Telegram to Liu Bocheng and
Deng Xiaoping1
 (October 29, 1945)
After reaching Gaoyi, we predict that one of the three divisions of the Sixteenth
Army will be stationed in Lincheng, Boxiang, and Gaoyi to reinforce the rear and
the wings. The other two divisions will proceed southward. If we use our local
forces and land-mine warfare by the militia to launch a powerful strike and create
the misleading impression that we have our main forces in this area, it is sure to
cause a couple of days of delay and to prevent [the enemy] from advancing with
confidence. Meanwhile, we can win enough time to wipe out the enemy in front
of us. Afterwards, we can turn on the enemy reinforcements and wipe them out.
This will be very much to our advantage.
There are six divisions in front of you. If you add to this the two divisions of
the Sixteenth Army, the total number will not exceed eight divisions. As long as
we adopt the policy of annihilating them one-by-one and amassing an absolutely
superior military force to wipe out one division each time, after wiping out two
or three divisions in two or three campaigns, the overall situation is certain to
change.
The Military Commission
Our source for this document is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 3, p. 91. It also appears
in Mao Zedong junshi wenxuan. Neibuben, pp. 377–78.
1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Military Commission.
Liu Bocheng was commander of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan (Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu) Military Region, and Deng Xiaoping was political commissar.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-57