Jiang Jieshi Is at the End of His Rope

#PUBLICATION NOTE

This edition of Jiang Jieshi Is at the End of His Rope 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:

• On the Temporary Abandonment of Yenan and the Defence of the Shensi-Kansu-Ningsia Border Region, in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, First English Edition, Vol. 4, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1965.
• Directive on Chiang Kaishek's Recent Moves of Attacking Yan'an and Convening the «National Assembly», 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 18th of November, 1946. It was first published in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 4, in 1960.

The directive was drafted by Comrade Mao Zedong when Nationalist troops were preparing to attack Yan'an. After the bankruptcy of Jiang Jieshi's plan for an all-out offensive against the Liberated Areas, he adopted frantic measures to save his dying regime, convened a bogus «National Assembly», expelled the representatives of the Communist Party of China from the Nationalist areas, and launched an attack on Yan'an, the seat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. As this document pointed out, the outcome of Jiang Jieshi's measures was his complete self-destruction politically. Militarily, he concentrated his forces on the eastern and western flanks of the Liberated Areas, that is, the Shandong Liberated Area and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Liberated Area in an attempt to carry out «attacks against key sectors»; and again, the outcome was complete failure. The Nationalist troops attacking the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region were more than 230'000 strong, while the North-Western People's Liberation Army had only some 20'000 in that region. Therefore, the enemy forces were able to occupy Yan'an and all the region's county towns, which the people abandoned on their own initiative. The enemy, however, failed to achieve their objective of destroying the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the North-Western People's Liberation Army or of driving them east of the Yellow River. On the contrary, the enemy suffered many heavy blows from the people's army, lost about 100'000 troops, and finally had to flee in confusion from the Border Region, while the people's army triumphantly went over to the offensive for the liberation of the Great North-West. Moreover, the people's army in the North-Western theatre, employing a very small force, pinned down and destroyed large numbers of the enemy's main force, and thereby strongly supported the operations of the people's troops in other theatres, particularly in the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan theatre, and helped them go over more quickly to the offensive. Comrade Mao Zedong, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the General Headquarters of the People's Liberation Army remained in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region the whole time from March 1947, when the people's army withdrew from Yan'an, to a year later, when it went over to the offensive in the North-Western theatre. This fact was of great political significance. It greatly inspired and strengthened the will to fight and the confidence in victory of the army and the people in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and in other Liberated Areas throughout the country. While in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, Comrade Mao Zedong not only continued to direct the People's War of Liberation on all fronts throughout the country, but also took personal command in the North-Western theatre and successfully achieved the aim to defend and expand the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and the Liberated Areas in the North-West with a firm fighting spirit.

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#JIANG JIESHI IS AT THE END OF HIS ROPE

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

#Mao Zedong

#18th of November, 1946

#★

#To All Central Bureaus, District Party Committees, and Column Commanders

Jiang Jieshi is at the end of his rope. He wants to strike at our Party and strengthen himself by two methods, by convening the «National Assembly» and by attacking Yan'an. Actually, he will accomplish the very opposite. The Chinese people resolutely oppose the «National Assembly» stage-managed by Jiang Jieshi to split the nation; the opening day of that Assembly marked the beginning of the self-destruction of the Jiang Jieshi clique. Militarily speaking, now that we have wiped out 35 brigades¹ of Jiang Jieshi's troops and their offensive power is nearly exhausted, even if his troops should occupy Yan'an by means of a sudden thrust, it would not damage the general prospect of victory in the People's War of Liberation, nor could it save Jiang Jieshi from the doom awaiting him. In short, Jiang Jieshi has taken the road to ruin; as soon as he makes these two moves of convening the «National Assembly» and attacking Yan'an, all his trickery will be exposed; this will help the progress of the People's War of Liberation. In every area, we should fully explain to people inside and outside the Party these two actions of Jiang Jieshi's, the convening of the «National Assembly» and the attack on Yan'an, and unite the whole Party, the whole army, and the whole people in the fight to smash Jiang Jieshi's offensive and build a democratic China.

#Central Committee

#18th of November