Shanghai Campaign

Shanghai Campaign
Part of Chinese Civil War
People's Liberation Army troops on Nanjing Road, Shanghai, on May 23, 1949
Date May 12, 1949 – June 2, 1949 Location Shanghai, Republic of China Result Communist victory
Belligerents
National Revolutionary Army 21st Army 51st Army 52nd Army 54th Army 75th Army 123rd Army 12th Army 35th Army Beijing-Shanghai Garrison Corps	People's Liberation Army
Commanders and leaders
Tang Enbo汤恩伯 Liu Yuzhang刘玉章 Liu Changyi刘昌义  Chou Tse-jou周至柔 Fang Chih方治	Chen Yi陈毅 Su Yu粟裕
Strength
210,000	290,000
Casualties and losses
153,000 (included those who surrendered)	34,000 (8,000 killed; 24,122 wounded; 1,951 missing)

The Shanghai Campaign (Chinese: 上海战役) was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists for the control of Shanghai, the largest city in China in the latter stage of the Chinese Civil War, and resulted in the city being taken over by the communists who enjoyed the numerical superiority.

With a population of six million, Shanghai was the largest city in China in 1949 and provided around a third of the total GDP of China by that time. Both the communists and the nationalists believed that World War III was a real possibility and this perception influenced the strategic decisions of both sides. The nationalists who defended the city had hoped that by using the resources of the wealthiest city of China, they would last until World War III when foreign intervention would occur. With foreign intervention, not only they would be able to defend the city, but they could counterattack and take China back from the enemy. If the city could not last until World War III, the nationalist would withdraw via sea and transfer the wealth with them, after destroying the city completely, just like the scorched-earth policy used against the Japanese invaders in many parts of China during World War II. Although the truthfulness of this perception of the nationalists remained in question, the enemy certainly believed that there was a possibility, as the nationalist propaganda had claimed, and thus was determined not to let it happen by taking the city as early as possible.

The nationalist commander divided the city into two sectors along the Huangpu River. The western half of the city and the surrounding regions including Taicang, Kunshan, Jiaxing, and Golden Mountain Jinshan, were defended by a total of 20 divisions (including all of the armored force) belonging to the 21st Army, the 51st Army, the 52nd Army, the 54th Army, the 75th Army and the 123rd Army. The 12th Army and the 35th Army totaled five divisions and the naval and air assets were tasked to defend Pudong, with emphasis on regions included Wusong, Yuepu (月浦), Yanghang (杨行), Liuhang (刘行), Dachang (大场), Gaohang (高行), and Gaoqiao, in order to secure the escape route via sea. The nationalist force defending the city totaled more than 210,000. The buildings in the city were perfect defending positions which were further boosted by large amount of the concrete bunkers built.

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Wikipedia