The Battle Experience of the Central
China Field Army1
(August 28, 1946)
To the commanders of all strategic regions:
According to Su Yu and Tan Zhenlin’s August 27 telegram, our troops wiped
out the Ninety-ninth Brigade of the Sixty-ninth Division in the area southwest
of Rugao on August 26, and then on August 27 in that same area annihilated the
relief troops from the 187th Brigade of the Sixty-fifth Division and a regiment
of the Seventy-ninth Division that had come from Rugao. During two days of
combat, we completely disposed of 15,000 enemy troops and, excluding the
dead and injured, we took nearly 10,000 prisoners. Half of a second regiment
of relief troops from Rugao was also annihilated. To prepare for future campaigns, our troops are taking a brief period of rest and reorganization. During
the one-and-a-half months from July 13 to August 27, our troops under Su and
Tan fought six battles and eliminated six-and-a-half brigades of enemy troops
and 5,000 transportation security troops,2 thus bringing about a brilliant victory.3 We have only fifteen regiments of main forces, but these fifteen regiments are at full strength and have great combat effectiveness, and they did not
adopt egalitarianism in their build-up. For each battle, they assembled a fighting
force with absolute superiority to strike an enemy unit (for example, on August
26 they assembled ten regiments to strike two enemy regiments, and on August
27 they brought together fifteen regiments to strike three enemy regiments). As
a result, they did not lose any of the battles they fought, and they enjoy very
high morale. They seized a lot of booty, so their equipment is excellent. Relying
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 3, pp. 438–39, where it is
1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Military Commission.
2.  Transportation security troops refers to the Guomindang’s secret police force, which
was reorganized into the “Loyal and Patriotic Army” after the War of Resistance Against
Japan.
3.  Su Yu and Tan Zhenlin, commander and political commissar, respectively, of the
Central China Field Army, fought seven successful battles between July 13 and August
31, 1946, eliminating roughly 53,700 Guomindang troops and earning the campaign its
reputation as “Seven Battles, Seven Victories.” At the time of this telegram, the seventh
battle (the Battle of Huanglu) had not yet concluded, so the telegram refers to six rather
than seven battles.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-216

on the Liberated Areas while fighting their campaigns facilitated their buildup. In addition, their command has been correct—that is, flexible and bold—
enabling them to win great victories. This experience is very good experience,
and we hope that every region will learn from and emulate it. We also hope you
will draw your subordinates’ attention to it.
The Military Commission

reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives.