 According to the geography of Tianjin, which was characterized in its long span in the north-south direction and short span in the east-west direction, the communists made a plan of simultaneously attacking from the east and west, cutting off the city in the middle, and then first taking the southern portion of the city, and afterward taking the northern portion of the city.From January 3, 1949 through to January 12, 1949, the communists cleared all 18 nationalist strongholds outside the city, and the defenders were forced to take refuge behind the city wall.After the nationalists behind the city wall had refused to surrender for three times when asked, the communists launched their final offensive on the city on January 14, 1949 at 10