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After World War II, 
Hu Zongnan
Hu Zongnan (; 16 May 1896 – 14 February 1962), courtesy name Shoushan (壽山), was a Chinese general in the National Revolutionary Army and then the Republic of China Army. Together with Chen Cheng and Tang Enbo, Hu, a native of Zhe ...
battled the Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
and in the early stage of the struggle, was successful in the Battle of Yan'an capturing Yan'an
Yan'an; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi Province of China, province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several c ...
, the capital of the communist base in Shaanxi
Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
.
Yan'an became the capital of the Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
after the Xi'an Incident
The Xi'an Incident was a Chinese political crisis that lasted from 12 to 26 December 1936. Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Nationalist government of China, was arrested in Xi'an by soldiers of the Northeastern Army under the command of Ge ...
in 1936.Mao Tse Tung Ruler of Red China by Robert Payne, p.175 It became famous in this role during the Sino-Japanese War and throughout World War II, until its capture in 1947. (Before taking over Yan'an, Mao had been based at Bao'an.)
In 1947, there was only minimal communist resistance, as most of the communists had already fled in advance in a strategic withdrawal to lure Hu to the Northwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...
.
With the outbreak of full-scale civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...
between the Communists and Nationalists in early 1947, Xi Zhongxun
Xi Zhongxun ( Chinese: 习仲勋; pinyin: ''Xí Zhòngxūn;'' 15 October 1913 – 24 May 2002) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician who played a significant role in the history of the People's Republic of China. He served ...
remained in northwestern China to coordinate the protection and then recapture of the Yan'an Soviet Area. As political commissar, Xi and commander Zhang Zongxun
Zhang Zongxun (; 7February 190814September 1998) was a general of the People's Liberation Army of China.
Career
Zhang was born in Weinan, Shaanxi Province on 7 February 1908. He was enrolled in Whampoa Military Academy in 1926, and joined th ...
defeated the Nationalists west of Yan'an at the Battle of Xihuachi in March 1947. After Yan'an fell to Hu Zongnan on March 19, 1947, Xi worked on the staff of Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai (October 24, 1898November 29, 1974; also spelled as Peng Teh-Huai) was a Chinese general and politician who was the Minister of National Defense (China), Minister of National Defense from 1954 to 1959. Peng was born into a poor ...
in the battles to retake Yan'an and capture northwest China.
Many high-level Communist leaders were forced to flee their lost capital, and Chiang Kai-shek declared final victory.
KMT forces were only able to hold Yan'an for about a week, and PLA forces rapidly recaptured it. The KMT commitment to conventional-style warfare with a focus on capturing fixed political capitals as objectives, immobilized a large KMT army in the useless Northwest front, making them impotent for the more important mobile campaigns in the East.
The famous picture of Mao, often erroneously attributed to the Long March, is actually of Mao leading the march to Northern Shaanxi in 1947.
See also
*Outline of the Chinese Civil War
The following is a topical outline of English Wikipedia articles about the history of the Chinese Civil War (1927–1949)
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and the forces of the Chi ...
* National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; zh, labels=no, t=國民革命軍) served as the military arm of the Kuomintang, Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or KMT) from 1924 until 1947.
From 1928, it functioned as the regular army, de facto ...
*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
Thro ...
References