The North China Forces Must Obey Army Orders to Block the Enemy from Fleeing Eastward[1]

(December 7, 1948)

Cheng and Huang; Yang, Luo, and Geng; Yang and Li[2]; and for the information of Lin, Luo, and Liu; Nie and Bo[3]:

(1) We approve the deployment of Yang and Li. Except for one brigade participating in the operations at Xiahuayuan[4], the remaining seven brigades shall completely surround the enemy at Zhangyuan[5] (four infantry divisions and two cavalry brigades). In the past, Yang and Li violated the Military Commission’s repeated clear and explicit orders, arbitrarily abandoned the task of severing the link between Zhang[6] and Xuan, and allowed the 35th Army to flee eastward (two divisions of the 35th Army actually dared to travel eastward in over three hundred vehicles without any hindrance; our 1st Column withdrew to both sides of the railway, looked on, and neither blocked nor attacked them). This was an extremely grave error. Henceforth, the task of Yang and Li is to surround the enemy at Zhangyuan. They must ensure that this enemy does not escape westward, eastward, or by any detour (the main point is to prevent the enemy from fleeing westward). If the enemy attempts to flee, resolutely annihilate them completely. Yang and Li shall strictly order their subordinate units to bear full responsibility for this and must not disobey or cause delay. (2) At present, the 35th Army and a portion of the enemy at Xuanhua are fleeing eastward.

[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 Cheng Zihua, commander of the Second Corps of the Northeast Field Army, and Huang Zhiyong, its chief of staff, among others.

[2] 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. Yang and Li refer to Yang Chengwu and Li Tianhuan, who were then respectively commander and deputy political commissar concurrently director of the political department of the Third Corps of the North China Military Region.

[3] Lin, Luo, and Liu refer to Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan, and Liu Yalou, who were then respectively commander, political commissar, and chief of staff of the Northeast Field Army. Nie and Bo refer to Nie Rongzhen and Bo Yibo, who were then respectively commander and political commissar of the North China Military Region.

[4] Xiahuayuan, a town name, present-day Xiahuayuan District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province.

[5] Zhangyuan refers to Zhangjiakou, Hebei.

[6] Xuan refers to Xuanhua, Hebei.

Yang, Luo, and Geng must obey the Military Commission’s repeated telegraphic orders to block the enemy from fleeing eastward. If this enemy escapes eastward via Xiahuayuan or Xinbao’an[1], then Yang, Luo, and Geng shall bear responsibility. The Military Commission long ago ordered Yang, Luo, and Geng to take swift action to reach the railway line between Xuanhua and Huailai by the 5th, severing the link between the enemy at Xuan and Huai. This order was also clear and explicit. Even if the forces under Yang, Luo, and Geng could not arrive on the 5th, they should have been able to arrive by the morning of the 6th (their three columns set out from the north and south of Zijingguan[2] on the 2nd; a march of four days, or at most four and a half days, should have brought them to the railway line. In the past, when these forces marched south, they covered the distance from the railway line to Zijingguan in three days’ march). The 35th Army advanced eastward from the vicinity of Zhangyuan at 1300 hours on the 6th. As long as all or the greater part of Yang, Luo, and Geng’s forces had reached the Xuanhua-Huailai section of the railway line by the morning of the 6th, this enemy could not have escaped. (3) Cheng and Huang shall order their subordinate forces to rapidly reach and occupy the line from Huailai to Badaling[3], severing contact between the enemy forces to the east and west, and seize opportune moments to annihilate the enemy on that sector.

Military Commission
2000 hours, 7th

[1] Xinbao’an, a town name, located northwest of Huailai County, Hebei Province.
[2] Zijingguan, located northwest of Yi County, Hebei Province.
[3] Badaling, a pass in the Great Wall, located in the southern part of Yanqing County, Beijing Municipality.