Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, The Far East: China, Volume IX

Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270

Preliminary Agreement To Govern the Amendment and Execution of the Army Reorganization Plan of February 25, 1946⁹⁷

undated

The following conditions are agreed to by the Committee of Three to be included in the amendments to the document signed February 25, 1946, “Basis for Military Reorganization and for the Integration of the Communist Forces into the National Army”. They are stated in the form of stipulations for the purpose of committing the Government and the Communist Party to these understandings in order to facilitate the preparation and acceptance of the formal documents required and to permit the immediate issuance of instructions for the final termination of hostilities.

1. The settlement of specific garrison areas in Manchuria and North China must be finally agreed to at this time for both National and Communist troops and it is understood that these assignments will refer to definite places rather than to areas.

2. The ratio previously agreed to between the total strength of the Government and Communist forces shall not be altered.

3. The periods previously assigned for the concentration of the troops into specified localities shall be altered for the first phase (originally 12 months) to three months except where specifically stated to the contrary.

4. The Executive Headquarters shall immediately determine the localities which have been occupied by the Government or Communist forces in China proper since January 13th, 1946 and the troops involved will be required to vacate those localities immediately unless otherwise specifically indicated hereinafter.

5. Localities occupied by the Government or Communist forces after noon of June 7th 1946 shall be evacuated by the forces concerned within 10 days after the signing of this paper.

6. The Communist Party agrees to the evacuation within 10 days of the signing of this paper of all localities at present occupied by their troops along the line of the Tsinan–Tsingtao railroad, (also the segment of the Tientsin–Pukou railroad line between Lincheng and Hsuchow and the branch line from Lincheng to Tsaochuang) with the understanding that the Government will confine its disposition of troops in this region to Tsinan, Wei-hsien and Tsingtao, these forces to be reduced to a strength of a division in each locality within three months. The Communist Party also agrees to evacuate T’eng-hsien on the Hsuchow–Tsinan railroad within one month. It is understood that no troops, Government or Communist, will be located in the region of Tsaochuang.

7. The Communist Party agrees to the evacuation of the areas of Kiangsu and Anwhei provinces west of the Grand Canal and east and south of the old river bed of the Yellow River between Huai-an and Tsung-hai, within a period of 6 weeks of the signing of this paper. It is further understood that during the first phase a Communist division will be stationed at Huai-an and another at Su-ch’ien, and that the Government troops may remain in their present positions north of the Yangtze in these two provinces, but will not move into the area vacated by the Communist forces.

8. It is agreed that the Communist Party will locate 1 division at Hsing-t’ai on the Peiping–Hankow railroad and that adjacent divisions will be located at Ta-ming (rather than Ho-tse) and Chang-chih.

9. It is agreed that the Communist division at Wen-hsi on the Tung-kung–Taiyuan railroad will be immediately withdrawn.

10. It is agreed that the Communist troops will be withdrawn within one month from the region of Chahar south of the Outer Wall as far as Ku-yuan and also from the region in Chahar and Jehol south of the line, Fenning–Chengte, and south of the railway to the east of Chengte through Chaoyang.

11. In Manchuria it is agreed that within three months the Communist forces will be established at Yeni–Tsitsihar, and Hailar–Manchouli and that the movements required will be immediately initiated and will be carried out progressively month by month. It is further agreed that the Government will station in Harbin not to exceed 6,000 troops. The ratio of comparative strengths in Manchuria shall be 5 to 1, that is, 5 Government armies and 1 Communist army, and that this strength shall be realized before October 15, 1946.

97. Draft prepared by General Marshall and handed to General Chou En-lai on June 28.