Yetaishan Campaign - Third Stage

Third Stage

At the dusk of August 8, 1945, Communists secretly approached the nationalist positions and dug in. At midnight, the attack begun, but their advance was checked by the stubborn nationalist defense. By 4:00 AM of August 9, 1945, only the 771st Regiment of the New 4th Brigade succeeded in taking nationalist positions at Meng Household’s Plain, (Menghuyuan, 孟户原) and Xionng Family’s Mountain (Xiongjiashan, 熊家山), while other communist attacks were beaten back. The communist headquarter consequently ordered the 358th Brigade to join the fight, and the 8th Regiment of the 358th Brigade was ordered by its brigade commander Huang Xinting (黄新廷) to launch another round of attack on the nationalists, under the cover of the artillery barrage of three mountain guns and eight mortars, the entire artillery pieces of the brigade.

By 10:00 AM on August 9, 1945, the 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Regiment of the Communist 358th Brigade succeeded in taking all trenches outside the bunkers occupied by the nationalists, and a Communist soldier named Yin Yufen (尹玉芬) first breached the first nationalist bunker, and soon after, other units of the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Regiment of the Communist 358th Brigade and 1st Battalion of the 16th Regiment of the New 4th Brigade also succeeded in breaching the nationalist defense, finally taking the remaining nationalist positions at Yetai Mountain (Yetai Shan, 爷台山) by 2:00 PM. After the main battle ended, the 3rd Battalion of the 8th Regiment of the Communist 358th Brigade and the 3rd Garrison Regiment succeeded in taking the last five bunkers in the region of Laozhuangzi (老庄子), and Songjiawa (宋家洼), and the five nationalists companies left to guard the region were completely destroyed and Communist took a defensive posture to prepare for possible nationalist counterattacks.