Speech at the Meeting of the First Secretaries[!]
(June 16, 1964)

Local Party committees must engage in military affairs. Under the leadership of the greater administrative regions, each province must draw up a plan, including for the militia, munitions factories, and repair shops. The First Secretaries of the provincial Party committees are all political commissars, aren’t they? Yet they do not exercise this function. You may serve as advisors. For many years, political commissars have been political commissars in name only. The world is at peace, and no one engages in military affairs anymore! Once war breaks out, there will be panic and confusion.

"Hold in the north and let go in the south,"[1] I don’t necessarily think so. Will the enemy surely come from the Northeast? Or will they follow the old path of the Japanese army? I don’t necessarily think so. Coming from Guangdong, what would they gain? Not necessarily either.

As for the method of fighting, it is nothing more than concentrating a superior force to destroy the enemy one by one, fighting battles of annihilation.

[1] Sections one through four of this text are part of a speech delivered by Mao Zedong at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the First Secretaries of the various Central Bureaus, held at the Ming Tombs Reservoir in Beijing.
[2] In the early 1960s, the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee determined that in a future war against aggression, in some northern areas the strategy should be based on holding firm against the enemy, while in some southern areas the enemy should be lured deep and let in to be fought. This concept was later summarized as "Hold in the north and let go in the south."

It remains: fight when you can win, walk away when you cannot. To hold, one must hold for a while; if one cannot hold, isn’t it still walking away? One cannot base everything on being able to hold. Therefore, every province must organize militia and local forces; provinces, prefectures, and counties must all do this. Do not rely on the Center, do not rely solely on the few million troops of the People’s Liberation Army. With such a large country and such a long battlefront, if you don’t rely on yourselves, you will start having ideas. "Defending the territory is one’s duty"—if you cannot defend it, then walk away! Once the Beijing Military Region moves out, the city must have a garrison commander, and the city has its people. Once the enemy enters the city, they will not drop atomic bombs. If you enter the city, I will also enter the city; we will engage in street fighting, climb houses—in short, we must fight you. The militia must be properly reorganized. One, organization; two, politics; three, military affairs. What is meant by organization? It means the militia, which includes the core militia and the ordinary militia. Organizationally, there are soldiers, squad leaders, platoons, and companies. It is said that those who have served as militia for three months undergo a great change in their mental outlook. This is called organization. There must always be people, soldiers and officers. Politics: there must be political work, with political commissars, political departments, instructors, and political guides, doing work among the people, distinguishing good people from bad. It must be made clear, and there must be no panic. How can one fight if panicked? Whether shooting rifles, firing cannons, or dropping atomic bombs, do not panic. If the atomic bomb falls, then one goes to see Marx. What is there to fear? Cadres will not all die out; those who survive will carry on the fight with him.

Military affairs. We must have hand grenades, pistols, and light weapons; quickly get some, taking advantage of this period of peace, get some within these ten years. The basic thing is for each province to set up a munitions factory. Sichuan can also get some; if you don’t use them, support other provinces. You must get some for yourselves. If cut off during wartime, the Center will not be able to attend to you. At present, the military industry is like Cao Cao’s troops, numbering 830,000; draw off a portion. You draw up a plan, within ten years.

IV
In short, we must be prepared to fight. Also, do not panic. If the atomic bomb falls on your head, even walking away won’t save you; if you die, you die, regardless of whether you die lying down or walking. In short, do not fear imperialism; we must educate the people not to fear it.