On Protracted War (simplified Chinese: 论持久战; traditional Chinese: 論持久戰; pinyin: Lùn chíjiǔ zhàn) is a work comprising a series of speeches by Mao Zedong given from May 26, 1938, to June 3, 1938, at the Yenan Association for the Study of the War of Resistance Against Japan.
[1] In it, he calls for a protracted people's war, as a means for small revolutionary groups to fight the power of the state.
[3] He argues that because of the creation of the Second United Front and national "perseverance" the Japanese have failed to achieve a victory through mobile warfare and that China was now engaged in a "protracted war".
Mao stated that there had to be three prerequisites in order to achieve victory and defeat the forces of Japan:"First, the establishment of an anti-Japanese united front in China; second, the formation of an international anti-Japanese united front; third, the rise of the revolutionary movement of the people in Japan and the Japanese colonies.
To achieve success, Chinese forces must conduct their warfare with a high degree of mobility on extensive battlefields...
"[7]As part of his goal to wage a people's war, Mao explained that large numbers of Guerrilla units among the peasants were necessary for such a strategy to succeed.