Operational Arrangements after the
Capture of Panlong
 (May 4, 1947, 5:00 P.M.)
To Peng [Dehuai] and Xi [Zhongxun], and for the information of Chen [Geng],
Xie [Fuzhi], Liu [Bocheng], and Deng [Xiaoping]:1
We received the telegram you sent at 1:00 on May 4.2 We were very pleased to
learn that you took 1,000 prisoners during yesterday’s fight. If reinforcements from
the Twenty-fourth Brigade arrive after you have thoroughly captured Panlong,
you should annihilate that unit. Next, wipe out the enemy forces in Guaimao, and
rest for a few days in the Panlong-Guaimao area. After that, you can consider
taking a direct route (Nanniwan or Linzhen3) and march straight for Luochuan,
Zhongbu,4 Yijun, Pucheng, and Baishui to shake up central Shaanxi. In addition,
you should consider whether to bring the main forces of Chen and Xie’s column
(four brigades) across the river to join in wiping out Hu [Zongnan]’s5 army and
open up the situation in the Northwest. Dong Zhao and Liu Kan6 have kept the
nine-and-a-half brigades under their command in Suide today, and it seems they
will remain there for a few more days. We estimate it will probably take more
than twenty days for Dong and Liu to shift from Suide to the Luochuan-Zhongbu
line; time is on our side. We hope you will think this over and let us know your
views.
Mao Zedong


Our source for this telegram is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 4, pp. 48–49, where it is
reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives.

--- Notes

1.  Peng Dehuai was commander and political commissar, and Xi Zhongxun was deputy political commissar, of the Northwest Field Army. Chen Geng and Xie Fuzhi were
commander and political commissar, respectively, of the Fourth Column of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army. Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping were commander
and political commissar, respectively, of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army.
2.  Peng Dehuai and Xi Zhongxun’s May 4, 1947, telegram to the Central Military
Commission reported the use of tunnel blasting to capture the highlands in southeastern
and southwestern Panlong on May 3, with some 1,000 enemies taken prisoner. They estimated they would need two more days and nights to finish off the battle.
3.  Linzhen is southeast of Yan’an city, in western Shaanxi Province.
4.  Zhongbu is the former name of today’s Huangling, Shaanxi Province.
5.  Hu Zongnan was commander of the Guomindang’s First War Zone.
6.  Dong Zhao was commander of the Guomindang’s Reorganized First Army. Liu Kan
was commander of the Guomindang’s Reorganized Twenty-ninth Army.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-300