The Zhengding–Taiyuan Campaign Should Be Launched Earlier and Its Duration Shortened[1]

(April 2, 1947)

Comrades Nie, Xiao, and Luo:

Your telegram of the 31st[2] has been received. The Zhengding–Taiyuan Campaign[3] should be launched as early as possible and its duration shortened, so that by the end of this month or early next month one column (under Yang Dezhi[4]) can be transferred to northwestern Shanxi to strike at Fu Zuoyi[5] (four brigades from northwestern Shanxi are currently fighting in northern Shaanxi).

Central Military Commission
2 April

[1] This telegram was drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee and addressed to Nie Rongzhen, commander and political commissar of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region; Xiao Ke, deputy commander; and Luo Ruiqing, deputy political commissar.
[2] This refers to the telegram sent by Nie Rongzhen, Xiao Ke, Luo Ruiqing, and Zhao Erlu to the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee on March 31, 1947. The telegram stated: We are about to launch the Zhengding–Taiyuan Campaign to wipe out the enemy along the Zhengding–Taiyuan railway and on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang. The campaign is planned to be carried out in two stages, with the first stage focusing on the eastern section and the second stage employing the main force to launch large-scale sabotage operations westward. It is expected to begin before April 9, and the entire campaign is estimated to be completed in about one month.
[3] In April 1947, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Columns of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army, together with part of the local armed forces, moved south from Anguo and Dingxian to attack the Kuomintang troops along the Zhengding–Taiyuan railway. The operation began on April 9 and ended on May 4, resulting in the annihilation of over 35,000 enemy troops, the capture of the Yangquan industrial and mining district and the county towns of Pingding, Shouyang, and Huolu, and the severance of the link between the enemy forces in Taiyuan and Shijiazhuang. This linked up the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei and Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Liberated Areas and isolated the Kuomintang troops in Shijiazhuang.
[4] Yang Dezhi was then commander of the 2nd Column of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army.
[5] Fu Zuoyi was then director of the Zhangyuan (Zhangjiakou) Pacification Headquarters of the Kuomintang army.