Since Japanese imperialism invaded China's three eastern provinces and attacked Shanghai, the successive declarations of the Soviet Central Government have all pointed out: Japan's aim is to completely colonize the three eastern provinces, the Shanghai Incident will become a concrete manifestation of the imperialist powers carving up China, and the Kuomintang government and its various warlord factions will only more shamelessly surrender to imperialism, betray China, and suppress the nationwide anti-Japanese and anti-imperialist movement of the people, with absolutely no real anti-Japanese action to seek China's national independence and liberation. The development of the current events has fully proven the correctness of the Soviet Central Government's assessment. The puppet Manchukuo government has already been established in the three eastern provinces, serving as the most loyal running dog of Japanese imperialism. The peace negotiations in Shanghai and the investigation team of the League of Nations are entirely conferences and organizations for the imperialist powers to divide the spoils of Shanghai and carve up China. Certain Kuomintang warlords, who, under the pressure of brave soldiers spontaneously fighting the Japanese, had to deceive with the pretense of resisting Japan, have now revealed their true colors: Ma Zhanshan has become the military minister of the Manchukuo government; Chiang Kai-shek, Cai Tingkai, and other warlords have participated in the imperialist peace negotiations to carve up Shanghai; and the Kuomintang government is ever ready to accept the instructions of the League of Nations to butcher the Chinese nation. Its so-called "long-term resistance" propaganda is, on the one hand, a deception to fool the anti-Japanese masses nationwide, and on the other, an attempt to gain the support of another faction of imperialists (especially American imperialism) and provoke a world war, allowing the imperialist powers to resolve the issue of carving up China amid a great war. The Kuomintang government and its various warlord factions, in recent months, have most diligently followed the will of imperialism by dissolving anti-Japanese organizations everywhere, suppressing anti-Japanese strikes, slaughtering anti-Japanese and anti-imperialist masses, machine-gunning brave soldiers who spontaneously resist Japan, strictly prohibiting the activities of popular volunteer forces, and especially exerting their greatest military strength to attack the Soviet areas and the Red Army. All this demonstrates that the Kuomintang government and its various warlord factions are entirely tools of imperialism for directly suppressing China's national revolutionary movement. Not only will they never wage a national revolutionary war against Japanese imperialism, but they are also the fundamental obstacle to such a war. Only the Soviets and the Red Army can truly wage a national revolutionary war against Japanese imperialism. Now, the oppressed people of all China, trampled under the iron heel of Japanese imperialism, no longer willing to endure the humiliation of the Kuomintang, have risen indignantly in revolutionary struggle against Japan and the Kuomintang. The Soviet Provisional Central Government, in order to lead the working and toiling masses nationwide to achieve the revolutionary task of driving Japanese imperialism out of China, hereby formally declares war on Japan. The Soviet Provisional Central Government points out to the oppressed people of all China that the Soviet areas have long freed themselves from the shackles of imperialism, while the Kuomintang warlords, under the leadership and direction of imperialism, relentlessly attack the Soviet areas and the Red Army. Were it not for the attacks of the Kuomintang warlords, the workers, peasants, and toiling masses of the Soviet areas and the Red Army would have long stood together with the brave anti-Japanese soldiers and volunteer forces to directly fight Japan. Therefore, the Soviet Provisional Central Government now leads the National Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the broad masses of workers, peasants, and toiling people in the Soviet areas in actively waging a revolutionary war, seizing central cities outward, and destroying the Kuomintang's rule. This is precisely the necessary prerequisite for actually carrying out a national revolutionary war and directly fighting Japan. The Soviet Provisional Central Government calls on the workers, peasants, soldiers, and all toiling masses nationwide to unite under the red flag of the Soviets, actively participate in and wage the revolutionary war, automatically arm themselves in areas under white rule, organize popular anti-Japanese volunteer forces, seize the arms of the Kuomintang's landlord and bourgeois classes, directly fight Japan, and establish revolutionary military committees to direct such actions. The soldiers of the White Army must revolt, overthrow the reactionary officers, automatically fight Japan, establish the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, overthrow the Kuomintang's rule across all China, and establish a Soviet regime of all Chinese people. In this way, a national revolutionary war will be realized to drive Japanese imperialism out of China, oppose the imperialist carving up of China, and thoroughly achieve the independence and liberation of the Chinese nation. Therefore, in addition to issuing this declaration of war and the principles of action through telegraphic proclamations, the Soviet Provisional Central Government gives the following directives to the National Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the Soviet governments at all levels throughout the Soviet areas:

--- Notes



1. The Central Revolutionary Military Committee, the military committees of various Soviet areas, the military district command headquarters, and the Red Guard departments (i.e., military departments) of various counties shall mobilize all Red Army soldiers to declare war on Japan, ensuring that every Red soldier understands that actively developing the revolutionary war, annihilating the Kuomintang warlord troops attacking the Soviet areas, seizing central cities outward, and destroying the Kuomintang's rule are the necessary prerequisites for waging an anti-Japanese national revolutionary war. The more the domestic revolutionary war develops and the more the Kuomintang warlords collapse, the closer the opportunity for directly fighting Japan will approach. All Red soldiers in the Soviet areas must prepare for the arrival of an even larger-scale national revolutionary war. The mobilization for declaring war on Japan must not wait until the moment of direct engagement with Japanese imperialism; moreover, the brave soldiers and popular volunteer forces in the coastal regions under white rule have long since broken away from the command of the Kuomintang warlords and are automatically fighting Japan. They urgently need the guidance and assistance of the Soviets and the Red Army. Therefore, mobilizing to declare war on Japan and actively developing the revolutionary war outward must not be separated; rather, it should be recognized that mobilizing to develop the revolutionary war is itself a blow to Japanese imperialism and provides strong support to the anti-Japanese masses and brave soldiers in the white areas. Military mobilization must ensure that no Red soldier leaves their unit except for injury or illness; deserters shall be punished and ridiculed by the masses. Local armed forces must enforce the same discipline as the Red Army, and Red Guard units not detached from production must intensify military training. The military committees shall declare and inspect red martial law throughout the Soviet areas, increase the output of armament factories, set up supply depots and transport stations along key communication routes, stockpile a portion of grain to guard against rice shortages, economize on funds to sustain prolonged campaigns, establish forward-pushing warning fortifications along the borders of expanding areas, and prepare armed fundraising units (a major portion of government tax revenues naturally also supplies the Red Army) to enable the main Red Army forces to continue their combat tasks. They shall organize numerous guerrilla units to develop outward from the various borders of the Soviet areas, and in places near central cities and under the direct rule of imperialist forces, the guerrillas may lead the masses in organizing anti-Japanese volunteer forces and carrying out guerrilla operations.



2. The General Political Department of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the political departments at all levels of the Red Army shall carry out political mobilization within the Red Army and local armed forces, conducting extensive propaganda among the Red soldiers about declaring war on Japan. They shall continuously expose in the "Red Star" newspaper and other Red Army publications the facts of Japan's and all imperialists' encroachment on China, carving up China, massacring and exploiting the Chinese nation, and the Kuomintang's betrayal and humiliation of the Chinese nation. They shall inspire the fervor and courage of all Red soldiers for declaring war on Japan, stir up their determination to develop the revolutionary war outward and annihilate the Kuomintang warlords and their rule, and compile various pamphlets and pictorials. They shall propose propaganda and agitation slogans linked to current practical actions, paying special attention to political work in newly developed areas of the Red Army, especially those close to central cities.



3. When the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army advances to areas near the forces of Japanese imperialism, its primary combat task is first to annihilate the Kuomintang armies that collude with imperialism. To leave unannihilated the Kuomintang armies currently attacking the Red Army would provide these forces with an extremely convenient opportunity, in coordination with imperialist arms, to destroy the Red Army. This would disrupt the steps of the anti-Japanese national revolutionary war and would not constitute a genuine effort to drive Japanese imperialism out of China. When Red guerrilla units develop outward to areas near the forces of Japanese imperialism, they shall lead the masses in organizing anti-Japanese volunteer forces, automatically arming themselves, carrying out guerrilla operations, directly fighting Japan, attracting White Army soldiers to automatically fight Japan, and jointly organizing revolutionary military committees to direct such actions, thereby breaking away from and overthrowing the rule of the Kuomintang warlords.



4. The Soviet governments at all levels in the various Soviet areas shall immediately carry out mass mobilization for declaring war on Japan. First and foremost, they must intensify the mobilization of workers, peasants, and toiling masses to voluntarily join the Red Army, develop the revolutionary war outward, and prepare for direct combat with Japanese imperialism. They shall mobilize all toiling masses to voluntarily undertake the rear-area work of participating in the revolutionary war, first by joining the Red Guard and Young Pioneer units that are not detached from production. They shall ensure that all toiling people in the Soviet areas, regardless of gender, have an ardent desire to receive military training and prepare for direct combat against Japan. They shall strive to mobilize efforts to consolidate the Soviet area base, intensify the enforcement of red martial law and local self-defense, economize funds and grain to assist the Red Army, stockpile public grain to supply the Red Army, mobilize the masses to diligently cultivate the land and ensure a bountiful harvest this year, organize red postal services, rigorously build bridges and repair roads to secure Soviet area transportation, immediately levy progressive commercial taxes and prepare to collect land taxes to expand the government’s revenue, mobilize workers, peasants, and toiling masses to increase the production of supplies for the Red Army (such as manufacturing bedding, clothing, shoes, hats, and products of armament factories), and organize stretcher teams, transport teams, laundry teams, and comfort teams to assist the Red Army in combat. They shall implement the Red Army preferential treatment regulations, help Red Army families plow their fields, and cultivate the public fields of the Red Army.

5. This directive shall be disseminated down to the subordinate organizations of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, local armed forces, and urban and rural Soviets. Based on this directive, they shall formulate their own mobilization plans, and the Central Revolutionary Military Committee shall furthermore issue its own mobilization plan.
Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Executive Committee
Vice-Chairmen: Xiang Ying, Zhang Guotao
April 15, 1932