Order for the Troops to Assemble
Before the Battle
(April 19, 1931)'
I. The tide of the Chinese revolution rises higher every day, and will lead
inevitably to concerted attacks by the counterrevolutionaries, especially against
the Red Army and the soviet areas. With the political and economic crises
throughout the country and the progress of the revolution, however, the contradictions within the camp of the counterrevolutionaries become ever sharper, to
the point where they are almost ready to explode into warfare. At present the
Chinese Red Army should, with the highest possible resolve, concentrate its
forces, break the enemy's siege together with the armed forces of the masses,
strive for victory in the Second Offensive, establish a consolidated soviet regime,
and expand outward.
2. From the movements of the enemy armies at present, it seems that Ningdu
is their target as they advance gradually toward us, entrenching themselves at
every step. The information gathered to date can be summarized as follows:
Of the Nineteenth Route Army, Cai [Tingkai]'s forces reached the line from
Longgangtou to Jiangbeidong on April 8. So far there has been no news about
further movements.
Of the Fifth Route Army, one division commanded by Wang Jinyu has already arrived in Xin'an and Toupi; Guo Huazong arrived in Shuinan on April
15; Hao Menglin's division arrived in Baisha on April 14; Gong Bingfan's
forces are in the area around Gupo and Futian.
Of Sun Lianzhong's Twenty-sixth Route Army, Gao Shuxun's division has
reached Wangxianxu in Le'an, but most of its forces are in Yihuang.
Of the Sixth Route Army, Zhu Shaoliang's advance unit has reached
Guangchang City, and the rest are between Guangchang and Nanfeng.
Wherever the enemy troops go, the local revolutionary masses suffer severe
devastation. More than ten thousand people have fled from Shuinan, and more
than twenty thousand from Xingguo. All of these masses have fervent hopes for
our army's offensive. The armed masses in various areas, acting in concert with
our Thirty-fifth Division and using guerrilla tactics, have blocked all routes for
the advance of the enemy armies.
Char~
teltt is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. I, pp. 216-18. It can also be
found in Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 3, pp. 257-59.
Our troops on the west side of the [Gan] river, the Seventh and the Twelfth
armies, as well as the independent division of eastern Hunan, are currently
engaged in fierce combat against the enemy in the vicinity of Taihe.
3. In accordance with the order from the Central Revolutionary Military
Commission, our Front Army is determined to advance with the utmost speed so
as to destroy first of all the enemy armies under Wang Jinyu. Then it will
accomplish our army's mission by breaking through the enemy's encirclement,
fighting the enemy troops in their rear area, and wiping them out one by one.
4. The assembly areas for our Front Army are as follows:
The Third Army should set out tomorrow morning (April 20), passing through
Gulonggang and Liangchun and assembling in Longgangxu on April 22.
The Fourth Army should set out at the same time, passing through Anfuxu,
Huangpi, and Hanxia, and assembling in Shanggu on April 23. The Third Army
should set out on the same day, passing through Jiangkou, Nankeng, and
Longgang, and assembling in Shitoukeng (to the north of Longgang) on April 23.
The Twelfth Army should set out at the same time, passing through Jiangkou
and Nankeng behind the unit directly subordinated to the General Headquarters
and assembling in Huilong near Shanggu.
The General Headquarters of our Front Army and its directly subordinate unit
will join the Central Revolutionary Military Commission and follow behind the
Third Army, assembling in Longgang on April 23.
For the time being, all operations of the Thirty-fifth Army, advancing or
halting, are subject to the command of the Third Army.
The Thirty-fifth Division and the Seventh Division have been given other
tasks.
5. The Third Army Group and the Fourth and Third armies should each
dispatch one company as an advance unit to march ahead and fix bridges and
roads so that the main forces may pass smoothly.
6. By the time the Third Army Group reaches Longgang (on April 22), the
Twelfth Army as well as other troops advancing on the same route should have
arrived in Junbu, and the Fourth Army should have arrived in Hanxia. On that
day, all army units should send out liaison officers reciprocally in order to
establish contact with each other.
Points for attention:
a. All army units are to purchase rice along the way for meals; it is forbidden
to consume the rice carried along with them.
b. This order is issued exclusively to units at the divisional level and above.
Commander-in-Chief
Zhu De
Political Commissar
Mao Zedong
--- Notes

I. This order to the First Front Army was issued at 5:00 P.M. from headquarters in
Qingtang, Ningdu xian.
"