The Achievements of the Party’s Leadership in Communications Undertakings during the Period of the Total War of Resistance against Japan

During the period of the total war of resistance against Japan, the Communist Party of China placed great emphasis on the construction of communications undertakings, establishing and improving the management system for communications operations, building a wartime communications network centered on Yan’an, diligently training communications technical personnel, raising communications equipment and materials through multiple channels, and actively carrying out communications operations construction. With radio communications as the mainstay and comprehensive use of other means of communication, it ensured the unified leadership and strategic command of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission over the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and the anti-Japanese guerrilla forces in various regions.

全民族抗战时期，中国共产党高度重视通信事业建设，建立健全通信业务管理体系，建设以延安为中心的战时通信网络，努力培训通信技术人员，多方筹措通信装备器材，积极开展通信业务建设，以无线电通信为主，综合运用其他通信手段，保障了党中央和中央军委对八路军、新四军及各地抗日游击队的统一领导与战略指挥。

Establishing and improving the management system for communications operations

建立健全通信业务管理体系

During the period of the total war of resistance against Japan, the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines led by the Communist Party of China were in a state of “interlocking like dog’s teeth” [1]1 “Interlocking like dog’s teeth” (犬牙交错) is a Chinese idiom describing a situation where territories of opposing sides are intricately interwoven, like the irregular, jagged pattern of a dog’s teeth. with the enemy-occupied areas. The command of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission over the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and the various base areas relied mainly on radio communications. On January 16, 1938, Mao Zedong, in his “Instruction on Strengthening Radio Communications Work,” pointed out that radio communications occupied an important position in guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare. If this work were relaxed, it could affect the outcome of the war. During the entire period of the total war of resistance, the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission issued documents such as resolutions, directives, orders, and instructions concerning communications links, especially those related to radio work. Six were issued in the name of the Central Committee of the CPC, 17 in the name of the Secretariat of the Central Committee and the General Office, and 27 in the name of the Central Military Commission. These made detailed arrangements and thorough deployments for the construction of communications undertakings, put forward clear requirements on the status and role, organization and application, security and confidentiality, and regulations and systems of communications links, especially radio communications, and provided basic guidelines for the organizational construction, operational construction, and work style construction of communications undertakings.

全民族抗战时期，中国共产党领导的敌后抗日根据地处于和敌占区“犬牙交错”的状态，党中央、中央军委对八路军、新四军和各根据地的指挥主要依靠无线电通信进行。1938年1月16日，毛泽东在《关于加强无线电通信工作的训令》中指出，游击战与运动战中无线电通信占据重要地位。如果对这一工作松懈或将会影响到战争的胜负。全民族抗战期间，党中央、中央军委关于通信联络特别是与无线电工作有关的决议、指示、命令、训令等文电，以中共中央名义下发的6份，以中共中央书记处、秘书处名义下发的17份，以中央军委名义下发的27份，对通信事业建设作出了详细安排和周密部署，对通信联络特别是无线电通信的地位作用、组织运用、保密安全、法规制度等方面提出了明确要求，为通信事业的组织建设、业务建设和作风建设提供了基本遵循。

The Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, focusing on the communications support needs of the War of Resistance against Japan, made timely organizational adjustments and operational constructions, vigorously developed the communications forces of the Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission (the Communications Bureau) [2]2 The Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission (军委三局), also known as the Communications Bureau, was the central organ responsible for military communications during the war. and its directly subordinate units, as well as those of the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and the various base areas, and established and improved the communications operations management system under the unified leadership of the Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission. In accordance with the instructions of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, the Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission uniformly organized and allocated communications personnel for the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, deployed leading communications cadres, and adjusted communications personnel and equipment. At the beginning of the reorganization of the Eighth Route Army, the general headquarters and each division and brigade established radio brigades, battalions, and detachments respectively, with one radio station forming one platoon. The general headquarters and each division’s communications battalion had subordinate wire communications brigades and mobile communications platoons, while each brigade and regiment established communications companies and platoons, equipped with wired telephones. As the Eighth Route Army penetrated deep behind enemy lines to carry out dispersed guerrilla warfare, the number of radio stations and communications personnel gradually increased. By the time of victory in the War of Resistance, the number of communications soldiers in the Eighth Route Army had reached about 5% of its total strength; some regimental-level units had established radio platoons, and most had established wired telephone platoons. When the New Fourth Army was reorganized, its military headquarters established a radio brigade and wired and mobile communications platoons, while each detachment established a radio platoon. After the Southern Anhui Incident [3]3 The Southern Anhui Incident (皖南事变) was a major clash in January 1941 during the Second Sino-Japanese War, in which Kuomintang forces attacked the Communist-led New Fourth Army, severely weakening it., the New Fourth Army headquarters established a radio general unit, and each division established a radio brigade or battalion. In 1942, the total number of radio stations in the New Fourth Army reached 108, with 335 radio operators. The Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission also equipped most of the offices or liaison offices of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army in various regions with radio stations, dispatched communications cadres, provided communications equipment, and assisted the base areas in establishing communications leadership organs and communications units.

党中央和中央军委着眼抗日战争的通信保障需要，适时进行组织调整和业务建设，大力发展军委三局（通信联络局）机关与直属单位、八路军和新四军及各根据地的通信兵力量，建立健全军委三局统一领导下的通信业务管理体系。军委三局根据党中央和中央军委指示，统一编配八路军、新四军通信兵，调配通信领导干部，调整通信人员和通信器材。八路军改编之初，总指挥部和各师、旅分别建立无线电大队、中队、区队，一部电台为一个分队。总指挥部和各师通信营下设有线电大队、运动通信分队，各旅、团设通信连、排，配置有线电话。随着八路军深入敌后分散开展游击战争，电台数量和通信人员逐渐增加。到抗战胜利时，八路军通信兵数量已达到总兵力的5%左右，团级单位部分建立了无线电分队，大多数建立了有线电话分队。新四军改编时，军部建立无线电大队和有线电、运动通信分队，各支队建立无线电分队。皖南事变后，新四军军部成立无线电总队，各师成立无线电大队或中队。1942年，新四军无线电台总数达到108部，报务人员335人。军委三局还为八路军、新四军各地大多的办事处或联络处配备了无线电台，并派出通信干部，配备通信器材，协助各根据地组建通信领导机关和通信部队。

Building a wartime communications network centered on Yan’an

建设以延安为中心的战时通信网络

After the outbreak of the total war of resistance against Japan, to ensure the communications links of the Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Government, and other Party, government, and military systems, the Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission, based on its six directly subordinate radio platoons, established six radio communications networks, including one news broadcasting network, two Party Central Committee liaison networks, and three Central Military Commission command networks. By 1940, the number of directly subordinate radio stations of the Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission had increased to eight, and eight radio communications networks were established according to work nature and liaison targets, including the Party Central Committee liaison network, the Central Military Commission liaison network, the intelligence liaison network, the Xinhua News Agency liaison network, the Central Military Commission war report liaison network, the security forces liaison network, the garrison corps liaison network, and the border region commercial intelligence liaison network. This formed a wartime communications network of “eight stations and eight networks” centered on Yan’an, establishing a relatively complete strategic command communications system using radio communications, effectively ensuring the command and leadership of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission over various units, base areas, open fronts, and secret fronts. Thereafter, the Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission continuously improved and adjusted the radio communications networks and optimized the management methods of radio organization. In December 1941, a centralized radio station was established; in September 1944, the Central Military Commission General Radio Station was established; a news communications network centered on Xinhua News Agency was also established in Yan’an; and meteorological observation communications networks were established in Yan’an and the various base areas in North China. These improvements enhanced the working conditions of the Yan’an headquarters radio communications hub and further improved the support capability of radio communications.

全民族抗战爆发后，为保障党中央、中央军委和陕甘宁边区政府等党政军各系统的通信联络，军委三局以直属的6个无线电分队为基础，组建了6个无线电通信网，包括1个新闻广播网、2个党中央联络网、3个军委指挥网。到1940年，军委三局直属电台增加到8部，按照工作性质和联络对象组建了8个无线电通信网，包括党中央联络网、军委联络网、情报联络网、新华社联络网、军委战报联络网、保安部队联络网、留守兵团联络网、边区商业情报联络网等专业通信网，形成了以延安为中心的“八台八网”战时通信网络，利用无线电通信建立了比较完善的战略指挥通信系统，有效保障了党中央和中央军委对各部队、各根据地、各公开战线和秘密战线的指挥与领导。此后，军委三局不断健全和调整无线电通信网，优化无线电组织管理方式。1941年12月组建了无线电集中台，1944年9月成立了中央军委无线电总台，还在延安建立了以新华社为中心的新闻通信网，在延安和华北各根据地建立了气象观测通信网，使延安总部无线电通信枢纽的工作条件得到改善，无线电通信保障能力进一步提升。

To ensure internal and inter-agency communications links among the various Party, government, and military organs in Yan’an, the Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission, after two years of effort, basically completed the construction of the Yan’an local telephone communications network and the long-distance wired communications network of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. The Yan’an local telephone communications network included approximately 170 users, comprising both dedicated-line telephones and ordinary telephones, and there were six long-distance communications trunk lines radiating outward from Yan’an as the center.

为保障延安各党政军机关内部及相互之间的通信联络，军委三局经过两年努力，基本建成了延安地区的市话通信网和陕甘宁边区的长途有线通信网。延安市话通信网包括专线电话和普通电话两种用户共约170个，以延安为中心向外辐射的长途通信干线有6条。

Strengthening the training of communications technical personnel and the procurement of communications equipment and materials

加强通信技术人员培训和通信装备器材筹措

At the time of the initial reorganization of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, there were only 196 radio communications personnel, and even fewer wired telephone communications technical personnel. The heavy responsibility of accelerating the training of communications technical personnel was mainly borne by the Communications School of the Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission. By June 1944, this school had trained 639 radio operators and provided rotational training for over 70 communications cadres. After 1938, the training of communications personnel gradually became a joint responsibility of the Communications School of the Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission and the various base areas and units. The headquarters of the Eighth Route Army and its subordinate divisions, as well as the headquarters of the New Fourth Army, successively opened various types of training classes (teams) to train urgently needed radio operators. According to incomplete statistics, the various base areas and units trained over 3,800 communications technical personnel (mainly radio operators). By the time of victory in the War of Resistance, the number of communications technical personnel in the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army had developed to nearly 5,000. The Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission also founded the magazine *Communications Soldier* on New Year’s Day 1940 to disseminate knowledge of communications technology, with the title inscribed by Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong’s inscription for the communications soldiers, “You are the scientific thousand-mile eyes and wind-following ears” [4]4 “Thousand-mile eyes and wind-following ears” (千里眼顺风耳) is a Chinese idiom referring to mythical beings with superhuman sight and hearing, used here to praise the communications soldiers’ ability to see and hear across vast distances., was published in the second volume, first issue of the magazine, released on October 10, 1941, greatly inspiring the fighting spirit of the vast number of communications soldiers.

八路军、新四军初改编时，只有无线电通信人员196人，有线电话通信技术人员更少。加速培训通信技术人员的重任主要由军委三局通信学校承担。至1944年6月，该校共培训报务人员639人，轮训通信干部70余人。1938年之后，通信人员的培训逐渐形成军委三局通信学校与各根据地、各部队共同负责的局面。八路军总部及所属各师和新四军军部先后开办各类训练班（队），培训急需的无线电报务人员。据不完全统计，各根据地、各部队共培训通信技术人员（主要是报务人员）3800余人。到抗战胜利时，八路军、新四军的通信技术人员发展到近5000人。军委三局还于1940年元旦创办《通信战士》杂志，宣传通信技术知识，毛泽东题写了刊名。毛泽东给通信战士的题词“你们是科学的千里眼顺风耳”刊发在1941年10月10日出版的该刊第二卷第一期，极大地鼓舞了广大通信战士的斗志。

To break the encirclement and blockade by the Japanese army and the diehard Kuomintang forces, the Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission mainly procured communications equipment through four channels: first, purchasing in the rear areas; second, purchasing behind enemy lines through various channels; third, battlefield seizures and civilian collection; and fourth, self-repair and self-manufacture of components and development of substitutes. The Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission attached great importance to the procurement of communications equipment, designating communications equipment, along with munitions, medicine, and paper, as four major important materials, allocating substantial funds, and requiring all levels and units to actively complete procurement tasks. With the care and support of central leaders such as Zhou Enlai and Zhu De, the Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission and the communications departments of the various base areas procured multiple batches of communications equipment through various channels, including united front relations, underground Party organizations, and patriotic merchants. As the war situation developed, the procurement and transportation of communications equipment became more difficult. The Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission and the various base areas carried forward the spirit of self-reliance and hard struggle, repairing and manufacturing communications equipment themselves. In May 1938, the Third Bureau of the Central Military Commission established a communications materials factory in Yan’an, and the various base areas also successively established communications equipment repair factories or electrical materials factories, beginning to manufacture radio components and assemble small radio stations, greatly alleviating the shortage of communications equipment. On July 7, 1940, Mao Zedong inscribed for the Yan’an Communications Materials Factory: “Develop creativity, any difficulty can be overcome; the self-manufacture of communications materials is proof.” According to statistics, at the beginning of the reorganization of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army in 1937, there were only 34 radio stations; in 1939, there were 223; in 1941, 355; in 1943, 500; and on the eve of victory in the War of Resistance in 1945, they had developed to nearly 700.

为打破日军和国民党顽固派的包围封锁，军委三局主要通过四种渠道筹措通信器材：一是到大后方购买，二是经多种渠道在敌后购买，三是战场缴获与民间收集，四是自修自制机件与发展代用品。党中央和中央军委高度重视通信器材筹措，把通信器材与军火、医药、纸张定为四大重要物资，拨出大笔经费，要求各级、各单位积极完成采购任务。在周恩来、朱德等中央领导的关怀支持下，军委三局和各根据地通信部门，通过统战关系、地下党组织和爱国商人等多种渠道，采购了多批通信器材。随着战争形势的发展，采购运输通信器材更加困难，军委三局和各根据地发扬自力更生、艰苦奋斗精神，自修自制通信器材。1938年5月军委三局在延安筹建通信材料厂，各根据地也陆续成立了通信器材修配厂或电工材料厂，开始制造无线电元件、装配小型电台，极大地缓解了通信器材短缺的问题。1940年7月7日，毛泽东为延安通信材料厂题词：“发展创造力，任何困难可以克服，通信材料的自制就是证明。”据统计，八路军、新四军1937年改编之初只有无线电台34部，1939年为223部，1941年为355部，1943年达到500部，1945年抗战胜利前夕发展到近700部。

In sum, the communications work led by the Chinese Communist Party with Yan’an as its center during the period of the All-Nation War of Resistance became a “red bridge” for the transmission of information in the struggle against the enemy. It not only provided powerful information support for the victory of the War of Resistance against Japan but also furnished an important basis for the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee, playing an irreplaceable and special role in the War of Resistance against Japan. Mao Zedong once praised the communications soldiers as “science’s thousand-mile eye and wind-conforming ear,” [5]5 “Thousand-mile eye and wind-conforming ear” (千里眼顺风耳) is a Chinese idiom referring to the ability to see and hear over great distances; here it is used metaphorically to praise the communications soldiers’ role in extending the Party’s sensory reach. and the broad masses of commanders and fighters likened communications links to “the eyes and ears of the senior commander, the nerves of the army.” [6]6 “The eyes and ears of the senior commander, the nerves of the army” (首长的耳目，军队的神经) is a standard military metaphor within the People’s Liberation Army for the communications system, emphasizing its indispensable role in command and control.

总之，全民族抗战时期中国共产党领导的以延安为中心的通信事业，成为对敌斗争中沟通信息的“红色桥梁”，不仅为抗日战争的胜利提供了有力的信息支持，还为党中央决策部署提供了重要依据，在抗日战争中发挥了不可替代的特殊作用。毛泽东当年赞誉通信战士是“科学的千里眼顺风耳”，广大指战员把通信联络比喻为“首长的耳目，军队的神经”。

(The author is a lecturer at the School of Cyberspace Security, Xi’an University of Posts and Telecommunications.)

（作者系西安邮电大学网络空间安全学院讲师）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧