EMERGENCY MOBILIZATION ORDER ISSUED BY THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT FOR SMASHING
THE FIFTH "ENCIRCLEMENT AND SUPPRESSION CAMPAIGN"

18 October 1933

[text] The large-scale decisive battle to smash the fifth "encirclement and
suppression" of the enemy has begun! We are striving for an even greater
victory!

After sustaining an initial serious blow to its large-scale invasion in
Ch'ing-liu, Lien-ch'eng, Yang k'ou, Wu-chiang and Li-ch'uan, the imperialist
Kuomintang is frantically waging a desperate attack. This engagement is a
crucial moment in the decisive battle between the two roads of sovietism and
colonialism!

To mobilize all our strength and fight for a way out for the Soviet and to
strive for complete victory in this decisive battle are the crucial
tasks of the Soviet region at present. The results of an inspection by the
Central Government of the work of the soviets at different levels, however,
revealed that many local governments displayed an attitude of extreme unconcern toward war mobilization. Manifestations of enthusiasm for enlarging
the Red Army, enlarging and training regional armed forces and mobilizing
transport teams to go to the front recently were utterly lacking in many
places. People in many places did not link all kinds of work--land investigation campaign, economic development, cultural and educational work and
sovietization--closely with the mobilization of the revolutionary war so as to
really rally the masses and lead them to struggle for the sake of complete
victory in smashing the fifth "encirclement and suppression."

Because a number of local governments adopted an attitude of unconcern, even
negligence, toward war mobilization, the following serious incidents came
about recently. On the northern front a small unit of the enemy dared to
penetrate deeply into the Lung-yen and Ret-ch'ing soviet area and raided the
district government, and on the southern front enemy scouts infiltrated into
the vicinity of Yun-men-ts'en in search of military intelligence. Yet our
district and township governments were completely unaware beforehand. In
Fukien Province, the only preparations to fight for victory in Lien-ch'eng
in coordination with the Red Army were utterly insufficient and efforts made

after victory to win over the new area of Lien-ch'eng-kuei were extremely
slow. In Fukien and Kiangsi provinces, more than 300 rifles were unexpectedly
intercepted and seized by the enemy recently.

At the front there are not enough coolies to move the large quantities of
war booty and recently a great deal of rifles taken from the enemy at Li-
ch'uan had to be moved entirely by fighters of the Red Army. For the people
in these places to adopt such an attitude of unconcern and negligence toward
maintaining vigilance against the enemy and toward war mobilization is virtually to commit a crime against the Revolution! This is a phenomenon that
cannot go on for even a short time longer! It should be rectified at once.

Beginning with the date of receipt of this order, the governments at different levels should promptly carry out the following kinds of work:

1. Provincial, county, district, township governments and all units of the
Red Army should forthwith convene all kinds of meetings, and particularly
at election meetings of the soviets, to explain in detail the tense present
situation in the Revolutionary war and to use all their strength to proceed
with mobilization for war. Likewise, all kinds of mass organizations should
convoke meetings to report on the war situation and their own roles so as to
be certain that every worker and every peasant in the Soviet area will understand the significance of this most important battle to smash the fifth "encirclement and suppression" and come forward enthusiastically to carry out
the work for participation in the war.

2. Bearing in mind the experience gained and lesson learned in our smashing
of the fourth "encirclement and suppression" the government at different
levels must fulfill the plan of the Central Revolutionary Military Affairs
Committee to enlarge the Red Army and enthusiastically rally whole battalions
and whole companies of the Red Guards and Young Pioneers to join the Red
Army before the decisive battle to smash the fifth "encirclement and suppression." At the same time, they must separately rally large numbers of brave
activists to join the Red Army. They should carry on the experience of the
Red Month of May and perpetuate the splendor of the Red Month of May to enlarge the Red Army sharply. At the same time, they should apply the experience of Hsing-kuo County's rejoin-one's-regiment campaign and make all deserters return to the army.

3. The governments at different levels must rally citizens between the ages
of 18 and 40 to join the Red Guards of their own free will in large number
and the broad masses of workers and peasants to join the Young Pioneers.
They should revive and expand model Red Guards battalions and model Young
Pioneers organizations, send them down regularly for drilling and step up
their military and political training. Where no model Red Guards battalions
and model Young Pioneers exist, they should be established in the shortest
possible time. Under a unified plan of operations (to be decided by military organs), they should rally the Red Guards and Young Pioneers to engage

in battle in coordination with the Red Army. Under the orders of the
Military Affairs Committee, all guerrilla units must thrust deeply into
the rear of the enemy in order to pin down enemy forces and then attack
them.

4. The governments at different levels must assure the supply of materials
to the Red Army. Every single item of economic development should be linked
closely with the war. They must also rally the broad masses to complete
seizure of economic development work before the end of December and begin
levying the land tax in November and go through with it without a blunder.
The governments at different levels must intensify the work of fund raising
and particularly in the new areas and border areas. The equalization bureau
and trade bureau of the governments at different levels must use all their
strength to insure the supplies of the Red Army so that the difficulties of
the spring-summer period this year in procuring staple foods for the Red Army
will not arise again and affect its movement. It is imperative that the
worker-peasant masses be mobilized to stand ready to render economic aid
to the Red Army at all times.

5. The governments at different levels should, in accordance with the
Voluntary Labor Law promulgated by the Central Government, mobilize the
broad masses to take up transport work. Every member of the Red Guards
should have a carrying pole and a bedspread, and five of them should together
have a stretcher. As soon as they hear a command from the government, they
will be able to assemble immediately to undertake transport work and help to
attack the enemy. And when the route of communication is damaged, they must
immediately make repairs so as to facilitate the movement of the Red Army.

6. The governments at different levels must especially step up the work of
suppressing counterrevolutionaries and enforcing the Red state of siege.
Counterrevolutionary cases should be rapidly resolved within a few weeks
and escape of convicts should be done away with. Sentries posts must be set
up so as to tighten up the inspection of safe conduct passes. In the border
areas, it is even more essential to guard against any surprise attack by
enemy plainclothes corps. The necessary alarm signals should be set up according to the orders of the Military Affairs Committee.

7. The governments at different levels must pay attention to work in the
border areas and new areas and transfer the most capable cadres there to work.
In the new areas occupied by the Red Army, they should immediately strive to
establish provisional regimes, distribute land, build up regional armed
forces and bring into existence various mass revolutionary organizations.

8. The departments of worker-peasant prosecutors at different levels must
step up the prosecution of passive and bureaucratic elements who are sabotaging the work of war mobilization. The departments of labor and the departments of education at different levels, in enforcing the Labor Law and
carrying out cultural and educational work, respectively, should link up their
functions closely with the work of war mobilization.

All sovietization work should be subordinate to the war!

In the great and difficult battle immediately before us, it is necessary
to deal a severe blow to alarm and to retreat and escape. At the same time,
it is necessary to oppose resolutely all suggestions of taking enemy attacks
lightly and relaxation our efforts in mobilization work. It is imperative
that we make a supreme effort to tighten all our work and plunge into
propaganda and agitation to mobilize the broad masses of workers and peasants,
concentrate all our strength, prepare to make all sacrifices, and fight for
total victory in smashing the fifth "encirclement and suppression campaign":
Fight for Soviet new China!

The governments at different levels must conduct the most detailed report
and discussion of this order and the 5 October order of the Military Affairs
Committee at various meetings and draw up the most concrete measures to implement these orders. Stern administrative punishments should be meted out
immediately to those who are either passive or remiss in implementing these
orders. Such is the order!

Mao Tse-tung, Chairman of the Central
Executive Committees of the Soviet
Republic of China

Hsiang Ying, Vice Chairman

Chang Kuo-t'ao, Vice Chairman

18 October 1933

° "Red China," No 123, 2 November 1933