Chen Hongmin: Why the War of Resistance Was Won
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Communist Party of China (CPC)—acting in accordance with China’s national conditions at the time, the balance of power between China and Japan, and the international situation—formulated a basic line of "total resistance" and a strategic policy of adhering to a "protracted war," thereby strengthening the Chinese people's conviction in ultimate victory. The CPC opened up anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines and elevated guerrilla warfare to a strategic status, drowning the Japanese invaders in the "vast ocean" of a total people's war. When discussing the contributions of the CPC and Mao Zedong to the strategic thinking and theory of the War of Resistance, the most frequently cited work is Mao’s On Protracted War, published in May 1938. At that time, less than a year after the outbreak of the total war of resistance, the Japanese invaders were at the height of their arrogance. In this article, Mao not only farsightedly asserted that China would achieve final victory but also scientifically predicted the characteristics of each stage of the war and the strategies and tactics China should adopt.
In fact, even earlier, in July 1936, Mao Zedong predicted during a conversation with the American journalist Edgar Snow in a Yan’an cave dwelling that China would certainly achieve victory under three conditions. This prophecy essentially coincided with the actual course of the war.
I. Mao Zedong and Snow’s "Cave Conversation"
The situation in China in 1936 was such that the main forces of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, having completed the arduous Long March, had just established a foothold in Northern Shaanxi. Chiang Kai-shek intended to strike a final blow while the Red Army’s position was still precarious. Meanwhile, the Japanese invaders, having occupied the Northeast, created the "North China Crisis" in an attempt to expand their war of aggression. Both China and the Chinese Revolution stood at a crossroads. In July, Snow arrived in Yan’an, becoming the first Western journalist to report from the "Red Areas" and interview Mao Zedong. This was a historic meeting: a Western journalist finally explored the "secret realm" of the Chinese Revolution, and the leader of the Chinese Revolution voiced his perspective to the West for the first time. In the cave dwellings of Yan’an, two men—vastly different, yet each eager to understand the other—held a series of over a dozen deep, night-long discussions on a wide range of issues. Snow’s reports on what he saw and heard in Yan’an were published in British and American newspapers, causing a sensation. Later, he compiled these reports into the book Red Star Over China.
As a keen journalist, Snow naturally raised questions during this "cave conversation" regarding the CPC’s views on Japanese aggression and China’s strategy for resistance; Mao provided detailed answers. Three related themes from their dialogue are included in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong: "Diplomatic Issues," "On Opposing Japanese Imperialism," and "On the United Front." During their discussion on "Opposing Japanese Imperialism" on July 16, Mao expressed his firm belief in the future of the war to Snow: "We are deeply convinced that the Chinese people will not succumb to Japanese imperialism. We are deeply convinced they will mobilize their enormous potential and throw it into the battlefield of resistance... In this struggle, final victory will surely belong to the Chinese people." There followed a brilliant exchange:
(Snow) Question: Under what conditions can China defeat and destroy the forces of Japanese imperialism? (Mao) Answer: There must be three conditions: first, the completion of the Chinese anti-Japanese united front; second, the completion of the international anti-Japanese united front; and third, the rise of revolutionary movements among the Japanese people and the peoples of Japan's colonies. From the standpoint of the Chinese people, the great unity of the Chinese people is the primary among these three conditions.
(Snow) Question: How long do you think this war will last? (Mao) Answer: That depends on the strength of the Chinese anti-Japanese united front and many other deciding factors between China and Japan... If the Chinese anti-Japanese united front develops powerfully and is organized effectively both horizontally and vertically; if the governments and peoples of various countries who recognize that Japanese imperialism threatens their own interests can give China the necessary assistance; and if the Japanese revolution arises quickly, then this war will end swiftly and China will achieve a quick victory. If these conditions cannot be realized soon, the war will be prolonged. But the result remains the same: Japan will lose, and China will win.
The brilliance of this dialogue lies in the fact that, at the time, China’s resistance was still in the stage of "partial resistance," the Nationalists and Communists were still engaged in civil war, and foreign support for China’s resistance was negligible. None of the three conditions Mao cited for victory had yet emerged. From his remote location in the Northwest, he boldly proposed the outcome: "Japan will lose, and China will win." However, this bold judgment was not mere wishful thinking; it was a result of Mao’s careful observation and analysis of China’s actual conditions, the balance of power between China and Japan, and the international political landscape.
Behind this prediction lay a profound theoretical foundation—the "On Contradiction" [1] approach, which was Mao’s basic method for understanding and solving problems. Mao believed that contradiction is universal and absolute, existing in all processes of development, and that contradictions are subject to change. The CPC had to learn to use the method of contradiction to correctly analyze the history and current situation of the Chinese revolution to "infer the revolution’s future." At that time, the principal contradiction in Chinese society had gradually transformed into the contradiction between the Chinese nation and Japanese imperialism. Among the factors determining the development of things, "external causes are the condition of change and internal causes are the basis of change, and external causes operate through internal causes." Analyzing the war through this lens, the strength of Japanese imperialism and the weakness of China were contemporary realities, but realities that could be transformed. Thus, Mao proposed that the Chinese people could defeat the Japanese invaders under those three conditions. Among them, the completion of the Chinese anti-Japanese united front was the internal cause, while the international united front and the Japanese domestic revolution were external causes. As he said: "The great unity of the Chinese people is the primary."
Mao’s 1936 prediction was fundamentally consistent with the actual progression of the war. These three conditions were the basic requirements for the victory.
II. The Formation of the Chinese Anti-Japanese United Front
The first and most important condition Mao listed was the formation of the Chinese anti-Japanese united front. Given the massive gap in military and economic strength, a backward China could only achieve victory by realizing a "total national unity" in resistance. When Mao spoke with Snow, the Nationalists and Communists were still in a state of severe armed confrontation, and the prospects for a united front seemed bleak. However, Mao determined it could be established based on three factors: the severity of Japanese aggression; the CPC’s advocacy for a united front; and the desire of patriots within the Kuomintang (KMT) to cooperate with the CPC.
The CPC was the advocate and defender of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, and KMT-CPC cooperation was its foundation. After Japan launched the September 18th Incident [2] in 1931 and occupied Northeast China, the CPC began long and arduous efforts to establish this front. In December 1935, at the Wayaobu Meeting, the CPC Central Committee formally proposed that "the Party's task is to integrate the activities of the Red Army with all activities of the nation’s workers, peasants, students, urban petty bourgeoisie, and bourgeoisie to become a unified national revolutionary front." At this meeting, the CPC analyzed the necessity and possibility of the united front and raised the issue of "international aid." One could say the "cave conversation" with Snow was a continuation of this line of thought. In August 1936, the CPC sent a letter to the KMT calling for an end to the civil war. After the outbreak of the Xi’an Incident [3], the CPC assessed the situation and determined a policy for its peaceful resolution, forcing Chiang Kai-shek to accept conditions such as ending the civil war and uniting with the Communists against Japan. Thereafter, the CPC sent representatives multiple times to negotiate with the KMT. On July 7, 1937, the Lugou Bridge Incident [4] marked the outbreak of the total war of resistance. The CPC Central Committee presented Chiang Kai-shek with three demands for launching a national war of resistance and four guarantees from the CPC to realize cooperation. Through negotiations, Chiang was forced to agree to reorganize the CPC-led armed forces into the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, which headed to the front lines and became the backbone of the resistance. On September 22, the Central News Agency published the Declaration of the CPC Central Committee on the Publication of KMT-CPC Cooperation. Chiang Kai-shek immediately followed with a statement that effectively recognized the legal status of the Communist Party. These two publications marked the official formation of the Anti-Japanese National United Front centered on KMT-CPC cooperation.
Under the active efforts and promotion of the CPC, a united front comprising all ethnic groups, democratic parties, patriotic armies, patriotic personages from all walks of life, and overseas Chinese was established. This launched the largest national liberation and revolutionary war in modern Chinese history. Throughout the war, internal differences and even "frictions" [5] occurred within the united front. The CPC adhered to the general policy of "developing the progressive forces, winning over the middle forces, and isolating the die-hard forces," and the tactic of "both unity and struggle, seeking unity through struggle." This allowed the united front to persist and ensured victory.
The War of Resistance was a total war. Patriots from all ethnic groups and social strata, including overseas Chinese, threw themselves into the tide of national salvation. Soldiers fought bloodily at the front, while civilians in the rear intensified production and practiced "plain living and hard struggle" to support the front. Truly, "regardless of man or woman, young or old, regardless of east, west, south, or north," the entire nation was under arms to strike the invaders. All political parties and groups expressed support for the CPC’s united front policy. Various social forces, including intellectuals, religious circles, and women’s circles, established resistance organizations, giving rise to many heroic deeds. The relocation of industries and universities to the interior [6] in the early stages of the war was an operation of immense scale and difficulty. Completed under the pursuit and indiscriminate bombing of the Japanese army, this preserved China’s basic industrial system and the "cultural lineage" (文脉) of higher education, sustaining the long-term war. This remains a miracle in the history of world migration.
Ethnic minority masses also actively participated. Many lived in remote areas where the central government's governance had historically been loose. As Japanese intrusion reached these areas, the loss of life and property directly pushed minorities to organize armed resistance. During the "partial resistance" period, many ethnic Koreans served in the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, and the Chahar People’s Anti-Japanese Allied Army led by Feng Yuxiang attracted patriotic Mongols. During the total war period, nearly all ethnic minority militias in western Yunnan participated, supporting the Chinese Expeditionary Force and harassing Japanese-occupied areas. When the Expeditionary Force launched its general counter-offensive in May 1944, the various ethnic groups of western Yunnan provided full support. The CPC attached great importance to guiding minority resistance, mobilizing them to join the fight and integrating their armed forces, establishing base areas in many minority-inhabited regions. Guided by the Anti-Japanese National United Front, they merged into the national war. The famous Hui patriot Ma Benzhai organized the Hui People’s Anti-Japanese Volunteer Corps (later reorganized into the Eighth Route Army’s Hui Detachment), which conducted guerrilla warfare in Hebei, fighting over 800 engagements and annihilating a vast number of enemy troops.
Overseas Chinese also joined the people of the motherland in the War of Resistance. As an important constituent part of the Chinese nation, the overseas Chinese scattered across the world initially had limited understanding of the Japanese invasion and the domestic war effort due to factors such as being in foreign lands and difficulties in communication and information. However, when they realized that the invasion posed the danger of national subjugation and racial extinction [7] for the Chinese nation, it incited in them an incomparable indignation toward the aggressors. Overseas compatriots supported the motherland's War of Resistance through various means, including boycotting Japanese goods, donating money and materials, purchasing national bonds, and returning to invest in China. Research indicates that in the early stages of the full-scale War of Resistance, overseas Chinese donations accounted for nearly one-third of all military expenditures; over the eight years of the total war, these donations exceeded 1.32 billion yuan in national currency. Furthermore, some overseas Chinese resolutely returned to the motherland to join the fight. From Guangdong province alone, more than 40,000 overseas compatriots returned to participate in the war, with some spilling their blood on the battlefield. At the request of the Nationalist Government, the famous patriotic overseas leader Tan Kah-kee (Chen Jiageng) recruited drivers and mechanics—who were in short supply domestically—from Southeast Asia to serve in the transport of military supplies along the Yunnan-Burma Road and the Southwest Highway. More than 3,000 "Nanyang Volunteer Mechanics and Drivers" [8] answered the call to return and serve the cause of the motherland's resistance.
Ethnic minorities and overseas Chinese are important and unique constituent parts of the Chinese nation. In the process of resisting Japanese aggression, the people of all Chinese ethnicities stood shoulder to shoulder with a shared hatred for the enemy. The War of Resistance awakened the consciousness of the entire Chinese nation, promoted unity and integration among various ethnicities, and strengthened the sense of motherland and national identity among overseas compatriots. This caused the concept of a "Chinese national community" to become deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, transforming the nation from a loose ethnic coalition into a unified, stable, and solid Chinese national community.
In 1945, at the Seventh National Congress of the CPC, Mao Zedong stated: "The vast ranks of officers and men of the Chinese army are shedding their blood in battle at the front; China's workers, peasants, intellectuals, and industrial circles are working hard in the rear; overseas Chinese are contributing funds to aid the war; and all anti-Japanese political parties, except for those anti-people elements, have done their bit for the war." In 2020, Xi Jinping pointed out: "The victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a great victory won by the entire nation standing united as one and fighting with courage":
In the arduous War of Resistance, all sons and daughters of the Chinese nation fought for the survival of the country, for national rejuvenation, and for human justice. The breadth of social mobilization, the depth of national awakening, the tenacity of fighting will, and the firmness of the conviction in victory all reached unprecedented heights. Martyred generals such as Yang Jingyu, Zhao Shangzhi, Zuo Quan, Peng Xuefeng, Tong Linge, Zhao Dengyu, Zhang Zizhong, and Dai Anlan, as well as heroic groups such as the "Five Heroes of Mount Langya" of the Eighth Route Army, the "Liulozhuang Company" of the New Fourth Army, the eight female soldiers of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, and the "Eight Hundred Heroes" of the Kuomintang army, are the outstanding representatives of the millions of resisting soldiers and officers. With unyielding spirit, the Chinese people fought the powerful enemy; with their own flesh and blood, they built a Great Wall; and one after another, they rushed to meet the national crisis, composing a majestic epic that moved heaven and earth and moved the gods to tears. [9]
The War of Resistance was the turning point for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and the foundation of this turn was the "sense of Chinese national community" formed by the people of all ethnicities during the process of resisting Japanese aggression. The theory and practice of the Anti-Japanese National United Front advocated by the Chinese Communist Party played a vital role in the formation of this sense of Chinese national community.
III. The Formation of the International Anti-Japanese United Front
Given the vast disparity in power between China and Japan, China’s War of Resistance urgently needed support from countries around the world. During the period of China's partial resistance, the governments of Europe and the United States—out of consideration for their respective interests—did not openly support China’s resistance. However, Mao Zedong analyzed that as Japan expanded its invasion, it would inevitably create sharp contradictions with the interests of various countries in China: "Japanese aggression threatens not only China but also world peace, especially peace in the Pacific. Japanese imperialism is the enemy not only of China but also of the people of all countries in the world who demand peace, especially the people of countries with interests in the Pacific, namely the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Japan’s continental and maritime policies are directed not only against China but also against these countries." Based on this, Mao called upon all governments, peoples, political parties, and mass organizations to unite and form a united front against Japanese imperialism. This international anti-Japanese united front was an expansion and extension of the domestic Anti-Japanese National United Front.
In 1937, the full-scale Japanese invasion of China broke out, and the Eastern Theater of World War II opened. The Soviet Union was the first to feel the Japanese threat; it signed the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Treaty with China, provided military aid, and dispatched military advisors. The famous Soviet Volunteer Air Group came directly to China to participate in combat against Japan, achieving the record of shooting down or destroying nearly a thousand Japanese aircraft, with more than 200 Soviet pilots sacrificing their lives in action. Although Japan’s full-scale invasion seriously damaged the interests of the U.S. and Britain in China, due to the tense situation in Europe, Western powers still tried their best to avoid serious conflict with Japan and did not dare to openly support China’s resistance. The situation of China's war was extremely difficult. In 1939, Mao Zedong appealed to Britain and the United States, stating: "If China is defeated, Britain, the United States, and other countries will not be able to sleep peacefully." He argued that aiding China was aiding themselves and that "it is impossible for any country to remain aloof." In the early stages of the war, Chiang Kai-shek recognized that international support was necessary for the final victory against Japan: "The way to restrain the [Japanese] lies domestically in using perseverance and confidence to persist to the end... and externally, in the hope that a coalition of Britain and the U.S. will trigger international intervention, causing the enemy to lose its ambition to dominate East Asia and overcome China." He spent a great deal of time and energy striving for foreign aid, but became frustrated and helpless when he received no friendly response, noting: "Due to the international situation and the lack of an air force, today my anxieties and irritations are at their peak; I often try to relieve myself with the thought of submitting to fate."
In September 1939, Germany attacked Poland, and the European Theater of World War II began. Not only did Britain and France fail to help China resist Japan to strike the fascist camp, but under Japanese pressure, they actually closed the Yunnan-Burma Road and the Kunming-Hai Phong Railway, making the situation of China's resistance even more difficult. It was not until December 1941, when Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor, that the illusions of Britain and the U.S. were completely shattered. The United States declared war on Japan, and China simultaneously declared war on Japan. China then formed an anti-fascist alliance with the U.S., Britain, the Soviet Union, and others. The U.S. and Britain recognizes the importance of the Chinese theater, hoping that China could pin down and wear out the Japanese army to the maximum extent. President Roosevelt proposed organizing a China Theater, responsible for the Allied forces’ operations against Japan in China, Thailand, Vietnam, and northern Burma. On January 1, 1942, Roosevelt officially announced in Washington the decision to establish the China Theater and nominated Chiang Kai-shek as its Supreme Commander. A global anti-fascist front against Germany, Japan, and Italy was formed, and China's anti-Japanese battlefield was officially integrated into the world anti-fascist battlefield.
The Chinese military not only pinned down and wore out a large number of Japanese troops on the Chinese battlefield but also entered Burma twice to coordinate operations with British forces and presided over the surrender of Japanese troops in northern Vietnam, demonstrating its power abroad. The Chinese battlefield became the main Eastern theater of the global anti-fascist war. China played an active role in the international anti-fascist united front, participating in the Cairo Conference, and taking part in the founding of the United Nations, becoming one of the "Four Great Powers."
Due to the formation of the international anti-fascist united front, the Allies provided China with a large amount of economic and military aid, which greatly improved the situation of China's War of Resistance and enhanced the Chinese people's confidence in victory. Take air combat as an example. The War of Resistance was a comprehensive, modern war, and the air force was the most advanced branch of the military at that time. It could not only cooperate with ground operations through reconnaissance and bombing but also conduct independent air battles to gain air superiority. At the outbreak of the full-scale war, there was a vast disparity between the Chinese and Japanese air forces; the number of aircraft China could deploy was only one-seventh of Japan's. Although the Chinese side achieved a major victory against the Japanese Air Force through a surprise attack on August 14, 1937, the Japanese army soon gained air superiority and bombed Nanjing. During the Battle of Wuhan, the Soviet Volunteer Air Group assisted the Chinese Air Force in its resistance. In the following several years, the Japanese Air Force completely controlled the air superiority of the Chinese theater, using bases in Central China to carry out "attrition bombing" against the southwest region, primarily Chongqing. This caused massive losses to the lives and property of Chinese civilians and seriously damaged the morale of the military and the people. In July 1941, Claire Lee Chennault, a retired U.S. Air Force officer, was commissioned by Chiang Kai-shek to recruit a group of pilots and mechanics in the United States, officially forming the American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Chinese Air Force. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the U.S. government began to provide a large number of fighters and helped train pilots, and the combat effectiveness of the Chinese Air Force began to recover. The AVG was also officially incorporated into the China Air Task Force of the U.S. Army, and later expanded into the 14th Air Force to operate in the Chinese theater. The U.S. Air Force in China was commonly known as the "Flying Tigers." By 1944, the Chinese and American air forces had completely gained air superiority over the battlefield. They not only coordinated with ground operations but also bombed Japanese strategic strongholds and even flew from airfields in mainland China to bomb the Japanese home islands. In the Battle of West Hunan toward the end of the war, China deployed 1,690 sorties of American-style aircraft, bombing the Japanese front lines and rear, which powerfully coordinated with ground troops and led to a major victory over the Japanese. In September 2024, on the occasion of the 79th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance, the Nanjing Anti-Japanese Aviation Martyrs Memorial Hall released for the first time a list of 2,590 American aviation heroes who sacrificed their lives in China's War of Resistance. Some died in air battles against the Japanese, and others died on the extremely difficult transport missions of the "Hump" route. The joint operations of the Chinese and American air forces supported each other and contributed to the victory of the War of Resistance and the global anti-fascist battlefield.
The Chinese people will forever remember the support given by the various Allies of the international anti-fascist united front to the War of Resistance. Xi Jinping stated: "The victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a great victory won by the Chinese people fighting side by side with the anti-fascist Allies and the people of all countries. The Chinese people will never forget the precious aid and support given to the Chinese People's War of Resistance by the countries, peoples, international organizations, and all anti-fascist forces in the world that love peace and justice." In September 2023, Xi Jinping replied to a letter from the Chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation and Flying Tiger veterans, expressing the hope that the spirit of the Flying Tigers could be passed down from generation to generation between the people of the two countries. The letter stated: "Recalling the past, the people of China and the United States shared a common hatred for the enemy in the struggle against Japanese fascism, withstood the test of blood and fire, and forged a deep friendship. Looking to the future, as two major countries, China and the United States bear even more important responsibilities for world peace, stability, and development, and they should and must achieve mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation."
There are two indispensable reasons for the Chinese people’s victory in the War of Resistance: Internally, people of all ethnicities, under the banner of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, persisted in the resistance with one heart and one mind; externally, China united with the countries of the global anti-fascist united front for mutual assistance against the common enemy. Before the outbreak of the full-scale war, Mao Zedong asserted that China's resistance would definitely achieve final victory under three conditions. Although the anti-war activities of the people in Japan and its colonies did not reach a level sufficient to stop the aggression and cause its failure, two of the conditions—the formation of the Chinese anti-Japanese united front and the international anti-Japanese united front (which expanded into the anti-fascist united front)—were met. Their strength was sufficiently powerful to defeat the Japanese aggressors, thus guaranteeing victory in the War of Resistance.
History has proven the correctness of the prediction Mao Zedong made in 1936 during his "cave talks" with Edgar Snow in Yan'an: that China would certainly win the War of Resistance.
(About the Author: Chen Hongmin is a Professor at the School of History, Zhejiang University, and a researcher at the China-Japan History Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.)
Online Editor: Tong Xin Source: Journal of Studies of China's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Issue 1, 2025.