Central Directive to the Shandong Sub-Bureau on Creating the Conditions for Controlling the Overall Situation in Shandong[1]

(August 6, 1945)

Shandong Sub-Bureau:

The U.S. military landing is imminent, and the Kuomintang will certainly use all its strength to contest Shandong. In order to prepare the conditions that will facilitate our rapid development after the U.S. military landing and create the strength to control the overall situation in Shandong, you should pay attention to the following: (1) training the army; (2) training cadres; (3) strengthening the armed work teams; (4) strengthening mass work (thoroughly implementing rent reduction, but guarding against ultra-left deviations); (5) as far as possible, thoroughly eliminating diehard puppet forces; (6) strengthening urban work (in cities and key communication lines that may be seized by us). If you can strengthen these conditions within half a year, then as soon as the U.S. military lands and the enemy troops concentrate against the U.S., our Party can seize the opportunity to develop, control vast areas, and not fear the Kuomintang’s contention; otherwise, our Party will be placed in an unfavorable position. The above tasks are the same in Hebei-Shandong-Henan and Central China. In certain coastal areas of Shandong and Central China, the enemy will intensify their mopping-up operations against us before the U.S. military landing, to which you should naturally pay attention.

Central Committee

Weiyu

To be conveyed to the Hebei-Shandong-Henan and Central China Sub-Bureaus.

[1] This is a directive drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The 6th refers to the date Mao Zedong drafted this document; the official date of issuance was August 10.