The book is a posthumous manuscript by the late poetic written during his time joining the Tay Tien (Advance Westward) regiment to fight against the French colonists in both Vietnam and Laos during 1947-48.
Quang Dung (1921-1988) is well-known for his poem “Tay Tien” (Advancing Westward), which was written in the spring of 1948 with a strong inspiration from an insider during the resistant war. He made the poem in a very short time to read it during the 3rd Inter-military region’s General Congress in Phu Luu Chanh village (now in Ha Dong, Hanoi).
The poem speaks of the author’s nostalgia for the unspoiled and poetic Northwest nature, and also his nostalgia to his comrades in the Tay Tien regiment, those were brave, patriotic soldiers fighting and sacrificing for the Fatherland. “Tay Tien” has been introduced in high school literature textbooks as one of the top masterpieces of the nation’s revolutionary literature during the war time.
The memories joining the Advancing Westward still followed Quang Dung for a long time after his famous poem was published, like a nostalgia and an incessant obsession. Rather than a prose version of the poem, the "Doan binh Tay Tien" tells more about the operation of the Tay Tien regiment – a military unit established in 1947 and tasked with coordinating with the Lao army against the French colonialists.
The memoir, completed in 1952, also helps readers know more about the unity of the Vietnamese-Lao soldiers who joined for the mission of liberating Vietnam and her neighbouring country from the colonial aggression at that time.
Tay Tien was the first unit of Vietnamese army to go on international duty in Laos, setting glorious feats and contributing to the expulsion of the French colonists from Indochina.
Besides those belonging to the "macro" values, the memoir also let lovers of Quang Dung know more about the time the poet joined the regiment.
After nearly seven decades, the memoir of poet - soldier Quang Dung now becomes invaluable historical and literary materials, contributing to the richness of the nation’s arts and literature during the resistant wars.
