Deployment of the Kuomintang Forces in Shanxi and the Combat Missions of Our Army[1]

(August 19, 1945)

He and Lin, and inform Cheng and Geng[2]:

Your telegrams of the 16th and 17th received. (1) Hu Zongnan has redeployed his main forces, the First Army, the Sixteenth Army, and the Ninetieth Army, into Shanxi. One advance division has already crossed the river, while the bulk of the remaining forces is concentrated along the Tongguan-Hancheng line, preparing to cross. The Ninetieth Army, transferred from Henan, is to concentrate at Tongguan by the end of the month. Apart from the eight divisions concentrated in the Xiaoyi area preparing to enter Taiyuan, Yan Xishan[3] has one part of his forces along the Yuncheng-Hongdong line preparing to take over defense, and another part (two divisions) advancing eastward from Fushan to contest the Changzhi-Zhangzi area. However, the Japanese invaders from Yongji to Taiyuan remain in place and have not moved; handing over defense and surrendering arms will not be easy, and the same holds true for the Changzhi-Zhangzi area. (2) Xie Fuzhi[4] led 6,000 men from the Taiyue on the 16th to concentrate at Mianshang[5] and should reach the vicinity of Pingyao within the next few days. Please send someone to establish contact and exercise command. Their mission is to assist northwestern Shanxi in striking the Yan army advancing northward from Xiaoyi.

(3) Li Da[6] leading 9,000 men from the Taihang can assemble today in the Panlong-Hongshui[7] area east of Wuxiang. This

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee to He Long, commander of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, commander of the Shanxi-Gansu-Ningxia-Shanxi-Suiyuan Joint Defense Forces, and concurrently commander of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Military Region, and Lin Feng, political commissar of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Military Region.

[2] Cheng and Geng refer to Cheng Zihua and Geng Biao, who were then respectively acting commander and concurrently acting political commissar of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region of the Eighth Route Army, and deputy chief of staff.

[3] Yan Xishan was then commander of the Second War Zone of the Kuomintang forces.

[4] Xie Fuzhi was then deputy commander of the Taiyue Military Region of the Eighth Route Army.

[5] Mianshang, a village located in the northern part of Qinyuan County, Shanxi.

[6] Li Da was then commander and concurrently chief of staff of the Taihang Military Region of the Eighth Route Army.

[7] Panlong and Hongshui, both villages located in the eastern part of Wuxiang County, Shanxi.

unit was originally scheduled to move to the Pingyao area to assist in the capture of Taiyuan. Now, due to Hu Zongnan’s large forces entering Shanxi, it seems appropriate to use this division against Hu, while simultaneously dealing with the Yan army that has intruded into the Zhangzi area. (4) Zhao Erlu[1] is positioned with three large regiments in the Yuci-Shouyang area to seize the Zhengding-Taiyuan Railway[2] and assist in the capture of Taiyuan. (5) There are reports that 9,000 men of Yan’s forces have already entered Taiyuan, and that Xugou[3] has also been occupied by Yan. Please verify whether this is true. (6) Li Jingquan[4] has already set out for your location to serve as deputy political commissar. Zhang Zongxun[5] will lead two regiments to Yan’an[6] shortly and then proceed to your location; Zhang will serve as deputy commander. Lin Feng is preparing to go to the Northeast, with Zhang Xiushan as deputy secretary of the sub-bureau, assisting Zhang Jiafu[7]. The 1,200 cadres heading to the Northeast will depart from Yan’an in one week, led northward by Lin Feng. Please ask Lin to make preparations in advance. (7) The encirclement of Datong is to be undertaken by the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei. Your northern mission remains to block Fu Zuoyi.

Central Military Commission

19th

[1] Zhao Erlu was then commander of the Shanxi-Hebei Military Region of the Eighth Route Army.

[2] Zhengding-Taiyuan Railway, i.e., the Zhengding-Taiyuan line, referring to the railway from Zhengding to Taiyuan, now the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan line.

[3] Xugou, a former county name, merged with Qingyuan County in 1952 to form Qingxu County, Shanxi.

[4] Li Jingquan was then deputy political commissar of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Field Army of the Eighth Route Army.

[5] Zhang Zongxun was then deputy commander of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Field Army of the Eighth Route Army.

[6] Yan’an, referring to Yan’an, Shaanxi.

[7] Zhang Jiafu was then deputy secretary of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Sub-bureau of the CPC Central Committee and concurrently head of its Propaganda Department.