Archives released on Japanese attacks on Communist Party forces

BEIJING - China released archives of a series of battles against the Japanese army in north China in 1938, as the country marks the 69th anniversary of the victory against Japanese aggressors.

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This is the 16th part of the series released daily by the State Archives Administration beginning Aug. 25.

In September 1938, the Japanese army initiated attacks on the Shanxi-Chahaer-Hebei Border Region, guerilla war areas controlled by Communist Party of China forces.

The Japanese army with more than 500,000 soldiers, laid siege to the area in a bid to annihilate the Chinese army's main forces, according to the archives.

The Japanese violated international law and used gas bombs during the attacks.

The invaders encountered fierce resistance from the Chinese army which rallied a total of 136 attacks including guerrilla combat to exhaust and wipe out the enemy, according to the archives.

The battles lasted for 48 days and ended on November 7 with more than 5,200 casualties on the side of Japanese and its puppet troops.

The success of the counter-attack further consolidated the anti-Japanese base and created favorable condition for the Chinese troops in the battle of Wuhan in central China.

China has officially set Sept. 3 as the "Victory Day," to mark Japan's surrender on Sept. 2, 1945.