The Hundred-Regiment Campaign

In the summer of 1940, to smash the Japanese invaders' strategy of "controlling transport lines and nibbling away at the base areas piece by piece," reinforce the resistance in North China and other parts, and reduce the risk of KMT capitulation, the general headquarters of the Eighth Route Army decided to organize large-scale sabotage of the transport lines under the enemy control and their fortified points in North China. About 200,000 troops of 105 regiments joined the campaign, hence the name "the Hundred-regiment Campaign."

On August 8, the Eighth Route Army headquarters issued an order to launch the attacks on August 20.

In the first stage of the campaign, transport lines were sabotaged, the main target being Zhengding-Taiyuan Railway.

In the second stage, the Eighth Route Army continued to launch surprise attacks on both sides of railways, destroying Japanese fortified points in the base areas and attacking the county seats of Laiyuan and Lingqiu.

In the third stage, the Eighth Route Army thwarted the enemy "mopping-up" operations.

The Hundred-regiment Campaign lasted over four months, and the officers and men of the Eighth Route Army fought 1,824 major and minor engagements, inflicting 20,000 casualties on the Japanese and 5,000 on the troops of the Chinese puppet government, and captured about 50 cannons, 5,900 guns and other military supplies. The Eighth Route Army itself suffered 17,000 casualties.

The Hundred-regiment Campaign was the largest and longest strategic offensive launched by the Eighth Route Army in North China since the start of the war of resistance. It granted lasting fame to the CPC-led resistance army and the civilians in the enemy-occupied base areas. The campaign tied up large numbers of Japanese troops and delayed their southward march, easing the burden of the KMT troops in the frontline battlefields, and consequently contributing to a turn for the better in the overall war of resistance.

The campaign demonstrated to the world that the CPC and the armies under its command were the mainstay in the fight against the Japanese invaders, and carried China's hopes of victory.

百團大戰

1940年夏，為粉碎日本侵略者的“囚籠政策”，爭取華北戰局更有利的發展，并影響全國的抗戰局勢，克服國民黨對日妥協投降的危險，八路軍總部決定向華北日軍占領的交通線和據點發動大規模進攻戰役。隨著戰役的展開，八路軍參戰部隊達到105個團約20萬人，故稱“百團大戰”。1940年8月8日，八路軍總部下達《戰役行動命令》，對作戰兵力作了具體部署，同時確定8月20日為戰役發動時間。

百團大戰經歷了兩個主動進攻階段和一個反“掃蕩”階段。戰役第一階段是交通總破襲戰，重點是破壞正太鐵路。第二階段，繼續襲擊交通線兩側和摧毀深入根據地內的敵據點，并發動淶（源）靈（丘）等戰役。第三階段是反“掃蕩”作戰。百團大戰歷時4個多月，共作戰1824次，斃傷日軍2萬余人、偽軍5000余人，繳獲各種炮50余門、各種槍5900余支和一批軍用物資。八路軍也付出了傷亡1.7萬余人的代價。

百團大戰，是全面抗戰以來八路軍在華北地區發動的規模最大、持續時間最長的一次帶戰略性進攻的戰役，打出了中國共產黨領導的敵后抗日軍民的聲威，牽制了日軍的兵力，推遲了日軍“南進”的時間，并對支持正面戰場作戰，爭取時局好轉，起了積極作用。這次戰役向全世界表明了中國共產黨及其領導的軍隊，是抵抗日本侵略的中流砥柱，是爭取抗戰勝利的希望所在。