I was officially invited to an interview with the official Chinese (Xinhua News Agency) and their official website to discuss the Chinese victory over Japanese military fascism during World War II. This was on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Chinese victory over Japanese aggression against China. Perhaps what most surprised me, as an Egyptian expert specializing in Chinese political affairs and the policies of the ruling Communist Party in China, was the Chinese request that I highlight and devote a large portion of my interview with the Chinese News Agency, Xinhua, to discussing the role of US Marine Corps Brigadier General Evans Fordyce Carlson in achieving the Chinese victory over Japanese military fascism under the command of the Eighth Route Army forces of the ruling Communist Party in China and leading the tactics of the guerrilla warfare. Guerrilla warfare against Japanese forces. This was the most striking aspect of this year: the Chinese celebration of all the foreign figures, especially the Americans, who participated side by side with the Chinese in achieving China’s ultimate victory over Japan’s military fascism and pioneering guerrilla warfare tactics to halt the Japanese advance on the Chinese mainland.
Keep in mind that the Eighth Route Army of the Communist Party of China (CPC) engaged in advanced guerrilla warfare tactics against Japanese forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War, which was part of World War II. The CCP effectively used guerrilla warfare against the Japanese, especially in northern China. This Chinese strategy, led by Mao Zedong, focused on leveraging the support of the rural population and using hit-and-run tactics to harass Japanese forces. While the Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) also fought against Japan, its forces were weakened by the war, and the guerrilla tactics of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) proved more successful in gaining popular support and territorial control. The CCP’s guerrilla strategy to resist Japan’s fascist aggression focused on:
Focusing on the support of the rural population in a lightning guerrilla attack on Japanese forces: The CCP’s guerrilla warfare focused on leveraging the support of the rural population, striking Japanese forces in hit-and-run attacks, and disappearing when confronted by scattered forces.
CCP forces targeting Japanese weaknesses: CCP forces targeted Japanese supply lines, communication networks, and weak points to disrupt Japanese operations and undermine their control. The Chinese Communist Party relied on gaining popular support in its confrontation with the fascist military aggression of the Japanese. The CCP’s approach to war, which focused on the needs and concerns of the local population, allowed it to build a strong support base in the countryside.
Recognizing the superiority of the CCP’s military approach and tactics compared to the Kuomintang: While the Kuomintang also fought the Japanese, their conventional warfare tactics proved less effective against the Japanese army and were more costly in terms of resources and manpower.
As for the impact of the ruling Communist Party’s army tactics and guerrilla warfare on the Japanese response to it and the Chinese, the Japanese responded with brutal campaigns of “kill everyone, burn everyone, destroy everyone,” but these tactics often backfired, driving more people to support the Chinese Communist Party. On the other hand, the most notable territorial gains of the ruling Communist Party’s army came through: by the end of the war, the Chinese Communist Party had greatly expanded its territorial control, while the Kuomintang forces were weakened and focused on defending against the Chinese Communist Party.
In this context, US Marine Corps Brigadier General “Evans Fordyce Carlson”, who was deeply involved with the Chinese Communist Party’s Eighth Route Army as a military observer between 1937 and 1938, successfully employed guerrilla warfare tactics with the CCP against Japanese aggression during World War II and countered Japan’s fascist military tactics. American officer “Evans Fordyce Carlson ”led the CCP’s Eighth Route Army’s successful attack on the Japanese on Makin Island in the Pacific Ocean.
Carlson, the namesake of the “Raiders,” was the driving force behind the battalion’s fame and unique culture. After serving in the Army during World War I as a captain and a failed stint as a salesman, Carlson returned to military service in 1922, this time as a Marine. His service record was relatively uneventful before he joined the 4th Marine Regiment in Shanghai in 1927, where he served as an intelligence officer after being commissioned as a second lieutenant.
Later in 1937, Carlson returned to Shanghai as an observer on duty and received permission to move with the Chinese Communist Party’s Eighth Route Army, led by “Mao Zedong”, which had taken a defensive stance against the Japanese army. While traveling with the Eighth Route Army, Carlson was impressed by the soldiers’ ability to penetrate enemy lines and establish bases in rugged, rural areas and was eager to experiment with these tactics.
Fortunately, Carlson’s commandant needed someone willing to create a new commando unit capable of countering Japanese maneuvers in the Pacific. In February 1942, Carlson received permission to form the “Raiders” division and implement his doctrine of “gung hu” (or “acting in concert”). Teamwork based on mutual respect between officers and enlisted personnel, open discussion of moral and military topics during Friday night forums, high physical and mental agility, and character and enforced self-discipline—rather than mere directed discipline—were the cornerstones of Carlson’s leadership. Of the 3,000 Marines who volunteered for service with Carlson, he selected 1,000 to train for intensive guerrilla and unconventional operations in the Pacific. Although many Marine officers questioned Carlson’s rebellious views, U.S. President “Franklin Roosevelt” (whose son, James Roosevelt, served alongside Carlson) supported the innovative team.
Although the local media celebrated the Raiders’ first experience on Makin Island, the results were mixed. They proved their worth in battle (83 Japanese soldiers were killed and 14 Marines lost), but they ultimately failed to divert the Japanese attention from the Solomon Islands, one of the mission’s primary objectives. Carlson’s decision to surrender to a Japanese soldier (he was shot by another Marine before he delivered the surrender note, forcing each Marine to fend for himself to reach safety) raised doubts among his fellow officers, and even his own battalion, about his ability to function and think clearly under fire. But the commander wasn’t ready to abandon Carlson.
On November 4, 1942, 221 raiders landed on the beach of Guadalcanal. Rear Admiral “Alexander Vandegrift” ordered the raiders to conduct a reconnaissance mission to determine the extent of Japanese forces east of Henderson Airfield (a Japanese air base captured by the Americans earlier that year) and to support the Marines in Henderson by preventing any Japanese forces from penetrating deeper into the dense jungle. When 1,500 Japanese soldiers infiltrated the American forces, the raiders had a new objective, represented in clearing an 18-mile stretch of land of the enemy, a daunting task in the harsh foliage, the island’s sweltering heat, and the mosquitoes, to cut off the Japanese retreat from the coast.
During the Carlson Patrol (as the division’s march was known), the raiders traveled more than 150 miles on foot over 29 days, encountering Japanese troop concentrations and seizing enemy weapons and artillery along the way. But the harsh climate and harsh jungle terrain took their toll on the Marines. Ringworm, malaria, and other diseases claimed more lives than enemy fire.
Despite the environmental challenges, the Raiders used guerrilla tactics to engage Japanese units, killing 500 Japanese and losing 16 men, and gathering vital intelligence between November 4 and December 4, 1942. Carlson was proud of his battalion, and newspapers celebrated their victory on Guadalcanal, but the Raiders did not last long. The Marine Corps high command decided that, while important, the Special Forces were unnecessary in the ongoing fight in the Pacific. On March 14, 1943, the 1st Marine Raiders assumed command of the 2nd Marine Raiders, and by February 1944, the Raiders had become a regular infantry unit of the Marine Corps, the 4th Marine Infantry Regiment.
However, Carlson’s tactics remained admired by military leaders long after his death in 1947, and the legacy of the Pacific Raiders lives on to this day. The People’s Liberation Army of China still recognizes the significant role played by American Marine Carlson, along with the Eighth Route Army of the Communist Party of China, in leading the victory over Japan during World War II.
