The siege of Changchun was a military
blockade
A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.
A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...
undertaken by the
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, ...
against
Changchun
Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...
between May and October 1948, the largest city in
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
at the time, and one of the headquarters of the
Republic of China Army
The Republic of China Army (ROCA), previously known as the Chinese Nationalist Army or Nationalist Revolutionary Army and unofficially as the Taiwanese Army, is the largest branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. An estimated 80% of the ...
in
Northeast China
Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...
. It was one of the longest campaigns in the
Liaoshen Campaign of 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 ...
.
Background
Immediately after the end of the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
, the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
between the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
(KMT) and the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
(CCP) resumed. Manchuria became a focus of the conflict, as both sides tried to gain control of the region. Changchun in particular was of strategic importance as it was the provincial capital of
Jilin
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
, and was previously the capital of
Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
and the headquarters for the Japanese
Kwantung Army
''Kantō-gun''
, image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo
, dates = April ...
during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
. The city was developed by the Japanese as an "ideal modern city" during their occupation.
After the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Soviet Union invaded and
took control of Manchuria. After the Soviet withdrawal, both the KMT and the CCP began to move toward the northeast to expand their sphere of influence. The KMT Nationalist government secured a series of victories against the Communists in the early stages of their campaigns in Manchuria, regaining control of Changchun by 23 May 1946. The KMT momentum was stopped, however, as Chiang Kai-shek declared a ceasefire with the CCP on 6 June. The ceasefire allowed the CCP to recover from their losses. By mid-March 1948, the CCP managed to capture most parts of Manchuria, isolating the KMT forces in small pockets concentrated in the cities of Shenyang, Changchun and Jinzhou.
Preparations
During the
winter offensive of 1947, the Communist commander in the Northeast,
Lin Biao
)
, serviceyears = 1925–1971
, branch = People's Liberation Army
, rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China
, commands ...
, was presented with three options to attack first for the general offensives against Nationalist forces in Manchuria. The three options were Changchun, Shenyang or Jinzhou. After discussing with other CCP officers, Changchun was chosen as the first target. The city of Siping was
captured by the Northeast Field Army in March 1948, which cleared the path for the Communist forces to march toward Changchun. As the city defense network was well established in Changchun, the siege of the city by the Northeast Field Army was personally called off by Lin Biao several times. As Lin was a "perfectionist with regards to logistics", he was concerned that by concentrating Communist forces in encircling Nationalist defenders in Changchun and Shenyang, these maneuvers would "hold up" forces and would negatively influence the overall Communist campaign in the Northeast.
Establishment
The Nationalist defenders in Changchun, which consisted of the 60th Army and the New Seventh Army, had been suffering from poor morale since the winter of 1947. Beginning on 23 May 1948, the Northeast Field Army under the command of Lin Biao reached the outskirts of Changchun and began encircling the city. Soon after, Changchun was cut off from the rest of the Nationalist-held areas in the Northeast. The closest Nationalist military strength nearby was the Sixth Army led by
Fan Hanjie
Fan Hanjie (; 1894 – January 16, 1976), courtesy name Jie-ying, was a Chinese military general who served during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. During the Liaoshen Campaign he served as the deputy commander-in-chief of Manc ...
, which were located in
Jinzhou
Jinzhou (, ), formerly Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city in central-west Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the Liaoxi Corridor, which connects most of the land transports between North Chin ...
. To prevent supplies being airlifted to Changchun, siege commander
Xiao Jinguang
Xiao Jinguang (; Former name Xiao Yucheng 萧玉成 Nickname: Man Ge 满哥) (January 4, 1903 – March 29, 1989) was a revolutionary and military leader, one of the main leaders of the Red Army and the People's Liberation Army, and one of the te ...
captured
Dafangshen Airport
Changchun Dafangshen Airport (), or Dafangshen Air Base, is a military air base in Changchun, the capital of Jilin Province in Northeast China. Originally constructed in 1941 by the Empire of Japan for the capital of its puppet state Manchukuo ...
, blasted craters in its runway, and heavily defended the airport. The Nationalist government attempted to airdrop supplies to the city, which was only successful to a limited extent due to increasing Communist anti-aircraft presence in the proximity. The military blockade would last for 150 days, with a large percentage of civilian population having perished in the process.
Inside the city of Changchun, the increasingly difficult food ration led to conflicts between the Nationalist 60th Army and the New Seventh Army, as the latter was accused of receiving favored status over airdrop of supplies. The Communist forces utilized the situation to encourage Nationalist soldiers to defect to the Communist side, and 13,700 Nationalist soldiers had done so by mid-September. After the
fall of Jinzhou to the Communists on 14 October, the Communist siege of Changchun quickly intensified. On the evening of 16 October, the Nationalist 60th Army officially switched side to the Communists and began attacking the New Seventh Army from their position in the city. Zheng Dongguo was reluctant to surrender, but the officers of the New Seventh Army had already reached an agreement with the Communists, and the New Seventh Army eventually laid down their weapons on 20 October.
Aftermath
For the Nationalist government, the fall of Changchun made it clear that the KMT was no longer able to hold on to Manchuria. The city of
Shenyang
Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...
and the rest of Manchuria were quickly defeated by the PLA. The siege warfares employed by the CCP throughout the campaigns in the Northeast were highly successful, which reduced a significant number of KMT troops and altered the balance of power.
Numbers of civilian deaths have been estimated at around 150,000.
The CCP prevented the civilians from leaving the city to exhaust the food supply of the KMT defenders, which resulted in "tens of thousands people starv
ngto death". The CCP continued to prevent civilian refugees from leaving the city until early August. In the end, around 150,000 refugees successfully left Changchun, although some of these were sent back into the city as agents or spies to counter the claim that the Communists were deliberately starving the civilian population. Changchun being not politically connected to either the KMT or the CCP was arguably one of the reasons behind the poor treatment of civilians. According to Harold M. Tanner, the high civilian casualties from the siege of Changchun "casts a shadow" over the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party. The civilian casualties were widely unknown to the Chinese public until the release of the book ''
White Snow, Red Blood
''White Snow, Red Blood'' () is a book by Zhāng Zhènglóng (), a colonel in the People's Liberation Army, that was published in August, 1989 by the People's Liberation Army Publishing House. It concerns the history of the People's Liberation Army ...
'' in 1989, which has since been censored by the Chinese government.
References
Citations
Bibliography
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See also
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Siege of Vukovar
The Battle of Vukovar was an 87-day siege of Vukovar in eastern Croatia by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), supported by various paramilitary forces from Republic of Serbia (1990-2006), Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croati ...
(1991 in Croatia)
*
Siege of Mariupol
The siege of Mariupol began on 24 February 2022 and lasted until 20 May 2022, as part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It saw fighting between the Russian Armed Forces (alongside the Donetsk People's Militia) and the Ukrainian Armed F ...
(2022 in Ukraine)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siege Of Changchun
Changchun
Conflicts in 1948
Changchun 1948
Changchun
Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...
Military history of Manchuria
Massacres in China
1948 in China
1949 in China
Urban warfare