The "Amethyst" incident in 1949 caused a sensation. The People's Liberation Army let the Western powers know that Chinese soldiers are not easy to mess with. There was a time when Western countries could make China surrender by setting up a few cannons along the eastern coast of China. Gone forever.
1. Sino-French historical origin
But before the Amethyst incident, there was also a battle between the Chinese army and Western powers, but this battle was fought by the Kuomintang army, and the opponent was not the British, but the French. This battle is the Sino-French coastal defense battle that took place in 1946.
After the end of the first Opium War, the French began to become dishonest and began to invade China when they saw that the British had obtained so many benefits from the Qing Dynasty. In 1883, the French army attacked Vietnam. Vietnam, like North Korea, was a vassal state of the Qing government at that time, and North Korea, one south and one north, shielded China's strategic security.
When Cixi learned that the French invaded Vietnam, she ordered to send troops to Vietnam, and the Sino-French war officially began. However, the difference between the Qing army and the French army in weapons and equipment was huge. The Qing army not only defeated the whole line in northern Vietnam, but also let the French army hit the border area between Guangxi and Vietnam.
Due to Pan Dingxin, the governor of Guangxi, who was timid and fled, he was dismissed from all positions by the Qing government. Feng Zicai, a veteran in his 70s, began to take charge of military affairs in Guangxi and led the war against France. Since ancient times, Guangxi’s folk customs have been sturdy, and the fighting capacity of Guangxi soldiers is also very strong. Therefore, the French army suffered great losses in the battle in Guangxi, and it was not very smooth. Our gateway will be rebuilt with French heads!" in response to the French invading army.
On March 23, 1885, more than a thousand people from the 2nd Brigade of the French Army launched an attack on the Qing army led by Feng Zicai.Feng Zicai not only led his troops to repel the French attack, but also launched a counterattack for a while, conquering Wenyuan and Lang Son, killing nearly 1,000 French troops, seriously injuring the French commander Nigri, and then expelled the remnants of the French army to Langjia. South.
At the same time as the Battle of Zhennanguan was going on, The French Far East Fleet Commander Guba led the French Navy to launch an attack on the southeastern coastal areas of China. On March 1, more than ten French warships launched an attack on Zhejiang Zhenhaiguan Customs, and the Qing army did a good job. After careful deployment, they resisted the French aggression stubbornly, and finally repelled the French army.
Although the Qing army faced French attacks and won many times, but due to the corruption and incompetence of the Qing government, it signed a series of unequal treaties with France.
Before World War II, France had an army of 3 million and was known as the world's largest army power. However, in the face of the German attack, France resisted and surrendered in less than a month. After France surrendered, Japan, which had long been eyeing it, immediately sent troops to occupy the French colony of Vietnam.
Second, the arrogant French
On August 15, 1945, the Emperor of Japan announced its unconditional surrender, and World War II ended. After World War II, according to the "Potsdam Proclamation" agreement, the Allied Command stipulated that Taiwan and most areas north of 16 degrees north latitude, northern Vietnam, and most of Laos would be surrendered by the Chinese army, and the Japanese troops in the above areas should surrender their weapons to the Chinese army; Vietnam 16 degrees north latitude The area to the south was surrendered by the British army.
Under the order of the Nationalist government, Lu Han, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese First Front Army, led the 60th Army, 93rd Army, and 53rd Army of the National Revolutionary Army into northern Vietnam and accepted the surrender of the Japanese army.
At that time, the UK did not have enough power in Southeast Asia, so they wanted the French to get involved.At this time, France was also eager to return to Vietnam and wanted to restore their colonial rule, so they immediately sent troops over. In exchange for the political support and economic assistance of the Soviet Union, the Nationalist government gave up the "trusteeship of Vietnam and help it gradually become independent from self-government". "The long-term plan, took the short-sighted approach of handing North Indochina to France, and ordered the Chinese troops entering North Vietnam to withdraw one after another.
On February 28, 1946, the Nationalist Government signed the Sino-French Agreement with France in Chongqing: France returned the leased land in Guangzhou Bay in advance, assumed the military expenses of the Chinese troops entering Vietnam, guaranteed China's status in Vietnam and the treatment of overseas Chinese, and provided China with no compensation. Take back the Yunnan section of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, etc.; and China will hand over the military administrative power of northern Indochina to France.
On March 4, 1946, Major General Sarang, commander of the French Army of Vietnam and North, came to the headquarters of the Chinese First Front Army and handed in an official letter, stating that the French army would land in Vietnam's coastal defense from March 5 to 6.
At that time, the 60th Army was gathering in Haiphong, and it was impossible to evacuate before the 6th, so I did not agree with the French's request. The two sides had been negotiating for a long time, but there was no result. Wang Lihuan, the commander of the 130th Division of the 53rd Army in Haiphong, worried that the French army would forcibly land in Haiphong, and ordered the chief of staff Wang Guanying to deploy troops and prepare for battle.
At 6:00 pm on March 5th, Major General Sarang came to the First Front Army Headquarters and met with Ma Ling, Chief of Staff of the First Front Army, saying that the French army would land in Haiphong on March 6. It was not reached, and the French could not forcibly land on Haiphong.
3. The Sino-French Coastal Defense
At two in the morning on March 6, Zhang Yuncheng, the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion, 338th Regiment, 130th Division of the 53rd Army, reported: "The French fleet was approaching the port. reason."
At three o'clock in the morning, the French fleet entered the port, and the Chinese army fired a warning shot in the air, but the French not only did not stop advancing, but also fired artillery and hit the ammunition depot at the dock, causing the dock to burst into flames, and the sound of explosions destroyed the surrounding houses. It was damaged by the shock. The French warships tried to forcibly land twice, but they were repelled by our army.
The French army finally attacked the port in three echelons. The division's two mountain artillery battalions also came to reinforce and bombarded the French warships with intensive artillery fire. The three warships in the front of the French army were hit by the ammunition depot, one warship sank, and two warships were severely damaged.
The other French warships saw that the situation was not good, and even ignored the forced landing of the marines and the injured warships, and hurriedly fled. The national army concentrated light and heavy machine guns and artillery fire on the landing French troops. The French army suffered heavy casualties. A large number of French corpses floated on the sea near the port.
The commander of the French fleet, Lieutenant Admiral Abanou, saw such heavy losses, and had to raise the white flag and demand a ceasefire. Only then did the Chinese army stop the attack and start to rescue the surviving French. Officers and soldiers.
This battle only lasted for more than five hours. The national army suffered more than 30 casualties, while the French army killed, injured and captured more than 3,000 people. It has to be said that it was a great victory.
The landing of the French army If it failed and suffered heavy losses, we asked the U.S. Coast Defence Liaison Group to intervene. At that time, the French side requested that the Chinese flag and the white flag be handed over to the shore for negotiation; The flag and the white flag can be crossed. As a result, the French boat came ashore with the French flag and the white flag.
The commander of the French fleet, Lieutenant General Abanou, accompanied by the US liaison officer, entered the headquarters of the 130th Division. At first, his attitude was arrogant, but Wang Lihuan, the commander of the 130th Division, had a tougher attitude and asked him: "Why China The army has sent out signals many times, but the French army did not stop advancing, and first shot the ammunition depot." Wang Lihuan asked the French army to compensate for the losses caused by the battle, and Lieutenant General Abanu, the commander of the French fleet, knew that he was wrong. He had to take the initiative to admit his fault and apologize to the Chinese army for compensation.
