Order to the First Front Army of the Red Army
to Work Between the Yuan River and the
Ruizhou River and to Await opportunities
(October 24, 1930,2:30 P.M., at General Headquarters
in Laojia on the northern edge of Huangtujie)
I. The entire enemy division of Tan Daoyuan has already reached Nanchang.
Xu Kexiang's forces1 and the vanguard troops of Xiong Shihui's Fifth Division
arrived in succession in Jiujiang on the 19th of this month. According to newspaper reports it is said that the forces of Jin Handing and those of Mao Bingwen2
continue to make their way towards Jiangxi. The division of Gong (Bingfan) is
now in Nanchang; the division of Zhang (Huizan) is now on the Zhangshu and
Fengcheng line; the division of Deng (Ying) is now in Fuzhou; in Yuanzhou
there are now Luo Lin's forces1 (the Hunan enemy); in Fenyi there is approximately one battalion of their vanguard forces.
2. The Front Army has the tasks of striving for further victory in the wake of
the victory in Ji'an, mobilizing the masses, destroying enemy forces, expanding
the Red Army, taking Nanchang and Jiujiang in a planned, collaborative, step-by-step manner, and striving for victory in the entire province of Jiangxi. It has
been decided to begin by arranging the work between the Yuan River and the
Ruizhou River, deploying the main forces along the Yuan River, mobilizing the
masses in this area to raise money for provisions, and making every effort to
create the conditions for a decisive battle with the enemy. The provisional time
limit is seven days (there will be a separate order in case of extension).
3. The Third Army Group is to undertake the work in the area to the east of
the Huangtujie, Zhanxi, Yinggangling, Guantangxu and Huifu line (including the
line itself), and should dispatch advance forces to the main roads of Yinggangling and Bojiaxu to threaten and pressure the enemy in Gaoan.
4. The First Army Group is to undertake the work in the area to the west of
the same line (excluding the line itself). The Third Army is to be positioned in
Our source for this order is Jiangxi dangshi ziliao, Vol. 6, pp. 185--186.
I. Regarding Xu Kexiang see above, the relevant note to the text of July 4, 1927. At
this time, he was commander of the Guomindang Twenty-fourth Division.
2. Mao Bingwen (1891-1970), a native of Hunan, was at this time the commander of
the Eighth Division of the Guomindang Sixth Route Army.
3. Regarding Gong Bingfan, Zhang Huizan, Deng Ying, and Luo Lin see above, the
relevant notes to the orders of July 29, August 24, and August 31, 1930.


OCTOBER 1930
573
Fenyi xian and to be in charge of the work in the vicinity of the xian seat and on
both shores of the Yuan River. Special attention must be paid to keeping a close
watch in the direction of Yuanzhou. The Twelfth Army is to be positioned in
Xinyu xian and to undertake the work in the vicinity of the town seat and on both
shores of the Yuan River. The Fourth Army is to be positioned in Luofang, and
should dispatch advance troops to Qianxu to press on towards Gaoan. Their work
area would also tend to be on both shores of the Yuan River.
5. All army groups should set out tomorrow (the 25th).
6. All units should concentrate their main forces on the left wing. The degree
to which forces are dispersed is to be decided based upon the enemy's situation.
7. Along the north shore of the Yuan River, on the route from Qingjiangxian
via Huangtujie, Luofang, and Xinyu xian to Fenyi, a main communication line is
to be constructed by making use of existing electricity poles, with Luofang as the
center (construction to the east of Huangtujie goes to the Third Army Group, and
to the west to the First Army Group.)
8. General Headquarters moves tomorrow (the 25th) to Luofang.
Attention:
I. All units stationed along the river (the Yuan River) must set up as many
floating bridges as possible and locate as many fording spots as possible.
2. In the area where the First Army Group is to set up electric lines, the Third
Army and the Twelfth Army together are to construct the lines between the xian
seats of Xinyu and Fenyi, and the Fourth Army and the General Headquarters
transportation team are to construct the lines from west of Huangtujie to the xian
seat.
3. All units should as much as possible avoid encampment on the streets,
especially in the case of high-level organizations.
4. The amount of funds each army must raise for itself in a week should be
enough for a month's provisions.
5. Troops must be sent along the electrical power lines to safeguard them
effectively.
6. In the course of this work particular attention should be paid to the work
on the borders between Red and White areas.
Above are eight orders and six points for attention.
Commander-in-chief
Political Commissar
Zhu De
Mao Zedong