Page 37 - SELECTED WORKS OF ZHU DE

FOUR CROSSINGS OF CHISHUI 33

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b. The enemy brigade from Yunnan under An is building de-
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fensive works at Dawanzi, and the main force of Lu’s brigade may
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reach there today. Gong’s brigade arrived at Bijie yesterday and is
likely to continue its advance towards Dawanzi.
c. The three enemy divisions of Guizhou under the command of
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He, Bai and Hou seem to have stayed on the right bank of the Chi-
shui, but their locations are not clear.
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d. Enemy Xue’s “pursuit and suppression” unit, about two reg-
iments, is moving from Erdu to Xuyong. There are signs that two
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divisions under Zhou will be concentrated at Qianxi on the 12th and
march on Xuyong by way of Bijie. The two enemy divisions under
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Wu seem to be at Qianxi and Dading. The location of the rest of
the enemy troops is not clear. Based on the above information, we
can assume that almost all the Sichuan pursuers are moving westwards,
that the Yunnan troops are trying to block our way into Yunnan Prov-
ince, that the Guizhou troops have not yet joined the “pursuit and
suppression” campaign, and that Xue’s troops are not moving fast in
pursuit.
2. Being prepared to engage the Guizhou forces under Wang
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Jialie and Zhou Hunyuan and to try to move towards the east bank
of the Chishui River, our field armies have decided to march on Gulin
and the area south of it, and try to cross the river in good time. During
our advance, we should be ready to encounter Xue’s “pursuit and sup-
pression” detachment and to capture the city of Gulin when conditions
make that feasible.
3. With this objective in view, our plan will be as follows:
a. The 3rd Army Group should immediately reconnoitre the road
conditions, distances and inhabitants along the path of our advance
from Fenshuiling via Zhandi towards Gulin, as well as the enemy
situation in the direction of Yongning.
b. The 1st Army Group should arrive at Fenshuiling and the area
to the east tomorrow (the 12th), and then reconnoitre the road for ad-
vance towards Yingpanshan and Huilongchang.
c. The 5th and 9th Army Groups should build road and put up
bridges for the advance on Yangmasi by way of Shixiangzi and Moni.
d. The column under the Military Commission plans to march
between the 1st Army Group and the 5th and 9th Army Groups.
4. As for tomorrow’s movements, we will send you another
telegram.