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How did Lin Biao use guerrilla warfare against Nationalist forces in Manchuria?

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Lin Biao, Zhou Enlai, and other Chinese officials stand in uniform, holding up Little Red Books during a 1967 Red Guard rally in China. — Lin Biao At a 1967 Red Guard rally, Lin Biao (left) and Zhou Enlai publicly display copies of *The Little Red Book*.

In the Chinese Civil War, Lin Biao employed a patient and methodical strategy in Manchuria that relied on guerrilla warfare to undermine the numerically superior Nationalist forces.1

Rather than attempting to hold urban centers initially, Lin abandoned the cities to the Nationalists and focused on securing the support of the rural peasantry. By operating in the countryside, he was able to isolate the Nationalist troops—who were largely garrisoned in cities and along railways—and cut off their lines of communication.12

Lin utilized his forces to methodically whittle away at the enemy, launching small offensives that exploited the Nationalists' indecisive leadership and declining troop morale. This approach allowed him to hem the Nationalist armies into a few major cities with only tenuous control over the surrounding territory and supply routes. Through this strategy, Lin successfully transformed his army from a force of 100,000 into a formidable 800,000-strong military by the end of 1948, ultimately forcing the surrender of Nationalist garrisons and securing control of all of Manchuria.21