The Air Defense In Yan’an During The Anti-Japanese War

After the Xi’an incident, Yan’an became the political center of the Communist Party of China. When the Anti-Japanese War broke out, the air corps of Japanese army, launched a massive bombing to Yan’an constantly, as the result of their established strategic intent. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the military forces and civilian of Yan’an began their construction of Passive Air Defense in very difficult conditions. Considering Yan’an’s strategic position during the Anti-Japanese War, my study focus on the process of the Japanese bombing in Yan’an, emphasising on the various air defense measures in Yan’an on the basis of historical facts. It will make a preliminary judgment for Yan’an’s air defense construction in this period.Firstly, the paper delineates the necessity and possibility of Japanese army’s air attack, starting with analyzing Yan’an’s strategic position and Japanese strategic intention. Yan’an is located in the northern Shaanxi Province and itself has an important military strategic position. After the Xi’an incident, Yan’an became the political and military center of the Communist Party of China, its strategic position was more prominent, therefore it drew great attention of the Japanese. Just as the Japanese side both took military and anti-communist considerations, so it was inevitably to target Yan’an, the Chinese Communist Party’s political center, the force of holding up the Anti Japanese banner..It is because of the above reasons, the Japanese army carried out air strikes to Yan’an for many times during the Anti-Japanese War. Based on the records of Japanese combing, the paper would make a detailed textual research on the bombing process from November 1938 to August 1941,and preliminary discuss the great loss of lives and properties caused by the Japanese bombing.Faceing the Japanese frequent bombing, the people in Yan’an launched a series of anti-airstrikes struggle. As the communist party of China had not any air forces during the Anti-Japanese War, so they could only take some "passive air defense" measures, including the founding of air defense agencies, the conduction of air defense publicity and education, the construction of air defense shelter and facilities, the organization of air defense evacuation and rescuing, the elimination of traitors and so on. Yan’an city itself was also rebuilt with the air defense constructionIn the process of anti-air strikes, the military forces and civilian in Yan’an fully showed their strong unyielding character and optimistic attitude, which formed a unique Yanan spirit of air defense. The people in Yan’ an not only reused the bomb debris, but also initiated the aviation personnel in a very difficult condition. In fact, it opened the preparatory work of the air force construction. During the Anti-Japanese War, the civil air defense construction in Yan’an became the starting point of the new China’s aviation, and it also provided an important historical reference for civil air-defence after the founding of new China.