Mao's Generals Remember Korea

Modern War Studies

by Xiaobing Li (Editor), Allan Reed Millett (Editor), Bin Yu (Editor)

Fifty years after the Korean conflict, what is a forgotten war for some Americans is an aching memory for China. With over a million casualties out of the three million soldiers sent into battle, that war looms as large for the People's Republic of China (PRC)-barely a year old when North Korea invaded the South-as World War II does for most other countries. It was the first international war fought by the Chinese Communist regime to halt counterrevolution; it was also a war that the Chinese fully expected to win, by virtue of not only superiority of numbers but also their soldiers' superior "political quality." This book presents a mosaic of memoirs by key Chinese military commanders from that war, drawing not only on their personal papers but also on still-classified archives and on Chinese-language sources unavailable in English. It offers an uncensored, behind-the-scenes story of the Communist campaign, from the decision to intervene through the truce negotiations, that discloses new information on such facets of the war as strategy and tactics, use of propaganda, and mobilization of the Chinese population. It also reveals the generals' concerns about the possible use of nuclear force and the alleged use of biological and chemical weapons by the United States. The book contains a wealth of new materials on the Chinese intervention, including combat operations, logistics, political control, field command, and communications. Among those whose recollections are recorded, then-acting Chief of Staff Nie Rongzhen reveals how party leadership decided on intervention, Commander in Chief Peng Dehuai provides personal accounts of major battles and communications with Mao, and General Yang Dezhi shares secrets of Chinese military strategy and tactics, discussing how the army orchestrated each battle to contend with the better equipped UN forces. The volume also features an updated short history of the PRC's conduct of the war based on Chinese sources, plus rare photos from Chinese archives that put readers behind the lines from the Chinese side. Mao's Generals Remember Korea demonstrates that the PRC continues to draw military, diplomatic, and strategic lessons from the war it fought fifty years ago with the world's most powerful military force. It offers valuable insight into the Chinese way of war and the military mind of Mao that will be a rich resource for Asian and military scholars.

Genres: China, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

316 pages, Hardcover

First published June 20, 2001

About the author

Xiaobing Li is Professor of History and director of the Western Pacific Institute at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Reviews

[Ragnar Bang Moe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Papirutgave. Engelsk. Litt vanskelig tilgjengelig og tung å lese, men spennende å få ett kinesisk perspektiv på Korea-krigen. Tung å lese fordi det blir mye oppramsing av detaljer fra kamper og diskusjoner og standpunkt og litt vanskelig tilgjengelig fordi det er for oss ikke-historikere er vanskelig å skille mellom hva som er offisiell kinesisk propaganda som har satt seg i historiebøkene og hva som er andre perspektiv på ting som har skjedd. Man aner indirekte gjennom kildebeskrivelsene en tendens til å støtte seg mer på amerikanske oppfatninger enn kinesiske - også utover der de kinesiske forfatterne arresteres på faktafeil på bakgrunn av egen propaganda. Spennende - hvis man tar boken for det den er.

Printed edition. English. A bit difficult to access and hard to read, but interesting to get a Chinese perspective on the Korean War. Hard to read because there are much details from the military and political battles and discussions and also a little difficult to access for us non-historians in distinguishing the official Chinese propaganda that has settled in the history books from other perspectives on things that did happen. The source descriptions gives a feeling of relying more on American perceptions than Chinese - even beyond where the Chinese authors are arrested for factual errors based on their own propaganda. Interesting- if you take the book for face value.