The Second and Third Army Corps of North China Are Placed Under the Direct Command of Lin, Luo, and Liu[1]

(December 16, 1948)

Lin, Luo, Liu; Cheng, Huang; Yang, Luo, Geng; Yang, Li[2]; and inform Bo, Teng, Zhao[3]:

(1) Beginning tomorrow (the 17th), the operations of the Second and Third Army Corps of North China shall be placed under the direct command of Lin, Luo, and Liu. (2) In addition to the 7th Column and the Central Hebei Military District, which have already been ordered by telegram to be placed under the command of Lin, Luo, and Liu, it is also necessary for the Beiyue Military District to establish contact with Lin, Luo, and Liu in coordinating operations along the Peiping–Suiyuan Railway[4] and in the Peiping campaign. Except for the main local forces of Beiyue, which are already operating west of Zhangjiakou in coordination with Yang and Li and are under the command of Yang and Li, Bo, Teng, and Zhao are requested to investigate and report whether there is still a military district organ on the Beiyue side and the disposition of forces in the area west of Peiping, so that a decision can be made accordingly.

The Military Commission

16th, 2:00 hours

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[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, political commissar; and Liu Yalou, chief of staff.
[2] Cheng and Huang refer to Cheng Zihua and Huang Zhiyong, who were respectively commander and chief of staff of the Second Army Corps of the Northeast Field Army at the time. Yang, Luo, and Geng refer to Yang Dezhi, Luo Ruiqing, and Geng Biao, who were respectively commander, political commissar, and chief of staff of the Second Army Corps of the North China Military Region. Yang and Li refer to Yang Chengwu and Li Tianhuan, who were respectively commander and deputy political commissar and director of the Political Department of the Third Army Corps of the North China Military Region.
[3] Bo, Teng, and Zhao refer to Bo Yibo, Teng Daiyuan, and Zhao Erlu, who were respectively political commissar, second deputy commander, and chief of staff of the North China Military Region.
[4] The Peiping–Suiyuan Railway refers to the railway from Peiping (present-day Beijing) to Baotou in Suiyuan (now part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region), i.e., the present-day Beijing–Baotou Railway.