ABSTRACT
In the eight years of the War of Resistance against Japan, the CCP army, a mere 40,000 men as of 1937, grew to over a million men in 1945. The population of the Communist-controlled areas increased from 1.5 million to over 100 million, and the original territory of 92,000 square kilometers expanded to 950,000 square kilometers in nineteen resistance bases. In the corresponding period, the membership of the CCP enjoyed spectacular growth from 40,000 to 2.7 million. In sum, the CCP was transformed from one among many military-political actors in Chinese politics to a major contender for national power.
