[Special Dispatch from the Xinhua News Agency, Liaoxi Front, 5:00 p.m. on the 27th]

The five Nationalist armies that had advanced from Shenyang into western Liaoning have all been encircled and routed by our forces.


Our troops have captured tens of thousands of enemy soldiers and are now vigorously expanding their gains.


These five armies—the New First Army, the New Third Army, the New Sixth Army, the 71st Army, and the 49th Army—were entirely equipped with American-made weapons and were under the command of Liao Yaoxiang. During the Battle of Jinzhou, they had moved from Shenyang to the areas around Xinmin, Zhangwu, and Xinlitun.


Following the capture of Jinzhou and the liberation of Changchun, this enemy force found itself cornered and huddled together in the regions of Heishan, Beizhen, and Dahu Mountain, attempting to break out. Our forces swiftly redeployed the victorious units from Jinzhou to launch a counter-encirclement, descending like an avenging army from the sky, leaving the enemy no chance to escape.


The Nationalist forces still include the 52nd Army, the 53rd Army, the Youth Army’s Reorganized 207th Division (comprising three brigades), as well as various special and miscellaneous units, stationed in Shenyang, Tieling, Fushun, Benxi, Liaoyang, Xinmin, and Tai’an. A portion has occupied Haicheng and Yingkou. Together with Liao’s corps, these formations number twenty-two regular divisions; adding other units, the total strength amounts to roughly 200,000 to 300,000 men, constituting the mainstay of the Nationalist forces in Northeast China. Among them, Liao’s five-army corps represents the core of that core.


Over the eleven-day period from the 15th to the 25th, Chiang Kai-shek made three trips to Shenyang, seeking to save Jinzhou, save Changchun, and rescue Liao’s corps. It was during this time that he ordered the so-called “general retreat.” Meanwhile, he remained in Peiping, keeping his eyes fixed day after day on the Northeast. He witnessed the fall of Jinzhou, the fall of Changchun, and now he is watching Liao’s corps meet its demise.


In short, wherever Chiang Kai-shek goes, there marks the end of his shameful cause.


The entire Northeast People’s Liberation Army is currently conducting a full-front offensive to annihilate all remaining Nationalist forces.


As published in the October 29, 1948 issue of the People’s Daily.


Notes: ① This is a news release written by Mao Zedong for the Xinhua News Agency.
② Liao Yaoxiang (1906–1968), native of Shaoyang, Hunan Province. At the time, he served as commander of the Nationalist Army’s Ninth Corps.
③ Dahu Mountain, now known as Dahushan, is located in the southern part of Heishan County, Liaoning Province.