After the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, for the United front, our army began to accept the incorporation of the Kuomintang and changed its name to the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army. Although the Kuomintang later renamed the army 18 Army, this name has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and has become a customary name for the military and civilians, so the title of the Eighth Route Army has been handed down.

The main activity scope of the Eighth Route Army is to engage in guerrilla operations in northern China and Japanese-occupied areas in North China. At first, about 45,000 Red Army soldiers were registered as the Eighth Route Army. During the eight-year Anti-Japanese War, the Eighth Route Army developed rapidly, spreading the whole northern land like monstrous fireworks. After the end of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the number of the Eighth Route Army reached more than 900,000.

Having said that, we should talk about the difference between the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army. The Eighth Route Army was adapted from the main force of the Red Army in the Long March. The main battlefield is in the north, and the New Fourth Army is adapted from the remnants of the Red Army left in the south. When it was first incorporated into the New Fourth Army, the number was only 1 10,000, and the main battlefield was in the south. After the end of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, it only grew to more than 300,000, far less than the size of the Eighth Route Army.

In the civil war, the Eighth Route Army was fierce and the Kuomintang troops were losing ground. During the war, the Eighth Route Army was renamed the People's Liberation Army. However, because the Eighth Route Army soldiers were used to the name of the Eighth Route Army and did not change it, the Eighth Route Army still maintained its flag most of the time.

In the late civil war, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army were renamed the People's Liberation Army, ending the glorious course of the Eighth Route Army. Since then, the Eighth Route Army has become history.