Annihilate the Enemy Facing Us and Then
Attack the Reinforcements
 (October 30, 1945)
To Liu [Bocheng] and Deng [Xiaoping]:1
The Ninety-fourth Division (originally the First Reserve Division) and the
109th Division of the Sixteenth Army of Hu [Zongnan]’s2 forces were formerly
stationed along the river in Shaanxi and they have not engaged in any fighting for
a long time. The Twenty-second Division (originally the Third Reserve Division)
has also not engaged in any fighting for a long time. In the Chunhua Incident in
July of this year,3 we annihilated five companies of one regiment of this division.
After this long expedition, we estimate that the actual strength of each of these
three divisions does not exceed 5,000. On October 25, Hu Zongnan ordered the
entire Thirty-fourth Army Group to move south to serve as reinforcements. Not
until October 29 did Li Wen4 order the Sixteenth Army to move southward for
reinforcement. This was already four days later, and moreover his order was to
move south step-by-step after reaching Gaoyi; it seems he [Li Wen] is not very
enthusiastic. Apparently part of this army may set off at any time, but the balance
will not be able to move south until it has handed over its duties to the Third Army
(two divisions). Besides, after arriving at Gaoyi the army must ascertain the situation before moving on. If our local forces and the militia in the north can carry out
forceful resistance and harassment, they may confuse the enemy so that it will be
hesitant to proceed. This will provide us with plenty of time to amass a superior
force, fight an all-out campaign, and annihilate the enemy facing us (wiping out a
portion each time). After that, you can attack the enemy reinforcements.
The Military Commission


Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 3, p. 93, where it is reproduced
Mao Zedong junshi wenxuan. Neibuben, p. 378.


from Mao’s handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives. It also appears in

--- Notes



1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Military Commission.
Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping were the commander and political commissar, respectively, of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan (Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu) Military Region.



2.  Hu Zongnan was commander of the Guomindang’s First War Zone.



3.  The reference is to an unsuccessful attack on the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border
area launched on July 21, 1945, by forces under the command of Hu Zongnan.



4.  Li Wen (1905–1977, born in Xinhua, Hunan) was commander-in-chief of the Guomindang’s Thirty-fourth Army Group.


DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-61