Smash Jiang Jieshi's Offensive by a War of Self-Defence

#PUBLICATION NOTE

This edition of Smash Jiang Jieshi's Offensive by a War of Self-Defence has been prepared and revised for digital publication by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism under the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Switzerland on the basis of the following editions:

  • Smash Chiang Kai-shek's Offensive by a War of Self-Defence, in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, First English Edition, Vol. 4, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1965.
  • Directive of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Defeat of Chiang Kaishek's Offensive by a War of Self-Defense, in Mao's Road to Power, First English Edition, Vol. 9, Routledge, New York and London, 2023.

#INTRODUCTION NOTE

This is an inner-Party directive drafted by Comrade Mao Zedong for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Yan'an, Shaanxi, China on the 20th of July, 1946. It was first published in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 4, in 1960.

Jiang Jieshi tore up the «10th of October Agreement» in the winter of 1945, but his preparations for an all-out civil war were not complete, mainly because large numbers of Nationalist troops had not yet been moved to the civil war fronts. Consequently, in January 1946, under the pressure of the demand of the entire people for peace and democracy, the Nationalist government had to convene the Political Consultative Conference with the participation of the Communist Party of China and other democratic political parties. The Conference adopted a series of resolutions favourable to peace and democracy, and on the 10th of January, the Nationalist government issued an order to cease fire. Jiang Jieshi was not willing to observe the resolutions of the Political Consultative Conference and the ceasefire order. In the first half of 1946, the Nationalist troops continued to attack the Liberated Areas at many points, the attack in the North-East being on a particularly large scale, and a situation was created with small-scale fighting south of the Great Wall and large-scale fighting north of it. Meanwhile, the United States made very great efforts to transport and equip the Nationalist troops. By the end of June 1946, Jiang Jieshi and his US masters thought that they were fully prepared and could wipe out the whole People's Liberation Army in three to six months. Accordingly, they launched an all-out offensive against the Liberated Areas, which began on the 26th of June with a massive encircling attack on the Central Plains Liberated Area. Between July and September, the Nationalist troops started successive large-scale attacks against the Liberated Areas of Jiangsu-Anhui, Shandong, Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan, Shanxi-Chaha'er-Hebei, and Shanxi-Suiyuan. In October, they launched another large-scale attack on the North-Eastern Liberated Area. At the same time, they continued to encircle the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Liberated Area with large numbers of troops. When the countrywide civil war broke out, the Nationalist Party employed 193 brigades (divisions), or some 1'600'000 of its regular troops, to attack the Liberated Areas; they constituted 80% of its total strength of 248 regular brigades (divisions), or 2'000'000 soldiers. Under the leadership of the Party's Central Committee and its bureaus and sub-bureaus, the army and people in the Liberated Areas fought heroically against the offensive of Jiang Jieshi's troops. At that time, there were six major theatres of war in the Liberated Areas. These six theatres of war and the forces of the People's Liberation Army fighting there were:

  • The Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Liberated Area, with People's Liberation Army forces led by Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, and others.
  • The Eastern China Liberated Area (including the Shandong and the Jiangsu-Anhui Liberated Areas), with People's Liberation Army forces led by Chen Yi, Su Yu, Tan Zhenlin, and others.
  • The North-Eastern Liberated Area, with People's Liberation Army forces led by Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan, and others.
  • The Shanxi-Chaha'er-Hebei Liberated Area, with People's Liberation Army forces led by Nie Rongzhen and others.
  • The Shanxi-Suiyuan Liberated Area, with People's Liberation Army forces led by He Long and others.
  • The Central Plains Liberated Area, with People's Liberation Army forces led by Li Xiannian, Zheng Weisan, and others.

The People's Liberation Army, then totaling about 1'200'000 troops, was outnumbered by the enemy. It correctly carried out the strategy laid down by Comrade Mao Zedong and struck incessant, powerful blows at the invading enemy. After wiping out 66 regular brigades and some irregular units of the enemy, totaling more than 710'000 troops, in about eight months, the People's Liberation Army halted the enemy's all-out offensive. Then, step by step, it unfolded its strategic counter-offensive.

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#SMASH JIANG JIESHI'S OFFENSIVE BY A WAR OF SELF-DEFENCE

#DIRECTIVE OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA

#Mao Zedong
#20th of July, 1946

#★

#1

Jiang Jieshi, after violating the truce agreement,1 violating the resolutions of the Political Consultative Conference,2 and occupying Sipingjie, Changchun, and other cities of ours in the North-East, is now launching another large-scale offensive against us in eastern and northern China; later, he may again attack the North-East. Only after completely smashing Jiang's offensive in a war of self-defence can the Chinese people regain peace.

#2

Our Party and our army are making every preparation to smash Jiang Jieshi's offensive and thus to win peace. Although Jiang Jieshi has US aid, the feelings of the people are against him, the morale of his troops is low, and his economy is in difficulty. As for us, although we have no foreign aid, the feelings of the people are for us, the morale of our troops is high, and we can handle our economy. Therefore, we can defeat Jiang Jieshi. The whole Party should be fully confident of this.

#3

For defeating Jiang Jieshi, the general method of fighting is mobile warfare. Therefore, the temporary abandonment of certain places or cities is not only unavoidable, but also necessary. Certain places or cities are temporarily abandoned in order to win final victory, which would otherwise be impossible. We must make all Party members and all the people in the Liberated Areas understand this, so that they will be mentally prepared.

#4

In order to smash Jiang Jieshi's offensive, we must cooperate closely with the masses of the people and win over all who can be won over. In the rural areas, on the one hand, we should resolutely solve the land problem, rely firmly on the farmworkers and poor peasants, and unite with the middle peasants; on the other hand, when solving the land problem, we should distinguish the ordinary rich peasants and middle and small landlords from the traitors, evil gentry, and local tyrants. We should be more strict in our treatment of the traitors, evil gentry, and local tyrants, and more lenient in our treatment of the rich peasants and middle and small landlords. In places where the land problem has already been solved, we should change to a moderate attitude toward the landlord class as a whole, with the exception of a few reactionaries. In order to reduce the number of hostile elements and to consolidate the Liberated Areas, we should help all those landlords who have difficulty in making a living and induce runaway landlords to return and give them an opportunity to earn a living. In the cities, besides uniting with the working class, the small bourgeoisie, and all progressives, we should take care to unite with all the Centrist elements and isolate the reactionaries. Among the Nationalist troops, we should win over all the possible opponents of civil war and isolate the bellicose elements.

#5

In order to smash Jiang Jieshi's offensive, we must plan on a long-term basis. We must use our human and material resources with the utmost economy and do everything possible to avoid waste. We must investigate and clean up the small-scale graft which has appeared in some places. We must work hard in production in order to become completely self-sufficient in all necessities and first of all in grain and cloth. We must promote the extensive planting of cotton and encourage every family to spin and every village to weave. We should start to promote this even in the North-East. In the spheres of finance and supplies, we must meet the material needs of the war of self-defence and at the same time lighten the burden on the people, so that there will be some improvement and increase in the livelihood of the people in our Liberated Areas even under wartime conditions. To sum up, we rely entirely on our own efforts, and our position is invincible; this is the very opposite of Jiang Jieshi, who depends entirely on foreign countries. We live plainly and work hard, we take care of the needs of both the army and the people; this is the very opposite of the situation in Jiang Jieshi's areas, where those at the top are corrupt and debased, while the people under them are destitute. Under these circumstances, we shall surely be victorious.

#6

Difficulties lie ahead of us, but they can and must be overcome. All Party comrades and all the troops and people in the Liberated Areas must unite as one, in accordance with the Central Committee's Declaration of the 7th of July, 1946, must completely smash Jiang Jieshi's offensive, and must build an independent, peaceful, and democratic New China.

  1. Editor's Note: The «truce agreement» was the agreement concluded on the 10th of January, 1946 between representatives of the Communist Party of China and Jiang Jieshi's Nationalist government. It stipulated that the troops of both parties should cease military operations from their respective positions as of midnight on the 13th of January. But in fact, Jiang Jieshi used this agreement as a smokescreen, behind which he made arrangements for a major war; at the very time the ceasefire order was being transmitted, he ordered the Nationalist troops «to seize strategic points», and from then on moved up troops continuously to attack the Liberated Areas. By July, Jiang Jieshi had openly torn up the truce agreement and launched an all-out offensive against the Liberated Areas. ↩

  2. Editor's Note: The Political Consultative Conference was attended by representatives of the Nationalist Party of China, the Communist Party of China and other political parties, and by personages without party affiliation and was held in Chongqing from the 10th to 31st of January, 1946. The Conference adopted five agreements: (1) Agreement on Government Organization. This agreement affirmed that «the Organic Law of the National Government shall be revised with a view to strengthening the National Government Council». It increased the number of National Government Councillors and provided that «the National Government Councillors shall be chosen by the President of the National Government from both Nationalists and non-Nationalists»; that «the appointment of members of various political parties as National Government Councillors by the President of the National Government shall be made on the recommendation of the parties concerned, which, in case of the President's disapproval, shall make new recommendations»; that «when the President of the National Government nominates as Government Councillor any personage without political party affiliation, whose appointment is opposed by 1/3 of the Councillors already appointed, the President must reconsider the matter and make a new nomination for appointment»; and that «half the National Government Councillors shall be Nationalists and the other half members of other political parties and public figures». The National Government Council was nominally defined as «the supreme government body in charge of State affairs», with powers to discuss and decide legislative principles, administrative policies and major military measures, financial plans and the budget as well as matters submitted by the President of the National Government for consideration; yet at the same time the President of the National Government was vested with great powers, including the power of nominating persons for office, the power of veto (which, though nominally limited, was virtually absolute, for it required a majority of 3/5 to override a veto, while the President's own political party, the Nationalist Party, had half the seats) and emergency powers. The agreement also provided that «seven or eight members of the Executive Chamber shall be non-Nationalists, who shall either hold the portfolios of existing ministries or hold the proposed posts of ministers of State without portfolio». (2) The Programme for Peace and National Reconstruction. This programme was composed of nine sections, namely, General Principles, Rights of the People, Political Affairs, Military Affairs, Foreign Relations, Economic and Financial Affairs, Education and Culture, Relief and Rehabilitation, and Overseas Chinese Affairs. The section on «General Principles» provided that all political parties of the country shall «unite closely to build a new China, united, free, and democratic»; that there shall be «political democratization, nationalization of troops, and equality and legality for all political parties»; and that «political disputes shall be settled by political means in order to ensure peace and national development». The section on «Rights of the People» provided that «the freedoms of person, thought, religious belief, speech, the press, assembly, association, residence, movement, and correspondence shall be guaranteed to the people» and that «any body or person other than the Judiciary and the police is strictly forbidden to arrest, try, and punish people, and anyone who violates this provision shall be punished». The section on «Political Affairs» provided that «all levels of the administration shall be overhauled, their powers and responsibilities unified and clearly defined, all duplicated agencies abolished, administrative procedures simplified, and each level of administration charged with definite responsibilities»; that «competent office-holders shall be protected, appointments to government posts based not on party affiliation but on competency and seniority, and the holding of concurrent posts and the practice of favouritism forbidden»; that «the supervisory system shall be strictly enforced, corruption severely punished, and facilities given to the people freely to lodge accusations against corrupt officials»; that «local self-government shall be actively promoted and elections from the lower level upward through universal suffrage carried out»; and that «the powers of the central and local governments shall be defined according to the principle of fair distribution of powers, that the local governments may take such measures as are suitable to local circumstances, but those enacted by a province or county must not contradict those of the central government». The section on «Military Affairs» provided that «the military organizations shall be adapted to the needs of national defence, the military system reformed in line with a democratic system of government and the conditions in the country, military power separated from political parties, military authority separated from civil authority, military education improved, equipment be adequate, and personnel and financial systems be improved in order to build a modernized national army» and that «the numerical strength of the nation's troops shall be effectively reduced and reorganized in accordance with the provisions of the Military Reorganization Plan». The section on «Economic and Financial Affairs» provided that «the development of bureaucrat capital shall be curbed and government officials strictly forbidden to make use of their official position and influence to engage in speculation, monopoly, tax evasion, smuggling, embezzlement of public funds, and unlawful use of the means of transport», that «rents and rates of interest shall be reduced, the rights of lessees protected, the payment of farm rents ensured, agricultural credits expanded, usury strictly prohibited in order to better the life of the peasants, and an agrarian law to attain the objective of ‹land to the tillers› shall be put into effect»; that «labour laws shall be put into effect to improve working conditions»; that «the administration of finance shall be made public, the budget system and the system of financial reports strictly adhered to, budget expenditures drastically reduced, revenues and expenditures balanced, central and local government finances defined, the currency in circulation contracted and the monetary system stabilized, and the raising of both domestic and foreign loans and their uses made public and subject to supervision by public bodies»; and that «the system of taxation shall be reformed and all exorbitant and miscellaneous levies and illegal exactions completely abolished». The section on «Education and Culture» provided that «academic freedom shall be guaranteed, and there shall be no interference with school and college administration for reasons of religious belief or political thought»; that «the proportion of the national budget allocated to education and culture shall be increased»; and that «the wartime censorship of the press, publications, motion pictures, the drama, posts, and telegrams shall be abolished». (3) Agreement on the National Assembly. This agreement provided that «there shall be added to the National Assembly 700 delegates from various political parties and from among public figures» and that «the duty and power of the First National Assembly shall be to frame and adopt a constitution». (4) Agreement on the Draft Constitution. This agreement provided for the establishment of a review committee to revise the draft constitution prepared by the Nationalist Party and laid down the principles for revision. In addition to prescribing the principles governing the duties and powers of the National Assembly and government organizations, special provisions were made regarding «local government» and «the rights and duties of the people». With respect to «local government», it provided that «the province shall be the highest unit of local self-government»; that «the powers of the provincial government in relation to those of the central government shall be defined according to the principle of a fair distribution of powers»; that «the provincial governor shall be elected by the people»; and that «the province may have a provincial constitution which, however, must not contravene the provisions of the national constitution». With respect to «the rights and duties of the people», it provided that «all freedoms and rights which are generally enjoyed by the people of a democratic country shall be protected by the constitution against illegal violation»; that «if any provision is made by law regarding the freedom of the people, it shall be aimed at the protection of such freedom and not at its restriction»; that «drafting of labour may be provided for in local laws, but not in the national constitution»; and that «the right of self-government shall be guaranteed to minority nationalities who live together in specific communities». (5) Agreement on Military Affairs. This agreement provided that «the military system shall be reformed in line with a democratic system of government and the conditions in our country»; that «military conscription shall be improved»; that «military education shall be conducted on the basis of the principles governing the building of the army and shall for ever be dissociated from political parties and personal relationships»; that «military power shall be separated from political parties» and «all political parties and individuals shall refrain from using the army as an instrument of political struggle»; and that «military authority shall be separated from civil authority» and «no soldier in active service may serve concurrently as a civil official». With regard to the reorganization of the Nationalist troops and the troops of the Liberated Areas, it provided that «the three-person military sub-committee proceed as planned with all possible speed to reach an agreement on measures for reorganizing the troops of the Communist Party of China and to complete their reorganization»; that the Nationalist troops shall «be reorganized according to the plan already laid down by the Ministry of War into 90 divisions and this reorganization shall be completed at the highest possible speed within six months»; and that «when the above-mentioned two items of reorganization have been completed, all troops of the entire nation shall be unified and further reorganized into 50 or 60 divisions». These Political Consultative Conference agreements were, in varying degrees, favourable to the people and unfavourable to Jiang Jieshi's reactionary rule. While expressing his approval of these agreements in an attempt to use them to carry out his peace fraud, Jiang Jieshi actively made military preparations for launching a countrywide civil war. These Political Consultative Conference agreements were soon torn up by him one after another. ↩