Time, Route and Tasks for the Northeast Troops’ Entry into the Pass[1]

(November 21, 1948)

Lin, Luo, Liu:

Your telegram of the 21st[2] is noted. You may dispatch the five columns currently located in Jinzhou, Dahushan,[3] Yingkou, and other areas on the 23rd, taking shortcuts and advancing rapidly by traveling at night and resting by day under concealment. Assign three or four columns the task of cutting off the enemy forces between Beiping and Tianjin; assign one column the task of cutting off the enemy forces between Tianjin and Tanggu; assign one column plus the Cheng-Huang Corps[4] the task of cutting off the enemy forces between Tangshan and Tanggu; the remaining units in the Xinmin, Dahushan, and Yingkou areas may set out on the 23rd or 24th. All the above-mentioned units shall proceed through the territory of Rehe[5] into eastern Hebei, and shall not go via Shanhaiguan. The units in the Shenyang area and the headquarters’ heavy baggage shall set out a number of days later, proceeding via the vicinity of Shanhaiguan and emerging at Tangshan. If Lin, Luo, and Liu decide to go ahead first, they shall take a light command structure and proceed in advance, and approximately one week after their departure,

[1] This telegram was drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee and addressed to Lin Biao, commander of the Northeast Field Army, Luo Ronghuan, its political commissar, and Liu Yalou, its chief of staff.

[2] Refers to the telegram sent by Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan, and Liu Yalou to the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee at 15:00 hours on November 20, 1948. The telegram stated: “The column and division chiefs of staff and directors of political departments who were in a meeting in Shenyang began leaving Shenyang this morning; those farthest away will not be able to return to their units until tomorrow. If we set out on the 22nd, it will truly be too rushed, and the entire army will be unable to carry out even the most basic political mobilization. Therefore, could the departure time be changed to the 23rd?”

[3] Dahushan, now named Dahu Mountain, is located in the southern part of Heishan County, Liaoning Province.

[4] The Cheng-Huang Corps refers to the Second Corps of the Northeast Field Army, with Cheng Zihua as corps commander and Huang Zhiyong as chief of staff.

[5] Rehe, a former province encompassing the northeastern part of present-day Hebei Province, the southwestern part of the Liaoning Province, and the southeastern part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It was abolished in 1955.

a news item shall be published in a Shenyang newspaper indicating that Lin is still in Shenyang, and it shall be broadcast via the Xinhua News Agency (please bring this to the attention of Chen, Wu, and Tao[1]). All units shall pay attention to concealment during their movement.

The Military Commission

03:00 hours, November 21

[1] Chen and Wu refer to Chen Yun and Wu Xiuquan, who were then respectively deputy political commissar and second chief of staff of the Northeast Military Region. Tao refers to Tao Zhu, who was then deputy director of the Political Department of the Northeast Field Army.