Battle of Jinan The Battle of Jinan ( ) was a critical engagement fought between the Kuomintang ( KMT or Chinese Nationalist Party ) and the Communist Party of China ( CPC ) from September 16 to September 24 , 1948 during the Chinese Civil War . The communist Eastern China Field Army besieged and finally captured the city of Jinan , the capital of Shandong Province and a major urban center as well as a transportation hub in northeastern China that had a population of about 600 , 000 at the time of the battle . The communist victory set the stage for the Huaihai Campaign . The defenders of Jinan had become isolated in the summer of 1948 , when the communist Eastern China Field Army commanded by Chen Yi captured the railway line south of the city . In charge of the city ' s defense was general Wang Yaowu , he commanded nine regular brigades , five security brigades , as well as special force units amounting to a total troop strength of about 100 , 000 . The defenses of Jinan were organized in two lines : an outer ring around the outskirts of the city and inner line following the historical city wall . The outer ring was fortified by a four - ply line of pillboxes , barbed wire , and a newly dug 3 - meter wide moat . The inner ring consisted of the ancient brick wall of the city that had been strengthened with sand bags . The most valuable strategic assets of the city , the main airfield , the railroad station , and the commercial district , were located to the west of the historical city center and outside of the inner ring . Hence , they were protected only by the outer ring of defenses . The communist forces encircled the city in a pincer movement carried out by an eastern and a western group . The eastern group was composed of the 9th column , the Bohai column , and one division of the Bohai military region . The western group consistent of the 3rd column , the 10th column , the Liang Guang column , four regiments of the mid - south Shandong column , and one division from the Jiluyu ( Hebei - Shandong - Henan ) Military Region . The 13th column served as the preparation team for the entire attack . General Wu Huawen ( ) was in charge of the outer ring of defenses . General Wu defected to the communist side with about 8 , 000 of his troops before the battle began . His defection may have been prompted by letter sent to him by close relatives who had been captured by the Communist in the summer . Most of Wu ' s troops had fought on the Japanese side during the Second Sino - Japanese War and were integrated into Su Yu ' s forces immediately . After the outer ring of defenses was lost due to Wu ' s defection , communist forces launched a bloody assault on the historical city center . The historical city wall was first breached at its southeastern corner around 2am on September 24 . Another breach at the southwest corner also occurred before dawn . After the city wall was breached , the remaining Kuomintang garrison was quickly overrun and captured . General Wang Yaowu tried to escape in civilian clothes but was captured in Shouguang County . Pang Jingtang ( ) , the Kuomintang party chief in Shandong as well as 23 other high - ranking Kuomintang officials were also captured . Jinan was the first major urban center to be captured by the communists ( the Siege of Changchun had begun on May 23 already , but the city was only captured on October 19 , 1948 ) . Zhou Enlai hence referred to the Battle of Jinan as the starting point for the " three great battles " ( ) , namely the Liaoshen Campaign ( the first stage of which had already begun on September 12 , 1948 , i . e . , a few days prior to the Battle of Jinan ) , the Huaihai Campaign , and the Pingjin Campaign that established communist control over northern China .