The Red Army's Main Force Should Advance
to Shang[zhou] and Luo[nan]
(January 11, 1937, 9:00 P.M.)
To Zhou [Enlai] and Bo [Gu], and for the information of Peng [Dehuai] and Ren
[Bishi]:
After careful consideration, it seems best for the Red Army's main force to
advance to Shang[zhou] and Luo[nan]. After that route is broken through, they
can promptly move to western Henan, having rendered the enemy's middle and
right routes useless. The Second Front Army and the Twenty-seventh Army are
to be used at Bocheng to threaten the flank of Chen Cheng's group so that it will
not dare to advance boldly, thus aiding our main force in winning victory at
Shang[zhou] and Luo[nan]. Please obtain Yang [Hucheng]'s agreement immediately. If the main force is used north of the Wei, then we will be put in a
strategically disadvantageous position, and there will also be many difficulties
from a tactical point of view, about which Peng and Ren were concerned. It is
best, therefore, not to choose this option.
Mao Zedong
Luo [Fu]
Mao [Zedong]
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 1, pp. 779-80, where it is
reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 1, pp. 781-82, where it is
reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.