A Great Force of One Million Soldiers
Crossing the River and Advancing Southward
Will Have an Enormous Effect on the Overall
Victory
 (April 18, 1949, 9:00 A.M.)
To the General Front Committee, Su [Yu], Zhang [Zhen], Liu [Bocheng], Zhang
[Jichun], Li [Da], and Tan Zhenlin (for the information of the General Front
Committee):1
	 1.	 We received and read two telegrams from the General Front Committee, one
sent between 11:00 P.M. and 1:00 A.M. and one sent between 1:00 and 3:00
P.M. on the 17th; the telegram from Su and Zhang sent at noon on the 17th;
and the telegram from Liu, Zhang, and Li sent between 7:00 and 9:00 P.M.
on the 17th.
	 2.	 We completely agree with all the deployments of the General Front
Committee, specifically that all units of the Second and Third field armies
begin attacking on the 20th, then carry out a general offensive on the 22nd.
The fighting should be completed in a single effort; after completing the task
of crossing the Yangzi River, consider executing a strategic halt and taking
the second step of action. Please go according to this general plan and carry
it out resolutely and thoroughly. This plan is necessary both militarily and
politically, and it must not be changed in any way. As to the requests of
Su and Zhang to seize positions on the north bank and in the middle of the
river ahead of time on the 16th, this is also essential and we have previously
agreed to it.
	 3.	 The General Front Committee proposes that after the task of the rivercrossing has been completed, Chen [Xilian] and Xie [Fuzhi]’s2 Third Corps
should advance east, leaving Huizhou along the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Highway;
that Song [Shilun] and Guo [Huaruo]’s Ninth Corps,3 whose main force
will be located south of Nanjing, keeps watch on Wuhu and Nanjing; and
that Chen Geng’s4 Fourth Corps takes over the duties of the Ninth Corps
at Wuhu and prepares to join in the attack on Nanjing. The tasks of Wang
[Jian’an] and Tan [Qilong]’s5 Seventh Army Corps, and of Yang [Yong] and
Su [Zhenhua]’s6 Fifth Corps will follow the original plan without change; we
think that at present you can carry out this pre-determined plan. After Su and
Zhang have crossed the river and have a clear understanding of the changes
in the situation of the enemy, if modifications are necessary you may make
ad hoc changes as the situation demands.
	 4.	 As our great army of one million soldiers crosses the river and advances
south this time, the repercussions for overall victory will be enormous. We
hope all the generals and soldiers of our Second and Third field armies will
be of one heart and mind in carrying out this great task under the leadership
of the General Front Committee and of the two Front Committees of the
Second and Third field armies.
The Central Military Commission

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Notes

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 5, pp. 546–47, where it is
reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives.

--- Notes

1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Military Commission. Su
Yu was the deputy commander and second deputy political commissar of the Third Field
Army, and Zhang Zhen (张震) was chief-of-staff of the Third Field Army. Liu Bocheng was
commander of the Second Field Army, Zhang Jichun was deputy political commissar and
director of the Political Department of the Second Field Army, and Li Da was chief-of-staff
of the Second Field Army. Tan Zhenlin was first deputy political commissar of the Third
Field Army.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-257

2.  Chen Xilian was commander, and Xie Fuzhi was political commissar, of the Third
Corps of the Second Field Army.

3.  Song Shilun was commander, and Guo Huaruo (1904–1996, native of Fujian) was
political commissar of the Ninth Corps of the Third Field Army.

4.  Chen Geng was commander and political commissar of the Fourth Corps of the
Second Field Army.

5.  Wang Jian’an was commander, and Tan Qilong was political commissar, of the Seventh Corps of the Third Field Army.

6.  Yang Yong was commander, and Su Zhenhua was political commissar, of the Fifth
Corps of the Second Field Army.