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.
百团大战
1940年夏，为粉碎日本侵略者的“囚笼政策”，争取华北战局更有利的发展，并影响全国的抗战局势，克服国民党对日妥协投降的危险，八路军总部决定向华北日军占领的交通线和据点发动大规模进攻战役。随着战役的展开，八路军参战部队达到105个团约20万人，故称“百团大战”。1940年8月8日，八路军总部下达《战役行动命令》，对作战兵力作了具体部署，同时确定8月20日为战役发动时间。
百团大战经历了两个主动进攻阶段和一个反“扫荡”阶段。战役第一阶段是交通总破袭战，重点是破坏正太铁路。第二阶段，继续袭击交通线两侧和摧毁深入根据地内的敌据点，并发动涞（源）灵（丘）等战役。第三阶段是反“扫荡”作战。百团大战历时4个多月，共作战1824次，毙伤日军2万余人、伪军5000余人，缴获各种炮50余门、各种枪5900余支和一批军用物资。八路军也付出了伤亡1.7万余人的代价。
百团大战，是全面抗战以来八路军在华北地区发动的规模最大、持续时间最长的一次带战略性进攻的战役，打出了中国共产党领导的敌后抗日军民的声威，牵制了日军的兵力，推迟了日军“南进”的时间，并对支持正面战场作战，争取时局好转，起了积极作用。这次战役向全世界表明了中国共产党及其领导的军队，是抵抗日本侵略的中流砥柱，是争取抗战胜利的希望所在。
