Zhoucun–Zhangdian Campaign
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The Zhoucun–Zhangdian Campaign (周张战役), short for the Campaign of Zhou's Village (''Zhou Cun'', 周村) and Zhang's Hotel (''Zhang Dian'', 张店), consisted of two major battles and a series of smaller battles that followed, fought between 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 and the Nationalists in
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
during the Chinese Civil War in the post– World War II era. The outcome was a Communist victory. This campaign is also called the Campaign at the Western Section of the
Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
Jinan Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...
Railway (胶济路西段战役).


Prelude

In the beginning of 1948, the Nationalists in Shandong were forced to adopt a new defensive posture to strengthen the defense of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway. In February, 1948, the Nationalist Reorganized 12th Division guarding the western section of the Qingdao–Jinan Railway was redeployed to Yanzhou (兖州), and its original task was reassigned to the Nationalist Reorganized 32nd Division and other Nationalist units. The Communists decided to deploy their 13th Column to threaten the Nationalists in
Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
so that they could not reinforce Nationalists elsewhere, and to concentrate units from their 7th Column, 9th Column, Bohai Column, and units from the Communist central Shandong and Bohai military districts to launch an offensive in the regions of Zhou's Village and Zhang's Hotel to dislodge the Nationalists.


Order of battle

Defenders: Nationalist order of battle: *Army-sized Reorganized 12th Division *Army-sized Reorganized 32nd Division *Other units Attackers: Communist order of battle: *Units from the 7th Column *Units from the 9th Column *Units from the Bohai Column *Units from the Bohai Military District *Units from the central Shandong Military District


Campaign

Units of the Communist 7th Column and 9th Column secretly marched westward from Ye (掖) County, and by March 8, 1948, they had regrouped in Guangrao (广饶). On March 11, 1948, under the cover of heavy rain, the Communist 7th Column suddenly besieged the town of Zhang's Hotel before dawn. As the defenders attempted to break out westward, they fell into the trap set up by the waiting enemy and the entire Nationalist garrison was annihilated. The next morning, the Nationalists abandoned their positions outside the town of Zhou's Village, but were caught up by the approaching Communist 9th Column, who immediately launched a surprise attack on the retreating Nationalists. Taking advantage of the chaos, the Communists successfully penetrated into the town, and after an eighteen-hour-long fierce street fight, most of the Nationalist Reorganized 32nd Division was destroyed, with over 15,000 casualties, and the town fell. The consecutive losses of two major battles completely demoralized the rest of the local Nationalist garrisons, who abandoned their positions around the two towns in a domino effect. Capitalizing on this advantage, the Communist 7th Column took Zichuan and Zouping (邹平), annihilating the Nationalist garrisons and their reinforcements in the process. Meanwhile, the Communist Bohai Column and units from the Communist central Shandong and Bohai Military Districts (Communist bases) also badly mauled their Nationalist opponents in a series of smaller battles that followed, and the campaign concluded on March 21, 1948, by which time the Communists had successfully linked up two previously separated and isolated bases.


Outcome

The Nationalists lost over 38,000 troops in this defeat, and the important Qingdao–Jinan railway transportation and communication line was severed. Additionally, fourteen cities and towns had fallen into Communist hands, and the Communists were able to combine their two separate bases in central Shandong and the coastal region into a single larger one.


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 (1912–1949) The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and the forces of the Ch ...
*
National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...
* History of the People's Liberation Army


References


General references

*Zhu, Zongzhen and Wang, Chaoguang, ''Liberation War History'', 1st Ed., Social Scientific Literary Publishing House in Beijing, 2000, (set) *Zhang, Ping, ''History of the Liberation War'', 1st Ed., Chinese Youth Publishing House in Beijing, 1987, (pbk.) *Jie, Lifu, ''Records of the Liberation War: The Decisive Battle of Two Kinds of Fates'', 1st Ed., Hebei 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 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 Ed., Anhui 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 Ed.,
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 Beijing, 2004, *Wang, Xingsheng, and Zhang, Jingshan, ''Chinese Liberation War'', 1st Ed.,
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 Beijing, 2001, (set) *Huang, Youlan, ''History of the Chinese People's Liberation War'', 1st Ed., Archives Publishing House in Beijing, 1992, *Liu Wusheng, ''From Yan'an to Beijing: A Collection of Military Records and Research Publications of Important Campaigns in the Liberation War'', 1st Ed., Central Literary Publishing House in Beijing, 1993, *Tang, Yilu and Bi, Jianzhong, ''History of Chinese
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, ...
in Chinese Liberation War'', 1st Ed., Military Scientific Publishing House in Beijing, 1993 – 1997, (Vol. 1), 7800219615 (Vol. 2), 7800219631 (Vol. 3), 7801370937 (Vol. 4), and 7801370953 (Vol. 5) {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhoucun-Zhangdian Campaign Conflicts in 1948 Battles of the Chinese Civil War 1948 in China Military history of Shandong