Telegraph from the Central Military Commission on Strengthening Ideological Education for Combat Against the U.S. Military (November 22, 1950)

To the Party Committee of the 19th Corps, with copy to the Military Regions of East China, Central-South China, Southwest China, Northwest China, and North China:  (1) According to a telegram received on November 21 from the Command of the Chinese People’s Volunteers, “Many units dispatched to participate in the mission of fighting abroad lacked adequate ideological preparation as well as the necessary supplies and equipment. For example, the 14th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment brought only forty-odd vehicles from inland China; recently five additional anti-aircraft battalions were transferred in, each with just eighteen vehicles, most of which require repair. These units also had no ideological preparation and had not yet been issued winter uniforms. The same situation exists in the 9th Corps and the 66th Army. Such conditions will undoubtedly affect combat operations. Therefore, before any units are sent to Northeast China to join the overseas campaign, you should first provide them with a brief overview of the climate and strategic terrain of Northeast China and Korea, as well as the operational situation, so that they may be prepared both ideologically and materially, thus avoiding last-minute haste.” You are instructed to carry out thorough ideological mobilization among the troops of the 19th Corps, ensuring a high level of ideological readiness to fight the Americans and a determination to overcome all possible difficulties. If this can be achieved, the American forces can certainly be defeated. In fact, the combat effectiveness of the U.S. military is even inferior to that of certain battle-hardened units under Chiang Kai-shek. As for equipment and other logistical matters, arrangements will be made for you upon your arrival in Shandong.

(2) All military regions, particularly those in East China, North China, and South China, must likewise conduct education aimed at instilling in their troops the resolve to fight the Americans, raise their morale, and prepare them to strike at the aggressors at any time. Issued by the Central Military Commission on November 22, based on Mao Zedong’s handwritten draft.