CONCENTRATE A SUPERIOR FORCE TO DESTROY THE ENEMY FORCES ONE BY ONE* September !^, !($^
1. The method of fighting by concentrating a superior force to destroy the enemy forces 1 one by one must be employed not only in the disposition of troops for a campaign but also in the disposition of troops for a battle. 2. With regard to the disposition for a campaign, when the enemy employs many brigades 2 (or regiments) and advances against our army from several directions, our army must concentrate an absolutely superior force — six, five, four or at least three times the enemy strength — and pick an opportune moment to encircle and wipe out one enemy brigade (or regiment) first. It should be one of the enemy’s weaker brigades (or regiments), or one that has less support, or one stationed where the terrain and the people are most favourable to us and unfavourable to the enemy. We should tie down the rest of the enemy brigades (or regiments) with small forces in order to prevent them from rushing reinforcements to the brigade (or regiment) we are encircling and attacking so that we can destroy it first. When this has been achieved, we should, according to the circumstances, either wipe out one or several more enemy brigades or retire to rest and consolidate for further fighting. (Here are two examples of the former. Our troops under the command of Su Yu and Tan Chen-lin wiped out five thousand of the enemy’s communications police corps 3 near Jukao on August 22 , one enemy brigade on August 26 and one and a half brigades on August 27 . 4 Our troops under Liu Po-cheng and Teng Hsiao-ping annihilated one enemy brigade near Tingtao between September 3 and 6 , another in the afternoon of September 6 and two more on September 7-8 . 5 ) In the disposition for a campaign, we must reject the wrong method of fighting, which underrates 103
