Key Facts
- Campaign start
- Night of 20 April 1949
- Campaign end
- 2 June 1949
- Duration
- Approx. 6 weeks
- Key cities captured
- Nanjing and Shanghai
- Consequence
- Nationalist government exiled to Taiwan
Strategic Narrative Overview
The PLA launched its crossing of the Yangtze River on the night of 20 April 1949, moving forces across a broad front despite Nationalist defensive positions. The river crossing succeeded rapidly, overwhelming Nationalist defenses. Communist forces then advanced swiftly, capturing Nanjing, the Nationalist capital, shortly after the crossing began, and pressing on to seize Shanghai by early June 1949.
01 / The Origins
By early 1949, the Chinese Civil War had shifted decisively in favor of the Communist People's Liberation Army. The Kuomintang Nationalist government, already weakened by military defeats and economic collapse, retained control south of the Yangtze River and held Nanjing as its capital. The PLA saw crossing the Yangtze as essential to destroying remaining Nationalist resistance and unifying China under Communist control.
03 / The Outcome
The campaign concluded on 2 June 1949 with the fall of Shanghai. The Nationalist government, stripped of its mainland strongholds, evacuated to the island of Taiwan, where it established a government in exile. The PLA's success effectively ended organized Kuomintang resistance on the Chinese mainland and paved the way for the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in October 1949.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.