Since the fall of Shanghai, Taiyuan, and other cities, it is undeniable that we have suffered considerable military setbacks in the War of Resistance. Yet these setbacks on various fronts have imparted to us an invaluable and profound lesson: namely, that although our national war of resistance is revolutionary in nature, its revolutionary character remains incomplete. While the geographical scope of our participation has indeed been nationwide—an unprecedented development since imperialist powers began their aggression against China—the composition of those participating has not been truly national. The most significant shortcoming lies in our failure to mobilize the entire Chinese people for the struggle. A war against Japanese imperialist aggression that lacks mass support is bound to fail. In the modern history of weak nations resisting imperialist aggression, the defeat of Ethiopia serves as a cautionary example for us.  To cite a more immediate case, the Spanish Republican forces were able to hold Madrid and repel the attacks by fascist forces backed by Germany and Italy primarily because they succeeded in mobilizing the masses, enabling everyone to risk life and limb to defend the city and preserve a free, democratic Spain. Although the territory under Republican control was less than half the size of Jiangxi Province today, the full mobilization of the population unleashed an unparalleled strength in the war effort. Had we genuinely implemented the mobilization of the entire nation, we could easily have routed the Japanese imperialist offensive! Moreover, the strategic and tactical approaches employed on previous battlefields erred by adhering to a purely defensive posture. The fundamental principles of military strategy and tactics are to protect oneself while destroying the enemy. Accordingly, we must seek ways to neutralize the enemy’s superior weaponry, avoid direct confrontation where they are strongest, and strike at their critical vulnerabilities. Whenever the enemy launches operations employing envelopment or central breakthrough tactics, we cannot simply cling to “pure defense,” holding fast to fixed positions and allowing them to exploit their technological advantages to concentrate their firepower against our front lines. Of course, we must defend essential strongholds and key cities; however, our primary focus should be on combining defensive actions with flanking maneuvers or lightning-fast strikes deep behind enemy lines, using independent, mobile warfare to annihilate the enemy.  At present, the most urgent task is to transform the quality of our armed forces and strengthen political work within the army. If China can field just 300,000 well-trained troops—imbued with the highest degree of national consciousness and political awareness—and equip them with modern arms, ensuring that both officers and soldiers possess a resolute offensive spirit, the current war situation could be completely reversed.  ×　×　×  Although Taiyuan has fallen, the Eighth Route Army has already established bases for guerrilla warfare in the border regions of Hebei, Chahar, and Shanxi, as well as in northwestern Shanxi and eastern Suiyuan. It is conducting extensive guerrilla operations that have thoroughly disrupted the enemy’s road network from Datong to Taiyuan, along with the Zhengtai and Tongpu railways. We must steadfastly persist in guerrilla warfare across northern China to establish a strategic foundation for the resistance there. Even if the enemy occupies Taiyuan and several other cities in northern Shanxi—or even if they swallow up the entire province—we will continue to fight without retreating southward. As long as the enemy advances southward, we will counterattack northward to devastate their rear areas. I dare say that the enemy’s seizure of northern China will not serve as a tonic; on the contrary, it will prove to be a time bomb.  ×　×　×  The Japanese aggressors originally hoped to achieve their grand ambitions in China without engaging in prolonged combat. However, as a result of China’s protracted resistance, this inherently flawed and imbalanced imperialist power will be driven into an abyss of collapse. From this perspective, the Chinese War of Resistance not only serves to safeguard our own survival but also fulfills one of the most important missions within the global anti-aggression front.  (“The Strategy and Tactics of the Eighth Route Army.” Shanghai Life Publishing House, January 1938)