Take Hongdong and Zhaocheng by Surprise Attack[1]

(August 6, 1946)

Chen and Xie:

(1) You should first conduct reconnaissance of Hongdong and Zhaocheng,[2] then move the troops secretly and take them by surprise attack, without letting Hu’s troops[3] know in advance. (2) When the main force moves north to attack Hongdong and Zhaocheng, should a part be left in the vicinity of Wenxi to contain Hu’s troops? (3) Have the troops completed their rest and consolidation, and on what date can they commence operations?

The Military Commission

Weiyu

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee to Chen Geng, commander of the 4th Column of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army, and its political commissar Xie Fuzhi.
[2] Hongdong and Zhaocheng were both old county names. In 1954 the two counties were merged into Hongzhao County, Shanxi Province, and in 1958 the name was changed to Hongdong County, Shanxi Province.
[3] Hu’s troops refers to the Reorganized 1st and 27th Divisions under Hu Zongnan, Commander of the Kuomintang’s 1st War Zone. These two divisions were then in the Wenxi-Xiaxian area of Shanxi Province.