Former Site of the Shangdang Campaign Command Headquarters

　　     The Former Site of the Shangdang Campaign Command Headquarters is located in Daping Village, about 23 kilometers west of Xiangyuan County, and was one of the command posts used during the Shangdang Campaign. In October 1945, Commander [Name] and Political Commissar [Name] relocated the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region Command from Cui Meng to this site, staying at the home of Sun Shuzhang in the Xiaodong Courtyard. From here, they directed the key Lao ye Mountain and Mopan Nao battles to intercept enemy reinforcements, as well as the Tulu ambush, which led to an overall victory in the second phase of the Shangdang Campaign. In August 1943, Yan Xishan dispatched the 19th Army commanded by General Shi Zebuo with over 17,000 troops to occupy Changzhi City along with more than ten other county towns including Xiangyuan and Zhangzi. To protect the liberated areas, the Party Central Committee decided to launch the Shangdang Campaign. In early September, [Name] and [Name] made operational arrangements in Huangnian Village (now Huangnian Village in Changzhi City), establishing the campaign strategy. The Shangdang Campaign was divided into three phases. The first phase was to capture cities and intercept reinforcements. Starting in early September, our forces successively liberated eleven county towns including Tunliu and Xiangyuan, and surrounded Changzhi on September 20. The second phase was to besiege the city and intercept reinforcements. When our forces surrounded Changzhi, Yan Xishan urgently sent over 20,000 reinforcements under the command of Peng Yubin, Deputy Commander of the 7th Army Group, who advanced swiftly from Qinxian in an attempt to rescue the Shi Zebuo forces in Changzhi. The situation changed abruptly, and Liu and Deng [Names] urgently ordered the Taihang and Taiyue Columns at Machang Village in Lucheng County (now Machang Village in Changzhi City) to quickly move north and prepare an ambush south of the Changting–Jin Railway in the Changlong and Shangcun areas. The remaining forces and local units pretended to be the main force, continuing to besiege and feign attacks on Changzhi to lure the enemy reinforcements southward. The command post was then moved to Daping Village. On the morning of October 2, the vanguard of the enemy reinforcements reached the vicinity of Lao ye Mountain but hesitated after being blocked by our forces, halting in the Yucun area. To lure the enemy deeper, Liu and Deng [Names] decided to abandon the Lao ye Mountain position and ordered the Taiyue Column to flank the enemy’s left and the Taihang Column to flank their right. By noon that day, the enemy had occupied Lao ye Mountain. Liu and Deng [Names] personally directed operations from the Daping Village command post and also mobilized follow-up forces such as the Southern Hebei Column into battle. They advanced during daylight to deliberately expose their movements, accelerating the enemy’s wavering resolve. Under our forces’ attack, the enemy retreated from Lao ye Mountain and withdrew northward along the entire front. Our forces pursued the advantage, occupying high ground near Tulu Village on October 5, cutting off the enemy’s retreat route, and cornering them north of Huting and along the Zhang River. By 9:00 AM on October 9, apart from 2,000 soldiers who escaped back to Qinxian, the rest were completely annihilated. The third phase was the pursuit and annihilation of fleeing enemies. After the defeat of their reinforcing forces, the besieged Shi Zebuo troops in Changzhi took advantage of heavy rain and thick fog on the night of October 8 to abandon the city and flee westward. Our forces tracked and pursued them, annihilating the enemy entirely in the Taocuan area of Sucun in Qinshui County, capturing the enemy army commander Shi Zebuo. This marked the victorious conclusion of the Shangdang Campaign.