It Is Advisable to Strike the Enemy’s 18th Division First[1]

(November 11, 1947)

Peng and Zhang:

Which unit of the enemy’s reinforcements to strike first must be decided within the next few days. Deng Baoshan[2] has not moved from Jasak[3]; the so-called 17th Division and the troops airlifted from Xi’an all appear to be making empty demonstrations, numbering at most three to five thousand men. Before the 18th Division approaches Yulin, this force will not dare to close in on Yulin either. The 18th Division, however, may approach Yulin by the 14th. Therefore, it seems advisable for our army to decide to strike the 18th Division, first annihilating one of its brigades and then wiping out the remainder. Please consider and decide. To strike the 18th Division, several days’ rations must be carried.

Military Commission

11th, 12:00 hours

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, addressed to Peng Dehuai, commander and political commissar of the Northwest Field Army, and Zhang Zongxun, its deputy commander.

[2] Deng Baoshan was then commander-in-chief of the Shanxi-Shaanxi-Suiyuan Border Area Headquarters of the Kuomintang army.

[3] Jasak was an old banner name. In 1959, it was merged with Junwang Banner to form the Yijinhuoluo Banner of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.