Consider dispatching the Eleventh Column of the Northeast to operate in the direction of Tongxian and Beiping[1]

(October 29, 1948)

Lin, Luo, Liu:

In order to save the critical situation and stimulate popular morale, Chiang Kai-shek and Fu Zuoyi[2] have ordered the 16th Army, 35th Army, 94th Army, 4th Cavalry Division, and 12th Cavalry Brigade, supported by tanks and demolition units, to attack Shijiazhuang. Elements of their 94th Army, 4th Cavalry Division, 12th Cavalry Brigade, and other units had already reached Fangshunqiao[3] south of Baoding yesterday. Apart from ordering Yang, Luo, and Geng[4] to lead their forces back for reinforcement, please consider whether it is possible to dispatch the Eleventh Column, currently near Jinxi, to eastern Hebei to operate in the direction of Tongxian and Beiping, thereby threatening Beiping. Awaiting your reply.

Central Military Commission
Youyan

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, addressed to Lin Biao, commander of the Northeast Field Army, Luo Ronghuan, political commissar, and Liu Yalou, chief of staff.
[2] Fu Zuoyi was then commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang’s “Bandit Suppression” General Headquarters in North China.
[3] Fangshunqiao, a village name, located southwest of Mancheng County, Hebei Province.
[4] Yang, Luo, and Geng refer to Yang Dezhi, Luo Ruiqing, and Geng Biao, who were then respectively commander, political commissar, and chief of staff of the Second Corps of the North China Military Region.