Ningxia Campaign
Encyclopedia
The Ningxia Campaign was a series of battles fought between the nationalists
and the communists
during Chinese Civil War
in the post World War II
era, and resulted in the communist victory.
:
The following units were deployed in the beginning, but later on, did not participate in fightings:
Communist order of battle
:
, Ningxia
was no longer the concern of the nationalist commander-in-chief of northwest China Ma Bufang
, who was busy worrying protecting his home base Qinghai
. The nationalist deputy commander-in-chief of northwest China Ma Hongkui
fled to Hong Kong
via air, and left his son, Ma Dunjing (马敦静) in charge to make a last stand against the communists. The nationalists organized three lines of defense in the regions including Zhongwei, Lingwu, Tongxin (同心), Jingyuan (靖远), Jingtai (景泰), Zhongning (中宁) and Jinji (金积), and deployed over a hundred sixty thousand troops for the upcoming campaign, but the nationalist strategy was ruined by the disagreements among themselves. Five out of the eight armies deployed were Ma Bufang
’s force, and they were much more concerned about keeping their own strength to retreat to and guard the inevitable communist advance to their home base in Qinghai
, and thus did not put in any real effort to protect Ma Hongkui
’s Ningxia
. These troops of Ma Bufang
simply felt that they had done more than enough as they did the bulk of fighting in Lanzhou Campaign
, and was worried that if they devote fully in fighting in Ningxia
, they would risk being cutting off by the enemy and would never be able to return home. Consequently, Ma Bufang
’s force refused to take any orders from Ma Dunjing (马敦静) and never participated in any fighting at all, despite being deployed initially by Ma Dunjing (马敦静) under previous agreements between Ma Bufang
and Ma Hongkui
. As a result, only seventy five thousands nationalist troops did the fighting, and the result was disastrous as the nationalists could achieve neither the numerical nor the technical superiority.
The communists launched their offensive in three fronts: By September 14, 1949, towns including Jingyuan (靖远), Tongxin (同心) and Zhongning (中宁) had fallen into communist hands. On September 15, 1949, the nationalist Newly Organized 15th Cavalry Brigade guarding Jingtai (景泰) surrendered to the communists. The main force of the communist 63rd Army took Changle Bunker (Chang Le Bao, 常乐堡) to the south of Zhongwei (中卫) County on September 16, 1949, after completely destroying two regiments of the nationalist 81st Army. Meanwhile, the 188th Division of the communist 63rd Army approached Zhongwei (中卫) County from the west from Jingtai (景泰) on September 17, 1949, after pass through Tengger Desert
. The nationalist 81st Army was hard pressed from both south and west. Under heavy military and political pressure, Ma Hongbin
, the nationalist deputy commander of Northwestern China
, and his son Ma Dunjing (马惇靖, not the same person as Ma Hongkui
’s son, Ma Dunjing, 马敦静, the nationalist commander-in-chief of the Ningxia
Corps), the commander of the nationalist 81st Army defected to the communist side on September 19, 1949 (and the nationalist 81st Army was subsequently reorganized as the Northwestern Independent 2nd Army on December 19, 1949).
On September 19, 1949, the communist 64th Army launched its offensive against Jingji (金积) and Lingwu, badly mauling the nationalist 128th Army in Jinji-Lingwu Campaign. By September 21, 1949, all three defensive lines organized by the nationalists were completely destroyed. Ma Dunjing (马敦静) fled to Chongqing
by air and the nationalist Ningxia
Corps lost it command, and as a result, the nationalist 11th Army, the remnant of the 128th Army and Helan (贺兰) Army consequently disintegrated as the surviving nationalist troops deserted en masse, after learning their commander-in-chief had fled the battlefield. On September 24, 1949, the communist XIX Corps entered Yinchuan without a fight and the campaign concluded with communist victory. Nationalist lost over 40,000 troops out of the original 75,000, while the remaining deserted, and the communist victory ended the 36-year rule of Ma clique
in Ningxia
, as well as the nationalist rule over the region.
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
and the communists
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
during Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
in the post World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era, and resulted in the communist victory.
Order of battle
Nationalist order of battleOrder of battle
In modern use, the order of battle is the identification, command structure, strength, and disposition of personnel, equipment, and units of an armed force participating in field operations. Various abbreviations are in use, including OOB, O/B, or OB, while ORBAT remains the most common in the...
:
- Ningxia Corps was commanded personally by Ma Dunjing (马敦静)
- 11th Army was commanded by Ma Guangzong (马光宗)
- 128th Army was commanded by Lu Zhongliang (卢忠良)
- HelanHelan ShanThe Helan Mountains , frequently called Alashan Mountains in older sources, are an isolated desert mountain range forming the border of Inner Mongolia's Alxa League and Ningxia. They run north-south parallel to the north-flowing Yellow River in the Ordos Loop section...
Army was commanded by Ma Quanliang (马全良)
- 81st Army was commanded by Ma Dunjing (马惇靖)
The following units were deployed in the beginning, but later on, did not participate in fightings:
- 10th Cavalry Army was commanded by Ma Dunhou (马敦厚)
- 5th Cavalry Army was commanded by Ma ChengxiangMa ChengxiangMa Chengxiang was a Chinese Muslim general in the National Revolutionary Army. He was the son of general Ma Buqing, and nephew of general Ma Bufang. He commanded Hui cavalry in Xinjiang, the 5th cavalry army. Ma was a member of the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang party and a hardliner...
(马呈祥) - 100th Division was commanded by Tan Chenxiang (谭成祥)
- 190th Division was commanded by Ma Zhenwu (马振武)
- 248th Division was commanded by Han Youlu (韩有禄)
- 129th Army was commanded by Ma Buluan (马步銮)
- 287th Division was commanded by Ma Zhang (马漳)
- 357th Division was commanded by Yang Xiurong (杨修戎)
- 82nd Army was commanded by Ma Jiyuan (马继援)
- 14th Cavalry Brigade was commanded by Ma Chenxian (马成贤)
Communist order of battle
Order of battle
In modern use, the order of battle is the identification, command structure, strength, and disposition of personnel, equipment, and units of an armed force participating in field operations. Various abbreviations are in use, including OOB, O/B, or OB, while ORBAT remains the most common in the...
:
- XIX Corps was commanded by Yang DezhiYang DezhiYang Dezhi was a senior military officer in the North China Field Army, a veteran of the Korean War and commander in China during the Sino–Vietnamese War or Third Indochina War, a brief but bloody border war fought in 1979 between the China and the Vietnam...
and the political commissarPolitical commissarThe political commissar is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education and organisation, and loyalty to the government of the military...
Li Zhimin (李志民)- 63rd Army was commanded by Zheng Weishan (郑维山) and the political commissarPolitical commissarThe political commissar is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education and organisation, and loyalty to the government of the military...
Wang Zonghuai (王宗槐) - 64th Army was commanded by Zen Siyu (曾思玉) and the political commissarPolitical commissarThe political commissar is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education and organisation, and loyalty to the government of the military...
Wang Zhao (王昭) - 65th Army was commanded by the political commissarPolitical commissarThe political commissar is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education and organisation, and loyalty to the government of the military...
(王道帮) and the deputy commander Xiao Yingtang (肖应棠), the commander Qiu Wei (邱蔚) was ill and did not participate in the campaign.
- 63rd Army was commanded by Zheng Weishan (郑维山) and the political commissar
- Independent 1st Division of the Northwestern Military Region
- Independent 2nd Division of the Northwestern Military Region
Campaign
After their defeat in Lanzhou CampaignLanzhou Campaign
Lanzhou Campaign was a series battle fought between the nationalists and the communists for the control of the largest city in northwestern China during the Chinese Civil War in the post World War II era, and resulted in the communist victory.-Prelude:...
, Ningxia
Ningxia
Ningxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
was no longer the concern of the nationalist commander-in-chief of northwest China Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general...
, who was busy worrying protecting his home base Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
. The nationalist deputy commander-in-chief of northwest China Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui , was a prominent warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Ningxia. His rank was Lieutenant-general. His courtesy name was Shao-yun .- Life :...
fled to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
via air, and left his son, Ma Dunjing (马敦静) in charge to make a last stand against the communists. The nationalists organized three lines of defense in the regions including Zhongwei, Lingwu, Tongxin (同心), Jingyuan (靖远), Jingtai (景泰), Zhongning (中宁) and Jinji (金积), and deployed over a hundred sixty thousand troops for the upcoming campaign, but the nationalist strategy was ruined by the disagreements among themselves. Five out of the eight armies deployed were Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general...
’s force, and they were much more concerned about keeping their own strength to retreat to and guard the inevitable communist advance to their home base in Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
, and thus did not put in any real effort to protect Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui , was a prominent warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Ningxia. His rank was Lieutenant-general. His courtesy name was Shao-yun .- Life :...
’s Ningxia
Ningxia
Ningxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
. These troops of Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general...
simply felt that they had done more than enough as they did the bulk of fighting in Lanzhou Campaign
Lanzhou Campaign
Lanzhou Campaign was a series battle fought between the nationalists and the communists for the control of the largest city in northwestern China during the Chinese Civil War in the post World War II era, and resulted in the communist victory.-Prelude:...
, and was worried that if they devote fully in fighting in Ningxia
Ningxia
Ningxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
, they would risk being cutting off by the enemy and would never be able to return home. Consequently, Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general...
’s force refused to take any orders from Ma Dunjing (马敦静) and never participated in any fighting at all, despite being deployed initially by Ma Dunjing (马敦静) under previous agreements between Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang
Ma Bufang was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general...
and Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui , was a prominent warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Ningxia. His rank was Lieutenant-general. His courtesy name was Shao-yun .- Life :...
. As a result, only seventy five thousands nationalist troops did the fighting, and the result was disastrous as the nationalists could achieve neither the numerical nor the technical superiority.
The communists launched their offensive in three fronts: By September 14, 1949, towns including Jingyuan (靖远), Tongxin (同心) and Zhongning (中宁) had fallen into communist hands. On September 15, 1949, the nationalist Newly Organized 15th Cavalry Brigade guarding Jingtai (景泰) surrendered to the communists. The main force of the communist 63rd Army took Changle Bunker (Chang Le Bao, 常乐堡) to the south of Zhongwei (中卫) County on September 16, 1949, after completely destroying two regiments of the nationalist 81st Army. Meanwhile, the 188th Division of the communist 63rd Army approached Zhongwei (中卫) County from the west from Jingtai (景泰) on September 17, 1949, after pass through Tengger Desert
Tengger Desert
The Tengger Desert covers about 36,700 km2 and is mostly in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China.- External links :* *...
. The nationalist 81st Army was hard pressed from both south and west. Under heavy military and political pressure, Ma Hongbin
Ma Hongbin
Ma Hongbin , was a prominent muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era. He was the acting Chairman of Gansu and Ningxia Provinces for a short period.- Life :...
, the nationalist deputy commander of Northwestern China
Northwestern China
Northwestern China includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai.-Administrative divisions:ProvincesAutonomous Regions-Outer Northwest China:...
, and his son Ma Dunjing (马惇靖, not the same person as Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui , was a prominent warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Ningxia. His rank was Lieutenant-general. His courtesy name was Shao-yun .- Life :...
’s son, Ma Dunjing, 马敦静, the nationalist commander-in-chief of the Ningxia
Ningxia
Ningxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
Corps), the commander of the nationalist 81st Army defected to the communist side on September 19, 1949 (and the nationalist 81st Army was subsequently reorganized as the Northwestern Independent 2nd Army on December 19, 1949).
On September 19, 1949, the communist 64th Army launched its offensive against Jingji (金积) and Lingwu, badly mauling the nationalist 128th Army in Jinji-Lingwu Campaign. By September 21, 1949, all three defensive lines organized by the nationalists were completely destroyed. Ma Dunjing (马敦静) fled to Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
by air and the nationalist Ningxia
Ningxia
Ningxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
Corps lost it command, and as a result, the nationalist 11th Army, the remnant of the 128th Army and Helan (贺兰) Army consequently disintegrated as the surviving nationalist troops deserted en masse, after learning their commander-in-chief had fled the battlefield. On September 24, 1949, the communist XIX Corps entered Yinchuan without a fight and the campaign concluded with communist victory. Nationalist lost over 40,000 troops out of the original 75,000, while the remaining deserted, and the communist victory ended the 36-year rule of Ma clique
Ma clique
The Ma clique or Ma family warlords is a collective name for a group of Muslim warlords in Northwestern China who ruled the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia from the 1910s until 1949. There were 3 families in the Ma clique , each of them respectively controlled 3 areas, Gansu,...
in Ningxia
Ningxia
Ningxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
, as well as the nationalist rule over the region.
See also
- List of battles of the Chinese Civil War
- National Revolutionary ArmyNational Revolutionary ArmyThe National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
- History of the People's Liberation ArmyHistory of the People's Liberation ArmyThe history of the People's Liberation Army began in 1927 with the start of the Chinese Civil War and spans to the present, having developed from a peasant guerrilla force into the largest armed force in the world.-Historical background:...
- Chinese Civil WarChinese Civil WarThe Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...