In various film and television works, the leadership of the Communist Party of China during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression to the army is collectively referred to as the Eighth Route Army, which is not only a simple title issue, but also contains the wisdom of the Party Central Committee headed by Chairman Mao.
After the Lugou Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937, the Japanese army launched an all-out war of aggression against China, and in the face of the national peril, the Communist Party of China put the national righteousness as the most important thing and advocated the establishment of an anti-Japanese national united front. The Red Army in northern Shaanxi under the leadership of the Communist Party was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army and became a formal army under the establishment of the National Government.
Going to the front line of the War of Resistance, this is the source of the Eighth Route Army, but things are not so simple.
Finally, after bargaining between the two sides, the Red Army in northern Shaanxi was organized into three divisions with a total of 45,000 people, three divisions of 115, 120, and 129, with a number of 15,000, 14,000, and 13,000 people, respectively, plus other party and government personnel.
Soon after, however, the Nationalist government readjusted its wartime organization, and the Eighth Route Army was assigned to the second theater under Yan Xishan and renamed the Eighteenth Army of the National Revolutionary Army
Therefore, the name of the Eighth Route Army existed for a short time in the official sequence of the National Government.
The reason why Chiang Kai-shek made this arrangement, with his own little ninety-nine behind him, was to use the strength of the Japanese to weaken or even completely eliminate this armed force led by the Communist Party.
At that time, there was an unwritten rule in Yan'an, except for the 18th Group Army in foreign exchanges and the issuance of wartime orders, and the Eighth Route Army on most occasions. Why the name of the Eighth Route Army will continue to be used is mainly due to the following considerations.
The 18th Route Army was the official name given by the National Government, and in order to reach a consensus within the army, a lot of work was done within the Red Army in the early stages, and a consensus was formed. Second, after going to the front line of the War of Resistance, the Eighth Route Army achieved many major victories, among which the PingxingGuan Victory broke the myth of the invincibility of the Japanese army, making the name of the Eighth Route Army deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and becoming synonymous with this army, so it was cherished within the Communist Party of China.
These reasons are important, but there are some important factors. army
After the reorganization of the team, some soldiers and generals had problems in their ideological understanding, and this problem was very serious.
Some people believe that since they have accepted the reorganization, everything should be subordinated to the Kuomintang Military Commission. At that time, there was such an incident, Lin Biao needed to go to the Soviet Union for medical treatment due to his injuries, so the Party Central Committee asked Luo Ronghuan to temporarily take up Lin Biao's post, but the Forward Command of the Eighteenth Army appointed the brigade commander of the 343rd Brigade to replace Lin Biao on the grounds that it had already been reported to the Second Theater Command and the Military Commission for "approval". Why maintain internal unity, the Party Central Committee acquiesced in this decision.
In order to correct the erroneous thinking in the army, the Party Central Committee headed by Chairman Mao has taken many measures, the most important of which is to retain the title of the Eighth Route Army, conduct ideological and political education in the army, and eliminate the influence of Wang Ming's erroneous thinking within the Party.
Outside the Party, he actively waged a tit-for-tat struggle against the Kuomintang diehards. The eighth route army's name eventually surpassed that of the Eighteenth Army, and it was a conscious decision made by Chairman Mao and other central leaders in a special period.
At that time, there was also a consideration to prevent Chiang Kai-shek from manipulating the party-led army in the name of wartime and peacetime organization
。 In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, under international pressure, the Invading Japanese Army hesitated between withdrawing and not withdrawing, and finally the rise of Hideki Tojo put an end to this controversy. If the Japanese army had withdrawn at that time, Chiang Kai-shek could have taken the opportunity to manipulate the people's army, but Chiang Kai-shek did not wait for this opportunity.
Finally, adhering to the name of the Eighth Route Army has reserved sufficient space for protracted struggle and the development of the people's army. Chiang Kai-shek has always harbored great hostility toward the people's army, but he has not paid attention to the detail of retaining the name of the Eighth Route Army.
Afterwards, chiang kai-shek talked with two major political think tanks, Dai Jitao and Chen Bray. Dai Jitao lamented:
Mao Zedong did not idle chess step by step, and killed step by step.
Only blame us for not seeing it. From this we can see how clever and far-sighted Chairman Mao's tactics are.
Taking advantage of the name of the Eighth Route Army, in addition to the establishment of the National Government, a large number of independent divisions, independent brigades, independent regiments, and other non-organization troops were established, so that the number and strength of the people's army expanded rapidly. It laid a solid foundation for the final victory in the future.
Chairman Mao's insistence on resisting the war in the name of the Eighth Route Army contains Chairman Mao's great strategic wisdom everywhere
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