After the outbreak of the All-out War of Resistance, the people of the whole country waged a heroic struggle against the Japanese Kou and sacrificed one after another. In this great war concerning the survival of the nation, the War of Resistance behind enemy lines led by the Eighth Route Army was of great significance, and it fought against a large number of Japanese and almost all puppet troops, the conditions were extremely difficult, and the sacrifices made were also enormous. So, which province has made the greatest contribution and sacrifice in this process? The answer is – Shandong.
In the eight years of the all-out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the military and people of Shandong paid a heavy price and made tremendous sacrifices. Nearly 900,000 people died, more than 1.6 million were injured and more than 1.2 million people were missing due to the war in the Shandong Liberated Areas, totaling nearly 3.8 million people, accounting for 12 percent of the total population of the Liberated Areas at that time, accounting for nearly 18 percent of the total casualties of Chinese people, and the economic losses were even more difficult to calculate.
The contribution of the Shandong Liberated Area is enormous. In the 8 years of the all-out War of Resistance, the Shandong Eighth Route Army resisted and contained a large number of enemies, and the number of Japanese troops resisted in the past years was 30,000 to 50,000, and the largest number of Japanese troops in the first half of 1945 was almost all resisted by the Eighth Route Army, accounting for one-half of the Japanese army in North China. As for the number of anti-puppet troops in Shandong, it was the first of all the anti-Japanese base areas.
In the 8 years of the All-out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Shandong Eight Roads fought more than 26,000 battles, killed and wounded more than 420,000 enemy and puppet prisoners, and captured 190,000 guns of various kinds, accounting for a very large proportion in the national anti-Japanese army behind enemy lines.
The militia and self-defense forces of the Shandong Liberated Areas and other people's self-defense forces are also anti-Japanese forces that cannot be ignored, and both the number of troops and the role played by the achievements achieved are worthy of admiration. The Shandong people's armed forces grew from 1.03 million in 1942 to 2.81 million in 1945, of which the militia grew from 21,700 in 1942 to 710,000 at the time of the victory of the War of Resistance, accounting for 26 percent of the total number of militia in the Liberated Areas.
Using various tactics such as sparrow warfare, mine warfare, and wheel warfare, the Shandong militia played a major role in the struggle against "sweeping," anti-blockade, and anti-"encroachment." They also undertook reconnaissance, passed on intelligence, eliminated the enemy's special traitors, and rushed to transport and rescue the wounded.
In the 8 years of the All-out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Shandong militia fought more than 50,000 large and small battles, killed, wounded, wounded, and captured more than 25,000 enemy and puppet puppets, captured 97 guns of various kinds, 152 light and heavy machine guns, nearly 11,000 guns of various kinds, dismantled more than 86,000 railway tracks, and destroyed more than 18,000 miles of highways. 1,957 bunkers were demolished and more than 50,000 kilograms of wires were cut.
In the eight years of the all-out War of Resistance, the heroic Shandong soldiers and people waged a tenacious and indomitable struggle against the Japanese and the Kosovars, and while making great sacrifices, they also made tremendous contributions: they supported and developed the situation of the War of Resistance in Shandong, pinned down and annihilated a large number of Japanese puppet armies, and gradually recovered the great rivers and mountains lost by the Kuomintang. Do you have any comment on that?