 The nationalist commander Wang Jingxiu (王敬修) learned that the nationalist 20th Division was moving toward Square City (Fang Cheng, 方城), so he ordered his surviving troops to move toward the town in an attempt to link up with his nationalist comrades-in-arms.Little did the nationalists know that their enemy was waiting to ambush them.On November 21, 1947, the communist 10th Brigade of the 4th Column suddenly struck the town of Nanzhao (南召), and the nationalist garrison consisted on a security regiment and two companies was overwhelmed.