Peng Dehuai — the Hundred Regiments Offensive

Since 1937, Japan has been occupying the cities and the main routes of northern China, where Mao Zedong's Communists wage a rural guerrilla war. In the summer of 1940, General Peng Dehuai, deputy commander of the 8th Route Army, launches the largest Communist offensive of the war: the Hundred Regiments Offensive. Its first phase has successfully struck Japanese railways, bridges, mines and lines of communication, disrupting the occupation.

Success is intoxicating. The 8th Route Army has shown it could coordinate tens of thousands of men and, in places, hold its own against Japanese garrisons. But this visibility comes at a cost: it reveals the true extent of the Communist forces, hitherto concealed, and prompts Japanese detachments to return to thinly held areas.

Peng must choose what comes next. To continue by moving on to frontal assaults against Japanese blockhouses and strongholds would tip the guerrilla war into a costly positional struggle; returning to harassment would preserve his forces but lose momentum. Another consideration weighs in: Mao, anxious to husband Communist potential for the postwar, looks with suspicion on so exposed an offensive.