Battle of Jinzhou

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Battle of Jinzhou

People's Liberation Army launches final strike on Jinzhou

Date	7 October 1948 - 15 October 1948
Location	Jinzhou and proximity
Result	Fall of Jinzhou for the Nationalist Government

Combatants

National Revolutionary Army

People's Liberation Army Northeast Field Army

Commanders

Fan Hanjie

Lin Biao

Strength

~200,000

250,000

Casualties

20,000 deaths, 80,000 captured

unknown

Chinese Civil War
Major engagements in bold Encirclement Campaigns (First - Second - Third - Fourth - Fifth) - Long March (Luding Bridge) - Intermission (Wannan) - Shangdang Campaign - Longhai Campaign - Dingtao Campaign - Zhengtai Campaign - Liaoshen Campaign (Changchun - Jinzhou) - Huaihai Campaign - Pingjin Campaign - Island campaigns (Quemoy - Denbu - Nanri - Dongshan - Yijiangshan - Dong-Yin)

Battle of Jinzhou (Simplified Chinese: 锦州之战; Traditional Chinese: 錦州之戰; pinyin: Jînzhou Zhīzhàn) was a battle between the People's Liberation Army and the National Revolutionary Army during the Chinese Civil War. Being one of the most decisive battle during the war in Northeast, it was literally an epitome of the Liaoshen Campaign.

1 Importance of Jinzhou
2 Outside of Jinzhou City
3 Final assault
4 See also
5 Footnotes

Being the major juncture of Shanhai Pass, Jinzhou's geographical position made it a key strategic point. The fall of Jinzhou to the opposition would allow the opposition to drive deep into the North China Plain. Mao Zedong addressed the importance of capturing Jinzhou in a telegram to the Communist commanders in the Northeast, saying that the key to the success of the entire Liaoshen Campaign is "to strive to capture Jinzhou in one week". ^[1]

To strike the Jinzhou city, it was necessary for the People's Liberation Army to clear away the Nationalist positions in the outskirts of Jinzhou. Between October 8 to October 13, the Communist captured all the Nationalist stronghold outside of Jinzhou, which sets up the final assault on October 14.

The People's Liberation Army gather up 900 cannons, and launched the final assault on Jinzhou on October 14, 1948. Entire defensive line of Jinzhou was breakthrough shortly after. The Nationalist's resistance ended the next day on October 15.