The nationalist I Corps would attack toward the Yishui (沂水) and Tanbu (坦埠) regions, then join forces with the II and III corps to attack northward and eastward, destroying the communist base in Shandong. Five nationalist armies were deployed in the region border by the Qingdao–Jinan railway, Jinpu railway, and Tai'an in the south to support the three nationalist corps. Another two army-sized reorganized divisions were deployed in Yi (峄) County and Zaozhuang respectively as reserves. Order of battle The nationalists totaled three corps with more than 600,000 troops, while the communists totaled 10 columns (armies) with almost 200,000 troops. Nationalist order of battle The 5th Army The 7th Army The army-sized 11th Reorganized Division The army-sized 20th Reorganized Division The army-sized 25th Reorganized Division The army-sized 48th Reorganized Division The army-sized 65th Reorganized Division The army-sized 74th Reorganized Division The division-sized 51st Reorganized Brigade The division-sized 57th Reorganized Brigade The division-sized 58th Reorganized Brigade The army-sized 83rd Reorganized Division Other various units Communist order of battle The 1st column (army) of the East China Field Army The 2nd column (army) of the East China Field Army The 3rd column (army) of the East China Field Army The 4th column (army) of the East China Field Army The 6th column (army) of the East China Field Army The 7th column (army) of the East China Field Army The 8th column (army) of the East China Field Army The 9th column (army) of the East China Field Army The 10th column (army) of the East China Field Army The specialized column (army) of the East China Field Army (unit with armor, trucks and artillery) Other local garrison units Commanders Commanders from Nationalist side included: Supreme Commander: Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek (Stationed in Nanjing) Frontline Commander-in-chief: Gu Zhutong (Stationed in Xuzhou) Corps Commander-in-chief: Tang Enbo Hu Lien (胡琏): Commander of the 11th Reorganized Division Huang Baitao (黄伯韬): Commander of the 25th Reorganized Division Zhang Lingfu: Commander of the 74th Reorganized Division Li Tianxia: Commander of the 83rd Reorganized Division (Replaced by Zhou Zhidao) Commanders from Communist side included: Chen Yi (陈毅): Commander-in-chief and Commissar of the East China Field Army Su Yu: Deputy Commander-in-chief of the East China Field Army, the actual architect of the campaign Tan Zhenlin (谭震林): Deputy Commissar of the East China Field Army Wang Bicheng (王必成): commander-in-chief of the 6th Column (army) of the East China Field Army Strategies