Meridian Ridge Campaign - Communist Retreat

Communist Retreat

The organized retreat planned by the communists did not turn out as expected because the road was congested with large numbers of donkeys carrying supplies, thus preventing communist units from reaching their predestinated positions. In the afternoon of August 15, 1947, while on his way from the Nine Steep Hills (Jiu Xian 九岘) Town to the local communist headquarter located at the region of Black Wind Bump (He Feng Ge Da, 黑风疙瘩), political commissar Wang Bingxiang (王秉祥) discovered that the nationalist cavalry was outflanking the communists by moving toward the region of Northern Firewood Bridge (北柴桥) from the region of Yang Family’s Plateau (Yang Jia Yuan, 杨家塬). In the meantime, another nationalist cavalry force outflanked the communists from the other direction by moving toward Peach Tree Village (Tao Shu Zhuang, 桃树庄), from the region of Papaya Plateau (Mu Gua Yuan, 木瓜塬), in an attempt to cut off the escaping route of the communists. By this time, the main communist force, the 4th Column, had already withdrawn from the battlefield and disengaged the enemy. The remaining local communist garrison was in danger being annihilated.

On his returning trip, the communist political commissar Wang Bingxiang (王秉祥) met the retreating remnant of the 3rd Regiment of the communist 1st Garrison by chance and realized that the situation was desperate for the communists. By this time, the communist order of general retreat finally reached every communist unit in the field and everyone was to disengage the enemy by 3:00 PM, and then retreat eastward at night in different groups. By the evening, all remaining communist units had successful disengaged the enemy and successfully escaped eastward, joining the main communist force that retreated from the battlefield earlier. The commander of the communist 4th Column, Wang Shitai (王世泰) handed the wounded and the sick to the local communist units, and told the local communists that the 4th Column would continue to retreat southeastward to Red Water (Chi Shui 赤水), and Xunyi (旬邑) regions, where they would finally meet after continuing retreating in separate ways.