It is Essential to Launch the Huai-Hai
Campaign
 (September 25, 1948, 7:00 P.M.)
To Rao [Shushi] and Su [Yu], and for the information of Xu [Shiyou], Tan
[Zhenlin], and Wang [Jian’an], Liu [Bocheng], Chen [Yi] and Li [Da]:1
We consider it essential to launch the Huai-Hai Campaign.2 At the moment,
our army does not need rest and reorganization. We will rest and reorganize after
the Huai-Hai Campaign. You may start the Huai-Hai Campaign around October
10. You should take advantage of the next two weeks to give a short rest to the
troops who fought at Ji’nan, and then leave one column in southwestern Shandong
to pin down the enemy. Wu Huawen’s army3 should also shift to southwestern
Shandong. The rest of the troops should all move south and prepare to wage several battles:
	 1.	 We estimate that Qiu’s army group4 will soon retreat to the areas of
Shang[qiu] and Dang[shan], and Huang’s army group5 will return to the area
of Xin’an town and Yunhe station.6 The objective of your first battle is to
destroy Huang’s army corps on the Xin’an-Yunhe front.

	 2.	 To destroy the enemy in the areas of Huaiyang, Huai’an, Gaoyou, and
Baoying will be the objective of your second battle.
	 3.	 Your third battle will be to destroy the enemy in the areas of Haizhou,
Lianyungang, and Guanyun. These three battles will constitute a major
campaign. If you fight effectively, you may be able to destroy more than
ten enemy brigades, open the connection between Shandong and northern
Jiangsu, and force a portion of the enemy’s troops to disperse to defend the
Yangzi. This will be advantageous for your next move, which will be to
advance and engage in battle on the Xuzhou-Pukou front. Therefore, you
should make all the necessary preparations for this campaign by 5:00 P.M.
on the 10th and hold a cadre meeting like the one we held in Qufu last month7
in order to unify our fighting spirit and adjust internal relationships.
The Military Commission

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Notes

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 5, pp. 19–21, where it is reproduced from an original preserved in the Central Archives.

--- Notes

1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Military Commission.
Rao Shushi was political commissar of the East China Military Region, and Su Yu was
the acting commander and acting political commissar of the East China Field Army. Xu
Shiyou was commander of the East China Field Army’s Shandong Corps, and Tan Zhenlin
was political commissar and Wang Jian’an was deputy commander of the East China Field
Army’s Shandong Corps. Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi, and Li Da were commander, first deputy
commander, and chief-of-staff, respectively, of the Central Plains Field Army.

2.  On the morning of September 24, 1948, Su Yu sent a telegram to the Central Military Commission advising moving forward with the Huai-Hai Campaign and setting out
detailed plans for the campaign.

3.  Wu Huawen, commander of the Guomindang’s Ninety-sixth Army, rebelled on September 19 during the Ji’nan Campaign and came over to the side of the Communists.

4.  Qiu Qingquan was deputy commander of the Guomindang’s Second Army Group.

5.  Huang Baitao was commander of the Guomindang’s Seventh Army Group.

6.  Xin’an town is now the county seat of Xinyi county, Jiangsu. Yunhe is now the
county seat of Pi county, Jiangsu.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-150

7.  In late August 1948, the Front Committee of the East China Field Army held a meeting in Qufu for the leaders and cadres of all columns, during which they formulated the
plan for the Ji’nan Campaign.