Historical Revelations of the Key to the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech at the Commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, with its profound historical perspective, broad international vision, and forward-looking strategic thinking, profoundly elaborated the great practical significance and far-reaching historical significance of the victory in this war. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “History carries the past and also enlightens the future. On the new journey of the New Era, the people of all ethnic groups across the country must, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, uphold Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of the ‘Three Represents,’ the Scientific Outlook on Development, fully implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, unswervingly follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, inherit and carry forward the great spirit of the War of Resistance, forge ahead with vigor and courage, and strive unitedly to comprehensively advance the building of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization!” The victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a great victory in which the Communist Party of China played the role of the mainstay. The mainstay role of the Communist Party of China was the key to the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Deeply understanding and grasping this major issue, drawing wisdom and strength from the history of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and upholding the Party’s leadership on the new journey of the New Era are of extremely great practical and historical significance for achieving the Second Centenary Goal and realizing the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

习近平总书记在纪念中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利80周年大会上的重要讲话，以深邃历史眼光、宏大国际视野和未来战略思考，深刻阐述了这场战争胜利的伟大现实意义和深远历史意义。习近平总书记指出：“历史承载过去，也启迪未来。新时代新征程，全国各族人民要在中国共产党坚强领导下，坚持马克思列宁主义、毛泽东思想、邓小平理论、‘三个代表’重要思想、科学发展观，全面贯彻新时代中国特色社会主义思想，坚定不移走中国特色社会主义道路，传承和弘扬伟大抗战精神，踔厉奋发、勇毅前行，为以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业而团结奋斗！”中国人民抗日战争胜利是中国共产党发挥中流砥柱作用的伟大胜利。中国共产党的中流砥柱作用是中国人民抗日战争胜利的关键。深刻认识和把握这个重大问题，从中国人民抗日战争的历史中汲取智慧和力量，在新时代新征程上，坚持好党的领导，对实现第二个百年奋斗目标、实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦，具有极其重大的现实意义和历史意义。

I. The Communist Party of China Was the Earliest Propagandist, Mobilizer, Organizer, and Resister of the Chinese People Against Japanese Militarist Aggression

一、中国共产党是中国人民反抗日本军国主义侵略的最早宣传者、动员者、组织者、抗击者

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “After the September 18 Incident, the Chinese people rose up to resist in the white mountains and black waters, becoming the starting point of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and at the same time unveiling the prelude to the World Anti-Fascist War.” [1]1 The “white mountains and black waters” (白山黑水) is a classical Chinese four-character idiom referring specifically to the Changbai Mountains and the Heilong River, used as a poetic synecdoche for the Northeast region of China (Manchuria). Before the September 18 Incident, in the face of provocations by the Japanese army, Chiang Kai-shek telegraphed the Northeast Army: Regardless of how the Japanese army subsequently provokes in the Northeast, our side should offer no resistance and strive to avoid conflict. After the incident occurred, the Nationalist government even telegraphed the Northeast Army: This action by the Japanese army is merely of an ordinary provocative nature; to avoid expanding the incident, we absolutely adhere to a policy of non-resistance. Therefore, under the sudden attack of the Japanese army, the Northeast Army, except for a few units, retreated without a fight, and large swaths of territory were soon lost. At this most critical moment, the Communist Party of China resolutely shouldered the heavy responsibility of being the vanguard of the Chinese nation in resisting Japan, unhesitatingly marching at the forefront of the movement to resist Japan and save the nation.

习近平总书记指出：“九一八事变后，中国人民就在白山黑水间奋起抵抗，成为中国人民抗日战争的起点，同时揭开了世界反法西斯战争的序幕。”九一八事变前，面对日本军队的挑衅，蒋介石电告东北军：无论日本军队此后如何在东北寻衅，我方应不予抵抗，力避冲突。事变发生后，国民党政府竟电告东北军：日军此举不过寻常寻衅性质，为免除事件扩大起见，绝对抱不抵抗主义。因此，在日军的突然袭击下，东北军除少数部队外均不战而退，大片国土很快沦丧。在这最危急的时刻，中国共产党毅然决然承担起抗日民族先锋的重任，义无反顾地走在了抗日救亡运动的最前列。

It was the first to raise the banner of armed resistance against Japan, sounding the first clarion call to save the nation from peril. In 1931, the day after the September 18 Incident broke out, the Manchuria Provincial Committee of the CPC issued the “Declaration on the Armed Occupation of Manchuria by Japanese Imperialism.” On the third day, the Central Committee of the CPC published the “Declaration of the Communist Party of China on the Violent Occupation of the Three Eastern Provinces Incident by Japanese Imperialism.” On the fifth day, it issued the “Resolution on the Incident of Japan’s Violent Occupation of Manchuria.” On the eighth day, i.e., September 25, the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, in the names of Zhu De, Mao Zedong, He Long, Peng Dehuai, and others, published the “Letter to the Brother Soldiers of the White Army on the Violent Occupation of Manchuria by Japanese Imperialism.” [2]2 The “White Army” (白军) was the Communist term for the military forces of the Kuomintang (Nationalist) government, in contrast to the Communist “Red Army.” Thereafter, the Central Committee of the CPC continued to issue declarations. In April 1932, the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic issued the “Declaration of War Against Japan,” which was nine years earlier than the Nationalist government’s formal declaration of war against Japan after the outbreak of the Pacific War in December 1941. These declarations, resolutions, etc., profoundly exposed the ambition of Japanese militarism to turn China into its colony, sternly condemned the Nationalist government’s policy of non-resistance that betrayed and humiliated the nation, put forward the proposition of resisting Japan and saving the nation by “arming the people’s national revolutionary war” to resist Japanese militarist aggression, demonstrated the clear-cut stance of the Communist Party of China in resolutely combating the Japanese aggressors, and proclaimed the heroic spirit and unwavering determination of the Chinese people to fight the Japanese aggressors to the bitter end.

最早举起武装抗日的旗帜，吹响挽救民族危亡的第一声号角。1931年，九一八事变爆发后第二天，中共满洲省委就发出《为日本帝国主义武装占领满洲宣言》。第三天，中共中央发表《中国共产党为日本帝国主义强暴占领东三省事件宣言》。第五天，又作出《关于日本帝国主义强占满洲事变的决议》。第八天即9月25日，中国工农红军以朱德、毛泽东、贺龙、彭德怀等名义，发表《为日本帝国主义强占满洲告白军士兵兄弟书》。此后，中共中央又连续发表宣言。1932年4月，中华苏维埃共和国临时中央政府发布《对日战争宣言》，这比1941年12月太平洋战争爆发后国民党政府正式对日宣战要早9年。这些宣言、决议等，深刻揭露了日本军国主义把中国变为其殖民地的野心，严厉谴责了国民党政府卖国、辱国的不抵抗政策，提出以“武装民众的民族革命战争”来抵抗日本军国主义侵略的抗日救亡主张，表明了中国共产党坚决抗击日本侵略者的鲜明立场，宣示了中国人民与日本侵略者血战到底的英雄气概和绝不屈服的坚定决心。

It took the lead in carrying out anti-Japanese actions, directly leading the anti-Japanese guerrilla war in the Northeast region. The Communist Party of China actively carried out work among the anti-Japanese volunteer armies, directly organized anti-Japanese armed forces, and created more than ten anti-Japanese guerrilla units. The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, formed in 1936, fought thousands of battles against Japanese and puppet troops under extremely difficult and harsh conditions, smashed many enemy “punitive expeditions,” effectively struck at the Japanese aggressors’ colonial rule in Northeast China, and inspired and encouraged the anti-Japanese fighting spirit and patriotic enthusiasm of the people across the country.

率先开展抗日行动，直接领导了东北地区抗日游击战争。中国共产党在抗日义勇军中积极开展工作，直接组织抗日武装，创建了10多支抗日游击队。1936年组建的东北抗日联军，在极端艰难困苦的条件下，同日、伪军进行了数千次的战斗，粉碎敌人多次“讨伐”，有力打击了日本侵略者在中国东北的殖民统治，激发和鼓舞了全国人民的抗日斗志和爱国热情。

It resolutely supported the widespread development of the anti-Japanese national salvation movement. The Communist Party of China successively supported the Battle of Shanghai and the Defense of the Great Wall, supported and assisted the Chahar People’s Anti-Japanese Allied Army, organized the Northern Expeditionary Anti-Japanese Vanguard, and in December 1935 launched the December 9th Movement that shook the whole country, encouraging and organizing intellectual youth to propagate resistance against Japan among the broad masses of workers and peasants, supporting the anti-Japanese patriotic activities of the “Seven Gentlemen” of the National Salvation Association and the Suiyuan War of Resistance, playing a positive role and exerting significant influence in promoting the rise of the nationwide anti-Japanese national salvation movement and facilitating cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in resisting Japan. [3]3 The “Seven Gentlemen” (七君子) were seven prominent Chinese intellectuals and leaders of the National Salvation Association who were arrested by the Nationalist government in November 1936 for advocating resistance against Japan and were later released in July 1937 after nationwide protests.

坚决支持广泛开展抗日救亡运动。中国共产党先后支持淞沪抗战、长城抗战，支持和帮助察哈尔民众抗日同盟军，组织北上抗日先遣队，并于1935年12月掀起震动全国的一二·九抗日救亡运动，鼓励和组织知识青年到广大工农群众中宣传抗日，支持救国会“七君子”的抗日爱国活动和绥远抗战，对推动全民族抗日救亡运动兴起、促进国共两党合作抗日发挥了积极作用和重大影响。

II. The Communist Party of China Was the Advocate, Organizer, Consolidator, and Defender of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, and the Strong Political Leadership Core for the Whole Nation’s United Resistance Against Japan

二、中国共产党是抗日民族统一战线的倡导者、组织者、巩固者、维护者，是全民族团结抗战的坚强政治领导核心

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “The Communist Party of China held high the banner of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, resolutely maintained, consolidated, and developed the united front, adhered to independence and self-reliance and united resistance against Japan, and safeguarded the overall situation of united resistance against Japan.” Faced with the extremely disparate balance of power between China and Japan, what was needed to achieve victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression? It relied on what Comrade Mao Zedong emphasized as “the great union of the Chinese people,” that is, to establish the broadest possible Anti-Japanese National United Front. The Communist Party of China was the active advocate, active organizer, firm consolidator, and firm defender of the nationwide Anti-Japanese National United Front. The Communist Party of China unswervingly promoted the whole nation’s persistence in the War of Resistance, becoming the glorious banner that led the whole nation’s War of Resistance to victory.

习近平总书记指出：“中国共产党高举抗日民族统一战线的旗帜，坚决维护、巩固、发展统一战线，坚持独立自主、团结抗战，维护了团结抗战大局。”面对中日两国极为悬殊的力量对比，要取得抗日战争的胜利，靠什么？靠毛泽东同志所强调的“中国人民的大联合”，也就是要建立起最广泛的抗日民族统一战线。中国共产党是全国抗日民族统一战线的积极倡导者、积极组织者、坚定巩固者、坚定维护者。中国共产党坚定不移推动全民族坚持抗战，成为引领全民族抗战走向胜利的光辉旗帜。

It actively advocated and promoted the establishment of the Anti-Japanese National United Front. In January 1933, the delegation of the CPC to the Communist International issued the “January 26 Directive Letter” in the name of the Central Committee of the CPC, which for the first time proposed creating as broad a national anti-imperialist united front as possible in the Northeast, gathering all possible forces against Japan. In August 1935, the delegation of the CPC to the Communist International drafted the “August First Declaration,” which clearly put forward the proposition of establishing an Anti-Japanese National United Front. In December 1935, the Communist Party of China held the Wayaobu Conference, formulating a new strategy for establishing the Anti-Japanese National United Front. [4]4 The Wayaobu Conference (瓦窑堡会议) was a key meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPC held in December 1935 in Wayaobu, Shaanxi, which formally adopted the policy of establishing a broad Anti-Japanese National United Front. After the Xi’an Incident broke out in December 1936, the Communist Party of China, proceeding from the greater national interest, set aside past grievances, facilitated the peaceful resolution of the Xi’an Incident, reversed the situation in China, and created the necessary prerequisite for the arrival of the whole nation’s War of Resistance. After the July 7 Incident broke out in 1937, the Chinese nation was at its most dangerous moment. Through the efforts and promotion of the Communist Party of China, based on the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, a nationwide united front including all ethnic groups in China, all democratic parties, all patriotic armies, patriotic figures from all walks of life, and overseas Chinese was formally established, and the situation of the whole nation’s comprehensive War of Resistance began to take shape. The Communist Party of China played an extremely important role in actively advocating and promoting the establishment of the Anti-Japanese National United Front. Japanese commentator on Chinese affairs Fujieda Takeo pointed this out in a book published in 1938. It stated: “Under the impetus of the Communist Party of China, the Anti-Japanese National United Front became the main force driving the nationwide anti-Japanese movement.” “As the actual underground guiding force, although the Communist Party of China had long been hidden in the shadows of society and had not received sufficient attention from journalists and international public opinion, they were nonetheless an indispensable backbone of this movement. After the Jiangxi Soviet Area was captured and they were forced to withdraw from Central and South China to the northwestern border, people once thought that the CPC had lost its former advantages, but facts proved that it was still the core of the anti-Japanese movement.” This is just as Comrade Mao Zedong said, “If it were not for the Communist Party, the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region sincerely coming forward to advocate stopping the civil war and uniting to resist Japan, no one would have initiated the Anti-Japanese National United Front, no one would have led the peaceful resolution of the Xi’an Incident, and there would have been no way to carry out the War of Resistance.”

积极倡导推动建立抗日民族统一战线。1933年1月，中共驻共产国际代表团以中共中央名义发出“一二六指示信”，首次提出在东北尽可能造成全民族的反帝统一战线，聚集一切可能的反日力量。1935年8月，中共驻共产国际代表团起草“八一宣言”，鲜明提出建立抗日民族统一战线的主张。1935年12月，中国共产党召开瓦窑堡会议，制定建立抗日民族统一战线的新策略。1936年12月西安事变发生后，中国共产党从民族大义出发，捐弃前嫌，促成西安事变的和平解决，扭转了中国时局，为全民族抗战的到来创造了必要前提。1937年七七事变爆发后，中华民族到了最危险的时候，在中国共产党的努力和推动下，以第二次国共合作为基础，包括中国各民族、各民主党派、各爱国军队、各阶层爱国人士以及海外华侨华人在内的全民族统一战线正式建立，全民族全面抗战的局面开始形成。中国共产党在积极倡导和推动建立抗日民族统一战线中发挥了极其重要的作用。日本中国事务评论家藤枝丈夫在1938年出版的书中就曾点评到这一点。其中讲到：“在中国共产党的推动下，抗日民族统一战线成为推动全国抗日运动的主要力量。”“作为实际的地下指导力量，中国共产党虽长期隐于社会暗处，未受到新闻记者与国际舆论的足够关注，但他们却是这场运动不可或缺的骨干力量。在江西苏区被攻陷、被迫退出华中与华南、退至西北边陲之后，人们一度认为中共已经失去了昔日的优势，但事实证明，它依然是抗日运动的核心。”这正如毛泽东同志所说的那样，“如果没有共产党、八路军、新四军和陕甘宁边区真心实意地出来主张停止内战一致抗日，那就无人发起抗日民族统一战线，无人领导和平解决西安事变，那就无从实行抗日。”

Resolutely uphold and consolidate and develop the Anti-Japanese National United Front. After the War of Resistance entered the stage of strategic stalemate, because Japan adopted political inducements to surrender toward the Chinese Kuomintang, Britain and the United States pursued a policy of appeasement toward Japan, and the Kuomintang, out of hostility toward and fear of the growth and strengthening of the people’s armed forces led by the Chinese Communist Party, the situation of united resistance several times faced an adverse turn of events. The Chinese Communist Party unequivocally put forward the political propositions of “persist in resistance, oppose capitulation; persist in unity, oppose splits; persist in progress, oppose retrogression,” advanced the general tactical policy of “develop progressive forces, win over intermediate forces, and isolate die-hard forces,” adhered to the policy of “seeking unity through struggle” and the principle of struggle that is “justifiable, advantageous, and restrained,” and repelled three anti-Communist high tides launched by the Kuomintang die-hards.[5]5 The “three anti-Communist high tides” refer to three major military and political offensives launched by the Kuomintang die-hard forces against the Chinese Communist Party during the War of Resistance: the first (1939-1940) centered on the Shanxi Incident, the second (1941) centered on the Southern Anhui Incident, and the third (1943) centered on the planned attack on the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. Especially in the struggle following the Southern Anhui Incident,[6]6 The Southern Anhui Incident (January 1941) was a major clash in which Kuomintang troops ambushed and destroyed the New Fourth Army headquarters column in southern Anhui province, killing or capturing most of its personnel, including the army commander Ye Ting. the Chinese Communist Party put the overall situation of the War of Resistance first; while engaging in self-defense and counterattack, it maintained the situation of united resistance, so that Kuomintang-Communist cooperation never completely broke down. This effectively preserved the Anti-Japanese National United Front and provided a powerful political guarantee for ultimately winning the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

坚决维护和巩固发展抗日民族统一战线。抗战进入战略相持阶段后，由于日本对中国国民党采取政治诱降手段，英美对日本实行绥靖政策，再加上国民党对中国共产党领导的人民武装力量发展壮大的敌视和畏惧，团结抗战几度出现形势逆转的不利局面。中国共产党旗帜鲜明地提出“坚持抗战、反对投降，坚持团结、反对分裂，坚持进步、反对倒退”的政治主张，提出“发展进步势力，争取中间势力，孤立顽固势力”的策略总方针，坚持“以斗争求团结”的方针和“有理、有利、有节”的斗争原则，击退了国民党顽固派发起的三次反共高潮。尤其在皖南事变发生后的斗争中，中国共产党以抗战大局为重，在自卫和反击的同时，维护团结抗战局面，使国共合作始终没有破裂，有效维护了抗日民族统一战线，为最终夺取中国人民抗日战争的胜利提供了强有力的政治保障。

III. The Chinese Communist Party implemented the line of total resistance and put forward the general strategic policy of protracted war; it was the proposer, guide, leader, and practitioner of the correct strategy and tactics for the War of Resistance

三、中国共产党实行全面抗战路线并提出持久战战略总方针，是抗日战争正确战略战术的提出者、指导者、引领者、践行者

General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: “The victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a great victory won by the entire nation united in courageous resistance. The Chinese Communist Party insisted on mobilizing the people and relying on the people, driving the formation of a mighty historical torrent of nationwide resistance.”[7]7 Xi Jinping, speech at a symposium commemorating the 75th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, September 3, 2020. Facing the brutal aggression of Japanese militarism, how was China to wage the War of Resistance? What kind of process would the War of Resistance go through? Could China ultimately win? These were questions that people generally cared about but could not see clearly at the beginning of total resistance. If these questions could not be given a scientific answer, it would be impossible to correctly guide this war. The Chinese Communist Party and Comrade Mao Zedong accurately grasped the laws of the War of Resistance, put forward and insisted on implementing the line of total resistance and the general strategic policy of protracted war, providing correct guidance and scientific direction for winning the War of Resistance.

习近平总书记指出：“中国人民抗日战争胜利是全民族众志成城奋勇抗战的伟大胜利。中国共产党坚持动员人民、依靠人民，推动形成了全民族抗战的历史洪流。”面对日本军国主义的野蛮侵略，中国要怎样抗战？抗战将经历一个什么样的过程？中国最后能不能胜利？这是全面抗战开始后人们普遍关心而又一时看不清的问题。如果对这些问题不能给予科学的回答，就无法正确指导这场战争。中国共产党和毛泽东同志准确把握抗日战争的规律，提出并坚持实行全面抗战路线和持久战战略总方针，为夺取抗战胜利提供了正确指导和科学指引。

Implement the line of total resistance. From the very beginning of total resistance, the Chinese Communist Party called on the entire nation to carry out a general mobilization and to implement a line of total resistance in which the entire people participated in the war and supported the war. The Chinese Communist Party deeply understood that “the deepest roots of the great power of war lie in the masses of the people.”[8]8 Mao Zedong, “On Protracted War” (May 1938), *Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung*, Vol. II. As long as the Chinese masses were organized, “the Japanese aggressors would be placed before our hundreds of millions of people who have stood up, making them like a wild buffalo charging into a ring of fire; with a single shout from us we would give it a great fright, and this wild buffalo would be burned to death.”[9]9 Ibid. In order to organize the scattered masses, the Chinese Communist Party led the establishment of anti-Japanese and national salvation organizations such as the Vanguard of National Liberation of the Chinese Nation and the Women’s National Salvation Association. At the same time, according to the nature of the work, it organized rescue teams, stretcher teams, propaganda teams, reconnaissance teams, and battlefield service corps, truly realizing nationwide mobilization, nationwide militarization, and nationwide participation in the war. In 1944, Harrison Forman, a reporter for the American *New York Times*, after conducting six months of interviews in Yan’an and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Anti-Japanese Base Area, wrote a book titled *Report from Red China*. In it, he wrote: “Anyone who has seen the Eighth Route Army cannot doubt them; the reason they can persist in fighting with captured weapons or crude weapons is precisely because they stand together with the people.”[10]10 Harrison Forman, *Report from Red China* (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1945).

实行全面抗战路线。从全面抗战一开始，中国共产党就号召全国人民实行总动员，实行全体人民参加战争、支援战争的全面抗战路线。中国共产党深刻认识到，“战争的伟力之最深厚的根源，存在于民众之中”。只要把中国民众组织起来，“就把日本侵略者置于我们数万万站起来了的人民之前，使它像一匹野牛冲入火阵，我们一声唤也要把它吓一大跳，这匹野牛就非烧死不可。”为了把分散的民众组织起来，中国共产党领导建立了中华民族解放先锋队、妇女救国会等抗日救亡组织。同时按照工作性质，组织了救护队、担架队、宣传队、侦察队、战地服务团等，真正实现了全民动员、全民皆兵、全民参战。1944年，美国《纽约时报》记者哈里逊·福尔曼在延安和晋绥抗日根据地进行了6个月的采访后，写出一本《来自红色中国的报告》。书中这样写道：“凡见到过八路军的都不会怀疑他们，他们所以能以缴获的武器或简陋的武器坚持作战，就是因为他们与人民站在一起。”

Implement the general strategic policy of protracted war. In December 1935, Comrade Mao Zedong, at a meeting of Party activists, put forward the view that “to defeat the enemy, one must prepare for a protracted war.”[11]11 Mao Zedong, “On Tactics Against Japanese Imperialism” (December 27, 1935), *Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung*, Vol. I. In July 1936, during a conversation with American journalist Edgar Snow, he clearly set forth the policy of achieving victory through protracted war. After the outbreak of total resistance, in order to refute the erroneous views of “national subjugation” and “quick victory” that were clamorous in society at the time, Comrade Mao Zedong wrote *On Protracted War* in May 1938. In it, he deeply analyzed the domestic and international situation, systematically summarized historical experience, and clearly pointed out that protracted war was the overall strategic policy for the War of Resistance and that final victory would belong to China. Comrade Mao Zedong scientifically foresaw that the protracted War of Resistance would pass through three stages: strategic defense, strategic stalemate, and strategic counteroffensive. He considered the stage of strategic stalemate to be the “pivot” for turning protracted resistance into final victory. This scientific prediction was completely confirmed in the course of the War of Resistance. The general strategic policy of protracted war not only ideologically armed the Chinese Communist Party and the broad masses of soldiers and civilians under its leadership, but also caused great shock among the upper echelons of the Kuomintang and had a major impact nationwide. Some important Kuomintang officials carefully read *On Protracted War*, deeply admired it, and gave it high praise, considering that *On Protracted War* was very profound in its analysis, possessed great foresight and persuasiveness, and was the highest strategic policy for defeating the enemy.[12]12 For example, Kuomintang military theorist Jiang Baili and General Bai Chongxi both expressed admiration for *On Protracted War*.

实行持久战的战略总方针。1935年12月，毛泽东同志在党的活动分子会议上提出“要打倒敌人必须准备作持久战”的观点。1936年7月，他在同美国记者埃德加·斯诺谈话时，明确提出通过持久战取得胜利的方针。全面抗战爆发后，为驳斥社会上喧嚣一时的“亡国论”和“速胜论”等错误观点，毛泽东同志于1938年5月撰写了《论持久战》，深入分析国内外形势，系统总结历史经验，明确指出持久战是抗日战争总的战略方针，最后胜利是中国的。毛泽东同志科学预见到，持久的抗日战争将经过战略防御、战略相持和战略反攻三个阶段，认为战略相持阶段是持久抗战转到最后胜利的“枢纽”。这一科学预见，在抗战中得到完全证实。持久战的战略总方针不仅从思想上武装了中国共产党及其领导下的广大军民，而且在国民党高层引起很大震动，在全国产生重大影响。国民党一些政要都曾仔细阅读过《论持久战》，深为赞赏，给予高度评价，认为《论持久战》分析十分深刻，有很大的预见性和说服力，是克敌制胜的最高战略方针。

Implement the strategy and tactics of guerrilla warfare. In order to realize the line of total resistance and the general strategic policy of protracted war, Comrade Mao Zedong for the first time elevated guerrilla warfare to a strategic position. Unlike the successive campaigns of conventional warfare on the frontal battlefield, the focus of guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines was on the area rather than the point, on continuity rather than stages, on the whole rather than the individual, and on strategy rather than campaigns. In essence, it was a special grand strategic campaign in the War of Resistance that lasted the longest and involved continuous combat operations. In the extremely arduous struggles of countering “mopping-up” and “clearing the countryside,” the soldiers and civilians behind enemy lines created many extremely effective, flexible, and diverse methods for annihilating the enemy, such as ambushes, sabotage operations, landmine warfare, tunnel warfare, and sparrow warfare, making the Japanese army like a trapped beast, sinking into the vast ocean of people’s war. Masamori Tsukamoto, a Japanese officer who had served as a staff officer in the Japanese North China Area Army Headquarters, said: “The war waged by the Chinese Communist Eighth Route Army against the Japanese army was a special war that no military manual had ever written about or experienced.”[13]13 Quoted in a Chinese military history source; the original Japanese text is not independently verified here. Practice proved that independent guerrilla warfare was the best form of combat for the people’s army to bring its political and military advantages into play, and it was the only correct political and military policy for persisting in protracted resistance and ultimately completely defeating the Japanese aggressors.

实行游击战的战略战术。为了实现全面抗战路线和持久战战略总方针，毛泽东同志首次将游击战提高到战略地位。与正面战场常规作战的一次次战役不同，敌后游击战的重点是面而不是点，是持续而不是阶段，是整体而不是个别，是战略而不是战役，实质上是抗日战争中时间最长、战斗战役持续不断的一场特殊战略大会战。在极为艰苦的反“扫荡”、反“清乡”斗争中，敌后军民创造了很多极为有效、灵活多样的歼敌方法，如伏击战、破袭战、地雷战、地道战、麻雀战等，使日军犹如困兽，陷入人民战争的汪洋大海。曾在日军华北方面军司令部任参谋的日军将领冢本政登说：“中共八路军对日本军进行的战争，是一场任何条令都未写过也未体验过的特殊战争。”实践证明，独立自主的游击战争是人民军队发挥政治优势和军事优势最好的作战形式，是坚持持久抗战、最终彻底战胜日本侵略者的唯一正确的政治军事方针。

IV. The vast enemy rear areas opened up by the Chinese Communist Party gradually rose to become the main battlefield of the War of Resistance, and the people’s anti-Japanese armed forces led by the Chinese Communist Party played a decisive role in winning the War of Resistance

四、中国共产党开辟的广大敌后战场逐步上升为抗日战争主战场，中国共产党领导的人民抗日武装为夺取抗战胜利发挥了决定性作用

General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: “The enemy rear areas opened up under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the frontal battlefield commanded by the Kuomintang cooperated and coordinated, forming a strategic situation of jointly combating the Japanese aggressors.”[14]14 Xi Jinping, speech at a symposium commemorating the 75th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, September 3, 2020. The Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was composed of the frontal battlefield, with the Kuomintang army as the main body, and the vast enemy rear areas led by the Chinese Communist Party. In the War of Resistance, the frontal battlefield and the enemy rear areas cooperated and coordinated, both playing important roles. However, in different historical stages, their status and roles were different. Comrade Ye Jianying once pointed out: “China’s War of Resistance, from the very beginning, was divided into two major battlefields, the frontal and the enemy rear, and after the fall of Wuhan in October 1938, the enemy rear battlefield actually became China’s main battlefield.”[15]15 Ye Jianying, speech at a meeting of senior military cadres, circa 1944-1945. Looking at the entire process of the War of Resistance, the frontal battlefield played the role of the main battlefield for a period of history, especially during the stage of strategic defense. When the War of Resistance entered the stage of strategic stalemate, the enemy rear battlefield gradually became the main battlefield. In the process of opening up enemy rear areas, carrying out guerrilla warfare, and establishing anti-Japanese democratic base areas, the people’s armed forces led by the Chinese Communist Party grew from small to large and from weak to strong, playing a decisive role in winning the final victory of the War of Resistance.

习近平总书记指出：“中国共产党领导开辟的敌后战场和国民党指挥的正面战场协力合作，形成了共同抗击日本侵略者的战略局面。”中国人民抗日战争由以国民党军队为主体的正面战场和中国共产党领导的广大敌后战场所构成。在抗日战争中，正面战场和敌后战场协力合作，都发挥了重要作用，但是，在不同的历史阶段，其地位和作用是不同的。叶剑英同志曾指出：“中国抗战，一开始就分为正面和敌后两大战场，而自1938年10月武汉失守以后，敌后战场就在实际上成了中国的主要战场。”纵观抗日战争的全过程，正面战场在一段历史时期，特别是在战略防御阶段起着主战场的作用。当抗日战争进入战略相持阶段后，敌后战场逐渐成为主战场。在开辟敌后战场、开展游击战争、建立抗日民主根据地的过程中，中国共产党领导的人民武装从小到大、由弱变强，为夺取抗战的最后胜利发挥了决定性作用。

An important force in the strategic defensive phase. In the early period of the War of Resistance, the frontal battlefield, with the Kuomintang army as its main body, organized a series of campaigns such as those at Shanghai, Xinxian, Xuzhou, and Wuhan. The Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army each participated in the defensive operations of their respective war zones. On September 25, 1937, the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army achieved the great victory at Pingxingguan, annihilating over 1,000 enemy troops, shattering the so-called “invincible” myth of the Japanese army, and greatly boosting the confidence of the entire nation in the War of Resistance, while raising the prestige of the Chinese Communist Party and the Eighth Route Army. At the same time, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army penetrated deep behind enemy lines, mobilized the masses, waged guerrilla warfare, and established anti-Japanese democratic base areas. This not only effectively coordinated with the frontal battlefield’s operations against Japan but also posed a fatal threat to the Japanese rear, forcing the Japanese army to disperse its forces over a long period for two-front operations, thereby playing an important role in pushing the War of Resistance from the strategic defensive phase to the strategic stalemate phase and realizing a protracted war.

战略防御阶段的重要力量。抗战初期，以国民党军队为主体的正面战场，组织了淞沪、忻口、徐州、武汉等一系列会战。八路军、新四军分别参加了各战区防御作战。1937年9月25日，八路军第一一五师取得平型关大捷，歼敌1000余人，打破了日军所谓“不可战胜”的神话，极大振奋了全国军民的抗战信心，提高了中国共产党和八路军的声望。同时，八路军、新四军深入敌后，发动群众，开展游击战争，创建抗日民主根据地，不仅有力配合了正面战场的对日作战，而且构成了对日军后方的致命威胁，迫使日军长期分散兵力进行两面作战，从而为推动抗日战争由战略防御转入战略相持阶段、实现持久抗战发挥了重要作用。

The main force in the strategic stalemate phase. After the War of Resistance entered the strategic stalemate phase, the guerrilla warfare led by the Chinese Communist Party spread widely, and the enemy rear battlefield gradually became the main battlefield of the entire nation’s War of Resistance, with the people’s anti-Japanese armed forces led by the Chinese Communist Party gradually becoming the main force of the entire nation’s War of Resistance. From 1938 onward, the proportion of invading Japanese troops resisted by the forces led by the Chinese Communist Party was: nearly 59% in 1938, 62% in 1939, 58% in 1940, 75% in 1941, 63% in 1942, 58% in 1943, 64% in 1944, and 69% in 1945. From August 1940 to January of the following year, during a very difficult period in the War of Resistance, the Eighth Route Army launched the Hundred Regiments Offensive, carrying out large-scale attacks on Japanese and puppet forces in North China; by early December 1940, a total of 1,824 battles of various sizes had been fought, killing or wounding over 25,000 Japanese and puppet troops, capturing 281 Japanese soldiers and over 18,000 puppet troops, greatly boosting the confidence of the entire nation in the War of Resistance and fully demonstrating the immense power of the people’s war led by the Chinese Communist Party.

战略相持阶段的主要力量。抗战进入战略相持阶段后，中国共产党领导的抗日游击战争普遍展开，敌后战场逐渐成为全民族抗战的主战场，中国共产党领导的人民抗日武装力量逐渐成为全民族抗战的主力。从1938年起，中国共产党领导的军队抗击侵华日军的比例是：1938年近59％，1939年62％，1940年58％，1941年75％，1942年63％，1943年58％，1944年64％，1945年69％。1940年8月至翌年1月，在抗战局面非常困难的时期，八路军发动百团大战，对华北日、伪军开展大规模进攻；至1940年12月初，共进行大小战斗1824次，毙伤日、伪军2.5万余人，俘日军281人、伪军1.8万余人，极大地振奋了全国人民的抗战信心，充分展现了中国共产党领导的人民战争的强大威力。

The decisive force in the strategic counteroffensive phase. After 1943, the enemy rear battlefield began to reverse the difficult situation, launching local counteroffensives, gradually transitioning from guerrilla warfare to mobile warfare, recovering large amounts of lost territory, and becoming a strategic base for the general counteroffensive, making a major contribution to the final victory of the War of Resistance. By the end of the War of Resistance, the people’s army had grown to approximately 1.32 million troops, and the militia to over 2.6 million people; the anti-Japanese democratic base areas, i.e., the liberated areas, led by the Chinese Communist Party numbered 19, covering an area of nearly 1 million square kilometers, with a population of nearly 100 million. The anti-Japanese democratic base areas not only sustained the War of Resistance but also pointed a new direction for Chinese society, making people feel that China was moving toward a bright future. This stood in stark contrast to the political autocracy, bureaucratic corruption, and economic depression of the Kuomintang-controlled areas. As Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out in 1944, “China has not perished because we have our Communist Party, the Eighth Route Army, and the New Fourth Army; it is mainly we who have sustained the situation of the War of Resistance. This is the situation of China’s War of Resistance today.” In 1945, Comrade Mao Zedong, with full confidence, emphasized at the Seventh National Congress of the CPC, “Our Party has already become the center of the Chinese people’s resistance to Japan and national salvation, has already become the center of the Chinese people’s liberation, and has already become the center of defeating the aggressors and building a new China.” History fully proves that the persistence and development of the enemy rear battlefield led by the Chinese Communist Party made a great contribution to the victory of the War of Resistance and played a strategic leading role in changing the entire war situation.

战略反攻阶段的决胜力量。1943年以后，敌后战场开始扭转困难局面、展开局部反攻，逐步实现由游击战向运动战的转变，收复了大量失地，成为全面反攻的战略基地，为抗日战争的最终胜利作出重大贡献。到抗日战争结束时，人民军队发展到约132万人，民兵发展到260余万人；中国共产党领导的抗日民主根据地即解放区已有19块，面积达到近100万平方公里，人口近1亿。抗日民主根据地不仅支撑了抗战，而且给中国社会指出了新的方向，使人们感受到中国正在走向光明的未来。这同国民党统治区政治专制、吏治腐败、经济萧条的局面形成鲜明对照。正如毛泽东同志1944年所指出的那样，“中国不亡，是由于有了我们共产党、八路军、新四军，主要地由我们支持了抗战局面。这就是今天中国的抗战形势。”1945年，毛泽东同志在中共七大上满怀豪情地强调，“我们的党已经成了中国人民抗日救国的重心，已经成了中国人民解放的重心，已经成了打败侵略者、建设新中国的重心。”历史充分证明，中国共产党领导的敌后战场的坚持和发展，为抗日战争的胜利作出了巨大贡献，起到了改变整个战局的战略引领作用。

V. The great spirit of the War of Resistance forged by the Chinese Communist Party uniting and leading the people provided a powerful spiritual support for winning the War of Resistance

五、中国共产党团结带领人民铸就的伟大抗战精神，为夺取抗战胜利提供了强大精神支撑

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “In the magnificent process of the War of Resistance, the Chinese people nurtured the great spirit of the War of Resistance, showing the world the patriotic sentiment of ‘everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the nation,’ the national integrity of facing death unflinchingly and preferring death to surrender, the heroic mettle of defying brute force and fighting to the bitter end, and the indomitable and unyielding belief in victory.” The Chinese people’s history of the War of Resistance is a history of resistance against the Japanese aggressors, and even more so a history of forging the great spirit of the War of Resistance. Facing the invasion of Japanese militarism, Chinese Communists always stood on the front line of the War of Resistance, with great patriotic spirit and revolutionary heroism in concrete actions, uniting and leading the people in bloody battles and advancing courageously, forging together with the people the great spirit of the War of Resistance, and gathering powerful spiritual strength for winning the War of Resistance.

习近平总书记指出：“中国人民在抗日战争的壮阔进程中孕育出伟大抗战精神，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。”中国人民的抗战史是一部对日本侵略者的反抗史，更是一部伟大抗战精神的锻造史。面对日本军国主义的入侵，中国共产党人始终站在抗日战争最前线，以伟大的爱国主义精神和革命英雄主义的实际行动，团结带领人民浴血奋战、勇往直前，同人民一起铸就了伟大抗战精神，为夺取抗日战争胜利凝聚了强大精神力量。

Chinese Communists played a vanguard, exemplary, and leading role. In October 1938, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out in “The Role of the Chinese Communist Party in the National War”: “Communist Party members should display the highest degree of initiative in the national war; and this initiative should be concretely manifested in all aspects, that is, they should play a vanguard and exemplary role in all aspects.” Throughout the 14 years of arduous and bitter struggle in the War of Resistance, no matter how difficult the conditions, how dangerous the situation, or how brutal the war, Chinese Communists always fought bravely on the front line, “swearing to live or die with the mountains and rivers,” building a steel Great Wall to save the nation from peril with their flesh and blood, propping up the backbone of the Chinese nation, and preserving and maintaining the nation’s fortitude and dignity. Heroic groups under the leadership of the Communist Party, such as the “Five Heroes of Langya Mountain” of the Eighth Route Army, the “Liu Laozhuang Company” of the New Fourth Army, and the eight female fighters of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, along with numerous outstanding Chinese Communists represented by Yang Jingyu, Zhao Shangzhi, Zhao Yiman, Zuo Quan, and Peng Xuefeng, shed their last drop of blood for the victory of the War of Resistance. From the White Mountains and Black Waters [16]16 The White Mountains and Black Waters (白山黑水) is a traditional poetic reference to the Changbai Mountains and the Heilong River, symbolizing the northeastern region of China, where the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army fought. to both sides of the Great Wall, and from north to south of the Yangtze River, Chinese Communists fought together with the people, their blood flowing together, composing a heroic epic that shook heaven and earth. Recalling the Battle of Huangtuling [17]17 The Battle of Huangtuling (黄土岭之战) was a battle in November 1939 in which the Eighth Route Army ambushed and defeated a Japanese force in Hebei Province, killing the Japanese commander Lieutenant General Abe Norihide. in which the Eighth Route Army routed the Japanese army, the writer Wei Wei once wrote: “On the battlefield, it was very clear that this was a contest between two spirits: one was the Japanese ‘bushido’ spirit, the other was the revolutionary will of the old Red Army, to see which was more tenacious, which could overwhelm the other.”

中国共产党人发挥了先锋模范和示范带动作用。1938年10月，毛泽东同志在《中国共产党在民族战争中的地位》中指出：“共产党员应在民族战争中表现其高度的积极性；而这种积极性，应使之具体地表现于各方面，即应在各方面起其先锋的模范的作用。”在长达14年艰苦卓绝的抗战斗争中，无论条件多么艰苦、形势多么险恶、战争多么残酷，中国共产党人始终勇敢战斗在最前线，“誓与山河共存亡”，以血肉之躯筑起拯救民族危亡的钢铁长城，挺起了中华民族的脊梁，保持和维护了中华民族的血性和尊严。八路军的“狼牙山五壮士”、新四军的“刘老庄连”、东北抗联八位女战士等共产党领导下的英雄群体，杨靖宇、赵尚志、赵一曼、左权、彭雪枫等为代表的众多优秀共产党人，为抗战胜利流尽最后一滴血。白山黑水，长城内外，大江南北，中国共产党人同人民战斗在一起，鲜血流在一起，奏响了气壮山河的英雄凯歌。在追忆八路军击溃日军的黄土岭之战时，作家魏巍曾写道：“在战场上看得很清楚，这是两种精神在较量：一种是日本人的‘武士道’精神，一种是老红军的革命意志，看看究竟谁更顽强，谁压倒谁。”

The Chinese Communist Party awakened the nation and rallied the strength of the people. Under the influence and leadership of Chinese Communists, fighting for the nation and for the country became the loudest cry resounding across the land of China, rekindling and surging the patriotic sentiments buried deep in the hearts of the Chinese nation, with the consciousness and belief in national dignity, national confidence, and national self-strengthening rising to an unprecedented height. The broad masses united in hatred against the enemy and shared the national calamity, creating a vivid situation of “frontline officers and soldiers sacrificing their blood; all parties and groups uniting sincerely; people from all walks of life cooperating to save the nation.” Kuomintang generals such as Tong Linge, Zhao Dengyu, Zhang Zizhong, and Dai Anlan died for their country, and the “Eight Hundred Heroes” of the Kuomintang army fought tenaciously to the last moment. The sons and daughters of China, “four hundred million people rising up in unison, united in heart and spirit to take up arms,” embraced the determination to “advance with the enemy’s artillery fire, millions united as one,” and the conviction to defy brute force and persist in the War of Resistance to the end, gathering a majestic and powerful force, composing a magnificent epic that moves heaven and earth.

中国共产党唤起了民族的觉醒，凝聚了人民的力量。在中国共产党人的影响和带动下，为民族而战、为国家而战，成为响彻华夏大地的最强音，埋藏在中华民族内心深处的爱国情怀重新涌动激荡，民族自尊、民族自信、民族自强的意识和信念空前高涨。广大人民同仇敌忾、共赴国难，出现了“前线将士，牺牲流血；各党各派，精诚团结；各界人民，协力救亡”的生动局面。国民党将领佟麟阁、赵登禹、张自忠、戴安澜等以身殉国，国民党军“八百壮士”顽强战斗到最后一刻。中华儿女“四万万人齐蹈厉，同心同德一戎衣”，抱定了“我们万众一心，冒着敌人的炮火前进”的决心，抱定了不畏强暴、坚持抗战到底的信念，汇聚起气势磅礴的伟力，谱写出惊天地、泣鬼神的雄壮史诗。

It has been 80 years since the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japan and the World Anti-Fascist War. The smoke of war from 80 years ago has long since dissipated, but history must not be forgotten. Today, as we commemorate the great victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance, the most fundamental point is to remember that the Chinese Communist Party’s role as the mainstay was the key to the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance. History teaches us that the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is the foundation and lifeblood of the Party and the country, and the interests and destiny of the people of all ethnic groups across the country. The journey of the New Era and the new journey is an expedition full of glory and dreams, and on the road ahead, there will inevitably be major tests of high winds and rough waves, even terrifying waves. We must deeply understand the decisive significance of the “Two Establishments,” [18]18 The “Two Establishments” (两个确立) refers to establishing Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. enhance the “Four Consciousnesses,” [19]19 The “Four Consciousnesses” (四个意识) refers to the consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership. strengthen the “Four Confidences,” [20]20 The “Four Confidences” (四个自信) refers to confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. and achieve the “Two Upholds,” [21]21 The “Two Upholds” (两个维护) refers to upholding General Secretary Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and upholding the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. and, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, unite as one, forge ahead, and strive together to comprehensively advance the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization.

中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利80年了。80年前的战争硝烟早已散去，但历史不能忘记。今天，我们纪念中国人民抗日战争的伟大胜利，最根本的一条，就是要牢记中国共产党的中流砥柱作用是中国人民抗日战争胜利的关键。历史启示我们，中国共产党的领导是党和国家的根本所在、命脉所在，是全国各族人民的利益所系、命运所系。新时代新征程是充满光荣和梦想的远征，前进道路上必定会有风高浪急甚至惊涛骇浪的重大考验。我们要深刻领悟“两个确立”的决定性意义，增强“四个意识”、坚定“四个自信”、做到“两个维护”，在以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚强领导下，同心同德、砥砺前行，为以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业而团结奋斗。

(The author is the President of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the President of the Chinese Society of CPC History.)

（作者为中共中央党史和文献研究院院长、中国中共党史学会会长）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心