Combat in the Hebei-Rehe-Liaoning Region Must Be Undertaken by the Existing Troops[1]

(August 6, 1946)

Zihua, Yunchang, and inform Nie and Liu[2]:

Now it is necessary to immediately begin carrying out the task of the three routes and four cities[3]. The first step is to capture Datong; peripheral battles have already begun, and Yang Chengwu’s column[4] has been transferred westward. The second step is to capture the Ping-Han Railway[5]. The third step is to capture the Zheng-Tai Railway[6] and Taiyuan. Under this task, the Yang-Su column[7] must be transferred immediately. Henceforth, combat in the Hebei-Rehe-Liaoning region shall be undertaken by the existing troops there; the task is arduous and glorious. It is hoped that you will redeploy in accordance with the above circumstances and tasks, and that you will rely on the masses and make long-term plans. This is essential.

The Central Committee

Weiyu

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[1] This was a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, addressed to Cheng Zihua, commander and concurrently political commissar of the Hebei-Rehe-Liaoning Military Region, and Li Yunchang, deputy commander.
[2] Nie and Liu refer to Nie Rongzhen and Liu Lantao, who were then respectively commander and concurrently political commissar, and deputy political commissar of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region.
[3] See “The Basic Tasks of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region After the Kuomintang Launched Large-Scale Attacks.”
[4] Yang Chengwu’s column refers to the 3rd Column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army, whose commander was Yang Chengwu.
[5] Ping-Han Railway refers to the railway from Beiping (present-day Beijing) to Hankou, now a section of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway.
[6] Zheng-Tai Railway refers to the railway from Zhengding to Taiyuan, now the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Railway.
[7] Yang-Su column refers to the 1st Column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army, whose commander was Yang Dezhi and political commissar was Su Zhenhua.