Site of the Meeting Deciding the Central Plains Breakout

Site of the Meeting Deciding the Central Plains Breakout

The Site of the Meeting Deciding the Central Plains Breakout is a classic red tourism attraction.

The Site of the Meeting Deciding the Central Plains Breakout is located in a village on the east side of Pohé Street, approximately 20 kilometers south of Guangshan County in Pohé Town. It belongs to Pohé Street, bordered by Ziyun Mountain to the north and Ziyun Lake to the west, with the Ming-Qing Street of Pohé across the lake. About 300 meters below the lake lies the Yongji Bridge, the longest Ming Dynasty stone arch bridge in Henan Province. It is about 35 kilometers from the Ye-Xin Expressway entrance and less than 30 kilometers from the new county seat.

In the autumn of 1945, Li Xiannian led the New Fourth Army’s 5th Division, stationed in areas including Pohé, Yànhe, and Huáidiàn, preparing to reinforce the Dabie Mountain base area. Chiang Kai-shek then amassed over 300,000 Nationalist troops from all directions to attack the Central Plains and the New Fourth Army’s 5th Division. To strengthen the struggle in the Central Plains, the Central Committee decided that Wang Zhen would lead the 359th Brigade, and Wang Shusheng would lead the Songyue Military District to join the New Fourth Army’s 5th Division in the Dabie Mountains. On October 24, these three forces rendezvoused and established the Central Plains Military Region with over 60,000 troops. Li Xiannian served as commander, Zheng Weisan as political commissar, Wang Zhen as deputy commander and chief of staff, Wang Shusheng as deputy commander, Wang Shoudao as deputy political commissar and director of the political department. The Central Plains Military Region also formed two field columns: the 1st Column commanded by Wang Shusheng and the 2nd Column commanded by Wang Zhen.

In 1946, the 1st Column of the Central Plains Military Region, led by Wang Shusheng, was stationed in Pōbìhé, with its headquarters set up here. In March, the CPC Guangshan County Central Committee and the democratic government were also established here. On June 24, the Central Plains Military Region held a military meeting in its Pohé base to discuss the breakout strategy, deciding that the main force would break through toward the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region. On June 26, Commander Wang Shusheng led the southern breakout column of over 10,000 troops from Pohé, advancing southwest. On July 1, they crossed the Beiping-Hankou Railway. The northern column, led by Wang Zhen with the 359th Brigade and the Cadre Brigade, set out from Mǎfàn and crossed the Beiping-Hankou Railway on June 30. On the 24th, the 1st Brigade of the 1st Column, under the command of Brigade Commander Pí Dìngjūn, fought the enemy to cover the main force’s westward breakout.

The Central Plains Breakout battle, personally directed by leaders such as Li Xiannian, Chen Shaomin, Wang Zhen, and Wang Shusheng, fired the first shot of the Liberation War. It was a major strategic decision by the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao on the eve of the Third Revolutionary Civil War, marking the prelude to the complete elimination of the Chiang family regime and the establishment of New China. As the decisive and initial site of the Central Plains Breakout, the people of Guangshan, especially those in Pohé where the Central Plains Military Region was primarily active, made great sacrifices and important contributions. The meeting site and the former residences of Li Xiannian, Chen Shaomin, Wang Zhen, Wang Shusheng, and Wang Shoudao still remain, with over 70 protected buildings.