Chapter 15 Supplementary Opinions on the Operation in North China

(October 6, 1937) Zhou, Zhu, and Peng[1] also sued Lin and Nie[2]: Supplementary comments on combat issues: A. It is correct for Cheng Qian [3] to abandon Shijiazhuang and concentrate his forces to defend the Taihang Mountains. However, after the enemy occupies Shijiazhuang, he will attack westward. Therefore, Longquan Pass and Niangzi Pass must gather heavy troops and stick to them so that the main force will be in Taiyuan. Victory to the north.Apart from Zhu Huaibing[4], are there any other troops on the right wing, and will they be able to hold on to the task? B. The total number of enemies entering Shanxi seems to be no more than two and a half divisions.In order to defend the dozens of counties already occupied in northern Shanxi, at least one division should be dispersed, and it seems that no more than one and a half divisions will attack Taiyuan.To the south of Yanmen Pass, troops must be divided along the way for defense, so the fighters in the Daxinkou area seem to be no more than one division, and they are already surrounded by us on three sides.If Longquan Pass and Niangzi Pass can be held for a month, and if our deployment is appropriate, based on the quantity and quality of our troops, it is possible to temporarily disrupt the enemy's attack plan.Because our army has more than 150,000 troops, the Red Army and Wei Lihuang's[5] army can be the leaders in the northern Shanxi campaign in terms of quality, and the Shanxi army is at the last juncture and will have to fight a battle.

C. The key to this campaign lies in the following three points: (1) The persistence of Niangziguan and Longquanguan. (2) Defense and attack in the frontal Xinkou area (attack is the main thing). (3) Destruction of the enemy's rear. D. To achieve the above purpose: (1) It is required that three or four divisions of Nanjing Sujia's new force be located at Niangziguan. (2) The four divisions of the Guards are required to serve as the main force of the frontal attack corps, and the Jin army will assist the attack with two divisions, and the rest will be on defense. (3) The main forces of the Red Army's Lin and He Divisions[6] are responsible for destroying the deep areas behind the enemy's flanks from the east and west.In addition, Nanjing is required to send two divisions of the main force to operate from Laiyuan and Yuxian.

E. For this purpose, not only should the main force of our 115th Division not go out of Hebei, but it should also not be located at Longquanguan. It seems that the first step should be moved to the line of Doucun and Taihuai, so as to attack the Daying, Shahe, and Fanzhi lines in due course. , and when possible and necessary, the Great Wall of North Vietnam will go out to Hunyuan and Yingxian counties, and based on this, it will be divided into several detachments to take night operations to attack the railways of the Yanmen-Datong Line and the Datong-Zhangjiakou Line, and the Zhangjiakou-Guangling Line. , Automobile Road of Guanglingdai County Line.The action of the 115th Division (it would be better if the two Nanjing Divisions were added), combined with the actions of He Division's main force in Zuoyun, Youyu, Pinglu, and Shuoxian County, will cause the enemy's frontal attack in Shanxi to stop, or even temporarily Partial retreat will cause the enemy forces on the Ping-Han line to stop penetrating south of Shijiazhuang, and to use one part to defend the Beiping and Shijiazhuang lines and another part to turn to the Ling, Lai, Guang, and Wei areas to deal with our troops.In the 115th Division itself, due to frequent transfers and battles, it is necessary to prepare to pay a considerable price. them.However, it is of great significance to support the Shanxi operation, that is, to support the relatively long-term strategic purpose of the North China operation.

Myself, therefore, after your detailed consideration, if you basically agree with this policy, please carry out the following steps: (1) Ask Cheng and Yan [8] to determine who, who, and when the newly added garrison forces at Longquan Pass and Niangzi Pass will arrive, so as to ensure the safety of the east. (2) Ask Cheng and Yan to send two divisions out of the northern section of Mount Heng. (3) Ask Cheng and Yan to supplement our army with 3,000 to 3,500 rifles and 30 to 35 machine guns, and allow 5,000 to 7,000 new recruits. (4) The teaching battalion of the 115th Division should be deployed to the central area of ​​Taiyuan to expand the red, not to Hebei, because it is unreliable to expand the red there; the cavalry battalion should follow the main force.The headquarters and Mr. He should also send people to the Taiyuan area to expand their popularity.

(5) The main force of Division Liu [9] or all of them were used on Zhengtai Road to mobilize the masses and cooperate with the Niangziguan garrison to consolidate the rear. Geng, please consider the above comments in detail and reply by telegram. After writing this telegram, we received a telegram from Zhu and Peng at 6 o'clock today. We basically agreed, but I don't know if Lin and Nie still have different opinions? I also suggested to Yan and Cheng that they should pay close attention to secrecy. It is best not to use radio for their deployment. , otherwise it is very dangerous.

Mao Zedong 1 o'clock on the 6th Printed from transcripts kept at the Central Archives. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai.Zhu, refers to Zhu De.Peng refers to Peng Dehuai, who was the deputy commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army at the time. [2] Lin and Nie refer to Lin Biao and Nie Rongzhen, who were respectively the commander and deputy commander of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army at that time. [3] Cheng Qian (1882-1968), a native of Liling, Hunan.At that time, he was the chief of staff of the Military Commission of the Kuomintang government and acting commander-in-chief of the first theater.

[4] Zhu Huaibing (1892-1968), a native of Huanggang (now Huangzhou City), Hubei.At that time, he was the commander of the 94th Division of the Kuomintang Army. [5] Wei Lihuang, then commander-in-chief of the 14th Army of the Kuomintang Army. [6] Refers to the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army under the command of Lin Biao and the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army under the command of He Long. [7] Refers to Lingqiu and Guangling in Shanxi and Laiyuan and Yuxian in Hebei. [8] Yan, refers to Yan Xishan, who was then the commander-in-chief of the Second Theater of the Kuomintang Army.

[9] Refers to the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army where Liu Bocheng was the commander.