Site of the Eastern Water Encirclement Battle

Site of the Eastern Water Encirclement Battle

The Site of the Eastern Water Encirclement Battle is located in Dongshui Town, Heping County, along Dongshui Street and the nearby small hill (Yandun Hill). This hill stands over 100 meters high and was densely forested at the time, with both visible and hidden bunkers built on it, making it ideal for concealment.

On May 14, 1949, after suffering a crushing defeat in the ambush at Wushiba in Laolong, Longchuan County, the Fifth Regiment of the Guangdong Provincial Security Forces (referred to as the Bao Wu Regiment), under Commander Lie Yingjia, retreated with over 500 remnants—including officers and soldiers from the Mo Bingyi Battalion and administrative personnel of the regimental headquarters—to Dongshui Street in Dongshui Town, Heping County.

The headquarters of the Guangdong–Jiangxi–Hunan Border Column ordered Lin Jingqiu, Chief of Staff of the Dongjiang Second Detachment (referred to as the Dong Er Zhi) and Commander of the Sixth Regiment, who had participated in the Laolong Campaign, to lead the Sixth Regiment and a newly formed battalion to encircle and eliminate the remnants of the Bao Wu Regiment in Dongshui. At dawn on the 15th, the Dongjiang Second Detachment forces tightly encircled the location of the Mo Battalion of the Bao Wu Regiment in Dongshui Street. As soon as daylight broke, the encirclement battle commenced in Dongshui Street. The enemy, entrenched behind the visible and hidden bunkers on the commanding heights behind Dongshui Street, put up stubborn resistance. Several assaults launched by our forces failed to achieve success. “Cease the attack!” ordered Commander Lin Jingqiu, seeing the situation. “Maintain position and monitor the enemy.” He then convened a meeting with regimental officers to assess the enemy’s condition. Commander Lin pointed out that the enemy was like a turtle in a jar or a bird in a cage—there was no escape. “Let’s first employ political persuasion to break their psychological defenses,” he said, “then look for an opportunity to engage.” After a morning-long effort, the enemy, realizing they were utterly isolated and had no hope of reinforcements, had no choice but to surrender. On the 17th, Commander Lie Yingjia led his remaining 500 officers and soldiers to Linzhai to accept reorganization. This marked the final confrontation between forces in Heping County and the Kuomintang opposition.

In January 2012, it was included in the Heping County Register of Immovable Cultural Heritage Sites.

Dongshui Town: 1. Population, households, villages, and neighborhood committees — Dongshui Town is situated at the confluence of the Dong River and the Li River, endowed with abundant water resources and significant hydroelectric potential. The town has a total population of 37,000, including 34,983 agricultural residents, and a total of 6,801 households, of which 6,398 are agricultural households. It administers 19 village committees and one neighborhood committee, including one ethnic minority village. 2. Area, arable land, and forest coverage — The town covers a total area of 15,270 hectares, including 3 hectares of urban area. Arable land spans 1,206 hectares, of which 973 hectares are paddy fields. Forest area… More detailed information about Dongshui Town++