Fight More Small Battles with the Aim of Annihilating the Enemy’s Effective Strength[1]

(December 26, 1946)

Comrades Chen, Xie, and Wang:

All your telegrams have been received. (1) You have fought two battles very well recently, each time annihilating one enemy battalion. If you can fight a few more battles like these, it will be equivalent to a major victory. (2) Under the current circumstances, operations in the present area are difficult for both the enemy and ourselves. You should seek to fight small battles in the vicinity of Xi County and Yonghe, each time annihilating one or two enemy battalions, and persist for a period. Do not fear the enemy’s deep penetration; always take the annihilation of the enemy’s effective strength as the objective. For the time being, do not go to attack Pu County or Tumen. (3) After about two weeks, when the enemy has already penetrated deep and his rear routes are completely exposed, you may then consider leaving the 24th Brigade in its present location while Chen and Xie lead three brigades to pass through the vicinity of Pu County. The first step would be to raid Xiangning, Hejin, and Jishan; the second step would be to raid Wanquan, Ronghe, Yishi, and Linjin,[2] thereby compelling Dong Zhao’s[3] various units to turn back south and disrupting Liu Kan’s[4] plan to attack Yan’an with his various units. If by that time Liu Kan has already penetrated deep into northern Shaanxi to attack Yan’an, you may then cross the river near Hancheng to raid Liu Kan’s rear routes (the various counties of Guanzhong). (4) Whether the lower reaches of the Fen River at

Hejin, Jishan, and other places are frozen and can be forded on foot, I await your investigation and telegraphic report. (5) The plan described in point three is only to be investigated for now; whether it is feasible will be decided based on how the situation develops later.

---

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, addressed to Chen Geng, commander of the 4th Column of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army, and its political commissar Xie Fuzhi, as well as Wang Zhen, commander and concurrently political commissar of the 2nd Column of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Field Army.

[2] Wanquan and Ronghe were both old county names; the two counties were merged into Wanrong County, Shanxi Province, in 1954. Yishi and Linjin were both old county names; the two counties were merged into Linyi County, Shanxi Province, in 1954.

[3] Dong Zhao was then commander of the Reorganized 1st Army of the Kuomintang forces.

[4] Liu Kan was then commander of the Reorganized 29th Army of the Kuomintang forces.