The Main Force in the Northeast Should Not
Fear Losing Territory and It Should Prepare
for a Protracted Struggle
(May 27, 1946)
To the Northeast Bureau and Lin [Biao]:1
We received your telegram of the 26th.2 The current overall military policy
calls for one unit to remain engaged with the enemy, creating a disturbance and
sabotaging the railway, while the main force should not be afraid of losing territory or of separating itself from the enemy. Find time to rest, consolidate, replenish your forces, and restore your vitality before going into battle again. We have
informed [Zhou] Enlai of our diplomatic policy. We only agree with regard to
Changchun, where both parties will refrain from stationing soldiers, but nothing
else. If the United States and Chiang [Kaishek] want to fight, let them fight; if
they want to occupy places, let them occupy them. Our side will never recognize
their fighting and occupying as lawful. In short, the Northeast is in an unresolved
situation. Our Party must be prepared for a protracted struggle, and we will win
in the end.
The Central Committee
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 3, pp. 234–35, 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 telegram from the Northeast Bureau stated that the army in the Northeast had
endured a long and bitter battle and its main forces were exhausted. The enemy had already
taken the line between Siping and Changchun and between Zhengjiatun, Xi’an, and Hailong. Communist forces were absent from western and northern Manchuria, and at the
same time the enemy was staging an offensive that the Communist forces would find difficult to forcefully resist. The Central Committee’s guidance was requested.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-156

reproduced from Mao’s handwritten original preserved in the Central Archives.