When it comes to the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam in 1979, many people still believe that the PLA performed too poorly in this war. Most of the Vietnamese army are inequality local troops and civilian troops, and they are fighting so hard.
However, the truth of the matter is that the Li Duan Group has invested more than 50% of the elite army troops of the Vietnamese army in this war, and has reached the point of making the final effort. During the battle, the Vietnamese army lost 25% of its elite army troops and was no longer able to fight again. Le Duan is a politician who is good at playing with conspiracies and tricks, and most people are blinded by it.
Li Duan Secretly Crossing Chen Cang
1976, after unifying the entire territory of Vietnam, the Li Duan Group began to deliberately plan anti-China activities, with the purpose of invading the Nansha Islands and Xisha Islands waters with rich oil and gas resources reserves.
At that time, Vietnam had zero military industrial foundation and the economic system could not guarantee that its people would be well fed and well-dressed. If Vietnam publicly provoked China at this time, it would be a death sentence. So, the Vietnamese "hard line faction" led by Li Duan nodded to China on the surface and pointed its gun at China in secret.
In 1977, while the Li Duan Group was vigorously purged of pro-China people in Vietnam, it did not forget to please China in various ways. For example, on August 25, Li Duan personally sent a congratulatory message to China on congratulating Hua Guofeng on his election as Chairman of the CPC Central Committee. On November 21, Li Duan personally led a Vietnamese delegation to Beijing Chairman Mao’s remains.
In order to confuse China, Li Duan secretly used a trick to conquer Chen Cang while deploying troops in the northern Vietnamese region, recalling all armed personnel who participated in the war in North Vietnamese . In the name of economic transformation, each village formed a militia self-defense force, each forest farm and mine farm formed a youth stormtrooper, and each city formed a battalion-level armed self-defense force.
These armed forces are nominally militia troops, not regular troops, but the real members are armed personnel who participated in the War of Resistance Against the United States in the North Vietnamese era, and no Vietnamese can get involved in this team. At this time, the militia troops in the six border provinces in northern Vietnam, except that the military pay was provided by the finances of various cities and counties under the provincial military region, the final command power such as conscription work and weapons and equipment supply were firmly in the hands of the Vietnam Politburo controlled by the Le Duan Group.
These northern Vietnamese militias have been baptized by years of war and can go directly to the battlefield without professional training. Moreover, these people frequently entered the Chinese border areas to rest during the War of Resistance Against the United States, and were familiar with the customs and peoples of the Sino-Vietnam border areas. When fighting, the combat effectiveness was no less than that of the Central Army's combat units directly under the Vietnam Politburo.
In addition, as representatives of the "hard line factions" such as the "hard line faction" of Vietnamese Defense Minister and Commander-in-Chief of Vietnamese Army, the Vietnamese General Staff Chief of Staff, and the Vietnamese First Military Region Commander Tan Guangzhong , the Soviet Army's mechanized combat model was more admired at that time, which made the Vietnamese army's military division of troops clearer.
Under this background, the militia troops in the six border provinces in northern Vietnam during the self-defense fight against Vietnam were actually an mountain force that did not wear military uniforms. As long as they received support from their rear artillery, engineers and other troops during the battle, even if they traveled to the World War II period, the early Kanto Army of Japan had no chance of winning.
During the 28-day war, the Le Duan Group dispatched a total of 250,000 troops, of which the Vietnam Central Army and local troops (including the Public Security Army) had only 100,000 troops, and the militia troops had 150,000 troops. This makes people think that Vietnam has not used all its strength yet, and only one-twelve of the 1.2 million regular troops have been dispatched.
Little did not know that when the Le Duan Group completed the unification of the north and the south, the active service force of the regular troops of North Vietnam was only about 600,000. Excluding the Air Force and Navy's troops, the army had less than 450,000. Excluding non-front combat troops such as communications, transportation, and medical care, the North Vietnamese Army had only at most 300,000 people belonging to the front-line combat troops.After defeating the South Vietnamese army, although the Li Duan Group acquired some of the former South Vietnamese regular troops and reorganized some North Vietnamese informal troops, the elite troops were 300,000 troops in the army. After the Civil War, the Li Duan Group continued to organize some of the most combat-capable troops of the former North Vietnamese army into the militia units to deal with China.
Among them, there were 150,000 militia troops participating in the war, and those special agents trained by carefully selected and trained from various combat units. At the end of 1978, the Li Duan Group had already deployed more than 50% of the elite army troops of the Vietnamese army in the Sino-Vietnam border area.
estimates are insufficient
In the entire self-defense fight against Vietnam, the PLA suffered the largest losses on the Gaoping battlefield, with the loss of up to 12,000 troops, accounting for about 44% of the total loss of the PLA. The reason why
caused such a major loss is mainly because Xu Shiyou was plotted by Li Duan Group and his estimate of the battlefield was insufficient. In the entire northern part of Gaoping Province, the Li Duan Group only deployed about 19,000 troops from the 346th Division of the Vietnam Army, several local regiments and several local battalions. There are mountain troops with more than 20,000 people hidden in secret. Gaoping The Vietnamese mountain troops in the north include militia units, special agent units and public security forces.
Just as the battle started, the 121st Division of the 41st Army of the North Group of the East Front was brutally attacked by the elite mountain troops of the Vietnamese army. On February 17, in accordance with the deployment of the Eastern Front Command, the 121st Division set out from the Nianjing area of Napo County, Guangxi and attacked the 809 Highland in the northern suburbs of Gaoping City, , Gaoping City, and assisted the 123rd Division and the 124th Division to encircle and annihilate the main force of the 346th Division of the Vietnamese Army in Gaoping City. The soldiers of the
121 Division were targeted by the Vietnamese mountain troops disguised as civilians. At around 10 pm on February 18, the logistics echelon of the 121st Division was commanded by the division's reserve command post. When they reached the mountains and ridges of the Kuipu area, they continued to encounter militia and migrant workers who claimed to be falling behind along the way.
Some of these suspicious people hold badges issued by the Guangxi Local Armed Forces Department to migrant workers in support of the front-line militia, some speak fluent Guangxi dialect, and even name the leaders of the Napo County Armed Forces Department in Guangxi. Therefore, the leaders of the 121st Division's Preparatory Command Post believe that these people are our combat support personnel who cannot keep up with the pace of the brothers and are left behind.
Results After the team entered the Vietnamese ambush area, the Vietnamese army, who had been involved in the logistics echelon of the 121st Division, suddenly shot and threw grenades at the crowd. In the logistics echelon, there are a large number of migrant workers responsible for transporting food, grass and ammunition, as well as medical staff from division and field hospitals. They are not very combat-capable and are suddenly attacked and have a mess. As a result, some companies rushed forward, some retreated, and some discarded their supplies and hid in the woods on the side of the road, with casualties of up to 300 people, and a group of regiment-level and above cadres were lost. When the 361st Regiment of the
121 Division was ordered to turn north to Anle area on the morning of February 21, it was ambushed in the area of He'an County, Gaoping Province. The regiment commander Shi Guangyin was sacrificed, and the deputy division commander Peng Fuxin was seriously injured and the entire regiment was disbanded. The 2nd Battalion of the 362nd Regiment was also attacked by the Vietnamese army that night in the Kotun area. After the 363rd Regiment arrived in Banjun area, the team ordered to receive food and supplies were ambushed and suffered heavy losses.
In just a few days, the 121st Division, a unit with a glorious history, was divided into several parts by the Vietnamese army, and the three infantry regiments and the main forces of the division could only fight on their own. The most tragic thing is the 361st Regiment. After the ambush, the system of each company and platoon was disrupted. Commanders at all levels could only try to gather their comrades around them and perform tasks according to the last orders conveyed by the superior leader.
During the breakout, 7 soldiers from 5 different companies, including Chen Shuli of the 361st Regiment, Chen Wuxian, , and seven soldiers from 5 different companies were surrounded by the Vietnamese army ten times more than their own. Among these 7 people, 4 were injured, 2 were seriously injured, and only 3 guns were used. But the soldiers were fearless. Under Chen Shuli's command, not only killed and injured a large number of Vietnamese troops, but also returned to the team. Their heroic deeds later became the household name "Seven Warriors of the Earthquake Canyon".
Overall, in the first stage of self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, the Vietnamese army suffered great losses with its weapons and terrain advantages.
At that time, it may be that the entire army was still immersed in the thinking of people's war, and failed to respond flexibly according to changes in the enemy situation. They only paid attention to the regular Vietnamese army in military uniforms, and ignored the threat of Vietnamese armed personnel dressed in civilians. During the march, the troops did not thoroughly search the surrounding villages and suspicious areas. When they saw the Vietnamese dressed in civilian outfits, they mistakenly thought it was an ordinary citizen.
Plowing tactics severely hit the elite Vietnamese army
After learning a painful lesson in the early stage of the war, Xu Shiyou adjusted the combat plan on the Eastern Front. On February 25, the South Group, commanded by Wuzhong , launched an attack from the south side of Gaoping City, cutting off the retreat route of the Vietnamese army in the northern part of Gaoping Province. The North Group, directed by Ou Zhifu, gradually advances to Gaoping City.
After the two groups of south and north met, the troops searched back and forth in regiments like iron plow turning the ground, searching back and forth every distance, searching for caves when they encountered a village, and sending people to stare at them whenever the Vietnamese army dared to show up, concentrating their forces to clear them.
Lang Son is the north gate of Hanoi . Lang Son city is very close to the Chinese border. It is not afraid that the Vietnamese defenders of Lang Son can escape. Xu Shiyou ordered Jiang Xieyuan to gradually advance towards Lang Son city from the three directions of northeast, north and northwest respectively. Because the logistics transportation line is close, the divisions participating in the Lang Son War Zone will advance by artillery fire.
Because the division of troops was too detailed, the Vietnamese army lacked heavy weapons, and after being unable to defend the position, they could only fight guerrillas. Artillery and tank troops could not withstand the attacks of various departments of the People's Liberation Army, and lacked infantry protection and could not exert their firepower advantages.
At this time, the Le Duan Group was also fantasizing about letting the 308th Division, 316A Division and 312th Division, which had the strongest combat effectiveness of the Vietnam Central Army go north to join the war. In addition, the 375th Division of the Vietnamese army, which has Soviet-made strategic missiles but still uses air defense forces to show its presence in foreign countries, also moved closer to Lang Sang City . If these three elite infantry divisions and an elite missile division can gather the defeated Vietnamese mountain troops, the Vietnamese army will have a chance to turn the tables.
The Central Military Commission saw through Li Duan's intentions and directly dispatched the 149th Division of the People's Liberation Army, which was good at mountain combat on the plateau, to fight against the 316A Division of the Vietnamese Army, which had lost half of the regiment. It ordered General Xu Shiyou on the Eastern Front to continue to increase troops to the front line. The 121st and 163rd Divisions, which had suffered heavy losses in the early stage, were quickly replenished troops and had sufficient ammunition supply.
Next, the People's Liberation Army troops stopped and stopped on the battlefields of Gaoping and Lang Son on the Eastern Front. For example, with the help of the 162nd Division of the 42nd Army, the 125th Division of the 54th Army, captured the Fuhe County, Vietnam, and fought all the way to Guangyuan County, and then cleared from Guangyuan County to Fuhe County.
Although most of the officers and soldiers of the Vietnamese army are not afraid of death and often prefer to die rather than surrender on many positions, they often suffer their own destruction when facing the coordinated tactics of the PLA's various arms. For example, after the remnants of the 12th Infantry Regiment of the Vietnamese Army in the Guitun Artillery Regiment in Tongdeng Town and nearly a thousand subordinates were besieged in the underground fortification of the fortress, everyone would rather be killed in it than disarm except one person surrendered.
The war ended, and the Western Front troops commanded by Yang Dezhi severely damaged the 316A Division of the Vietnam Army. Xu Shiyou severely injured the 3rd Infantry Division and the 375th Air Defense Division of the Vietnam Army. The 312th Division of the Vietnam Army dared to send small troops to follow and harass the 121st Division of the People's Liberation Army when it was ordered to withdraw its country. The 308th Division, which was transferred back to Hanoi from the Cambodian battlefield, never dared to go north to Lang Son to participate in the war.
During the entire war, the People's Liberation Army's participating troops, in accordance with the statistical principle of seeing people alive and seeing corpses, concluded that 57,152 Vietnamese soldiers were eliminated, of which more than 7,000 were injured and more than 2,000 were captured.
However, according to statistics from American scholar Chains after the war, the number of people who lost to the Vietnamese army during the 28-day war was about 115,000, including those who were shot dead, injured, and were unable to participate in the war for a short period of time, or disappeared.
The reason why the data disclosed by the People's Liberation Army is so different from the data counted by Chains is that the PLA's participating troops use artillery as their main combat weapon, and often severely damages the Vietnamese army's vitality outside the range of the rifle. Before the observers even counted the specific data, the surviving Vietnamese soldiers had already done the aftermath, resulting in the PLA's failure to see people alive or dead or dead when they cleaned the battlefield, and the results of the battle shrank.
After the Vietnamese army suddenly lost more than 115,000 people in the northern region, even if they were recruiting troops from other regions to supplement their efforts, their overall combat effectiveness could no longer be compared with the past. Therefore, after the Eastern Front Corps fully controlled Lang Son City, the Le Duan Group panicked and evacuated the people of Hanoi.
