Central Hebei Region Mobilize All Forces to Destroy the Railway[1]

(November 1, 1945)

Nie, forward to the Central Hebei Military Region:

Comrade Huang’s telegram of the 20th[2] from Central Hebei noted. It is extremely important to mobilize all forces to destroy the railway from Dingxian to Shimen[3]. Our Liu-Deng army has been locked in bloody battle with 60,000 diehard troops in the Handan area for twenty days. Three diehard divisions from Shimen are moving south to reinforce them, and the situation is urgent. On the 30th, Gao Shuxun’s New Eighth Army staged an uprising and came over to our side. The diehard 30th Army and 40th Army were forced to retreat south of the Zhanghe River, and we are now in pursuit. It is judged that the diehard troops that advanced south from Shimen will also be forced to return north. Therefore, it is extremely important for Central Hebei to intensify railway destruction. Huo Shouyi’s[4] 12th Army is moving north from Jinan. Our Bohai Military Region has occupied two sections of the railway north and south of Dezhou to block these diehard troops. It is hoped that Central Hebei will also occupy one or two sections of the railway in the area north and south of Cangzhou, mobilize the masses, take both public and private interests into account, dig up and destroy the roadbed, and coordinate with the Bohai operations.

Military Commission

Xudong

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, addressed to Nie Rongzhen, Commander and Political Commissar of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, to be forwarded to the Central Hebei Military Region.

[2] Refers to the telegram sent by Huang Shou to the CPC Central Committee at 16:00 on October 20, 1945. The telegram stated: Our current focus of struggle is to stabilize the 10th Sub-region, using the main forces of the 9th and 10th Sub-regions to strike at the attempts of the puppet and diehard forces, in order to consolidate our base areas for Beiping and Tianjin. To strictly guard against the diehard troops actively advancing north along the Zhengding-Taiyuan and Beiping-Hankou railways, we are now using the main forces of the 6th and 7th Sub-regions to mobilize all forces to destroy the railway from Dingxian to Shijiazhuang.

[3] Shimen is present-day Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province.

[4] Huo Shouyi was then Commander of the 12th Army of the Kuomintang army.