Regarding the truth of historical events, the written memories or oral histories of those who witnessed them, especially those of the core participants, are naturally of great value as first-hand raw materials.
However, we should pay attention to one point: the difference in the identity or position of the witnesses will lead to their restoration or discrepancy or different emphasis on the same historical event.
This requires us to refer to and compare the memories of each witness in many ways to restore the original way of the incident as much as possible.
Taking the Songhu War of Resistance in 1932 as an example, let's first take a look at the rhetoric of the senior Kuomintang generals who participated in the war on the important battle of "temple victory".
The Songhu War of Resistance was mainly fought by the 19th Route Army of the Guangdong Army (under the jurisdiction of the 60th Division, 61st Division, and 78th Division) and the 5th Army of the ** Army, and General Jiang Guangnai, General Cai Tingkai and General Zhang Zhizhong were the supreme commanders of these two troops.
Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and Dai Ji (Songhu Garrison Commander) co-authored the article "Memories of the Songhu War of Resistance of the Nineteenth Route Army", which did not describe much of the Fifth Army of the ** Army (including the 87th Division, the 88th Division, the ** Teaching Corps, etc.) that participated in the war, and only talked about the fact that since February 22, the Japanese army concentrated artillery fire and aircraft to storm the Miaohang position, and the two brigades of the 88th Division of the defense gradually became exhausted, but fortunately, the 61st Division of the 19th Route Army and the 87th Division of the ** Army were reinforced from the right and left flanks respectively, "The Miaohang position finally turned from danger to safety." The enemy suffered heavy losses in this battle. ”
In the following days, the 87th and 61st Divisions, which took over the defense of Miaoxing, first withstood many fierce attacks by the Japanese army, and then faced the enemy, and the position was finally recovered."
In the memories of Jiang, Cai, and Dai, the Battle of Miaohang was fought by the ** Army and the 19th Route Army, but the role of the former is not much to talk about.
Zhang Zhizhong, commander of the Fifth Army, wrote in the article "The Fifth Army's Songhu Anti-Japanese Experience" that after the Miaohang position defended by the 88th Division was in danger, in addition to personally leading the ** teaching corps to reinforce the brigade, he also ordered the 87th Division's Sun Yuanliang Brigade and Song Xilian Brigade to lead their troops to participate in the battle, "Zhang Yan, deputy commander of the 61st Division of our 19th Route Army, also led two regiments to attack the enemy", "The enemy was attacked by us on three sides, retreated in a hurry, and the remaining stubborn enemy was completely resolved."
Zhang Zhizhong believed: "The fierceness of the battle in Miaohang Town is unprecedented since the start of the Songhu War, and Chinese and foreign newspapers unanimously believe that it is the highest peak of our army's achievements in the Shanghai War." ”
He also mentioned that President Chiang of Nanjing issued a special commendation order, saying: The reputation of our army in the international arena has increased tenfold, while the reputation of the Japanese army has plummeted.
Song Xilian, another witness of the Battle of Miaohang and the commander of the 87th Division at the time, later wrote the article "Documentary of the Anti-Japanese War in Shanghai in 128".
Song Xilian's description of the Battle of Miaohang is more or less the same as that of his commander Zhang Zhizhong, but there are more details, especially focusing on the brigade he led: Song Brigade took the initiative to change the passive reinforcements to attack the Japanese army attacking Miaohang from the flank, which had a good effect.
Regarding the 61st Division of the 19th Route Army, Song Xilian only mentioned one thing, "The Japanese army attacking Miaohang suffered resolute resistance from Yu Jishi's 88th Division and Sun Yuanliang's Brigade of the 87th Division in the front, and at the same time, its left and right flanks were fiercely attacked by the 61st Division's attacking troops and the 87th Division's Song Xilian Brigade. ”
So you see, when it comes to the narration of the same historical event, the content and emphasis of different witnesses can be very different, which is why I said at the beginning that you should not believe the words of a family.
Reading more, comparing more, referring more, and correlating more may be the scientific attitude towards the oral history or memories of those who witnessed it, and encourage everyone.