Autumn Offensive of 1947 in Northeast China - Second Stage

Second Stage

The continuous defeats forced Chen Cheng to sent the Newly Organized 6th Army from Tieling to reinforce Jinzhou, leaving the region between Siping (city) and Tieling vulnerable. The communists decided to take this advantage by concentrating three columns totaling eight Divisions to attack Xifeng (西丰)、Changtu (昌图), Kaiyuan, and annihilate the nationalist 53rd Army in the process. However, as communists were massing their troops on September 29, those regrouped at Xifeng (西丰) were revealed by the nationalist aerial reconnaissance and the nationalist garrisons at Xifeng (西丰) and adjacent regions immediately withdrew to safety, thus avoiding being surrounded by the enemy. communists then changed their strategy by ordering the 1st Column, 2nd Column, 6th Column, and the 10th Column to be deployed to the regions to the north and south of Siping (city), and to Jiangmi Peak (Jiangmi Feng, 江密峰) located to the northeast of Jilin City, so that the nationalist Newly Organized 1st Army, the 60th Army and the 71st Army would be tied up. In the morning of October 1, 1947, the communist 1st Division of the 1st Column and the communist 3rd Column had succeeded in surrounding the 116th Division of the nationalist 53rd Army at Weiyuan Bunker (Weiyuan Bao, 威远堡) southwest of Xifeng (西丰), and after nineteen hours of fierce battle, the 116th Division was completely annihilated.

To the south of Xifeng (西丰), the nationalist 130th Division of the 53rd Army was defeated by the communist 10th Division and the 12th Division of the 4th Column, losing an entire regiment at regions between Sable Skin Village (Diaopi Tun, 貂皮屯) and Eight Trees (Bakeshu, 八棵树). Meanwhile, with the help of the communist 1st Independent Division, the communist 11th Division of the 4th Column penetrated into the region between Liaoyang and Greater Stone Bridge (Dashiqiao, 大石桥), taking Greater Stone Bridge (Dashiqiao, 大石桥), and Haicheng, threatening Anshan and Liaoyang. The nationalist 25th Division of the 52nd Army was defeated by the communist 1st Independent Division at regions between Ox Village (Niuzhuang, 牛庄) and Haicheng, and was forced to retreat after losing an entire regiment. After marching 80 km by foot in one day, the communist 21st Division of the 7th Column suddenly besieged Faku (法库), and completely annihilated local garrison outside the city, the nationalist 7th Security Regiment after two hours of fierce fighting on October 1, 1947. The 19th Division of the communist 7th Column, in the meantime, took Zhangwu after completely annihilated the local garrison, a regiment of the nationalist 57th Division.

The continuous communist offensives in the regions to the east and west of Kaiyuan had forced the Newly Organized 1st Army to divert from its original objective to reinforce Kaiyuan instead, and the Newly Organized 6th Army had to return to Tieling, while the nationalist main forces of Gongzhuling and Village of the Fan Family (Fanjia Tun, 范家屯) were ordered to Siping (city) to strengthen the defense of the city. Well aware that the fortified strongholds were difficult to take, the communists turned their attention to destroying the railways to further hamper the nationalist transportation capacity.

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