Order of the General Headquarters of the
First Front Army of the Red Army
(Issued at the General Headquarters in Yongxingqiao1
at 3:00P.M. on August 31, 1932)


1. Enemy units under Wu Qiwei's command. about four regiments, reached
Dianqian this morning and are poised to encircle Yongxingqiao in coordination
with the main enemy forces.


2. Our Front Army is to use the First and Fifth Army groups as the main attacking
force to carry out the mission of destroying the enemy at Dianqian. The Third Army
Group is responsible for monitoring the enemy in Yihuang and Chongren.


3. Comrades Lin [Biao] and Nie [Rongzhen] of the First Army Group are
appointed commanders-in-chief at the front. The action of the Fifth Army Group
tomorrow is to be under their command.


4. The headquarters of the Fifth Army Group is to command the Thirteenth
Army, move from Pingshang and Xia'nancunzi, and follow the Fourth Army Group
this afternoon (the Fourth Army Group is to advance immediately from Guyuancun
to the front at Xia'nancun), passing through Binkou and Binyuan to reach and take
up quarters in Xujia and Leyuan. Moreover, it is to send officers to the headquarters
of the First Army Group in Chongwudu to receive tomorrow's attack orders.


5. The Fifteenth Army is to advance immediately from Yongxingqiao,
through Luyuan, to take quarters in Yangfang; it is also to dispatch a force of one
regiment at once to Zengjiayan to take over the defence of the Third Army
Group. The rest of its forces must build up positions on the high ground in front
of Yangfang in order to launch an active attack tomorrow. Moreover, it must
report to the headquarters of the First Army Group via wireless on enemy deployment, as well as the battle situation at different stages. It is also to receive
orders directly from headquarters.


6. General Headquarters is set up tonight in Xia'nancun (Nancun in local
parlance).


Commander-in-Chief
Zhu De
Chief Political Commissar
Mao Zedong


Our source for this order is Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 4, pp. 77-78, where it is
reproduced from a documentary collection published in China in 1979.
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