The Historical Position of China’s War of Resistance in the World Anti-Fascist War

World War II was an aggressive war launched by the German, Japanese, and Italian fascists to redivide spheres of influence in the world. Although the countries that were invaded differed in their paths of national development, war objectives, and world status, they reached consensus on the issue of anti-fascism, ultimately turning WWII into a world anti-fascist war for the defense of human morality and peace. China’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression was not only the longest lasting, largest in scale, and most sacrificial national liberation struggle since modern times, but also an important part of the World Anti-Fascist War. However, the international community in the Cold War structure long neglected China’s important role in the World Anti-Fascist War. In fact, the war form of WWII was a total war of unprecedented scale. It was difficult to win completely by military advantage alone; it was even more necessary to exhaust the opponent’s strategic resources and fighting will, driving it into a desperate situation of “nothing to fight with” and “no one willing to fight.” Although China was weak in national strength at that time, as the Eastern Main Battlefield of the World Anti-Fascist War, it relied on tenacious anti-war spirit, vast territorial depth, huge population size, and effective organizational mobilization capacity to play an irreplaceable role in exhausting Japan’s national power, pinning down Japanese military activities, eroding Japan’s war will, and disrupting Japan’s world strategy.

二战是由德日意法西斯为重新划分世界势力范围而发动的侵略战争，遭受侵犯的世界各国虽在国家发展道路、参战目标、世界地位等方面存在差异，但在反法西斯问题上达成一致，终使二战成为维护人类道义与和平的世界反法西斯战争。中国的抗日战争既是近代以来反抗外敌入侵持续时间最长、规模最大、牺牲最多的民族解放斗争，也是世界反法西斯战争的重要组成部分。然而，国际社会在冷战格局中曾长期忽视中国在世界反法西斯战争中的重要作用。事实上，二战的战争形态是规模空前的总体战，仅靠军事优势难以彻底取胜，更需消耗对手的战略资源与战斗意志，使其陷入“无物可战”与“无人愿战”的绝境。当时的中国虽国力弱小，但作为世界反法西斯战争的东方主战场，凭借顽强的抗战精神、广袤的国土纵深、庞大的人口规模与有效的组织动员能力等，在消耗日本国力、牵制日军活动、消磨日本的战争意志、破坏日本的世界战略等方面，发挥了不可替代的作用。

The Partial War of Resistance Lifted the Curtain on the World Anti-Fascist War

局部抗战揭开世界反法西斯战争的序幕

On September 18, 1931, the Japanese Kwantung Army [1]1 The Kwantung Army was the Japanese army stationed in the Kwantung Leased Territory (southern Manchuria) and later became the main invasion force in Northeast China. launched a war of aggression against Northeast China. The Chinese people began their difficult fourteen-year War of Resistance, lifting the curtain on the World Anti-Fascist War.

1931年9月18日，日本关东军发动侵略中国东北的战争，中国人民开始了十四年抗战的艰难历程，揭开世界反法西斯战争的序幕。

First, the September 18 Incident [2]2 The September 18 Incident refers to the Japanese Kwantung Army’s staged explosion on a railway near Mukden (Shenyang) on September 18, 1931, used as a pretext to invade and occupy Northeast China. opened the earliest anti-fascist battlefield in the world. The September 18 Incident was not only a war of Japanese aggression against China, but also had the nature of a coup d’état that promoted political fascistization at home through external expansion. Therefore, China’s partial war of resistance had an anti-fascist character. As the Italian, German, and Japanese fascists successively appeared on the stage, only a few countries in the world – China, Ethiopia, Spain, and others – conducted anti-fascist struggles in isolation without support. The September 18 Incident came earlier than the Ethiopian War of Resistance against Italy in 1935 and the Spanish Civil War in 1936, so China became the earliest anti-fascist battlefield.

其一，九一八事变开辟了世界上最早的反法西斯战场。九一八事变既是日军发动的侵华战争，也具有通过对外扩张促进国内政治法西斯化的政变性质。因此，中国的局部抗战具有反法西斯的性质。随着意德日法西斯相继粉墨登场，世界仅有中国、埃塞俄比亚、西班牙等少数国家在孤立无援中进行反法西斯斗争。九一八事变早于1935年的埃塞俄比亚抗意战争与1936年的西班牙内战，因此，中国成为最早的反法西斯战场。

Second, the partial war of resistance consumed the national power and military strength that Japan used to launch the war. The Northeast Volunteer Army [3]3 The Northeast Volunteer Army was a spontaneous anti-Japanese guerrilla force formed by various social groups in Northeast China after the September 18 Incident, initially not under unified political leadership. and the Northeast United Resistance Army [4]4 The Northeast United Resistance Army (Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army) was a unified guerrilla force formed by the Communist Party of China from 1936 to 1937, operating in Northeast China under extremely difficult conditions. led by the Communist Party of China severely struck the arrogant flame of the Japanese aggressors. According to calculations by Japanese historian Yoshida Yutaka, about 17,000 Japanese soldiers died during China’s partial war of resistance. Japan’s consumption of national power is difficult to calculate accurately, but it can be indirectly reflected from war expenditures. According to statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Finance (大蔵省) [5]5 The Japanese Ministry of Finance (大蔵省, Ōkura-shō) was the government ministry responsible for fiscal policy, budgeting, and currency until its reorganization in 2001., from 1931 to 1936, Japan’s total military expenditure was 5.1 billion yen. This also indirectly reflects that the partial war of resistance consumed Japan’s national power to a considerable extent.

其二，局部抗战消耗了日本发动战争的国力与军力。中国共产党领导的东北义勇军与东北抗日联军等，严重打击了日本侵略者的嚣张气焰。据日本历史学家吉田裕推算，中国局部抗战期间日本战死约17000人。日本的国力消耗难以准确计算，但可从战争支出来侧面反映。据日本大藏省统计，1931—1936年间，日本的军费总额共51亿日元。这也间接反映了局部抗战在相当程度上消耗了日本的国力。

Third, the partial war of resistance played a role in pinning down Japan’s strategy for world hegemony. Japan’s launch of the September 18 Incident included the goal of creating a strategic pivot against the Soviet Union from the perspective of a struggle for world hegemony and building a base for war preparations against the United States for hegemony. China’s partial war of resistance was not only an act of defending home and country by the Chinese nation, but also played an important role in pinning down Japan’s world strategy. In stark contrast to China’s resistance at this stage, the British, American, French and other great powers adopted an “appeasement” policy toward the aggressive actions of the German, Italian, and Japanese fascists.

其三，局部抗战对日本的世界称霸战略发挥了牵制作用。日本发动九一八事变，包含从争霸世界战略角度制造“反苏”战略支点、构筑对美争霸战争之战备基地的目的。中国的局部抗战，不仅是中华民族的保家卫国之举，亦为牵制日本的世界战略发挥了重要作用。该阶段与中国抗战形成鲜明对比的是，英美法等列强对德日意法西斯的侵略行动采取“绥靖”政策。

The Full-Scale War of Resistance Sounded the Alarm for the World Anti-Fascist War

全面抗战敲响世界反法西斯战争的警钟

On July 7, 1937, Japan launched a full-scale war of aggression against China [6]6 This refers to the July 7 Incident (Marco Polo Bridge Incident) of 1937, when a clash between Japanese and Chinese troops near Beijing escalated into full-scale war., and China began its full-scale war of resistance. Through protracted war, China not only greatly exhausted Japan, but also sounded the alarm for the full outbreak of the World Anti-Fascist War.

1937年7月7日，日本发动全面侵华战争，中国开始全面抗战。中国通过持久战，不仅极大地消耗了日本，而且敲响了世界反法西斯战争全面爆发的警钟。

First, before the outbreak of the Pacific War, China’s full-scale war of resistance had already greatly exhausted Japan’s national power and military strength, weakened the fighting will of the Japanese army and the support of the populace for the war. According to statistics from the Japanese Cabinet Office (総務庁) [7]7 The Japanese Cabinet Office (総務庁, Sōmuchō) was a government agency responsible for administrative management and statistics (reorganized in 2001)., from 1937 to 1941, the total number of Japanese casualties in China was over 510,000. According to statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Finance, in the same period Japan’s military expenditure on the China theater was 36.2 billion yen, with the highest annual proportion of the national budget reaching 77%. The great exhaustion of Japan on the China theater led to hardship in the lives of Japanese citizens and insufficient material supplies, seriously affecting their support for the war. The enemy rear battlefield [8]8 The enemy rear battlefield refers to the guerrilla operations and base areas established by the Communist Party of China behind Japanese lines, most notably in North and Central China. led by the Communist Party of China submerged the Japanese army in the vast ocean of people’s war, making them run around exhausted, and their fighting will severely declined.

其一，在太平洋战争爆发前，中国的全面抗战已经极大地消耗了日本的国力与军力，削弱了日军的战斗意志及国民对战争的支持态度。据日本总务厅统计，1937—1941年间，日军在华伤亡总数为51万余人。据日本大藏省统计，同期日本对中国战场的军费投入为362亿日元，占国家财政的年度最高比为77%。中国战场对日本的极大消耗，导致日本国民生活困苦，物资不足，严重影响其对战争的支持。中国共产党领导的敌后战场，使日军淹没于人民战争的汪洋大海，疲于奔命，其战斗意志也严重下降。

Second, China’s tenacious resistance forced Japan’s arrogant intention to redraw the world colonial order to be completely exposed, prompting the Western powers such as Britain and the United States to begin thinking and adopting countermeasures. Japan openly broke the Washington System [9]9 The Washington System refers to the post–World War I international order in East Asia established by the Washington Naval Treaty (1922) and related agreements, which sought to maintain a balance of power and China’s territorial integrity. constructed under the leadership of the United States and Britain, blockaded China’s coastal and inland river routes, seized the Chinese customs under British dominance, issued the so-called declaration of building a “New Order in East Asia” [10]10 The “New Order in East Asia” was a Japanese propaganda slogan from 1938 that announced Japan’s intention to establish a bloc under its leadership, rejecting the Western-dominated order., implemented an exclusive policy in the occupied areas, blockaded the concessions, and even occupied Hainan Island and some islands in the South China Sea, directly threatening the colonial rule of the Western powers in Southeast Asia. The powers began to aid China’s resistance, laying the groundwork for their later victory in the Pacific War in advance. After the outbreak of the European war, Japan, in order to resolve the Chinese theater that it could not take for a long time, took advantage of the gap to go south to Southeast Asia, exposing its ambition to reconstruct the world colonial order together with German and Italian fascism. This action prompted the United States and Britain to recognize the situation clearly. They not only strengthened aid to China, but also began to construct a US-British military cooperation system, laying the foundation for the establishment of the anti-fascist alliance.

其二，中国的顽强抵抗，迫使日本重洗世界殖民秩序的狂妄意图原形毕露，促使英美等西方列强开始思考并采取应对之策。日本公然打破美英主导构建的华盛顿体系，封锁中国近海与江河航路，劫夺英国主导下的中国海关，发表所谓建设“东亚新秩序”的宣言，在占领区实行独占政策，封锁租界，甚至占领海南岛及中国南海部分岛屿，直接威胁西方列强在东南亚的殖民统治。列强开始援华抗战，为其后取得太平洋战争的胜利提前布局。欧战爆发后，日本为解决久攻不下的中国战场，趁隙南下东南亚，暴露了与德意法西斯重建世界殖民秩序的野心。此举促使英美认清形势，不仅加强对华援助，而且开始构筑美英军事合作体制，为反法西斯联盟的建立奠定了基础。

Third, the full-scale war of resistance played an important role in pinning down Japan’s launch of an offensive against the Soviet Union. The “Northern Advance” [11]11 The “Northern Advance” (北進, Hokushin) was the Japanese Army’s strategic doctrine of expanding northward into the Soviet Far East, as opposed to the Navy’s “Southern Advance.” into the Soviet Far East had always been an important goal of the Japanese Army. Especially after the outbreak of the European war, the main force of the Japanese Army was bogged down in the quagmire of the China war, making it impossible to launch an offensive against the Soviet Union. This ensured the long-term stability of the Soviet Union’s eastern front, enabling it to concentrate on dealing with Germany and avoid falling into the predicament of fighting on two fronts.

其三，全面抗战对牵制日本发动对苏进攻发挥了重要作用。“北进”苏联远东地区，一直是日本陆军的重要目标。尤其是欧战爆发后，日本陆军主力深陷中国战争泥潭，使其无法发动对苏进攻。这保障了苏联东部战线的长期稳定，使之能够专心对德，避免陷入东西两线作战的困境。

In summary, until the outbreak of the Pacific War, China was the only battlefield in the East of the World Anti-Fascist War.

总之，直至太平洋战争爆发前，中国都是世界反法西斯战争中东方的唯一战场。

The Eastern Main Battlefield of the World Anti-Fascist War

世界反法西斯战争的东方主战场

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the war, World War II developed into a full-scale world anti-fascist war, and China became the Eastern Main Battlefield.

1941年12月7日，日本偷袭珍珠港，美国参战，二战发展为世界规模的全面反法西斯战争，中国成为东方主战场。

First, the Soviet Union transferred large forces deployed in the Far East westward to deal with the German fascists. It was not until the United States dropped the atomic bombs that the Soviet Red Army formally participated in the Far Eastern theater, playing an important role in defeating the Japanese Kwantung Army.

其一，苏联将布置在远东的大量兵力西调，去对付德国法西斯。直至美国投下原子弹后，苏联红军才正式参加远东战场，对击溃日本关东军起到重要作用。

Second, China’s resistance caused Japan’s national power to be nearly exhausted, prompting the rise of anti-war sentiment among Japanese citizens. According to statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Finance, from 1942 to 1945, Japan’s total military expenditure was 177.4 billion yen, with the highest annual proportion of the national budget reaching 85.3%. Japan’s military investment in this stage had reached its limit, and the consumption of national power also peaked. According to statistics from the Japanese Cabinet Office, after the outbreak of the Pacific War, Japanese casualties reached 1.86 million, with about 1.56 million killed on the China theater and the Pacific theater and over 300,000 wounded. According to statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare (厚生省) [12]12 The Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare (厚生省, Kōsei-shō) was responsible for social welfare, health, and pensions; it compiled wartime casualty statistics., from the start of the July 7 Incident to the end of World War II, Japan had 2.3 million military personnel and attached civilians killed, and 800,000 civilians killed, totaling 3.1 million. Subtracting the number of military personnel and attached civilians from the two statistics, the number of Japanese military personnel and attached civilians killed in the China theater from 1937 to 1941 should be about 740,000. Japan’s total expenditure on the China theater and the Pacific War was about 760 billion yen, 280 times the national budget, leading to inflation; at the time of defeat, the value of national debt was like waste paper. The war consumed enormous resources. Japan strengthened its controlled economy; metals, fibers, and leather products were given priority for military use, and civilian consumption had to use substitutes. The people could hardly maintain their livelihood, and anti-war sentiment rose, with even some directly accusing the Emperor and the military supreme command (軍部) [13]13 The military supreme command (軍部, Gunbu) refers to the collective leadership of the Japanese Army and Navy high command, which exercised strong influence over national policy during the war. of war crimes.

其二，中国抗战导致日本国力近乎枯竭，促使日本国民反战呼声抬头。据日本大藏省统计，1942—1945年间，日本的军费总额为1774亿日元，占日本国家财政的年度最高比为85.3%。该阶段日本的军事投入已达极限，对国力的消耗也达到顶峰。据日本总务厅统计，太平洋战争爆发后，日军伤亡为186万人，在中国战场与太平洋战场上共战死近156万人，伤30余万人。据日本厚生省统计，日本自发动七七事变到二战结束，军人、军属共死亡230万，民间死亡80万，共计310万人。二者统计军人、军属死亡人数相减，应为日本在1937—1941年间在中国战场的死亡人数，即仅该期间日本军人、军属在华战死人数应为74万人左右。日本对中国战场与太平洋战争的战费投入共约7600亿日元，是日本国家预算的280倍，导致通货膨胀，战败时国债价值形同废纸。战争对资源消耗巨大，日本强化统制经济，金属、纤维与皮革制品等优先用于军需，民间消费不得不用代替品，国民难以维持生计，反战呼声抬头，甚至有人直指天皇与军部战争罪责。

Third, the China theater played an important strategic pinning down and coordinating role for the countries of the anti-fascist coalition. From the July 7 Incident to the outbreak of the Pacific War, the China theater pinned down over 80% of the total strength of the Japanese Army; after the outbreak of the Pacific War, the China theater still pinned down 50%–60% of the Japanese Army, greatly reducing the pressure on the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and other allies. The Chinese military also coordinated operations with the allied forces, participating in the Burma campaign twice [14]14 China sent expeditionary forces to Burma in 1942 and 1944 to support the Allies against the Japanese, fighting notably at the Battle of Yenangyaung and in the campaign to reopen the Burma Road., and providing the allies with combat bases, strategic materials, war intelligence, etc., playing an important role in the allied victory in the Pacific theater. In addition, China made important contributions to the establishment of the postwar international order.

其三，中国战场对反法西斯联盟国家发挥了重要的战略牵制与配合作用。从七七事变到太平洋战争爆发前，中国战场牵制了日本陆军总兵力的80%以上，太平洋战争爆发后，中国战场仍牵制了50%～60%的日本陆军，大大减轻了美英苏等盟国的压力。中国军队还与盟军协同作战，两次入缅参战，为盟国提供作战基地、战略物资、战争情报等，对盟军在太平洋战场的胜利起到重要作用。此外，中国还为战后国际秩序的建立作出重要贡献。

China’s fourteen-year War of Resistance, with the China theater as the Eastern Main Battlefield of the World Anti-Fascist War, made an indelible contribution to the defense of human morality and world peace.

中国长达14年的抗日战争，中国战场作为世界反法西斯战争的东方主战场，为维护人类道义与世界和平作出了不可磨灭的贡献。

(The author is a professor at the College of History, Nankai University)

（作者系南开大学历史学院教授）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心