Fourth Field Army
With the outbreak of the Manchurian Campaign in 1947, he led forces in Linjiang. In 1948, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Northeastern Military Region and assisted Lin Biao in the Liaoshen Campaign. During the assault on Pingjin in January 1949, Liu secured a victory over a 130,000 strong Nationalist force after 29 hours of intense battle, capturing the Nationalist General Chen Changjie. In the same year, he was appointed as a field commander of the Fourth Field Army.