The Summer Offensive of 1947 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 ...

(东北1947年夏季攻势) is a series of battles initiated by the communists against 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 ...

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 opposing ...

Prelude

In the spring of 1947, 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: Th ...

tried and failed to eliminate communist bases south of

Songhua River The Songhua or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, russian: Сунгари ''Sungari'') is one of the primary rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur. It flows about from the Changbai Mountains on the China–North Korea bo ...

in the Linjiang Campaign, and both side temporarily stopped military actions for a brief period of rest before resuming the fight. The total strength of the

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 ...

by then had numbered 480,000, including eight armies totaling twenty-three divisions, along with independent divisions totaling 360,000 troops, and security forces of a further 120,000. In contrast, the total strength of the communists in

numbered 460,000, including five columns with fifteen divisions, and another eleven independent divisions, totaling 240,000 troops, and these units of the communist field army were supplemented by other local garrison units which numbered 220,000 troops.

Strategies

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: Th ...

Strategy: The

strategy was to consolidate its area of control by continuing the separation of the different communist bases in the north, east, west and south, and when there was enough reinforcement arrived from

China proper China proper, Inner China, or the Eighteen Provinces is a term used by some Western writers in reference to the "core" regions of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China. This term is used to express a distinction between the "core" regions pop ...

, launching another renewed offensive against the enemy. The Newly Organized 1st Army, the 71st Army and the 54th

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 ...

of the 13th Army were tasked to man the defensive line along the

Jilin City Jilin City (), alternately romanized as Kirin, is the second-largest city and former capital of Jilin province in northeast China. As of the 2020 census, 3,623,713 people resided within its administrative area of and 1,895,865 in its buil ...

Dehui Dehui () is a county-level city of Jilin Province, Northeast China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Changchun, located in the middle of the Songliao Plain. It has a total population of 906,000 and a rural population ...

(德惠), Nong’an (农安), Shuangshan (双山), and

Tongliao Tongliao (; mn, ''Tüŋliyou qota'', Mongolian Cyrillic: Байшинт хот) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. The area is and as of the 2020 census, its population was 2,873,168 (3,139,153 ...

, 4th

of the 13th Army and the 93rd Army (without its 20th

) were tasked to protect the communication line between Rehe and

, the 52nd Army, the 60th Army, the 20th

of the 93rd Army, and the 207th

of the Youth Army were deployed at Shenyang and its regions to east and south of the city, later boosted by the newly arrived 53rd Army. The Newly Organized 6th Army deployed between

Benxi Benxi (, ) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, south-southeast of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,326,018 (1,709,538 in 2010) whom 809,655 ...

and

Anshan Anshan () is an inland prefecture-level city in central-southeast Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, about south of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, it was Liaoning's third most populous city with a population ...

would act as mobile strike force. Communist Strategy: The communists planned their offensives at two fronts. In the north, the 1st Column and the 2nd Column would attempt to control the regions between Changchun and Siping (city) with the help of the 1st and the 2nd Independent Divisions, and then would strike south of Siping (city). In the south, the 3rd Column, the 10th

of the 4th Column and the Southern Manchurian 2nd Independent

would attack Mountain City (Shancheng Zhen, 山城镇), and Grass City (Cao Shi, 草市), and then push toward Siping (city) from Meihekou (梅河口). The Western and Eastern Manchurian Independent Divisions would strike toward Village of the Zheng Family (Zhengjia Tun, 郑家屯) and regions east of

, and the goal was to take more urban centers from the enemy.

Order of battle

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 arme ...

: * The Newly Organized 1st Army * The Newly Organized 6th Army *The 13th Army * The 52nd Army * The 53rd Army * The 60th Army * The 71st Army * The 93rd Army * The 38th

* The 2nd

of the Youth Army * The 207th

of the Youth Army Communist

: *The 1st Column * The 2nd Column * The 3rd Column * The 4th Column * The 6th Column * The Independent 1st

* The Independent 2nd

* The Independent 3rd

* The Eastern Manchurian Independent

* The Southern Manchurian 2nd Independent

* The Western Manchurian 3rd Independent

* The Two cavalry divisions

First stage

From their base in Fuyu (扶余) and Dalai (大赉), the communist 1st Column, 2nd Column, Independent 1st

, Independent 2nd

struck south to the west of Changchun. On May 13, 1947, the communist 4th

of the 2nd Column suddenly besieged Huaide (怀德), while the communist 5th

of the 2nd Column was deployed to the south of the besieged town to stop any

reinforcement from Siping (city). In the meantime, the communist 1st Column and the Independent 1st

ambushed the

reinforcement from Changchun on the eastern bank of Xinkai River (新开河), while the communist Western Manchurian Independent 3rd

launched its offensives on Glass Mountain (Boli Shan, 玻璃山) and Twin Mountain (Shuang Shan, 双山) to the north of Village of the Zheng Family (Zhengjia Tun, 郑家屯), thus tying up the local

garrison, the 87th

of the 71st Army. On May 17, 1947, the communist 4th

and the 6th

of the 2nd Column succeeded in taking Huaide (怀德) after completely annihilating the local

garrison, the 90th Regiment of the 30th

of the Newly Organized 1st Army and the 17th Security Regiment. Learning the news of the fall of Huaide (怀德), the two

forces sent out for reinforcement attempted to withdraw, and the communists took this opportunity to further expand their victory by attempting to destroy more enemy units and the main force of the

71st Army became the unfortunate victim. The 88th

and the 91st

of the

71st Army sent out from Siping (city) for reinforcement managed to successfully retreated to Greater Black Forest (Daheilinzi, 大黑林子) region, where they were caught up by the communist 1st Column and the 2nd Column that were sent out to chase them. After twelve hours of fierce battle, the 88th

was completely wiped out and so was the majority part of the 91st

. Capitalizing on their victories, the communist 1st Column took several towns abandoned by the

, including Princess Ridge (公主岭), Motel of the Guo Family (Guojia Dian, 郭家店), Village of the Tao Family (Taojia Tun, 陶家屯), while the communist 2nd Column took Changtu (昌图) after completely wiping out the two

regiments that defended the city. On the other front in the south, with the help of the communist Southern Manchurian 2nd Independent

, the communist 3rd Column took two towns on May 14, 1947: Mountain City (Shancheng Zhen, 山城镇), and Grass City (Cao Shi, 草市), after annihilating the local

defenders consisted of a regiment of the 184th

of the 60th Army and units of the 20th Army, thus succeeded in cutting off the railway link between Shenyang and

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 ...

. In the east, the 18th

of the communist 6th Column and the communist Independent 3rd

took the strategic locations of Sky Mountain (Tian Gang, 天岗) and Jiangmi Peak (江密峰) in the east of

, after annihilating the

7th Security Regiment defending the regions. After the railway link had been cut, the

hastily launched a counterattack in attempt to reopen the link by sending out six regiments and the Newly Organized 22nd

. However, the hastily organized counteroffensive was disorganized and was not launched in unison, but in separate phases and thus could not achieve the concentration of force, providing the enemy with the opportunity to attack one at a time. The first of these

forces, the six regiments belonged to two different brigades and regiment of one brigade had difficult time taking orders from the headquarters of the other brigade, and as a result, the communist 3rd Column and the 10th

of the communist 4th Column were able to completely wipe out all of the six

regiments in two days period, from May 16, 1947, thru May 17, 1947. After destroying the six

regiments, the communist force then turned around and badly mauled the

Newly Organized 22nd

. The failure of the

counterattack resulted in complete isolation of the strategic stronghold of Meihekou (梅河口).

Second stage

After regrouping, the communists deployed a regiment from the 9th

of the 3rd Column, a regiment of the 7th Division of the 3rd Column, and the 10th

of the 4th Column to besiege Meihekou (梅河口) on May 22, 1947. After fierce fighting of 5 days, the stronghold fell into the communist hands. The defender of Meihekou (梅河口), the

184th

, was completely annihilated, with the commander of the

captured alive by the communists, along with more than 6,000 of his troops. Capitalizing on the victory, the communist 3rd Column begun its westward push along the railway of Siping (city), badly mauling the 2nd

of the Youth Army, the local

defender on the way. In the east, the communist Eastern Manchurian Independent

and the communist 6th Column annihilated a regiment of the Newly Organized 38th

at Old Master Ridge (Laoye Lin, 老爷岭) and Little Plentiful (Xiaofengman, 小丰满) regions, and thus forced the

21st

of the 60th Army, the local garrison at Sea Dragon (Hailong, 海龙) to abandon the town and fled north. However, the fleeing

were intercepted by the communist 6th Column, Eastern Manchurian Independent

, the 1st Independent

and 2nd Independent

at the Peaceful River (Taipingchuan, 太平川) region. By June 3, 1947, the last remnant of the

21st

of the 60th Army was annihilated at the town of Jichang (吉昌). By this time, the communists had managed to successfully eradicate

from regions south of

and Changchun, and east of Siping (city), controlling the region between Changchun and Shenyang. The communists also gained control of important railway sections including the central section of the railway between Shenyang and

, and the eastern part of the railway between Meihekou (梅河口) and Siping (city). In the south, the communist 11th

and 12th

of the 4th Column opened another front along with the communist Southern Manchurian 1st Independent

, succeeded in taking cities/towns including Tonghua (通化), (Xinbin) 新宾, Kuandian (宽甸), Zhuanghe (庄河), Fu County (复县), Gaiping (盖平), Greater Stone Bridge (Dashiqiao, 大石桥), joining the two separate communist bases in the south and east into one. In conjunctions with the main battle in the south, seven communist brigades further down south in Chahar and Rehe regions struck toward the central sections of

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 ...

and

Chengde Chengde, formerly known as Jehol and Rehe, is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, situated about 225 km northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by ...

, cutting off the important railway communication line, and taking Weichang (围场),

Chifeng Chifeng ( zh, s=赤峰市), also known as Ulanhad ( mn, (Улаанхад хот), ''Ulaɣanqada qota'', , "red cliff"), is a prefecture-level city in Southeastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It borders Xilin Gol League to the ...

, Beipiao, Changli (昌黎), Funing (抚宁) and other areas.

Third Stage

After a series of earlier defeats, the

changed their strategy by focusing on defending the strategic major cities such as Changchun, Shenyang and Siping, and both sides set their sights on Siping, the traffic hub of

. The

divided the city into five defensive zones, tasking the 71st Army and the 54th

of the 13th Army as the main defenders. The communists massed the 1st Column, the 17th

of the 6th Column, and the Western Manchurian 3rd Independent

to assault the city, while four columns totaling 10

, 5 independent Divisions, and 2 cavalry Divisions were deployed to the north and south of the city to stop any enemy reinforcement. On June 14, 1947, the communist assault begun and the communist 1st Column and the Western Manchurian 3rd Independent

penetrated into the city. On June 19, 1947, the communist 17th

of the 6th Column joined the fight and only the Iron East (Tiedong, 铁东) Precinct remained in the

hands. The

commanders realized the token force sent to reinforce Siping (city) was not enough so he changed his tactic by sending additional forces, totaling ten divisions from Changchun and Shenyang, including 2 divisions from the

52nd

newly arrived Shenyang from

. On June 24, 1947, two

Divisions sent from Changchun were stopped at the Village of the Tao Family (Taojia Tun, 陶家屯). When the communists learned that another eight

divisions sent from Shenyang were pushing toward Siping (city) in three fronts parallel to the railway, the communists changed their strategy. Instead of attempting to gain the control of the city, it was decided to kill as many enemy troops as possible so the attack on Siping was stopped and a total of nine communist divisions were gathered to face the

Newly Organized 6th Army at the right. On June 29, 1947, the communist force managed to inflict heavy damage on its target, with the 169th

and the 22nd

of the

Newly Organized 6th Army were completely wiped out at the Sable Skin Village (Diaopi Tun, 貂皮屯) and Weiyuan Bunker (Weiyuan Bao, 威远堡) regions, while the 14th

of the Newly Organized 6th Army lost an entire regiment at Lotus Street (Lianhua Jie, 莲花街) region. After achieving these successes, the communists realized that it was impossible to further expand their victories against the technologically and numerically superior opponent, and ended the campaign on July 1, 1947.

Outcome

During the fifty-day long campaign, communist succeeded in taking forty-two cities and towns from its opponent, and annihilated over 82,000 enemy troops in the process. The previously separated communist bases in the north and south have been successfully linked up as a result, and the offensive helped the communist campaigns in

. The communist victory also provided the foundation for the next communist offensive, the

Autumn Offensive of 1947 in Northeast China The Autumn Offensive of 1947 in Northeast China () was a series of battles initiated by the communists against the Kuomintang, nationalists during the Chinese Civil War after World War II. Prelude After the defeats of the Summer Offensive of 1947 ...

. The

were forced to be on the defensive along the railways from Shenyang to Greater Stone Bridge (Dashiqiao, 大石桥), and from Shenyang to Shanhai Pass, but still managed to hold on to some strategic cities.

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1947 in China