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During the early stage of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Lin Biao, commander of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, is seen on the march (the one on horseback in front).
How to Be a Good Division Commander? December 1936
1. Be Diligent. Lazy people cannot accomplish things well and cannot be good military commanders. You must personally inspect and handle matters that should be done by yourself. For example, if you should climb a hill to observe, you must climb it; if you should understand a situation, you must understand it in time; if you should inspect a problem, you must inspect it strictly. You cannot be lazy. Military commanders must avoid laziness at all costs, because laziness brings danger and defeat. For instance, a military commander who arrives at a campsite, enters a house, washes his face and feet, cooks noodles with eggs, eats his fill, and then sleeps soundly—he does not ask about the size of the village, its location, how many hills are nearby, how many roads surround it, the enemy situation, the condition of the masses, what might happen, whether the troops have all arrived, where the sentry posts are, or what the emergency response plan is. If something happens in the middle of the night, such as a sudden enemy attack, he will be helpless. At that point, even a usually brave commander will be at a loss and can only resort to the thirty-six stratagems, with running away as the best option, thus becoming an opportunist. Opportunism and defeat often result from lack of mental preparation, lack of organizational preparation, and work not done thoroughly—all consequences of laziness. Therefore, commanders of all levels must be diligent, willing to walk, unafraid of fatigue, and use their brains. They must achieve the five "arrivals": heart, eyes, mouth, feet, and hands. Before things are done well, one cannot seek leisure. Seeking leisure hides the root of mistakes. You must have a clear picture of everything in your heart. "Forewarned is forearmed; without preparation, you will fail." Cadres who are immovable as thunder or sticky as taffy, no matter how capable, are not good cadres.
2. Understand Your Superiors' Intentions. You must truly understand your superiors' intentions, fully comprehend them, and recognize the position and role of the task you have received in the overall campaign and battle. Only then can you fully display your subjective initiative; break out of the mold, and have the creativity to find new methods in new situations; have great courage, firm and resolute determination, dare to achieve complete victory, and have a strong ambition to swallow the enemy. The bravery of a commander is concentrated in the firmness and tenacity of his determination to annihilate the enemy. A commander's great courage is based on the highest revolutionary consciousness and correct understanding of superiors' intentions.
3. Conduct Investigation and Research. You must always have a clear picture of the enemy situation, terrain, troop conditions, and social conditions. You must feel and ponder them daily without interruption. This should not be seen as repetition; in fact, it is not repetition but a process of continuous deepening and improvement, an indispensable means to obtain correct understanding. The more information you accumulate and systematize in peacetime, the calmer and more resourceful you will be in wartime, especially in tense and complex situations. Only then can "quick wit" have a foundation. Therefore, investigation and research must run through all work, through every campaign and battle, and oppose reckless fighting, confused fighting, impatience, and the lazy style of not personally conducting investigation. Especially the enemy situation must be thoroughly understood. Because the enemy is alive, they will inevitably try to conceal and disguise their true intentions and actions. You must make every effort to conduct uninterrupted reconnaissance, ascertain the enemy's deployment and movements, and see what role they play: protagonist or supporting role? Main force or secondary force? Arrogant troops or defeated troops? How much force can they concentrate to attack us or block our attacks? Find out the characteristics of the enemy commander, see what tactics he habitually uses and excels at, and judge what methods he might adopt based on his current intentions. Once you have a clear picture of the enemy, ourselves, and the terrain, your decisions will be quick, firm, and resolute. You will not be fooled by any illusion or intimidated by any difficulty. If the situation is unclear, you will hesitate, waver, miss opportunities, or make a reluctant decision that may be shaken by the slightest wind, hearing complaints and incorrect suggestions, and a single thought may undo all your previous efforts.
4. Have a Living Map. Commanders and staff officers must be familiar with maps and read them constantly. Reading maps thoroughly can produce insights, wisdom, methods, and confidence. The method is to hang the map, bring a stool, sit down, and look at the map, from the general direction to the area of operations, from the overall picture to the terrain features of each section, from rough reading to detailed reading, reading block by block. Use red and blue pencils to mark the main mountains, rivers, towns, villages, and roads. As you read, mark; when the map is almost worn out, you have almost memorized it. On the basis of thorough map reading, you must personally organize relevant commanders and staff to conduct on-site reconnaissance of the combat area and battlefield, verify the map, and load the terrain conditions and the deployment of both sides into your mind, so that when you close your eyes, a vivid battlefield image appears, and you can command operations even without the map. In this way, in life-and-death, rapidly changing combat situations, you can be faster than the enemy, seize the initiative, stay one step ahead, and secure victory.
5. Think Through All Problems Thoroughly. For each campaign and battle, let everyone raise various possible problems, let everyone find answers, and especially find answers from the worst and most severe situations. When all raised problems are answered and no more unanswered questions remain, then you will not make major mistakes in battle, and even if you do, they will be easier to correct. Unanswered questions should not be discarded just because you have thought for a long time without finding an answer, leaving a knot. If you do that, it is very dangerous; at a critical moment, that knot may surface, causing you to be unprepared and caught off guard. Of course, in a war environment, there are many problems to consider, and it is impossible to raise them all at once or answer them all at once. The entire process of a campaign or battle is a process of continuously raising and answering questions. Sometimes the brain is tired, and some questions may not be answered immediately. At such times, besides consulting with others, have a good sleep. After sleeping well and waking up with a clear mind, lie in bed and think again; you may have a sudden inspiration, understand, answer, and solve it. In short, do not be vague about any problem. Only when all problems are answered is the organization of the campaign or battle complete.
6. Make Decisions in a Timely Manner. Under what circumstances can you decide to fight? Commanders must make the greatest effort to organize preparations for the campaign and battle, striving to have certainty before acting, and not fight battles without certainty. However, no battle can have all conditions completely, nor can there be 100% certainty. Generally, about 70% certainty is quite good, and you should fight resolutely and boldly. Insufficient conditions should be compensated by fully leveraging the human factor, relying on the strength of the masses, fully displaying the unique political advantages of the people's army, and fully displaying the wisdom and heroic tenacious fighting style of commanders and fighters. Use subjective efforts to create conditions, turn risk into creativity, and achieve victory.
7. Have a Good, United Leadership Team. The leadership team must have consistent thinking and understanding, coordinated and synchronized actions, be vigorous and resolute, and have a revolutionary heroic spirit. Everyone must be diligent and do everything possible to accomplish tasks. No mutual friction, no mutual interference, no bystander attitude. If the leadership team is not good, having many people is not only useless but harmful.
8. Have a Good Fighting Style. Only troops with a good fighting style can fight well and win battles. A good fighting style first means not complaining about hardship, vying to take on the most difficult tasks, being heroic and tenacious, fearless of sacrifice, and fiercely attacking, charging, and pursuing. Especially, be brave in relentless pursuit. Because after defeating the enemy, pursuit is the most critical move to end the battle, expand the results, and completely annihilate the enemy. During pursuit, run, quick-step, and if you cannot walk, support yourself with a cane; even if you have to crawl or roll, you must continue forward. Only by catching the enemy can you destroy them. A good fighting style is cultivated in peacetime, tempered through actual exercise, and can only be forged in intense and cruel battles. A unit that dares not fight hard or tough battles will develop after a few such battles, because they have seen the scene, gained understanding and experience, and know how to fight. This is the principle of "steel tempered by a hundred forgings." Work also requires a good style: say it and do it, do it as said, do it neatly and decisively, carry it through to the end, without any ambiguity, and do not let go until it is done well. The key to cultivating a good style lies in the cadres. "There are no weak soldiers under a strong general." The style of the cadres determines the style of the troops. Therefore, first grasp the cadres, make them set an example, and influence and drive the troops. As long as cadres have a good style, command battles well, and win more battles, even newly formed units or those with weak foundations will quickly develop a good style, like a hammer that smashes wherever it strikes.
9. Value Politics and Personally Conduct Political Work. The improvement of troop combat effectiveness depends on strong Party leadership and strong political work in peacetime. The company branch must be built well, and its work must be lively, that is, to boost the revolutionary enthusiasm of all Party and League members, fully display their exemplary and leading roles, and through them drive the entire company, and through them conduct political work to raise the class consciousness of all commanders and fighters. With strong Party branch leadership and strong political work, you can achieve "one call, a hundred responses," vying to be first, fearless of sacrifice, and advancing wave upon wave. Tactics and technology must also be trained well, especially technology. If you cannot shoot accurately, you cannot eliminate the enemy on the battlefield or resolve the battle. Therefore, military training cannot be sloppy, and Party and government work must lead training well. "Skill gives courage, and courage enhances skill." When troops have high proletarian consciousness, a good fighting style, and excellent combat skills, they are like a tiger with wings and can be invincible in the world.
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