Attack the Enemy at Shuitou Under Favorable Conditions

(February 26, 1936)

Xu and Cheng:

A. When you advance toward Shuitou[2] tomorrow, you must first conduct reconnaissance. Only if the terrain is favorable and the enemy has no fortifications, dangerous terrain, or fieldworks to rely on should you launch an attack; otherwise, do not initiate an attack. Also, you must ensure there is sufficient time to resolve the battle before attacking; otherwise, do not attack, and instead bivouac near Shuitou.

B. The First Army Corps did not reach Guanshang[3] until 14:00 today. The battle had barely begun when it grew dark, and the enemy, routed, retreated into fieldworks and village houses. The battle has not yet been resolved. I have ordered them to either annihilate this enemy force tomorrow as circumstances permit or withdraw to the area between Guanshang and Shuitou.

Peng and Mao

23:00, February 26

Attack the Enemy in Shuitou
If Conditions Are Favorable
(February 26, 1936, 11:00 P.M.)
Xu [Haidong], Cheng [Zihua]:
1. Tomorrow before you advance to Shuitou you must first conduct reconnaissance to see that the topography is favorable and the enemy has no strongholds, tenable defense positions, and fortifications on which to rely before you
attack him; otherwise you should not launch an attack. You must also consider
whether time permits a decisive battle before attacking; otherwise you should not
attack but rather encamp near Shuitou.
2. The First Army Group did not reach Guanshang until 2:00 P.M. today and
did not fight long before it got dark, by which time the enemy had retreated into
their fortifications and village houses, so the battle has not yet been brought to a
conclusion. They have been ordered to seize an opportunity tomorrow to wipe
out this enemy or else withdraw to the area between Guanshang and Shuitou.
Peng [Dehuai] Mao [Zedong]

Our source for this document is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 1, pp. 462-63.

--- Notes

[1] This is a telegram from Mao Zedong and Peng Dehuai, commander of the First Front Army of the Red Army, to Xu Haidong, commander of the Fifteenth Army Corps of the First Front Army, and Cheng Zihua, its political commissar.


[2] Shuitou, a town located northwest of present-day Jiaokou County, Shanxi Province.


[3] Guanshang, a village located in the southern part of Zhongyang County, Shanxi Province.