Prepare to Deal with the Kuomintang

Launch Attacks on Jin-Sui and Jin-Cha-Ji[1]

(May 27, 1946)

He and Li; Nie and Tang:

In order to prepare to deal with the future large-scale offensive the Kuomintang will launch against us: (1) The forces in the Jin-Sui area should be divided into two parts. That is, use the main force against Fu,[2] positioning it in the Liangcheng, Zhuozishan,[3] and Jining areas, and prepare to wait for the diehards to come attack and then annihilate them in the course of their movement; use one part and local corps against Yan, positioning them near the various strongholds occupied by Yan’s diehard forces along the line from Datong to Taiyuan, stock plenty of yellow explosives, practice attacking cities and demolition, and prepare to seize Datong and the county towns to its south one by one. The tasks of preparation for our Jin-Cha-Ji forces located on the eastern side of the Tong-Pu line are the same as this. (2) The Jin-Cha-Ji forces located on both sides of the Ping-Gu line should likewise stock plenty of yellow explosives, practice attacking cities and demolition, and prepare to attack and capture the Ping-Gu Railway. In the central Hebei area, it is necessary to form a main-force column, strengthen the independent regiments and battalions of each sub-district, and strengthen the county and district guerrilla forces and militia, in order to prepare to deal with the impending offensive by the diehard troops.

Military Commission

Chen-gan

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, addressed to He Long, Commander of the Jin-Sui Military Region, and Li Jingquan, its Political Commissar; and to Nie Rongzhen, Commander and Political Commissar of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, and Tang Yanjie, its Chief of Staff.

[2] Fu refers to Fu Zuoyi, who was then Commander-in-Chief of the Kuomintang’s 12th War Zone.

[3] Zhuozishan, a town name, now the county seat of Zhuozi County, Inner Mongolia.