The Present Tasks of the Henan Forces[1]

(August 13, 1945)

To the Henan District Party Committee, Wen and Zhang,[2] with information to Zheng and Li:[3]

We agree to the proposal by Wen and Zhang to recover lost territory in Henan, under the unified command of Wang and Dai.[4] As for the tasks of the entire Henan forces, except for Han Jun’s[5] unit, which should persist in mobilizing the masses in its original area, the rest should launch operations, linking up with Shuidong[6] to the east and with the Fifth Division to the south, so as to rapidly merge the Songshan,[7] Shuidong, and Fifth Division areas into one contiguous whole. At present, operations should still focus on annihilating the weak units of the puppet and diehard forces, extensively occupying villages and small and medium-sized

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[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee to the Henan District Party Committee of the CPC and others.

[2] Wen and Zhang refer to Wen Niansheng and Zhang Qilong, who were then respectively serving as commander of the Third Guerrilla Detachment and political commissar of the Second Detachment of the Eighth Route Army.

[3] Zheng refers to Zheng Weisan, who was then acting secretary of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui-Jiangsu Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Li refers to Li Xiannian, who was then a member of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui-Jiangsu Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and division commander and political commissar of the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army, concurrently serving as commander and political commissar of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui-Hunan-Jiangxi Military Region.

[4] Wang and Dai refer to Wang Shusheng and Dai Jiying, who were then respectively serving as commander and political commissar of the Henan Military Region of the Eighth Route Army.

[5] Han Jun was then serving as commander of the Second Sub-District, concurrently the Second Military Sub-District, of the Henan Military Region of the Eighth Route Army.

[6] Shuidong refers to the area in eastern Henan Province south of the Longhai Railway and east of the New Yellow River, following the change in the Yellow River’s course in 1938. The CPC established an anti-Japanese base area in the Shuidong region centered on Sui County, Qi County, and Taikang, and set up the Shuidong Military Sub-District. In January 1945, the Shuidong Military Sub-District was reorganized into the Twelfth Military Sub-District of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region.

[7] Songshan is located in the northern part of Dengfeng County, Henan Province. At that time, the Yuxi Anti-Japanese Independent Detachment of the Eighth Route Army was active in this area and established the First Military Sub-District of the Henan Military Region, with Pi Dingjun as commander and Xu Zirong as political commissar.

towns, boldly unleashing mass struggles, encircling large cities and key communication lines, and seeking ways to persuade the enemy and puppet forces to surrender. We request a report on your specific dispositions. The Hebei-Shandong-Henan authorities have already dispatched 12,000 men southward to Shuidong; together with the original 8,000 men in Shuidong, this makes a total of 20,000 men, to struggle for the seizure of Xinxiang, Kaifeng, and the vast surrounding areas. You are expected to swiftly coordinate your actions with them.

Central Military Commission

13th day