Comment on Nie Rongzhen’s Explanation of “Fixed Regional Bases, Using a Wave-Like Advance Policy”[I]
(April 28, 1950)
Agreed.
Mao Zedong
April 28
[I]
In April 1950, on the 15th, Luo Guibo, the Central Committee’s liaison representative to the Vietnamese Party, cabled the Military Commission requesting an explanation of Mao Zedong’s thinking on establishing and developing base areas through “fixed regional bases, using a wave-like advance policy.” On April 28 of the same year, Nie Rongzhen drafted a reply telegram to Luo Guibo and submitted it to Mao Zedong for review. Mao Zedong replied with his approval. The content of this telegram was: The explanation requested regarding “fixed regional bases, using a wave-like advance policy,” is answered as follows:
This military principle of the Chairman’s was applied during the national democratic revolutionary war, under conditions where the enemy was strong and we were weak. It is the principle of creating revolutionary base areas, consolidating them, and then relying on them to expand and develop base areas, opposing both conservatism and reckless advance, and integrating the consolidation of base areas with their development. The so-called wave-like advance means that when the base area expands to a certain point, the advance must be temporarily halted, and consolidation work such as mobilizing the masses, establishing political power, and forming people’s armed forces in the new area must be carried out, until the new area can serve as a base for further advance. Please refer to the report of the Jinggangshan Front Committee to the Central Committee in the *Selected Works of Mao Zedong*.

(April 28, 1950,
May 12, 1950)
To be distributed after reading by Liu, Zhu, Zhou, and Nie.[2] Nie is requested to convene relevant personnel within the next few days to discuss the specific plan for reducing the troops in the three regions of the Northeast, North China, and Northwest to one million, and to complete it and submit it to me.
Mao Zedong
April 28
[1]
Section one of this document is Mao Zedong’s comment on the April 27, 1950 report by Liu Bocheng (Second Secretary of the Southwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Commander of the Second Field Army of the People’s Liberation Army), He Long (Third Secretary of the Southwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Commander of the Southwest Military Region of the People’s Liberation Army), and Deng Xiaoping (First Secretary of the Southwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Political Commissar of the Second Field Army of the People’s Liberation Army and concurrently Political Commissar of the Southwest Military Region). Section two is a telegram from Mao Zedong to Tan Zheng, Third Political Commissar of the Fourth Field Army of the People’s Liberation Army and concurrently Third Political Commissar of the Central-South Military Region. Section three is Mao Zedong’s comment on the May 5, 1950 report by Nie Rongzhen, Acting Chief of the General Staff of the People’s Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People’s Government.
[2]
Liu refers to Liu Shaoqi. Zhu refers to Zhu De. Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai. Nie refers to Nie Rongzhen.