Study On Local Security Armed Forces In Northern Jiangsu During The Anti-Japanese War

During the Anti-Japanese War,besides the regular guerrilla troops of the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang,there were also a large number of local security forces led by the exiled Kuomintang county government in the battlefield.Focusing on Fengxian County in northern Jiangsu Province,this paper investigates the development and evolution of security forces in Fengxian County and how to cope with the invasion of foreign enemies,and then puts forward some thoughts on how to recognize and understand this armed group.After the founding of the Nanjing National Government,a national security regiment system was established and promoted in order to strengthen the control of grass-roots units.Local security forces,as grass-roots armed forces to maintain local order,always have the nature of self-defense in the countryside.In May 1938,when Fengxian County was occupied,the exiled county government in the countryside reorganized its security forces and waged guerrilla warfare on the spot.By re-establishing the political and military authority of the local leadership,the county government tried to unite various civil armed organizations and self-defense forces.However,the people's self-protection increased in the early period of the occupation.Whether they joined the security forces or not showed different aspects with the change of historical situation.In the interaction and game with the various social forces,such as the Communist Party of China,the Japanese Army,the puppet army,bandits and gangs etc.,the political identity and national identity consciousness of the Fengxian security forces have been constantly clarified and strengthened.Nevertheless,in the case of the temporary absence of local state power due to the invasion of the Japanese army,although the local security forces assume the tasks of resisting Japan and the Communist Party under the orders of the National Government,the tradition of self-defence in the countryside which is based on the group survival strategy is still the basic logic of their personnel participation and guerrilla activities.This rural tradition with strong self-defense color not only reflects the way of collective survival of the rural masses and the behavioral logic of the local armed forces during the drastic changes of local society,but also is closely linked with the construction of the Kuomintang and the revolution of the Communist Party in the occupied areas.