If the Fifth Army and Other Northward-Advancing Enemy Forces Can Be Wiped Out Within One or Two Months, the Overall Situation Will Take a Turn for the Better[1]

(December 1, 1946)

Comrades Liu and Deng, and for the information of Comrades Teng, Bo, and Wang[2]:

(1) The two battles you have fought have already put Gu Zhutong[3] in a passive position, while we have seized the initiative. The current northward offensive by the enemy’s Fifth Army, 85th Division, and 75th Division stems from a desire for revenge and remains a forced move. As long as we fight well, it is still very advantageous for us. It is hoped that you will use a portion of your forces to keep the enemy under surveillance, while concentrating the main force for rest and consolidation, and then, at a favorable time and place, wipe out a part of them. It is best to strike the weaker elements first. Prepare to fight several battles successively within one or two months; if this army can be wiped out, the overall situation will take a turn for the better. (2) Because we have adopted resolute measures, we have forced Chiang Kai-shek to temporarily abandon his plan to attack Yan’an[4]. Two brigades of the 90th Division have returned from Hejin to Linfen, and two brigades of the 1st Division have returned from Hancheng to Hejin. The part of Dong Zhao’s[5] force remaining west of the river consists of only one brigade of the 1st Division and one brigade of the 27th Division; thus, there is no longer a main force to attack Yan’an. In our disposition, apart from Zhang Zongxun’s[6]

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee to Liu Bocheng, Commander, and Deng Xiaoping, Political Commissar of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army.
[2] Teng, Bo, and Wang refer to Teng Daiyuan, Bo Yibo, and Wang Hongkun, who were then respectively the First Deputy Commander, First Deputy Political Commissar, and Second Deputy Commander of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region.
[3] Gu Zhutong was then Commander-in-Chief of the Kuomintang Army General Headquarters.
[4] Yan’an refers to Yan’an, Shaanxi.
[5] Dong Zhao was then Commander of the Kuomintang Reorganized 1st Army.
[6] Zhang Zongxun was then Commander of the 1st Column of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Field Army.

two brigades remaining in the Border Region for training and consolidation, Chen Geng’s column[1] will cooperate with Wang Zhen’s unit[2] to devote full effort to managing the Lüliang area, threatening the flank of Linfen; on the Taiyue front, Teng, Bo, and Wang will command the 12th Brigade and various local regiments to form a column, tasked with defending the locality. (3) To strengthen our forces on the southern front and facilitate a future sortie into Henan, the decision remains to transfer Yang-Su’s column[3] southward. This column can set out on hai-dong [December 10]. After it crosses the Zhengding-Taiyuan Railway[4], it is planned to have it proceed to the Taihang area for two months of rest and consolidation. You are requested to prepare a batch of fine weapons and a batch of new recruits to supplement it. Henceforth, this column will be under your command; how it is to be used will be decided after it has moved south and undergone rest and consolidation.

Military Commission

hai-dong [December 1]

[1] Chen Geng’s column refers to the 4th Column of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army, with Column Commander Chen Geng.
[2] Wang Zhen’s unit refers to the 2nd Column of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Field Army, with Wang Zhen serving concurrently as Column Commander and Political Commissar.
[3] Yang-Su’s column refers to the 1st Column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army, with Column Commander Yang Dezhi and Political Commissar Su Zhenhua.
[4] The Zhengding-Taiyuan Railway refers to the railway from Zhengding to Taiyuan, now the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan line.