000 Shanghai Campaign
Shanghai Campaign
1949 Communist victory

The Shanghai Campaign was a series of battles fought between the nationalists and the communists for the control of Shanghai, the largest city in China in the latter stage of the Chinese Civil War, and resulted in the city being taken over by the communists, who enjoyed numerical superiority.The campaign had cost the city's defenders heavily. 50,000 defenders including the nationalist commander-in-chief Tang Enbo managed to escape via sea, but the entire 37th Army, the 51st Army and the 5 Traffic Police Divisions were annihilated, while the nationalist 12th Army, 21st Army, 52nd Army, 75th Army, and the 123rd Army were badly mauled. Total nationalist casualties numbered more than 153,000. In addition to the city, more than 1,370 artillery pieces of various caliber, 1,161 automobiles, 11 naval vessels and 119 tanks and armored vehicles were captured by the enemy intact. Although the nationalists attempted to completely destroy the city, the communists nonetheless managed to take the city relatively intact due to the local populace's strong opposition to their intended scorched earth policy.