Chengdu campaign explained

Partof:the Cross-Strait conflict and Chinese Civil War
Date:December 11–27, 1949
Place:Chengdu, Sichuan Province
Combatant1: Republic of China
Combatant2: People's Republic of China
Commander2: Liu Bocheng
Deng Xiaoping
He Long
Commander1: Hu Zongnan
Strength2:180th Division of PLA 60th Army
Strength1:ROCA 55th Division
Result:Communists capture Chengdu

The Chengdu campaign was the capture of Chengdu by the People's Republic of China (Communists) in December 1949 during the Chinese Civil War. The city was the national capital of the Republic of China (Nationalists) and provincial capital of the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan. The campaign was part of the Southwestern China campaign.

Battle of Jianmenguan

Jianmen Pass (Jianmen Guan, 剑门关) is a key 50-meter wide mountain pass between Shaanxi and Sichuan. The ROC fortified the pass with bunkers during the Civil War in preparation for a PRC attack. The PRC captured nearby Guangyuan on December 14, 1949. The PRC's 540th Regiment (of 180th Division, 60th Army, 18th Army Group) was assigned to take the pass, which it reached after a 40 km three day forced march through the mountains. The initial attack destroyed a company of the defending ROC 55th Division. Two of the 540th Regiment's battalions approached under the cover of darkness to 50 meters of the pass 10:00 PM; the remaining battalion outflanked the defenses by moving through the mountains. The attackers crossed a final ravine with a log and overwhelmed the defenders. The PRC captured 300 prisoners.

The ROC retreated and abandoned Jiange in the afternoon of December 18, 1949. The way was cleared for the PRC to push deeper into Sichuan.

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