 By this time, the nationalists in Northeast China had suffered greatly and Siping (city) was only garrisoned by a mere 19,000 troops, without any hope of reinforcement.The first sign of trouble appeared when a transportation battalion of the nationalist 88th Division was ambushed on January 26, 1948 at Guo Family's Hotel (Guo Jia Dian, 郭家店) as the 500-men strong battalion attempted to transport grains to the city.Though the enemy attack was considered unlikely, the nationalists nonetheless doubled the strength of the battalion and assigned over a dozen trucks and over 100 horse-drawn carts to ensure the safe completion of the job.