Comment on the Report Regarding the Deployment of Second-Line Troops[1]
(August 20, 1950)

Comrade Dehuai:
I am hereby sending you a copy of Nie Rongzhen’s proposal[2]. Please consider and telegraph your reply on whether the Nineteenth Corps may be deployed as suggested by Nie.
Mao Zedong
August 20

[1] This is a comment written by Mao Zedong on the report of August 19, 1950, from Nie Rongzhen, Acting Chief of General Staff of the People’s Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People’s Government, addressed to Peng Dehuai, Vice Chairman of the People’s Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People’s Government and Commander of the Northwest Military Region of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
[2] This refers to Nie Rongzhen’s report of August 19, 1950, concerning the deployment of second-line troops in mobile areas within Shanhaiguan Pass. The report stated: If the U.S. imperialist war of aggression in Korea continues, although we have already taken the first step in our deployment by moving the Thirteenth Corps to southern Liaoning, we still fear this may be insufficient to cope with contingencies. Therefore, it is recommended that second-line troops be further deployed in mobile areas within the Pass as a precautionary measure. We believe that, besides the Ninth Corps, which has four armies available for mobile operations in the Shanghai area, one more corps should be assembled to serve as a strategic mobile force to ensure security. The Nineteenth Corps is the most suitable for this purpose. We propose that after the autumn harvest in September, the three armies of this corps be assembled and moved to the Jinan area or the Zhengzhou-Luoyang region for rest and reorganization, serving as a mobile force. Jinan can control the Shandong Peninsula on one hand and also serve as the second echelon for the Thirteenth Corps, while coordinating with the Ninth Corps in Shanghai to the south. Although Zhengzhou and Luoyang are slightly to the rear, training is convenient there and transportation is not difficult. Another reason we propose assembling the Nineteenth Corps is this: Northwest China currently has a population of 25 million, yet garrisons numbering 600,000 troops, which is clearly excessive; moreover, the situation in that region is relatively stable, so withdrawing the corps raises fewer concerns.