Carrying Out the Jiaoji Campaign Requires
Full Preparation
(February 23, 1947)
To Chen [Yi], Su [Yu], Tan [Zhenlin], and for the information of Liu [Bocheng]
and Deng [Xiaoping]:1
Following our victory in the present campaign,2
	 1.	 Riding the crest of victory, attack the Jiaoji railway. If your troops did not
suffer heavy losses and are not too fatigued, and if you did not fight the
Eighth Army or other units of the enemy’s main forces, you can carry out
this plan.
	 2.	 Rest and reorganize for a certain number of days, rectify the configuration of
your troops, and then attack the Jiaoji railway. If your troops suffered heavy
losses and are very fatigued, or if they had to fight the enemy’s main forces,
you should adopt this plan. In short, the Jiaoji Campaign is a stand-alone,
very significant campaign, and you must make full preparations before carrying it out. We hope you will decide in accordance with the actual situation.
The Military Commission
Our source for this telegram is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 3, pp. 665–66, where it is
reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives.

--- Notes

1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Military Commission.
Chen Yi was commander and political commissar of the East China Field Army, Su Yu was
deputy commander, and Tan Zhenlin was deputy political commissar. Liu Bocheng and
Deng Xiaoping were commander and political commissar, respectively, of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu
Field Army.

2.  This refers to the Laiwu Campaign carried out by the East China Field Army. See
“Attack the Weaker Enemies First, Then the Stronger Enemies; Strive for the Advantage,”
February 6, 1947, in this volume.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-277