Tasks to Eliminate the Enemy During the
Third Year of the War1
(September 24, 1948)
Regarding military plans for the third year of the war (July of this year to June of
next year), we ask all troops in the Northeast and troops in the North China Second
and Third corps to join forces to wipe out at least thirty-six divisions in the two
armies under Wei [Lihuang] and Fu [Zuoyi]2 that are occupying the Bei[ping]-
[Liao]ning, [Bei]ping-Sui[yuan], [Bei]ping-Cheng[de], and [Bei]ping-Bao[ding]
railways as well as all the cities along those railways other than Beiping, Tianjin,
and Shenyang. Preparations should be made for sending half of the current number of main forces toward the Yangzi River basin in the fourth year of the war;
the remaining half should attack Beiping, Tianjin, and Shenyang. To adapt to the
requirement of sending troops south in the fourth year, you should prepare the first
group of 15,000 to 20,000 cadres for work in remote areas during the third year.
These cadres should be at or above the level of local district committee member,
or platoon leader in the army, and they should include all types of Party, government, military, civil affairs, financial, economic, cultural, educational, and news
workers. We hope you can complete such arrangements at the present cadre meeting and that the cadres will await orders for setting out with the armies in autumn
of next year. At that time, you should prepare a second group of 15,000 to 20,000
cadres for work in far-off areas. This will allow you to manage new areas in the
Yangzi River basin and in the south that have populations of 50 to 100 million
people.


Our source for this document is Mao Zedong wenji, Vol. 5, p. 153, where it is reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript.


1.  Mao Zedong added this paragraph while reviewing a telegram drafted by Zhou Enlai
on September 24, 1948, in which the Central Committee approved a conference of top leaders of the Northeast Bureau.


2.  Wei Lihuang and Fu Zuoyi were commanders-in-chief of the Guomindang’s Northeast and North China “Bandit Suppression” Headquarters, respectively.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-149