--- Notes

July 18, 1941. This tragic incident was by no means accidental; it was, in fact, a deliberate plot hatched by pro-Japanese conspirators and recalcitrant anti-Communist elements. Since the outbreak of the War of Resistance, the Red Army guerrilla units in the southern provinces were soon reorganized into the New Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army. For more than three years, this army fought valiantly across the vast regions north and south of the Yangtze River, repelling powerful enemies and repeatedly achieving remarkable feats—achievements well known not only to our own people but also to the entire world. Such meritorious anti-Japanese forces ought naturally to be cherished. Yet, at a time when the nation faced an ever-deepening crisis under the threat of a common enemy, certain authorities failed to uphold the paramount principles of national unity and the war effort. Instead, driven by a decade-long prejudice against the Communists, they consistently regarded the troops led by the Chinese Communist Party as hostile elements, engaging in a relentless cycle of insults, mistreatment, encirclement, and attacks—actions that knew no exception even for the New Fourth Army.

In central Hubei, Li Xiannian’s detachment was repeatedly attacked by Cheng Ruhuai and others; in southern Jiangsu, Chen Yi’s unit suffered repeated pressure from Leng Xin; in northern Jiangsu, Guan Wenwei’s forces were oppressed by Han Deqin; while in eastern Anhui, Luo Binghui’s troops and Peng Xuefeng’s units in northern Huaihai were subjected to oppression by Li Pinxian. Meanwhile, the army’s rear-area personnel and wounded soldiers left behind in Pingjiang and western Henan were repeatedly massacred, giving rise to the infamous Pingjiang Massacre and the Queshan Massacre. Even Zhang Yunyi, the army’s chief of staff, had his aged wife and young children arrested. These are clear facts that have been evident to all over the past several years.

In recent months, the situation has grown even more severe. Large-scale offensives, ostensibly labeled “bandit suppression,” have been launched across northern Jiangsu, eastern Anhui, and central Hubei, turning the Jianghuai region into a chaotic and turbulent scene. Moreover, on October 19 of last year, He Yingqin and Bai Chongxi, acting in their capacities as chief and deputy chief of the General Staff, sent telegrams to Zhu De and Peng Dehuai, commanders-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, as well as to Ye Ting, commander of the New Fourth Army, disregarding the facts and emphasizing so-called military administration and orders. They ordered both the New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army to concentrate north of the Yellow River within a specified deadline. Out of concern for the overall situation, Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, and Ye Ting agreed to relocate the New Fourth Army’s units in southern China to the north and duly replied accordingly. By the end of November, Commander Ye and his colleagues had already prepared the troops for movement and were about to set out when, unexpectedly, various Kuomintang propaganda organs publicly announced the news of the northward relocation—a move tantamount to informing the enemy. At the same time, reports emerged that the authorities had issued attack orders to Gu Zhutong and Shangguan Yunxi, with instructions to “round up and capture Ye Ting alive.” On the surface, however, the authorities claimed that all units had been instructed to facilitate the passage without any obstruction. Trusting these assurances from those officially responsible, Commander Ye resolutely initiated the march on the fourth day of this month, leading approximately ten thousand personnel from the New Fourth Army headquarters and its subordinate units. No sooner had the column begun moving than it was ambushed. As it advanced through the Maolin Village area between Jing County and Taiping, it was suddenly assaulted by over seventy thousand troops from the 51st Division under Tang Yushan, the 108th Division commanded by Rong Jiwu, the 79th Division led by Duan Maolin, the 144th Division under Fan Ziyin, the 40th Division commanded by Zhan Zhongyan, the New 7th Division led by Tian Zhongyi, and the 10th Division under Wang Jinxiu—all under the unified command of Gu Zhutong and Shangguan Yunxi—who launched a coordinated, pincer-style assault, encircling and overwhelming the force.

Faced with this sudden onslaught, Commander Ye and his comrades hastily engaged in combat while simultaneously retreating, simultaneously sending urgent telegrams to the authorities demanding an explanation. Throughout the seven days and nights of fierce fighting as the unit was besieged, the authorities continued to feign inquiries to Gu Zhutong to ascertain the truth and falsely claimed to have ordered him to lift the siege and allow passage. In reality, they had secretly directed their forces to carry out the plan to annihilate the New Fourth Army. By the thirteenth day, after eight days and nights of intense combat, the New Fourth Army, which had been following orders to relocate north only to be ambushed, had exhausted its ammunition and provisions and suffered total annihilation, thus fulfilling the authorities’ objective of complete destruction.

Yesterday, the 17th, the Military Commission of the National Government formally issued a proclamation declaring the New Fourth Army a rebel force, explicitly acknowledging the extermination of its units in southern Anhui. The statement further asserted that Army Commander Ye Ting had been wounded and captured, Deputy Commander Xiang Ying was at large and being pursued, and announced the abolition of the New Fourth Army’s designation, along with plans to subject Ye Ting to military tribunal proceedings. This ostentatious communiqué laid bare, before the eyes of the entire nation, the true nature of the conspiracy to eliminate an anti-Japanese force.

Coincidentally, on the very same day—the 17th—the Japanese Domei News Agency also transmitted a startling dispatch from Nanjing, which stated: “The Chongqing government has strictly ordered Communist forces in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, in the Jiangnan region, to move north of the river by November 16. To expedite this relocation, the commander of the Third War Zone has begun laying siege to the New Fourth Army and other Communist units near Dongliu. A portion of the Communist forces has already retreated north from near Egang on the tenth. Since the fourteenth, Japanese units have also been attacking the New Fourth Army near Xuancheng and Jintan, while ‘National Government’ pacification forces are assisting the Japanese in their operations.” Thus, the true nature of this grand conspiracy to destroy anti-Japanese armed forces and crush dissenting elements has become increasingly apparent to all. The so-called deadline for northward relocation was merely a ruse designed to lure our troops into a trap, where they would be encircled and annihilated. The alleged adherence to military discipline and national law served only as a pretense—an elaborate post-facto justification for declaring rebellion and initiating judicial proceedings after the massacre had been carried out. All the previous rhetoric about strict military discipline and the sanctity of national law was nothing more than a deceptive cover for a sinister plot to eliminate political opponents. The New Fourth Army was an anti-Japanese force; its northward relocation was undertaken in compliance with orders. How then could such a force be subjected to a brutal ambush and annihilation? Where, indeed, was any semblance of military discipline or respect for the law? The fact is that those who issued the orders were themselves the violators, and those who destroyed the law were none other than its architects. There can be no room for further debate.

While the New Fourth Army in southern Jiangnan was being viciously attacked and wiped out, the authorities once again dispatched over one hundred thousand troops under Tang Enbo, Li Pinxian, Li Xianzhou, Wang Zhonglian, and Han Deqin to launch a massive offensive against the New Fourth Army in northern Jiangsu, part of a broader “all-out roundup” campaign that extended far beyond the Jiangnan region. Simultaneously, in the northwest, another force numbering over one hundred thousand was closing in on the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region. The Xi’an secret police, in addition to imposing a blockade and repression on the Eighth Route Army’s offices, recently abducted a water carrier from one of these offices and forced him to return carrying poisoned water. Meanwhile, the Guilin military and police authorities pressured the Eighth Route Army’s Guilin office to evacuate immediately. As for Communist Party members and progressive activists nationwide, lists of targeted individuals had long since been compiled, and another round of “mass arrests” seemed imminent. Under such circumstances, the grim scenario of civil war looms once again, threatening to derail the heroic achievements of three and a half years of nationwide resistance. The shameless act of annihilating the New Fourth Army in southern Anhui is merely one manifestation of a larger, openly revealed conspiracy—one that marks the beginning of a comprehensive scheme by pro-Japanese conspirators and anti-Communist hardliners to substitute civil war for the war of resistance and division for national unity. These acts of lawlessness and impunity, conducted in open defiance of justice, are intolerable—not only to us, the tens of millions of members of the Communist Party and the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, but also to every patriotic citizen and every advocate of justice around the globe. We call upon all patriotic citizens of our country and all people of goodwill worldwide who sympathize with the cause of the Chinese nation’s liberation to unite with us in a concerted struggle to achieve the following objectives: (1) Severely punish the masterminds behind the conspiracy to destroy the New Fourth Army in southern Anhui, ensuring the safety of the implicated military and political leaders; (3) Provide compensation and support to the fallen and wounded soldiers of the New Fourth Army in southern Anhui, as well as to their families; (4) Immediately halt the anti-Communist campaigns involving hundreds of thousands of troops across central China; (5) Demolish the anti-Communist blockade lines in the northwest; (6) Cease the criminal acts of killing and arresting Communist Party members and patriotic individuals nationwide, and release all political prisoners of conscience; (7) Completely purge all pro-Japanese elements, including He Yingqin and others; (9) Unify and strengthen the anti-Japanese front, and persevere in the war of resistance until final victory. We firmly believe that the vast majority of our fellow citizens, regardless of party affiliation, will prioritize the destiny of the nation and stand with us on the same front, opposing the few pro-Japanese elements and national traitors who seek to sow discord and betray the country through their shameful schemes. The Chinese nation now stands at the most critical juncture of the War of Resistance. We Communists, together with the majority of our fellow citizens, fully understand the responsibilities we bear and the measures we must take in these perilous times. Oo Reference Materials on the History of the Chinese Revolution, Volume IV, Renmin University of China, 1957. Collection of Important Documents Since the Beginning of the War of Resistance, Compiled by the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, 1942. Reference Materials on the History of the Chinese Communist Party, Volume IV, published by the New China Daily, 1941. January 1. People’s Liberation, Issue 124. Spokesperson of the CPC Central Committee delivers remarks on the Southern Anhui Incident, 263.