Memories of the War of Resistance in the Archives of the Hundred-Regiment Campaign

On 22 July 1940, the *Preliminary Order of Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, and Zuo Quan on the Destruction of the Zhengtai Railway* (preserved in the Central Archives)

1940年7月22日，《朱德、彭德怀、左权关于破击正太路的预备命令》（中央档案馆 藏）

On 8 August 1940, the *Operational Deployment of Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, and Zuo Quan on the Destruction of the Zhengtai Railway* (preserved in the Central Archives)

1940年8月8日，《朱德、彭德怀、左权关于破击正太路的战役部署》（中央档案馆 藏）

The Hundred-Regiment Campaign, waged from August 1940 to January 1941, was the largest and longest-lasting strategically offensive operation launched by the Eighth Route Army under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party during the entire nation's War of Resistance. In the Central Archives, a set of precious documents witnessing the history of the Hundred-Regiment Campaign is preserved, including the *Preliminary Order of Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, and Zuo Quan on the Destruction of the Zhengtai Railway* and the *Operational Deployment of Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, and Zuo Quan on the Destruction of the Zhengtai Railway*. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Let us draw near to these surviving historical materials from those years of war and revisit the memories of the War of Resistance left us by the archives of the Hundred-Regiment Campaign.

1940年8月到1941年1月的百团大战，是全民族抗战以来中国共产党领导的八路军在华北发动的规模最大、持续时间最长的一次带战略性进攻的战役。在中央档案馆中，珍藏着一组见证百团大战历史的珍贵档案，包括《朱德、彭德怀、左权关于破击正太路的预备命令》《朱德、彭德怀、左权关于破击正太路的战役部署》等。今年是中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利80周年，让我们走近这些烽火岁月的史料遗存，重温百团大战档案给我们留下的抗战记忆。

Take the initiative to strike: from "being strangled" to breaking the "cage"

主动出击，从“被绞杀”到打破“囚笼”

In the summer and autumn of 1940, Japanese imperialism prepared to implement a "southward advance" policy, stepping up its efforts on the Chinese battlefield to entice the Kuomintang to surrender, while continuing to use its main strength to attack the Chinese Communist Party and the forces it led. In particular, it intensified the implementation of the "cage policy" in North China, turning the spearhead of its offensives fully against the Eighth Route Army, attempting to destroy the anti-Japanese base areas in North China in order to consolidate its occupied territory. Successive defeats on the frontal battlefield led some high-ranking Kuomintang figures to advocate "making peace with Japan". The morale of the Chinese War of Resistance sank to a low point. At the time, an atmosphere of pessimism, confusion, and compromise pervaded the country. The Chinese people urgently needed a victory to lift their spirits.

1940年夏秋，日本帝国主义准备实行“南进”政策，在中国战场加紧诱迫国民党投降，同时继续以主要力量打击中国共产党及其领导的军队，特别是在华北加紧推行“囚笼政策”，把进攻的矛头全面指向八路军，企图摧毁华北抗日根据地，以巩固其占领区。正面战场接连失利，国民党部分高层主张“对日媾和”，中国抗战情绪陷入低谷，当时国内弥漫着悲观、迷茫和妥协的氛围，中国人民急需一场胜利来提振士气。

At dawn on 22 July 1940, an order from the Eighth Route Army headquarters was transmitted to the leaders of each division and military district deep in enemy-occupied territory. This was precisely the *Preliminary Order on the Destruction of the Zhengtai Railway* signed and issued by Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, and Zuo Quan. The preliminary order stated: To strike at the enemy's "cage policy", to break the enemy's attempt to attack Xi'an, to strive for a more favorable development of the war situation in North China, and thereby to affect the overall war situation of the nation, "it is decided to take advantage of the present season of the green curtain [1]1 "Green curtain" (青纱帐) refers to the tall crops (e.g., sorghum or corn) in summer that provide cover for guerrilla operations. and the rainy season, when the enemy's 'mapping-up' operations against the Jin-Cha-Ji, Jin-Xibei, and Jin-Dongnan base areas are relatively slack and the defenses along the Zhengtai line are relatively weak, to launch a major offensive to destroy the Zhengtai line". "The operational objective is to thoroughly destroy several key points on the Zhengtai line, annihilate some enemy troops, recover some important passes and stronghold points, cut off traffic on that line for a relatively long period, and, taking advantage of the victory, expand the elimination of several strongholds in the areas north and south of that line, and develop work on both sides of that line. The basic purpose is to cut off traffic on that line." Headquarters required each unit to make thorough preparations before the battle began, including reconnaissance along the line, grain reserves, demolition equipment, troop movements, and mass work. At the same time, it stipulated that "strict secrecy must be maintained before the battle begins; before preparations are completed, the intention of the campaign may be disclosed only to commanders at the level of brigade and above."

1940年7月22日清晨，八路军总部一项命令传达到分处敌后的各师、军区领导人。这正是由朱德、彭德怀、左权签署发布的《关于破击正太路的预备命令》。预备命令指出：为打击敌人“囚笼政策”，打破敌进犯西安之企图，争取华北战局更有利的发展，并影响全国的抗战局势，“决定趁目前青纱帐与雨季时节，敌对晋察冀、晋西北及晋东南‘扫荡’较为缓和，正太沿线较为空虚的有利时机，大举击破正太路”。“战役目的，以彻底破坏正太线若干要隘、消灭部分敌人，收复若干重要名胜关隘据点，较长期截断该线交通，并乘胜扩大拔除该线南北地区若干据点，开展该路沿线两侧工作，基本是（上）截断该线交通为目的。”总部要求各部在战斗开始前对沿线侦察、粮食储备、爆破器材、部队调动、民众工作等做充分准备，同时规定“在战斗未发起前严格保守秘密，准备未完毕以前，战役意图只准告知旅级首长为止”。

On the afternoon of 8 August, Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, and Zuo Quan issued the *Operational Deployment on the Destruction of the Zhengtai Railway*. This order, marked "most urgent," specified the operational zones, focus of operations, and mutual coordination for each unit, and stipulated that "the above-listed army groups and the headquarters special service regiment shall all be directly commanded by the headquarters" and "the battle shall commence on 20 August." This great battle, which took the initiative to strike and broke the "cage," was about to begin.

8月8日下午，朱德、彭德怀、左权发出《关于破击正太路的战役部署》。这一份“万万火急”的命令，指明了各部的作战地域、作战重点以及互相的策应配合，并规定“上列各集团及总部特务团统由总部直接指挥之”，“限八月二十号开始战斗”。这场主动出击、打破“囚笼”的大战即将拉开序幕。

Flexible response: from 22 regiments to 105 regiments

灵活应变，从22个团到105个团

On the night of 20 August, the battle began. A shower of red signal flares soared into the sky, interweaving with the flames of battle along the Zhengtai line. Guerrilla units from all directions rushed headlong toward the enemy's strongholds. The earth-shaking roar of explosions, the stirring charge bugle calls, and the rattle of machine guns formed a majestic symphony of battle that resounded along the entire Zhengtai line. The Eighth Route Army headquarters originally planned to deploy the strength of 22 regiments. Once the battle began, morale soared in all base areas. Following the preliminary order's instruction that "the forces to be used in coordinated operations on other railway lines shall be determined by each region on its own," many units voluntarily joined the fighting. The scale of the participating forces rapidly expanded, eventually reaching 105 regiments, about 200,000 men.

8月20日夜，战役打响，一颗颗红色的信号弹腾空而起，与正太路沿线的弹火相交织，各路游击部队争先恐后地扑向敌人的据点。惊天动地的爆炸声、激昂的冲锋号声和机枪声，组成了一曲雄壮的战斗交响乐，响彻了正太线全线。八路军总部原计划出动22个团的兵力，战役打响后各根据地士气高涨，根据预备命令“其他各铁道线配合作战之兵力，由各区自行规定之”，许多部队纷纷主动加入战斗，参战部队的规模迅速扩大，陆续达到105个团，约20万人。

On 26 August, the *Instruction from Peng Dehuai and Zuo Quan to All Army Groups on Expanding the Propaganda of the Battle Results of the Hundred-Regiment Campaign* records the process of naming the "Hundred-Regiment Campaign": "In the Zhengtai operation we used about one hundred regiments of troops. The battle began on the night of the 20th. The initial victory has been achieved. This campaign shall be named the 'Hundred-Regiment Campaign.'"

8月26日《彭德怀、左权关于扩大宣传百团大战战果给各兵团的指示》，记载了“百团大战”定名的经过：“正太战役我使用兵力约百个团，于二十日晚已开始战斗，序战胜利已经取得，这次战役定名为‘百团大战’。”

The Hundred-Regiment Campaign was divided into three stages, with flexible operational dispositions of the Eighth Route Army running through the entire campaign. In the first stage, all units struck simultaneously, forming a situation of "flowering everywhere." When the Japanese concentrated heavy forces for a counterattack, the Eighth Route Army quickly broke up into smaller units and switched to guerrilla warfare. In September, Peng Dehuai and Zuo Quan decisively ordered a shift to the second stage. The *Operational Deployment for the Second Stage* pointed out that while continuing to attack communications, the focus should be placed on capturing Japanese strongholds on both sides of the communication lines and deep inside the base areas. In early October, the campaign entered its third stage, mainly countering the Japanese and puppet forces' retaliatory "mapping-up" operations. On 19 October, Peng Dehuai and Zuo Quan issued the *Plan for Counter-Mapping-Up after the Hundred-Regiment Campaign*, emphasizing that "mainly resolute guerrilla warfare should be conducted to exhaust and wear down the enemy, seeking to annihilate the enemy in part, but not to engage directly in large-scale decisive battles." This was the response of the Eighth Route Army to the Japanese solid "cage" — with flexible and adaptable operational strategies, showing no fear of brute force and fighting to the very end.

百团大战共分三个阶段，八路军灵活的作战调度，贯穿战役始终。战役第一阶段，各部同时出击，形成“全面开花”之势，当日军调集重兵反扑时，八路军又迅速化整为零，转为游击作战。9月，彭德怀、左权果断决定转入第二阶段作战，在《第二阶段作战部署》中指出：在继续破袭交通的同时，将重点放在攻占交通线两侧和深入各根据地内的日军据点。10月上旬，战役进入第三阶段，主要是反击日伪军的报复“扫荡”。彭德怀、左权于10月19日发布《关于百团大战后的反“扫荡”计划》，强调“应以进行坚决的游击战为（主）展开，消耗疲劳敌人，求得部分的消灭敌人，但不直（接）作较大的决战”。这便是面对日军坚固的“囚笼”，八路军用灵活应变的作战策略作出的不畏强暴、血战到底的回应。

In combat, the Eighth Route Army combined ambushes with surprise attacks, inflicting the "heart-removing blow" on the Jingxing Coal Mine that the enemy complained of bitterly. Lacking heavy weapons, they resourcefully and ingeniously invented dozens of methods of destruction, such as "pulling up railway tracks," "digging up roadbeds," and "demolishing bridges." They also learned from old workmen the "skill" of bending railway tracks by heating them. In siege tactics, they adapted methods to local conditions, using "indigenous methods" to improve weapons, often achieving unexpected strike effects. This "unorthodox army," the Eighth Route Army, with flexible and adaptable operational strategies, dealt a head-on blow to the Japanese forces on the North China plain, composing a magnificent song of the weak defeating the strong with wisdom and courage.

八路军在作战中，把伏击与奇袭相结合，打出了敌人叫苦不迭的井陉煤矿“挖心战”；在缺乏重武器的情况下，机智巧妙发明了“扒铁轨”“挖路基”“破桥梁”等数十种破袭方法，还从老师傅们身上学到了烧弯铁轨的“本事”；在攻坚战术中，因地制宜破敌，用“土办法”改良武器，往往取得出其不意的攻击效果……八路军这支“奇兵”，用灵活应变的作战策略在华北大地上给日军以迎头痛击，用智慧和勇气谱写了一曲以弱胜强的恢宏战歌。

Strenuous struggle: overcoming the "invincible" with "country bumpkins"

艰苦奋斗，用“土老帽”攻克“不可战胜”

On 24 August, the telegram *From Peng Dehuai and Zuo Quan to Nie Rongzhen et al. on Striving to Extend the Time of Destruction during the Hundred-Regiment Campaign* pointed out: "In the Hundred-Regiment Campaign, above all on the Zhengtai line, we must persist in carrying out our determination and strive to extend the time as much as possible. If we can persist in destruction for half a month, considerable results can be achieved (judging from the existing enemy situation, this seems possible). The units coordinating operations on other lines should also extend their time to ensure the continued unfolding of the victory on the Zhengtai line." On the same day, the telegram *From Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping to Chen Geng et al. on Continuing to Expand Results on the Zhengtai Line* also stated: "The significance of the Hundred-Regiment Campaign is extremely great; the longer we persist, the greater the victory." In the archives of the Hundred-Regiment Campaign, words such as "persist," "valiant," and "devotedly and resolutely destroy" are not uncommon.

8月24日《彭德怀、左权关于百团大战破击时间应争取延长致聂荣臻等人的电报》中指出，“百团大战首先在正太线上应坚持贯彻我之决心，尽量争取时间之延长。能坚持半个月的破击时间可取得可观之战绩（按现有敌情似有可能），各线配合作战兵团亦应延长时间，保证正太胜利继续展开”。同日《刘伯承、邓小平关于在正太路继续扩大战果致陈赓等的电报》中也说，“百团大战意义极大，坚持愈久胜利愈大”。在百团大战档案中，“坚持”“英勇”“用命果敢破击”这样的字眼并不鲜见。

At the outset of the campaign, the Eighth Route Army faced numerous difficulties. The Japanese had built a tight defense system along the Zhengtai line; every station had pillboxes, key bridges were heavily guarded, and deep ditches and barbed-wire fences were dug and erected on both sides of the railway. The Eighth Route Army soldiers were short of ammunition; apart from a few captured rifles, most of their weapons were "country bumpkins" [2]2 "Country bumpkin" (土老帽) is a colloquial term here used self-deprecatingly to describe the Eighth Route Army's crude, locally-made weapons., or even big swords and long spears. It was precisely under this disparity in equipment that the Eighth Route Army soldiers created one miracle after another.

战役之初，八路军面临的困难重重。日军在正太沿线构筑了严密的防御体系，每个车站都设有碉堡，重要桥梁有重兵把守，铁路两侧挖有深沟、架设有铁丝网。而八路军战士弹药稀缺，手里的武器，除了少量缴获的步枪外，大多是“土老帽”，甚至是大刀长矛。就是在这样的装备差距下，八路军战士们创造了一个又一个奇迹。

In the battle to capture the Niangziguan Pass, they carried big swords on their backs, grenades tied around their waists, and climbed the steep cliffs under cover of night. Some soldiers were discovered by the enemy while climbing; after being hit by multiple bullets, they used their last strength to throw grenades into enemy machine-gun positions. In the battle at the Jingxing Coal Mine, they braved a hail of bullets, using door planks and cotton quilts to cover the electrified wire, opening a path for their comrades with their own flesh and blood. In the Yu-Liao Campaign, they withstood heavy artillery fire, dug communication trenches with shovels and picks, advancing their attack positions to just tens of meters from the enemy pillboxes. Demolition men went forward one after another, opening the way with their lives. Some soldiers, shot in the abdomen with intestines spilling out, still crawled under the enemy pillbox to detonate the explosives... They embodied what it means to be iron-blooded soldiers, what it means to "never bend or break, to be tenacious and unyielding."

在进攻娘子关的战斗中，他们身背大刀，腰缠手榴弹，趁着夜色攀爬陡峭的山崖。有的战士在攀爬中被敌人发现，身中数弹后用尽最后力气将手榴弹扔进敌机枪阵地。在井陉煤矿的战斗中，他们冒着枪林弹雨，用门板、棉被搭在电网上，以血肉之躯为战友们开辟通道。在榆辽战役中，他们顶着猛烈炮火，用铁锹镐头挖出一条条交通壕，将攻击阵地推进至距敌碉堡仅数十米处，爆破手前仆后继，用生命开辟道路，有的战士腹部中弹，肠子流出，仍坚持爬行至敌碉堡下引爆炸药……他们诠释了何为铁血战士，何为“百折不挠、坚忍不拔”。

Army and people united as one: from "small streams" converging into "a vast ocean"

军民一心，从“小溪流”汇聚成“汪洋大海”

Under the Party's leadership and call, large numbers of local armed forces and militia joined the battle, and hundreds of thousands of civilians participated in destroying roads, transporting supplies, and conducting reconnaissance. The base areas in North China provided material, intelligence, and manpower for the campaign. During the preparation phase, the common people along the Zhengtai Railway pretended to work in the fields by day and helped the Eighth Route Army reconnoiter enemy situations at night. After the battle began, the masses worked in close coordination with the soldiers: the troops were responsible for blowing up bridges and stations, while the masses were responsible for destroying railway tracks and telegraph lines. To help transport army grain, women and children all pitched in, using various ingenious methods to disguise grain shipments and deceive Japanese checkpoints. During the counter-"mapping-up" phase, many civilians were cruelly killed by the Japanese for protecting wounded Eighth Route Army soldiers.

在党的领导和号召下，大量地方武装和民兵投入战斗，更有数十万群众参与破路、运输和侦察。华北各根据地为战役提供物资、情报和兵员保障。战役准备阶段，正太铁路沿线的老百姓白天佯装劳作，夜间协助八路军侦察敌情。战役打响后，群众与战士们密切配合，部队负责爆破桥梁和车站，群众负责破坏铁轨和电线。为了帮助运送军粮，妇女儿童齐上阵，用各种巧思伪装运粮，骗过日军的检查站。在反“扫荡”阶段，很多群众为了保护八路军伤员而惨遭日军杀害。

According to the 1940 *Statistics on Mobilization in Various Counties of Central Shanxi during the Zhengtai Campaign*, the number of militia mobilized in the Central Shanxi area alone during the Zhengtai campaign exceeded ten thousand. The villagers also prepared vegetables, chickens and sheep, parched flour, clothing, shoes, and other items for the troops. In the same statistics, the Eighth Route Army soldiers made detailed records of whether grain was temporarily borrowed and whether receipts were left for the borrowed grain. In the telegrams exchanged between the 129th Division, other units, and the Eighth Route Army headquarters, we can also see many messages concerning the participation of the masses in the campaign operations.

据1940年《正太战役晋中各县动员情况统计》记载，仅晋中一地在正太战役中动员的民兵数量就达到了万余人。老乡们还为部队战士们准备了菜蔬、鸡羊、炒面、衣物、鞋子等。在这份统计里，八路军战士还对是否临时借粮、借粮是否留有收据都作了详细的记录。在一二九师等各部与八路军总部的来往电报中，同样也可以看到不少人民群众参与战役行动的电文。

It was precisely the enthusiastic participation of the masses that plunged the Japanese aggressors into the vast ocean of a people's war. A Japanese staff officer recalled after the war: "The Eighth Route Army's anti-Japanese fighting spirit was extremely strong. The residents of the Communist areas all mobilized to support the Eighth Route Army. Even women and children used bamboo baskets to help deliver hand grenades. Some of our units were often surrounded by enemies wielding big swords without warning and fell into a bitter struggle." Some Japanese soldiers wrote in bewilderment: "Every time we fight, the Eighth Route Army's wounded mysteriously disappear, while their ammunition never runs out." Yes, what never ran out was not only ammunition but also the "invisible army" hidden in the green curtain, the surging torrent of support from the front, the life-and-death protection bound by blood deeper than water, the deep bond of shared destiny. The Hundred-Regiment Campaign produced an epic of war in which army and people were united as one, sharing a common hatred for the enemy.

正是人民群众的踊跃参与，让日本侵略者陷入了人民战争的汪洋大海。一位日军参谋在战后回忆道：“八路军的抗战士气甚为旺盛，共产地区的居民，一齐动手支援八路军，连妇女儿童也用竹篓帮忙运送手榴弹。我方有的部队，往往冷不防被手执大刀的敌人包围而陷入苦战。”有的日军还困惑地写道：“每次战斗，八路军伤员都会神秘消失，而弹药却源源不断。”是的，源源不断的不仅是弹药，更是青纱帐里的“隐形大军”，是车轮滚滚的支前洪流，是血浓于水的生死守护，是命运与共的鱼水情深。百团大战，打出了军民一心、同仇敌忾的战争史诗。

The victory of the Hundred-Regiment Campaign dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese "cage policy," pinned down a large number of Japanese troops, and struck at their arrogance. The Hundred-Regiment Campaign tempered the people's army, enhanced the prestige of the Chinese Communist Party and the Eighth Route Army, and roused the morale of the entire nation at a time when the anti-Japanese situation was rather depressed. It became a crucial turning point in reversing the low morale of the War of Resistance and was another ironclad proof that the Chinese Communist Party and the armed forces it led played the role of the mainstay in the entire nation's War of Resistance. The Chinese Communist Party and the Eighth Route Army it led showed the world the patriotic spirit of "everyone is responsible for the rise or fall of the country" [3]3 "Everyone is responsible for the rise or fall of the country" (天下兴亡,匹夫有责) is a classical Chinese idiom expressing the idea that every individual bears responsibility for the fate of the nation.; the national integrity that would rather die than submit; the heroic mettle that feared no brute force and fought to the very end; and the indomitable, tenacious conviction in victory. These provided an inexhaustible spiritual driving force to sharpen our will and remain true to our original aspiration and founding mission [4]4 "Original aspiration and founding mission" (不忘初心、牢记使命) is a key slogan of the Chinese Communist Party, first formally promoted by Xi.

百团大战的胜利，给日军的“囚笼政策”以沉重打击，钳制了日军大量兵力，打击了日军的嚣张气焰。百团大战既锻炼了人民军队，提高了中国共产党和八路军的威望，又在抗日局面比较低沉时振奋了全国民心，成为扭转抗战低迷情绪的关键转折点，是中国共产党及其领导的武装力量在全民族抗战中发挥中流砥柱作用的又一铁证。中国共产党及其领导的八路军向世界展示了天下兴亡、匹夫有责的爱国情怀，视死如归、宁死不屈的民族气节，不畏强暴、血战到底的英雄气概，百折不挠、坚忍不拔的必胜信念，为砥砺我们不忘初心、牢记使命提供了不竭的精神动力。

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心