Seize Several Cities That Are Linked Together to Facilitate Field Operations[1]

(October 24, 1945)

Chen and Li:

The railway sections you have occupied are still too short. You should attack and seize several cities that are linked together, as Liu and Deng[2] did when they occupied Gaoyi, Neiqiu, Xingtai, Handan, Cixian, and other cities, in order to facilitate field operations. The same should be done in the areas between Xuzhou and Bengbu[3] and between Tianjin and Jinan[4].

Military Commission

Youjing

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, addressed to Chen Yi, commander of the New Fourth Army and concurrently commander of the Shandong Military Region, and Li Yu, deputy political commissar of the Shandong Military Region.

[2] Liu and Deng refer to Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, who were then respectively commander and political commissar of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region.

[3] Xu-Beng refers to Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province and Bengbu in Anhui Province.

[4] Jin-Ji refers to Tianjin and Jinan.