On Persuading the Enemy in an Isolated Factory District to Surrender in Order to Reduce Destruction[1]

(January 6, 1949)

Lin and Tan:

Your telegram of Ziwei[2] received. (1) The three points raised by Liu Yalou[3] are correct. (2) Our concern is the factory district. If the enemy occupies and stubbornly resists in the factories, our forces must annihilate that enemy, and we should not refrain from doing so even if some damage is done to the factories. However, if the enemy in other areas of Tianjin have all been dealt with, leaving only the enemy forces in the factory district, and it is possible to resolve the situation through persuasion to surrender, then we should attempt to use persuasion to surrender in order to reduce destruction.

Military Commission

Yuchou

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to Lin Biao, Commander of the Northeast Field Army, and Tan Zheng, Director of its Political Department.

[2] Refers to the telegram sent by Lin Biao and Tan Zheng to the Military Commission on January 5, 1949. The telegram concurred with three opinions raised by Liu Yalou on addressing the situation in Tianjin, where some enemy forces were holding out in houses belonging to foreigners, who had placed their national flags at the doors. The three opinions were: (1) Any street or building that the enemy has fortified and is using to stubbornly resist, regardless of whether it was formerly part of a concession, regardless of whether the building belongs to a Chinese person or a foreigner, and regardless of what country's flag is displayed, must all be attacked in the same manner. (2) We must not refrain from shelling stubbornly resisting enemy forces for fear that shells might accidentally fall on foreign-owned buildings. (3) Buildings displaying foreign flags that the enemy has not fortified and is not using for resistance need not be entered, but personnel may be dispatched when necessary to suitable positions to monitor them.

[3] Liu Yalou, then serving as Chief of Staff of the Northeast Field Army and General Commander of the Tianjin Front Command.