It Is Better to Launch an Attack When the
Enemy Is Dispersed and Exhausted
(May 5, 1947, 1:00 P.M.)
To Peng [Dehuai] and Xi [Zhongxun]:1
	 1.	 If there are no good battles to fight, it is best to conceal yourselves and await
an opportunity; wait until the enemy is dispersed and more exhausted to
launch your attack and to wipe it out.
	 2.	 We have moved to the area northwest of the old Anding city.
	 3.	 We hope you will inform us by telegram each day of the enemy’s situation.
C D
[Central Military Commission]
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 4, p. 55, 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.
Peng Dehuai was commander and political commissar and Xi Zhongxun was deputy political commissar, respectively, of the Northwest Field Army.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-303