Central China’s Deployment in Preparation for Civil War[1]

(August 12, 1945)

Central China Bureau:

Your telegram of the 11th[2] received. In light of the balance of forces between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the deployment in Central China is to be altered as follows: (1) Forces south of the Yangtze River[3] shall expand in all directions from their current positions, seizing vast rural areas and many county towns to prepare battlefields for civil war. No plans shall be made to occupy the major cities south of the Yangtze; apart from activities conducted in the name of the people, Party organizations shall continue to adopt a policy of concealment. Forces in eastern Zhejiang shall likewise expand from their current positions and, in the event of setbacks in the civil war, prepare to shift to southern Zhejiang. (2) If victorious in the civil war (winning several major battles), forces south of the Yangtze shall continue expanding from their current positions and maintain a protracted struggle—this possibility is very great. However, should they suffer defeat in the civil war and find it impossible to hold their current positions, they must prepare to enter Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi to create a new situation. On this point, a small number of leading cadres must make mental preparations; under no circumstances shall they retreat north of the Yangtze. Alternatively, after the outbreak of civil war, a small force may be dispatched in advance into Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi to play a pinning-down role. (3) All forces north of the Yangtze shall remain north of the Yangtze; no further troops shall be sent south of the Yangtze. Their task is to strive to occupy all cities along the Tianjin-Pukou Railway[1] and those north of the Yangtze, east of the Tianjin-Pukou line, and north of the Huai River, to wipe out the puppet troops, to prepare for operations against Li Pinxian and He Zhuguo[2], and to coordinate with strong units of the Eighth Route Army in seizing the Longhai Railway.

Central Committee

August 12

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[1] This telegram was drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and addressed to the Central China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

[2] This refers to the telegram of August 11, 1945, from the Central China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to the CPC Central Committee concerning the deployment of concentrated forces to occupy Nanjing and completely eliminate puppet troops in the Central Jiangsu area. The telegram stated: (1) Troops of the New Fourth Army’s Jiangsu-Zhejiang Military District shall occupy Nanjing and prepare to engage invading Kuomintang forces from the Third War Zone. (2) The New Fourth Army’s 7th Division shall dispatch three regiments to cross the Yangtze southward and seize Wuhu. (3) The main force of the New Fourth Army’s Jiangsu-Zhejiang Military District’s eastern Zhejiang units shall control the railway line between Shanghai and Hangzhou, preventing diehard Kuomintang troops from entering Shanghai, and the Pudong units shall move into Shanghai. (4) With regard to the cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou, apart from dispatching some main-force units, the primary method of seizure shall be through mobilizing the masses. (5) The 7th Brigade of the New Fourth Army’s 3rd Division shall control Pukou; the 8th Brigade, in coordination with the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Military District and other units, shall thoroughly resolve the issue of puppet troops in the Central Jiangsu area; the 10th Brigade shall assist local forces in recovering Huaiyin and Lianshui and maneuver toward Huaibei. (6) The New Fourth Army’s 2nd and 4th Divisions shall seize the railway line from south of Xuzhou to Pukou. The telegram also suggested that the Eighth Route Army undertake the task of recovering Xuzhou.

[3] This refers to the New Fourth Army’s Jiangsu-Zhejiang Military District, located south of the Yangtze River, with Su Yu as commander and Tan Zhenlin as political commissar (who did not assume the post).

[1] The Tianjin-Pukou Railway refers to the railway from Tianjin to Pukou, now a section of the present-day Beijing-Shanghai line.

[2] Li Pinxian and He Zhuguo were then respectively commander and deputy commander of the Kuomintang’s Tenth War Zone.