The Chinese Communist Party Was the Pillar of the Nationwide War of Resistance Against Japan

The Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japan was the longest, largest, and most costly national liberation struggle waged by the Chinese people against foreign invasion in modern times, and it was also the first national liberation struggle to achieve complete victory. This great victory thoroughly shattered Japanese militarism’s scheme to colonize and enslave China, and it washed away the national humiliation of repeated defeats in China’s resistance against foreign aggression since modern times. This great victory was a victory of the nationwide war of resistance, and a great victory in which the Chinese Communist Party played the role of the pillar.

中国人民抗日战争是近代以来中国人民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，也是第一次取得完全胜利的民族解放斗争。这一伟大胜利，彻底粉碎了日本军国主义殖民奴役中国的图谋，洗刷了近代以来中国抗击外来侵略屡战屡败的民族耻辱。这一伟大胜利，是全民族抗战的胜利，是中国共产党发挥中流砥柱作用的伟大胜利。

I. Proposing and Persistently Implementing the General Line of a Nationwide War of Resistance and the General Strategic Policy of Protracted War, Guiding the Correct Direction of the War of Resistance, and Strengthening the Confidence and Determination to Win the War of Resistance

一、提出并坚持实行全面抗战路线和持久战战略总方针，引领抗战胜利正确方向，坚定了争取抗战胜利的信心和决心

On the third day after the “September 18th Incident” [1]1 The Southern Anhui Incident (January 1941) was a major clash in which Kuomintang forces ambushed and largely destroyed the New Fourth Army headquarters column in southern Anhui, killing or capturing thousands of CCP troops and their commander Ye Ting. in 1931, the Chinese Communist Party issued a declaration, calling for “arming and mobilizing the people to give a serious answer to the Japanese bandits and all imperialists.” In 1932, after the “January 28th Incident” [2]2 The quotation is from a 1940 CCP Central Committee directive on the united front., the Chinese Communist Party, in the name of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic, issued a declaration of war against Japan, calling for “organizing the people’s anti-Japanese volunteer forces” and “fighting directly against Japan.” On the day after the “July 7th Incident” [3]3 The Marco Polo Bridge Incident (July 7, 1937) was the clash near Beijing that triggered the full-scale outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. broke out in 1937, the Central Committee of the CPC issued a telegram, demanding the implementation of a nationwide war of resistance and armed resistance against Japanese aggression. At the historical juncture of national peril, the Chinese Communist Party was the first to raise high the banner of armed resistance against Japan, and with its outstanding political leadership and correct strategic policies, it guided the forward direction of China’s War of Resistance, unswervingly promoting the entire nation’s persistence in resistance, unity, and progress, while opposing compromise, split, and regression.

1931年“九一八”事变后的第三天，中国共产党就发表宣言，号召“动员武装起来，给日本强盗与一切帝国主义以严重的回答。”1932年，“一·二八”事变后，中国共产党以中华苏维埃共和国临时中央政府名义发表对日战争宣言，号召“组织民众抗日义勇军”，“直接对日作战”。1937年“七七事变”爆发的第二天，中共中央即发表通电，要求实行全民族抗战，武装抗击日本侵略。在民族危亡的历史关头，中国共产党率先高举武装抗日旗帜，以卓越的政治领导力和正确的战略策略，指引中国抗战的前进方向，坚定不移推动全民族坚持抗战、团结、进步，反对妥协、分裂、倒退。

In August 1937, at the Luochuan Conference [4]4 The Battle of Pingxingguan (September 1937) was the first major victory of the Eighth Route Army over Japanese forces., Comrade Mao Zedong proposed and passed the “Ten-Point Program for Resisting Japan and Saving the Nation” of the Chinese Communist Party, establishing the political line of a nationwide war of resistance, emphasizing that “the combination of civilian strength and military strength will deal a fatal blow to Japanese imperialism.” In May 1938, in “On Protracted War,” Comrade Mao Zedong put forward the general strategic policy of protracted war, scientifically predicting that the War of Resistance Against Japan would go through three stages: strategic defense, strategic stalemate, and strategic counteroffensive. Starting from grasping the overall situation and overcoming a strong enemy with a weak force, Comrade Mao Zedong formulated a feasible and winning roadmap for the nationwide war of resistance: in the first and second stages, actively, flexibly, and in a planned manner carry out offensive warfare within defensive warfare, quick-decision warfare within protracted warfare, and exterior-line warfare within interior-line warfare; in the third stage, it is strategic counteroffensive warfare. In Comrade Mao Zedong’s view, whether the War of Resistance would be victorious depended on the mobilization of the people nationwide in the second stage, “the deepest roots of the great power of war lie among the people.” Therefore, “the army must be integrated with the people, so that the people see the army as their own; this army will be invincible, and a mere Japanese imperialism will not be enough to fight.” To this end, it was necessary to organize the people through “political mobilization for the War of Resistance”; unorganized people would not participate in resisting Japan. Mobilizing and organizing the people did not mean issuing orders to them, but rather “linking up with the life of soldiers and common people, turning political mobilization for war into a constant movement”; Communist Party members “should become models of learning; they are teachers of the people every day, but also students of the people every day.” They were to be integrated with the people, sharing hardships and joys, and bound together in life and death. In the anti-Japanese base areas, the army, in the intervals between battles, “went deep among the people, helping farmers carry water, chop firewood, look after children, do chores, and even help them till the fields.” Under the all-round mobilization of politics, economy, and culture, “the military and civilians in the enemy’s rear base areas extensively carried out guerrilla tactics and methods such as ambushes, sabotage operations, mine warfare, tunnel warfare, and sparrow warfare, plunging the Japanese aggressors into the vast ocean of people’s war.”

1937年8月，在洛川会议上，毛泽东同志提议并通过《中国共产党抗日救国十大纲领》，确立了全面抗战的政治路线，强调“民力和军力相结合，将给日本帝国主义以致命的打击”。1938年5月，毛泽东同志在《论持久战》中提出了持久战的战略总方针，科学地预见了抗日战争将经过战略防御、战略相持、战略反攻三个阶段。从把握全局、以弱敌强出发，毛泽东同志为全民族抗战制定了切实可行的致胜路线图：在第一和第二阶段中，主动地、灵活地、有计划地执行防御战中的进攻战，持久战中的速决战，内线作战中的外线作战；第三阶段中，是战略的反攻战。在毛泽东同志看来，抗战是否胜利取决于第二阶段全国民众的动员，“战争的伟力之最深厚的根源，存在于民众之中”。因而，“军队须和民众打成一片，使军队在民众眼睛中看成是自己的军队，这个军队便无敌于天下，个把日本帝国主义是不够打的”。为此，就要通过“抗战的政治动员”把民众组织起来，没有组织的民众是不会参加抗日的。动员民众、组织民众不是在民众面前发号施令，而是“联系士兵和老百姓的生活，把战争的政治动员，变成经常的运动”；共产党员“应成为学习的模范，他们每天都是民众的教师，但又每天都是民众的学生”。与民众打成一片，同甘共苦，生死相依。在抗日根据地，军队在作战间隙，“深入民间，帮助农民们挑水、打柴，带小孩，做杂务，更帮他们一起种田”。在政治、经济、文化的全方位动员之下，“敌后根据地军民广泛开展伏击战、破袭战、地雷战、地道战、麻雀战等游击战的战术战法，使日本侵略者陷入了人民战争的汪洋大海之中”。

The Chinese Communist Party insisted that soldiers and the people are the foundation of victory, and with its outstanding political leadership, it mobilized and relied on the people, opening up a broad historical stage for people’s war and pushing forward the formation of a historical torrent of nationwide war of resistance. Under the ideological armament of protracted war, the Chinese Communist Party adopted a complete set of correct strategic tactics, pointed out the correct direction for victory in the War of Resistance, and opened up a feasible path to victory, thereby strengthening the confidence and determination of the military and civilians nationwide to win the War of Resistance. History teaches us that upholding the Party’s overall leadership is the fundamental guarantee for the prosperity of the country and the nation, and the fundamental guarantee for the happiness and well-being of the people of all ethnic groups across the country. The great transformations of the New Era further demonstrate our Party’s great political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organization, and social appeal, highlighting the extraordinary strategic planning ability and tactical application level of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. On the new journey, we must unswervingly uphold and strengthen the Party’s overall leadership, give full play to the Party’s political and organizational advantages, persistently use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to consolidate souls and inspire minds, so that the Party always becomes the most reliable backbone of all the people, ensuring the correct direction of China’s socialist modernization.

中国共产党坚持兵民是胜利之本，以卓越的政治领导力动员人民、依靠人民，打开了人民战争的广阔历史舞台，推动形成了全民族抗战的历史洪流。在持久战的思想武装下，中国共产党采取一整套正确的战略战术，指明抗战胜利正确方向，开辟了一条切实可行的抗战致胜之路，从而坚定了全国军民争取抗战胜利的决心和信心。历史启示我们，坚持党的全面领导是国家和民族兴旺发达的根本所在，是全国各族人民幸福安康的根本所在。新时代的伟大变革进一步展现我们党的伟大政治领导力、思想引领力、群众组织力、社会号召力，彰显了以习近平同志为核心的党中央非凡的战略擘画能力和策略运用水平。新征程上，必须毫不动摇坚持和加强党的全面领导，充分发挥党的领导的政治优势和组织优势，坚持不懈用习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想凝心铸魂，使党始终成为全体人民最可靠的主心骨，确保我国社会主义现代化建设正确方向。

II. Actively Advocating for and Resolutely Maintaining the Anti-Japanese National United Front, Rallying the Strength of the Entire Nation to Jointly Resist Foreign Aggression

二、积极倡导建立并坚决维护抗日民族统一战线，凝聚全民族的力量共御外侮

The victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japan was achieved under the banner of the Anti-Japanese National United Front. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that at this moment of national crisis, the Chinese Communist Party, upholding the greater good of the nation, shouldered the historical responsibility of national salvation, and called for the establishment of an Anti-Japanese National United Front based on Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, in order to resist the aggression of the Japanese invaders and drive them out of China.

中国人民抗日战争胜利是在抗日民族统一战线旗帜下取得的胜利。习近平总书记指出，在此民族危难之际，中国共产党秉持民族大义，担负起民族救亡的历史重任，呼吁建立以国共合作为基础的抗日民族统一战线，以抵抗日寇侵略、驱逐日寇出中国。

Because the Kuomintang implemented the policy of “first internal pacification, then external resistance,” the establishment of the Anti-Japanese National United Front based on Kuomintang-Communist cooperation went through a difficult process. In January 1933, the Chinese Communist Party issued a declaration, calling for the establishment and expansion of an anti-imperialist national united front. Our Party deeply recognized that resisting Japanese aggression required the unification of various forces; this was the earliest call for the establishment of an Anti-Japanese National United Front. With the intensification of Japanese aggression, the Chinese Communists further realized that “the scope of the united front should be expanded” and “a policy of an all-people’s anti-Japanese national united front should be established.” This policy was clearly reflected in the “Letter to All Compatriots on Resisting Japan and Saving the Nation” (i.e., the “August First Declaration”) [5]5 Jin-Cha-Ji, Jin-Sui, Jin-Ji-Yu, and Jin-Xi-Nan are abbreviations for base areas straddling Shanxi (Jin), Chahar (Cha), Hebei (Ji), Suiyuan (Sui), Henan (Yu), and Shaanxi (Xi, i.e., western Shanxi).. The Anti-Japanese National United Front became the only way to unite various political and military forces across the country and to save the Chinese nation from crisis.

由于国民党执行“攘外必先安内”的政策，以国共合作为基础的抗日民族统一战线的建立经历了一个艰难的过程。1933年1月，中国共产党即发表宣言，号召建立和扩大反帝的民族统一战线。我们党深刻认识到抵抗日本侵略需要各种力量联合起来，这是对建立抗日民族统一战线的最早呼吁。随着日本侵略的加剧，中国共产党人进一步认识到，“统一战线的范围应该扩大”，“建立全民的抗日民族统一战线政策”。这一政策鲜明地体现在《为抗日救国告全体同胞书》（即《八一宣言》）之中。抗日民族统一战线成为团结全国各种政治军事力量和挽救中华民族危机的必由之路。

In December 1935, at the Wayaobu Conference [6]6 The directive is “On the Policy of the United Front in the Work of the Anti-Japanese Base Areas” (May 1941)., the Chinese Communist Party formally established the strategic policy of forming an Anti-Japanese National United Front. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out that our Party not only “acts as the initiator of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, but will inevitably become a strong pillar in the future anti-Japanese government and anti-Japanese army.” Afterwards, our Party continuously adjusted the scope of the Anti-Japanese National United Front according to changes in the domestic political situation, undergoing a transition from “forcing Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan” to “allying with Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan.” Inspired by our Party’s united front policy, on December 12, 1936, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng launched the Xi’an Incident [7]7 The Seventh National Congress of the CPC was held in Yan’an from April to June 1945., forcing Chiang Kai-shek to “ally with the Communists to resist Japan.” With our Party playing a leading role, the Central Committee of the CPC made the decision to peacefully resolve the Xi’an Incident, which played an important role in promoting the establishment of the Anti-Japanese National United Front based on Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, reflecting the Chinese Communist Party’s spirit of putting the world’s common good and the nation’s interests first. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Central News Agency of the Kuomintang published the “Declaration of the Central Committee of the CPC on the Publication of Cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.” On September 23, 1937, Chiang Kai-shek delivered a speech in Lushan, actually recognizing the legal status of the Chinese Communist Party. “The united front of the two parties is declared to be established,” which “will have a decisive effect on defeating Japanese imperialism.” Comrade Mao Zedong keenly realized that the establishment of the united front would have a “decisive effect” on defeating Japan. The Anti-Japanese National United Front based on Kuomintang-Communist cooperation was formally established, and the curtain of the nationwide war of resistance was fully raised.

1935年12月，中国共产党在瓦窑堡会议上正式确立了建立抗日民族统一战线的策略方针。毛泽东同志指出，我们党不但“充当着抗日民族统一战线的发起人，而且在将来的抗日政府和抗日军队中必然成为坚强的台柱子”。之后，我们党根据国内政治形势的变化，不断调整抗日民族统一战线的范围，历经“逼蒋抗日”到“联蒋抗日”的转变。受我们党统一战线政策的感召，1936年12月12日，张学良、杨虎城发动西安事变，逼迫蒋介石“联共抗日”。在我们党起主导作用的情况下，中共中央做出了和平解决西安事变的决策，对促成以国共两党合作为基础的抗日民族统一战线的建立起到了重要作用，反映了中国共产党天下为公、民族为大的气度。卢沟桥事变后，国民党中央社发表了《中共中央为公布国共合作宣言》。1937年9月23日，蒋介石在庐山发表谈话，实际上承认了中国共产党的合法地位。“两党的统一战线是宣告成立了”，这“将对于打倒日本帝国主义发生决定性的作用”。毛泽东同志敏锐地意识到，统一战线的建立对打败日本将发生“决定性作用”。以国共合作为基础的抗日民族统一战线正式建立，全民族抗战的大幕幡然展开。

After the successive fall of major cities in North China, the Chinese Communist Party persisted in independent guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, and its anti-Japanese armed forces grew steadily. This aroused the hatred and jealousy of Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang, who consequently launched three anti-communist upsurges, the most notorious being the “Southern Anhui Incident,” which brought the united front to the brink of collapse. [1]1 The Southern Anhui Incident (January 1941) was a major clash in which Kuomintang forces ambushed and largely destroyed the New Fourth Army headquarters column in southern Anhui, killing or capturing thousands of CCP troops and their commander Ye Ting. In the face of constant Kuomintang provocations, our Party always adhered to the correct direction of the War of Resistance. On the one hand, it “helped the Kuomintang, enabling it to make progress, so as to develop the united front”; on the other hand, it “gave full play to the Party’s exemplary role in the War of Resistance.” [2]2 The quotation is from a 1940 CCP Central Committee directive on the united front. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, the Chinese Communist Party held high the banner of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, resolutely defended, consolidated, and developed the united front, adhered to independence and initiative and united resistance, and safeguarded the overall situation of united resistance. Even after suffering heavy losses in the Southern Anhui Incident, the Chinese Communist Party took no further military action against the Kuomintang, unswervingly promoting the entire nation’s persistence in the War of Resistance.

华北大城市相继沦陷后，中国共产党坚持独立自主的敌后游击战争，抗日武装不断发展壮大。这引起蒋介石和国民党的忌恨，由此先后掀起三次反共高潮，特别是制造了震惊中外的“皖南事变”，使统一战线一度濒临破裂的边缘。面对国民党不断地挑衅，我们党始终坚持抗战的正确方向，一方面，“帮助国民党，使之进步，以发展统一战线”，另一方面，“发挥党在抗战中的模范作用”。正如习近平总书记所指出的，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。即便是在“皖南事变”遭到重大损失后，中国共产党也没有在军事上对国民党采取进一步行动，坚定不移推动全民族坚持抗战。

The Chinese Communist Party was the initiator, promoter, and steadfast defender of the Anti-Japanese National United Front. It always marched at the forefront of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, continuously and actively expanding the scope of the united front. It can be said that without the Chinese Communist Party there would have been no nationwide anti-Japanese united front, and without the Anti-Japanese National United Front there would have been no entire nation’s War of Resistance. “The entire nation’s War of Resistance was an important magic weapon for the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japan.” History teaches us that popular support is the greatest politics, and the united front is a powerful magic weapon for rallying people’s hearts and gathering strength. On the new journey, we must, under the strong leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, consolidate and develop the broadest possible patriotic united front. We must perfect the grand united front work pattern, adhere to great unity and great solidarity, unite the people of all ethnic groups across the country and all Chinese sons and daughters at home and abroad, and maximize the gathering of powerful forces for united struggle and joint advancement of Chinese-path modernization.

中国共产党是抗日民族统一战线的首倡者、推动者和坚定维护者，始终走在抗日民族统一战线的前面，不断地主动扩大统一战线的范围。可以说，没有中国共产党就没有全民族的抗日统一战线，没有抗日民族统一战线就没有全民族抗战，“全民族抗战是中国人民抗日战争胜利的重要法宝”。历史启示我们，民心是最大的政治，统一战线是凝聚人心、汇聚力量的强大法宝。新征程上，我们要在中国共产党的坚强领导下，巩固和发展最广泛的爱国统一战线。完善大统战工作格局，坚持大团结大联合，把全国各族人民、海内外中华儿女团结起来，最大限度凝聚起团结奋斗共同推进中国式现代化的强大力量。

III. Carrying out guerrilla warfare, opening up and developing enemy rear battlefields, and creating anti-Japanese democratic base areas became the decisive force for persisting in the War of Resistance and seizing victory.

三、开展游击战争，开辟和发展敌后战场，创建抗日民主根据地，成为坚持抗战和夺取抗战胜利的决定性力量

The day after the outbreak of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Central Committee of the CPC issued the “Telegram to the Nation on the Japanese Army’s Attack on Lugouqiao,” proposing that “only the entire nation’s implementation of the War of Resistance is our way out!” [3]3 The Marco Polo Bridge Incident (July 7, 1937) was the clash near Beijing that triggered the full-scale outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Shortly after the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army and dispatched to the front lines in North China, it achieved victory in the Battle of Pingxingguan, shattering the Japanese army’s myth of “invincibility,” greatly inspiring the people, boosting morale, and strengthening the confidence and determination of the entire nation and all patriotic armed forces to persist in the War of Resistance. [4]4 The Battle of Pingxingguan (September 1937) was the first major victory of the Eighth Route Army over Japanese forces.

中共中央在卢沟桥事变爆发第二天即发出《为日军进攻卢沟桥通电》，提出“只有全民族实行抗战，才是我们的出路！”红军改编为八路军开赴华北前线不久，即取得了平型关战役的胜利，打破了日军“不可战胜”的神话，极大地振奋了人心，鼓舞了士气，增强了全国人民和各爱国武装力量坚持抗战的信心和决心。

From the Eighth Route Army’s oath-taking departure in August 1937 to October 1938, it fought over 1,500 battles, annihilated more than 50,000 Japanese and puppet troops, recovered vast swaths of territory, and established anti-Japanese base areas such as Jin-Cha-Ji, Jin-Sui, Jin-Ji-Yu, Jin-Xi-Nan, and Shandong, forming a vast enemy rear battlefield in North China. [5]5 Jin-Cha-Ji, Jin-Sui, Jin-Ji-Yu, and Jin-Xi-Nan are abbreviations for base areas straddling Shanxi (Jin), Chahar (Cha), Hebei (Ji), Suiyuan (Sui), Henan (Yu), and Shaanxi (Xi, i.e., western Shanxi). The troops grew to over 150,000 men, becoming the backbone of the North China resistance. The Eighth Route Army’s continuous operations on the North China enemy rear battlefield effectively pinned down and consumed large numbers of Japanese troops, making it difficult for them to transfer more forces to the frontal battlefield, and played a major role in accelerating the War of Resistance’s entry into the stage of strategic stalemate. From its establishment to the end of 1938, the New Fourth Army extensively waged guerrilla warfare on both sides of the Yangtze River, achieving victory in over 230 battles, initially creating the anti-Japanese base areas of Southern Jiangsu, Southern Anhui, Central Anhui, and Eastern Henan, realizing its strategic deployment behind enemy lines, opening up the Central China enemy rear battlefield, and becoming a dagger thrust into the Central China Japanese forces.

八路军自1937年8月誓师出征至1938年10月，共作战1500余次，歼灭日伪军5万余人，收复大片国土，建立了晋察冀、晋绥、晋冀豫、晋西南及山东等抗日根据地，形成广阔的华北敌后战场，部队发展到15万余人，成为华北抗战的中坚力量。八路军在华北敌后战场连续作战，有力有效地钳制和消耗了大量日军，使其难以抽调更多兵力用于正面战场，对抗日战争加速进入战略相持阶段起到了重大作用。新四军自成立到1938年年底，在大江南北广泛开展游击战争，取得了230余次战斗的胜利，初步创建了苏南、皖南、皖中和豫东抗日根据地，实现了在敌后的战略展开，开辟了华中敌后战场，成为插向华中日军的一把尖刀。

After the Battle of Wuhan concluded in October 1938, China’s War of Resistance entered the stage of strategic stalemate. During this stage, the military and civilian forces on the enemy rear battlefields led by the Chinese Communist Party resisted 58% to 62% of the invading Japanese troops and nearly all puppet troops, smashed nearly a hundred “mopping-up” campaigns by the Japanese army ranging from 1,000 to over 50,000 troops, and fought over 10,000 battles. From August to December 1940, to smash the Japanese army’s “mopping-up” in North China, the Eighth Route Army headquarters deployed 105 regiments to launch the largest-scale active offensive since the war began, targeting Japanese strongholds, railways, and highways. Under the difficult circumstances of the War of Resistance, it dealt a heavy blow to Japan and greatly boosted the confidence of the entire nation’s military and civilian forces in the War of Resistance. In May 1941, an intra-Party directive drafted by Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out that “the armed forces and the masses led by the Communist Party have become the mainstay in the War of Resistance Against Japan.” [6]6 The directive is “On the Policy of the United Front in the Work of the Anti-Japanese Base Areas” (May 1941). The enemy rear battlefields led by the Chinese Communist Party gradually became the main battlefield of China’s War of Resistance Against Japan.

1938年10月武汉会战结束后，中国抗战进入了战略相持阶段。在此阶段，中国共产党领导的敌后战场军民抗击了58%至62%的侵华日军和几乎全部伪军，粉碎了日军千人以上至5万人的“扫荡”近百次，作战1万余次。1940年8月至12月，为粉碎日军在华北地区的“扫荡”，八路军总部动用105个团向日军据点、铁路、公路发起了作战以来最大规模的主动出击，在抗战困难的情况下，给日本以沉重打击，极大地提振了全国军民抗战的信心。1941年5月，毛泽东同志起草的党内指示指出，“共产党领导的武力和民众已成了抗日战争中的中流砥柱”。中国共产党领导的敌后战场逐渐成为中国抗日战争的主战场。

1943 was a year of fundamental turning point in the World Anti-Fascist War. The China theater also began to successively shift to the strategic counteroffensive starting in the autumn. In the local counteroffensive of 1944, the enemy rear resistance military and civilian forces annihilated approximately 310,000 Japanese and puppet troops, recovered 16 county seats and over 80,000 square kilometers of territory, and liberated about 12 million people. In the spring and summer offensives of 1945, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army annihilated over 160,000 Japanese and puppet troops, recovered more than 60 county seats, expanded the liberated areas by over 240,000 square kilometers, and liberated nearly 10 million people. In the general counteroffensive from August 9, 1945, to the end of 1945, and in operations to annihilate enemy forces refusing to surrender, the liberated area military and civilian forces annihilated over 13,700 Japanese troops and 385,000 puppet troops, recovered more than 250 county-level cities and towns, and made a major contribution to accelerating the complete destruction of Japanese fascism.

1943年是世界反法西斯战争发生根本性转折的一年。中国战场也于秋季开始，陆续转入战略反攻。在1944年的局部反攻中，敌后抗日军民共歼灭日伪军约31万人，收复县城16座、国土8万余平方公里，解放人口约1200万。在1945年的春、夏季攻势中，八路军、新四军歼灭日伪军16万余人，收复县城60余座，扩大解放区24万余平方公里，解放人口近1000万。在1945年8月9日至1945年底的全面反攻和歼灭拒降之敌的作战中，解放区军民共歼灭日军1.37万余人、伪军38.5万余人，收复县以上城市250多座，为加速日本法西斯的彻底灭亡作出了重大贡献。

Throughout the entire nation’s War of Resistance, the anti-Japanese armed forces led by the Chinese Communist Party opened up four major enemy rear battlefields—North China, Central China, South China, and Northeast China—turning the enemy’s rear into the anti-Japanese front line and gradually becoming the main force persisting in the War of Resistance. During this period, the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and the South China People’s Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Forces led by the Party fought a total of over 125,000 battles, at the heavy cost of over 610,000 casualties, annihilated 1.714 million Japanese and puppet troops, established 19 anti-Japanese democratic base areas covering nearly 1 million square kilometers, and liberated approximately 100 million people. By the end of the nationwide War of Resistance, the people’s army had grown to 1.32 million troops, with 2.68 million militia members. These achievements are a concrete portrayal of the Chinese Communist Party’s role as the mainstay in the entire nation’s War of Resistance. At the Seventh National Congress of the CPC, Comrade Mao Zedong proudly pointed out, “Our Party has already become the center of gravity for the Chinese people’s resistance to Japan and national salvation, has already become the center of gravity for the Chinese people’s liberation, and has already become the center of gravity for defeating the aggressors and building a new China.” [7]7 The Seventh National Congress of the CPC was held in Yan’an from April to June 1945. “Center of gravity” clearly means the mainstay. History teaches us that soldiers and the people are the foundation of victory; the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan was a great victory won by the entire nation uniting as one and fighting courageously. At all times, we must persist in mobilizing the people and relying on the people; this is the fundamental guarantee for our march from victory to victory.

在全民族抗战中，中国共产党领导的抗日武装，开辟了华北、华中、华南和东北四大敌后战场，把敌人的后方变成抗日的前线，逐渐成为坚持抗战的主力军。此间，党领导的八路军、新四军和华南人民抗日游击队共作战12.5万余次，以伤亡61万余人的重大代价，歼灭日、伪军171.4万余人，建立19块抗日民主根据地，面积近100万平方公里，解放人口约1亿。全国抗战结束时，人民军队发展到132万人，民兵达268万余人。这些成果是中国共产党在全民族抗战中发挥中流砥柱作用的具体写照。毛泽东同志在党的七大上满怀自豪地指出，“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”。“重心”显然就是中流砥柱的意思。历史启示我们，兵民是胜利之本，抗日战争胜利是全民族众志成城奋勇抗战的伟大胜利，在任何时候都要坚持动员人民、依靠人民，这是我们从胜利走向胜利的根本保障。

IV. Taking the lead, forging the great spirit of the War of Resistance with unyielding integrity, inspiring and leading the War of Resistance toward victory.

四、身先士卒，以铮铮铁骨铸就了伟大的抗战精神，鼓舞和引领抗战走向胜利

The Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japan was a contest of military and economic strength between China and Japan, and also a contest of national spirit and state will. In the face of a powerful enemy and immense difficulties, without a certain conviction and confidence, victory was clearly impossible. Conviction gives rise to courage, courage gives people hope, and hope generates strength. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that Chinese Communists bravely fought on the front lines of the War of Resistance Against Japan, propping up the hope of the Chinese nation for national salvation and survival, and becoming the mainstay of the entire nation’s War of Resistance.

中国人民抗日战争是中日两国军事实力和经济实力的较量，也是民族精神和国家意志的较量。在强大的敌人和巨大的困难面前，如果没有一种信念、信心，显然是不能取胜的。信念产生勇气，勇气给人以希望，希望产生力量。习近平总书记指出，中国共产党人勇敢战斗在抗日战争最前线，支撑起中华民族救亡图存的希望，成为全民族抗战的中流砥柱！

In August 1937, shortly after the entire nation’s War of Resistance began, the Central Committee of the CPC proposed at the Luochuan Conference that the Chinese Communist Party should “stand at the forefront of the struggle and become the core of the nationwide War of Resistance.” [8]8 The Luochuan Conference (August 1937) was a CCP Politburo meeting that set the strategic line for the War of Resistance, emphasizing independent guerrilla warfare and the expansion of base areas. On the front lines of the resistance, the anti-Japanese armed forces led by the Chinese Communist Party fought powerful enemies with unyielding integrity. Commanders such as Yang Jingyu, Zhao Shangzhi, Zuo Quan, and Peng Xuefeng died for their country one after another. [9]9 Yang Jingyu (commander of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army), Zhao Shangzhi (commander of the Third Route Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army), Zuo Quan (deputy chief of staff of the Eighth Route Army), and Peng Xuefeng (commander of the Fourth Division of the New Fourth Army) were all senior CCP military leaders killed in action during the war. Numerous heroic groups also emerged, such as the Eighth Route Army’s “Five Heroes of Langya Mountain,” the New Fourth Army’s “Liu Laozhuang Company,” and the eight female fighters of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. [10]10 The “Five Heroes of Langya Mountain” (1941) were five Eighth Route Army soldiers who jumped off a cliff rather than surrender; the “Liu Laozhuang Company” (1943) was a New Fourth Army company that fought to the last man against Japanese forces; the eight female fighters of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army (1938) drowned themselves in a river after running out of ammunition. Thousands upon thousands of resistance heroes shed their blood and made great contributions to the victory of the war and to forging the great spirit of the War of Resistance. Inspired by the powerful personality of Chinese Communists, countless Chinese sons and daughters unhesitatingly threw themselves into this great struggle concerning the survival or extinction of the nation. Whether directly participating in battle or providing rear support, all those who devoted themselves to the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japan were resistance heroes and national heroes.

1937年8月，全民族抗战开始不久，中共中央在洛川会议上提出，中国共产党要“站在斗争的最前线，成为全国抗战核心”。在抗日的最前线，中国共产党领导的抗日武装以铮铮铁骨战强敌，杨靖宇、赵尚志、左权、彭雪枫等将领先后殉国，还涌现出八路军“狼牙山五壮士”、新四军“刘老庄连”、东北抗联八位女战士等众多英雄群体。千千万万的抗战英雄抛头颅、洒热血，为战争胜利作出了重大贡献，为铸就伟大的抗战精神作出了重大贡献。在中国共产党人强大人格力量的感召下，无数中华儿女义无反顾投身这场关系民族存亡绝续的伟大斗争。无论是直接参战还是后方支援，所有投身中国人民抗日战争中的人们，都是抗战英雄，都是民族英雄。

In the heroes of the War of Resistance, there was fully manifested the patriotic sentiment that "everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the nation." The Communist Party of China led the military and civilians in central Hebei to create the unique combat form of "tunnel warfare." The masses, regardless of gender or age, spontaneously dug tunnels, transmitted intelligence, and coordinated with guerrilla forces, forming a whole-nation resistance network in which "every household connected by tunnels, every village a fortress." The ordinary peasant Deng Yufen, faced with the brutal Japanese "mopping-up" campaigns against the base areas, voluntarily sent her husband and all five of her sons to the front. Even after losing six of her closest relatives, she said firmly: "The surname Ren cannot be wiped out; we will fight the Japanese devils to the end!" Deng Yufen, through the blood and sacrifice of her family, displayed the profound patriotic sentiment that "everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the nation."

在抗战英雄身上，充分展现了天下兴亡、匹夫有责的爱国情怀。中国共产党领导冀中军民创造了“地道战”这一独特的战斗形式。群众不分男女老幼，自发挖掘地道、传递情报、配合游击队作战，形成了“户户通地道、村村成堡垒”的全民抗战网络。普通农民邓玉芬，面对日军对根据地的残酷“扫荡”，主动将丈夫和五个儿子全部送上前线。即使失去六位至亲，她仍坚定地说：“姓任的杀不绝，咱和鬼子拼到底了！”邓玉芬以家庭的血泪牺牲，展示了天下兴亡、匹夫有责的深沉爱国情怀。

In the heroes of the War of Resistance, there was fully manifested the national integrity of facing death unflinchingly and preferring death to surrender. Faced with the butcher's knife of the aggressors, the Chinese people built a new Great Wall with their flesh and blood, every person steeled with the resolve to die. In October 1943, Yu Sili (then deputy secretary of the CPC Jiyuan County Committee), subjected to brutal torture by Japanese and puppet troops, remained steadfast and unyielding, refusing to reveal Party secrets. Faced with the enemy's temptation that "withdrawing from the Party means you can live," he shouted, "Communist Party members walk one path: resist Japan and save the nation to the end," and was ultimately buried alive, dying for the country. In May 1943, the Eighth Route Army decided to eliminate the Japanese and puppet stronghold at Sanlizhuang on the border of Kenli and Guangrao counties in Shandong. The fortifications of this stronghold were extremely solid; the demolition teams made several attempts to blow up the walls, all of which failed. At the critical moment, Hou Dengshan, from Boxing, Shandong, resolutely hugged a satchel charge, crawled under covering fire to approach the wall, and decisively pressed his chest against the charge, pulled the fuse, and was killed instantly. Tens of thousands of heroes advanced amid the enemy's artillery fire and died heroically under the enemy's blade, manifesting the noble spirit of the Chinese nation that "might cannot bend."

在抗战英雄身上，充分展现了视死如归、宁死不屈的民族气节。面对侵略者的屠刀，中国人民用血肉之躯筑起新的长城，人人抱定必死之心。1943年10月，于思礼（时任中共济源县委副书记）面对日伪军的严刑拷打，始终坚贞不屈，拒绝透露党的秘密。在敌人以“退党即可活命”的诱惑面前，他高呼“共产党员一条道，抗日救亡走到底”，最终被活埋殉国。1943年5月，八路军决定除掉山东垦利、广饶交界处的日伪军据点三里庄。该据点工事极为坚固，爆破组多次尝试炸毁围墙均告失败，危急时刻，来自山东博兴的侯登山毅然抱起炸药包，在火力掩护下匍匐接近围墙，果断以胸膛抵住炸药包，拉响导火索，侯登山当场牺牲。成千上万的英雄们，在侵略者的炮火中奋勇前进，在侵略者的屠刀下英勇就义，彰显出中华民族威武不能屈的浩然正气。

In the heroes of the War of Resistance, there was fully manifested the heroic mettle of defying brutal force and fighting to the death. In December 1942, the Japanese army launched a large-scale offensive against the Eleventh Military Sub-district headquarters of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region at Caobagang (today's Laishui County, Hebei). Deputy Platoon Leader Li Lianshan of the Second Company, Seventh Regiment, volunteered to lead eight soldiers of the squad (including Liu Rongkui, Song Juqu, Xing Guiman, and Wang Wenxing) to cover the rear. After their ammunition was exhausted, they fought the enemy with bayonets and rocks, eventually retreating to the edge of a cliff. Surrounded by the Japanese army, the five warriors smashed their guns, shouted "Down with Japanese imperialism! Long live the Communist Party of China!" and leaped off a cliff over 20 zhang high. Li Lianshan and the other four died heroically; they were later called the "Five Warriors of Caobagang." Li Lin (born Li Xiuruo), a returned overseas Chinese from Fujian, threw herself into the War of Resistance with the oath, "Willing to fight until blood stains my clothes, never resting until the Japanese bandits are defeated." In April 1940, to cover the breakout of the organs and the masses, Li Lin, despite being three months pregnant, led a cavalry company in a fierce charge. Surrounded by Japanese and puppet troops, unwilling to be captured, she fired the last bullet into herself and died heroically. The united sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, one stepping forward as another fell, fought tenaciously, vowing to fight the aggressors to the death, composing countless heroic songs that shake heaven and earth.

在抗战英雄身上，充分展现了不畏强暴、血战到底的英雄气概。1942年12月，日军对晋察冀军区第十一军分区驻地曹坝岗（今河北涞水县）发起大规模进攻，七团二连副排长李连山主动请缨，带领八班战士（包括刘荣奎、宋聚奎、邢贵满、王文兴）断后掩护。子弹耗尽后，他们用刺刀、石块与敌搏斗，最终退至悬崖边。面对日军包围，五勇士砸毁枪支，高呼“打倒日本帝国主义！中国共产党万岁！”纵身跳下20余丈悬崖。李连山等五人壮烈殉国，后被称为“曹坝岗五勇士”。李林（原名李秀若）是出生于福建的归国华侨，以“甘愿征战血染衣，不平倭寇誓不休”的誓言投身抗战。1940年4月，为掩护机关和群众突围，李林不顾怀有3个月的身孕，率骑兵连勇猛冲杀。被日伪军包围后，她不愿被俘，将最后一发子弹射向了自己，壮烈殉国。团结起来的中华儿女前仆后继，顽强抗争，誓与侵略者血战到底，奏响了无数气壮山河的英雄凯歌。

In the heroes of the War of Resistance, there was fully manifested the unyielding and indomitable belief in certain victory. From the moment the iron heel of Japanese militarist aggressors trod upon Chinese soil, the Chinese people launched a great struggle against the aggressors. No matter how harsh the conditions, no matter how brutal the war, no matter how enormous the sacrifices, the Chinese people never wavered in their determination to recover their lost rivers and mountains. From the September 18th Incident in 1931 to the victory of the War of Resistance in 1945, the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, led by the Communist Party of China, persisted in struggle under the desperate conditions of extreme cold, food shortages, and being isolated behind enemy lines. After 1938, only about a thousand men remained of the main force of the Anti-Japanese United Army, yet they continued guerrilla warfare in small-unit formations. The officers and soldiers of the Anti-Japanese United Army, represented by Yang Jingyu and Zhao Shangzhi, subsisted on grass roots and tree bark in temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius. Faced with the Japanese and puppet forces' "mopping-up" campaigns and hefty bounties on their heads, they never wavered in their will to resist Japan. The Chinese people held fast to the belief in fighting the war to the end, and finally defeated the ferocious aggressors and won the final victory of the war.

在抗战英雄身上，充分展现了百折不挠、坚忍不拔的必胜信念。从日本军国主义侵略者的铁蹄踏进中国大地之时起，中国人民就开展了抗击侵略者的伟大斗争，无论条件多么艰苦，无论战争多么残酷，无论牺牲多么巨大，中国人民从来都没有动摇光复河山的决心。自1931年“九一八”事变至1945年抗战胜利，中国共产党领导的东北抗日联军在极寒、缺粮、孤悬敌后的绝境中坚持斗争。1938年后，抗联主力仅存千余人，仍以小分队形式开展游击战。以杨靖宇、赵尚志为代表的抗联将士，在零下40摄氏度的严寒中以草根树皮充饥，面对日伪军的“清剿”和重金悬赏，始终未动摇抗日意志。中国人民抱定了抗战到底的信念，终于打败了凶恶的侵略者、赢得了战争的最后胜利。

During the whole-nation War of Resistance, the Chinese Communists, through their political propositions, firm will, and exemplary actions, propped up the hope of the entire nation for national salvation and led the Chinese people in forging the great spirit of the War of Resistance. This will forever inspire the Chinese people to overcome all difficulties and obstacles and strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. History teaches us that on the new journey, no matter what risks and challenges we face, no matter what thorns and obstacles we encounter, we must take the great spirit of the War of Resistance as a precious asset for tempering national rejuvenation, inspiring the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups in China to continuously overcome difficulties, and unswervingly advance toward the grand goal of building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.

全民族抗战期间，中国共产党人以自己的政治主张、坚定意志、模范行动，支撑起全民族救亡图存的希望，引领中国人民铸就了伟大抗战精神，这将永远激励中国人民克服一切艰难险阻、为实现中华民族伟大复兴而奋斗。历史启示我们，新征程上，不管面临怎样的风险挑战，不管遇到怎样的荆棘坎坷，要把伟大抗战精神作为砥砺复兴的宝贵财富，激励全党全国各族人民不断攻坚克难，坚定不移朝着强国建设、民族复兴的宏伟目标奋勇前进。

(Author: Director and Professor of the Department of CPC History Teaching and Research, Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC [National Academy of Governance])

（作者：中央党校﹝国家行政学院﹞中共党史教研部主任、教授）

Online Editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心