Swiftly Construct an Obstructive
Framework that Makes It Impossible
for Any Enemy to Flee
 (December 10, 1948)
To Lin [Biao], Luo [Ronghuan], and Liu [Yalou]; Cheng [Zihua] and Huang
[Zhiyong]; Yang [Dezhi], Luo [Ruiqing], and Geng [Biao]; Yang [Chengwu] and
Li [Tianhuan]; and Nie [Rongzhen], Bo [Yibo], and Teng [Daiyuan]:1
	 1.	 We received Cheng [Zihua] and Huang [Zhiyong]’s telegram of 2:15 P.M.
on the 10th.2 The enemy’s 104th Army has retreated to Huailai; it is entirely
correct for you to use two entire armies to block and attack reinforcements in
the area between Nankou and Huailai.
	 2.	 Several days ago, our corps led by Yang [Chengwu] and Li [Tianhuan] (First
Column) annihilated most of one enemy division in the region between
Zhangyuan and Xuanhua and also occupied Xuanhua. Additionally, yesterday (the 9th), they bravely repulsed several sudden attacks by the main
force of the enemy in Zhangyuan, thus ensuring their encircling position
(Second Column). Also yesterday (the 9th), our corps led by Yang [Dezhi],
Luo [Ruiqing], and Geng [Biao] bravely repulsed a converging, dual-fronted
attack by the enemy’s Thirty-fifth Army at Xinbao’an and the enemy’s 104th

Army at Huailai. They also completed the encirclement of the Thirty-fifth
Army. Our corps led by Cheng [Zihua] and Huang [Zhiyong] (Eleventh
Column) previously seized and occupied Miyun. On the 9th and 10th, this
corps (Fourth Column) also annihilated the Sixteenth Army headquarters
and the Sixteenth Army’s 109th Division and one regiment of its Twentysecond Division. It also gained control of the railway between Huailai and
Nankou, thus completing the encirclement of the 104th Army. All these successes are worth celebrating and commending.
	 3.	 At this point, our troops have encircled the main forces of Fu [Zuoyi]’s3
troops, that is, the entirety of the Thirty-fifth, 104th, and 105th armies, as
well as two cavalry brigades, in Zhangjiakou, Xinbao’an, and Huailai. We
have also lured the Ninety-fourth and Ninety-second armies from Tianjin
to Nankou and Beiping, with the result that there is only one army each in
Tianjin, Tanggu, and Tangshan (there is still one independent division in
Tanggu). This greatly benefits the situation as a whole.
	 4.	 Every surrounded enemy group will definitely try everything to break the
encirclement. We hope you will all seriously command every unit of your
armies to quickly complete all fronts necessary for blocking the enemy. You
must make it impossible for any enemy to flee.
	 5.	 During the first phase of the Huai-Hai Campaign carried out by the coordinated efforts of our two large forces, the East China Field Army and the
Central Plains Field Army, we annihilated eighteen enemy divisions. The
second stage immediately followed the first. During this stage, we encircled four corps or thirty-four divisions of the forces of Huang Wei, Qiu
Qingquan, Li Mi, Sun Yuanliang,4 and others in the region between Xuzhou,
Suxian, Dangshan, Yongcheng, and Mengcheng. We will probably be able
to finish off these enemy troops within a few days. If our entire force in the
Northeast cooperates with the main force of our North China Field Army and
is able, within a short time, to capture and destroy Fu [Zuoyi] and Chiang
[Kaishek]’s entire army of forty-four divisions of infantry and cavalry along
the [Bei]ping-[Tian]jin-Zhang[jiakou]-Tang[shan] line in the north and not
let them escape, then this would greatly shorten the revolutionary process
throughout the country.
The Military Commission
(We expect every column to be informed of this telegram.)

---

Notes

--- Notes

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong wenji, Vol. 5, pp. 221–23, where it is reproduced
from Mao’s handwritten manuscript.

1.  Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan, and Liu Yalou were commander, political commissar, and
chief-of-staff, respectively, of the Northeast Field Army. Cheng Zihua and Huang Zhiyong
were commander and chief-of-staff, respectively, of the Northeast Field Army’s Second
Corps. Yang Dezhi, Luo Ruiqing, and Geng Biao were commander, political commissar,
and chief-of staff, respectively, of the Second Corps of the North China Military Region.
Yang Chengwu was commander of the Third Corps of the North China Military Region,
and Li Tianhuan was deputy political commissar and head of the Political Department of
the North China Military Region. Nie Rongzhen, Bo Yibo, and Teng Daiyuan were commander, political commissar, and second deputy commander, respectively, of the North
China Military Region.

2.  The telegram from Cheng and Huang stated that the Guomindang’s 104th Army had
scattered to the east, and that the Sixteenth Army headquarters and the sixty-six regiments
of the 109th and Twenty-second divisions had been wiped out. This would allow the forces
under Yang Dezhi, Luo Ruiqing, and Geng Biao to surround the enemy at Xinbao’an.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-200

3.  Fu Zuoyi was commander-in-chief of the Guomindang army’s North China “Bandit
Suppression” Headquarters.

4.  Huang Wei, Qiu Qingquan, Li Mi, and Sun Yuanliang were the commanders of the
Guomindang army’s Twelfth, Second, Thirteenth, and Sixteenth army groups, respectively.