Page 531 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo I

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rowed, and PLA’s own experience was added. As a result, PLA’s combined operation
theory has its unique characters.
A. Mao Zedong’s military thought has been regarded as the fundamental guideline.
Soon after the establishment of PRC in 1949, Mao Zedong made a series of decisions
of great strategic significance regarding combined armed forces building and theories
of combined operation. Those decisions reflected the true needs for fighting a modern
war, and provided guidance for PLA to develop and employ the principles of combined
operation.

B. Unique advantage of fighting People’s War was brought into full play.
The key to the victories of PLA in its long history of revolutionary struggle lies in the
fact that the wars that it fought are justified and real people’s war. Because those wars
are for the fundamental interests of mass people, it is possible to mobilize people and to
obtain their support. “People’s War” is an inexhaustible source of strength for PLA, and
also a unique advantage exclusive to PLA and not enjoyed by adversary.
C. Flexibility is exercised in war fighting.
“We will choose the way of fight according to guns in our hands, enemy we face
and the time and location of the confrontation”. This is a highly concise summarization
by Commander in Chief Zhu De on PLA’s flexible strategy and tactics. Complexity of
modern wars, broadness of battle space and variety of opponents, leave PLA little choice
but to give full play to the initiative and creativity to commanders at each level, and to
make full use of our strong point to attack enemy’s weak point. Exercising flexibility is
a basic principle PLA followed to defeat its enemies and also one of the defining features
of PLA combined operation.
D. Maintaining heroic and staunch fighting spirit
Among the ten grand military principles put forward by Mao Zedong, one is “to
carry on the spirit of fighting in a brave, fearless and indefatigable manner and able
to fight continuously without rest (to fight several battles in a short duration without
break).” Doctrines of each generation took heroic and staunch fighting spirit as a basic
principle and fundamental requirement. Combined operation under the modern condi-
tions requires combat persons not only able to handle with proficiency complicated and
modern weapons and equipments, but also to endure hardship and difficulty. Therefore,
PLA put weight not only on the study of combined operation theories and improvement
of weaponry and equipments, but also on the cultivation of fighting spirit of troops.

E. Try to defeat better-armed enemies by making full use of equipment we possess
Though PLA had been much poorly-armed in comparison with strong enemies it
faced during different historical periods, it achieved victory each time. Besides the jus-
tice nature of wars it fought, one of the reasons of PLA’s victory was that it was able to
explore and develop new combined operation theory according to the arms it possessed,
employ the inferior hardware and capable combat persons in a scientific way, achieve
the optimum when using backward equipments with advanced strategies and tactics.