Abandon the Plan to Attack the Two Gus and Concentrate Forces to Capture Tianjin[1]

(December 29, 1948)

Lin and Liu:

Your telegram of 1100 hours on the 29th[2] has been noted. (1) It is entirely correct to abandon the plan to attack the two Gus and concentrate five columns to prepare for the capture of Tianjin. (2) Gao Gang and Luo Ronghuan arrived here yesterday.

The Military Commission

2300 hours, December 29

[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, and Liu Yalou, its chief of staff.

[2] At 1100 hours on December 29, 1948, Lin Biao and Luo Ronghuan sent a telegram to the Military Commission, which read as follows: "1. According to reconnaissance reports on the terrain from our units near Tanggu, the terrain there is unfavorable for operations. Except for the western side, the area consists of vast, open salt flats that are unsuitable for combat, crisscrossed by numerous water ditches. There is no guarantee of freezing in winter (due to tidal fluctuations), making it difficult to approach or construct fortifications. Moreover, the enemy's main position is at the new port near the seaside docks, making it impossible for our forces to cut off their retreat. Warships are anchored there, and the enemy can escape onto them at any time. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to achieve the objective of annihilating the enemy in the battle for the two Gus. Additionally, due to the open terrain and obstacles posed by rivers and ditches, our forces cannot be effectively deployed, resulting in heavy casualties with little gain, and this would inevitably prolong the operations in the Beiping-Tianjin area. Our units near the two Gus all consider it inadvisable to switch to attacking the two Gus. 2. The bulk of our forces originally near the two Gus have already moved westward and are now near Tianjin. 3. In our opinion, at present, while our forces are preparing to prevent the enemy in Beiping from breaking out, the enemy will most likely not dare to attempt a breakout since we have not yet attacked the two Gus. Under these circumstances, we propose to encircle Tianjin with five columns and make preparations for its capture. Before we launch our attack, if the enemy attempts a breakout, we will first strike the breakout forces. If our preparations are complete and the enemy has still not broken out, we will launch a general offensive to annihilate the enemy in Tianjin. We request instructions from the Military Commission."