 In September 1950, communists gathered enough troops from various detachments and formed the Bandit Eradication Command, and the deputy commander-in-chief of the communist Eastern Sichuan Military District, Zen Shaoshan (曾绍山) was put in charge of the new command.The first stage of the campaign begun on September 22, 1950 when 20 communist battalions totaling around 13,000 begun their simultaneous attacks on the following four counties