The Liu-Deng Army Should Immediately Assemble, Rest and Reorganize in Preparation for the Southward Advance[1]

(July 27, 1947)

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

(1) Take advantage of the opportunity that the Fifth Army has returned to garrison Laiwu and that Wu Shaozhou[3] is also engaged in dealing with Ye Tao[4]. It is hoped that you will immediately assemble the entire army, rest and replenish for half a month, and carry out the task assigned in the Central Committee’s telegram of the twenty-third day[5]. (2) We have personally informed Chen Geng[6] to prepare to cross the river earlier, before the twentieth day of the seventh month. Chen Geng can probably arrive at Taiyue by the eighth day of the seventh month. (3) From now on, the Chen Geng Group shall be placed under the command of Liu and Deng. It is hoped that you will order the columns of Chen, Qin, and Zhao[7] and the Thirty-Eighth Army to complete all preparatory work earlier, before the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and to cross the river between the fifteenth and twentieth days of the seventh month. (4) Around the eighth day of the seventh month, the border region forces shall begin to attack the enemy in the Yulin sector, drawing the main force of Hu’s[8] army northward for relief, so as to facilitate your southward advance. If Chen Geng can cross the river before the twentieth day of the seventh month, and you can begin the southward advance around the fifteenth day of the seventh month,

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee to Commander Liu Bocheng and Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army.

[2] Chen, Su, Tan refer to Chen Yi, Su Yu, and Tan Zhenlin, who were then respectively Commander and Political Commissar, Deputy Commander, and Deputy Political Commissar of the East China Field Army.

[3] Wu Shaozhou was then Commander of the Reorganized 85th Division of the Kuomintang Army.

[4] Ye Tao refers 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.

[5] This refers to “Military Dispositions for Ensuring and Expanding the Strategic Initiative.”

[6] Chen Geng was then Commander of the 4th Column of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army.

[7] The columns of Chen, Qin, and Zhao refer to the 4th, 9th, and 12th Columns of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army, whose commanders were respectively Chen Geng, Qin Jiwei, and Zhao Jimei.

[8] Hu refers to Hu Zongnan, who was then Director of the Xi’an Pacification Headquarters of the Kuomintang Army.

then it may be possible to gain several weeks’ time to gain a firm foothold in western Henan and the Dabie Mountains. (5) According to the telegram from Chen, Su, and Tan of the twenty-fifth day at 11:00 hours[1], Chen Tang[2] will not go to the area west of the lake[3] but will join forces with Ye Tao, concentrating all efforts to deal with the enemy in central Shandong and drawing Wu Shaozhou and others into central Shandong. This is most advantageous for Liu and Deng’s southward sortie. Ye Tao may, in accordance with the Central Committee’s telegram of the twenty-third day, carry out the southward sortie two months later.

The Military Commission

The twenty-seventh day of the seventh month

[1] This refers to the telegram sent by Chen Yi, Su Yu, and Tan Zhenlin to the CPC Central Committee at 11:00 hours on July 25, 1947. The telegram stated: After the forces of Ye Fei and Tao Yong withdrew eastward to the Zaozhuang-Wancun line, the enemy attempted to use the Guangxi clique and Wu Shaozhou’s two groups to trap Ye Tao. Therefore, we have ordered Ye Tao to move northwest to join forces with the units of Chen Shiju and Tang Liang, and ordered Chen Tang to move their main force to the vicinity of Yanzhou to coordinate with Ye Tao.

[2] Chen Tang refers 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.

[3] The area west of the lake refers to the border region of Jiangsu, Shandong, and Henan provinces west of Weishan Lake.