Advance the Date of spring Plowing
and Concentrate Our Forces to Smash
the Enemy's Big Offensive
Directive No. 18 of the Central Executive Committee
(December 28, 1932)
The revolutionary war has reached an extremely crucial moment. The imperialist
Guomindang is going all out in its big offensive against the Central Soviet Area.
This ruthless class struggle in which they try to save their moribund regime is
now developing fiercely. This war is the enemy's desperate struggle, which will
become more intense and will last longer than the first, second, and third wars. In
order to smash the enemy's offensive thoroughly and win greater victories, we
have to mobilize the broad masses of workers and peasants and use all our forces
to wage a determined, long, and hard struggle against the enemy. But it is almost
time for spring plowing, and the war will reach its fiercest phase during spring
plowing season. Therefore, to make it possible for the broad masses of workers
and peasants to plow and sow in peace., to complete the work of spring plowing
rapidly, and to have the peace of mind to concentrate all energies on eliminating
the attacking enemy without any other worries, the Central Government has
decided to move up spring plowing throughout the Soviet Area. Moreover, ways
should be found to accelerate our production and work speed, so as to achieve a
great increase in the grain output of the Soviet Area in the shortest possible time,
to consolidate Red Army supplies and improve the daily lives of the workerpeasant masses, and to guarantee final victory in the revolutionary war. Therefore, this decision is of extremely weighty importance and governments at all
levels absolutely must cooperate with all mass organizations, such as farm
laborers' unions, poor peasant leagues, and so on, to make the greatest possible
effort to mobilize the masses as a whole to carry out the decision according to
the following methods:
1. All land should be plowed and all dams repaired by the end of January.
2. Sowing and transplanting should be done at least one month earlier than
the usual schedule.
For the source of this document, see above., the note to the text of December 27, 1932,
"Directive No.8 of the Council of People's Commissars."

3. Every family should immediately prepare sufficient fertilizer and select
the best seeds. Not only can this greatly increase production, but it is also
conducive to rapid sowing and transplanting.
4. The masses everywhere should carry out mutual aid in plowing and sowing. There should be mutual aid in labor power, seeds. draft cattle. and tools, in
order to carry out the work of spring plowing rapidly.
5. We should mobilize the masses to plow and sow tint the common land
owned by the Red Army and land of Red Army soldiers' families. Not an inch of
land should lie waste.
Governments at all levels should work out more specific measures based on
the above points and adjust them to suit local situations. Government bodies
should also call on farm laborers' unions, poor peasant leagues, and the
electorates' conferences to do extensive propaganda work. There should also be
rules of revolutionary competition and a reward system. Whichever village or
person finishes first in plowing, dam repairing, fertilizer and seed collection,
sowing, and transplanting should be given a prize by xian and district governments. In some places where the land problem is not yet solved, land should be
distributed immediately in order to facilitate spring plowing. It is so ordered.
Chairman
Vice-Chairmen
Mao Zedong
XiangYing
Zhang Guotao