Quotations of Chairman Mao – on the Anti-Japanese war

我们决不要因现在的局面而悲观，我们完全赞成蒋介石先生在十月九日的演说，坚决打到底，一直打到最后一个人一根枪还要再打，这就是共产党“为保卫祖国流最后一滴血”的意思，是对目前时局的根本方针。（1937年11月1日 《目前的时局和方针）

当时是共产党、国民党和日本人三国鼎立，我们就是要让国民党和日本人来个你死我活，而我们从中发展壮大。一些同志认为日本占地越少越好，后来才统一认识：让日本多占地，才爱国。否则变成爱蒋介石的国了。(1959在庐山会议上痛斥当年发动给日军重创的百团大战的彭德怀)

We should never be pessimistic due to the current situation.  We completely agree with Mr. Chiang Kai-shek’s speech on October 9, and will fight to the end, to the last man and the last gun. This is what our communist party meant by “shed the last drop of blood to defend out country”, and our basic strategy regarding the current situation. (Current Situation and Strategy, 1937-11-01)

The communist party, the Nationalist Party and the Japanese were the three rivals then, and we wanted the Nationalists and the Japanese to kill each other while we were developing and expanding ourselves.  Some comrades thought the smaller area the Japanese occupied, the better.  A consensus was reached later: letting the Japanese  occupy more land is patriotic.  Otherwise, we would be loving Chiang Kai-shek’s country.   (Scolding Marshal Peng Dehuai at Lushan Conference in 1959 for his launching the Hundred Regiments Offensive inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese Imperial Army)