I. The Battle of Zhiluo Town

These four conditions determined our victory and the enemy’s defeat.

Without the second condition, we could not have won this victory and would have allowed the enemy to seize the Hulu River and Zhiluo Town.

Without the third condition, our troops would not have had rest and training, and their morale and combat effectiveness could not have been raised to such a high level; without eliminating and driving out the five or six local militia strongholds at Zhangcunyi, Dongcun, and other places, we could not have concealed our main forces or facilitated combat operations; without terrain reconnaissance and mapping conducted by commanders at the regimental level and above, we could not have deployed so appropriately or fought so brilliantly.

Without the fourth condition, we could not have concealed our main forces, transported the wounded, or supplied provisions so effectively.

These four conditions were the reasons for this great victory.

And the general policy set by the Central Committee and the Military Commission of “fighting southward” and “resolving the ‘encirclement and suppression’ in early winter” was fully realized through the resolute execution by commanders and fighters at all levels of the front army.

This victorious battle tells us that for future operations, we must also strive to secure these four conditions: (1) even greater unity between the two army corps; (2) seizing the strategic pivot to plan campaigns and seizing the operational pivot to plan battles; (3) striving for thorough preparations in pre-battle military training and political work; (4) working hard on local efforts to win the masses over to our side.

These four conditions are indispensable.

(3) The relationship between this victory and the next: This victory has finally resolved the third “encirclement and suppression.” The enemy cannot attack us again without redeploying their troops and making new arrangements.

This gives us the conditions—time and space—to prepare for breaking the next “encirclement and suppression.”

Time and space are extremely important to us. We must use every minute and every square mile we have gained to carry out all the fundamental work needed between two “encirclement and suppression” campaigns.

2. It enables us to use the time to vigorously expand the Red Army. This is the most important, most important, most important task at present. Under the influence of victory, more people are joining the Red Army, and the comrades guiding the expansion efforts are more motivated than ever.

3. It has consolidated the Soviet areas. The masses in the Soviet areas are all rejoicing, and their enthusiasm for supporting the Red Army and aiding the war effort will surely rise even higher. “The Central Red Army and the 15th Army Corps are truly remarkable”—this sentiment is boiling over.

7. The Central Committee is leading us to establish a vast base area in the northwest—a base area to lead the nationwide revolutionary war against Japan, against Chiang Kai-shek, and against all traitors. This victory can be considered the laying of the cornerstone.

8. Japanese imperialism not only wants to destroy China but also intends to attack Siberia in the Soviet Union and destroy the Mongolian People’s Republic. Our victory tells them: “If Japanese imperialism attacks you, we will strike its flanks and rear. We are your brothers, and we will take on a front of fire!”

Comrades, the impact of this victory is immense. We must spread this impact far and wide, explain it to every Red fighter, and make it clear to all worker and peasant masses and all soldiers and officers of the White army in the front, rear, Soviet areas, and White areas, so that they understand and sympathize with us.

II. What is the current situation?

(1) In the world:
—Contradictions among the imperialist powers are heading toward a major war (in the East and the West).
—The proletariat and the masses are opposing the imperialist war (the 400,000-strong mass demonstration in France on July 14, the unprecedented general strike in the United States this year, the democratic revolutions in Spain and Greece, and the revolutionary situation in various countries).
(2) In China:
—Japan’s actions (the grave situation of its attempt to dominate China alone).
—The struggle among the imperialist powers in China (Britain and the United States versus Japan).
—The internal struggle within the Kuomintang (the brewing and unfolding conflict between the Chiang Kai-shek clique and the anti-Chiang Kai-shek clique).
—The three main Red Army forces led by the Shaanxi-Gansu Red Army (us, the 2nd and 6th Army Corps, and the 4th Front Army).
—The restored and developing guerrilla warfare.
—The new anti-imperialist upsurge (latent and erupting).
—The sudden and rapid changes in China’s situation. A new great revolutionary situation is unfolding before us.

(3) In the northwest:
1. On the enemy side:
2. On our side:
—The inviolable strength of the Red Army (do not think our forces are smaller than before).
—The development of guerrilla warfare (its strategic significance).
—The enthusiasm of the worker and peasant masses (both manifest and latent strength).
—The correct leadership of the Party (the Central Committee).
—The sympathy of the masses in the White areas.
—The sympathy of White army soldiers and lower-level officers.
—The sympathy of the minority nationalities.
Therefore, we are advancing on favorable ground with a broad mass base.

(4) The issue of the fourth “encirclement and suppression”:
—Our development poses a great threat to Japanese imperialism.
—Our development poses a great threat to the Kuomintang’s traitorous government.
—Our development makes it impossible for Zhang Xueliang to save face.
III. What are the new tasks?

(2) Vigorously develop guerrilla warfare:
—Enable guerrilla warfare to develop extensively and powerfully across the five provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Suiyuan, and Ningxia.
—Double the size of guerrilla units within four months.
—Increase the planning of guerrilla warfare development.

(3) The tasks of the First Front Army are:
1. Continue to eliminate the enemy forces trapped within the Soviet areas and draw in and destroy any enemy forces that may come to their aid, so as to obtain replenishments of personnel and weapons and consolidate the Soviet areas.
2. Vigorously expand our own forces, striving to double them within four months (with various corps recruiting from the local population, the Central Bureau and the Military Commission expanding from the rear, and large-scale recruitment among prisoners of war). I repeat, this is the most important, most important, most important task.
3. Effectively train ourselves and raise the combat effectiveness of the front army to a very high level. On the one hand, emphasize marksmanship training and tactical education; on the other hand, emphasize basic political education and literacy education. Our marksmanship and fire direction still have serious shortcomings, and our combat command is still far from proficient; we must achieve a thorough transformation. Cultural and political levels should be raised a step higher. Commanders must be able to write and read, and fighters must learn to recognize 300 characters and understand the general principles of many revolutionary issues. Education must first focus on cadres. Only by raising the military and political level of cadres can the military and political level of fighters be truly improved. Raising the level of veteran cadres and creating many new cadres is an urgent task for the Red Army in the face of a great war.
4. Vigorously expand the Soviet areas to create a favorable combat environment. This will be done in coordination with local Party and government forces. Red Army commanders and fighters must respect local Party and government leadership organs. It is entirely wrong to treat local comrades with a commanding or even abusive attitude.
5. Vigorously carry out demoralization work against the enemy forces, turning it into a mass movement of the Red Army and the residents. Change the policy toward captured officers: once they have laid down their arms, not only should none be killed, but they should be treated well—not bound (unless necessary), not stripped of their clothing, not beaten or cursed—and released in large numbers through the Political Security Bureau and the Political Department, so as to influence White army officers to unite with us in resisting Japan. As for captured soldiers, they must be treated with the utmost consideration. No matter how fiercely the battle is fought, once they lay down their arms, they must be treated as brothers, and retaliatory actions are strictly forbidden.

Thus, destroying the enemy, expanding the Red Army, strengthening the Red Army, sovietizing the localities, and demoralizing the enemy forces are the five specific and serious tasks and work for the First Front Army in the coming period, with expanding the Red Army as the central link during this time. The task of destroying the enemy proposed here will not and should not hinder the completion of other tasks (especially expanding the Red Army)—that is, we should not pursue battles that are not necessarily winnable or go far into White areas to seek battles. Although these proposed tasks and work are the regular tasks and work of the Red Army, they have their special content and significance in the current period between two “encirclement and suppression” campaigns.

IV. We will use these to smash the enemy’s new offensive, we will use these to gain leadership over the nationwide Red Army’s guerrilla warfare and the anti-Japanese and anti-Chiang Kai-shek war, and we will use these to concretely prepare for direct combat against the invading armies of Japanese imperialism—we will lead the use of armed force to stop Japanese imperialism from attacking North China, swallowing the whole country, and attacking the Soviet Union. Our sacred responsibility demands that our comrades exert extraordinary efforts in carrying out their work. As long as we do this, great victory will be ours.

Printed based on the mimeographed copy preserved in the Central Archives.

Notes
[1] This is an outline of Mao Zedong’s report on the summary of the Battle of Zhiluo Town and the current situation and tasks, delivered at a meeting of cadres at and above the battalion level of the First Front Army of the Red Army held in Dongcun, Fuxian County, Shaanxi Province. The Battle of Zhiluo Town was a campaign conducted by the First Front Army of the Red Army from November 20 to 24, 1935, in and around Zhiluo Town, Fuxian County, Shaanxi Province, in which one enemy division and one regiment were annihilated, smashing the Kuomintang army’s third “encirclement and suppression” of the Shaanxi-Gansu revolutionary base area.
[2] This refers to the two victorious battles in October 1935 in which the 15th Army Corps of the Red Army annihilated the greater part of the Kuomintang 110th Division at Laoshan in Ganquan County, Shaanxi Province, and wiped out four battalions of the 107th Division at Yulinqiao.
[3] The two army corps refer to the 1st Army Corps and the 15th Army Corps of the First Front Army of the Red Army at that time.
[4] Dong Yingbin (1894–1950), a native of Shenyang, Liaoning Province. At that time, he served as commander of the Kuomintang 57th Army and concurrently as commander of its 111th Division.
[5] This refers to the First Front Army of the Red Army, which had arrived in northern Shaanxi after the Long March from the Central Revolutionary Base Area; the 25th Army of the Red Army, which had arrived in northern Shaanxi after the Long March from the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base Area; and the Shaanxi-Gansu Red Army, which had persisted in the struggle in its original area.
[6] Zhongbu, an old county name, is present-day Huangling County, Shaanxi Province.
[7] This refers to the Fifth National Congress of the Kuomintang held in Nanjing in November 1935.
[8] Division Commander Niu refers to Niu Yuanfeng, commander of the 109th Division of the Kuomintang 57th Army, who was killed in the Battle of Zhiluo Town.
[9] Abyssinia is present-day Ethiopia.
[10] Zhang Xueliang, born in 1901, a native of Haicheng, Liaoning Province. At that time, he served as deputy commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang’s Northwest “Bandit Suppression” Headquarters.
[11] Yu Xuezhong (1890–1964), a native of Penglai, Shandong Province. At that time, he served as commander-in-chief of the 2nd Route Army of the Kuomintang’s Northwest “Bandit Suppression” Headquarters and concurrently as commander of the 51st Army. Wan Fulin (1880–1951), a native of Nong’an, Jilin Province. At that time, he served as commander of the Kuomintang 53rd Army.
[12] Liu Duoquan (1898–1985), a native of Fengcheng, Liaoning Province. At that time, he served as commander of the 105th Division of the Kuomintang 57th Army.
[13] Yang Hucheng (1893–1949), a native of Pucheng, Shaanxi Province. At that time, he served as commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang 17th Route Army and director of the Xi’an Pacification Office of the Kuomintang government.
[14] Yan Xishan (1883–1960), a native of Hebian Village, Wutai County, Shanxi Province (now part of Dingxiang County). At that time, he served as vice-chairman of the Military Commission of the Kuomintang government and director of the Taiyuan Pacification Office.
[15] Ma Hongkui (1892–1970), a native of Linxia, Gansu Province. At that time, he served as commander of the 1st Defense Zone of the Kuomintang’s Northwest “Bandit Suppression” Headquarters.
[16] Suiyuan refers to Suiyuan Province, which was abolished in 1954, with its former territory incorporated into the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

--- Notes

(1) The seriousness of the enemy’s offensive this time: After our two victories at Laoshan and Yulinqiao [2], the enemy’s main forces advanced from the west, attempting to establish an east-west blockade line along the Hulu River and then move north to relieve Ganguan and Yan’an, forming a north-south blockade line along the Luo River. Had we not won the victory at Zhiluo, our southward development would have been restricted, and the existing Soviet areas could not have been fully consolidated.


(2) The reasons for our victory: 1. The convergence and unity of the two army corps [3] (this was fundamental); 2. Seizing the strategic and operational pivot (the Hulu River and Zhiluo Town); 3. Adequate combat preparations; 4. The masses standing with us.


Without the first condition, we could not have achieved such a great victory, nor could we have caused Dong Yingbin’s [4] five divisions (four in the west, one in the east) to collapse and retreat with their main forces after the annihilation of their vanguard, the 109th Division, nor could our army have wiped out a regiment of the 106th Division during pursuit, forcing the 108th and 111th Divisions to withdraw into Gansu Province, and compelling the 117th Division, which had intruded into Yangquan from the east, to retreat back to Fuxian County.


(4) The impact of this victory: 1. It has brought the three Red Army forces from the south, center, and north [5], which had just converged, into closer unity. Now everyone believes that this convergence and unity is excellent, necessary, an inviolable force, and a fundamental condition for defeating the enemy.

4. It allows us to vigorously expand the Soviet areas. Luochuan, Zhongbu [6], Yijun, Yichuan, Hancheng, and the guerrilla zones and White areas in the Guanzhong and Longdong regions can all be turned into Soviet areas. Under the influence of victory, the masses in these places will surely become more active.

5. Japanese imperialism is now attacking North China with artillery fire, seeking to swallow the whole country, while the Kuomintang is holding a traitorous national congress in Nanjing [7]. Our victory tells them: We will not allow you, Japanese imperialism, to destroy our North China and our entire nation; we will not allow you, utterly evil Kuomintang, to betray the country to the end. Traitorous Kuomintang, get out! The saviors of the people across the nation—the Red Army and the Soviets—will join hands with the people, using our guns and our blood to overthrow Japanese imperialism, overthrow the traitorous Kuomintang, and overthrow the arch-traitor Chiang Kai-shek. The people of the whole country, especially those in the five provinces of North China and the coastal provinces, are under the threat of Japanese imperialist artillery fire and are being forced by the Kuomintang, with bayonets, whips, and deceitful propaganda, to become slaves of a conquered nation without any aid. Our victory tells them: “Compatriots, do not be afraid. We are here to help you.” When we send out the news of victory, do you think they will be happy or not?

6. It has coordinated with the victories of the Red Army and guerrilla warfare nationwide. “Look: We have finally smashed the third ‘encirclement and suppression’ in the north! The Central Red Army, after its 25,000-li expedition, has joined forces on the battlefield with the 25th Army and the Shaanxi-Gansu Red Army, and we have captured Division Commander Niu [8] alive! Advance bravely!”

—The anti-imperialist movements in the colonies (the national war in Abyssinia [9], the surging revolutionary movement in China, and the independence movements in the British and American colonies).
—The strength of the Soviet Union (its production has caught up with and surpassed that of any imperialist country, and another five-year plan will be completed in four years), and the new tasks of the Red Army—“Victory is certain; now it is only a matter of exchanging small sacrifices for great victories. The Red Army must make breakthroughs in technology and tactics.”
—The sudden and rapid changes in the world situation. A new era of revolution and war across the globe is unfolding before us.


—The defeat of Zhang Xueliang’s [10] three main armies (Wang Yizhe’s army, Dong Yingbin’s army, and He Zhuguo’s cavalry army).
—The hesitation of Yu Xuezhong’s and Wan Fulin’s [11] armies.
—Liu Duoquan’s [12] isolated force.
—Yang Hucheng’s [13] defensive posture.
—Yan Xishan’s [14] auxiliary role.
—Chiang Kai-shek in a waiting position.
Thus, the third “encirclement and suppression” has been thoroughly smashed.

—Our development makes Yang Hucheng, Yan Xishan, and Ma Hongkui [15] unable to sleep or eat in peace (especially Yan Xishan, who, along with Zhang Xueliang, is one of our two main enemies at present; in the fourth “encirclement and suppression,” Yan Xishan will surely attack Shaanxi from Shanxi).


(1) From now on, we must exert the utmost effort to strive for and accumulate even more sufficient strength to meet the enemy’s new large-scale offensive and thoroughly smash it, expand our Soviet areas into the five provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Suiyuan [16], and Ningxia, and accomplish the task of linking up with the Soviet Union and the Mongolian People’s Republic. At that time, we will be able to muster even greater strength to deal an unprecedented heavy blow to Japanese imperialism’s attacks on the Chinese revolution (which is inevitable and not far off) and on the Soviet Union, as well as to the attacks by various Kuomintang warlord factions on the northern Red Army and the nationwide Red Army, striving for great victories for the Soviets in seven or eight provinces in the north and several provinces in the south, and raising the anti-Japanese war to its highest level. This is our overall task.