Campaign to Suppress Bandits in Shiwandashan

The Campaign to Suppress Bandits in Shiwandashan was a counter-guerrilla / counterinsurgency campaign the fought against the Kuomintang guerrilla left behind after the nationalist regime withdrew from mainland China. The campaign was fought during the Chinese Civil War in the post-World War II era in the region of Shiwandashan in Guangxi at the China-Vietnam border and resulted in communist victory. This campaign is part of Campaign to Suppress Bandits in Guangxi, which in turn, was part of Campaign to Suppress Bandits in Central and Southern China.

Order of battle

Nationalist:
*Anticommunist National Salvation Army at the Border Region of Guangdong and Guangxi
Communist:
*A regiment of the Military Sub-District
*129th Division
*134th Division

Battles

After the nationalist retreat, the nationalist troops left behind joined the local bandits in the region of Shiwandashan under order to continue the fight against their common communist enemy in the form of guerrilla / insurgency warfare. In early December, 1950, communist force consisted of a regiment of the communist Military Sub-District, the communist 129th Division and the communist 134th Division were tasked to eradicate the nationalists in the region. The original communist plan of attacking on December 20, 1950 was forced to carried out early on December 13, 1950 when the intelligence revealed that the nationalists planned to withdrew to Vietnam. After three days of travel, the communists succeeded in besieging the nationalist within the Chinese border. The nationalists attempt a futile breakout by sending out a small force to sneak out of the encirclement and cross the border, but the entire 80 member strong force was annihilated by the communist regiment of the Military Sub-District in the region to the north of Jiute . The remaining nationalists attempted to flee eastward, but they were annihilated by the enemy at the Taiping Mountain region. The battles afterward became eradication operations on small scales. By February 1951, the communist victory was complete.

Conclusion

By February, 1951, the campaign concluded with communist victory, with nationalist commanders either killed or captured, including Wei Xiuying , the commander-in-chief of the nationalist Anticommunist National Salvation Army at the Border Region of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Wei Yuzhuang , the director of the nationalist Anticommunist National Salvation Committee. The 31,000 strong nationalist guerrilla in Shiwandashan was completely annihilated. In addition, the communists also captured 58 pieces of artillery, 33 machine guns, 39,844 firearms, and 3 radio sets.