Before and after the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army

After the Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937, on August 9, the CPC Central Committee immediately sent Zhu de, Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying to Nanjing to discuss the state of the country. On August 12, representatives of the Communist Party of China Zhou Enlai and Zhu De discussed with Nanjing Zhang Chong, Shao Lizi, and Kang Ze the "Declaration on Cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party" drafted by the Communist Party of China. Due to the Japanese army's full-scale invasion of China, Chiang Kai-shek was eager to dispatch the Red Army to fight against Japan in North China. He had to give up some harsh conditions and agreed that the Red Army's combat mission was to act as a strategic guerrilla, carry out side operations, and assist the Kuomintang army to "harass and suppress most of the Japanese army and destroy one of them".
 

On August 18, the Nanjing National Government agreed to reorganize the Red Army into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army, with three divisions under it, set up a general headquarters, and appointed Zhu De and Peng Dehuai as the chief and deputy commanders. Chiang Kai-shek no longer insisted on sending officers to the Eighth Route Army, but only sent one liaison staff officer to the Eighth Route Army headquarters and three divisions. The long-disputed reorganization and personnel issues of the Red Army were finally resolved. On August 22, the National Government Military Commission officially announced the order of the reorganization of the Red Army. On this day, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau in Luochuan.
 

On the closing day of the Luochuan meeting on August 25, Mao Zedong, chairman of the Central Revolutionary military Commission of the Communist Party of China, and Zhu de and Zhou Enlai, vice chairmen, issued an "adaptation order" to the whole army:
 

Nanjing has already begun the war of resistance against Japan, and the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party has been initially successful. In order to realize the guarantee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party to change the name of the Red Army at the Third Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang, make the Red Army a model of the anti-Japanese national war, and promote this war of resistance to become the anti-Japanese revolutionary war of the whole nation, in order to strive for the final and complete victory, based on the results of the political negotiations with the Kuomintang and Nanjing, it was announced that the Red Army was renamed the Eighth Route Army:
 

The former headquarters was changed to the Eighth Route Army headquarters, with Zhu De as the commander-in-chief, Peng Dehuai as the deputy commander-in-chief, Ye Jianying as the chief of staff, and Zuo Quan as the deputy chief of staff.
 

The General Political Department was changed to the Political Department of the Eighth Route Army, with Ren Bishi as its director and Deng Xiaoping as its deputy director.
 

On the one hand, the First Army Corps, the 15th Army Corps and the 74th Division were co-organized into the First 15th Division of the Army, with Lin Biao as the division commander, Nie Rongzhen as the deputy division commander, Zhou Kun as the chief of staff, Luo Ronghuan as the director of the division's political training department, and Xiao Huawei as the deputy director.
 

The 27th and 28th armies of the second front army, independent of the first and second divisions and the first general division of the Chishui security camp, were jointly organized into the army's 12th division, with he long as the division commander, Xiao Ke as the deputy division commander, Zhou Shidi as the chief of staff, Guan Xiangying as the director of the political training department and Gan Siqi as the deputy director.
 

The 29th Army and the 30th Army Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Independent First and 2. 3. Fourth Regiment of the Fourth Front Army were reorganized into the 129th Division of the Army, with Liu Bocheng as the division commander, Xu Xiangqian as the deputy division commander, Ni Zhihe as the chief of staff, Zhang Hao as the director of the political training department, and Song Renqiong as the deputy director.
 

After the reorganization of the above ministries, the appointment of personnel shall be in accordance with the former head office. After the divisions are reorganized into the National Revolutionary Army, it is necessary to strengthen the leadership of the party and maintain and give play to the glorious tradition of ten years of struggle.
 

Resolutely implement the orders of the Party Central Committee and the Military Commission to ensure that the Red Army will become the party army of the Communist Party after its reorganization, fight for the party's line and policies, and complete the great mission of the Chinese revolution.
 

On the same day, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China also issued an order for the reorganization of the former Northern Shaanxi Red Army: The former Northern Shaanxi Red Army was incorporated into the three regular divisions of the Eighth Route Army, and some troops were drawn from the Red First and 2. First Armies to form the Eighth Route Army's rear area. Xiao Jingguang served as the director, under the jurisdiction of eight police regiments, the 38th Brigade Department and the 77th Brigade Department, and the Defense, which were responsible for the Defense.
 

On August 25, Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, and Peng Dehuai, deputy commander-in-chief, issued a telegram, announcing their inauguration, announcing that the troops had been reorganized and were about to advance eastward to kill the enemy. On August 29, the Central Military Commission decided to establish the Front Branch (later called the North China Army Branch). On September 11, the Eighth Route Army was renamed the 18th Army in accordance with the unified national battle sequence, and the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief were renamed commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief.
 

The three divisions of the Eighth Route Army were designated as the 15th Division, the 12th Division, and the 129th Division, all of which were originally from the Northeast Army. After the Xi'an Incident, in order to weaken the Northeast Army, Chiang Kai-shek "sorted out" the Northeast Army and reorganized 17 infantry divisions into 10. These three divisions were all laid off under excuses and their designations were revoked. When the Red Army reorganized the Eighth Route Army, He Yingqin, Minister of Military and Political Affairs of the National Government, proposed that these three designations be awarded to the Eighth Route Army.
 

The General Command of the eighth Route Army (hereinafter referred to as the headquarters of the eighth Route Army, also known as the headquarters of the 18th Group Army and the General Assembly) was the highest head organ of the Communist Party of China in directing the Anti-Japanese guerrilla war in North China during the War of Resistance against Japan. It is composed of the Eighth Route Army General Command, the General Political Department and the logistics system (including the Supply Department, the Ministry of Health, and the Military Station Department). The Eighth Route Army Headquarters in Yunyang Town is the first headquarters of the Eighth Route Army. It is located in the Wenjia Compound in Yunyang Town, Jingyang County, Shaanxi Province. During the Eighth Route Army headquarters stationed in Yunyang, three divisions of the Eighth Route Army were organized to hold anti-Japanese oath meetings in Yunyang Town, Yong'an Village, Zhuangli Town, Fuping County, and Qiaodi Town, Jingyang County.
 

During the reorganization of the Eighth Route Army, the Eighth Route Army Office (referred to as the "Eight Office") was also established in Nanjing in August 1937. The "Eighth Office" in Nanjing was the first public office established by the Communist Party of China and the Eighth Route Army in the Kuomintang-ruled area in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War. Bogu was the party representative of the "Eighth Office" in Nanjing, Ye Jianying was the representative of the Eighth Route Army, and Li Kenong was the director of the office. Ye and Li are also sent by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, so the "Eight Offices" in Nanjing are also the Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Nanjing.
 

November 20, 2017 Source: People's Political Consultative Conference