Time for the Dispatch of the Chinese People's Volunteers' Combat Units
(October 15, 1950)

Comrades Gao Gang and Peng Dehuai, and to inform Deng Hua:

(1) On the 13th, the U.S., British, and puppet forces on the 38th Parallel have already occupied Kumchon and are preparing to continue the offensive toward Pyongyang. The U.S. Marine Division is preparing to land at Chinnampo [1] to coordinate an assault on Pyongyang. There are also reports that the puppet 6th and 8th Divisions, which were originally advancing along the central route with the intention of concentrating at Wonsan, have shifted toward an attack on Pyongyang.

(2) It would be best if our vanguard army could set out on the 17th [2] and arrive in the Tokchon area by the 23rd. After one day of rest, begin constructing field fortifications on the 25th to seize the initiative from the enemy. The second army may set out on the 18th, and the remaining forces may be dispatched successively thereafter, with the river crossing completed within roughly ten days. Please act at your discretion.

(3) Whether grain and ammunition have already begun crossing the river for transport, please have Gao telegraph a report.

Mao Zedong
5:00 a.m., October 15

[1] Chinnampo is present-day Nampo, located in the southwest of South Pyongan Province.
[2] At 21:00 on October 18, 1950, Peng Dehuai in Beijing sent a telegram in the name of Mao Zedong to Deng Hua, Hong Xuezhi, Han Xianchu, Xie Fang, and to inform He Jinnian, stating: The four armies and three artillery divisions shall resolutely enter northern Korea for combat according to the predetermined plan, commencing the crossing of the Yalu River from the Andong and Ji'an line starting tomorrow evening (the 19th). In order to maintain strict secrecy, the river-crossing units shall commence each day at dusk and halt by 4:00 a.m. the following day. Camouflage must be completed before 5:00 a.m. and thoroughly inspected. In order to gain experience, on the first night (the evening of the 19th) preparations shall be made to cross 2 to 3 divisions; on the second night this number may be increased or decreased, after judging the circumstances. The remainder shall be conveyed face-to-face by Gao Gang and Peng Dehuai.