"On Protracted War"
At the outbreak of the all-out war of resistance against the Japanese aggression, many people in the KMT camp believed either that China would be quickly subjugated, or that it would win a quick victory. Some on the CPC side also pinned their hopes for victory on open warfare waged by the KMT regular army, and decried the importance of guerrilla warfare.
At a conference held from May 26 to June 3, 1938 in Yan'an, the seat of the CPC Central Committee, Mao Zedong gave a series of lectures entitled "On Protracted War." This reviewed the experience already gained in battle, refuted the prevailing wrong ideas, and explained the Party's rationale behind a protracted war of resistance.
Mao analyzed the situations of China and Japan, the nature of the war, the strengths and weak points of the two sides, and the attitude of the international community, and drew the conclusion that the war against the Japanese would be long, but that the final victory would be China's. He forecast that for the Chinese, the war would go through three stages: strategic defensive, strategic stalemate, and strategic counter-offensive. He emphasized that the people were the foundation of victory.
Mao's "On Protracted War" discussed the evolution of the war, pointed out a logical path leading to China's victory, criticized various erroneous views about the war, and inspired the whole Party, the Chinese army and the general public, giving them confidence in China's ability to win the war. The value of the article was acknowledged by senior officials of both the CPC and the KMT, and the article became the strategic program guiding China's resistance. It was an excellent example of applying Marxist dialectical and historical materialism to the problem of waging successful war.
《论持久战》
抗战全面爆发后，国民党内出现了“速胜论”和“亡国论”等论调。在中国共产党内，也有一些人寄希望于国民党正规军的抗战，轻视游击战争。1938年5月26日至6月3日，毛泽东在延安抗日战争研究会上，作了《论持久战》的长篇演讲，初步总结了全国抗战的经验，批驳了当时盛行的种种错误观点，系统阐明了中国共产党的抗日持久战方针。毛泽东分析了中日两国的社会形态、双方战争的性质、战争要素的强弱状况、国际社会的支持与否等，指出抗日战争是持久战，最后的胜利属于中国。他科学地预见到抗日战争必将经过战略防御、战略相持、战略反攻三个阶段，强调持久战的基础在于广大民众。
《论持久战》科学地论证了抗日战争的发展规律，以无可辩驳的逻辑力量阐明了争取抗战胜利的道路，批判了对于抗日战争的各种错误认识，因而从思想上武装了全党、全军和广大人民，极大地鼓舞和坚定了广大军民争取抗战胜利的信心。《论持久战》印刷出版后，不仅获得国共两党领导的共识，更成为抗日战争中的战略指导纲领。这篇著作是运用马克思主义的辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义从具体情况出发解决战争问题的光辉典范。
