Editing Zhou Enlai (section)

===Military strategy in Wuhan===
In January 1938, the Nationalist government appointed Zhou as the deputy director to the Political Department of the Military Committee, working directly under General [[Chen Cheng]]. As a senior Communist statesman holding the rank of lieutenant-general, Zhou was the only Communist to hold a high-level position within the Nationalist government. Zhou used his influence within the Military Committee to promote Nationalist generals that he believed were capable, and to promote cooperation with the Red Army.<ref name="Twentyone1" />

In the [[Battle of Taierzhuang|Tai'erzhuang campaign]], Zhou used his influence to ensure that the most capable Nationalist general available, [[Li Zongren]] be appointed overall commander, despite Chiang's reservations about Li's loyalty. When Chiang was hesitant to commit troops to the defense of [[Tai'erzhuang]], Zhou convinced Chiang to do so by promising that the Communist [[Eighth Route Army]] would simultaneously attack the Japanese from the north, and that the [[New Fourth Army]] would sabotage the [[Tianjin–Pukou Railway|Tianjin-Pukou railroad]], cutting off Japanese supplies. In the end, the defense of Tai'erzhuang was a major victory for the Nationalists, killing 20,000 Japanese soldiers and capturing a large quantity of supplies and equipment.<ref name="Twentyone1" />