To Xu Xiangqian, Zhou Shidi, and Others[1]

(July 23, 1948)

Your telegram of Machen[2] received. The plan is very good. The entire army should immediately enter a period of rest and consolidation and replenish its troop strength.

[1] This is the main content of a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, addressed to Xu Xiangqian and Zhou Shidi and for the information of the North China Bureau.

[2] The telegram of Machen refers to the telegram sent by Xu Xiangqian and Zhou Shidi on July 21 during the chen period (7:00–9:00 a.m.) to the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee. It stated: Henceforth, we will enter into positional and assault warfare to capture the peripheral strongholds of Taiyuan. The fortifications of Yan Xishan’s army at the peripheral strongholds extend approximately 20 kilometers in both length and width, with strongholds scattered like chess pieces and fortresses standing in great numbers, many constructed of cement and generally quite solid. At present, the greatest problem for all our columns is insufficient troop strength. We must complete such tasks as replenishing troop strength, reorganizing units, adjusting equipment, making rear-area preparations, preparing ammunition, and conducting training in assault tactics and techniques. The operational principle for capturing Taiyuan is to realistically achieve the encirclement and siege of Taiyuan, control the north and south airfields and certain peripheral industrial and mining facilities, cut off its external aid and supplies of grain, ammunition, and fuel, gradually capture the necessary peripheral strongholds, destroy its effective strength, disintegrate and shake the enemy, open up routes for storming the city, complete preparations for the assault, and then capture it in a single blow.