Liaoshen Campaign Flashcards
When was the chinese civil war?
1 August 1927 – 7 December 1949
What were the 5 major phases of the Chinese Civil war?
The struggle for Manchuria, the Strongpoint offensive, Liaoshen campaign, Pingjin campaingn, Huaihai campaign,
What major change in CCP strategy occurred in the summer of 1948?
In the summer of 1948, the CCP strategy changed and Mao declared the total destruction of the GMD forces. He told his commanders to “…abandon ‘mobile defence’”. CCP forces focussed on Jinzhou which fell into CCP hands and the GMD surrendered.
How were the PLA able to overcome the huge number of GMD forces at Jinzhou?
The PLA overcame the huge number of GMD forces in Jinzhou by continuously firing shells into the city until the Nationalists surrendered.
Outline the ways the GMD leadership contributed to their defeat in the Liaoshen Campaign.
The GMD’s slow and incopetant leadership contributed to their defeat in the Liaoshen campaign. Specifically, the poor treatment of soldiers and poor military strategy, led to the defection of soldiers who told the CCP important GMD positions. Additionally, the GMD’s high command was indecisive enough to allow for CCP to surround the city of Shenyang and eventually overthrow nationalist occupation. Finally, the Nationalists failed to create an effective air force due to insufficient advertisement of aircraft production and pilot training on a sufficient (large) scale during the civil war.
What was the significance of the communist victory in the Liaoshen campaign?
The communist victory in the Liaoshen campaign gave the CCP complete control over Northern China which gave Mao the confidence to completely eradicate the GMD.
Diana Lary reading (heading the Fall of Shenyang) p. 80
How did an eye-witness describe the situation in Shenyang in late 1948?What does Lary identify as the problem for the people in Manchuria by the end of 1948?
The eye-witness, Roy Rowan, Life Magazine’s correspondent in China, described the situation in the mostly abandoned ‘ghost city’ of Shenyang situated in Manchuria. Rowan describes a desolate, post apocalyptic landscape where walls, bombed by Americans in World War II and pillaged state of the city from Russian forces. The ragged city with its “…half-frozen refugees…” looking for items in the debris on streets.
What does Lary identify as the problem for the people in Manchuria by the end of 1948?
Lary identifies the continuous change of countries asserting control over Manchuria, rather than the Manchurian’s themselves controlling the region, in addition to the lack of sufficient food and fuel, necessary to last them through winter.
Hans van de Ven reading - The Liaoshen Campaign p.91-96
Make a table summarising the reasons for the CCP success in the Liaoshen campaign (make sure you include individual battles)
- communist successes?
The communists effectively blocked Manchuria’s surrounding cities so that no relief could come to it as there were other issues around it
They cut off roads, bombed airstrips and cut off railways
‘Siege of Changchun’
They starve the local people (they left the city → allows the CCP to take over more easily)
Siege tactics (i.e. starving the people)
3-3 tactics, etc. (triangles)
Less rigid structure
Effective military strategy that relied on speed and ambushing
Treated commanders of GMD who they had defeated, with a warm reception
Showed GMD controlled cities the negative consequences for not following its command (starvation, etc)
Were able to sustain military marches going south to end the war
Strong, but flexible leadership from Mao who allowed his generals to their own decisions to a large extent, whilst remaining the dominant military authority
Capitalised on GMD resources, i.e. arms, ammunition, trucks, etc.
Strong military tactics and strategies
Effective use of artillery
Focused attacks
Hans van de Ven reading - The Liaoshen Campaign p.91-96
Make a table summarising the reasons for the CCP success in the Liaoshen campaign (make sure you include individual battles)
- Nationalist Failings?
Stolen the belongings (valuables and other essentials) from residents trying to escape the starving cities.
Weren’t able to counter the CCP forces and lost thousands of citizens to starvation
Slow leadership in the ‘battle of Jinzhou’
Too much arguing within the party prevented speedy action which allowed the Communists to gain more ground
Poor management of the economy
Poor economic plans
Prices and wages was frozen
Inflation was increasing
Lots of strikes → not able to keep control of the general public → loss of manufacturing, loss of confidence in the government (spreads as strikes occur)
Loss of moral
Poor military tactics and strategies
Spread out its armies too much
Chiang Kai Shek’s orders weren’t followed by his commanders
Not the troops, but the commanders
Judge for yourself: Did the CCP win Manchuria or did the GMD lose Manchuria? Give reasons for your answer.
The CCP won Manchuria, more so than the GMD simply losing Manchuria because of the CCP’s more effective military leadership, planning and execution. While a number of GMD failings took place, it was also the brilliance of the CCP’s strategy that ultimately won them Manchuria.
CCP cut off supply lines to Manchuria
Stormed cities quickly
When was the Liaoshen campaign?
From 12th September 1948 to 12th November 1948
In the summer of 1948, what was Mao convinced of?
That the tide had turned and that the civil war was now strongly in his favour –> change in tactics –> orders to target the last two cities in Manchuria (GMD occupied), Changchung and Shenyang, which meant that the CCP had to also knock out the city of Jinzhou which was a major railway junction that linked Beijing to the two northern cities.
In response to the threat of Jinzhou (city in Manchuria with important railway junction between Beijing and the Northern cities Changchung and Shenyang), how many troops did Chiang send to defend Jinzhou?
Nearly a quarter of a million NRA troops were diverted to defend Jinzhou
Were the Nationalists defeated in Jinzhou? If so when and why did this occur?
The Nationalists were defeated by the PLA on the 15th of October 1948. This was due to proficient shelling by CCP artilerry lead by Lin Biao and a large number of desertions by the GMD troops; led to their surrender.
