Broadcast Speech on the Struggle of the World Anti-Fascist Front and the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japan[1]

(November 7, 1941)

As the Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly pointed out, the task of all mankind at present is to unite against fascism, and the task of the entire Chinese people is to unite against the Japanese offensive. Both these forms of unity now need to be greatly strengthened.

From the standpoint of humanity, we believe that Britain and the United States should use every means to supply the Soviet Union with more airplanes and tanks, to aid China with more funds and weapons, and to devote greater strength to supporting the uprisings of the peoples trampled underfoot by Germany and Italy. The United States should not hesitate to declare war on Germany; this is an absolutely unavoidable step that should not be evaded, and the longer it is delayed, the more American ships will be sunk by Germany. At the same time, the United States must absolutely not heed Japan’s intrigues or enter into any compromise with Japan; it should join with China and Britain in imposing sanctions on the Japanese fascists with actual strength. It is quite obvious that our hopes in this regard accord with the hopes of the majority of the people in Britain and the United States, but it is regrettable that in the governments and parliaments of these two countries there are still some people who are blind to the general interest and obstruct the realization of the people’s will. Therefore, the people of Britain and the United States must now strive to overcome these obstacles of the times and push the world anti-fascist struggle to a higher stage.

The situation in China is likewise at a turning point for further advance. Although the Japanese fascists

[1] This was a broadcast speech delivered by Mao Zedong in Yan’an on November 7, 1941.

are simultaneously preparing for both a southward advance and a northward advance,[1] no matter which path of adventure they take, a westward advance to destroy China is inevitable. Having suffered defeats in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region and at Changsha, Zhengzhou, and other places,[2] the Japanese are now preparing a new offensive against China. Our people and our armed forces throughout the country must defend every one of our anti-Japanese positions and must smash the enemy’s offensive schemes. The people of the whole country must unite still better, support the National Government in persisting in the War of Resistance to the very end, and prepare all the conditions for a counter-offensive so as to drive the Japanese brigands out of China in good time. We Communists have always called for the strengthening of unity, and on the eve of this new enemy offensive, it is all the more urgently necessary to improve relations among all quarters in the anti-Japanese camp. We hope that the Kuomintang authorities will promptly make resolute decisions and swiftly adopt all necessary measures to this end. We are convinced that as long as the whole nation is truly united as one, the Japanese offensive can certainly be halted, preparations for a counter-offensive can certainly be accomplished, and the aim of driving out the enemy can certainly be achieved.

[1] Expanding aggression southward to contend with Britain and the United States for hegemony over the South Pacific and the countries of Southeast Asia, while simultaneously watching for an opportunity to attack the Soviet Union northward, was a long-term war aim of Japanese imperialism in launching its war of aggression. When the Soviet-German war broke out in June 1941, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters determined in its "Outline of Imperial National Policy in Response to the Evolving Situation" to continue expanding southward and to "resolve the northern question in accordance with the evolution of the situation." In early August of the same year, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters announced the abandonment of the "northward advance" attempt, concentrating instead on southward expansion and intensifying preparations for war against Britain and the United States.

[2] From August to October 1941, the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians in the enemy’s rear stubbornly resisted the frenzied "mopping-up" operations carried out by the Japanese invading forces against the Beiyue and Pingxi areas of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region, annihilating over 5,000 enemy troops in total, forcing the enemy to retreat. In late September and early October, Japanese forces briefly attacked the cities of Changsha, Zhuzhou, and Zhengzhou but encountered stubborn resistance from the Chinese forces and were compelled to withdraw after occupying them.