Just after the Spring Festival in 1979, Vietnam was attacked by more than 300,000 troops, and the troops in northern Vietnam suffered great losses. Under such circumstances, Vietnam had to draw a large number of troops from the Western Front to return to defense. By December 1979

Just after the Spring Festival in 1979, Vietnam was attacked by more than 300,000 troops, and the troops in northern Vietnam suffered great losses. Under such circumstances, Vietnam had to draw a large number of troops from the Western Front to return to defense. By December 1979, all six main divisions of the Vietnamese army had gathered in northern Vietnam. During the war, the advantages and disadvantages of the Vietnamese army were obvious. When it comes to heavy weapons, the Vietnamese army is very scarce. Especially in terms of artillery, the opponent's Type 66 Howitzer made Vietnamese officers and soldiers very panic because this howitzer is very powerful and has a killing radius of more than 50 meters. Today, let’s talk about the battle between the Type 66 howitzer and Vietnamese artillery.

First of all, let’s talk about the Type 66 howitzer. The Type 66 howitzer was successfully imitated in the mid-1960s. Because it was successfully imitated in the mid-1960s, it was named the Type 66 howitzer. The Type 66 howitzer shell weighs 43 kilograms, of which the ammunition exceeds 20 kilograms. The killing radius exceeds 50 meters and can destroy 1 meter-thick reinforced concrete fortifications. However, the range of this howitzer is only 17 kilometers, which is the biggest shortcoming. Because the Type 66 howitzer is cheap and graceful and easy to operate, it is still used by some troops.

In the early 1970s, as a large-scale suppression artillery, the Type 66 artillery was mainly deployed in the northern border areas. After all, it was facing a situation of "stationing millions of troops and a large army was in a dilemma". By the late 1970s, the Type 66 howitzer was transferred to the southwest. Because this howitzer is powerful, it is an ace suppressing weapon of the army. Together with the Type 66 howitzer, the Type 59 130mm cannon was also mobilized, which is also a large-caliber artillery. And the range is longer. The combination of the two artillery high and low has a very great effect. Next, let’s take a look at the situation of the Vietnamese army.

Vietnam began to fight in the mid-1940s and fought until the mid-1970s. The 30-year war has led to the decline of Vietnam's economy and industries, and the lives of ordinary people are very difficult. However, a large number of troops with rich combat experience have been trained for Vietnam. As of 1975, the total number of Vietnamese troops exceeded 1.5 million. The Vietnamese army is mainly composed of infantry and is good at mountain warfare, jungle warfare and night warfare. Vietnam has more than 50 infantry divisions under its jurisdiction, among which six units, including the 308th Division, 316A Division, 312th Division, and 320th Division, are known as the six main forces.

The Vietnamese army equipped a large amount of Soviet-style equipment and also seized a large number of American weapons. In terms of light weapons, Vietnam's army surpassed most of its neighbors. Vietnamese grassroots officers and soldiers were equipped with AK47 submachine guns or M16 automatic rifles, and were also equipped with grenade launchers, bazooka launchers and light machine guns. Those Vietnamese ace troops were even equipped with the latest AK74 automatic rifle, which was a product from the Soviet 1970s. It can be seen from this that the Vietnamese infantry troops have strong combat effectiveness and their weapons and equipment are not bad. However, the Vietnamese infantry lacked the cover of armored troops and artillery units, and under such circumstances, the Vietnamese infantry units suffered a great loss.

Let’s take a look at the assets of Vietnamese artillery. A total of 8 artillery regiments have been deployed in northern Vietnam, which are divided into artillery regiments directly under the military region and artillery regiments under the division. The artillery regiment directly under the military region is in good condition, equipped with 12 107 rocket launchers, 12 122mm howitzers and 12 85mm cannons . This is the highest configuration of the Vietnamese artillery regiment, please note that since Vietnam cannot produce artillery and shells, both artillery and shells require Soviet assistance. As for those American artillery, due to the different calibers of the shells, American artillery became a decoration after the shells were fired. As for those divisions belonging to artillery regiments, their families are very thin.

is equipped with 12 105mm howitzers and 12 85mm cannons. Some artillery regiments are equipped with 4 additional 122mm howitzers. Let’s take a look at the preparations on the other side. There were more than 40 artillery regiments deployed on the other side, which was more than 5 times that of Vietnamese artillery. And both the number of artillery and the caliber of artillery have overwhelming advantages. The army's direct artillery regiment was equipped with 12 152mm howitzers (Type 66), 12 122mm howitzers and 18 85mm cannons.The division opposite was an artillery regiment, equipped with 18 85mm cannons, 10 130mm rocket launchers or 130mm cannons (Type 59), and 24 122mm howitzers.

In terms of the number and caliber of artillery, the gap between the two sides is very big. A large diameter means a large kill area, and a large quantity means a wide coverage area. Especially the Type 66 howitzer, although the range is only 17 kilometers, is already outside the range of Vietnamese artillery. Relying on powerful artillery shells caused great panic to the Vietnamese infantry, and the Vietnamese artillery was very troubled by this kind of artillery. Because even if you hide in front-line fortifications, the huge power of the shells can still destroy the fortifications.

Its own artillery can't be counted on at all, because the Vietnamese artillery units have limited shells and must be saved and used. It is said that the commander of the artillery regiment has only the authority to use 3 122mm shells. If you continue to use it, the consent of the teacher is required. The artillery on the opposite side did not have these problems, because the shells were self-sufficient. Once the infantry's offense is not smooth, the artillery firepower will generally be called to suppress it. The Vietnamese infantry troops could not get the cover of their own artillery and did not have strong cover. Later, the Vietnamese army conducted a statistics and more than 60% of the officers and soldiers who were injured or killed were caused by artillery shells.

Vietnam has laid out a large number of landmines in the north, and the density is very high. When the opponent's infantry is interspersing, in order to pass as soon as possible, they can call artillery to cover the minefield and carry out artillery mine sweeping . The Vietnamese army will never use such a rich mine-clearing method. In the war, the Type 66 howitzer was one of the most troublesome weapons for the Vietnamese army because it had no way to deal with it. Vietnam once dispatched commandos to attack artillery positions while at night. However, the troops on the opposite side were also good at night battles, so the Vietnamese army failed to succeed in several operations.

At present, the Type 59 cannon has basically been retired, but the Type 66 howitzer is still in use today as a supplementary means of the Type 05 howitzer. Due to the insufficient range of the Type 66 howitzer, various shells were specially designed for increasing range, and some improvements were made to the artillery. Therefore, the Type 66 howitzer can also meet the needs of use. Due to the weak heavy industry, the Vietnamese army has been able to produce artillery shells so far, but it still has no ability to produce artillery (Figure 5 and Figure 6 are Chinese soldiers).