Annotations on the Issue of Troop Reduction[1]

(April 28, 1950, and May 12, 1950)

To be circulated among Liu, Zhu, Zhou, and Nie[2] for review before issuance. Request Nie to convene relevant personnel within the next few days to discuss a concrete plan for reducing the armed forces in the three regions of the Northeast, North China, and Northwest to one million personnel, and to submit it to me once completed.

Mao Zedong
April 28

[1] The first part consists of Mao Zedong’s annotation on the report dated April 27, 1950, submitted 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. The second part 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. The third part is Mao Zedong’s annotation on the report dated May 5, 1950, submitted by Nie Rongzhen, Acting Chief of 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.

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Volume 28 of the Complete Works of Mao Zedong

Comrade Tan Zheng:

Regarding the issue of demobilizing 530,000 to 600,000 personnel within four months,[1] have you already convened or are you currently convening meetings to discuss methods, and what are the results? I await a detailed report.

To be reviewed immediately by Liu, Zhu, and Zhou, and returned to Nie for handling.[2]

Mao Zedong
May 12

Mao Zedong
May 12

[1] In April 1950, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee convened a meeting and decided that the People’s Liberation Army would undergo reorganization and demobilization, reducing its strength from 5.5 million to 4 million personnel within 1950. The directive on army demobilization issued by the CPC Central Committee on April 21 stated that the Central-South Military Region planned to demobilize 530,000 to 600,000 personnel that year.

[2] Nie Rongzhen’s report stated: “According to the logistics department’s reported funding allocations, the Northwest currently has 671,669 personnel, the Northeast has 188,503 personnel, and North China has 406,420 personnel, totaling 1,266,592 personnel across the three regions. Based on statistics from the Operations Department, the Northwest has 663,000 personnel, the Northeast has 165,000 personnel, and North China has over 380,000 personnel. The discrepancies in these statistics include family members, captured officers, and the sick and wounded. North China plans to reduce its forces to 290,000 personnel (including Dong Qiwu’s troops, which will remain unchanged, and 20,000 family members). The Northwest plans to reduce its forces to 600,000 personnel by the end of August this year. The Northeast, given that most of its troops are new recruits from second-line corps who are young and have not been long separated from production, making demobilization relatively easier, plans to reduce its forces to 80,000 personnel. The total for the three regions will be 970,000 personnel, with a reserve of 30,000 personnel set aside as a flexible quota for workers’ and peasants’ schools and personnel temporarily inconvenient to reassign, ensuring that the predetermined total of one million is not exceeded.”

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