Strive for Time to Create Battlefields[1]

(August 13, 1946)

To Liu and Deng, with information to Chen and Song:

(1) Whether you have already begun operations on the day of weihui[2] is not yet known. You should move swiftly and strive to occupy the cities along the Bian-Xu Railway and in the Wo River basin within about ten days. (2) Only the 127th Brigade (Li Jiaying) of the 47th Division can reach Bian within the next few days. The 122nd Brigade (Zhang Xuanwu) of the 41st Division must first go to Zhengzhou for reorganization and replenishment before proceeding to Bian. The 3rd Brigade and 20th Brigade of the 3rd Division require even more reorganization and replenishment before they can advance. Therefore, you can still gain about ten days’ time to attack and occupy various counties and create battlefields. (3) In the Kaifeng area, at least six or seven brigades must be concentrated before a large-scale offensive can be launched. If you can move swiftly to attack and occupy many counties, the victory will be immense and the momentum very strong. Moreover, thoroughly destroying the railway near Bian-Xu can paralyze the enemy, making them hesitant to launch rash offensives, and may gain more than ten days to half a month for creating battlefields.

(4) Report on the situation as soon as possible.

Military Commission

weiyuanzi

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, addressed to Commander Liu Bocheng and Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army, with information to Commander and concurrently Political Commissar Chen Yi and Chief of Staff Song Shilun of the Shandong Field Army.

[2] Refers to the operations in the Longhai Railway Campaign. On the night of August 10, 1946, the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army exploited the enemy’s weakness and launched an offensive along the Longhai Railway in eastern Henan. By August 12, they had captured Lankao, Dangshan, and over ten other towns and stations, annihilated more than 5,000 enemy troops, and controlled over 100 kilometers of the railway. At this time, Mao Zedong had not yet received the news.