Deployment for Military Operations to
Annihilate the New First Army
 (April 21, 1946, 9:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M.)
To the Northeast Bureau and Lin [Biao]:1
The New First Army is the Burma expeditionary army,2 the main force of
Chiang’s army. We must concentrate the absolute best of our military forces,
conserve our energy, and build up our strength, and when they [the New First
Army] are utterly exhausted and short of both food and ammunition, then we
should select advantageous battlefield conditions and rout each and every one
of them by engaging in continuous battle for several days. Annihilating them
entirely or in large part will break the momentum of Chiang’s offensive. It is
expected that, in accordance with Lin’s telegram, Yang Guofu, Cao Lihuai,3 and
the Eighth Brigade will be ordered to travel southwards by night, and two southern Manchurian4 brigades will be ordered northward on the double. More troops
should be transferred when necessary. The general idea is to amass a superior
military force and to strive for victory in this campaign of decisive importance.
The Central Committee


Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 3, pp. 182–83, where it is
1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Lin Biao was commander-in-chief of the Northeast Democratic
Allied Army.
2.  The Burma expeditionary army refers to the troops that the Guomindang sent to
Burma to fight against the Japanese army during the War of Resistance Against Japan.
3.  Yang Guofu was commander of the Seventh Division of the Northeast Democratic
Allied Army. Cao Lihuai was commander of the Jilin Military Region.
4.  Southern Manchuria refers to the central Liaoning area east of the Shenyang-Dalian
section of the Chinese Changchun railway, which encompassed Andong (today’s Dandong),
Zhuanghe, Tonghua, Linjiang, Qingyuan, and southeastern Shenyang.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-120



reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript.