New Fourth Army

The New Fourth Army (N4A; simplified Chinese: 新四军; traditional Chinese: 新四軍; pinyin: Xīn Sì Jūn) was a military unit nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China, established in 1937 as part of the Second United Front during the Second Sino-Japanese War. However, in practice, the New Fourth Army was under the exclusive command of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and operated independently of the Kuomintang (KMT)'s central military command. Unlike most NRA units, which were directly overseen by the Nationalist Government, the N4A maintained separate political and operational structures aligned with CCP objectives. The New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army were the two main CCP military forces from 1938. The New Fourth Army was active south of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), while the Eighth Route Army was based in Yan'an in the northwest. Members of the New Fourth Army wore their badges on the left arm, with "N4A" and the soldier's unit and name listed on the badge. After the Xi'an Incident, the Kuomintang led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong formed a United Front against Japan, which was already in control of Manchuria and pushing into North China. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident in July 1937 marked the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). In October 1937, an announcement was made that Red Army soldiers active in the eight provinces in southern China — those who did not embark on the Long March would be part of the New Fourth Army. The New Fourth Army was established on December 25, 1937 in Hankou, moving to Nanchang on January 6, 1938, when the detachments began marching to the battlefront. At the beginning, the New Fourth Army had four detachments and one task force...