Preface
In recent years, anti-Japanese TV dramas have aroused strong interest in the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army. However, when discussing the heroic deeds of our ancestors, people often focus on small but interesting details, such as the battle sequences of the Eighth Route Army, the tactics of counterattacking the enemy, and the two small buttons on military uniforms.
The "Independent Regiment" of the Eighth Route Army is one of the high-profile existences. What kind of existence did this "independent regiment" have? How did they proudly stand independent and fight bravely on the battlefield of resistance against Japan? These questions outline a delicate picture of the Eighth Route Army in the War of Resistance Against Japan.
And when people trace the history of the Eighth Route Army, they will inevitably be curious about the two small buttons on their clothing. Why put such a design on the gray military cap?
To solve this puzzle, we must go back to the development of the people's army.
Nanchang Tinder: The first armed force of the Communists
In the autumn of 1927, the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party broke down, and the armed repression in the name of "sweeping away the Communist Party" swept the country. On August 1 of this year, Zhou Enlai, Ye Ting and others launched an uprising in Nanchang, Jiangxi, firing the first shot of resistance. This was the Nanchang Uprising that shocked China and the rest of the world.
As a result, the Chinese Communists had their first armed force, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.
The Red Army, which had just been born, lacked supplies and was difficult to equip with uniform uniforms. Most of them were poorly dressed, and only a few lucky ones had military caps on their heads. These caps are modeled after the Soviet Union, with a large octagonal shape and a red star on the crown.
However, the first version of the large octagonal hat was too bulky and did not fit the size of the Chinese. As a result, in the long battle and march, it gradually evolved into a small octagonal hat with a smaller hat shape. It became part of the standard equipment of the Red Army, standing tall like a revolutionary fire burning in the chest.
Homemade red tinder during the Long March
After the September 18 Incident in 1931, the aggression of Japanese imperialism was imminent step by step, and the survival of the country was at stake. Beginning in 1933, a series of "encirclement and suppression" with the goal of exterminating the armed forces of the Chinese Communist Party followed.
After the failure of the fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign, the Red Army had no choice but to move in and began the unprecedented 25,000-mile Long March.
On the Long March, the officers and men of the Red Army once again had difficulty in wearing uniform uniforms. But no matter how ragged they were, the little octagonal hats on their heads always looked like clusters of flickering red fires, signaling the hope of revolution. Most of these small octagonal hats were hand-sewn by the local people and Red Army soldiers.
During the most arduous crossing of Chishui during the Long March, the Red Second and Red Fourth Front Armies met at the Zunyi Conference. At this time, it was the cold winter in the north in November, and the Red Army soldiers in thin uniforms were shivering with cold. In order to keep out the cold, some people simply cut off the cuffs and trouser leg fabric, and tightly wrapped them around their heads and necks.
After the Zunyi Conference, according to Mao Zedong's suggestion, the Red Army began to be reorganized. In addition to the arduous tasks of marching and combat, they also tried to sew simple uniform uniforms as much as possible. This has played an important role in resisting the severe cold and improving combat effectiveness.
Thus, although still scarce, small octagonal hats were able to be equipped with more in the later stages of the Long March. It became standard for the Red Army and marched all over the Motherland with victory.
The symbol of the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party: the unified blue sky and white Japanese military cap
In 1937, the Lugou Bridge Incident broke out, and the 77 Incident opened the prelude to the all-out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Under the call of the anti-Japanese national united front, the Chinese Communist Party re-cooperated with the Kuomintang. The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army as required.
The situation is urgent. Against this background, the Kuomintang government provided the Red Army with uniform straight-barreled bowler caps. The crown is embellished with a twelve-pointed star and two buttons fastening the adjustable brim.
However, what many Red Army officers and men never expected was that this twelve-pointed star symbol of the blue sky and white sun, which represented the symbol of the hostile forces, was now appearing on their heads. Some of the Red Army fighters strongly resisted and even took off their cockades.
After some ideological work, the vast number of officers and men of the Red Army accepted this temporary arrangement. After all, the anti-Japanese national united front is the central task of the moment. As a result, people began to adapt to the appearance of this new emblem on the Red Army military cap as a symbol of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.
However, the lifespan of this sign is very short. Because what really maintains the cooperation between the KMT and the CCP is not the symbol, but the actual deeds.
Disappearance of the emblem : The red mark left after the rupture
In the Southern Anhui Incident in 1941, the New Fourth Army was encircled and annihilated by a tragic audience. Cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party broke down. Against this backdrop, the survivors of the New Fourth Army first took off the blue sky and white sun emblem from their military hats to express their anger and distrust of the Kuomintang.
By 1946, the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party broke out. The National Revolutionary Army ceased and eventually cut off all supply and support to the Communist forces. Subsequently, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army also issued a circular requiring all officers and men of the army to take off the emblem representing the Kuomintang on their military caps.
At this point, the mark of the blue sky and white sun was completely erased from the body of the communist soldier, leaving only two lonely buttons on the forehead of the military hat.
However, these two buttons are the marks left by the red fire they once had.
Retain the practical design : the propped up brim
During the harsh war years, practicality had to be considered in all designs. This is especially true of the military cap, which is a necessity, which needs to adapt to the front line under heavy artillery fire, but also to enable soldiers to fight in the cold or heat.
So the Red Army designed a brim that could be flexibly turned up. It can be lowered to cover the neck for warmth, or it can be erected for mobility. The two buttons are used to secure the brim. This design is very practical, reduces wear and tear, and protects the soldier's head and hearing during combat.
Such a military cap is still in use today, and those two buttons have also become an indispensable part of the PLA cockade. Although time has passed, today's military uniforms have undergone upgrading, and they still quietly record the course of ups and downs, inheriting the revolutionary spirit of the Chinese Communists of unremitting self-improvement and perseverance.
epilogue
There is no turning back on history, and there is no turning back on time. We can't change the facts that are a foregone conclusion, but we can draw wisdom from them.
Today, we pay tribute to the history behind the two buttons, remember the lessons of the white-hot contradictions between the KMT and the CCP, and cherish the hard-won peaceful life.
Nothing is more precious than maintaining national unity and upholding cooperation. The Chinese nation is at a critical juncture to achieve great rejuvenation, which is a common opportunity for more than 1.3 billion people to realize the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Let us continue to burn the eternal patriotic fire, forge ahead, and contribute to this great era. China will surely regain its former glory and prosperity!