Li Zhongxuan's Combat Diary

Author: Li Zhongxuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: Li Zhongxuan's diaries are highly typical and representative. Though he recorded only the units he was in or led, they clearly make us feel the development path of our army from the Eighth Route Army to the People's Liberation Army and then to the Volunteer Army—a journey from small to large, from weak to strong, which is a "microcosm" of the history of our army's growth. He documented many different types of battle cases, such as guerrilla warfare, small-scale regular warfare, small-scale assault battles, large-scale assault battles, large-scale combined operations and decisive battles, close combat and night combat against the U.S. military with inferior equipment, defensive battles supported by tunnel fortifications, and large-scale mobile counter-offensive battles, etc. These firsthand historical materials are rare in the annals of our army's battles and hold great research value for military historians and general historians. Beyond their typicality and representativeness, Li Zhongxuan's diaries also have distinct personal characteristics, or individuality. From the diaries, one can strongly sense that he was intellectually active and good at summarizing; he emphasized tactical training and loved his troops through tactics; he knew himself and the enemy well and prioritized reconnaissance; he didn't mechanically execute orders from superiors but bravely proposed proactive suggestions based on the actual situation; he led by example and set a precedent, etc. On the Korean battlefield, he had already become a division commander. When reading that he personally visited the frontline of the 540th Regiment of our 180th Division, I must admit, I was deeply moved. I knew what the frontline of a defensive battle on the Korean battlefield was like—it was often just dozens of meters away from the enemy, a place with a very high probability of casualties. I had never imagined that a regiment commander would be in such a place, let alone a division commander, who would personally visit it. From their command positions further back, we wouldn't find it strange but would consider it normal. Therefore, seeing his diary, my admiration is truly beyond words. However, he wasn't just doing this once or twice but did so many times, often doing so, especially during the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation. Even on the Korean battlefield, while organizing and planning each battle, he always tried to get as close as possible to the enemy's positions, repeatedly observing, reconnoitering, and studying, often even going beyond his own defensive lines. Regarding his visit to the 540th Regiment's battlefront, I once asked him why he did it. I thought, under normal circumstances, a division commander shouldn't do this according to regulations. He smiled and said, "That's to set an example for the regiment and battalion commanders." I understood that this "setting an example" wasn't just for show or to put on a display—it was a role model, aimed at cultivating the fighting spirit of the unit. Li Zhongxuan, originally an intellectual who took up arms, had a high cultural starting point, which helped him master various military knowledge and theories and rationally reflect on his and his unit's actual combat experiences. Yet he wasn't satisfied with that. He once injured himself and spent some time in a hospital in Guangzhou. In a short period, he avidly read dozens of books, from Zhao Shuli's novels to Marxist works, and took notes and reflections in his diary. He called reading and learning "another form of battle." In fact, while engaged in military combat, he had been persistently improving his ideological and theoretical literacy. He was extremely diligent and eager to learn. Reading his diary, one would find its content becoming increasingly rich—not only reflections on the successes and failures of each battle but also more and more critiques of social observations and current affairs. His entire person was constantly improving. Technological advancements have driven the military revolution in the world, and our army is also modernizing at a rapid pace. Modernization imposes many high requirements on soldiers, but basic principles of war, such as the art of war, knowing oneself and the enemy, striking unexpectedly, and exploiting one's strengths to counter the enemy's weaknesses, etc., seem to still hold true. A soldier, beyond hardware equipment, should also possess many intangible, hard-to-describe in psychology, spirit, and wisdom. Whether we call this intangible feeling literacy or quality, it should not be diluted but strengthened. For this reason, reading the battle diary of the veteran general Li Zhongxuan would be highly beneficial. This is a diary that is far too rare.