On the eve of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, civil war between Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China entered the final stage.

The Huaihai Campaign is among the major military conflicts that took place from November 1948 to January 1949.

The CPC estimated that frontline troops needed three million tons of explosives, and 2,500 tons of provisions every single day.

The People's Liberation Army managed to mobilize peasants to bring supplies and remove the dead and wounded from the frontline.

In return for helping the army, the peasants received asset loss compensation, free medical treatment, free food and most importantly – respect from the PLA soldiers.

The Huaihai Battle lasted for 66 days. The CPC won the campaign with its 600,000 soldiers over Kuomintang's 800,000 fighters – a miracle in military history.

A total of 5,430,000 peasants were mobilized to support the frontline soldiers, about six civilians behind each soldier.

Artist Fan Yang recorded the story in his painting, "Supporting the Frontline", dedicated to the great coordination between soldiers and civilians.

PLA Commander Chen Yi attributed the victory of the Huaihai Campaign to the peasants – saying it was their support and wheelbarrows that led to victory in the frontlines.  

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