Liberation War lasted from 20 July 1946 to 1 October 1949. It was a civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communists. It started with the Kuomintang having better weapons and more troops. They attacked the Communists and captured their base in Yanan. Kuomintang lost their best troops after the 3 Campaigns. In the final stage of the war, the Communist cross the Changjiang river and took over the southern China while Kuomintang fleed to Taiwan.
Kuomintang's Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek ordered a large scale attack marking the start of Liberation War. The Communist avoided the main forces of Kuomintang.
March 1947
Kuomintang captured the Communist's capital of Yan'an. Chairman Mao Zedong and the party leaders stayed in Yanan Date Garden before their retreated from Yannan.
8 May 1948 Liberation of Weixian County
PLA liberated Weixian County in Shangdong province after fighting from 2 April to 8 May 1948.
24 August 1948 Liberation of Jinan
PLA liberated Jinan after fighting from 16 to 24 August 1948. Liberation Pavilion was built on top of the old city wall to commemorate the liberation of Jinan by People's Liberation Army.
Liaoshen Campaign
12 September to 2 November 1948
In January 1948, the Communist forces in Northeast China was re-organised as the Northeast Field Army under Lin Biao as the commander. The Northeast Field Army started the first major campaign in the Liberation war. They defeated the Kuomingtan (KMT)'s Nationalist forces in the whole of northeast China after 52 days of fighting.
Before the start of the campaign, the KMT was in control of key cities of Shenyang, Changchun and Jinzhou while the rural areas were under the control of the Communist.
From 12 September to 28 November, the campaign started with the Northeast Field Army isolating Jinzhou. The KMT lost the Battle of Tashan which was an attempts by KMT to sent reinforcement to Jinzhou.
Photo of Liaoning Shenyang Campaign Memorial
15 October 1948, Jinzhou Liberated
On 15 October 1948, Jinzhou was liberated after KMT lost the Battle of Jinzhou.Photo of Liaoning Shenyang Campaign Memorial
23 October 1948, Changchun Liberated
Next, Changchun was liberated when all the KMT forces surrendered on 23 October 1948. Photo of Changchun Liberation Monument in Changchun City
1 November 1948 Shenyang Liberated 2 November 1948 Yingkuo Liberated End of Liaoshen Campaign
The Liaoshen Campaign ended on 2 November 1948 after 52 days of fighting with the liberation of Northeast China.
From 21 October to 28 October 1948, the KMT started the battle of Heishan in an unsuccessful attempt to retake Jinzhou.
On 29 October 1948, the Northeast Field Army encirlced Shenyang. The city was liberated on 1 November 1948 when the 140,000 KMT troops surrendered. On 2 Ocotber 1948, Yingkou was liberated ending the Liaoshen Campaign with Northeast China under Communist control. .
Photo of Northeast China Liberation Monument in Shenyang City
Huaihai Campaign
6 Novmber 1948 to 10 January 1949 Huai Hai Campaign
The People's Liberation Army fought for the area centre around Xuzhou and surrounding key cities Haizhou, Zhaozhuang, Shangqiu and Bengbu. The PLA won in this campaign while the Nationalist lost some of their best troops and American equipment.
6 - 22 November 1948 Huai Hai Campaign Museum
The first phase of the Campaign was the encirclement of Xuzhou. Photo of Memorial Park to the Martyrs of the Huaihai Campaign Statues of Five Generals
23 November - 15 December 1948 Huai Hai Campaign
The second phase was the Shuangduiji Campaign. The main objective was to defeat the KMT's 12th Army. Photo of Memorial Park to the Martyrs of the Huaihai Campaign Museum
23 December 1948 - 10 January 1949 Huai Hai Campaign Liberation of Xuzhou
The final phase of this campaign was the liberation of Xuzhou and the control of territory north of Changjiang River. Photo of Huaihai Campaign Museum
Pingjin Campaign
29 November 1948 to 31 January 1949
The 64 days campaign resulted in Communist taking over North China. The campaign started with People's Liberation Army liberating Zhangjiakou and Xinbao'an. Tianjin was liberated after the final attack on 14 January 1949 that lasted 29 hours. Beijing was liberated when the PLA entered Beiping on 31 January 1949 after Nationalist Commander Fu Zuoyi negotiated a peace settlement and surrendered. Pingjin Campaign Museum is in Tianjin City.
Pingjin Campaign Museum Hero Tank
This tank was the first tank captured by the People's Liberation Army and saw action in Liaoshen and Pingjing Campaign.
Jintang Bridge
Built in 1906, its one of the earliest iron bridge in Tianjin and the only existing 3 bay structured swing bridge in China. On 15 January 1949, the 2 main forces of the PLA meet at the the bridge to liberate Tianjin.
End of War
9 January 1949 China's national treasures transported to Taiwan
The merchant steam ship "Hai Hu' was used to transport China's national treasures to Taiwan. The frist trip was in November 1948. On the second trip, "Hai Hu" reached Port of Keelung on 9 Jauary 1949 with 3502 boxes of cultural relics and documents.
9.30am, 20 April 1949 Amethyst Incident
The British naval ship HMS Amethyst was fired by the PLA near Jiangyin. This was the last battle British fought in China. The incident ended with all foreign ships leaving China's waterways.
23 April 1949 PLA liberated Nanjing
PLA liberated Nanjing.
3 May 1949 Liberation of Hangzhou
PLA liberated Hangzhou.
16 May 1949 Liberation of Wuhan
PLA liberated Wuhan.
25 May 1949 China's gold and silver stock transported to Taiwan
"Han Min" participated to transport gold from China to Taiwan. It reached Port of Keelung on 25 May 1949. Silver stock and 2.9 million taels of gold were shipped to Taiwan by navy ships, air force and "Han Min".
27 May 1949 liberation of Shanghai
PLA liberated Shanghai after fighting from 12 May to 2 June 1949.
4 August 1949 Peaceful liberation of Changsha
Peaceful liberation of Changsha.
17 August 1949 liberation of Fuzhou
Peaceful liberation of Fuzhou.
11-12 August 1949 Liberation of Miaodao Archipelago
This was the last battle in Shangdong Province and the PLA's first sea naval warfare in the War.
23 - 31 August 1949 liberation of Fuzhou and Quanzhou
The PLA 3rd Field Army liberated Fuzhou and the surrounding 9 county cities after fighting from 11 to 23 August 1949. Quanzhou was liberated on 31 August 1949.
25 September 1949 Peaceful liberation of Xinjiang
Nationalist General Tao Zhiyue surrendered to Communist in Xinjiang. On 12 October 1949, the PLA entered Xinjiang. Urumqi People's Square Monument to the People's Liberation Army's March into Xinjiang
1 October 1949 Founding of the People's Republic of China
Chairman Mao declared founding of the People's Republic of China at Tiananmen.
14 October 1949 Liberation of Guangzhou
Liberation of Guangzhou. After 34 days of fighting, most areas in Guangzhou province was liberated.
17 October 1949 Liberation of Xiamen
Jimei district of Xiamen was liberated on 23 September 1949 and the 3rd Field Army started to surround Xiamen island. Xiamen was liberated by the 3rd Field Army on 17 October 1949 after 3 days of fighting.
25 - 27 October 1949 Battle of Jinmen
PLA's attempt to liberate Jinmen island failed.
30 November 1949 Liberation of Chongqing
PLA liberated Chongqing.
22 November 1949 Liberation of Guilin
Guilin liberated after fighting.
9 December 1949 Peaceful Liberation of Kunming
Peaceful liberation of Kunming after Lu Han staged an uprising.
10 December 1949 Chiang Kai-shek flew to Taiwan
Chiang Kai-shek boarded flew from Chengdu to Taiwan. Chiang Kai-shek proclaimed Taipei as the temporary capital of Republic of China.
11 December 1949 Liberation of Areas in Guangxi and Guangdong Provinces
PLA liberated areas in Guangxi and Guangdong Provinces.
27 December 1949 Liberation of Chengdu
Chengdu liberated by PLA.
1 May 1950 Liberation of Haikou City Hainan Island
PLA liberated Hainan Island.
May 1950 Liberation of Zhoushan Island
PLA liberated Zhoushan Island.
25 May to 7 August 1950 liberation of Wanshan Archipelago
PLA liberated Wanshan Archipelago off coast of Guangzhou province. This was the first joint army and navy operations in the Liberation War.
23 May 1951 Peaceful liberation of Tibet
Peaceful liberation of Tibet after April 1951 negotiations in Beijing.
29 May 1953 Liberation of Dalushan Islands
PLA liberated Dalushan Islands off coast of Zhejiang province.
11 -15 April 1952 Liberation of Nanri Island
PLA liberated Nanri Island off coast of Xiuyu District Putian Prefecture Fujian province.
20 September to 20 October 1952 Liberation of Nanpeng Archipelago
PLA liberated Nanpeng Archipelago off coast of Nan'ao County Shantou Prefecture Guangdong province.
29 May 1953 Liberation of Dalushan Islands
PLA liberated Dalushan Islands off coast of Zhejiang province.
16-18b July 1953 Liberation of Dongshan Island
PLA liberated Dongshan Island off coast of Fijian province.
18 January to 2 February 1955 Liberation of Yijiangshan Island
PLA liberated Yijiangshan Island off coast of Zhejiang province. This battle was delayed till the end of Korea War. It was the last battle between Kuomingtang and Communist PLA.
19 January to 26 February 1955 Liberation of Yacheng Archipelago
PLA liberated Yacheng Archipelago off coast of Zhejiang province.
