Chapter 52 Prepare for the Battle of Huaihai[1]

(September 28, 1948) It has been confirmed that the Huang Corps [2] was transferred back to the Xin'an Town area.Your first and most important battle in the Huai-Hai campaign was to restrain the Qiu and Li [3] corps and annihilate the Huang corps.The Xin'an Town area is very close to Xuzhou, and the two corps of Qiu and Li went to help very quickly.This battle must be larger in scale than the Battle of Jinan[4], and it may also be bigger than the Battle of Suiqi[5].Therefore, you must have a considerable amount of time to rest and replenish the offensive corps, and make full preparations for the entire army's combat needs, including all logistical work, before you can start operations.The battle period includes fighting the Yellow Army, the East China Sea, and the Huaihe River[6]. It will take one to one and a half months, and you will rest for one month after the war. Therefore, you must prepare food and supplies for two to two and a half months.The battle of Jinan took only ten days, and the post-war rest seems to take about 20 days. The battle of Huaihai is estimated to take one and a half months, a total of about two and a half months.This time is the time when you were originally prepared to deal with the worst possible situation of attacking aid and aid. If you can win the two major battles of Jinan (already achieved) and Huaihai according to this time, it will be very cost-effective.It may be advisable to postpone the Qufu meeting for cadres above the division commander for a few days, so that the various columns and divisions of the attacking aid corps can sort things out before the meeting.The Ninth Column and the Thirteenth Column, which suffered the most casualties, should be quickly replenished. If possible, some local formed units can be transferred to the two columns, especially the 73rd Regiment and the 109th Regiment.When carrying out the Huaihai Campaign, the two columns should be used as reserves in the first phase of the operation.Of the more than 60,000 captives, it is advisable that more than half of them should be sent to each column in the army where the number is most insufficient.In order to take into account the rest of the attacking corps, the dispatch time of the Huaihai Campaign seems to have to be postponed to around Youxi[7].

Published according to Mao Zedong's manuscript. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] This was drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China to Rao Shushi, Political Commissar of the East China Military Region, Su Yu, Acting Commander and Acting Political Commissar of the East China Field Army, and Tan Zhenlin, Deputy Political Commissar, and reported to Commander Liu Bocheng of the Central Plains Field Army, First Deputy Commander Chen Yi, and the CCP The first part of the telegram from the Central East China Bureau.

[2] Huang Bingtuan refers to the 7th Brigade of the Kuomintang Army under the command of Huang Baitao. [3] Qiu, refers to Qiu Qingquan, who was acting commander of the Second Corps of the Kuomintang Army at that time.Li, referring to Li Mi (1901-1973), a native of Lianshan, Yunnan (now part of Yingjiang County), was the commander of the Thirteenth Corps of the Kuomintang Army at that time. [4] The Battle of Jinan refers to the battle conducted by the East China Field Army from September 16 to 24, 1948, with the main goal of conquering Jinan.In this battle, more than 100,000 enemies were wiped out, and Wang Yaowu, the commander of the Second Appeasement District of the Kuomintang Army, was captured alive.

[5] The Battle of Suiqi refers to a battle fought by the East China Field Army in Sui County and Qi County from June 27 to July 6, 1948.Our army surrounded the Shounian Corps of the Kuomintang Military Region, the reorganized 75th Division, and the three regiments of the Huang Baitao Corps in Sui County and Qi County successively. After fierce battles, more than 50,000 enemies were wiped out. Years and Shen Chengnian, commander of the reorganized 75th Division. [6] Lianghuai refers to Huaiyin and Huai'an in Jiangsu. [7] Youyou, that is, October 20th.Later, the Huaihai Campaign began on November 6, 1948.