On the Operational Plan for Attacking Jinan and Striking at Reinforcements[1]

(August 22, 1948)

Su, Tan, Chen, Tang:

Your telegram of the 20th Shen hour[2] has been received. (1) The operational plan for attacking Jinan and striking at reinforcements is to be discussed by you and reported by telegram. (2) Regarding the timing of operations, it is proposed that all preparations for attacking the city and striking at reinforcements be completed before the 15th of the ninth month, with the city assault to commence around that date, and the units for checking and striking at reinforcements to enter their designated positions before the 15th of the ninth month. (3) For the approximately 80 to 90 days spanning the period before and after the 15th of the ninth month (including operations and post-battle rest and reorganization), the entire army’s grain and fodder must be fully prepared. (4) On the two enemy reinforcement routes—from Lincheng[3] to Dawenkou[4] and from Jinxiang to the Wen River—our army’s defensive positions must be constructed with multiple layers of defense, capable of holding off enemy reinforcements for over 20 days in the areas between Lincheng and Yanzhou and between Jinxiang and Jining. The annihilation battle against the reinforcements should presumably be planned for the vicinity of Yanzhou. (5) The 1st, 6th, and 8th Columns under Ye Fei[5] should begin their northward movement a certain number of days before the city assault is launched, neither too early nor too late.

Central Military Commission

22nd day of the 8th month

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

[2] Refers to the telegram sent by Su Yu, Chen Shiju, and Tang Liang to the Central Military Commission at the Shen hour on August 20, 1948. The telegram stated: All units of the Western Corps, except the 3rd Column, which has already reached the Jinxiang-Jiaxiang area, and the field army headquarters, which has reached the area northeast of Jining, are resting and reorganizing in place, awaiting orders. The 1st, 4th, and 8th Columns south of the Longhai Railway, considering that moving north too early might alert the enemy and prompt them to reinforce the Jinan garrison by air, thereby adversely affecting the next campaign, have decided to move north simultaneously after the operation begins.

[3] Lincheng, present-day Xuecheng, Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province.

[4] Dawenkou, a town in the southern part of present-day Tai’an City, Shandong Province.

[5] Ye Fei, then commander of the 1st Column of the East China Field Army.