Zhu De and the War of Resistance Against Japan

Author: Hu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: Shanxi was the main battlefield of the Anti-Japanese War in North China. After the full-scale war of resistance broke out, Zhu De and Peng Dehuai led the Eighth Route Army to Shanxi to fight against the Japanese forces in the front line. Relying on the Wutai Mountain, Lüshan Mountain, and Taihang Mountain, they established enemy rear bases such as Jin-Cha-Ji, Jin-Sui, and Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu. Thereafter, the land of the three provinces of Shanxi ignited an eight-year anti-Japanese fire. After Zhu De led the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army across the Yellow River, he entered Shanxi. After the troops arrived in Shanxi, they quickly rushed to Houma. Houma is a major town in western Shanxi, which was once prosperous with bustling markets and merchants. Now, the streets are filled with people who have left their homes, the market is desolate, and the scene is devastated. When Zhu De led the troops to Houma Station on September 19, the station was crowded with people both inside and outside. There were refugees from Northeast and Beijing-Tianjin, local residents, government officials, and representatives from all walks of life. They waved banners, chanted slogans, and continuously shoved into the train coaches bread, jujubes, walnuts, persimmon cakes, and other comfort goods. Many refugees from the occupied areas, their eyes brimming with tears, looked forward to the Eighth Route Army to liberate their hometowns; local residents wished for the Eighth Route Army to hold back the Japanese invaders to prevent the people from being displaced. General Zhu De and Ren Bishi, Zuo Quan, Deng Xiaoping, and others led the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army onto the train in Houma, Shanxi. The train they took was an troop transport arranged by Yan Xishan. Due to Japanese air raids, it could only travel at night. The train moved slowly, stopping at both major and minor stations. As the train traveled across Shanxi, more and more crowds gathered at the stations along the way. Large numbers of men and women, especially the refugees from Northeast, gathered at the stations, keeping awake all night to see off the Eighth Route Army to the front line. Everywhere the troops went, they were warmly welcomed and comforted by the masses. Deeply moved by the people's anti-Japanese spirit, Zhu De would always step out of the carriage whenever the train stopped to address the crowd, promoting the Communist Party and the Eighth Route Army's policy of united resistance against Japan, and encouraging everyone to unite and fight to the end against the Japanese invaders. Merchants, students, workers, and farmers all rushed forward, eager to see the beloved commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army with their own eyes. Zhu De's kind smile, warm voice, and resolute demeanor tightly bound the emotions of the people and united the anti-Japanese forces. During his northward journey, Zhu De was busy handling incoming telegrams, calmly observing the situation in North China, and carefully considering battle plans. A month after the fall of Beijing and Tianjin, the Japanese forces broke through the defensive lines of the Nationalist Party's troops at Nankou and Juyong Pass and occupied Zhangjiakou. Then, they advanced in three directions: one along the Tianjin-Pukou Railway southward to Shandong; one along the Beijing-Hankou Railway southward to the Central Plains; and one along the Beijing-Suiyuan Railway westward to attack Shanxi. Shanxi was the key target of the Japanese forces' offensive in North China, and the commander of the Japanese forces in Shanxi, General Tōjō Hideki, was a Chinese expert. He was well-versed in the military routes used by Kublai Khan when he conquered the Central Plains and knew that occupying Taiyuan along the Tongpu Railway was enough to control North China. From there, if they advanced southward and crossed the Yellow River to occupy Tong Pass, they would control the throat of the route to the Southwest and Northwest. Based on the battlefield situation, the Nationalist Party's military authorities divided the pre-war areas into five theaters. According to the division of the Nanjing government, North China was divided into two theaters.The theater was