The Central Plains Breakthrough
Shortly after victory over the Japanese, Chiang Kai-shek gathered more than 20 divisions to encircle and "nibble away" at the Central Plains Liberated Area (a large area between the Yangtze and the Yellow rivers) in an attempt to wipe out the Communist troops and open the passages to East, North and Northeast China.
Despite a truce agreed between the KMT government and the CPC in January 1946, the KMT troops continued their attacks on this region. On June 26, Chiang Kai-shek tore up the truce agreement and launched massive attacks on the Central Plains Liberated Area with more than 300,000 troops in 10 divisions, heralding the start of an all-out civil war.
Following the Central Committee's instruction to "break through the siege immediately, with survival as the top goal," the Central Plains Military Command ordered the main forces to transfer westward along two routes, while leaving some local forces to fight the enemy in situ, and disguising a brigade as the main force moving eastward to confuse the enemy.
The 15,000 troops on the north route, led by Commander Li Xiannian (1909-1992), Political Commissar Zheng Weisan (1902-1975) and Deputy Commander Wang Zhen (1908-1993), broke through the encirclement and reached southern Shaanxi in late July, where they joined local guerillas to form the Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Military Command in early August. Then Wang Zhen led his 359th Brigade northward and reached the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Liberated Area in late August.
The 10,000 troops on the south route, led by Deputy Commander Wang Shusheng (1905-1974), also broke through the enemy siege. They came to the Wudang Mountains in northwest Hubei Province and formed a local military command by late August.
The First Brigade of the First Column led by Pi Dingjun (1914-1976), which undertook the task of misleading and pinning down the enemy, escaped the enemy siege and traveled some 500 km eastward to reach the Jiangsu-Anhui Liberated Area in less than one month.
The Central Plains Breakthrough was the prelude to the War of Liberation (1946-1949). This strategic transfer resulted in pinning down some 30 KMT brigades, preserving the main forces, and building two large base areas. The small number of troops left behind in the Central Plains area to continue their fight coordinated their efforts well with the fight on other battlefields, benefiting the later strategic counter-offensive and the ultimate victory nationwide. This won high praises from the Central Committee and the Central Military Commission.
中原突围
抗日战争胜利后，蒋介石调集20多个师的部队，包围和蚕食中原解放区，企图消灭中原解放区部队，打通向华东、华北、东北的进军道路。1946年1月，国民党政府和中国共产党双方代表签署停战协定后，国民党军仍继续增调兵力包围和进攻这一地区。6月26日，蒋介石撕毁国共双方达成的《停战协定》，调动10个整编师共30余万人的兵力，首先对中原军区部队发起大规模进攻，致使全面内战爆发。
中原军区遵照中共中央“立即突围，愈快愈好，不要有任何顾虑，生存第一，胜利第一”的指示，除留部分地方部队在原地坚持斗争，以一个旅伪装主力向东转移迷惑国民党军队外，主力分南北两路向西转移。
北路约1.5万人，在中原军区司令员李先念、政委郑位三和副司令员王震的率领下，突破了国民党军队重重截击合围，于7月下旬进入陕南，同陕南游击队会合，并于8月初组成鄂豫陕军区。其中王震率领三五九旅继续北进，于8月底进入陕甘宁解放区。
南路约1万余人，在军区副司令员王树声率领下，冲破国民党军队的围追堵截，进入鄂西北的武当山地区，于8月下旬组成鄂西北军区。
担负迷惑和牵制敌军任务向东转移的第一纵队第一旅，在旅长皮定均的指挥下，在成功迷惑敌人后，迅速跳出包围圈，挥师东进，转战20余天，跋涉千里，进入苏皖解放区。
中原突围，揭开了解放战争的序幕。它是一次伟大的战略转移，牵制了国民党军队30个旅的兵力，保存了主力，建立了两块根据地，并留下小部分兵力坚持原地斗争，有力地配合了其他战场的作战，对以后的战略反攻和夺取解放战争的全国胜利发挥了重要作用，受到中共中央和中央军委的充分肯定和高度赞扬。
