(July 8, 1938)

Nie [Rongzhen]¹ and Peng [Zhen]2:

According to a telegram from Tianjin, the enemy's attack on the guerrilla forces in
Eastern Hebei, and the demands thus placed on the work in Eastern Hebei, are as
follows. Please take note of this:
1. The enemy's plan of attack:
a. Set up defenses along the Great Wall, from Louyingguan to Malanyu and
back to Ji xian, adopting the form of a big encirclement.
b. Deploy massive forces in Miyun, Changping, Shunyi, Tong xian, and Sanhe
to complete the plan of encirclement, taking sure and steady steps in the hope
of gradually tightening the encirclement, pushing our forces into the northern part of Ji xian, and annihilating them in large numbers.
c. At present there are four hundred of Okamura's troops stationed in Malanyu.
Part of Miyazaki's column has arrived at Ji xian and Tong xian. About a
company of Hitotsubashi's column, along with a cavalry regiment and over a
hundred infantrymen of the puppet Manchurian troops under the command
of Zhang Sicang, have arrived at Miyun from beyond the Pass. About one
company of Miyazaki's column is stationed in Shunyi. A unit of Yamashita's
army, about four hundred soldiers, is stationed in Changping, and a hundred
soldiers are stationed in Ninghe.
d. Out of concern that the Japanese bandit forces are too weak to accomplish
their task of encirclement, they are still considering more thorough methods.
e. Apart from one squadron, which has been dispatched to guard Ninghe, the
rest of the Eastern Hebei garrison troops have not been moved for some
reason. The defense corps do not fight outside the boundaries of their xian,
and the actual strength of the garrison troops is insubstantial.

Our source for this text is Wenxian he yanjiu, no. 3, 1985, pp. 11-12.

--- Notes

1. See above, the note to the text of February 9, 1938.

2. See above, the note to the text of April 20, 1938.