Commence Military Transport Work against
the Northwest and Northeast Troops1
 (November 4, 1945)
To Chen [Yi] and Li [Yu]; Zhang [Yunyi], Rao [Shushi], and Lai [Chuanzhu];
and the Central China Bureau:
	 1.	 The Handan Campaign2 came to an end on the 2nd, and aside from 3,000 men who
escaped, the two divisions led by Gao Shuxun revolted and came over to our
side; three divisions of the Thirtieth Army and three divisions of the Fortieth
Army were completely annihilated; and we captured Ma Fawu, deputy commander of the Eleventh War Zone and commander of the Fortieth Army, Song
Kentang, chief-of-staff of the Eleventh War Zone, as well as the division commanders of the Thirty-ninth, 106th, Thirtieth, and Thirty-seventh divisions. We
are currently granting them preferential treatment to win them over.
	 2.	 Other than three divisions of the Eighth Army (mechanized with American
aid) in Guangzhou awaiting transport to Qingdao, Deputy Commander of the
Eleventh War Zone Li Yannian [1904–1974, native of Shandong] has a total
of ten divisions under his command. We believe these include three divisions
of the Twelfth Army of Huo Shouyi3 (the 111th Division, the 112th Division,
which is already in Ji’nan, and the 117th Division, which is in Xuzhou); He
Zhuguo’s4 two divisions of the Second Cavalry (as He Zhuguo was blinded in
Chongqing, we are inquiring as to who was commander), which are already
in Ji’nan; Wang Shuwen’s5 two divisions of the Ninety-seventh Army (the
Thirty-third Division and the provisional Thirtieth Division) in Lincheng;6
and the Eighth Cavalry Division, which is in Xuzhou, along with two divisions of the Fifty-first Army. We calculate that the Lincheng-Xuzhou line
has a total of six divisions (all under the command of the Nineteenth Army
Group’s Chen Daqing),7 all of which will head northward, but the fighting
strength of all of them is weak.
	 3.	 The three divisions of Fifty-fifth Army Commander Cao Fulin,8 under Second
Army Group Commander Liu Ruming9 (the Thirty-ninth Division, Seventyfourth Division, and Eighty-first Division), as well as Liu Ruzhen’s10 two
divisions of the Sixty-eighth Army (the 119th Division and the 143rd division) are now moving toward the Weishi, Fugou, Taikang, and Lanfeng
region, and are currently amassing toward Lanfeng,11 and we judge that they
will move north toward Xuzhou. These two armies constitute the northwestern section and their fighting power is fairly strong. We hope to utilize
the influence of Sun Lianzhong’s12 defeat and Gao Shuxun’s rebellion to
win them over. According to what was written in Liu Ruming’s telegram of
5 P.M., more than 2,000 [men] of the Thirtieth and 120th regiments under
his command in the Taikang region have turned traitor, and the Thirty-ninth
Division has been ordered to suppress them. Please verify whether [they can
be] pulled over to our side.
	 4.	 Carrying out military transport work against all northwestern sections (the
Fifty-fifth Army, Sixty-eighth Army, and Thirty-eighth Army) and the northeastern sections (the Twelfth Army, Second Cavalry, Fifty-first Army) is
extremely important. The same goes for against all Northwest puppet armies.
The Military Commission

---

Notes

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 3, pp. 123–25, where it is
reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives.

--- Notes

1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Military Commission.
Chen Yi was commander of the New Fourth Army and of the Shandong Military Region,
and Li Yu was political commissar of the Shandong Military Region; Zhang Yunyi was
deputy commander, Rao Shushi was political commissar, and Lai Chuanzhu was chief-ofstaff of the New Fourth Army.

2.  The Handan Campaign is also known as the Pinghan Campaign. See “November
Operational Preparations,” November 1, 1945, in this volume.

3.  Huo Shouyi (1898–1967, native of Liaoning) was commander of the Guomindang’s
Twelfth Army.

4.  He Zhuguo (1897–1985, native of Guangxi) was originally deputy commander of the
Guomindang’s Tenth War Zone. After the end of the War of Resistance,  he was appointed
chairman of the Guomindang government’s Military Committee and chief-of-staff of the
Northeast battalion. He became blind before arriving at this post.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-74

5.  Wang Shuwen (1902–1984, native of Shanxi) was commander of the Guomindang’s
Ninety-seventh Army.

6.  Lincheng is now Xuecheng, in Zaozhuang city of Shandong Province.

7.  Chen Daqing (1904–1973, native of Jiangxi) was commander-in-chief of the Guomindang’s Nineteenth Army Group

8.  Cao Fulin (1894–1964, native of Hebei) was deputy commander-in-chief of the
Guomindang’s Nineteenth Army Group and commander of the Fifty-fifth Army.

9.  Liu Ruming (1895–1975, native of Hebei) was commander-in-chief of the Guomindang’s Second Army Group.

10.  Liu Ruzhen (1904–1999, native of Hebei) was commander of the Guomindang’s
Sixty-eighth Army.

11.  Lanfeng county was merged with Kaocheng county in 1954 to become Lankao
county, Henan Province.

12.  Sun Lianzhong was commander of the Guomindang’s Eleventh War Zone.