Chapter 101 Deployment of Chen Xie's column for westward operations[1]

(May 24, 1947) Chen Xiehan told Xinting, King Teng Bo, He Li, Liu Deng, and Peng Xi[2]: (1) Your column will complete rest and preparations for westward march (including clearing Lvliang and opening roads) within six months, and prepare to cross the river between Daning and Jundu in early July, first to fight in northern Shaanxi, and then to Ningxia, The battle in the vast area of ​​​​Gansu is aimed at annihilating the Hu[3] army and other recalcitrant troops, and capturing the Great Northwest, that is, to defend Shanxi.We should encourage the army to bear hardships and stand hard work, not to be afraid of difficulties, and tell them that only by eliminating Hu Zongnan can Shanxi be defended.

(2) Chen Gengmao made a telegram [4], and Hu Jun will return to Jin and advocate the capture of Taiyuan.Under the current situation, our main combat target is Chiang Kai-shek, and the elimination of Yan Xishan's [5] main force and the capture of Taiyuan should be done later.At present, Hu Jun may not necessarily return to Jin Dynasty, that is, if he returns to Jin Dynasty, I should attract him back to Shaanxi and Gansu to eliminate them, which is most beneficial to defend the Shanxi Liberated Area. (3) In order to open up the road to northern Shaanxi and ensure smooth relief in the future, a major battle should be held to wipe out the enemies in the eight counties of Xiang, Ji, Pu, Da, Ping, Jie, Ling and Xiao[6].To achieve this goal, you can postpone your entry to Shaanxi for half a month.

(4) After Chen Xie entered Shaanxi, the Xinting command post cooperated with the Lvliang troops (the fifth brigade will return to Lvliang from Sui and Mi soon, and will be under the unified command of Xinting during the battle) to consolidate and develop the Lvliang and Taiyue districts. (5) After Chen Xie entered Shaanxi, the grain will be provided by the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, and everything else will still be provided by Taiyue and Taihang. You should prepare for this.Also, in future battles, there must be more positional warfare, and more artillery shells should be brought.

(6) Adequate mobilization work should be done politically so that everyone understands the great political significance of the westward march. Military Commission Chen Jing Published according to Mao Zedong's manuscript. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong from the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China to Chen Geng, Commander of the Fourth Column of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army, Political Commissar Xie Fuzhi, and Deputy Commander Han Jun.The Central Military Commission made changes to the deployment of Chen Xie's column for westward operations.See pages 258 and 264 of this volume.

[2] Xinting, that is, Wang Xinting (1908-1984), a native of Xiaogan, Hubei, was the commander of the Taiyue Military Region at that time.Teng, referring to Teng Daiyuan (1904-1974), a native of Mayang, Hunan, was the first deputy commander of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region at that time.Bo, referring to Bo Yibo, was the first deputy political commissar of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region at the time.Wang, referring to Wang Hongkun, born in 1909 in Macheng, Hubei, was the second deputy commander of the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region.He Li refers to He Long and Li Jingquan, who were respectively the commander and political commissar of the Jinsui Military Region at that time.Liu Deng refers to Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, who were the commander and political commissar of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army at that time.Peng Xi refers to Peng Dehuai and Xi Zhongxun, who were the commander, political commissar and deputy political commissar of the Northwest Field Corps at the time.

[3] Hu, referring to Hu Zongnan, who was then the commander-in-chief of the first theater of the Kuomintang army. [4] Refers to the telegram sent by Chen Geng to the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China and Peng Dehuai, Xi Zhongxun, Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, Teng Daiyuan, Bo Yibo, and Wang Hongkun on April 23, 1947.The telegram said: At present, the efforts of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia have caused Hu Zongnan to fall into a dilemma, but he has not given up his ambitions for Shanxi. It is estimated that moving troops to southern Shanxi is what he wants.I must concentrate the maximum force to fight in Shanxi. I intend to temporarily take a defensive position on the Ping-Han line. Liu Deng will increase the Tongpu line with at least two columns and try to draw troops from Jin and Sui to participate. First, we will attack the Hu army entering Jin Then cooperate with Nie Rongzhen and Xiao Kebu to control Zhengtai and enter Taiyuan. This winter and next spring, we will concentrate the main force to cross the south and enter the Central Plains, and cooperate with Chen Yi to enter Xuzhou.

[5] Yan Xishan, then director of the Taiyuan Appeasement Office of the Kuomintang Army. [6] Xiang, Ji, Pu, Da, Ping, Jie, Ling, Xiaoyi refer to Shanxi Xiangning, Jixian, Puxian, Daning, Pingyao, Jiexiu, Lingshi and Xiaoyi.