Central Instructions on Preparing All Necessary Conditions to Resolutely Foil the Enemy’s Amphibious Landing Venture (December 20, 1952)

To Comrades of the Volunteer Army Party Committee; also to the Northeast Bureau, the Northeast Military Region, and the Heads of All Departments of the Central Military Commission:

Instructions Regarding the Preparation of All Necessary Conditions to Resolutely Foil the Enemy’s Amphibious Landing Venture and Secure a Greater Victory in the War:

(1) Based on various indications—Eisenhower’s assumption of office, the suspension of negotiations, and the United Nations’ adoption of the Indian proposal—we judge that the enemy has a strong likelihood of launching a daring amphibious assault with approximately seven divisions along our rear coastal line, particularly along the west coast from the Han River through the Chongchon River to the Yalu River.

(2) Our Volunteer Army, in coordination with the Korean People’s Army, bears the solemn responsibility of resolutely defeating the enemy’s amphibious attack and securing an even greater victory in the war.

(3) To this end, our forces must:

(a) Mobilize every possible resource to vastly strengthen the robust defensive fortifications along the coast and in the adjacent hinterland; at the same time, reinforce the depth-of-defense works along the 38th Parallel front to provide complementary support.

(b) Deploy ample troop and fire power along the coastal sectors posing the greatest threat to our rear areas and in their immediate hinterlands, thereby ensuring the defeat of both the enemy’s naval assault and any large-scale airborne landings. In other regions where enemy landings may occur—such as the Tongchon–Wonsan area, the Ongjin Peninsula, the Chinampo–Han River sector, and the area east of Hamhung—deploy whatever forces and firepower are available, likewise committing all available strength to repel the enemy’s attacks.

(c) Firmly and expeditiously undertake measures to construct new railway lines, upgrade existing ones (particularly between Manpo and Chollima), widen numerous highways, establish additional warehouses and supply depots, and pre-position substantial stocks of food and ammunition, so as to ensure unimpeded transportation and uninterrupted supplies for all our front-line and rear-area units, including the Korean People’s Army, under any circumstances.

(d) The various armies on our front have achieved significant combat successes in the past; in 1953 they should strive for even greater achievements and the annihilation of more enemy troops.

(e) Political work shall ensure that all officers and men throughout the army maintain unwavering resolve and high morale in order to defeat the enemy’s offensive and secure a greater victory.

(f) Special attention should be paid to preparatory work during the period from now until April 1953, as this is the critical phase for overcoming the enemy.

(g) Comrade Deng Hua, acting commander and political commissar, shall concurrently serve as commander and political commissar of the West Coast Command; Comrade Liang Xingchu shall be appointed deputy commander of the West Sea Command; and the remaining cadre of the West Coast Command should be reinforced.

(4) Over the past two-plus years, our Volunteer Army, in close cooperation with the Korean People’s Army, has, through courageous and tenacious fighting against U.S. imperialism and its allied forces, attained great and brilliant victories. We have come to thoroughly understand the enemy’s capabilities, surmounted numerous difficulties, and accumulated rich experience. U.S. imperialism has tried many different tactics in its struggle against us, yet each one has ended in failure. Now it remains only with the option of an amphibious landing from our rear, which it seeks to use as a means of striking at us. As long as we can neutralize this tactic and cause the venture to fail, the enemy’s ultimate defeat will be sealed.

The Central Committee firmly believes that our Volunteer Army, working in concert with the Korean People’s Army, is fully capable of foiling the enemy’s amphibious landing plan.

It is hoped that all comrades will proceed with utmost caution and steadfast composure, mobilize all available resources, make full use of the time at hand, and complete all preparations for countering an enemy amphibious assault. Once these preparations are in place, victory will undoubtedly be ours.

Issued by the CPC Central Committee on December 20, 1952, printed from Mao Zedong’s handwritten draft. Included in the “Selected Military Works of Mao Zedong” (internal edition).

Note [1]: Dwight D. Eisenhower had been elected as the 34th President of the United States and was scheduled to take office on January 20, 1953.