Linyi Campaign - Campaign

Campaign

In, 1945, the communists decided to take Linyi by force after the local defenders consisted of former nationalists turned Japanese puppet regime force who rejoined the nationalists after World War II refused to surrender. On August 16, 1945, Japanese troops stationed at Linyi retreated to Zaozhuang, but the nationalists defenders decided to stay and fight. The next day, communist forces from Binhai (滨海) and Central Shandong Military Districts launched their joint assault on the city, and the four passes outside the city wall fell on the same day, but two communist attempts to charge the city wall on August 20 and August 22 were both beaten back by the defenders. The communists then changed their tactic by digging tunnels at the northwestern corner of the city and then to dynamite the city wall.

On September 10, 1945, the communists succeeded in collapsing a 30 metre stretch of the city wall by detonating over 2000 kg of explosives, but after two hours of fierce fighting, the defenders succeeded in beating back the communist assault teams. In the evening, more explosives were detonated, and the defenders could not stop the attackers from pouring in, and resorted to chemical warfare by using the gas left behind by the Japanese. However, chemical warfare was not adequate, as the attackers simply cover their faces with towels soaked in urine, defeating defenders’ five attempts. By 7:00 AM on September 11, 1945, the city fell and all of defenders totaling around two thousands were either killed or captured, including their commanders Xu Guansheng (许关生), Shao Ziyuan (邵子原), both of whom were captured alive by the communist attackers. The communist victory resulted in the linking up of their three previously separated bases in central Shandong, southern Shandong, and Binhai (滨海) regions into a single one.