Opinions on the Taiyuan Operation[1]

(October 6, 1948)

Xu, Zhou, Chen:

We have received the September 28 operational plan telegram[2], the October 3 operational disposition telegram[3], and the October 5 battle situation telegram. You originally planned to commence the Taiyuan Campaign[4] on October 18, but have now advanced it by thirteen days. Because the enemy was compelled to expand outward, it has given us a good opportunity to annihilate them. If the enemy’s combat strength is not strong and your command is appropriate, seizing the opportunity to advance and strike may make it possible to completely clear out the enemy outside the city within a short time, and may shorten the time needed to attack the city, without

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, addressed to Xu Xiangqian, First Deputy Commander of the North China Military Region and concurrently Commander and Political Commissar of the First Army Corps; Zhou Shidi, Deputy Commander and concurrently Deputy Political Commissar of the First Army Corps; and Chen Manyuan, Chief of Staff of the First Army Corps.

[2] Refers to the September 28, 1948 telegram from the Front Committee of the First Army Corps of the North China Military Region to the Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China concerning the operational plan for the Taiyuan Campaign. The telegram stated that the "guiding principle of the campaign is to besiege, disintegrate, and attack, gradually weakening the enemy, and then capture Taiyuan in one stroke. The campaign is planned to begin on October 18 and strive to conclude within three months." The telegram also reported the main steps and troop dispositions for our army’s attack on Taiyuan.

[3] Refers to the October 3, 1948, 20:00 telegram from Xu Xiangqian, Zhou Shidi, and Chen Manyuan to the Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and others.

[4] The Taiyuan Campaign refers to the urban assault campaign launched by the North China Military Region against the Kuomintang garrison defending Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province. Peripheral battles began on October 5, and by December 4, key points south of the city and in the Eastern Hills had been occupied, annihilating over 30,000 enemy troops. Thereafter, following instructions from the Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the frontline troops at Taiyuan temporarily suspended the assault on the city and shifted to besieging the city and resting and reorganizing. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army launched the general assault on Taiyuan on April 20, 1949, capturing the city by the 24th and completely annihilating the defending enemy. This campaign resulted in the annihilation of over 130,000 enemy troops and the capture alive of Sun Chu, Deputy Director of the Taiyuan Pacification Office, and Wang Jingguo, Commander of the Taiyuan Defense Garrison, bringing an end to Yan Xishan’s 38-year reactionary rule in Shanxi.

needing to stay for long, and you can then take advantage of the situation to assault the city and liberate Taiyuan ahead of schedule. Therefore, when you issue battle reports, do not say that the enemy is expanding outward; rather, you should say that you have already begun the Taiyuan Campaign, and it is appropriate to issue the battle reports only after the peripheral battles have generally reached a concluding stage.

Military Commission

Yuzi