Xu Tan’s Troops to Temporarily Remain in Place and Await Orders[1]

(July 17, 1948)

Su, Chen, and Tang; Xu and Tan; and inform the Central Plains Bureau and the East China Bureau:

We have received your telegram of the afternoon of the 16th.[2] Xu Tan’s troops are to temporarily rest in place and await orders. After Su, Chen, and Tang have occupied the Dangshan-Xuzhou section[3] and other units have broken through the Xuzhou-Bengbu section,[4] we will see how Qiu’s Army Corps[5] reacts before deciding whether to launch the attack on Jinan ahead of schedule.

Military Commission
West of Xuzhou

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[1] This telegram was drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee and addressed to Su Yu, acting commander and acting political commissar of the East China Field Army; Chen Shiju, chief of staff; Tang Liang, director of the Political Department; and Xu Shiyou, commander of the Shandong Corps of the East China Field Army, and Tan Zhenlin, its political commissar.

[2] Refers to the telegram sent by Su Yu, Chen Shiju, and Tang Liang to the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee on the afternoon of July 16, 1948. The telegram stated: We suggest that Xu and Tan join us in securing a month’s rest and reorganization, after which we can coordinate efforts to attack Jinan while simultaneously striking at enemy reinforcements. In the course of striking at reinforcements, we can select favorable positions and seek to annihilate the greater part or the whole of Qiu’s Army Corps, both of which are possible. To swiftly capture Jinan, we could, if necessary, dispatch several units skilled in assaulting fortified positions and achieving quick decisions to participate in the battle (estimated to take about half a month). Once Jinan is resolved and victory is achieved in striking at reinforcements, the theater of operations may quickly shift southward, making the plan to capture Xuzhou this winter seem highly probable.

[3] The Dangshan-Xuzhou section refers to the railway from Dangshan to Xuzhou, a segment of the Longhai Line.

[4] The Xuzhou-Bengbu section refers to the railway from Xuzhou to Bengbu, now a segment of the Beijing-Shanghai Line.

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