Seize Control of the Airport and Quickly
Complete Preparations for the Assault on
Ji’nan
(July 16, 1948)
To Xu [Shiyou] and Tan [Zhenlin], and for the information of Su [Yu], Chen
[Shiju], Tang [Liang], and Zhang [Zhen]:1
After you have annihilated the Eighty-fourth Division, apart from using one
unit of your forces to wipe out the enemy forces in Jining and Wenshang and to
take responsibility for holding key points on the canal to prevent the enemy from
possibly crossing to the east, the main forces should brave exhaustion to seize
control of the Ji’nan airport and quickly complete preparations for the assault on
Ji’nan in hopes of capturing Ji’nan ahead of time.
The Military Commission
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 4, p. 518, 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.
Xu Shiyou was commander of the East China Field Army, and Tan Zhenlin was political
commissar of the East China Field Army. Su Yu was acting commander and acting political
commissar of the East China Field Army, Chen Shiju was chief-of-staff, Tang Liang was
director of the Political Department, and Zhang Zhen (张震) was the deputy chief-of-staff
of the East China Field Army.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-134