Views on the Eighth Route Army Staff Work
Conference
(June 12, 1939)

Zuo:1

It is almost two years since the beginning of the War of Resistance. The convening
of a conference on staff work by the Army Group² General Headquarters is an
event of great significance. Our views on this follow, and we hope that they will be
taken into account:
1. The general orientation for the conference should be to summarize the experiences and lessons learned from staff work in our army over the past two years of
the War of Resistance, to determine the general direction of staff work and the
specific tasks that need to be carried out as a matter of urgency at present, and to
raise the political caliber and improve the level of competence of staff personnel.
It is hoped that technical staff will attain the level of tactical and strategic staff.
[We must] improve the commanding organs so that they are not only particularly
skilled in staff work for carrying out guerrilla warfare, but are also capable of
preparing for the transition to staff work in modern, regular warfare.
2. In reviewing merits and shortcomings in past work and searching for causes
so as to correct mistakes and develop strong points, the conference should make
the connection with carrying on the fine traditions of the Red Army era in the past,
especially in examining and establishing various rules and regulations (the classified regulations and top-secret combat department regulations sent to you recently
may be used as a basis for discussion. Please let us know whether or not you have
received them).
3. To meet the needs of the present phase of army consolidation, the education
section of the staff offices at various levels should be improved. When necessary,
the chief of staff may serve concurrently as the chief of the [education] section,
and there should also be a deputy section chief whose main task would be to provide teaching materials and to guide and monitor the implementation of educational programs.
4. To the extent possible, a way should be found to select personnel to run staff
training courses under the direct leadership of the Army Group General Headquarters staff office so as to meet the demands of staff offices at various levels.
5. The military and political education of in-post staff should be regarded as a
necessary precondition for army consolidation training.
6. Raising the political level, work skills, political standing, and beliefs of staff
workers is a condition that cannot be separated from raising the efficiency of staff
work.
7. Thorough preparations should be made so as to ensure that the conference
can be carried out smoothly and that satisfactory results can be achieved. Each
question should be discussed beforehand in small groups. Empty talk and trivial
disputation should be avoided, and clear direction and practical, concrete methods
are to be demanded.

Mao [Zedong] Wang [Jiaxiang] Teng [Daiyuan]

Our source for this document is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 2, pp. 463-64, where it is
reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.

--- Notes

1. This telegram is addressed to Zuo Quan (1906-1942), a native of Hunan and a graduate of the Huangpu Military Academy. Zuo had been an army commander in the Red Army
during the Jiangxi period and was a veteran of the Long March. At this time, he was deputy
chief of staff of the Eighth Route Army.

2. The Communist forces commonly known as the Eighth Route Army had been officially designated the Eighteenth Army Group by the Guomindang in January 1938. This
reference to an Army Group reflects that terminology.