Xu Xiangqian’s Corps Has Already Gone North to Attack Yan and Cannot Be Transferred West[1]

(June 18, 1948)

Peng, Zhang, Zhao, Gan, and inform He, Xi[2]:

Your telegram of the 16th[3] has been noted. It is indeed very arduous for you to shoulder the task of combat in the Northwest with about 70,000 men, but it is difficult for other sectors to give you direct assistance in troop strength. Yang and Luo[4] have several times requested that the Xiangqian Corps[5] assist in attacking Fu Zuoyi[6], and you now also request that this corps assist in attacking Hu Zongnan. We consider both requests inappropriate. Because when we concentrate, the enemy also concentrates, and it is not certain we can fight a good battle. If we concentrate too large a force, grain supply absolutely cannot be sustained for long, and other sectors will lose opportunities to annihilate the enemy. It is more advantageous to fix the troop strength and tasks of each corps, allowing each to seek opportunities to annihilate the enemy at its own time without regard to time constraints. The Xiangqian Corps has already gone north and will launch the Central Shanxi Campaign[1] within the next few days. Henceforth, this corps is intended to be fixed in central Shanxi to fight Yan[2] until Taiyuan is captured. You should not hope for its transfer west. However, in two months, the two brigades from the Jin-Sui area under the command of Peng and Luo[3] can be transferred to you and incorporated into your establishment. Your plan to seek an opportunity in July to annihilate one or two brigades of Hu, then rest and consolidate, and after autumn to strike Ma[4], is very good.

Military Commission

18th, 14:00 hours

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[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee to Peng Dehuai, Commander and Political Commissar of the Northwest Field Army; Zhang Zongxun and Zhao Shoushan, Deputy Commanders; and Gan Siqi, Director of the Political Department.

[2] He and Xi refer to He Long and Xi Zhongxun, then respectively Commander and Political Commissar of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia-Shanxi-Suiyuan Joint Defense Military Region.

[3] Refers to the telegram sent at noon on June 16, 1948, by Peng Dehuai, Zhang Zongxun, Zhao Shoushan, and Gan Siqi to the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, with copies to He Long and Xi Zhongxun. The telegram stated: "Our 2nd and 3rd Columns are concentrated in Hancheng, Zhichuan Town, and areas to the southwest; the 1st Column is at Shipu Town; the Northwest Field Army headquarters is at Shipu; the 4th Column is at Tuqiao and Xunyi; the 6th Column is at Hejin. If the enemy at Heyang and Chengcheng advances on Hancheng, we plan to use the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Columns to attack and destroy them; if they do not advance, we will adopt a combat-ready posture for training and consolidation. According to actual reconnaissance by Peng, there are many villages and city walls in the Heyang-Chengcheng area. If our army subsequently concentrates five columns for operations, it is possible for the 3rd and 7th Brigades to harass this enemy, but we lack the strength to block reinforcements. Please consider whether the Xiangqian Corps' attack on Yan can be postponed for two to three months, so that this corps and the Northwest Field Army can jointly organize the Weibei Campaign, seeking to eliminate Hu Zongnan's 32 brigades and prevent the enemy north of the Wei River from linking up with those south of the Wei River. Otherwise, the Northwest Field Army will first seek an opportunity in July to strike one or two of Hu's brigades, obtain prisoners, and await new recruit replacements, then strike Ma after autumn."

[4] Yang and Luo refer to Yang Dezhi and Luo Ruiqing, then respectively Commander and First Political Commissar of the 2nd Corps of the North China Military Region.

[5] The Xiangqian Corps refers to the 1st Corps of the North China Military Region, with Xu Xiangqian as Corps Commander and concurrently Political Commissar.

[6] Fu Zuoyi was then Commander-in-Chief of the Kuomintang's North China "Bandit Suppression" General Headquarters.

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[1] The Central Shanxi Campaign was an offensive campaign launched by the 1st Corps of the North China Military Region and the Jin-Sui Military Region against the Kuomintang forces in Shanxi in the central Shanxi area. On June 11, 1948, the leaders of the 1st Corps first used local armed forces to attack Gaoyang Town east of Xiaoyi. Yan Xishan urgently dispatched the "Blitz Corps" from Jiexiu, Pingyao, and other places to reinforce the west. On June 18, the 1st Corps exploited the enemy's weakness to strike at the Jiexiu-Pingyao section of the Tongpu Railway. By June 24, they had annihilated over 10,000 of the enemy returning eastward in the Qixian-Pingyao area. On June 28, Zhao Chengshou, Deputy Director of the Taiyuan Pacification Office, concurrently Deputy Commander of Shanxi Security and Commander of the Field Army, led two armies and one general corps south from Taiyuan to reinforce, attempting to force a decisive battle with the People's Liberation Army south of Qixian. The 1st Corps first inserted a portion of its forces into the enemy's flank and rear, cutting off their retreat route. The enemy forces were forced to withdraw northward and were surrounded by the 1st Corps at Dachang Town north of Taigu. After fierce fighting until July 16, the southward-reinforcing Kuomintang forces were completely annihilated, Zhao Chengshou was captured alive, and Lieutenant General Yuan Quanxin (a Japanese officer), Frontline Commander of the Shanxi Security Headquarters and concurrently Deputy Commander of the Taiyuan Pacification Field Army, was killed in action. Subsequently, taking advantage of the victory, they captured 14 county towns, isolating Taiyuan. By the conclusion of the campaign on July 21, a total of over 74,000 Kuomintang regular and irregular troops had been annihilated, and an additional 26,000 civilian defense troops and others were captured alive, liberating the central Shanxi region except for Taiyuan.

[2] Yan refers to Yan Xishan, then Director of the Kuomintang's Taiyuan Pacification Office.

[3] Peng and Luo refer to Peng Shaohui and Luo Guibo, then respectively Commander and Political Commissar of the Lüliang Military Region.

[4] Ma refers to Ma Bufang, then Chairman of the Kuomintang Qinghai Provincial Government.