The number is the number of the troops, which is given by the highest leading organ of the armed forces of the State and cannot be changed lightly, except in exceptional circumstances. The name of the Eighth Route Army was approved and granted by Chiang Kai-shek with a nod, but few people know that at first the "Eighth Route Army" was not very famous, and the number of the three divisions under it was extremely low in the Kuomintang army. The early armed force of our army, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, was the people's armed force since the beginning of the world. Chiang Kai-shek launched five encirclement and suppression campaigns, and then chased and blocked the Long March Road, and continued to "rebel" in northern Shaanxi, but in the end he failed to eliminate the Red Army. After the outbreak of the "Xi'an Incident", Chiang Kai-shek was forced to accept 8 propositions, ending the situation of the ten-year civil war and basically determining the second Kuomintang-Communist cooperation. At the negotiating table of the second Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, the two sides reached several opinions. One of them was to organize the Red Army into the National Revolutionary Army, subject to the unified command of Chiang Kai-shek, and its establishment and personnel enjoyed the same treatment as the Nationalist Army. The unit was organized into 3 divisions, 6 brigades, 12 regiments and direct subordinate units with a total of 45,000 people. Chiang Kai-shek most appreciated the fact that he had unified command, so he was approved.
However, Chiang Kai-shek was still very worried, afraid that this armed force could not be controlled, so he delayed giving the Red Army a name. Later, Feng Yuxiang told Chiang Kai-shek: The Nationalist army has 210 infantry divisions, 35 infantry brigades, 11 cavalry divisions, and 6 cavalry brigades, and the special forces have not been counted. The Red Army, on the other hand, consisted of only 3 divisions, less than one-sixtieth of the Nationalist army, and there was no need to worry at all. Moreover, since the Red Army demanded resistance against Japan, it would simply send them to the front and not let them exceed the scope. At this point, Chiang Kai-shek had nothing to say, and finally agreed to give the Red Army a solution and complete the reorganization of the army. After the outbreak of the Shanghai War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the anti-Japanese movement throughout the country further rose, and the situation was compelling. Chiang Kai-shek felt that his strength was stretched, and in order to send the Red Army to the anti-Japanese battlefield as soon as possible, he asked He Yingqin, minister of military affairs, for advice, and He Yingqin did not think that there was any need to make up a new number. He said that the Eighth Route Army number of Li Jishen of the Guangdong Army is now empty and is just for the Red Army. And the red army reorganized the three divisions of the number, there is no need to be new. He Yingqin suggested using Zhang Xueliang's northeast army number. From April to June 1937, the various units of the Northeast Army were reorganized by Chiang Kai-shek in accordance with the principle of integrating 2 divisions into 1 division, and the numbers of the 115th, 120th, and 1293rd divisions were vacated. The reason was that Zhang Xueliang's northeast army had a poor record of battle, and even after losing the battle, Chiang Kai-shek was furious and revoked the names of these three divisions one after another.
He Yingqin knew that Chiang Kai-shek was very superstitious and very jealous of the names of "defeated army", "rebel army", and "unlucky", and if he gave this to the Red Army, Chiang Kai-shek would certainly be happy. Sure enough, as He Yingqin expected, Chiang Kai-shek did not think about it, so he distributed these numbers to the Red Army. On August 22, 1937, the Military Commission of the National Government issued an order to reorganize the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army, appointing Zhu De as the commander-in-chief and Peng Dehuai as the deputy commander-in-chief. On the 25th, the Military Commission of the Communist Party of China issued an order for reorganization, announcing that the First, Second, and Fourth Fronts of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the Red Army in Northern Shaanxi would be reorganized into the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army, referred to as the Eighth Route Army, with the 115th, 120th, and 1293 divisions under its jurisdiction.
Chiang Kai-shek assigned the Eighth Route Army's combat area to the Second Theater of Operations, with Yan Xishan as its commander, north of Taiyuan and east of Datong, in the Areas of Jin and Cha, with a very narrow scope. Of course, this is one of the main targets that the Japanese army is eager to capture, and the confrontation with the Japanese army here can be described as extremely risky, and it is a severe test for the Eighth Route Army, which is far inferior to the Japanese army in terms of equipment, training, and supplies. What Chiang Kai-shek did not expect was that after the Eighth Route Army was used, the banner was victorious and the results were brilliant. In particular, the Battle of Pingxingguan, conducted by the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army in mid-September 1937, became famous in the First World War. Subsequent battles such as the Battle of Xinkou on the frontal battlefield and the night attack on the Japanese airfield at Yangmingbao by the 129th Division have all written a strong stroke in the annals of the War of Resistance Against Japan. The three divisions that were once regarded by Chiang Kai-shek as defeated and unlucky are now reborn and have a new look. The name of the unit is essentially the same as the name of the person, but it is a symbol, and it does not have to be too much thought or conspiracy. However, Chiang Kai-shek tried every possible means to suppress the Eighth Route Army for his own selfishness, and he also had to make things difficult in terms of numbers, which showed that his anti-communist means were used to the extreme, and in the end they could only increase the laughing stock in vain.