Conceal and Rest to Await an Opportunity for Further Battle[1]

(May 18, 1947)

Chen and Su, and inform Liu and Deng[2]:

(1) Your telegram of the 17th has been received. After annihilating the 74th Division, since the enemy reinforcements were already drawing near, it was appropriate to stop at the right moment, cease the attack on the 25th and 83rd Divisions, and assemble the entire army for rest and reorganization to await an opportunity for further battle. This disposition is entirely proper. (2) The battle at Tai’an attracted the main attention of Wang and Ou[3] to the northwest, giving you the opportunity to strike and annihilate the 74th Division. Now the enemy’s attention is already concentrated east of Mengyin, and the 75th Division, 85th Division, and other units garrisoning their rear routes (at Tusi Kou, Laiwu, Tai’an, and other places) have become isolated. In view of the fact that this time the 6th Column, moving from south to north, played a coordinating role, we agree with your proposal to dispatch one or two columns to assemble covertly in the mountainous area of southern Shandong to serve as a pre-positioned ambush force (do not alarm the enemy’s rear routes; let the enemy boldly advance eastward or northward), while the main force is positioned between the Yi and Meng mountains to rest and await an opportunity, drawing the 5th Army and the 11th Division eastward, and then seizing the chance to strike and annihilate the isolated enemy forces such as the 75th and 85th Divisions or other enemies easy to attack, destroying the enemy forces one by one.

The Military Commission

Chen Qiao

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, addressed to Chen Yi, Commander and Political Commissar of the East China Field Army, and Su Yu, Deputy Commander.
[2] Liu and Deng refer to Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, who were then respectively Commander and Political Commissar of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army.
[3] Wang and Ou refer to Wang Jingjiu and Ou Zhen, who were then respectively Commanders of the 2nd Army Corps and the 3rd Army Corps of the Xuzhou Command, Army General Headquarters, of the Kuomintang Army.