Chapter 68 Must be prepared to fight continuously to win all battles[1]

(November 23, 1948) Liu Chendeng, Su Chenzhang, Tan Wang, and Wei Ji[2] transferred to the various vertical committees, and reported to the East China Bureau, the Central Plains Bureau, the Henan, Anhui and Soviet Branch Bureaus, and the Central China Working Committee: (1) Celebrate your great victory in annihilating ten divisions of Huang Baitao's [3] Corps. (2) During the sixteen days from Xuyu to Xuyang[4], you wiped out 18 entire divisions of the regular army of the Liu Zhi[5] system (including fighting for the uprising of the three divisions of Hezhang[6]), and gave you The four corps of Qiu Qingquan, Li Mi, Sun Yuanliang, and Liu Ruming [7] took considerable blows to occupy the vast areas south, east, north, and west of Xuzhou, cut off the communication between Xu and Peng, and kept the Xu enemy in an isolated position. victory.Before the start of the campaign, we had estimated that 18 enemy divisions might be wiped out in the first stage, but we did not dare to make such an estimate at that time as to the point of cutting off Xu Bang and completely isolating the enemy.This situation was created subjectively because our two major field armies in East China and the Central Plains merged to capture Suxian County. Objectively, the enemy had only a certain degree of defensive capability (this must not be underestimated) and very little offensive capability (for This must be fully realized).

(3) Of the eight enemy corps, one revolted (He Zhang), one was wiped out (Huang Baitao), and four suffered considerable blows. In the north, Qiu Lisun, and in the south, Huang, Liu, and Li[8] have been divided into two by us. The morale of the enemy There will be further decline.You and cadres at all levels must understand the significance of this great victory and educate the soldiers, this is one aspect.However, at the same time, it must be recognized that the enemy's main force, the three corps of Qiu Qingquan, Li Mi, and Huang Wei, and one of the corps of Li Yannian's corps (the 54th Army transferred from Huludao) still have quite tenacious combat effectiveness in terms of defense.The sixty-six divisions of the enemy directly fighting you (Feng Zhian[9] four, Huang Baitao ten, Qiu Qingquan ten, Li Mi seven, Sun Yuanliang four, Huang Wei eleven, Liu Ruming six, Li Yannian nine) In addition to those that were annihilated, there are still about 50 divisions.This enemy can be destroyed.However, you must be prepared to allow three to five months for the entire campaign, you must be prepared to achieve victory in the entire campaign in several operational stages (you have already completed the first operational stage), and you must prepare the entire army and militia for one Food, fodder, and ammunition for about 1.3 million people for three to five months, and medical treatment for 100,000 to 200,000 wounded, all units of the entire army must spend more than half of the time required for the entire campaign. Rest and recuperate regularly to keep morale strong and full of energy.With regard to the soldiers, the policy of following up with the battle and replenishing with the battle must be implemented, and with the people, the policy of mutual assistance in farming and fighting must be implemented.In terms of tactics, it is necessary not to rely on a sudden attack, but to rely on sufficient reconnaissance and technical preparations (proximity operations, infantry coordination, etc.) to achieve success.It is necessary to carry out sufficient political work against our army and residents, carry out a violent and effective political offensive against the enemy forces, and carry out internal rebellion against Liu Ruming and other ministries.As long as you pay attention to and fulfill these conditions, it is possible for you to win this great battle of national significance.

(4) There is only one situation that may cause you to leave your current area to find other opportunities for combat, that is, Huang Wei, Liu Ruming, and Li Yannian temporarily stop advancing to the south, and you have not been seriously annihilated by you. Chiang Kai-shek rescued Qiu, Li, and Li. Sun's corps redeployed Jiangfang to defend Shanghai and Nanjing, and transferred all the troops of the Guangxi and Pingjin and Jiang families to Bengbu, opened up Xu Bang to the north, and took out the Xu enemy.If Chiang Kai-shek does this, he will lose Pingjin and expose Wuhan and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River to our army, which is very dangerous for the Kuomintang.Whether the enemy does this, and whether the time is too late, can be clearly seen in a short period of time.For us, the most beneficial thing is to annihilate the enemies in front of us one by one according to the current situation, and we should strive for this.If we can wipe out the enemy to the south in large numbers in the second stage, even if the enemy does so, we may realize our original plan.

(5) Hope that the Huaye and Zhongye armies will strive for new victories under the unified leadership of Liu, Chen, Deng, Su, and Tan (Deng is the secretary)[10] of the General Front Committee. Military Commission Xu Terrier Printed from originals kept at the Central Archives. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China to the Central Plains Field Army and others. [2] Liu Chendeng, referring to Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi, and Deng Xiaoping, who were respectively the commander, first deputy commander, and political commissar of the Central Plains Field Army at that time.Su Chenzhang refers to Su Yu, Chen Shiju, and Zhang Zhen, who were acting commander, acting political commissar, chief of staff, and deputy chief of staff of the East China Field Army at that time.Tan Wang refers to Tan Zhenlin and Wang Jianan, who were respectively the deputy political commissar of the East China Field Army, the political commissar of the Shandong Corps, and the deputy commander of the Shandong Corps.Wei Ji refers to Wei Guoqing and Ji Luo (namely Ji Pengfei), who were respectively the commander and deputy political commissar of the Subei Corps of the East China Field Army at that time.

[3] Huang Baitao, former commander of the Seventh Corps of the Kuomintang Army, was killed in a battle near Nianzhuang on November 22, 1948. [4] From Xuyu to Xuyang, that is, from November 7th to November 22nd. [5] Liu Zhi, at that time was the commander-in-chief of the "Bandit Suppression" General Headquarters of the Kuomintang Army in Xuzhou. [6] He Jifeng and Zhang Kexia (both underground members of the Communist Party of China), the deputy commanders of the Third Appeasement Zone of the Kuomintang Army, led an army headquarters, three divisions, and a With a total of more than 20,000 people, the regiment revolted in the Jiawang and Taierzhuang areas in the northeast of Xuzhou.

[7] Refers to the Second Corps, Thirteenth Corps, Sixteenth Corps, and Eighth Corps of the Kuomintang Army with Qiu Qingquan, Li Mi, Sun Yuanliang, and Liu Ruming as commanders respectively. [8] Refers to the 12th Corps of the Kuomintang Army with Huang Wei as the commander, the 8th Corps of the Kuomintang Army with Liu Ruming as the commander, and the 1st Corps of the Kuomintang Army as the commander Li Yannian (1904-1974, from Guangrao, Shandong) Six Corps. [9] Feng Zhi'an, then commander of the third appeasement zone of the Kuomintang army. [10] On November 16, 1948, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China instructed Liu Bocheng, Chen Yi, Deng Xiaoping, Su Yu, and Tan Zhenlin to form the General Front Committee, with Deng Xiaoping as secretary, to coordinate everything during the Huaihai Campaign.