Strive to Destroy More Enemy Forces on the Interior Lines[1]

(July 10, 1947)

Chen, Su, and Tan, and inform Liu and Deng:

(1) After Ye and Tao[2] have wiped out the enemy at Yixian and Zaozhuang,[3] it seems advisable for them to attack westward and capture Zou, Teng, Lin, and Han,[4] cut the Jinpu Railway,[5] draw the Guangxi clique and Ou Zhen[6] westward, directly threaten Xuzhou, and coordinate with Liu and Deng.

(2) Chen and Tang[7] are expected, as per the previous telegram,[8] to move their main force rapidly southward, destroy the enemy at Dawenkou, Sishui, Qufu, and other places, and send a small force westward to capture Feicheng, Pingyin, and Dong’e. (3) Our forces on the front are expected to carefully select opportunities to wipe out Huang Baitao’s unit,[9] and then decide on the second step of operations. (4) Liu and Deng have already captured Yuncheng and other places. If they can wipe out the 70th Division and strive to destroy a few more enemy units north of the railway, then rest for a number of days, reorganize their formations, and launch operations along the Longhai Railway, it seems this would be advantageous. The more enemy forces our army destroys on the interior lines, the easier it will be to develop when we move out to the exterior lines.

The Military Commission

10th, 12:00–14:00

---

[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; Su Yu, deputy commander; and Tan Zhenlin, deputy political commissar.
[2] Ye and Tao refer to Ye Fei and Tao Yong, who were then respectively commander of the 1st Column and commander of the 4th Column of the East China Field Army.
[3] Yixian and Zaozhuang refer to Yixian County (now Yicheng) and Zaozhuang in Shandong Province.
[4] Zou and Teng refer to Zouxian County and Tengxian County in Shandong. Lin refers to Lincheng, i.e., present-day Xuecheng, Zaozhuang City, Shandong. Han refers to Hanzhuang, a town located in the southeast of Weishan County, Shandong.
[5] Jinpu refers to the Jinpu Railway, the railway from Tianjin to Pukou, now a section of the Beijing-Shanghai line.
[6] Ou Zhen was then commander of the 3rd Corps of the Xuzhou Command of the Kuomintang Army General Headquarters.
[7] Chen and Tang refer to Chen Shiju and Tang Liang, who were then respectively chief of staff and director of the political department of the East China Field Army.
[8] This refers to the telegram sent by the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee at 24:00 on July 9, 1947, to Chen Yi, Su Yu, and Tan Zhenlin, with information copies to Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping. The telegram stated: The Jiang army on the front has recently fallen into a paralyzed state, finding it difficult to advance or retreat. Apart from waiting for opportunities on the front and ordering Ye Fei and Tao Yong’s units to advance on Lin and Zao, you are expected to order Chen Shiju and Tang Liang’s unit to move its main force southward, seize the opportunity within a few days to capture Dawenkou and other places, and then advance westward with full force to capture the counties west of the railway and east of the lake, with Liaocheng as the rear line.
[9] Huang Baitao’s unit refers to the Reorganized 25th Division of the Kuomintang Army, with Huang Baitao as the division commander.