The Liu-Deng Army Must Coordinate with the Shandong Field Army’s Second Campaign[1]

(July 21, 1946)

Liu, Deng, and inform Chen, Song[2]:

(1) Chen and Song reported on the 20th that eight enemy regiments are advancing eastward from Xuzhou along the Longhai Railway. Our army is determined to annihilate this enemy force. Combat may begin on the 23rd or 24th. After victory, we will move south to wipe out the 58th and 99th Armies[3] and other units, then sever the Xuzhou-Bengbu Railway[4]. (2) It is estimated that Chen and Song’s first campaign may conclude within a few days, and the second campaign[5] may begin by the end of the month. Our Liu-Deng Army cannot make it in time to coordinate with the first campaign, but it can and must coordinate with the second campaign. Therefore, it is proposed that the Liu-Deng Army begin movement within the next few days, arrive at the attack preparation position by the 28th or 29th, and launch the attack on the 30th or 31st to seize the Kaifeng-Xuzhou Railway[6], then develop southward according to the situation to capture various counties in eastern Henan and northern Huai. (3) Request Liu and Deng to consider whether the above proposal is appropriate. If agreed, please immediately deploy operations and await a reply.

Military Commission
21st day, 17-19 hours

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[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, addressed to Liu Bocheng, Commander, and Deng Xiaoping, Political Commissar of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army.
[2] Chen and Song refer to Chen Yi and Song Shilun, then respectively Commander and Political Commissar, and Chief of Staff of the Shandong Field Army.
[3] At this time, the Kuomintang’s 58th Army and 99th Army had already been redesignated as the Reorganized 58th Division and Reorganized 69th Division respectively. The old designations are retained here.
[4] The Xuzhou-Bengbu Railway refers to the railway from Xuzhou to Bengbu, a section of today’s Beijing-Shanghai line.
[5] Chen and Song’s first and second campaigns refer to the two campaign plans formulated by the Shandong Field Army based on the strategic tasks assigned by the Central Military Commission and the enemy situation at hand. The first campaign refers to the operation to eliminate the enemy’s Reorganized 28th Division and 57th Division (formerly the 98th Army) and other units advancing eastward from Xuzhou; the second campaign refers to the operation to move south to sever the Xuzhou-Bengbu Railway and seek to annihilate the enemy’s Reorganized 69th Division (formerly the 99th Army), 58th Division, and 7th Army.
[6] The Kaifeng-Xuzhou Railway refers to the railway from Kaifeng to Xuzhou, a section of the Longhai Railway.