Fight Stubbornly at Siping and Benxi
to Secure a Peace Favorable to Us

(May 1, 1946)

Lin[1]:

Your telegram of the 27th[2] received. (1) All military and political command at the front is vested solely in you and should not be divided. If you need assistance due to the heavy workload, you may consider transferring Comrade Gao Gang[3] and others to help you. If keeping the front organs streamlined is more convenient, then maintaining the current situation is best. (2) The war in the Northeast has drawn attention at home and abroad. Chiang Kai-shek has already rejected the ceasefire plan agreed upon by Marshall, the Democratic League,[4] and our Party, and insists on fighting all the way to Changchun. Therefore, we must fight stubbornly at both Siping and Benxi, wear down the diehard enemy forces at these two places until they are utterly exhausted, deplete their troop strength, and break their sharp edge, so that the troops, weapons, and ammunition they have assembled over six months suffer maximum attrition and cannot be replenished in time. Meanwhile, because we have captured Changchun and Harbin, our troops and resources can be continuously replenished. At that time, it may be possible to secure a peace favorable to us. (3) Guard most strenuously against underestimating the enemy. In every battle, we must concentrate all our strength to strike at one point of the enemy, in order to ensure victory. You have already paid full attention to this point; it is hoped that you will deepen education on it and ensure unified compliance.

Mao Zedong
chendong

[1] Lin refers to Lin Biao, then Commander-in-Chief of the Northeast Democratic United Army.
[2] Refers to Lin Biao’s telegram of April 27, 1946, to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Northeast Bureau, reporting on the battle situation at Siping. The telegram stated: Yesterday during the day, the enemy attacked our positions east of the city; after a desperate fight, the enemy was repulsed. Yesterday, Yang Guofu’s unit attacked the Sandaolinzi position north of the city but failed to achieve success and voluntarily withdrew at dawn. We are now reinforcing fortifications and defending stubbornly, resisting the enemy tenaciously.
[3] Gao Gang, then Commander of the North Manchuria Military District of the Northeast Democratic United Army.
[4] The Democratic League refers to the China Democratic League.