Full title is, 'WHEN BROTHERS FIGHT, Chinese Eyewitness Accounts of the Sino-Soviet Border Battles, 1969', by Benjamin Lai, Zhang Yiming, from Helion. Pages : 86 | Images : 98 b/w photographs, 13 b/w illustrations, 3 colour photos, 3 colour illustrations, 2 colour profiles, 11 maps.
Acknowledgement and dedication, page 2: "This book is dedicated to the Chinese veterans of the 1969 wars, so their voices can now at last, be heard, not only in Chine but now worldwide[sic]."
The book consists of the following,
Abbreviations, preface, notes on the text, chapters 1-9, appendices I, II, and III, bibliography, notes, and closes with 'About the authors'.
I read this book over a week, as I was otherwise completely ignorant of the eponymous border battles between China and Russia, at any time, and specifically 1969. I found it to be a genuinely interesting read, well written, and very informative; not least because I'd never heard of the battles prior.
The narrative flows and it is an easy read, even if I did struggle with the names and differentiating between persons and places. The overall story is easy to follow, there are not endless characters to keep a track of, as this is written at the strategic, overarching level that dips down into specific detail when required. It is apolitical, even if written solely from the Chinese perspective.
The narrative made up of analysis, first person interviews and accounts, facts, and more than a bit of history and geography. This is all supported by maps, images, photographs, and a table of Chinese dead and award recipients in the appendices.
In the introduction, the authors make it clear, this is about two specific battles in a war, not a recounting of the war itself; those are the Battle of Zhenbao Island ) March - May 1969), and the Tielieketi Incident (Lake Zhalanashkol, 13 August 1969). And both are given equal coverage.
I particularly liked the recounting of the Chinese efforts to recover a Russian T 62 number 545, with its radio, main gun sight Tsh2B-41, and complete compliment of ammo, chapters 6 and 7. The Russians efforts to prevent this were borderline comical, using three T 55 to shoot at it first, then firing two 240mm mortars to destroy the tank in-situ, but all missing it entirely. This all takes place on an island 740 square meters, blanketed in snow and seeded with 1700 soviet mines.
Definitely recommended for a bit of history that is otherwise ignored outside of China and Russia.