The Yangtze River Crossing Campaign
After suffering resounding defeats in the Liaoxi-Shenyang, Huai-Hai and Beiping-Tianjin campaigns, the KMT government faced in political, economic and military collapse. To win some breathing-space for a comeback, Chiang Kai-shek attempted to use the Yangtze River as barrier to halt the southward advance of the PLA.
To end the war as soon as possible and bring peace, Mao Zedong presented eight terms for peace negotiations with the KMT government, and the PLA held back from crossing the Yangtze. After talks, KMT and CPC representatives reached an Agreement on Internal Peace, but the Nanjing-based KMT government refused to sign the agreement. As a result, Mao Zedong, chairman of the Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Commission, and Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the PLA, issued an order on April 21, 1949 to the army for a country-wide advance.
On the nights of April 20 and 21, the Second and Third Field Armies started the south crossing campaign, the largest of its kind in Chinese history. The battle line stretched for more than 500 km, from Hukou in the west to Jiangyin in the east. The PLA troops built up huge momentum and broke the KMT defense line along the Yangtze. On April 23, the PLA captured Nanjing, the KMT capital. This event announced the downfall of a reactionary regime that had lasted for 22 years.
From April 27 to May 6, the Third Field Army wiped out five enemy armies in the Langxi and Guangde regions, which had just fled Nanjing and Zhenjiang, and on May 3, they seized Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province. At the same time, the Second Field Army marched southward and liberated the cities of Jiujiang and Nanchang and cut the contacts between the KMT group armies led by Tang Enbo (1900-1954) and Bai Chongxi (1893-1966). They liberated Wuhan on May 17, occupied Shanghai on May 27, and took Chongming Island on June 2.
Over the 42-day campaign, the PLA inflicted more than 430,000 casualties and suffered 60,000, and liberated the major cities of Nanjing, Shanghai and Wuhan, the whole provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui, and parts of the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei and Fujian. This laid good foundations for liberating the whole of East, South and Southwest China.
渡江战役
在辽沈、淮海、平津三大战役的沉重打击下，国民党政治、经济、军事陷入了总崩溃。蒋介石为了赢得时间，伺机卷土重来，企图依托长江天险阻止人民解放军渡江南进。
为了早日结束战争，实现真正的和平，毛泽东提出了与国民党政府进行和平谈判的八项条件，人民解放军为此多次推迟渡江南进的时间。当南京国民党政府拒绝在国共双方已达成的《国内和平协定》上签字后，中国人民革命军事委员会主席毛泽东、中国人民解放军总司令朱德于1949年4月21日发布了向全国进军的命令。
4月20日晚至21日晚，中国人民解放军第二、第三野战军，发起了中国历史上规模空前的渡江战役。在西起湖口东至江阴的千里战线上，人民解放军以排山倒海之势，一举突破了国民党陆、海、空组成的长江防线。4月23日，人民解放军占领南京，宣告了国民党22年反动统治的灭亡。4月27日至5月6日，第三野战军又在郎溪、广德地区围歼南京、镇江逃敌五个军，并于5月3日占领浙江省会杭州。与此同时，由第二野战军组成的西集团军渡江后向南疾进，先后解放了九江、南昌，斩断了浙赣路，隔断了汤恩伯与白崇禧两集团军的联系。5月17日解放了武汉三镇。5月27日，完全攻占了上海。6月2日，解放了崇明岛，至此，渡江战役宣告胜利结束。
历时42天的渡江战役，人民解放军以伤亡6万余人的代价，歼灭国民党军43万余人，解放了南京、上海、武汉等大城市以及江苏、安徽两省全境和浙江、江西、湖北、福建等部分地区，为之后解放华东全境和向华南、西南地区进军创造了重要条件。
