Approval of the Plan to Encircle and Annihilate Huang Baitao’s Army Corps[1]

(November 11, 1948)

Liu, Chen, Deng, Su, Chen, Zhang, Tan, Wang, Li[2]:

(1) The Fifth Army has moved to garrison Xiaoxian. The First Cavalry Brigade has moved to garrison Caocun[3]. Two army headquarters and four divisions (not three divisions) of Sun’s Army Corps[4] have arrived in Suxian and are positioned near the four passes in the east, west, south, and north. The Ninety-ninth Army is still defending Bengbu. Liu Ruming’s[5] troops are defending the Dingyuan-Hefei line. Huang Baitao[6] himself is at Nianzhuang[7].

(2) The plan sent by Su, Tan, Chen, and Zhang at 10:00 on the 10th[8], with the first step being to complete the encirclement of Huang’s Army Corps and the second step being to annihilate Huang’s Army Corps, is very good. Where our previous telegram contained points inconsistent with this plan, they should be handled according to this plan. (3) The Fifth Army is very dispersed in Xiaoxian. It is hoped that Liu, Chen, and Deng will use one column of the Huaye to annihilate a part of it. Military Commission, 23:00–01:00, 11th.

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[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, addressed to Commander Liu Bocheng, First Deputy Commander Chen Yi, and Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping of the Central Plains Field Army, and others.
[2] Su, Chen, and Zhang refer to Su Yu, Chen Shiju, and Zhang Zhen, who at the time were respectively the Acting Commander and Acting Political Commissar, Chief of Staff, and Deputy Chief of Staff of the East China Field Army. Tan, Wang, and Li refer to Tan Zhenlin, Wang Jian’an, and Li Yingxi, who at the time were respectively the Political Commissar, Deputy Commander, and Chief of Staff of the Shandong Army Corps of the East China Field Army.
[3] Caocun, a town located in the northern part of Suxian County, Anhui Province.
[4] Sun’s Army Corps refers to the 16th Army Corps of the Kuomintang Army, with Corps Commander Sun Yuanliang.
[5] Liu Ruming, at the time Commander of the 4th Pacification Zone of the Kuomintang Army.
[6] Huang Baitao, at the time Commander of the 7th Army Corps of the Kuomintang Army.
[7] Nianzhuang, a town located in the western part of Pixian County, Jiangsu Province.
[8] This refers to the telegram sent by Su Yu, Tan Zhenlin, Chen Shiju, and Zhang Zhen at 10:00 on November 10, 1948, to the heads of the various army corps and columns and the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China. The telegram made the decision to adjust the operational deployment for the complete annihilation of Huang Baitao’s Army Corps, and simultaneously proposed that the primary task in the first step of the campaign was to complete the encirclement of Huang’s Army Corps to prevent it from fleeing westward. After the encirclement was completed, they would then divide and annihilate it piecemeal.