Adopt the Method of Besieging a City and
Destroying the Relief Forces to Eliminate the
Enemy’s Effective Strength
(October 24, 1946)
To Zhan [Caifang], Li [Chuli], and Wang [Zhitao]; and for the information of
Cheng [Zihua] and Li [Yunchang]:1
Your guiding principles for combat should emphasize eliminating the enemy’s
effective strength; once that is done it will naturally be easy for us to recover all
the strongholds occupied by the enemy. In order to put this principle into practice, you should adopt the method of besieging a city and attacking the enemy’s
relief forces. The purpose of besieging a city is not to capture the city but rather
to destroy the relief forces. You should assemble a military force seven or eight
times the size of the enemy’s (for example, gather together four or five regiments
to attack one or two battalions of the enemy’s relief forces), and you should be
fully prepared before every event. Do not fight frivolous battles; when you fight,
you must win. During combat, you must surround and outflank the enemy forces
in order to wipe them out completely. You should thoroughly educate the cadres
about this point.
The Military Commission
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 3, pp. 527–28, where it is
reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives.
1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Military Commission.
Zhan Caifang was commander of the Eastern Hebei Military Region, while Li Chuli
(1903–1999, native of Hebei) and Wang Zhitao (1906–1999, native of Hebei) were political commissar and chief-of-staff, respectively. Cheng Zihua was commander and political commissar, and Li Yunchang was deputy commander, respectively, of the Ji-Re-Liao
(Hebei-Rehe-Liaoning) Military Region.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-237