The Policy of Implementing Tit for Tat Struggle and the Fight for Every Inch of Land

The policy put forward by Mao Zedong in his speech at the Yan'an Cadre Conference on August 13, 1945. During the Anti-Japanese War, the KMT regime did not fundamentally change its reactionary policy of dictatorship and civil war. After the counteroffensive stage of the Anti-Japanese War, the ruling group of the KMT ordered its troops to occupy the Liberated Areas in the name of accepting the Japanese and puppet forces, in an attempt to seize the Liberated Areas established by the army and the people behind the enemy under the leadership of the CPC. There was a decisive battle between the two paths of China’s destiny before the people of the whole country.

In order to defend the victory of the people and the Liberated Areas, Mao Zedong put forward the policy of "giving tit for tat and fighting for every inch of land". He pointed out: "Chiang Kai-shek always tries to wrest every ounce of power and every ounce of gain from the people. And we? Our policy is to give him tit for tat struggle and to fight for every inch of land.”

This policy was the result of summing up the lessons of history. Mao Zedong also said: "We act after Chiang Kai-shek's fashion. He always tries to impose war on the people, one sword in his left hand and another in his right. We take up swords, too, following his example. We found this method only after investigation and study.”

Mao Zedong also said that the people and army of our Liberated Areas, received no aid whatsoever from outside and relying solely on their own efforts, liberated vast territories and resisted and pinned down the bulk of the Japanese invading forces and practically defeated all the puppet troops. The victory of the War of Resistance was won by the people with bloodshed and sacrifice, since it is the victory won by the people and the people should deserve the fruits of the War of Resistance. But the KMT reactionaries wanted to monopolize the fruits of victory, pursued that the China after victory will resume to her old pre-war state and did not tolerate the slightest change. Therefore, one of the most serious struggles began. Implementing this policy should be based on self-reliance. Because the KMT reactionaries relied entirely on the support of the U.S. imperialism; U.S. imperialism wanted to help Chiang Kai-shek for waging a civil war and turn China into a U.S. dependency. The trinity of dictatorship, civil war and selling out the country had always been the basis of Chiang Kai-shek's policy. Mao Zedong, on the contrary, said that all the countries and people in the world opposed to imperialism were our friends. Only relying on the forces we ourselves have organized, we could defeat all Chinese and foreign reactionaries.

“Giving tit for tat and fighting for every inch of land” was the correct policy put forward by Mao Zedong in accurately judging the political situation at home and abroad and summing up historical lessons, and it was also the revolutionary strategy of the proletariat put forward by Mao Zedong using the Marxist class analysis method. This policy played a positive role in dealing with the civil war and consolidating the Liberated Areas, in fighting for the people and isolating the KMT reactionaries.