Mission of the Two Vanguard Armies of the Fourth Field Army
(March 20, 1949)
[1]
Xiao, Chen, Xie, Pan; Liu, Deng, Li; and inform Lin, Luo, Liu Chuang:
The mission of the two vanguard armies of the Eastern Field Army is to coordinate with the forces of the Tongbai, Jianghan, and Eyu Military Regions to pin down Bai Chongxi's forces, so that Bai's forces cannot move east to reinforce and obstruct our Central Field Army and East China Field Army from crossing the Yangtze River.


It is hereby decided: (1) The forces under Xiao, Chen, Xie, and Pan should immediately redeploy in accordance with the Liu-Deng March 19 telegram, [2] by changing the deployment and not


[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Revolutionary Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, addressed to Xiao Jinguang (Commander and concurrently Political Commissar of the 12th Corps of the Fourth Field Army), Chen Bojun (First Deputy Commander), Xie Fang (Chief of Staff), and Pan Shuoduan (Deputy Chief of Staff).


[2] Liu, Deng, and Li refer to Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, and Li Da, then respectively serving as Commander, Political Commissar, and Chief of Staff of the Second Field Army.


[3] Lin, Luo, and Liu refer to Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan, and Liu Yalou, then respectively serving as Commander, Political Commissar, and Chief of Staff of the Fourth Field Army.


[4] Bai Chongxi was then serving as Commander-in-Chief of the Central China "Bandit Suppression" General Headquarters of the Kuomintang army.


[5] Refers to the March 19, 1949 telegram from Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping to the Revolutionary Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee and to Xiao Jinguang and Xie Fang. The telegram stated that the southward march of the two armies of the Fourth Field Army was behind the originally scheduled time. Under these circumstances, we consider: if the 12th Corps of the Fourth Field Army still sends one division out on the east side of the Pinghan Railway, while the main force detours through the Zaoyang and Sui County area to engage the Guangxi clique in order to cover the right rear of the Yangtze-crossing force, this cannot be accomplished in time and space. Therefore, it is proposed that the 12th Corps should instead send out its main force or one army on the east side of the Pinghan Railway (and strive to reach the Xuanhuadian-Hekou line by April 7), with one part or one army sent out on the west side. If a portion of troops can be transported using the Zhengzhou-Xinyang Railway, that would be faster. In addition, it would be advantageous to have the Tongbai and Jianghan forces under Wang Hongkun's command appear in the guise of the Fourth Field Army in advance, in order to confuse and attract Bai Chongxi's forces.