Our Attack on the Thirty-Fifth Army Must
Wait Until the Encirclement of Beiping and
Tianjin Is Complete
(December 15, 1948, 2:00 A.M.)
To Yang [Dezhi], Luo [Ruiqing], and Geng [Biao]; Yang [Chengwu] and Li
[Tianhuan]; and for the information of Lin [Biao], Luo [Ronghuan], and Liu
[Yalou]:1
	 1.	 We received the telegram Yang, Luo, and Geng sent at 14:00 on the 14th. It
is very good that you are speeding up and completing preparations for attacking the Thirty-fifth Army. The time for launching the attack must wait until
the main forces of the Northeast Army have entered the [Shanhai] Pass and
the encirclement of Beiping and Tianjin is actually completed, probably by
around the 20th.
	 2.	 Yang, Luo, and Geng can ensure victory on their own with nine brigades
against two enemy divisions and a mixed unit. However, there is the possibility that the enemy forces in Zhangjiakou will break out and flee after
the Thirty-fifth Army is annihilated. Is it certain that Yang and Li can block
those enemy forces using eight brigades to encircle five enemy infantry divisions and two cavalry brigades? Is it necessary to transfer part (for instance,
one division) of the Northeast Army’s Fourth Column from Nankou2 to
strengthen Yang and Li’s encirclement, or to bolster the pursuit-and-elimination forces in the unlikely event that the enemy forces break out and flee?
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 5, pp. 404–5, where it is reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives.
When will you clean up the enemy forces in Shangyi and the area north of
Zhangjiakou? How large are the forces of the Mongolian cavalry and where
are they stationed at present? Please reply to these questions separately by
telegram.
The Military Commission

--- Notes

1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Military Commission.
Yang Dezhi was commander of the Second Corps of the North China Military Region, Luo
Ruiqing was political commissar of the Second Corps of the North China Military Region,
and Geng Biao was chief-of-staff 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 the deputy political commissar and director of the Political Department of the Third Corps of the North China Military Region. Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan,
and Liu Yalou were commander, political commissar, and chief-of-staff, respectively, of the
Northeast Field Army.

2.  Nankou is a town in western Changping county, Beijing.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-215