The Site of the Ambush Battle at Pingshan Shuikou

The Site of the Ambush Battle at Pingshan Shuikou

The Site of the Ambush Battle at Pingshan Shuikou is located on the mountainside of Dongshan in Pingshan Community, Dalang Town. GPS coordinates: 22°52'20.6"N, 113°56'10.3"E, elevation 81 meters.

In May 1948, to crush the Kuomintang’s first “encirclement and suppression” campaign and consolidate and expand the base area, Huang Hua, political commissar of the Third Regiment of the Jiangnan Column of the Guangdong People’s Liberation Army, Deputy Regimental Commander Lin Wenhhu, and Deputy Battalion Commander He Tang led the Steel Team and the Jinzhong Team to advance into the Dalingshan area, setting up camp at Pingshan Shuikou (now Pingshan Community, Dalang Town).

On May 16, about 200 troops from the Fifth Squadron of the Second Battalion of the KMT’s Jinghai Forces stationed at the Humen Fortress, the Ninth Squadron of the Fourth Battalion of the County Police under Liu Dingjia, and the militia under Li Jicang set out from Xiaobian to attack Meitang. Along the way, they rested in a lychee orchard in Xiniupo. Upon receiving the news, the Third Regiment decided to ambush the enemy at Dongshan Pass, positioning the Steel Team on the high ground south of the pass, the Jinzhong Team on the top of the pass, one squad controlling the main peak, and another squad cutting off the enemy’s retreat. After two hours of fighting, the battle ended in a major victory: the deputy battalion commander of the Second Battalion of the Humen Fortress and commander of the Fifth Squadron, Li Hanmin, and Liu Dingjia, the captain of the County Police Squadron, along with 24 officers and soldiers, were captured; 15 enemies were killed (including 3 squad leaders); and the following were seized: 1 heavy machine gun, 1 light machine gun, 26 rifles, 6 pistols, 38 helmets, and 25 loads of supplies. The Third Regiment lost five men including Mao Gui and Mo Pei, and five others sustained minor injuries. The victory at the Pingshan Shuikou Ambush Battle thwarted the enemy’s plan to encircle and attack the Meitang area through coordinated assaults.

Currently, the site remains largely intact, surrounded by lychee trees, with a mountain path leading to the Meitang area of Huangjiang Town.

Pingshan Community: Pingshan Community

Pingshan Community is located in the southern part of Dalang Town, bordering Xinmalian to the east, the highest peak in Dalang—Dongshan—to the south, and Pingheng to the west. It is approximately 7 kilometers from the center of Dalang Town, covering an area of 2.2 square kilometers. The community gets its name from being surrounded by mountains on three sides, with peaks shaped like a fan arching toward each other or resembling a mirror screen. The community has a registered population of 489, primarily from the Han, Liang, and Zhou families. Among them, the Han family moved here from Shilongkeng, Liaobu during the Ming Dynasty’s Jiajing era; the Liang family came from Pingshi, Changping; and the Zhou family migrated from Wusha, Changping in the early Qing Dynasty. In 2006, the community’s total industrial and agricultural output value was 2... More details about Pingshan Community++