Directive on the Method of Collecting Enemy Weapons[1]

(September 12, 1930)

In the past, during the guerrilla period, our Red Army did not fight large enemy forces, nor did we capture large quantities of enemy weapons. As a result, our officers and soldiers often rushed forward, grabbed hold of the enemy, demanded their guns, and slung the captured guns over their own shoulders. This habit persists to this day. In our recent attack on Changsha, a detachment of the Fourth Army had pursued a regiment under Chen Guangzhong[2] to the point where they were willing to surrender their weapons. Yet our officers and soldiers, acting as before, wanted to carry all these guns on their own backs. How could this be done? We had few men, and the enemy had many guns—naturally, we could not carry them all. In the end, unable to manage the situation, we were counterattacked by the enemy, and the guns of this regiment fell back into enemy hands. What a pity! From now on, we must all understand the method of fighting large battles and capturing large quantities of weapons. Whenever enemy troops signal their willingness to surrender their weapons by waving flags or raising their hands, sounding the salute, or holding up their guns, we must, on the one hand, use our power to guard against deception and order them to stack all their guns (stack arms) or place them all on the ground and step back a number of paces. Then we must send officers to assemble these prisoners, lead them away from the battlefield, and dispatch the necessary forces to escort them to the rear. All guns (whether placed on the ground or stacked on racks) should be handled by other personnel (preferably adjutants or orderlies) with a very small force, who will deliver them to the nearest point in the rear and hand them over to unarmed personnel for transport further back (removing the bolts if necessary). But under no circumstances should we ourselves carry large quantities of captured enemy weapons, thereby reducing our own combat effectiveness. This point deserves special attention. The personnel dispatched should immediately run back to their original units to deal with enemies on other fronts. When collecting enemy weapons, we must act with the utmost speed and take meticulous precautions to prevent the enemy from seizing the opportunity to counterattack. While the enemy still holds their guns, in order to reduce their combat effectiveness and accomplish our combat mission, we must kill them without mercy. Conversely, once the enemy has laid down their guns and indicated surrender, we must not harm them out of resentment. This is a matter of great importance. It is hoped that our officers and soldiers will earnestly pay attention to and abide by this. Hereby ordered.

Commander-in-Chief Zhu De

Political Commissar Mao Zedong

[1] This is Directive No. 2 issued by the General Headquarters of the First Front Army of the Red Army, jointly issued by Mao Zedong and Zhu De.

[2] Chen Guangzhong, then commander of the Independent 7th Brigade of the Kuomintang Army.