ABSTRACT
The Tsinghai bloodbath of late February had been only the most extreme example of a phenomenon which had occurred with increasing frequency during February and March following the introduction of the regional military into the cultural revolution. The plenum communique noted that This was a session of mobilization for the seizure of all-round victory in the great proletarian cultural revolution, a session on unprecedented unity in the whole party under the leadership of the proletarian headquarters with Chairman Mao as its leader and vice-chairman Lin as its deputy leader. Pressured by the "left wing" in the Central Cultural Revolution Group, Mao acceeded to a policy of arming the revolutionaries and directing them against the military. The dual thrust of regime policy throughout the fall and winter of 1968 was the consolidation of "all-round victory" in the cultural revolution and China's preparedness to meet any external challenge.
