Learn the Tactic of Concentrating a Superior Force to Strike at One Point[1]

(September 14, 1946)

Comrades Liu and Deng:

Your telegram of the 13th[2] has been received. (1) The 11th Division and the 5th Division[3] are both American-equipped and have relatively strong combat effectiveness. It is necessary first to use small units and militia to block and harass them from many directions, deplete their ammunition, wear them down, and confuse them, and then commit the main force to attack and wipe them out one by one. (2) The tactic of concentrating a superior force to strike at one point (which must be a weak point) must be thoroughly learned by the cadres, and they must become adept at applying it in tactics. (3) In order to wear down and exhaust the enemy, to allow yourselves to obtain sufficient rest and reorganization, and to ensure the initiative, it is advisable for you to commence operations after the 20th. It will be worth it even if the enemy occupies Dongming and Heze. (4) Six enemy brigades are advancing from Siyang toward the Two Huai’s,[4] and our Chen Yi army is deploying to annihilate the enemy.

Military Commission

Shenhan

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee to Comrades Liu Bocheng, commander, and Deng Xiaoping, political commissar, of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army.
[2] This refers to the telegram sent by Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping to the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee and others on September 13, 1946. The telegram stated: Our various units are now resting and replenishing and can probably begin operations only around the 20th. We intend to strike first at the 18th Army (i.e., the Reorganized 11th Division) and one brigade of the 5th Army. These two armies have now occupied Dingtao and are advancing toward Heze. Liu Ruming’s troops and the Sichuan Army have also begun minor activities. We are now using small units to block them from different directions. It is estimated that we may be able to fight only after the enemy has occupied Dongming and Heze.
[3] The 5th Division should be the 5th Army of the Kuomintang army. At this time, the 5th Army had not yet been reorganized into the Reorganized 5th Division.
[4] The Two Huai’s refers to Huaiyin and Huai’an in Jiangsu Province.