Anti-Japanese film and television dramas have emerged one after another in recent years. Although there are many dramas, the ratings are quite impressive. At the same time, some people also discovered an interesting problem in these film and television works. In most anti-Japanese dramas, the hats worn by the Eighth Route Army led by the Communist Party did not have cap badges, but only two stars on them. button. This is also true. In textbooks, movies, TV series and pictures in memorial halls, whether it is a blue-gray or khaki military cap worn by the Eighth Route Army, there are always these two buttons. So what is the significance of these two buttons? Woolen cloth?
Eighth Route Army film and television stills
As we all know, after the all-out Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937, the Chinese Communists accepted the orders of the Nationalist Government and began to cooperate with the Nationalists of the Republic of China. Resist Japan. On August 25, 1937, the Nationalist Government issued an order that the armed forces of the Communist Party of China were incorporated by the government. The First, Second, and Fourth Front Armies of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in the northwest, as well as the Northern Shaanxi Red Army, were unified and reorganized into the National Revolutionary Army. The Eighth Route Army of the Army; on September 11, the Eighth Route Army was renamed the 18th Group Army.
Because the name of the Eighth Route Army is more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, except for some official documents of the National Government, the abbreviation of "Eighth Route Army" is basically used. Therefore, it can be seen from this period of history that the Eighth Route Army was a regular national army during the Anti-Japanese War, and they were also a veritable "national army".
Military caps wearing the Blue Sky and White Sun emblem
Since the Eighth Route Army is the national army, their military caps must have military emblems. Then, why do the caps worn by the Eighth Route Army only have two emblems? Where are the buttons?
In fact, during the Anti-Japanese War, the military caps of the Eighth Route Army soldiers at that time naturally had the military emblem of the national regular army. It can also be seen from some old photos that as long as it is a relatively regular national army, They all wear the blue sky and white sun cap badge on their military caps. However, after the Wannan Incident, Chiang Kai-shek declared the New Fourth Army "rebels" and canceled the designation of this regular national army. The soldiers of the Eighth Route Army retaliated. Most of the troops simply took off the blue sky and white sun cap badge on their hats, leaving only two buttons.
Eighth Route Army hat
In the following years of the war, the Kuomintang repeatedly launched anti-Japanese upsurges. Naturally, the Kuomintang central government no longer uniformly issued uniforms and military pay to the Eighth Route Army. For this reason, more and more Eighth Route Army soldiers no longer wear cap badges on their hats. Therefore, among the works related to the Anti-Japanese War that people can see today, whether they are familiar paintings or old photos from decades ago, whether they are officers or soldiers, they all wear neat military uniforms, but there is only one thing on their military caps. There is no cap badge, only two black buttons. This historical past has also created the classic image of the Eighth Route Army. In fact, compared with the hats they wore without military emblems, the military uniforms worn by the Eighth Route Army soldiers during the Anti-Japanese War were not as uniform as those in film and television works.
The Eighth Route Army’s real attire
Because Chang Kaishen has always been extremely vigilant and hostile towards the Eighth Route Army, even in the early days when the National Government paid military salaries to the Eighth Route Army, the money given was not much. After the Wannan Incident, military pay for the Eighth Route Army was completely stopped. Moreover, the Eighth Route Army located behind enemy lines was in a harsh enemy-occupied area, and logistical supplies were very difficult. In addition, the Chinese people were generally very poor at that time. During the rapid expansion of the Eighth Route Army, it was difficult to provide each person with a uniform.
The military uniforms of this unit adapted from the armed forces led by the Communist Party of China are far less impressive than those of the Central Army. In some group photos of the Eighth Route Army, they were wearing all kinds of military uniforms, and the clothes they wore were random and makeshift. Some soldiers' clothes were even tattered. Even some Eighth Route Army soldiers who had just joined the army were still wearing civilian clothes. Of course, neither the military caps nor the clothes affected the Eighth Route Army's battle against the Japanese invaders, nor did they affect the patriotism of the Eighth Route Army soldiers.