The Chinese Communist Party and the All-Nation War of Resistance as Seen by Western Witnesses

After the outbreak of the all-nation war of resistance in 1937, “the Chinese Communists fought bravely on the front line of the War of Resistance, holding up the hope of the Chinese nation’s survival and becoming the mainstay of the all-nation war of resistance.” At that time, a large number of Western journalists, diplomats, soldiers, and doctors active in China visited the anti-Japanese base areas under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and wrote a great many documentary reports. In their writings, these Western witnesses described in detail how the Chinese Communist Party united all sectors of society to carry out the all-nation war of resistance, implemented the policy of the anti-Japanese national united front, and waged guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, proving from the perspective of the other that the Chinese Communist Party was the mainstay of the all-nation war of resistance.

1937年全民族抗战爆发后，“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”。当时曾有大批在华活动的西方记者、外交官、军人、医生等到访中国共产党领导下的抗日根据地，并写有大量纪实性报道。在论著中，这些西方亲历者对中国共产党团结社会各界进行全面抗战、执行抗日民族统一战线政策、开展敌后游击战进行了详细描述，以他者视角证明了中国共产党是全民族抗战的中流砥柱。

Implementing the Line of All-Nation War of Resistance

实行全面抗战路线

On July 8, 1937, the day after Japan launched its full-scale war of aggression against China, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party sent a telegram to the whole country stating that “only an all-nation war of resistance is our way out.” In August 1937, at the Luochuan Conference [1]1 The Luochuan Conference was a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party held in Luochuan, Shaanxi, in August 1937, which set the Party’s wartime line and policies., the Chinese Communist Party adopted the “Decision of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on the Current Situation and the Party’s Tasks,” proposing to launch a comprehensive all-nation war of resistance, and issued the “Ten-Point Program for Resisting Japan and Saving the Nation of the Chinese Communist Party.” Under the influence of the spirit of this conference, the Chinese Communist Party widely mobilized the masses in various places to participate in the war of resistance, organized the masses to wage a people’s war, and carried out a protracted war. Western witnesses gave detailed descriptions of the forms and effects of the all-nation war of resistance organized and carried out by the Chinese Communist Party.

1937年7月8日，日本发动全面侵华战争的第二天，中共中央即通电全国提出“只有全民族实行抗战，才是我们的出路”。1937年8月，中国共产党在洛川会议上通过《中共中央关于目前形势与党的任务的决定》，提出开展全面的全民族抗战，并发布《中国共产党抗日救国十大纲领》。在此会议精神的影响下，中国共产党在各地广泛动员群众参加抗战，组织群众进行人民战争，开展持久战。西方亲历者对中国共产党组织开展全面抗战的形式及效果进行了详细描述。

The Kuomintang implemented a one-sided line of war of resistance that relied on the government and the army, and dared not arm the people to participate in the war of resistance. In this regard, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out in an interview with British journalist James Bertram in October 1937: “Although the territory involved in this war is nationwide, the components participating in the war are not nationwide. The broad masses of the people are still restricted by the government as before and are not allowed to rise up to participate in the war. Therefore, the present war is not yet a mass war. A war against Japanese imperialist aggression that does not involve the masses can never be won.” To this end, the Chinese Communist Party adhered to the line of all-nation war of resistance, mobilizing the masses and arming them to participate in the war of resistance. American journalist Theodore H. White wrote about this: “The main responsibility of the Communists was to merge the peasants and the army. They believed that it was far from enough for only the Communists to participate in this war; the peasants must be educated to defend themselves and to control their own destiny.”

国民党实行依靠政府和军队的片面抗战路线，不敢武装民众参与抗战。对此，毛泽东同志在1937年10月同英国记者贝特兰的谈话中指出：“这次参战的地域虽然是全国性的，参战的成分却不是全国性的。广大的人民群众依然如过去一样被政府限制着不许起来参战，因此现在的战争还不是群众性的战争。反对日本帝国主义侵略的战争而不带群众性，是决然不能胜利的。”为此，中国共产党坚持全面抗战路线，发动群众，武装群众参加抗战。美国记者白修德对此写道：“共产党的主要责任是把农民和军队融为一体。他们认为，只有共产党人参加这场战争还远远不够，必须教育农民来保卫自己，主宰自己的命运。”

The Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army had special propaganda teams for the war of resistance, which mobilized the masses to support the war of resistance by organizing mass rallies, putting on performances, singing patriotic songs, and posting anti-Japanese slogans. American journalist Agnes Smedley wrote of her personal experience of moving with the Eighth Route Army: “Every time we passed through a village, the villagers would come out to see us. Whenever our troops arrived at a place, they would convene a mass meeting, explain what kind of army the Eighth Route Army was and what its policies were, and at the same time ask everyone to call back the family members who had fled, saying that the Eighth Route Army would protect them.” Western witnesses noted that under the propaganda and call of the Chinese Communist Party, all classes, nationalities, and social groups across the country supported the war of resistance in their own ways, truly realizing an all-nation war of resistance. American officer Evans Carlson, after inspecting the activities of the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi, pointed out: “Every village in the county has a mobilization committee, a self-defense corps, and different groups such as peasants, merchants, artisans, women, and children. The self-defense corps requires passers-by to show passes issued by higher authorities; collects intelligence about the enemy and immediately transmits it to nearby troops; and is responsible for transporting the wounded and sick to other villages. The wounded soldiers were transported from the battlefield to rear hospitals in this way.” John S. Service, an adviser to the U.S. Army Observer Group who visited Yan’an in 1944, also pointed out: “In North China, the visible and tangible evidence of popular support for the Communists is so abundant that it can no longer be considered a facade put on to deceive foreign visitors.” These vivid descriptions are true portrayals of the support of the masses in the base areas for the Chinese Communist Party’s war of resistance.

八路军、新四军中设有专门的抗日宣传队，通过组织群众集会、开展演出、演唱爱国歌曲、张贴抗日标语等，发动群众支持抗战。美国记者史沫特莱写下自己跟随八路军活动的亲身经历：“每过一个村庄，老乡们都要出来看我们。我们的部队每到一地，就要召开群众大会，讲明八路军是什么样的军队，它的政策是什么，同时要大家把出走的家人找回来，八路军是会保护他们的。”西方亲历者注意到，在中国共产党的宣传号召下，全国各阶层、各民族、各社会团体都通过各自的方式支持抗战，真正实现了全民族抗战。美国军官卡尔逊在考察山西的八路军活动后指出：“县里的每一个村有一个动员委员会、一个自卫队和诸如农民、商人、手工艺人、妇女和儿童不同的团体。自卫队要求过往的人出示由上级权力机构发给的通行证；收集敌人的情报，立刻转送给附近的部队：并负责运送伤病员到其他村庄，伤兵就是靠用这种办法从战场转移到后方医院的。”1944年到访延安的美军观察组顾问卢登也指出：“在华北，人民支持共产党的可以看得见、摸得着的证据比比皆是，如此显著，以致再也不能认为，这是为了蒙骗外国访问者的表面文章。”这些形象的描述，都是根据地群众支持中国共产党抗战的真实写照。

Through observing the combat practice of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, Western witnesses realized that the strong support of the broad masses in combat truly achieved the integration of the army and the people, which was a powerful guarantee for the Chinese Communist Party’s growth and development, once again confirming the correctness of the line of all-nation war of resistance. Austrian doctor Jakob Rosenfeld, taking the New Fourth Army as an example, pointed out: “The New Fourth Army’s excellent guerrilla tactics, first and foremost the wholehearted support of the masses, made us invincible and able to constantly disrupt the Japanese lines of communication. The intelligence department of the New Fourth Army worked very well; the mass propagandists promptly reported every move of the enemy to us. These propagandists were sent by the army to do propaganda work among the peasants, mingling with the masses and living with them. Under their influence, a local militia was gradually established, continuously supplying reserve forces to the army.” John S. Service, who visited Yan’an in 1944, pointed out: “The regular forces exist because the people permit and support them and fight side by side with them wholeheartedly. There is complete unity between the army and the people.” These accounts by Western witnesses all reflect the important role of the line of all-nation war of resistance.

西方亲历者通过观察八路军、新四军的作战实践认识到，在作战中广大群众大力支持，真正实现了军民一体，是中国共产党得以发展壮大的有力保障，再次印证了全面抗战路线的正确性。奥地利医生罗生特以新四军为例指出：“新四军的出色的游击战术，首先是人民群众的全心全意的支援，这些使我们立于不败之地，可以经常破坏日本人的交通线。新四军的情报部门工作很出色，群众宣传员及时把敌人的一举一动通报给我们，这些宣传员都是军队派去向农民做宣传工作的，和群众打成一片，生活在一起，在他们的影响下逐步建立起一支地方民兵武装，源源不断地向军队输送后备力量。”1944年访问延安的美国外交官谢伟思对此指出：“正规部队之得以存在，是由于人民允许、支持他们，并全心全意地与他们并肩战斗。军民之间完全是团结一致的。”西方亲历者的这些叙述，都体现了全面抗战路线的重要作用。

In coordination with the line of all-nation war of resistance, the Chinese Communist Party proposed the general strategic policy of protracted war. In May 1938, Comrade Mao Zedong published “On Protracted War,” systematically elaborating on this, clearly stating that the War of Resistance Against Japan would go through three stages: strategic defense, strategic stalemate, and strategic counteroffensive. In 1938, Peng Dehuai, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Eighth Route Army, pointed out in an interview with American journalist Anna Louise Strong in Shanxi: “From a strategic point of view, this war as a whole must be a protracted war. But specific battles should be quick-decision battles. A protracted war is favorable to us because Japan is fighting on our territory, surrounded by enemies on all sides, and therefore its morale is low and its transportation is difficult. For us, the situation is just the opposite, because the fact of enemy invasion arouses the people to rise up for self-defense.” The Chinese Communist Party firmly believed that China would surely win. As Comrade Mao Zedong said in an interview with Wang Gongda, a reporter for the United Press, in 1938: “I am completely optimistic about this, because the process of China’s war of resistance is bound to be first defeat and then victory, turning weakness into strength. This has already become a definite direction. In the early stage of the Sino-Japanese War, the general situation was that Japan was strong and China was weak, but in the future, the situation will inevitably be that Japan’s weaknesses will gradually be exposed, while China’s strength will gradually increase.” The historical course of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japan also confirmed his prediction.

与全面抗战路线相配合，中国共产党提出持久战战略总方针。1938年5月，毛泽东同志发表《论持久战》对此进行了系统阐述，明确提出抗日战争将经过战略防御、战略相持、战略反攻三个阶段。1938年，八路军副总指挥彭德怀在山西接受美国记者斯特朗采访时指出：“从战略的观点来看，这场战争从总体上来说必须是持久战。但是具体的战斗应该是速决战。持久战对于我们来说是有利的，因为日本是在我们的领土上作战，四面楚歌，因而士气低落，运输困难。对我们来说，情况恰恰相反，因为敌人入侵这一事实，唤起人民起来进行自卫。”中国共产党坚信中国必胜。正如毛泽东同志1938年同美国合众社记者王公达谈话时所言：“我对此完全是乐观的，因为中国抗战的过程必然是先败后胜、转弱为强，这已经成了确定的方向了。在中日战争初期，一般形势是日本强、中国弱，可是今后的形势必是日本的弱点渐渐暴露出来，中国的力量则渐渐加强起来。”中国人民抗日战争的历史走向，也印证了其预言。

Promoting the Consolidation and Development of the Anti-Japanese National United Front

推动抗日民族统一战线巩固发展

After the outbreak of the all-nation war of resistance, the Chinese Communist Party advocated the establishment of an anti-Japanese national united front based on Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, calling on all democratic parties, anti-Japanese groups, patriotic figures from all social strata, and overseas Chinese to jointly participate in the war of resistance, and resolutely maintained, consolidated, and developed the united front, providing a strong political guarantee for the ultimate victory of the all-nation war of resistance.

全民族抗战爆发后，中国共产党倡导建立了以国共合作为基础的抗日民族统一战线，号召全国各民主党派、抗日团体、社会各阶层爱国人士和海外侨胞共同参加抗战，并坚决维护、巩固、发展统一战线，为全民族抗战最终胜利提供了坚强的政治保证。

The Chinese Communist Party’s vigorous propaganda for the Anti-Japanese National United Front also drew the attention of Western witnesses. Comrade Mao Zedong, in a conversation with the British journalist James Bertram, pointed out: “Our work is to explain the present situation through unremitting efforts, to unite with the Kuomintang and all other patriotic parties and groups, to strive for the expansion and consolidation of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, and to mobilize all forces to fight for victory in the War of Resistance.” [2]2 The Anti-Japanese National United Front was the united front policy adopted by the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang after the Xi’an Incident in 1936, aimed at uniting all possible forces to resist Japanese aggression. At the end of 1938, the American journalist Jack Belden visited the New Fourth Army in southern Anhui and described its united front activities: “They taught the soldiers that all Chinese who resisted Japan were brothers, and that China could not achieve victory without political unity. They also taught the soldiers that the War of Resistance was a total war assembling all the forces of the nation, that the Communist Party alone could not win, and that we should not only hope for our own progress but should hope for the progress of all anti-Japanese forces.” [3]3 Jack Belden (1910–1989), American war correspondent and author of *China Shakes the World*. Taking the Eighth Route Army as an example, Agnes Smedley pointed out: “Their principle was to unite with all compatriots willing to resist Japan — no matter who they were. Upholding the Anti-Japanese National United Front was their foremost concern. They neither opposed nor attacked anyone who had even the slightest possibility of supporting the national liberation war. Through patient persuasion, they set forth their position and explained it, in the hope that people would accept it.” [4]4 Agnes Smedley (1892–1950), American journalist and writer, author of *Battle Hymn of China*. Similar situations were manifested in different forms in other anti-Japanese base areas.

中国共产党大力宣传抗日民族统一战线，也为西方亲历者所注意。毛泽东同志在同英国记者贝特兰谈话时指出：“我们的工作，是以不疲倦的努力，解释现在的形势，联合国民党及其他一切爱国党派，为扩大和巩固抗日民族统一战线，动员一切力量，争取抗战胜利而斗争。”1938年底，美国记者贝尔登访问皖南的新四军，描述了新四军的统一战线活动：“他们教育士兵们说，所有抗日的中国人都是兄弟，中国如果没有政治的统一，就无法得到胜利。他们又教育士兵们说，抗日战争是集合全国所有各种力量的全面战争，单共产党就无法获胜，我们不应只希望自己进步，而应该希望一切抗日的部队都有进步。”史沫特莱以八路军为例指出：“他们的原则是联合所有一切愿意抗日的同胞——不管是谁。坚持抗日民族统一战线是他们头等关心的大事。对任何哪怕只有一点可能愿意支持民族解放战争的人，他们都不反对，也不攻击。他们通过耐心的说服，来表明自己的立场，并为此进行解释，以期人们能够接受下来。”类似的情况，在其他抗日根据地均有不同形式的体现。

Western witnesses noted that the Chinese Communist Party carried out a series of political and economic reforms in the anti-Japanese base areas, mobilizing all strata to participate in the Anti-Japanese National United Front. For example, the base areas promoted democratic political construction through democratic elections and the establishment of “Three-Thirds System” [5]5 The “Three-Thirds System” (三三制) was a policy in the anti-Japanese base areas whereby, in the organs of political power, Communists, non-Party progressives, and middle-of-the-roaders each occupied approximately one-third of the positions. democratic organs of political power. Theodore H. White described the participation of all strata in the democratic organs of political power in the base areas: “To strengthen the organs of political power in the various anti-Japanese areas, the Communist Party mobilized the forces of all local social strata. The Communist Party trained peasant leaders into capable local representatives and administrative personnel, while also training them into outstanding military commanders. A large number of intellectuals and students, responding to the Communist Party’s call for the War of Resistance, abandoned their careers in the cities and came to the Communist base areas. The Communist Party made them organizers, teachers, and government cadres.” [6]6 Theodore H. White (1915–1986), American journalist and author of *Thunder Out of China*. John S. Service, evaluating economic reforms such as rent and interest reduction and the protection of landlord interests in the base areas, pointed out: “For the peasants, the most effective measure was rent and interest reduction. But this reduction was appropriate and limited; the government protected the interests of the landlords by guaranteeing that the peasants paid the reduced rents and interest. It guaranteed non-interference with private enterprises and helped them increase production. In this way, the fears of the landlord and merchant groups were eliminated.” [7]7 John S. Service (1909–1999), American diplomat and China specialist, part of the “Dixie Mission” to Yan’an. These reforms and changes in the anti-Japanese base areas were all aimed at serving the overall situation of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, attracting broad participation from all strata in the War of Resistance through democratic methods, and setting a national example in democratic politics and cultural-ethical and economic construction.

西方亲历者注意到中国共产党在抗日根据地开展政治、经济等方面的系列改革，动员各阶层参与抗日民族统一战线。例如，抗日根据地通过民主选举、建立“三三制”民主政权等形式推动民主政治建设。白修德曾描述抗日根据地各阶层参与民主政权的情况：“为了加强各地的抗日政权，共产党动员了当地社会各阶层的力量。共产党把农民领袖培养成干练的地方代表和行政人员，同时也把他们训练成卓越的军事指挥官。大量知识分子和学生响应共产党的抗战号召，抛弃了他们在都市的事业来到共产党根据地。共产党让他们充当组织者、教师和政府机关干部。”谢伟思评价抗日根据地开展减租减息、保护地主利益等经济改革时指出：“对于农民，最有效的措施是减租减息。但这种减少是适当的和有限制的，政府通过保证农民交纳已减低了的租息来保护地主的利益。保证不干涉私人企业并帮助它增加生产。这样，就会消除地主、商人集团的恐惧。”抗日根据地的这些改革变化，都是为了服务抗日民族统一战线的大局，通过民主的方法吸引各阶层广泛参与抗战，在民主政治和经济文化建设中堪称全国楷模。

Throughout the all-nation War of Resistance, the Chinese Communist Party consistently adhered to resistance against Japan and opposed capitulation; adhered to unity and opposed splits; adhered to progress and opposed retrogression; “developed the progressive forces, won over the middle forces, and opposed the die-hard forces,” [8]8 This is a formulation from Mao Zedong’s *On Policy* (December 1940), defining the strategy of the Anti-Japanese National United Front. thereby maintaining the overall situation of united resistance. Comrade Mao Zedong emphasized: “During the period of the Anti-Japanese United Front, struggle is the means to unity, and unity is the goal of struggle. If unity is sought through struggle, it will exist; if unity is sought through concessions, it will perish.” [9]9 From Mao Zedong’s *On the Policy Concerning the Kuomintang* (1940). The Polish journalist Israel Epstein interpreted this policy of the Chinese Communist Party as follows: “Toward the Kuomintang, the Communist Party adopted a flexible strategy of ‘both unity and struggle.’ Militarily, it defeated the Kuomintang’s offensives ‘tit for tat,’ but in the struggle it always paid attention to grasping the principle of ‘reason, advantage, and restraint,’ [10]10 “Reason, advantage, and restraint” (有理、有利、有节) is a principle of struggle in the Anti-Japanese National United Front, meaning to fight only when justified, to fight only when victory is assured, and to stop at an appropriate point. so as not to expand the conflict, not to trigger a large-scale civil war, and not to give the Japanese and the extreme reactionaries an opportunity to exploit.” [11]11 Israel Epstein (1915–2005), Polish-born Jewish journalist who later became a Chinese citizen and wrote *The Unfinished Revolution in China*. During the War of Resistance, the Chinese Communist Party repeatedly repelled the Kuomintang’s anti-Communist frictions. Even when the Kuomintang deliberately launched the shocking Southern Anhui Incident in 1941, [12]12 The Southern Anhui Incident (January 1941) was a clash in which Kuomintang forces attacked and largely destroyed the New Fourth Army headquarters, killing or capturing thousands of its troops. the Chinese Communist Party still adhered to unity, proceeded from the greater national interest, and consolidated the Anti-Japanese National United Front.

中国共产党在全民族抗战中，始终坚持抗战，反对投降；坚持团结，反对分裂；坚持进步，反对倒退，“发展进步势力，争取中间势力，反对顽固势力”，维护了团结抗战的大局。毛泽东同志强调，“在抗日统一战线时期中，斗争是团结的手段，团结是斗争的目的。以斗争求团结则团结存，以退让求团结则团结亡”。波兰记者爱泼斯坦对中共的此项政策解读称：“对国民党，共产党则采取了灵活的‘既团结又斗争’策略。在军事上，‘针锋相对’地击败它的进攻，但在斗争中又时时注意把握‘有理、有利、有节’的原则，不使冲突扩大，不引发大规模内战，不给日本人和极端反动派以可乘之机。”中国共产党在抗战时期多次打退国民党的反共摩擦，即使国民党在1941年蓄意发动震惊中外的皖南事变，中国共产党仍然坚持团结，从民族大义出发，巩固了抗日民族统一战线。

The Chinese Communist Party’s policy of the Anti-Japanese National United Front gradually won broad support from all anti-Japanese classes, strata, political parties, groups, patriotic personages, ethnic minorities, compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese throughout the country. Epstein pointed out: “During the war against Japanese imperialism, the Communist Party gradually gained recognition from all strata of Chinese society with patriotic hearts. This was an inevitable result, because the Communist Party upheld and represented the class interests of the working people of the whole nation, who constituted the main body and the overwhelming majority.” [13]13 Epstein, *The Unfinished Revolution in China*. Through on-site visits to the anti-Japanese base areas, Western witnesses fully recognized and affirmed the Chinese Communist Party’s strategy of upholding the Anti-Japanese National United Front and leading the all-nation War of Resistance.

中国共产党的抗日民族统一战线政策，逐渐赢得了全国一切抗日的阶级、阶层、政党、团体、爱国人士、少数民族和港澳台同胞、海外侨胞的广泛拥护。爱泼斯坦指出：“在反抗日本帝国主义的战争期间，共产党逐渐得到具有爱国之心的中国社会各阶层的承认。这是必然结果，因为共产党维护和代表了作为民族主体和绝大多数的全国劳动人民的阶级利益。”通过实地访问抗日根据地，西方亲历者充分认识和肯定了中国共产党坚持抗日民族统一战线、领导全民族抗战的策略。

Extensive Development of Guerrilla Warfare Behind Enemy Lines

广泛开展敌后游击战

The Chinese Communist Party and the anti-Japanese armed forces under its leadership, such as the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, insisted on launching independent guerrilla warfare in the battlefields behind enemy lines, actively coordinated with the operations on the frontal battlefield, firmly believed that “the soldiers and the people are the foundation of victory,” [14]14 This phrase originates from Mao Zedong’s *On Protracted War* (1938). and waged a people’s war. Because their methods were appropriate, they enjoyed popular support, met the needs of the War of Resistance, achieved outstanding results, and were also praised by Western witnesses.

中国共产党及其领导的八路军、新四军等抗日武装力量，坚持在敌后战场发动独立自主的游击战，并积极配合正面战场作战，坚信“兵民是胜利之本”，开展人民战争。因其方法得当，群众拥护，顺应了抗战需要，取得了突出战绩，也为西方亲历者所称赞。

The Chinese Communist Party creatively employed tactics such as tunnel warfare, mine warfare, sparrow warfare, and sabotage warfare on the battlefields behind enemy lines, inflicting heavy losses on the Japanese and puppet troops and expanding the anti-Japanese base areas. Western witnesses recorded the effectiveness of guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, effectively refuting the slander by the Kuomintang die-hards that the Chinese Communist forces “roamed around but did not fight.” [15]15 This was a charge made by Kuomintang propagandists that the Chinese Communist forces avoided combat. After personally experiencing many guerrilla operations behind enemy lines with the Eighth Route Army, Evans Carlson praised the tactics of the Eighth Route Army: “The goal of the Eighth Route Army is to weaken the Japanese lines of communication by destroying roads and railways, ambushing trucks and train convoys, and to do its utmost to prevent the Japanese from penetrating into areas beyond the lines of communication. The Eighth Route Army often launches attacks on the enemy’s flanks and rear, avoiding frontal assaults. Mobility, surprise, ingenuity, and high morale are the keys to victory.” [16]16 Evans Carlson (1896–1947), American Marine Corps officer who observed the Eighth Route Army and later led the “Carlson’s Raiders” in the Pacific War. In 1944, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army achieved remarkable results in local counter-offensives against the Japanese and puppet troops. Epstein believed: “The new offensives of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army were the first coordinated offensive of all base areas since the Hundred-Regiment Campaign in 1940. [17]17 The Hundred-Regiment Campaign (August–December 1940) was a large-scale offensive by the Eighth Route Army against Japanese forces in North China. If the two fronts are considered together, this was China’s largest offensive since the Battle of Tai’erzhuang in 1938. [18]18 The Battle of Tai’erzhuang (March–April 1938) was a major Chinese victory on the frontal battlefield. But in form, it was still composed of guerrilla actions fighting independently.” [19]19 Epstein, *The Unfinished Revolution in China*. This reflected that, in addition to basic guerrilla warfare, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party also “did not relax mobile warfare under favorable conditions.” [20]20 This is a principle from Mao Zedong’s military writings, emphasizing the combination of guerrilla and mobile warfare.

中国共产党在敌后战场创造性地开展地道战、地雷战、麻雀战、破袭战等战术，重创了日伪军，扩大了抗日根据地。西方亲历者记述了敌后游击战的成效，有力回击了国民党顽固派对中共军队“游而不击”的污蔑。在跟随八路军亲历多次敌后游击战后，卡尔逊对八路军战术称赞道：“八路军的目标是通过破坏公路和铁路、伏击火车和卡车队来削弱日军的交通线，并极力阻止日军渗透到交通线以外地区。八路军往往在敌人的侧翼和后方发动袭击，避免正面进攻。机动、奇袭、机智、士气高昂是获胜的关键。”1944年，八路军、新四军在对日伪军的局部反攻中战绩斐然。爱泼斯坦认为：“八路军和新四军的新攻势是自从1940年百团大战以来所有根据地的第一次协同进攻。如果两条战线合在一起看，这是自从1938年台儿庄战役以后中国最大的一次攻势。但是在形式上仍然是由各自为战的游击行动所组成。”这体现了中国共产党领导的八路军、新四军等除了开展基本的游击战，还“不放松有利条件下的运动战”。

Western witnesses noted that the Chinese Communist Party, in guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, fully mobilized peasants to organize self-defense corps, guerrilla units, and militias to participate in the War of Resistance. The German journalist Hans Shippe described the activities of the guerrilla units: “They could even enter occupied cities, and even more so penetrate the countryside, where they obtained cover and protection from the peasants. They worked together with local mass organizations, universally establishing intelligence stations, enabling the army to obtain timely intelligence on the number and deployment of Japanese garrison troops.” [21]21 Hans Shippe (1897–1941), German journalist and Communist who died fighting with the New Fourth Army. These local armed forces, closely cooperating with the regular army, became an indispensable military force in guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines.

西方亲历者注意到中国共产党在敌后游击战中充分发动农民组织自卫军、游击队、民兵等参加抗战。德国记者希伯描述游击队的活动：“他们甚至能够进入被占领的城市，更能渗入农村，在那里他们得到了农民的掩护和保护。他们与当地的群众组织一道工作，普遍建立了情报站，使军队能及时得到有关日本警备部队的数目和兵力部署的情报。”这些地方武装与正规军密切配合，成为敌后游击战不可或缺的军事力量。

After the War of Resistance entered the stage of strategic stalemate, the battlefields behind enemy lines led by the Chinese Communist Party pinned down the majority of the Japanese and puppet troops, gradually becoming the main battlefield of the War of Resistance and making an indelible contribution to the victory of the War of Resistance. In 1944, the American journalist Harrison Forman, accompanying a delegation of Chinese and foreign journalists to visit the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, introduced the scope of influence of the Chinese Communist guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines in his published book *Report from Red China*: “In 1944, the military activities of the Communist Party extended to a vast front line: north to Suiyuan and Manchuria, east to the Pacific Ocean, south to Hainan Island and Guangzhou, and along the Yangtze River almost reaching Shanghai.” [22]22 Harrison Forman (1904–1978), American journalist and photographer, author of *Report from Red China*. Shippe pointed out: “Without the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army led by the Chinese Communist Party persisting in the War of Resistance behind enemy lines, it would be unimaginable that China’s War of Resistance could have lasted until today.” [23]23 Shippe, quoted in *The Chinese People’s War of Resistance*. Many Western witnesses were full of hope for the future of the Chinese Communist Party, believing that through the War of Resistance it had enhanced its prestige throughout the country and would become the “sole leading force” in China. [24]24 This view is recorded in the reports of the “Dixie Mission” (the U.S. Army Observer Group in Yan’an, 1944–1945). In 1944, after visiting Yan’an, Epstein believed: “I was already deeply convinced that Yan’an was the microcosm of China’s future, and the next decade would prove this.” [25]25 Epstein, *The Unfinished Revolution in China*.

抗日战争进入战略相持阶段后，中国共产党领导的敌后战场钳制了大部分日伪军，逐渐成为抗日战争的主战场，为抗战胜利作出了不可磨灭的贡献。1944年，美国记者福尔曼随中外记者团访问陕甘宁边区，在其出版的《北行漫记》中介绍了中共敌后游击战的影响范围：“1944年，共产党的军事活动伸展到广大的前线：北自绥远和满洲，东至太平洋，南至海南岛和广州，沿长江而下几乎到达上海。”希伯指出：“如没有中国共产党领导的八路军、新四军在敌后坚持抗战，中国的抗战能坚持到今天是不可想象的。”很多西方亲历者对中共的未来充满希望，认为其通过抗战提升了在全国的威望，将会成为中国“唯一的主导力量”。1944年，爱泼斯坦访问延安后认为：“我已经实实在在地深信，延安是中国未来的缩影，在下一个十年里将证明这一点。”

During the period of the all-nation War of Resistance, “the Chinese Communist Party, with its outstanding political leadership and correct strategic policies, guided the direction of China’s War of Resistance” and was the well-deserved mainstay of the all-nation War of Resistance. At that time, a number of Westerners, through their personal experiences and observations in the anti-Japanese base areas, came to understand the real situation of the Chinese Communist Party leading the all-nation War of Resistance. They witnessed both the power of the CCP’s guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines and recorded its unique political practice of mobilizing the masses to resist Japan. In their accounts, they fully demonstrated that “the Chinese Communist Party adhered to the line of total resistance, formulated correct strategic policies, opened up vast enemy rear areas, and became the backbone force persisting in the War of Resistance.” These Western eyewitnesses positively publicized and introduced the CCP’s War of Resistance to the international community, making a positive contribution to shaping the CCP’s international image.

全民族抗战时期，“中国共产党以卓越的政治领导力和正确的战略策略，指引了中国抗战的前进方向”，是全民族抗战当之无愧的中流砥柱。当时，一批西方人士通过在抗日根据地的亲历亲闻，了解中国共产党领导全民族抗战的真实情况，既见证了中共敌后游击战的威力，也记录了其发动民众抗战的独特政治实践，在他们的描述中充分展示了“中国共产党坚持全面抗战路线，制定正确战略策略，开辟广大敌后战场，成为坚持抗战的中坚力量”。这些西方亲历者向国际社会正面宣传介绍中国共产党抗战，为塑造中国共产党的国际形象作出了积极贡献。

(Author: Zhang Deming, sub-project leader of the National Social Science Fund major project “Research on the Course, Achievements, and Experience of the Chinese Communist Party Leading the Exploration of the Chinese-Path Modernization,” and professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者：张德明，系国家社科基金重大项目“中国共产党领导探索中国式现代化道路的历程、成就和经验研究”子课题负责人、中国社会科学院大学教授）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心