The Campaign in the Eastern Foothills of the Funiu Mountains (伏牛山东麓战役) was a series of battles 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

communist 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 ...

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 ...

after

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 opposin ...

for the control of western

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 prov ...

and the border areas of

, Honan and

Shensi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningxi ...

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

. The campaign resulted in the

victory.

Prelude

In mid October 1947, the

had gathered forces included the V Corps centered at

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

at the east, and the Reorganized 1st

Division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

and the Reorganized 36th

Tongguan County Tongguan County (Postal Map romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tungkwan) is a County (People's Republic of China), county in the east of Shaanxi province, China, administered as part of the prefecture (China), prefectu ...

at the west for the preparation to reopen the Longhai railway transportation / communication line by first surrounding and then annihilating the

force led by commander

Chen Geng Chen Geng (; 27 February 1903 - 16 March 1961) was a Chinese military officer who served as a senior general in the People's Liberation Army. Enlisting in a warlord's army at the age of 13, Chen Geng joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1922 and ...

(陈赓) and political

commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and Eas ...

Xie Fuzhi Xie Fuzhi (; 26 September 1909 – 26 March 1972) was a Chinese Communist Party military commander, political commissar, and national security specialist. He was born in 1909 in Hong'an County, Hubei and died in Beijing in 1972. Xie was known fo ...

. On October 20, 1947, the

high command ordered Chen Geng (陈赓) and

to split their force into three: one part would remain along the railroad to distract the enemy, and the other would strike southern

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

. The third part, the main force, should cross the railroad to push southward, and would strike regions included Nanzhao (南召), Wuyang (舞阳), and Fangcheng (方城) in western

to establish new bases. To carry out this strategy, Chen Geng (陈赓) and

decided to launch the Campaign in the Eastern Foothills of the

Funiu Mountains The Funiu Mountains, also known by their Chinese name Funiu Shan, are a mountain range in southern Shanxi and western Henan provinces in China. Geography The Funiu are an eastern extension of the Qins, running south of the Yellow River after its ...

Order of battle

Both sides were equally matched in terms of numbers, but the

enjoyed significant technical advantage in terms of weaponry. *

Nationalist 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 ...

order of battle In modern use, the order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the armed ...

: 9 divisions 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

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

s and

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

s *

Communist 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 ...

: 9 divisions total **The 4th Column **The 9th Column **The 38th Army

First stage

The campaign started on October 29, 1947, with the

55th

of the 38th Army deployed along the Longhai Railroad to tie down the

nationalist 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 ...

forces, and the rest units of the

38th Army and the 12th

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

of the

4th Column struck toward southern

. The rest units of the

4th Column and the

9th Column struck the

controlled regions in multiple fronts. From November 1, 1947, to November 4, 1947, Linru (临汝), Jia (郏) County, Dengfeng (登封), Lushan (鲁山), and Baofeng (宝丰) fell into the

hands. The

Reorganized 15th

guarding these regions suffered greatly in the process, with more than 2,500 killed in the battle of Jia (郏) County alone on November 4, 1947. The

were forced to redeploy by dispatching the Reorganized 3rd

and the 20th

toward Baofeng (宝丰) and Jia (郏) County, the 124th

of the

Reorganized 41st

toward Linru (临汝), and the 125th

of the

Reorganized 41st

toward Xiang City (Xiang Cheng, 襄城) in hope of luring the

s 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

27th

of the 9th Column besieged the town of Nanzhao (南召), and launched the assault on the town at 1:00 AM on November 4, 1947. The strongest fortification at the Eastern Pass (Dong Guan, 东关) 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

s 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 A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

of the 25th

of the

9th Column reached the outskirt of the Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城). Although the

had built many fortifications both inside and outside the town, the local

commander Wang Jingxiu (王敬修) was well aware that his four-

s strong security

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

force with strict discipline discredited the negative

propaganda about the

s and consequently, the local popular support drastically switched to the

side. The initial

success was totally unexpected by the

, who was completely shocked by the rapid territorial expansion of the enemy.

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

immediately ordered the commander-in-chief of the 5th Corps Li Tiejun (李铁军) to personally lead the

Reorganized 3rd

and the 20th

totaling seven

s to pursuit the

s for the subsequent elimination. The

s held a conference in the town of Nanzhao (南召) on November 8, 1947, and decided not to engage the technically superior

adversary. Instead, the

would be lured into the

and tricked into dispersing themselves into smaller fragments first, and then when the situation allowed, the

s would annihilate these small fragments one by one. While some

units would fake as the main force to lure the

into the mountains, the actual main force would take advantage of the overstretched

defense by establishing new

bases in the remote and rural regions.

Second stage

The

13th

of the 4th Column and the 25th

of the 9th Column under the political

Huang Zhen (黄镇) and the deputy commander-in-chief Huang Xiyou (黄新友, unrelated to the political

Huang Zhen 黄镇) of the

9th Column had successfully tricked the

in believing that they were the main

force by faking as a much larger force on their attack toward Zhenping (镇平), Internal Township (Nei Xiang, 内乡) and Western Gorge Entrance (Xi Xia Kou, 西峡口) regions. The

were tricked to deploy the 3rd Reorganized

and the 125th

of the 41st

to pursuit the fake enemy main force, and after wasting more than half a month at Summer Hotel (Xia Guang, 夏馆) and (Xi Xia Kou, 西峡口) 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 (Xi Xia Kou, 西峡口) and Jingzi Pass (Jing Zi Guang, 荆紫关). The enemy had planned to lure the

into the

and then annihilate them in ambushes when the opportunity presented itself, but due to the lack of supplies, the

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

39th

of the 13th

in the region of Li Qing's Hotel (Li Qing Dian, 李青店) of Nanzhao (南召) county, under the command of the deputy commander of the

13th

, Li Xifu (黎锡福), and the seventh military district by the

33rd

of the 11th

under the command of the political

of the 11th

, Hu Rungui (胡荣贵). Meanwhile, the main force of the

9th Column and the 22nd

of the

4th Column threatened

by penetrating into the vicinity of the city, forcing the

206th

to be redeployed to strengthen the defensive of the city. The 10th

and the 11th

of the

4th Column penetrated into regions of Wuyang (舞阳), Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城), and Miyang (泌阳), forcing the

Reorganized 10th

and the 124th

of the

Reorganized 41st

to be redeployed to east of

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 ...

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers wher ...

railroad. In order to take the initiative by luring the

to overstretch themselves, the newly taken towns of Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城) and Nanzhao (南召) were intentionally abandoned by the

s, and the

subsequently fell for the trick by ordering Song Kezun (宋可尊), the

chief-of-staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the sixth regional security command of

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

to reenter the Nanzhao (南召) as the new mayor of the town and the commander the local garrison. The former

garrison of the Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城), meanwhile, was ordered back to the town under Wang Jingxiu (王敬修), the commander. On November 11, 1947, the

10th

of the 4th Column in the eastern foothills of the

launched a surprise attack on Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城), 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

were caught up by the 31st

of the 11th Brigade of the

4th Column at Erlang Temple, and were thus badly mauled by the pursuing enemy. The

commander Wang Jingxiu (王敬修) learned that the

20th

was moving toward Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城), 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

know that their enemy was waiting to ambush them. On November 21, 1947, the

10th Brigade of the 4th Column suddenly struck the town of Nanzhao (南召), 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

were forced to abandon the town and flee, and thus town of Nanzhao (南召) had fallen into the enemy hands for the second time, and this time for good. On November 22, 1947, as the

commander Wang Jingxiu (王敬修)'s surviving Self Defense of the Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城) reached Eight Mile Intersection (Ba Li Cha, 八里岔), King Yu's Village (Wang Yu Zhuang, 王禹庄), and Eastern Qi Village (Dong Qi Zhuang, 东齐庄) regions south of Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城), it was ambushed by the

31st

of the 11th

of the 4th Column. Only 100 or so under the command of the commander of the

force Bai Guixuan (白桂煊) was lucky enough to escape, while all of the rest were annihilated by the waiting enemy. The

suffered 740 fatalities and another 400+ were captured alive by the enemy, including the deputy commander Ma Lianfu (马廉府), who was able to successfully escape later during a forced march. After his escape, Ma Lianfu (马廉府) immediately went to

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

to ask the

provincial chairman Liu Maoen (刘茂恩) for help, but instead, he was executed on the spot for his failure as Liu Maoen (刘茂恩) ordered him to be shot in front of other

commanders. On the other front, the

38th Army established a new base in the regions of Merchant County (Shang Xian, 商县), Luonan (洛南) and Merchant Southern (Shang Nan, 商南), while the

12th

established another new base in the regions of Mountain Sun (Shan Yang, 山阳), Yun Xi (郧西), Zhen'an (Zhen An, 镇安), Upper Pass (Shang Guan, 上关). On November 23, 1947, the

133rd

of the 20th

under the Divisional commander Yang Gancai (杨干才) begun its push toward Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城) from Independent tree (Du Shu, 独树) Town, but the progress was slow due to the stubborn resistance from the 10th

and the 11th Brigade of the

4th Column at Yueyang Village (Yue Yang Zhuang, 岳杨庄), Zan Village (Zan Zhuang, 昝庄), and Northern New Street (Bei Xin Jie, 北新街) regions. On November 24, 1947, the

134th

of the 20th

also begun its push toward Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城) from

Nanyang, Henan Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, China. The city with the largest administrative area in Henan, Nanyang borders Xinyang to the southeast, Zhumadian to the east, Pingdingshan to the northeast, Luoyang to the n ...

, and after some setback at Pengyao (盆窑) regions due to enemy resistance, managed to link up with the

133rd

of the 20th

in the region to east of Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城). The enemy gave up the town without a fight in attempt to lure the

into the mountain for an ambush but the

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

wisely decided to abandon Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城) on November 25, 1947, and retreated toward Wuyang (舞阳), and the campaign concluded with Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城) fell into the enemy hands for a third time, and this time for good.

Outcome

The

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

into a new

base, furthermore, the enemy was successful in establishing several brand new

bases and thus further threatened the

reign in the

North China Plain The North China Plain or Huang-Huai-Hai Plain () is a large-scale downfaulted rift basin formed in the late Paleogene and Neogene and then modified by the deposits of the Yellow River. It is the largest alluvial plain of China. The plain is bord ...

. The

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

strategy was that a total of eighteen towns and cities fell into the

hands, and the

s had established themselves firmly in the border areas of

and

provinces.

References

*Zhu, Zongzhen and Wang, Chaoguang, ''Liberation War History'', 1st Edition, Social Scientific Literary Publishing House in

, 2000, (set) *Zhang, Ping, ''History of the Liberation War'', 1st Edition, Chinese Youth Publishing House in

, 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, an ...

People's Publishing House in

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang (; ; Mandarin: ), formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang, is the capital and most populous city of China’s North China's Hebei Province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about southwest of Beijin ...

, 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 The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

, ''Liberation War'', 1st Edition,

People's Publishing House in

Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...

, 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

, 2004, *Wang, Xingsheng, and Zhang, Jingshan, ''Chinese Liberation War'', 1st Edition,

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

Literature and Art Publishing House in

, 2001, (set) *Huang, Youlan, ''History of the Chinese People's Liberation War'', 1st Edition, Archives Publishing House in

, 1992, *Liu Wusheng, ''From

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 ...

: A Collection of Military Records and Research Publications of Important Campaigns in the Liberation War'', 1st Edition, Central Literary Publishing House in

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, 1993 – 1997, (Volum 1), 7800219615 (Volum 2), 7800219631 (Volum 3), 7801370937 (Volum 4), and 7801370953 (Volum 5) {{DEFAULTSORT:Campaign, Eastern Foothills, Funiu Mountains Conflicts in 1947

Funiu The Funiu Mountains, also known by their Chinese name Funiu Shan, are a mountain range in southern Shanxi and western Henan provinces in China. Geography The Funiu are an eastern extension of the Qins, running south of the Yellow River after its ...

1947 in China Military history of Henan

Prelude

Order of battle

First stage

Second stage

Outcome

See also

References