Xue Yue
Due to overall numerical and technical superiority, the nationalist commander-in-chief of the theater, Xue Yue was confident that he could wipe out the enemy and destroy their bases. In late July, 1946, Xue Yue revealed his battle plan to Hu Lien (胡琏), the commander of the army-sized nationalist Reorganized 11th Division in his headquarters in Xuzhou: the main battlefield would be the region to the northwest of Xuzhou, with nationalist troops first attacking northward, eradicating the Communists along the Jinpu railway, thus relieving the besieged nationalist strongholds of Lincheng (临城) and Yanzhou. After the Jinpu railway was secured, it would be used to mobilize nationalist troops to destroy the communist Hebei – Shandong – Henan base in the border region of these three provinces, and this would be the job for the army-sized nationalist Reorganized 11th Division. Meanwhile, other nationalist units were tasked to secure the surrounding regions of Xuzhou by eradicating the Communists in the area.