On October 17, 1962, central leaders gathered in the South China Sea to attend a meeting on Sino-Indian border operations. At this meeting, Chairman Mao and everyone determined the decision to launch a self-defense counterattack against the Indian army.

On October 17, 1962, central leaders gathered in Zhongnanhai to attend a meeting on Sino-Indian border operations. At this meeting, Chairman Mao and everyone determined the decision to implement a self-defense counterattack against the Indian army.

Chairman Mao was determined to fight back in self-defense against India. In fact, it was because he had fully realized that "An attack on India is to show the United States and the Soviet Union."

Chairman Mao’s old photos

Legacy issues on the Sino-Indian border

The main reason for the frequent Sino-Indian border issues is that the borders between the two countries have never been officially demarcated. During the Simla Conference in 1914, the British representative went behind the back of the central government representative of old China and exchanged letters secretly with the Tibetan local representative, drawing a "McMahon Line".

This "line" is fundamentally illegal, therefore Successive Chinese governments have refused to recognize the existence of the "McMahon Line" . but After India became independent, while China was busy liberating the whole country, it pushed its actual control area in the eastern sector to near the "McMahon Line".

Schematic diagram of the McMahon Line

In 1954, the Chinese and Indian governments publicly supported the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. Although privately there were still differences on the border issue, the conflicts did not intensify to the point of requiring force to be resolved. After 1959, India became bolder and began to continuously carry out armed provocations on the Chinese border.

During the period, our country was thinking about China-India relations were very good before, and being countries in the same camp as , there is still room for negotiation; plus India is the initiator of the Non-Aligned Movement , and a war with it would inevitably bear greater pressure from international public opinion.

Nehru and India support the Non-Aligned Movement

Based on this situation, Premier Zhou personally visited India, hoping to resolve the current problems through negotiations with Nehru. But Nehru was completely uncooperative. Instead, continued to instruct the army to cause trouble on the Sino-Indian border.

Time enters After 1962, India continued to advance into Chinese territory, my country still maintained a posture of concession. This tolerance made India more arrogant, and the Indian army began to snatch the guns of Chinese sentries. Even at midnight on September 20, the Indian invading army directly launched an armed attack on our army, killing and wounding 47 soldiers.

After the bloody incident of Indian troops on the border, the Chinese government made the most severe protest 7 times, demanding that the Indian side immediately stop the attack.

However, India still ignored it and ordered on 12 to "clear the Chinese troops from Chinese territory." After receiving the order, the Indian army launched a large-scale attack on October 20. As the saying goes, "There is no need to endure it anymore." On the same day, the Chinese border defense troops launched a self-defense counterattack.

Indian tanks destroyed by our army, etc.

Chairman Mao, who was far away in Beijing, attached great importance to this self-defense counterattack. He and a group of central leaders personally took action to lead and direct the frontline operations, and within a month or so, killed and wounded tens of thousands of Indian troops, while the Chinese border defense forces only suffered more than 2,400 casualties, and no one was captured.

Chairman Mao made up his mind

Regarding the self-defense counterattack against India, Chairman Mao was "resolute". He wanted to pass this war, make India suffer a big fall, and make the United States and the Soviet Union, who were watching the war from across the bank, restrain themselves. In order to achieve this goal, Chairman Mao still held back even though the General Staff Headquarters had issued a combat order to the border defense forces, allowed India to go deeper on the border.

Chairman Mao was determined to attack India

. This decision to "stand still" will facilitate our country's future political exposure of India's evil deeds over the years. It will also facilitate the upcoming self-defense counterattack. It will create a combat environment that is convenient enough for our army to "detour, encircle, and annihilate."

Compared with military victory, Chairman Mao and other leaders hoped that this war would win politically. Therefore, even though he had decided to fight back in self-defense, Premier Zhou still sent three consecutive letters to Nehru, asking him:

"Put Sino-Indian friendship first, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, resolve border issues peacefully, and do not fight."

Premier Zhou was still striving for a peaceful settlement of disputes before the war.

When Nehru still insisted on using troops against China, as Chairman Mao and others expected, the self-defense counterattack against India started as scheduled. The cruel reality completely shattered Nehru's dream.

Fighting India showed the United States and the Soviet Union

While achieving military victory, our country also achieved complete political victory. India's aggressive actions against China are, from a deep perspective, the United States and the Soviet Union's test of China.

Captured Indian officers and soldiers

Since India advertised itself as a non-aligned country, the United States and the Soviet Union have been fighting for India and touting India. In the United States, India is "The showcase of Western democracy and freedom", On the side of the Soviet Union, India is "advancing towards the road of socialism", and Nehru himself, is known as the representative of "anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism".

If our army quickly launches a counterattack at the beginning of India's aggressive actions, the United States and the Soviet Union will inevitably make loud noises and accuse China. This will cause misunderstandings and doubts about China in some Asian and African countries.

A corner of the self-defense counterattack against India

Out of this consideration, Chairman Mao stipulated several principles:

1. Our army will only fight to the foot of the Himalayan mountains, and stop at Yingqiao Pass, Bili Pass and Moji Pass;
2. After the battle is completed, we will actively retreat to the north of the actual control line. ;
3. After the battle, the prisoners and guns were voluntarily returned...

The Tibetan border guards read out a statement on the initiative to cease fire and retreat

Due to the deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations, at that time the United States and the Soviet Union joined together to blockade our country.

Before the outbreak of the self-defense counterattack against India, our country had just gone through three years of difficult times. At this stage, China had a nationwide food and non-staple food shortage crisis and fell into the most serious economic difficulties since the founding of New China.

The United States and the Soviet Union hope that will pass through India and come to to see if China is really a powerful foreign country. If China really weakens, then the United States and the Soviet Union can correspondingly strengthen restrictions on China policy.

Folks during the three-year difficult period

With the support of the United States and the Soviet Union, India was like a brat with bully parents, biting crazily at China. However, after about a month of fighting, not to mention India encroaching on Chinese territory as imagined, its own country was in turmoil due to the defeat.

Faced with this situation, Nehru immediately thought of the United States, which had provided him with weapons and equipment. According to what British journalist Max Will disclosed in "India's War with China" , Nehru wrote a letter requesting the United States to send troops to "stop China's aggression" after the defeat of the Indian army.

Old photos of Nehru

But this letter had just been sent out, and China announced that the combat goal had been achieved and implemented voluntary withdrawal.

This put Nehru in a dilemma. If he further asked the United States to send troops, India, including himself, would become the target of international public opinion. His behavior could not be regarded as "anti-imperialist and non-aligned." This resulted in Nehru did not dare to send the draft of the letter to the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but instead stored it in the Prime Minister's Office.

Nehru once wrote a letter requesting the United States to send troops to help fight against China

The reason why there is a saying "An attack on India is actually an attack on the United States and the Soviet Union" is because Chairman Mao and other national leaders were far-sighted and understood in advance the nature of India's war against China.

After this war, the United States and the Soviet Union understood that China was still a formidable opponent. Although the United States and the Soviet Union still adopted a blockade policy against China after this, the two countries did not dare to push China too hard.

and so on In 1964, China developed the atomic bomb . After became one of the few nuclear-armed countries in the world, the United States and the Soviet Union did not dare to attack China easily.

China's first atomic bomb exploded

Now that we think about this self-defense counterattack against India, we can't help but think, if there was no such war, if China failed in this war, what would China face? I am afraid that I will face the tragedy of being coveted and divided again.