Situation of Enemy Annihilation in the Zhiluozhen Campaign[1]

(November 21, 1935)

Luofu[2] and Comrades of the Central Committee:

News of victory: One regiment of the enemy’s 109th Division and 111th Division[3] intruded into Zhiluozhen[4] yesterday. The Front Army encircled this enemy on the 21st. After fierce fighting until 12:00, our 1st Army Corps completely wiped out two regiments of the 109th Division and its division-level directly subordinate units, not allowing a single man or a single rifle to escape. The captured spoils are abundant and are currently being inventoried. The remaining two regiments, trapped and defending a earthen fort, have been encircled by our 15th Army Corps, and we are determined to wipe them out under cover of night. Dong Yingbin personally led two regiments as reinforcements and is now near our position; we are also determined to continue attacking this enemy tomorrow.

Mao, Peng, Zhou, Lin, Nie, Xu, Cheng

21:00, November 21

[1] After the main force of the Red 1st Front Army reached northern Shaanxi and joined forces with the Red 15th Army Corps, in order to smash the third "encirclement and suppression" campaign launched by the Kuomintang army against the Shaanxi-Gansu revolutionary base area, it was decided to concentrate forces and seek opportunities to fight by moving south. In mid-November, the main force of the Red 1st Front Army advanced to the area east of Zhiluozhen in Fu County, Shaanxi, and concealed itself to await an opportunity. On the 20th, Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong, and Peng Dehuai jointly commanded the Zhiluozhen Campaign. On the 21st, an attack was launched against the 109th Division of the Kuomintang 57th Army, which had garrisoned the town. After fierce fighting, the greater part of the division was annihilated, and its remnants were wiped out while attempting to break through. In total, one division and one regiment of the enemy were annihilated, over 5,300 enemy troops were captured, and over 3,500 rifles were seized. The victory in the Zhiluozhen Campaign consolidated the Shaanxi-Gansu Soviet Area and laid the cornerstone for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to place the great base camp of the Chinese revolution in the Northwest. This text is a telegram from Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong, Red 1st Front Army Commander Peng Dehuai, Red 1st Army Corps Commander Lin Biao, Red 1st Army Corps Political Commissar Nie Rongzhen, Red 15th Army Corps Commander Xu Haidong, and Political Commissar Cheng Zihua to Luofu (Zhang Wentian) and comrades of the Central Committee.

[2] Luofu, namely Zhang Wentian, then served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, bearing overall responsibility within the Party.

[3] The 109th Division refers to the 109th Division of the Kuomintang Northeast Army’s 57th Army, with division commander Niu Yuanfeng. The 111th Division refers to the 111th Division of the Kuomintang Northeast Army’s 57th Army, with division commander concurrently held by Kuomintang 57th Army Commander Dong Yingbin.

[4] Zhiluozhen is located in the western part of Fu County, Shaanxi Province.