Nie Rongzhen
However, the nationalist strategy was seriously flawed in that in order to strengthen the northern defense in the regions mentioned above, it sacrificed the southern defense: the vast region along Zhengding – Taiyuan Railway in the south were only guarded by three divisions and local militia garrisons, and this flaw was to be exploited to the maximum by the Communists. The commander-in-chief and political commissar of the communist Shanxi – Chahar – Hebei Military Region, Nie Rongzhen, decided to concentrate his force to first clear the nationalists from their strongholds outside Shijiazhuang, and then annihilate any nationalist reinforcement sent along the Zhengding – Taiyuan Railway.