(August 6, 1938)

Chen [Shaoyu] [Wang Ming], Zhou [Enlai], Bo [Gu] [Qin Bangxian], Kai [Feng]
[He Kequan], and Ye [Jianying]:

The key to the defense of Wuhan is to mobilize the popular masses. In military
operations the emphasis must be placed on attacking the enemy's flanks and rear,
so as to stop the enemy from moving forward and gain time. We must be sure to
avoid any disadvantageous decisive battle with the enemy. Once it becomes in fact
impossible to defend Wuhan, we should not hesitate to give it up. As most of the
troops are currently much weaker in their fighting capacity than before, any further excessive losses in these troops will naturally provoke more and more discontent with Chiang [Kaishek] among all the commanders. The capitulationists and
separatists will take advantage of this, and it will affect Chiang's position and
cause anxiety about the ongoing War of Resistance as well. In the course of the
War of Resistance, our overall orientation should be to consolidate Chiang's position, to support the War of Resistance, and to strike resolutely at the capitulationist
faction. But the preservation of military strength is the foundation for carrying out
this orientation. We hope you will pay more attention to this.

Luo [Fu] [Zhang Wentian] Chen [Yun]
Kang [Sheng] Wang [Jiaxiang]
Hu [Fu] [Liu Shaoqi] Mao [Zedong]

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 2, pp. 359-60, where it is reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.