Methods for Fighting Concentrated Enemy Forces[1]

(November 14, 1947)

Peng and Zhang:

If the enemy concentrates at one point and cannot be annihilated, please consider using a part of the force to pin down the enemy frontally, while the main force of the entire army shifts to the enemy’s rear, advancing several dozen to over a hundred li in the direction of the Sanbian[2] area, to compel the enemy to pull back and come to the rescue, and then annihilate them in the course of their movement.

The Military Commission

24:00 hours, the 14th

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the 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] Sanbian refers to Dingbian, Anbian, and Jingbian in northwestern Shaanxi.