With unruly tousled hair, berets, and melancholy and determined eyes staring into the distance, this classic portrait of Che Guevara has been hailed as "the world's most famous and bold photo . "
Guevara's short but legendary life left an indelible mark on the world. This former core figure of the Cuban revolution is not only a hero in the Communist Revolution in the Third World, but also a representative of the Western left-wing movement. But it was such a man who was called "the strongest guerrilla master". When he visited China in 1960, he was extremely excited and nervous when facing Chairman Mao, humbled like a primary school student. 1. Mao Zedong is a master of guerrilla warfare, I am just a pupil On November 17, 1960, Guevara, who has become Cuba's "number two", led a delegation from that country to China. The next day, at the welcome banquet held by China, Guevara made a sincere request to Premier Zhou Enlai, which was also his long-cherished wish for many years-he wanted to meet Chairman Mao . At Guevara's sincere request, Chairman Mao had a friendly meeting with him at the Qinzheng Hall in Zhongnanhai in the afternoon of the next day. When Che Guevara finally met Chairman Mao, who had been admiring for a long time, he was too nervous and excited, and did not speak for a long time. The scene was very embarrassing. In the end, Chairman Mao broke the situation and said wittyly: "Cut, you are so young.Guevara said very sincerely: "Chairman Mao, I was not born when you started the revolution. I admire you very much. I have read many of your articles and books, which have benefited me a lot. Especially the preferential treatment you mentioned. The captive policy has played a very important role in our Cuban revolution."
These words of Guevara are by no means exaggerated. He did get a lot of inspiration in Chairman Mao's book and used it as a basis to assist Castro to win the final victory of the Cuban revolution.
Chairman Mao also kindly took Guevara by the hand and told him that he had also read the "Notes on the Study of Cuban Revolutionary Ideology" written by him and praised it, which inspired Guevara.
More than two hours of talks kept Che Guevara intent. During the ensuing dinner, the two generations of "guerrilla masters" continued to share their experiences of guerrilla warfare and revolutionary struggle with interest .
Chairman Mao admired this passionate young man very much and asserted that his notes will have a profound impact on the Latin American revolution . At this time, Che Guevara was as humble as a student, listening carefully to Chairman Mao's pertinent opinions on him.
After the meeting with Chairman Mao, Guevara was not in a hurry to leave China, but conducted economic negotiations with the Chinese government and signed a joint communiqué.
At that time, Cuba had just succeeded in its revolution, and it urgently needed the help of the socialist camp to restore its domestic economy. Faced with Guevara’s ardent hope, the Chinese leaders did not hesitate to extend a helping hand and signed a series of agreements with the Cuban government in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology, and not only agreed to import 1 million tons of Cuban sugar and 5,000 tons of nickel. , Also promised to provide them with a loan of 60 million US dollars, you must know that China was not rich at that time.
After returning to Cuba with such a rich harvest, Guevara set off a "China fever", and this "little brother" who had just entered the socialist family developed a keen interest and full admiration for China.
However, with the passage of time and changes in Sino-Soviet relations, Castro, the first leader of Cuba, was forced to lean towards the Soviet Union under the pressure of reality. In order to clarify Cuba’s position and some issues, Guevara came to China again in February 1965 and personally explained it to the Chinese government.
But no one thought that this visit became a farewell between Guevara and China. The soldier who regarded Chairman Mao as his mentor fell into the jungle of Bolivia two years later.
From the performance of Che Guevara in his two visits to China, we can see that he really admired Chairman Mao from the bottom of his heart and he very much agreed with Chairman Mao's theory of revolution and war. What did this revolutionary madman who is thousands of miles away and "separate from Chairman Mao" have experienced that made him so humble and respected Chairman Mao so much?
2. Don Quixote of Communism
The reason why many people call Guevara the "Don Quixote of communism" has a lot to do with his legendary life experience.
In 1928, Guevara was born into a well-known and wealthy family in Argentina. At the age of 22, he rode a motorcycle to the northern provinces of Argentina, and in the following year, he traveled more than half of South America. It was this long trip that made him, a child of a rich family, see the real suffering of the people, and the idea of internationalism sprouted in his young heart.
After returning to Argentina, he continued to complete his studies and graduated from medical school in 1953. After leaving school, Guevara set off again and began his second trip to Latin America. It was from this trip that Guevara started. Pull started his legendary career.
On Christmas this year, he came to Guatemala. At that time, Guatemala was a government ruled by left-wing ideas. President Abens was carrying out a vigorous land reform movement in the country, and the spear of the struggle was directed at it. American company.
This kind of left-wing ideology has won the heart of Guevara. He devoted himself to the revolutionary cause of Guatemala without hesitation and supported President Abens with many revolutionaries.
government, of course, cannot sit idly by. In 1954, the CIA found an officer named Armas in Guatemala and helped him to form an anti-government mercenary to overthrow this left-wing government. .
In the end, this mercenary under the control of the United States launched a military coup and ousted the original president, and Armas took control of the Guatemalan regime. The first thing he did after taking office was the bloody cleansing of the left-wingers before the blood cleansing. Of course, Che Guevara was also on his blacklist. In order to avoid being poisoned, he began to escape to his career.
This incident made Guevara understand a truth: if you want to truly benefit mankind, you cannot rely on medicine alone. It must rely on revolutionary actions to overthrow the reactionary dictatorship in order to realize this ideal.
After figuring out this truth, Guevara began to work hard to find like-minded partners, and finally, in 1955 he met the Castro brothers.
At this time, the Castro brothers are planning to overthrow the Battis dictatorship by means of armed struggle and make Cuba a truly democratic country.
Guevara very much agreed with their ideas, and then resolutely joined their military organization, and secretly came to Cuba with more than 80 comrades in the organization, ready to start operations.
Unfortunately, their action failed. The comrades who encountered the ambush fought desperately. In the end, only 12 people survived, including the Castro brothers and Guevara.
These remaining revolutionary fires did not give up because of this. After breaking through the encirclement, they entered the Maestra Mountains, continued guerrilla warfare, and gradually established revolutionary base areas. At this time, Che Guevara has completely turned from a military doctor into a soldier. He put down the medicine box and took up the weapon, and showed extraordinary combat ability.
It was also during this time that he read Chairman Mao's articles and books, which gave him a new understanding of guerrilla warfare and revolutionary struggle. He followed the revolutionary methods advocated by Chairman Mao, such as "encircling the city from the countryside," "preferential treatment of captives," and "mobilizing the masses, establishing base areas", and combined with his own actual situation, assisting Castro to obtain Cuba in just four years. The victory of the revolution.
It is precise because Guevara has borrowed and used Chairman Mao's theory of guerrilla warfare that the troops he led have been able to repeatedly achieve remarkable achievements and become braver in Vietnam. When he became the cover character of Time magazine, he was called "the most powerful guerrilla master." However, the always rebellious Guevara went uncharacteristically and said modestly: "Mao Zedong is the master of guerrilla warfare, compared to him. Just an elementary school student."
However, the successful Guevara did not settle for the status quo. He suddenly withdrew from the Cuban political arena in 1965, and once again took up arms and fought in the Congo (Kinshasa) and Bolivia, hoping to ignite the flames of the revolution there.
However, the idealistic Guevara acted too hastily and violated the basic principles of guerrilla warfare. As a result, he was defeated and captured by the double strangulation of the CIA and the Bolivian government forces. He was finally shot at the age of 39.
3. "Guerrilla War" by Che Guevara
From the short and legendary life of Che Guevara, we can see that this is a revolutionary soldier with lofty ambitions and able to do it personally, but he is full of tragic colors like Don Quixote, although he has immediately rushed to the giant The courage of the windmill, the risk of breaking away from reality also paid the price of his life.
Obviously, Guevara used his guerrilla tactics to achieve great victories in Cuba, but they were completely unworkable in the Congo (Kinshasa) and Bolivia. Is there a problem with the method or some other reason?
First, let us interpret the "Guerrilla War" he personally wrote in 1960.
The basic theory of Guevara's "Guerrilla Warfare" was completely inspired by Chairman Mao Zedong. He gave a very detailed description of the guerrilla warfare strategy, strategy and tactics, and combat methods. The book borrowed a lot from Chairman Mao's guerrilla warfare theory.
For example, he mentioned in the book: guerrilla warfare is a mass war, a people’s war; the basic task of guerrilla members is to avoid being destroyed; the basic feature of guerrilla warfare is mobility; a strong combat base must be kept at all times, Continue to strengthen it during the war... Guevara also relied on these "magic weapons" to win the victory of the Cuban revolution.
The content recorded in this book is basically the practical and feasible experience verified by Guevara and Castro with practical actions. Therefore, both theory and practice have proved that the book "Guerrilla War" really played a role in the victory of the Cuban revolution. Important guiding significance.
As Guevara said when he met Chairman Mao: "In your article, we learned a very important point, which is to treat captives preferentially. When we healed their injuries and sent them back, it played an unexpected role. , More people abandon Batista and come to our side."
But the biggest difference between Guevara’s book and Chairman Mao’s "On Guerrilla Warfare" is that most of its pages are devoted to introducing the methods and methods of guerrilla warfare, and even detailed recommendations for the use of specific weapons. There are very few analyses of political significance and strategic thinking. To be precise, this should be a "Guerrilla Warfare Operation Manual."
After all, for a small country with a population of only 6 million, guerrilla warfare is only a means, and it cannot rise to the level of war and strategy. Of course, this limitation is also an important factor that later led to the failure of Che Guevara.
From this, we can also see that although Che Che is an excellent "guerrilla master," he is not a qualified military strategist or politician. He has extraordinary tactical qualities, is good at fighting, and can lead an excellent guerrilla force, but he lacks an overall view. He basically has no ability to predict and control the entire war situation and the political goals brought about by the war, otherwise, he would also After the victory of the Cuban revolution, he will not go to other unfamiliar countries to lead the revolution on a whim.
The difficulty of losing the support of the local people, losing the trust of teammates, and blindly relying on guerrilla tactics to liberate a country and subvert a regime can be imagined.
Later facts also proved the lethality of Guevara’s blind action. He was eager to control the military power. As a result, he broke up with the local Communist Party of Bolivia. The locals and defected teammates betrayed him. In the face of the Bolivian special forces with sophisticated weapons, large numbers, and excellent tactics, and the US CIA behind them, Guevara can only wait to die.
Fourth, only learn the fur, but not the essence
We do not deny Che Guevara’s revolutionary enthusiasm, but he is too idealistic and did not comprehend the essence of guerrilla warfare advocated by Chairman Mao. He is more focused on tactics and means. As an Argentine, he can achieve revolutionary victory in Cuba. One of the most important reasons lies in his Cuban comrade-in-arms Castro. Without Castro, it would be difficult for him to mobilize the masses in Cuba, and there would not be so many locals willing to help them.
Chairman Mao's "On Guerrilla Warfare" did not give too much tactical guidance, as Sun Tzu said in the Art of War: soldiers are impermanent and water is impermanent.
The guerrilla warfare carried out on the strategic depth of China's vast territory cannot be solved by discussing weapons, equipment, and tactics. Therefore, Chairman Mao proposed that the core of guerrilla warfare is to preserve oneself and destroy the enemy. As for whether you use land mines or three-to-eight large-scale construction, whether you rely on digging tunnels or relying on sparrow warfare, you can use it completely according to the situation of the enemy and the enemy and the actual situation.
Chairman Mao's understanding of guerrilla warfare is entirely at the level of "war and strategy." In "On Guerrilla Warfare," Chairman Mao proposed that guerrillas should have the characteristics of initiative, flexibility, planning, and quick decisiveness. That is to say, each guerrilla force can be as small as a few people or as large as a few hundred people, relying on the broad masses of the people as the rear. They can either "turn into parts" or "turn them into parts," completely proceeding from reality and formulating their own combat plans. Strike the enemy unexpectedly, fight if you win, leave if you fail, and never entangle the enemy.
Chairman Mao’s important guiding ideology for guerrilla warfare is the sixteen-character tactics we often say in guerrilla warfare: "The enemy advances and we retreat, the enemy is stationed and harassed, the enemy is tired and we fight, and the enemy retreats and we chase." Moreover, Chairman Mao pointed out at the beginning of the article that guerrilla warfare is a broad and protracted people's war and will never be accomplished overnight.
It is a pity that Guevara only learned the skin of guerrilla warfare, but failed to grasp the essence of it. He just rushed to Congo and Bolivia based on his fanaticism for revolutionary ideals.
When he faced local black soldiers in the Congo, he just blindly preached revolutionary theories to them and was eager to increase the intensity of their military training. As a result, he was complained and even hostile by the locals. He has never investigated the historical and nationality of this place. The deep-rooted thinking of these blacks who have not yet separated from the tribal stage is to "drive away from the whites and liberate the Congo." How can Che Guevara such as the "whites" in their eyes easily obtain Trust, here he has no mass basis at all, and failure is definitely inevitable.
Afterward, Guevara moved to Bolivia. Facing the Communist guerrillas that already existed here, he made a fatal mistake, that is, "going on behalf of others."
Perhaps it was his victory halo effect, or he was too blind and self-confident. He actually asked the "Boston Communist Party" to become the highest military leader, and he was very tough. This attracted strong dissatisfaction from the other party. It is unreasonable for a newcomer to act like this by an "outsider". From this point of view, Che Guevara does appear to be a bit naive. His ignorance of politics made him directly isolated. In the end, I was able to take more than 50 people to work alone and went into the mountains to fight guerrillas.
After breaking away from the help of the Bolivian Communist Party, Che Guevara completely lost the help of the people. The mountainous area he entered was also within the control of the government forces. The people's view of the guerrillas was "travelers" and refused to provide any help. Finally, under the harsh living environment, his teammates who could not see any hope betrayed him, and Che Guevara was captured and executed.
The main reason for Guevara’s failure was that he violated the basic principles of guerrilla warfare. He did not have the support of the people, fought blindly without a plan, and lost the barrier to save himself. Facing the encirclement and suppression of the US and Bolivian government forces, he can only go around in the jungle. It's only a matter of time before it is eliminated.
From the title given to Che Guevara by later generations, we can see that this is a warrior full of romantic and adventurous spirit, such as "Red Robin Hood" and "Communist Don Quixote."
Although these titles have always been praised by the world, although Che Guevara's head has been printed on T-shirts countless times, he really cannot be called a qualified military strategist and politician. His perseverance, romance, and even rebelliousness are all talked about, but the revolutionary struggle can never be won by these.
Che Guevara, who claimed to be a student of Chairman Mao, failed to truly understand and learn to war, let alone grasp Chairman Mao's political wisdom, and could only be a "Don Quixote" who charged wildly.
