Seize Every Opportunity to Seek Out and Destroy Wu Shaozhou[1]

(July 6, 1948)

Liu, Chen, Deng; Su, Chen, Tang, Zhang; Xu, Tan[2]; and inform the East China Bureau:

All your telegrams have been noted. (1) According to the Wei-Wu telegram from Chen, Tang, and Zhang, Qiu’s Army Corps[3] has advanced only ten li in nine days. Chenliu and Lanfeng[4] have been occupied by our forces, creating a situation of encirclement. They are caught in a dilemma and are demanding that Liu Ruming[5] come to break the siege. The 72nd Division has run out of ammunition and provisions; its division commander is weeping, and the troops are wavering. Under these circumstances, so long as the 18th Army is pinned down by us and unable to move north for reinforcement, it remains possible for Su’s forces, after annihilating the 25th Division, to continue and destroy the 72nd Division. Therefore, it is imperative that Liu, Chen, and Deng act in accordance with the second item of the Wei-Wu telegram, resolutely seizing every opportunity to seek out and destroy Wu Shaozhou[6], thereby pinning down the 18th Army and ensuring that Su, Chen, Tang, and Zhang achieve complete victory. Whether Su, Chen, Tang, and Zhang continue to attack and destroy the 72nd Division shall be decided by Su, Chen, Tang, and Zhang themselves after the annihilation of the 25th Division, based on the specific circumstances at that time. (2) Xu and Tan shall immediately act in accordance with the Wei-Chen telegram from Su, Chen, and Tang, concentrating three

[1] This telegram was drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee and addressed to Commander Liu Bocheng, First Deputy Commander Chen Yi, and Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping of the Central Plains Field Army.

[2] Su, Chen, Tang, Zhang refer to Su Yu, Chen Shiju, Tang Liang, and Zhang Zhen, who at the time were respectively Acting Commander and Acting Political Commissar, Chief of Staff, Director of the Political Department, and Deputy Chief of Staff of the East China Field Army. Xu and Tan refer to Xu Shiyou and Tan Zhenlin, who at the time were respectively Commander and Political Commissar of the Shandong Army Corps of the East China Field Army.

[3] Qiu’s Army Corps refers to the Reorganized 5th Army of the Kuomintang forces, commanded by Qiu Qingquan.

[4] Chenliu, an old county name, was merged into Kaifeng County, Henan Province, in 1957. Lanfeng, an old county name, was merged with Kaocheng County to form Lankao County, Henan Province, in 1954.

[5] Liu Ruming was at the time Commander of the 4th Pacification Zone of the Kuomintang forces.

[6] Wu Shaozhou was at the time Commander of the Reorganized 85th Division of the Kuomintang forces, commanding an army corps composed of the Reorganized 85th Division, the 28th Division, and the 10th Division.

columns and the Central Shandong Army Corps to capture Yanzhou and Jining with full force, destroy the 12th Division, and prepare to annihilate the southward reinforcement troops of the 84th Division. When Yanzhou is on the verge of being captured but not yet taken, you should take care to use a portion of your forces to keep the enemy in Jining under surveillance, preventing them from slipping away, so as to facilitate their subsequent destruction.

Military Commission

Yu-Chou