Xiao-Bing Li - The Dragon in the Jungle: The Chinese Army in the Vietnam War

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the Universitys objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries.

Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press

198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.

Oxford University Press 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above.

You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

CIP data is on file at the Library of Congress

ISBN 9780190681616

eISBN 9780190681630

For Tran, Kevin, and Christina

Many people at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), where I have been teaching since 1993, have contributed to the book and deserve recognition. First, I thank Provost John F. Barthell, Associate Vice President Gary Steward, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts Catherine S. Webster, and Chairperson of the Department of History and Geography Katrina Lacher. They have been very supportive of the project over the past years. The UCO faculty merit-credit program sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs, as well as travel funds from the College of Liberal Arts, provided funding for my research and trips to conferences. The UCO Research, Creative, and Scholarly Activities (RCSA) grants, sponsored by the Office of High-impact Practices led by Director Michael Springer, made student research assistants available for the project.

I wish to thank my Chinese colleagues and collaborators at the China Academy of Military Science (CAMS), China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Military Archives of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), National Defense University (NDU), Peking (Beijing) University, East China Normal University, Northeast Normal University, Jinan University, China Society for Strategy and Management (CSSM), China Foundation for International and Strategic Studies (CFISS), Logistics College of the PLA, Nanjing Political Academy of the PLA, and Shaanxi Normal University. They made the many arrangements necessary for interviewing PLA officers and retired generals in 20002016. I am grateful to Senior Colonel Chen Zhiya (PLA, ret.), Senior Colonel Ke Cunqiao (PLA), Li Danhui, Niu Jun, Shao Xiao, Shen Zhihua, Major General Wang Baocun (PLA, ret.), Lieutenant Colonel Wang Po (PLA, ret.), Senior Colonel Wang Zhongchun (PLA), Major General Xu Changyou (PLAAF, ret.), Yang Kuisong, Yang Dongyu, Yu Qun, Colonel Yang Shaojun (PLA, ret.), Zhang Baijia, and Zhang Pengfei for their help and advice on my research in China. This volume is also supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Project #19JNYH03), under Shao Xiao at Jinan University in Guangzhou, Guangdong.

Thanks also go to Vice Rector Tran Vinh Phuoc of Vietnam National University; Chief Consular Nguyen Kim Bang of Foreign Affairs Department, Dongnai Province Peoples Committee; Deputy Director Trinh Hao Tam of the War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City; and the staff of the Museum of the Revolution, Hanoi. They provided the contacts and sources for my research trips to Vietnam. I am grateful to Captain Ta Duc Hao (NVA, ret.), Lieutenant Nguyen Nhieu (ARVN, ret.), Staff Sergeant Huynh Van No (ARVN, ret.), Sergeant Tran Thanh (NVA, ret.), and Lieutenant General Huynh Thu Truong (PLAF, ret.) for their help and information during my research interviews in Vietnam.

Special thanks to Stanley J. Adamiak who critically reviewed all of the chapters. Chen Jian, Bruce A. Elleman, David Kaiser, Steven I. Levine, Robert J. McMahon, Allan R. Millett, Hai Nguyen, John Prados, David Shambaugh, Harold M. Tanner, James Willbanks, Peter Worthing, Marilyn B. Young, Qiang Zhai, and Xiaoming Zhang made important comments on earlier versions of some chapters as conference papers. Brad Watkins drew the maps. Michelle Magnusson and Travis Chambers copyedited the chapters. Jesse Miller provided consultance on image reproduction. Heidi Vaugh and her Laboratory of History Museum at UCO provided archival assistance. Annamaria Martucci provided secretarial assistance. Several graduate and undergraduate students at UCO traveled with me to meet the veterans, transcribed the interviews, and read parts of the manuscript. They are Major Phred Evans (US Army, ret.), TSGT Charles D. Heaverin (US Air Force, ret.), Master Sergeant Michael E. Henderson (US Marine Corp, ret.), Capt. Alex Zheng Xing (PLA, ret.), SrA. Oliver Pettry (US Air Force), and First Lieutenant Xiangyao Xu (PLA, ret.).

I also wish to thank Nancy Toff, vice president and executive editor of Oxford University Press, who offered many valuable suggestions in the past three years. The anonymous readers also provided important comments and criticism. Any remaining errors of facts, language usage, and interpretation are my own.

During the research and writing period over the past fifteen years, my wife, Tran, and our two children, Kevin and Christina, got used to my working weekends and holidays and shared with me the burden of overseas traveling through China and Vietnam. Their understanding and love made the completion of this history project possible. I dedicate this book to them.