Orders for the Chinese People’s Volunteers
(Excerpts)

(October 8, 1950)

Source: Xuanji, V, pp. 32-33. Available English Translations; SW. V. pp.
32-33: IPRS. Selections. p.%

pacrting fo Xuanji. p. 32. these are excerpts from the orders issued to the Chinese
1ple’s Volunteers (CPV) by Mao.

oe leading comrades at all levels of the Chinese People’s Volunteers:'
tag: m4 ves w assist the Korean people in their war of liberation, to repel the
re the American imperialists and their running dogs, and to defend the
A of the Korean people, the Chinese people and the people of all East-
Nemet the Chinese People’s Volunteers are hereby ordered to move
lately into the territory of Korea, to join our Korean comrades in their

KARE


fight against the invaders, and to strive for a glorious victory.

2) When the People's Volunteers of our country move into Korean tor
tory, they must express their friendship and respect for the Korean people, fy
the Korean People's Army, for the Democratic Government of Korea, for th
Workers’ Party of Korea, for other democratic parties, and for Kim Ul Suny
the leader of the Korean people, They must strictly obey military and politi¢
discipline. This is an extremely important political basis on which th
fulfillment of the military task will be ensured.

3) [The People’s Volunteers] must fully anticipate all sorts of difficult ej
cumstances that they may, and inevitably will, encounter and must be pr
pared to exercise a high degree of enthusiasm, courage, caution, and a spir
of perseverance in overcoming these difficulties. At the present moment, |
general, both the international and domestic situations are to our advantage
and to the aggressors’ disadvantage. If only our comrades are resolute, bray,
good at uniting with the local people and at fighting against the aggressors,
final victory will be ours,

Mao Zedong
Chairman
The Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Affairs Conimis
sion

October 8, 1950
Beijing

Note

{. On September 10, 1950, responding to hostilities between the North and South Korean go
ermments, which had been going on since June 1950, and to the threat of the hostilities enoromely
ing upon China's own ternitorial integrity and sovereignty, Zhou Enlai, premier of the GAC of
PRC, declared in a communique that “China may no longer sit back in unconcemed observa
of the invasion of a neighboring country by imperialism.” On October 25, on the invitation of
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) were dispatched
w cross the Yalu River into Korea. In the beginning the CPV were commanded, in an acting
capacity, by Lin Biao, Following an injury to Lin, Peng Dehuat became the commander in chi
of the CPV until the conclusion of the Korean War. The CPV was mail up of units of the Pe
ple’s Liberation Army. Volunteer status was assumed and adopted as policy m the hopes of Tit
ing the political liabilities that might result frome the intervention of the PRC un behalf of te
Nomh Korean government in the conflict, for many of the same reasons that United Nations sattis
was conferred on an essentially United States intervention in support of the South Korean side: