Eighth Route Army

The name of the Chinese Communist Army during the War of Resistance against Japan. In July 1937, with the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party united front, and the main force of the Red Army, which was mainly in the Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia border areas, numbering more than 40,000, was named the National Revolutionary Army's 8th Route Army in August, after the Kuomintang's unit number. It was made up of three divisions, with Zhu De as commander-in-chief and Peng Dehuai as deputy commander, with Lin Biao as commander of the 115th Division, He Long as commander of the 120th Division, and Liu Bocheng as commander of the 129th Division. It was later officially renamed the 18th Group Army, but was commonly known as the Eighth Route Army, which also became the general term for the Communist Party's regular army and guerrilla forces active in the North China region. Immediately after the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, the Eighth Route Army crossed the Yellow River eastward, and in September 1937, the 115th Division defeated the Japanese Itagaki Corps at Pingxi Pass in northeastern Shanxi Province. It then advanced through the areas occupied by the Japanese military, establishing the Jinchajhi Border District at Wutaishan in Shanxi Province, and further extending into eastern Hebei Province. The 129th Division established the Jinjilu Border District in the Taihang Mountains and extended into Shandong Province, while the 120th Division established the Jin-Sui Border District in the northwest of Shanxi Province and extended into Suiyuan Province (now the central and southern part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region). After the fall of Wuhan, the Kuomintang intensified its pressure on the Communist Party area, and the Japanese army, especially after 1940, carried out the brutal Three Alls Campaign, so the Eighth Route Army encountered difficulties, but it deployed guerrilla warfare and finally won. After the War of Resistance against Japan, it was renamed the People's Liberation Army, along with the New Fourth Army. Due to their strict discipline and dedication to serving the people, as represented by the three major rules and eight points of caution, the name "Palu" became a nickname for the people, as if they were the saviors of the people, and this was the greatest reason for their victory.

[Ando Hikotaro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

抗日戦争時代の中国共産党軍の名称。1937年7月、抗日戦争勃発(ぼっぱつ)とともに国民党と共産党との統一戦線により、主として陝甘寧(せんかんねい)辺区（陝西(せんせい／シャンシー)、甘粛(かんしゅく／カンスー)、寧夏(ねいか／ニンシヤ)）にあった4万余の紅軍主力は、8月、国民党軍の部隊番号である国民革命軍第八路軍を名のることになった。朱徳(しゅとく／チュートー)を総指揮、彭徳懐(ほうとくかい／ポントーホワイ)を副指揮に、3個師団からなり、林彪(りんぴょう／リンピァオ)が一一五師長、賀竜(がりゅう／ホーロン)が一二〇師長、劉伯承(りゅうはくしょう／リウポーチョン)が一二九師長に任じた。のち正式には第一八集団軍と改称されたが、通称は八路軍といい、さらに八路軍は華北(かほく／ホワペイ)一帯に活躍した中共系の正規軍・遊撃隊の総称ともなった。抗日戦争開戦直後、八路軍は黄河(こうが／ホワンホー)を東に渡り、山西(さんせい／シャンシー)省北東部の平型関では一一五師が37年9月に日本の板垣兵団を大破した。その後、日本軍占領地区を縫って進出し、一一五師は山西省五台山(ごだいさん／ウータイシャン)に晋察冀(しんさつき)辺区を樹立し、さらに河北(かほく／ホーペイ)省東部に伸びた。一二九師は太行山(たいこうさん／タイハンシャン)で晋冀魯(しんきろ)予辺区を樹立して山東(さんとう／シャントン)省に伸び、一二〇師は山西省北西に晋綏(しんすい)辺区を樹立して綏遠(すいえん／ソイユワン)省（現、内モンゴル自治区中南部）に伸びた。武漢(ぶかん／ウーハン)陥落後、国民党は中共地区への圧迫を強め、日本軍も、とくに40年以後、残虐な三光作戦を実行したため、八路軍は困難に逢着(ほうちゃく)したが、遊撃戦を展開し、ついに勝利をもたらした。抗日戦争後は、新四軍などともあわせて、人民解放軍と改称した。三大規律八項注意に代表される厳格な、人民に奉仕する規律によって、「八路(パールー)」の名は人民の救い主のような愛称となり、これが勝利の最大原因となった。

［安藤彦太郎］

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