Concentrate a Superior Force to Wipe Out the Security Regiments in Particular[1]

(September 2, 1946)

Comrades Li, Ren, and Wen:

(1) Your telegram of the 1st[2] received. We fully agree with your plan and hope you will smash the enemy’s offensive in accordance with the concrete conditions. In operations, concentrate on attacking the security regiments. So long as you wipe out the greater part of the security regiments by destroying them one by one, the diehard regular troops will be isolated, and it will not be too late to strike at the regulars then. (2) In operations, concentrate a superior force to strike at one part of the enemy (for instance, use a force of 1,500 to 2,000 to encircle and wipe out 500 men of a security regiment), aiming at a quick decision and total annihilation. After succeeding, rest and regroup for several days, then fight a second battle. So long as each battle is one of annihilation and you win three or four such victories, the situation will develop. (3) The 61st Brigade has left Luonan for Tongguan; the 1st Brigade is concentrating at Xianyang; the 28th Brigade and the 123rd Brigade of the 36th Division seem likely to be used for attacking the Longdong border area. There is no 63rd Brigade in your vicinity; only one regiment of the 64th Brigade of the 15th Division is in the Yunxi area. The regular troops attacking you are mainly the 84th Brigade

[1] This telegram was drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee and addressed to Li Xiannian, commander of the Central Plains Military Command, Ren Zhibin, political commissar of the 2nd Column, and Wen Jianwu, commander of the Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Military Command.

[2] This refers to the telegram sent by Li Xiannian, Ren Zhibin, and Wen Jianwu to the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee on September 1, 1946. After reporting on the large-scale “mopping-up” operations conducted by the Kuomintang troops in the Henan-Hubei-Shaanxi area, the telegram stated that the guiding principles for the struggle against these “mopping-up” operations were: (1) basically adopting the policy of dispersed guerrilla warfare; (2) basically adopting the policy of fighting on interior lines so as to protect the newly established local organs and stabilize the newly formed local armed forces and the mood of the masses, while sending some units actively to develop guerrilla warfare on exterior lines; (3) taking the Kuomintang local armed forces and security regiments as the main targets of operations. Under favorable conditions, a certain amount of force could also be concentrated to wipe out regular troops dispersed in battalion-sized units for “mopping-up” operations.

(which has already reached Luonan to take over the defense from the 61st Brigade), the 144th Brigade (one regiment in southern Shaanxi, another regiment which pursued Wang Zhen[1] and may return to southern Shaanxi), and the 135th Brigade (which set out from Yangxian on Weijing [August 26] for the area around Manchuan Pass). Generally speaking, you should evade these regular troops and concentrate exclusively on attacking the security regiments. If you can wipe out the greater part of the eleven security regiments, a base area can be established. (4) Our forces in Longdong have already launched an offensive, broken through the 200-li blockade line, and occupied a large area, which will certainly draw off part of Hu’s[2] forces. (5) Part of our Liu-Deng[3] army is attacking in eastern Henan, while the main force has shifted to interior lines to await opportunities to annihilate the enemy, which will certainly continue to draw off enemy forces.

The Military Commission

Shen Dong Hai [September 2, 21:00–23:00 hours]

[1] Wang Zhen, then deputy commander and chief of staff of the Central Plains Military Command, led the 359th Brigade into the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region on August 29, 1946.

[2] Hu, i.e., Hu Zongnan, then commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang’s 1st War Zone.

[3] Liu-Deng, i.e., Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, then respectively commander and political commissar of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army.