Seize the Opportunity to Attack and Capture Areas in Northeast Henan and North Huai, Recover Lost Territories[1]

(January 19, 1947)

Liu and Deng:

The situation north of the railway[2] has already been opened up, and the circumstances are extremely favorable. For the purpose of annihilating large numbers of the enemy’s effective strength, strengthening local corps, creating battlefields, isolating the enemy’s main forces, and facilitating the final destruction of the enemy, take advantage of the opportunity that the three forces of Wang Jingjiu, Wang Zhonglian, and Sun Zhen[3] are all north of the Yellow River and that Zhang Lanfeng[4] has been captured by us. Please consider, after several days of rest and reorganization, launching a large-scale operation south of the railway once, using a period of four to five weeks to attack and capture a large number of towns in eastern Henan and northern Huai that may be taken, and recover extensive lost territories. After four to five weeks, Wang Jingjiu’s forces will inevitably be compelled to shift southward. At that time, if the situation is favorable for fighting, engage Wang’s forces on the spot; if unfavorable, return north of the railway and continue to seek out weak points to strike. Whether this is feasible, please consider and telegraph your reply.

Central Military Commission
Zihao

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, addressed to Commander Liu Bocheng and Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army.
[2] “North of the railway” refers to the area north of the Xuzhou-Kaifeng section of the Longhai Railway.
[3] Wang Jingjiu was then Commander of the Reorganized 27th Army of the Kuomintang forces. Wang Zhonglian was then Commander of the Reorganized 26th Army of the Kuomintang forces. Sun Zhen was then Commander of the 5th Pacification Zone of the Kuomintang forces.
[4] Zhang Lanfeng, formerly Commander of the Temporarily Organized 4th Column of the 4th Pacification Zone of the Kuomintang forces, was captured on January 13, 1947, in Chengwu, Shandong.