Chapter 2 Principles of Red Army Operations

(August 1, 1937) Zhou, Bo, Lin[1]: With regard to the Red Army's operations, we believe that the following two principles must be adhered to according to the current situation between the enemy and ourselves: A. Guerrilla warfare that conducts independent and dispersed operations under the overall strategic policy, rather than positional warfare or concentrated warfare, so it cannot be restricted in terms of campaign tactics.Only in this way can the strengths of the Red Army be brought into play and deal a considerable blow to the Japanese invaders. B. According to the above principles, in the initial stage, it is appropriate for the Red Army to send out one-third of its troops. If the troops are too large, it will not be able to carry out guerrilla warfare and will be vulnerable to concentrated attacks by the enemy.The rest of the troops will be used gradually according to the development of the war.

Please discuss the above principles with comrades[2] and prepare to report to the Kuomintang. Luo[3], Mao Dongyou Printed from transcripts kept at the Central Archives. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai.Bo.Refers to Bogu, that is, Qin Bangxian (1907-1946), a native of Wuxi, Jiangsu.Lin refers to Lin Boqu (1886-1960), a native of Linli, Hunan.They were representatives appointed by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to negotiate with the Kuomintang. [2] Refers to Zhu De, Peng Dehuai and other leaders of the Red Army headquarters in Yunyang Town, Jingyang County, Shaanxi Province at that time.

[3] Luo, referring to Luo Fu, namely Zhang Wentian (1900-1976), a native of Nanhui, Jiangsu (now part of Shanghai).At that time, he was a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and was in charge of the Central Committee.