Bo Ye, Xiao Kai[1]:

On the 25th, in the Battle of Pingxingguan[2], apart from capturing 82 trucks, one artillery piece, over 2,000 shells, several hundred rifles, and killing more than 1,000 enemy troops, we also surrounded the enemy's senior command headquarters and seized a large number of secret documents, including the enemy's entire operational plan for North China and Japanese-language maps indicating their objectives. The surrounded remnants of the enemy broke through the Jin Army's positions under cover of night and escaped. In this battle, the Jin Army had originally agreed to launch a two-pronged attack, but they only moved out at dusk, resulting in the failure to completely annihilate the enemy. Our army suffered over 400 casualties, including two or three deputy regimental and deputy battalion commanders. This battle has already disrupted the enemy's plan to attack Pingxingguan, but the enemy is still advancing from the direction of Yanmenguan[3]. Our guerrilla detachments are active in the area between Lingqiu, Laiyuan, and Yuxian, achieving considerable gains. The enemy is using large formations to deal with our guerrillas, still unaware of the Red Army's guerrilla warfare tactics. Our victory report has been issued nationwide, and in recent days, numerous congratulatory telegrams have been received from various provinces, including those from Chiang Kai-shek, Yang Hucheng, Ma Hongkui, Fan Changjiang, Long Yun, Sun Weiru[4], the Shanghai Ta Kung Pao, the Shanghai Vocational Salvation Association, party headquarters in Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Hubei, Guangdong, Shaanxi, and Kaifeng, the Wuhan Field Headquarters, the Kaifeng Pacification Office, the provincial governments of Zhejiang and Fujian, the Zhejiang Anti-Japanese Support Association, and others.

Mao Zedong, October 1

Notes: Published based on a copy preserved in the Central Archives.

Notes:
[1] "Ye" refers to Bo Gu (Qin Bangxian) and Ye Jianying, who were then representing the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in negotiations with Kuomintang representatives in Nanjing, discussing issues such as the reorganization of the main forces of the Red Army guerrillas from the eight southern provinces. "Xiao Kai" refers to Pan Hannian, who was then serving as the director of the Eighth Route Army's Shanghai Office.
[2] In September 1937, the Japanese forces invading northern Shanxi advanced toward the Pingxingguan and Yanmenguan line in an attempt to capture Taiyuan. On September 23, the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army dispatched one regiment and a cavalry battalion to advance between Lingqiu, Laiyuan, and Guangling to pin down the enemy. On the night of September 24, three regiments set up an ambush in the rain on the mountainous terrain flanking the highway northeast of Pingxingguan, awaiting an opportunity to strike. At around 7 a.m. on September 25, a portion of the 21st Regiment of the Japanese Itagaki Division and its baggage vehicles entered the ambush zone. The main force of the 115th Division launched a sudden fierce assault on the Japanese troops. After a full day of intense fighting, over 1,000 enemy soldiers were killed, and a large quantity of weapons and military supplies was captured, achieving the first victory of annihilation since the nationwide War of Resistance began.
[3] Yanmenguan is located in the northern part of Dai County, Shanxi, and is one of the major passes of the Great Wall.
[4] Yang Hucheng was a patriotic general of the Northwest Army. Ma Hongkui was then serving as the commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang's 17th Group Army and the commander of the 168th Division. Fan Changjiang was a journalist who, in February 1937, visited Xi'an and Yan'an as a reporter for Ta Kung Pao, began to accept the political views of the Communist Party, and later joined the Communist Party of China. Long Yun was then serving as the commander of the Kuomintang's Third Reserve Army. Sun Weiru was then serving as the commander of the Kuomintang's 38th Army and the chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Government.