Order to the First Front Army of the Red Army
to Move to the East
(September 12, 1931, 8:00P.M., at
General Headquarters in Shihuiyao)t
I. Remnants of the enemy forces of Jiang Dingwen are still in Changjingkou;
Jiang [Guangnai]'s division, as well as that of Cai (Tingkai], are still in the
Gaoxingxu area. Han Deqin's forces are still in the city of Xingguo and do not
dare to take further action because they are not clear about the situation of our
armies. As for the enemy troops that attacked and harassed Huangtuwa yesterday, one source says it was a guard detachment {shouwang dui; another source
says that there are still some enemy scouts today, [but] the enemy troops which
attacked Liuke have already retreated to Sanke. The Seventh Division of our
Third Army has already set out to take the stronghold in Huangtuwa; the Eighth
and Ninth Divisions are in Laoyingpan and the Fourth Independent Division is in
Shenggangwa. They are covering the movement of our main forces.
2. The Front Army has decided to move eastward to the right of the enemy
by way of Laoyingpan and Tianduan, and it has decided on the following
itinerary:
General Headquarters, its directly attached unit, and the Fourth Army (including the Thirty-fifth Army and the Thirty-fifth Division) should have their breakfast at 4:00 tomorrow morning (the 13th), leave their present location at 5:00,
and arrive at the Yankeng. Shizibci, Yanran, and Fengshuiwa area (60 li) by way
of Shihuiyao, Shen'gangwa, and Laoyingpan and encamp there (because the
houses in Chongxian have all been burned down by the enemy). The day after
tomorrow, the Fourth Army should choose its own convenient way to get to
Liantang. General Headquarters and its directly attached unit will arrive at
Hejiangkou tomorrow and at Shuitouzhuang the day after tomorrow.
The Seventh Army of the Third Army Group should have breakfast at 4:00
tomorrow morning, set out from the present location at 5:00, and take the road to
We have translated this order from Jiangxidangshi ziliao, Vol. 19, p. 112.
I. Shihuiyao is a small hamlet in Taihexicur's Langchuan toWnship, near the Xingguo
border. Places mentioned in this document are mostly in Taihe and Xingguo.
2. Guard detachments were anti-Communist militia forces common in the several xian
around Ji'an; often they were formed by local elites and other people who had been
displaced from the soviet areas.

J48
the left of Chayuan, Shihuiwei, and Shihuiyao (the road on the right of this line
will be taken by the Fourth Army). After passing through Santiansi (Guodong),
Niugudong, Wangkeng, Dazhuang, and Xiaozhuang, it should arrive at the area
of Tianduan, Jiankou, Jiaoshi, and Shanggai (70 li) and encamp there. Day after
tomorrow, it should choose its own route and arrive at Longgangtou.
3. Each unit should send one company of soldiers to the tail of its main forces
to take care of those soldiers who have fallen behind.
4. Owing the march, General Headquarters will be in front of its directly
attached unit and will encamp tomorrow evening at Hejiangkou. It is so ordered.
Commander-in-Chief
Zhu De
Political Commissar
Mao Zedong