The Seventy-eighth Division Should
Exhaust the Enemy Army and Delay
His March to the South
(April 9, 1936, 2:00 A.M.)
To Xu [Haidong] and Cheng [Zihua]:
1. No matter how large an enemy force comes from Fangshan, the Seventy-eighth Division should adopt the methods of choosing advantageous topography
and resisting step by step, using small units to occupy advantageous positions,
building fortifications, using a small number of bullets (strict attention should be
paid to conserving bullets) to fight against the enemy, and forcing the enemy to
deploy his forces. Sometimes the method of marching towards the enemy may be
used so as to force him to deploy his forces and exhaust his ammunition supply,
delay his march to the south, and facilitate the work of our operating forces.
2. Except for the troops covering the Seventy-eighth Division, the rest should
spread out in battalions and companies, and begin to mobilize the masses freely
along the north-south line, engage in vigorous propaganda and agitation among
the masses, distribute money and goods to the greatest possible extent, and make
efforts to expand the Red Army.
3. Post slogans in each village, large and small, about striving to win over the
Shanxi Army to resist Japan.
4. Be on the alert against Fang's brigade¹ in Linxian.
5. Pay attention to choosing a favorable situation for a counterattack in
Dawuzhen.

Peng [Dehuai] Mao [Zedong]
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 1, pp. 512-13, where it is
reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.

--- Notes

1. See above, the relevant note to the telegram of March 1, 1936, to Zhou Enlai and
others.