Operational Deployment of Three Armies of the Fourth Field Army in Jiangxi
(May 19, 1949)

[1]
To Lin, Xiao, and also to Liu, Chen, Deng, and Rao:

The three armies dispatched to Jiangxi by the Fourth Field Army are proposed to be deployed as follows: (1) One army is to be positioned in the area of Jiujiang, Nanchang, Yuanzhou,[3] and Ji’an. Its four divisions shall center on these four cities, spread out through them and their adjacent areas, and, after combat to eliminate the enemy is concluded, assume garrison duties for the four cities and guard the railway, while progressively extending work into neighboring counties and gradually occupying them. The Second Field Army has only one battalion in Jiujiang; Liu and Deng have already ordered that battalion to transfer its duties as soon as your troops arrive. You should therefore promptly dispatch a unit to take over Jiujiang. In addition, Pingxiang and the Anyuan coal mines have historically been closely linked with Changsha and Wuhan, but not closely linked with Nanchang. Therefore, it appears more convenient for Changsha to send personnel and units to take over and garrison Pingxiang and Anyuan. In the future, the local administration of Pingxiang and Anyuan will still belong to Jiangxi, while industrial management will fall under the Hunan–Hubei system. Whether this is feasible is left to your discretion. (2) A second army is to be positioned in southern Jiangxi, south of the line from Ji’an, Jishui, Yongfeng, Le’an, Yihuang, to Nancheng (none of the above counties included). It shall take Ganzhou as its center, spread throughout the counties of southern Jiangxi to carry out work, and occupy those counties. (3) The third army is not to undertake work in Jiangxi but merely pass through it.

[1]
This army shall first advance to the Linjiang[1]–Yuanzhou area and await orders. Depending on the situation, it will either move through Dayu Ridge to Shaozhou, or through Shangyou and Chongyi to Chenzhou, or through Pingxiang and Youxian to Chenzhou. The final decision will be made after this army reaches the Linjiang–Yuanzhou line. (4) The boundary between the Second Field Army and the Fourth Field Army is Poyang Lake, with the counties along the Jinxian, Linchuan, Chongren, Yihuang, Nancheng, and Lichuan line belonging to the Second Field Army. During combat operations, the Second and Fourth Field Armies shall coordinate operations west of this line. After combat concludes, the Second Field Army units west of this line shall temporarily rest and reorganize on the spot west of the line to await further orders, and shall not withdraw east of the line unless ordered by the Military Commission; however, they shall not assume local administrative work.

Military Commission
Chen Hao You

[1] Linjiang is a town located in the western part of Qingjiang County, Jiangxi.
[1] This telegram was drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and addressed to Lin Biao, commander of the Fourth Field Army, and Xiao Ke, its first chief of staff, among others.
[2] Liu refers to Liu Bocheng, then commander of the Second Field Army. Chen refers to Chen Yi, then commander and political commissar of the Third Field Army. Deng refers to Deng Xiaoping, then political commissar of the Second Field Army. Rao refers to Rao Shushi, then political commissar of the East China Military Region.
[3] Yuanzhou refers to Yichun, Jiangxi.