Do Not Fight Any Battles in Which Victory
Cannot Be Assured
 (October 8, 1947, 2:00 P.M.)
To Chen [Geng], Xie [Fuzhi], and Han [Jun]:1
We received your telegram of 10:00 A.M. on the 8th. We agree with your plan
to move your main forces east in a feigned attack on Luoyang, leaving a small
unit to keep an eye on the enemy at Hancheng and wiping out one of its units
when it returns to help. If it is not possible to strike the enemy when it returns
with reinforcements, then attack places such as Dengfeng, Mi county, Yu county,
and Jia county to force the enemy to disperse, and then wipe out the enemy piece
by piece. You should amass five brigades to engage in battles that you are sure
of winning, deploying two other brigades for support purposes. Do not fight any
battles in which victory cannot be assured.
The Military Commission
Our source for this telegram is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 4, p. 287, where it is
reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives.
1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Military Commission.
Chen Geng was secretary of the Chen-Xie Group Front Committee of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu
(Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan) Field Army, Xie Fuzhi was deputy secretary, and Han
Jun was a member of the Standing Committee of the Chen-Xie Group Front Committee.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-40