"The Eighth Route Army detachment went south, went deep behind enemy lines, set up anti-Japanese base areas in Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi, mobilized the masses, launched guerrilla warfare, and strived to unite with the border region of Hubei, Henan and Anhui, the fifth division of the New Fourth Army in the north, and the Dongjiang column in the south, thus opening up a powerful anti-Japanese base area in South China, so that the three strategic bases in North China, Central China and South China can coordinate and cooperate with each other in the upcoming counter-offensive or when the Kuomintang launches a civil war in the future."
Opening up the Hunan-Hubei-Jiangxi base area and preparing for War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression or the Kuomintang to launch a major civil war counterattack are the two purposes of the Eighth Route Army going south, and the latter is the main purpose. We can demonstrate from the following two aspects:
I. The Anti-Japanese War in Hunan Province when the southward detachment entered Hunan.
The time for the southward detachment to enter Pingjiang County in northern Hunan was1March 26th, 945. Hunan province is the main battlefield of frontal battlefield, which has experienced four battles and six large-scale battles, such as Changsha Battle, Hengyang Defence War and Changde Battle. Northeast and central Hunan are the places where Kuomintang troops gather, and they have started strategic counterattacks. At the beginning of 1945, Pingjiang, Chaling, Anren, Yiyang and Xinning counties were successively recovered. Shortly after the Eighth Route Army entered Hunan,1April 9, 945, the Sino-Japanese campaign in Xiangxi was in full swing. After two months, the Japanese army won a great victory, killing 28 174 people at a small cost of casualties, crushing the Japanese attempt to seize Zhijiang.
In this case, the Eighth Route Army, with a small group of troops, went all the way alone into the main battlefield of the anti-Japanese war to open up base areas. The main purpose is not to resist Japan, but to restore some local county committees and prepare for civil war. The southward detachment was surrounded by tens of thousands of troops stationed in the tomb base of Sichuan Army in northeast Hunan. Wang Zhen was nearly killed by a Grenade, and Chen Zongyao, the second detachment leader and hero of Nanniwan, died. Xiangbei was originally a bloody battle place between the Chinese and Japanese armed forces, but it became a place of friction between the Chinese and Japanese armed forces. The southern detachment was outnumbered, withdrew from the northeast of Hunan and advanced to the south of central Hunan. After that, it was surrounded by the "Bamian Mountain" in Guidong County, southern Hunan. No one was seen for dozens of miles, and almost all the troops were wiped out. At the end of August, he broke through and returned to the north, marching along the Hunan-Jiangxi border and being chased all the way. On September 20th, he left Hunan from Linxiang County in northern Hunan and entered the border region of Hubei, Henan and Anhui.
During the southern expedition, the original tasks of establishing Hunan-Hubei-Jiangxi base area and Wuling base area were not realized, which was forced by the situation in Hunan at that time. The south detachment moved to Hunan for half a year, covering northeast Hunan, south central Hunan 19 counties and cities, and restored county committees in Pingjiang, Yueyang, Linxiang and Liuyang.
Second, the telegraph command from Mao Zedong to the southern detachment.
On July 27th, 1945, the South Detachment received a telegram from Mao Zedong in Ningxiang County, Hunan Province: "At present, the only task is to gain precious time, establish Wuling base areas in southern Hunan and northern Guangdong, and connect with our army in Guangdong to contain the South Wing in the civil war."
On August 1945 and 1 1 day, the south detachment received a central telegram in Hengshan County, Hunan Province: "The Soviet Union has entered the war, Japan has surrendered (not yet surrendered, the author's note), and the civil war is coming. Your task is still to quickly reach the border between Hunan and Guangdong to meet the Guangdong army, resolutely create base areas and prepare for civil war. "
The above messages are all quoted from the book History of Hunan People's Revolution, and "Preparing for Civil War" is the key word of the two messages.
It can be seen that establishing base areas and preparing for civil war are the main purposes and tasks of the Eighth Route Army's southward detachment. The south detachment also has a record in propagating the anti-Japanese war, resisting the puppet troops and ambushing the Japanese army in northern Hunan.