Eighth Route Army


The Eighth Route Army, also known as the 18th Group Army, was a group army nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, established in 1937 as part of the Second United Front against Japan. In practice, the Eighth Route Army was under the exclusive command of the Chinese Communist Party and operated independently of the Kuomintang central military command. Unlike most NRA units, which were directly overseen by the Nationalist Government, the Eighth Route Army maintained separate political and operational structures aligned with CCP objectives.
The Eighth Route Army was created from the Chinese Red Army on September 22, 1937, when the Chinese Communists and Chinese Nationalists formed the Second United Front against Japan at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, as the Chinese theater was known in World War II. Together with the New Fourth Army, the Eighth Route Army formed the main Communist fighting force during the war and was commanded by Communist party leader Mao Zedong and general Zhu De. Though officially designated the 18th Group Army by the Nationalists, the unit was referred to by the Chinese Communists and Japanese military as the Eighth Route Army. The Eighth Route Army wore Nationalist uniforms and flew the flag of the Republic of China and waged mostly guerrilla war against the Japanese, collaborationist forces and, later in the war, other Nationalist forces. The unit was renamed the People's Liberation Army in 1947, after the end of World War II, as the Chinese Communists and Nationalists resumed the Chinese Civil War.

History

The Eighth Route Army consisted of three divisions. During World War II, the Eighth Route Army operated mostly in North China, infiltrating behind Japanese lines, to establish guerrilla bases in rural and remote areas. The main units of the Eighth Route Army were aided by local militias organized from the peasantry.
Shortly after the Marco Polo Bridge incident in 1937, the Eighth Route Army advanced into the Japanese rear in North China, establishing the Taihang resistance base area.
After its fall 1938 victory in the Battle of Wuhan, Japan advanced deep into Communist territory and redeployed 50,000 troops to the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region. Elements of the Eighth Route Army soon attacked the advancing Japanese, inflicting between 3,000 and 5,000 casualties and resulting in a Japanese retreat.
The Communist Party's liaison offices in cities under Nationalist control such as Chongqing, Guilin and Dihua were called Eighth Route Army Offices.
Ethnic Koreans who fought in the Eighth Route Army later joined the Korean People's Army.
In the Yan'an base area in September 1938, the Eighth Route Army established its first film group.
The Eighth Route Army was also responsible for the reeducation of Japanese POWs, and defectors during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In November 1940, the General Political Department of the Eighth Route Army established the Yan'an Japanese Worker and Peasant School. On May 15, 1941, the school was officially opened at Baota Mountain, Yan'an.
Several notable Japanese soldiers joined the Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Including Hideo Miyagawa, Kobayashi Kancho, and Maeda Mitsushige, the first Japanese to join the Eighth Route Army during the war.
In October 1941, 35 Japanese in Yenan, including Oyama Mitsuyoshi, took an oath to officially join the Eighth Route Army.
At the start of the war in 1937, the Eighth Route Army consisted of 80,000 troops. By 1945, its ranks had swelled to 1,028,893 troops.
From September 1937 to 10 October 1945, the Eighth Route Army engaged with Japanese and Chinese collaborationist troops in 99,847 battles, claiming to have killed or wounded 713,930, captured 407,208, and accepted the surrender and defection of 137,565. In the same period, the Eighth Route Army suffered 121,444 killed and 225,687 wounded.

Organization

1937

In August 1937, the Eighth Route Army had three divisions.
DivisionCommanderOrder of battleCommanderTroop strength
115th DivisionLin Biao343rd Brigade15,000
115th DivisionLin Biao344th BrigadeXu Haidong15,000
115th DivisionLin BiaoIndependent RegimentYang Chengwu15,000
120th DivisionHe Long358th BrigadeLu Dongsheng14,000
120th DivisionHe Long359th BrigadeChen Bojun14,000
120th DivisionHe LongTeaching RegimentPeng Shaohui14,000
129th DivisionLiu Bocheng385th BrigadeWang Hongkun13,000
129th DivisionLiu Bocheng386th BrigadeChen Geng13,000
129th DivisionLiu BochengTeaching RegimentZhang Xian 13,000

1940

In Winter 1940 the Eighth Route Army had increased to 400,000 soldiers.
DivisionCommanderOrder of battleCommanderTroop strength
115th DivisionChen Guang1st Teaching BrigadePeng Mingzhi70,000
115th DivisionChen Guang2nd Teaching Brigade70,000
115th DivisionChen Guang3rd Teaching Brigade
Western Shandong Military Region		Yang Yong70,000
115th DivisionChen Guang4th Teaching Brigade
Western Lake Military Region		70,000
115th DivisionChen Guang5th Teaching BrigadeLiang Xingchu70,000
115th DivisionChen Guang6th Teaching Brigade
Shandong and Hebei Military Region		70,000
115th DivisionChen GuangSouthern Shandong Military Region70,000
Shandong ColumnZhang Jingwu1st BrigadeWang Jian'an51,000
Shandong ColumnZhang Jingwu2nd Brigade51,000
Shandong ColumnZhang Jingwu3rd BrigadeXu Shiyou51,000
Shandong ColumnZhang Jingwu5th Brigade51,000
Shandong ColumnZhang Jingwu1st Detachment51,000
Shandong ColumnZhang Jingwu4th DetachmentZhao Jie51,000
Shandong ColumnZhang Jingwu5th DetachmentWang Bin 51,000
120th Division
Western and Northern Shanxi Military Region		He Long1st Independent Brigade
4th Military Subarea		Gao Shiyi 51,000
120th Division
Western and Northern Shanxi Military Region		He Long2nd Independent Brigade
2nd Military Subarea		Peng Shaohui51,000
120th Division
Western and Northern Shanxi Military Region		He Long358th Brigade
3rd Military Subarea		Zhang Zongxun51,000
120th Division
Western and Northern Shanxi Military Region		He Long2nd Shanxi Youth Column
8th Military Subarea		51,000
120th Division
Western and Northern Shanxi Military Region		He LongCavalry DetachmentYao Zhe51,000
129th DivisionLiu BochengTaihang Mountain Military SubareaLiu Bocheng56,000
129th DivisionLiu Bocheng386th Brigade
Taiyue Mountain Military Subarea		Chen Geng56,000
129th DivisionLiu BochengSouthern Hebei Military SubareaChen Zaidao56,000
Shanxi, Hebei and Chahaer Military RegionNie Rongzhen1st Military SubareaYang Chengwu100,000
Shanxi, Hebei and Chahaer Military RegionNie Rongzhen2nd Military SubareaGuo Tianmin100,000
Shanxi, Hebei and Chahaer Military RegionNie Rongzhen3rd Military SubareaHuang Yongsheng100,000
Shanxi, Hebei and Chahaer Military RegionNie Rongzhen4th Military Subarea100,000
Shanxi, Hebei and Chahaer Military RegionNie Rongzhen5th Military SubareaDeng Hua100,000
Shanxi, Hebei and Chahaer Military RegionNie Rongzhen3rd Column
Middle Hebei Military Region		Lü Zhengcao100,000
Shanxi, Hebei and Chahaer Military RegionNie RongzhenAdvanced DetachmentXiao Ke100,000
Shaanxi Left Behind CorpsXiao Jinguang385th Brigade22,600
Shaanxi Left Behind CorpsXiao Jinguang359th BrigadeWang Zhen22,600
Shaanxi Left Behind CorpsXiao Jinguang1st Security Brigade22,600
Shaanxi Left Behind CorpsXiao JinguangSecurity CommandGao Gang22,600
Others2nd Column
Hebei, Shandong and Henan Military Region		Yang Dezhi50,000
Others4th ColumnPeng Xuefeng50,000
Others5th ColumnHuang Kecheng50,000