陈子贤) withdrew to the mountains and convinced the local bandits to join them, fighting the communists together. The Nationalists planned to use the mountain as a guerilla base to launch operations against their Communist enemy. In mid-January 1950 the 141st Division of the communist 47th Army was tasked with the extermination of the Nationalist guerrillas and the division began its intensive training in
mountain warfare Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, ...
. Two regiments of the 141st Division of the 47th Army were deployed in the regions of Neixipeng (内夕棚), Greater Rocky Gate (Dayanmen, 小岩门) and Lesser Rocky Gate (Xiaoyanmen, 小岩门), thus completing the encirclement of the Eight Sided Mountain (Bamianshan, 八面山). The battle erupted on January 19, 1950, when a detachment of Communist troops secretly climbed up the southern cliff of the mountain and dispersed the Nationalist guerrillas in a surprise attack. The defenders were overwhelmed by the rapid and decisive surprise attack and were completely demoralized; they abandoned their posts and began to flee. The commanders were unable to rally their troops for an effective counterattack and the guerrilla headquarters located in the Swallow Cave (Yanzidong, 燕子洞) fell, with a huge amount of weapons captured by the attacking enemy. After the main engagement the Communists began to eradicate the surviving Nationalist guerrillas by fighting in small teams, and by the end of January 1950 the battle concluded with over 3,000 Nationalist guerrillas killed or captured. The Nationalist plan of long-term guerrilla and insurgency warfare had been crushed. The Communist victory, however, was incomplete: around 1,000 Nationalist guerrilla fighters successfully escaped to fight for another day at different locations, including their commander Chen Zixian (陈子贤). Most of the escaped Nationalist guerrillas retreated to
Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
.


See also

* List of battles of the Chinese Civil War * National Revolutionary Army *
History of the People's Liberation Army The history of the People's Liberation Army began in 1927 with the start of the Chinese Civil War and spans to the present, having developed from a peasant guerrilla force into the largest armed force in the world. Historical background Th ...
*
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...


References

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Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, 2000, (set) *Zhang, Ping, ''History of the Liberation War'', 1st Edition, Chinese Youth Publishing House in
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, 1987, (pbk.) *Jie, Lifu, ''Records of the Liberation War: The Decisive Battle of Two Kinds of Fates'', 1st Edition,
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...
People's Publishing House in Shijiazhuang, 1990, (set) *Literary and Historical Research Committee of the
Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, ''Liberation War'', 1st Edition,
Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
People's Publishing House in Hefei, 1987, *Li, Zuomin, ''Heroic Division and Iron Horse: Records of the Liberation War'', 1st Edition,
Chinese Communist The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
Party History Publishing House in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, 2004, *Wang, Xingsheng, and Zhang, Jingshan, ''Chinese Liberation War'', 1st Edition, People's Liberation Army Literature and Art Publishing House in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
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Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an) ...
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Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, 1993, *Tang, Yilu and Bi, Jianzhong, ''History of Chinese People's Liberation Army in Chinese Liberation War'', 1st Edition, Military Scientific Publishing House in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, 1993 – 1997, (Volum 1), 7800219615 (Volum 2), 7800219631 (Volum 3), 7801370937 (Volum 4), and 7801370953 (Volum 5) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bamianshan Battles of the Chinese Civil War Conflicts in 1950 1950 in China Military history of Hunan January 1950 events in Asia