Combat Missions of the Second and Third Army Corps of North China[1]

(October 6, 1948)

To Yang, Luo, and Geng; Yang, Li, and Li; and to inform the North China Bureau:

(1) Because our Yang-Luo-Geng Army Corps has been actively operating along the Beiping-Zhangjiakou line[2] (already annihilating a portion of the enemy) and threatening Zhangyuan[3], Fu Zuoyi[4] has been compelled to transfer the main force of the 35th Army and the 4th Cavalry Division from eastern Suiyuan[5] back to the line of Chaigoubu[6] and Zhangyuan. This situation is extremely favorable for our operations in eastern Suiyuan. (2) Our Yang-Li-Li Army Corps should immediately concentrate its full strength eastward and seize the opportunity to annihilate the enemy piecemeal in the areas of Fengzhen, Jining, and Xinghe. In that region there are still three infantry divisions and three cavalry brigades. You should adopt the tactic of first striking one part, drawing the remainder to reinforce, and then annihilating them one by one. Prepare to annihilate all three enemy infantry divisions and three cavalry brigades in several engagements, recapture the three cities of Fengzhen, Jining, and Xinghe, and then strike at Suiyuan and Baotou.[7] (3) Our Yang-Luo-Geng Army Corps should endure all temporary difficulties, draw the main forces of the 35th Army and the Temporary 3rd Army to attack, concentrate the entire strength of the corps to annihilate one of their columns, and open up the situation on the Beiping-Zhangjiakou front. If the enemy does not come to attack, you should also seek out the enemy's weak points

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[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 Yang Dezhi (commander), Luo Ruiqing (political commissar), and Geng Biao (chief of staff) of the Second Army Corps of the North China Military Region; Yang Chengwu (commander), Li Jingquan (political commissar), and Li Tianhuan (deputy political commissar and director of the Political Department) of the Third Army Corps; and to inform the North China Bureau of the Central Committee.

[2] The Beiping-Zhangjiakou line refers to the railway from Beiping (present-day Beijing) to Zhangjiakou, now a section of the Beijing-Baotou line.

[3] Zhangyuan refers to Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province.

[4] Fu Zuoyi was then commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang's "Bandit Suppression" General Headquarters in North China.

[5] Suiyuan, a former province encompassing the central part of present-day Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, was abolished in 1954.

[6] Chaigoubu is a town, now the county seat of Huai'an County, Hebei Province.

[7] Suiyuan and Baotou refer to Guisui (present-day Hohhot, Inner Mongolia) and Baotou.