The Fourth Column Should Remain in
Nankou and Badaling for Defense
(December 14, 1948, 1:00 A.M.)
To Lin [Biao], Luo [Ronghuan], and Liu [Yalou]; and Cheng [Zihua] and Huang
[Zhiyong]:1
We received the telegram sent by Lin, Luo, and Liu yesterday at 15:30;2 the
arrangements are very good. Up until today, we still have not ascertained whether
the enemy forces in Beiping and Tong county will retreat. We were initially quite
worried that our forces in the area southeast of Beiping and Tong county were
inadequate. Now that we have learned that the Third, Sixth, and Tenth columns
have already arrived or are advancing toward this location, and that the enemy
forces will not retreat via the Tong [county]-[Tian]jin Highway, the five columns—the Third, Fifth, Sixth, Tenth, and Eleven—stationed south of Beiping
and Tong county are already more than sufficient. The Fourth Column should
stay at Nankou and Badaling3 to carry out defense; it is best to wait until we have
ascertained the situation before deciding what to do with this column.
The Military Commission


Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 5, pp. 399–400, where it is
reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives.


1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Military Commission.
Lin Biao was commander of the Northeast Field Army. Luo Ronghuan was political commissar of the Northeast Field Army and Liu Yalou was chief-of-staff 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.


2.  The telegram from Lin Biao et al. stated that their troops had captured Nankou,
Changping, and Shahe on December 12, and that their Third Column had arrived at the area
south of Tong county and had eliminated one local division. Their Fourth Column could
carry out defense at Nankou until the intentions of the enemy could be ascertained. Their
Tenth and Sixth columns were continuing to advance to the areas south of Tong county
and Beiping, and their Fifth and Eleventh columns would continue to advance to the areas
south of Wanping and Beiping. Their Ninth Column had taken Tangshan and continued to
advance to the south.


3.  Nankou is a town in western Changping county, Beijing. Badaling is a section of the
Great Wall in southern Yanqing county, Beijing.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-212