Deployment of Operations for the First Army Corps and the Twenty-Fifth Army[1]

(January 5, 1936)

Peng and Yang, Zuo and Nie, Xu and Cheng, Guo and Zhu[2]:

A. In order to enable the Soviet area east of the Luo River and the Soviet area west of the Luo River to develop southward in a balanced manner, to make it increasingly difficult for the enemy in the south to attack northward in the future as the Soviet area develops further southward, and to reduce the threat from the enemy in Shanxi, the First Army Corps and the Twenty-Fifth Army[3] are assigned the tasks of advancing into the area between the five county towns of Luochuan, Baishui, Chengcheng, Hancheng, and Yichuan, expanding the Soviet area, expanding the Red Army, expanding anti-Japanese propaganda, and raising sufficient funds for war expenses.

B. Deployment: The principle shall be to place the main force east and south of the mountain range between the Luo River and the Yellow River, and a part of the force to its east, creating an initial Soviet area along the mountain range, handing it over to local forces, and continuing to develop in depth.

C. Time: Begin moving south on the 18th, conclude on the 25th, and prepare to begin carrying out the new operational tasks on the 26th.

D. The Front Army headquarters may remain in the vicinity of Ganquan as before.

E. Detailed deployment shall be planned and ordered by Peng.

F. Before the Twenty-Fifth Army moves, select ten relatively good Party members from southern Shaanxi, preferably with people from each of the counties of Ningshan, Zhen’an, and Shangnan, and hand them over to the Shaanxi-Gansu Provincial Committee for assignment to work in southern Shaanxi.

G. The Provincial Committee should dispatch local cadres and local forces to accompany the First Army Corps and the Twenty-Fifth Army in their operations, to develop and take over the Soviet areas.

H. Yang should have a political work plan.

Mao, Zhou

14:00, January 5

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[1] This is a telegram from Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai to Peng Dehuai, Commander of the First Front Army of the Red Army, Yang Shangkun, Director of its Political Department, and others.

[2] Zuo and Nie refer to Zuo Quan and Nie Rongzhen, who were then respectively serving as Chief of Staff and Political Commissar of the First Army Corps of the First Front Army of the Red Army. Xu and Cheng refer to Xu Haidong and Cheng Zihua, who were then respectively serving as Army Corps Commander and Political Commissar of the Fifteenth Army Corps of the First Front Army of the Red Army. Guo and Zhu refer to Guo Shushen and Zhu Rui, who were then respectively serving as Director of the Political Department of the First Army Corps and Director of the Political Department of the Fifteenth Army Corps of the First Front Army of the Red Army.

[3] The Twenty-Fifth Army, namely the Twenty-Fifth Army of the Red Army, was established in late November 1932 in Hong’an County, Hubei. After arriving in northern Shaanxi via the Long March in September 1935, it was merged with the Twenty-Sixth Army and the Twenty-Seventh Army of the Shaanxi-Gansu Red Army to form the Fifteenth Army Corps of the Red Army, with the Twenty-Fifth Army reorganized as the Seventy-Fifth Division. The old designation is used here.