NAN YUE Military Meeting Review

During the War of Resistance against Japan, the Kuomintang convened a series of meetings, which played an important role in the war direction. Among these meetings, there were four meetings held in NAN YUE, and the First NAN YUE Military Meeting was particularly important. It was held in Hengyang of Hunan Province at the end of 1938, during which time the Anti-Japanese War developed from the strategic defensive stage into the strategic equilibrium stage. In the First NAN YUE Military Meeting, the Kuomintang summed up the experiences and lessons drawn from the prophase frontal battlefield, and made full preparations for the second phase of the war as well. In order to understand this meeting well, it is necessary to get a full knowledge of the performances of different powers in the initial stage of war. During the four days meeting, Chiang Kai-shek made five speeches, which demonstrated the importance of this meeting. At the same time, the Kuomintang promulgated strategic policies of the second phase of the war on the grounds of the previous experiences, and formulated a series of documents based on the conference, which played an important role in the war. The NAN YUE Military Meeting was convened at the transition time of the Anti-Japanese War, and it showed the determination of the Kuomintang to win the final victory of the war, it meant more for the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. Besides, there are some disputes and doubts as well, that is whether it focused more on Anti-Japanese or on Anti-Communist.In order to make an adequate discussion of the historical meaning of the First NAN YUE Military Meeting to the Anti-Japanese War, this thesis is divided into three parts.First, reveal the background of the NAN YUE Military Meeting according to the performances and developments of different powers during the first 16 months of the Anti-Japanese War.Second, according to the five speeches made by Chiang Kai-shek, make a full discussion of the experiences and lessons drawn from the early period of the Anti-Japanese War and the strategic deployment of the later phase of it, and the core subject of the meeting on the rectification of the army.At last, evaluate the NAN YUE Military Meeting on the basis of the discussions above, including its meaning to the Anti-Japanese War and its influence on the 2nd Kuomintang-CPC's cooperation and the protracted war strategy.