Deployment for the Advance into the Northwest and Northern Sichuan
(June 27, 1949)
Comrade Dehuai:[1]

Your telegram of the 26th received.[2] (1) If the two enemy forces from Qinghai and Ningxia make only a small withdrawal and remain in the areas of Qian, Yong, Bin, Changning, Nanfang, and Tongrun,[4] rather than making a major withdrawal toward Bin, Chang, Jing, and Liang,[5] then the plan of striking the two Ma forces first and Hu and Wang[7] later is correct. However, striking the two Ma forces will be more strenuous than striking Hu and Wang.[6] Full preparations are imperative; preparations must be thorough in every respect, from spiritual mobilization to combat techniques, and one must also be prepared to expend several tens of thousands of casualties. By doing so, annihilating the two Ma forces entirely or destroying their main strength should basically settle the Northwest problem. Therefore, whether launching the operation at Wu Qi is a bit too early for the 19th Corps, which has just arrived only a few days ago, is worth considering. It seems it might be better to postpone it for some days so the 19th Corps can fully recover from the fatigue of marching and the various units can make better preparations. Please decide at your discretion. (2) If the two Ma forces make a major withdrawal toward Bin, Chang, Jing, and Liang, thus separating themselves significantly from Hu and Wang, and the 19th Corps would only need to undertake the task of containing the two Ma forces (still requiring caution), then launching the operation at Wu Qi (or Wu Hui) would be acceptable. (3) The puppet government in Guangzhou is now making preparations to move to Chongqing; a large number of working personnel have already gone to Chongqing. Our seven armies under Lin and Luo (the remaining six armies are stationed as garrisons in the four provinces of Henan, Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi) can reach the border region of Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi in August and September, and possibly occupy Guangzhou, Guilin, and other places in November or December.[1] The time for the puppet government in Guangzhou to move to Chongqing should be around September and October. Our nine armies under Liu and Deng can set out from their current positions in September and arrive to occupy Chongqing, Guiyang, and other places around December, with the aim of annihilating the puppet government and opening up the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.[2] In order to reassure the puppet government about moving to Chongqing rather than Taiwan (there is currently a faction advocating a move to Taiwan, but it does not hold the dominant position), and to prevent the Hu bandits from entering Sichuan too early, it seems inadvisable for you to go and occupy Hanzhong for the time being; leaving Hanzhong in the hands of the Hu bandits for a few more months appears to be more advantageous. (4) After you execute the current campaign and occupy Bao, Feng, Jing, and Liang,[3] observe the degree to which the four enemies—Qinghai, Ningxia, Hu, and Wang—particularly whether the main forces of the two from Qinghai and Ningxia have been annihilated, and then decide on new deployments. If the main strength of the two Ma forces is annihilated, and further steps to resolve Lanzhou, Qinghai, Ningxia, and western Gansu present no major difficulties, then the plan agreed upon at the Second Plenary Session can be carried out ahead of schedule, dividing the forces into two columns. The first column would advance westward, undertaking the task of resolving the four provinces of Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Xinjiang (we hope we can resolve the three provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, and Ningxia before the end of this year and directly reach Gan, Liang, and Su prefectures in Gansu

--- Notes

[1] Dehuai, i.e., Peng Dehuai, then serving as Commander and Political Commissar of the First Field Army.
[2] Refers to Peng Dehuai's telegram to Mao Zedong dated June 26, 1949. The telegram stated that the 19th Corps could complete assembly near Sanyuan by July 4 and proposed launching an offensive against the enemy on July 8. It proposed using the 18th Corps to contain Wang Zhiqi's forces, while the 19th Corps and the 1st and 2nd Corps would first encircle and annihilate the main forces of Ma Jiyuan and Ma Dunjing's troops. Subsequently, one corps would advance toward Pingliang as circumstances permitted, and three corps would attack Hu Zongnan's rebel forces. If Ma's rebel forces continued withdrawing westward to defend the Pingliang-Changwu line, the plan was to position the 19th Corps in Qianxian, Liquan, and Yongshou to monitor Ma's forces, while concentrating the 1st and 2nd Corps and the 18th Corps to encircle and annihilate Hu Zongnan's rebels and Wang Zhiqi's forces, seize Baoji and Longnan, and prepare for the liberation of Hanzhong. If Hu Zongnan's main forces were annihilated, they would then pursue and attack the fleeing enemy toward Hanzhong and Guangyuan.
[3] Refers to Ma Jiyuan of Qinghai and Ma Dunjing of Ningxia, then serving as Commander of the Kuomintang's Longdong Corps and Commander of the 82nd Army, and Commander of the Ningxia Corps, respectively.
[4] Qian, Yong, Bin: refers to Qianxian, Yongshou, and Binxian in Shaanxi. Changning: a town located in the central part of Yongshou County, Shaanxi. Nanfang: a town located in the northwest of Liquan County, Shaanxi. Tongrun: a town located in the northern part of Chunhua County, Shaanxi.
[5] Chang, Jing, Liang: refers to Changwu in Shaanxi and Jingchuan, Pingliang in Gansu.
[6] Two Ma forces: refers to Ma Jiyuan and Ma Dunjing.
[7] Hu: refers to Hu Zongnan, then serving as Director of the Kuomintang's Xi'an Pacification Office. Wang: refers to Wang Zhiqi, then serving as Commander of the 119th Army under the Kuomintang's Northwest Military and Political Chief Executive's Office.


[1] Lin Luo, refers to Lin Biao and Luo Ronghuan, then serving as Commander of the Fourth Field Army and concurrently Commander of the Central China Military Region, and First Political Commissar, respectively.
[2] Liu Deng, refers to Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, then serving as Commander and Political Commissar of the Second Field Army, respectively.
[3] Bao, Feng, refers to Baoji and Fengxiang in Shaanxi.