Regarding the Timing of the Advance into Sichuan and Fujian and Other Issues[1]

(June 2, 1949)

To the East China Bureau, the General Front Committee, and for the information of Liu, Zhang, and Li[2]:

Your telegram of May 29[3] has been received. (1) We approve the entry of the Second Field Army into Sichuan. Active preparations should be made, and if circumstances permit, the advance should begin in early August. (2) Xiaoping must prepare to go to Sichuan. (3) The issue of cadres should be handled in accordance with the arrangements outlined in the Central Committee’s telegram of yesterday. (4) We approve the entry of Ye Fei’s three armies into Fujian. If the timing of the operation can be moved up to the last ten days of this month, that would be even better. (5) The one army and part of the artillery attacking Qingdao can set out around June 10.

Military Commission of the Central Committee

June 2

[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 the East China Bureau and the General Front Committee.

[2] Liu, Zhang, and Li refer to Liu Bocheng, Zhang Jichun, and Li Da, who were then respectively the commander, deputy political commissar and director of the Political Department, and chief of staff of the Second Field Army.

[3] This refers to the telegram sent by the East China Bureau and the General Front Committee to the Military Commission of the Central Committee on May 29, 1949. The telegram stated: “In the future, probing offensive actions by the United States and Britain may follow one after another. It is entirely necessary for the Central Committee to handle this with caution and be prepared for any eventuality. We plan to send one army from the Eighth Corps, along with one artillery regiment, to Qingdao, setting out around early June. Ye Fei’s three armies of the Tenth Corps plan to rest and reorganize for one month and set out in early July to swiftly capture all of Fujian Province. The entry of the Second Field Army into Sichuan is imperative and should be carried out as soon as possible. Active preparations must be made for an early August departure. The greatest difficulty is the issue of cadres. The Second Field Army has no local cadres at its disposal. Please inform us whether the Central Committee has made any preparations in this regard. Whether Comrade Xiaoping needs to go to Sichuan must be clarified early so that we can consider the organizational issues of the East China Bureau.”