Preface
In the mid-1970s, the United States announced its withdrawal from Vietnam , and then Vietnam realized the reunification of the North and the South, thus changing the direction of development and taking China as the "number one enemy" , the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, the deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations, and the Soviet-Vietnamese relationship. The rising temperature and the rapid changes in the international situation have led to the sharp deterioration of Sino-Vietnamese relations, which has posed a serious threat to the stability of my country's southwestern border areas and to people's lives and properties. So the Central Military Commission decided to launch a self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, and would launch a counteroffensive against the Vietnamese army that violated Chinese territory.
The troops were divided into two groups, attacking Vietnam from east and west, and soon achieved great results. On February 27, 1979, the eastern front troops had already prepared for the Lang Son campaign, and waited for General Xu Shiyou's order to launch a general offensive.
This battle can be described as the most critical battle on the Vietnam battlefield. Our army has invested a total of more than 80,000 people in seven divisions, and launched a general attack with a scale far larger than that of the enemy. This is the highest instruction of the Central Military Commission, because we have not fought for a long time. Now, this war is to kill chickens with a knife and win a quick victory.
The troops attacked quickly after receiving the order to attack, and soon they made progress. The defenders in Lang Son kept retreating, and their positions were compressed little by little. It can be said that victory was within easy reach. At this moment, an emergency telegram came from the front, and the Vietnamese defenders actually used chemical weapons on the battlefield, resulting in the death of a large number of soldiers.
As we all know, chemical weapons are explicitly prohibited by the United Nations and are opposed by all countries in the world. The damage they cause to humans and the natural world is infinite. Therefore, as long as chemical weapons are found to be used, they are the common enemy of all mankind. The thought of the Vietnamese being so vicious made the whole army very angry.
General Xu Shiyou was very angry, our soldiers must not sacrifice like this, so he ordered the evidence of the use of chemical weapons by the Vietnamese to be preserved, and then let the artillery units quickly support the front line, demanding that Lang Son be bombarded at all costs, even if it was razed to the ground. at all costs.
So what happened during the Battle of Lang Son to allow both sides to destroy each other at all costs?
The strategic location of Lang Son
The reason why Lang Son became the most critical battle is because this is the last natural danger from China to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, and it is only 18 kilometers away from the Sino-Vietnamese border, so for China, it is going to Hanoi. A must pass.
In addition, there are many mountains in northern Vietnam, but the south of Lang Son is a vast plain area. As long as you reach the plain, it is a long drive for the army, and there is no terrain to set up defense lines. In ancient times, there was a saying that as long as the King of Vietnam made a judgment, China would send troops to conquer Lang Son to force the King of Vietnam to surrender voluntarily.
But Lang Son is also a barrier for Vietnam to stop China. It is densely covered with jungles and intertwined with mountains. Lang Son city is hidden among the lofty mountains. It can be said that it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Defending a fortified castle, coupled with the Vietnamese's ability to fight in the mountains and in the jungle, is a formidable obstacle for any army to overcome.
Despite this, our army still basically wiped out the enemies in the mountainous areas of northern Vietnam. Lang Son city is now in our pockets, and it is only a matter of time before we break Lang Son.
At this time, the Vietnamese are the most anxious. They know that once the city falls, Hanoi will be completely exposed to the firepower of the People's Liberation Army . At that time, the capital can only be moved. If the People's Liberation Army hits the capital of Vietnam in less than half a month, I believe This regime will no longer be supported by the Vietnamese people.
Therefore, under the command of General Xu Shiyou, a plan to attack Lang Son has been drawn up. A total of more than 80,000 people come from seven divisions, including the 55th Army, the 162nd Division of the 54th Army, the 43rd Army and the 50th Army 148th Division. Readers who are familiar with the troops must know that these troops are all well-known ace armies and have made a name for themselves in the history of Chinese warfare.
Among them, the 55th Army needs to be highlighted. This is the original Kuomintang Corps. It originated in Hunan and is a powerful Hunan Army. The commander of the year was Chen Mingren, a founding general who was good at fighting hard battles. During the anti-Japanese period, it fought with the Japanese army many times In the 1949 uprising to become the People's Liberation Army, Chairman Mao was very optimistic about his commanding ability and awarded him the rank of general. The
Therefore, this lineup is definitely the main force of our army. Even the US military dare not look down on it. Now it is used to fight Vietnam, it is really bullying. General Xu Shiyou, the commander-in-chief, needless to say, he has fought countless battles in his life, and it is more than enough to deal with Vietnam, but the Military Commission deliberately came up with this lineup to beat this neighbor.
However, it should not be too careless. The main force of the enemy army is also quite successful. They were the main force in the fight against the US military in the south. Through the contest with the Americans, this army has mastered many guerrilla warfare styles, especially in the field. The strength is strong, the United States People had some somersaults in their hands, so this unit was called the "Gold Star Division" in Vietnam, a symbol of victory.
Therefore, before the war, they were very confident and believed that, occupying a favorable position, with rich combat experience and extensive logistical support, the PLA's attempt to conquer Lang Son would be a fool's errand, and even this division called on the soldiers to reach the Friendship Pass for breakfast. , went to Nanning to celebrate the New Year, obviously did not pay attention to the PLA.
Our army has always had a hobby, that is, it loves to fight for the elite. If you are not an ace, you are not willing to fight with you. Therefore, after our army knew that the opponent was the ace of Vietnam, their fighting spirit was even more high. They attacked the enemy's positions at the beginning of the battle.
However, the enemy's response was still very fast. Although they lost their positions, they quickly organized to take advantage of the terrain to attack and destroy our army from a commanding height, causing a lot of destructive power. The experience of fighting guerrillas with the US military for many years is now used here, but it is unacceptable that they use cruel means to induce and sneak attack on our personnel, such as bringing women and children to the battlefield, using them to lure our soldiers to relax their vigilance, Then shoot the good warriors.
It can be said that the Vietnamese army on the battlefield has almost no rationality. They completely disregarded humanity in order to win. They did not retreat to the mountains until they were suppressed by our army's artillery fire and waited for rear support. The battle came to an end temporarily. The progress is quite smooth, and it has also taught our army a lesson. The enemy may use various unexpected methods to consume us. We must be prepared for the following battles.
When the news came back to Hanoi, the Vietnamese executives were shocked. They knew that the final result would definitely be a failure, but they did not expect that the 3rd Division, known as the trump card, would be defeated so quickly and withdrew, and the reinforcements were still on their way. , This made the Vietnamese high-level panic, could only transfer the 308th Division, an elite force guarding Hanoi, to the front line, hoping to delay it for a while.
But when the troop arrived, the People's Liberation Army had already rested and rehabilitated, and this elite team would be defeated in just one round. They did not expect the PLA's artillery fire to be so powerful and the soldiers' tactical literacy so high that an elite division could not stop it. .
It is in this situation that the Vietnamese troops used chemical weapons. They can be said to have lost their minds now. In order to delay Hanoi's time, they openly stood on the opposite side of all mankind and used chemical weapons to deal a heavy blow to our 55th Army.
But it should be noted that Vietnam did not have the ability to manufacture chemical weapons at that time. They used what was left when the US military retreated. The Americans used these anti-human weapons to cause huge casualties in the Vietnamese military and civilians. On people, but the Vietnamese impose this disaster on people.
Xu Shiyou is angry
General Xu Shiyou was originally angry because the Vietnamese army used women and children as shields, but now he dares to use chemical weapons, which is really challenging his patience, so General Xu Shiyou does not want to worry so much, since he has to come this far One step, then take it.
immediately ordered in person to mobilize heavy artillery groups to aim at the Lang Son area and shoot all the shells in the area. Lang Son can no longer have a house. Xu Shiyou's words are very serious, and now he is going to "kill a lot".
As a result, 300 artillery pieces were assembled in the artillery position. After the order was issued, tens of thousands of shells hit the urban area of Lang Son within an hour. It suddenly became a hell on earth. I believe no one wants to stay there for one more second. The Vietnamese soldiers were killed and wounded countless times in the artillery fire. The two divisions had no chance to fight back and retreated desperately in the artillery fire.
Of course, our army had already received information before the war, Lang Son had evacuated the masses earlier, and the city had become a fortress of the Vietnamese defenders, so we would launch an artillery battle desperately. As soon as the
artillery stopped, our army followed. Under the cover of tank and other armored vehicles, we quickly occupied the enemy's position and wiped out the remaining enemies. Our army entered the city within half a day. At noon, Lang Son province government building The military flag was raised, and other important government institutions were occupied by our army one by one.
According to our army's plan, the Battle of Lang Son is over, and the next step is to evacuate in an orderly manner as planned. After all, the warning to the Vietnamese has been reached. However, the Vietnamese government issued a statement internationally, meaning that although the People's Liberation Army carried out large-scale bombing, Lang Son was still under the control of Vietnam, and there was no so-called occupation. This situation has already arrived, and the Vietnamese are still stubborn, and they are indeed very cheeky.
The reason for the Vietnamese is that Lang Son has two urban areas. Our army occupied the government building in the new urban area, but it turned out that there was a government building in the old urban area that was not occupied, so it was not a victory at all.
Actually, our army just wanted to give Vietnam a warning, as long as they admit their mistakes, there is no need to be serious with us, but they really want to save face and even forced our army to occupy their old urban areas.
The main reason is that there is a poor and odd river in the middle. The Vietnamese estimate that the People's Liberation Army does not have the ability to cross the river to fight. If our army is forced to cross the river, it will give them excellent conditions for counterattack, which will lure us into the set trap.
Although General Xu Shiyou was very angry when he heard Vietnam's statement, he restrained his anger and asked the Military Commission to see if they could satisfy their wishes and also knock down the southern urban area, so that they could shut up. After research, the central government believes that the current victory of our army has not played a role in deterring the Vietnamese, so it is necessary to continue to go south until the whole territory of Lang Son is occupied before formulating the next plan. At this time, the retreat plan was put on hold.
So General Xu Shiyou ordered the 43rd Army and the 55th Army to cross the Choong Qi River to see what intrigues and tricks the Vietnamese have in store for us. When the Vietnamese army retreated, they blew up the only bridge, so our army had to cross the Qiongqi River by force.
Maybe God is also helping us. On the day of the attack, there was heavy fog, and the river was covered by fog, which gave the troops a good cover for crossing the river. Open up a landing field to support the landing of large troops in the rear.
Although the enemy occupied the commanding heights and shot down, under the overwhelming offensive, it didn't take long to spread out. At noon, the old town of Lang Son was occupied by the People's Liberation Army. The invincible enemy had nowhere to retreat. Army annihilated.
Lang Son fell across the board, and the Vietnamese government was really scared, because as long as the PLA launched an attack, it would reach the city of Hanoi within a few days, and the Vietnamese high-level officials were already within the range of the PLA's firepower.
But they thought that the Chinese government has no intention of aggression, let alone overthrow the Vietnamese regime. We just want to warn the Vietnamese authorities not to play too much.
Just as the Vietnamese government dispatched troops to prepare to defend Hanoi, the Chinese government promptly issued a statement to the world, claiming that China had driven back the Vietnamese aggressors who violated its borders, and that the purpose of punishing Vietnam had been achieved. It will be withdrawn to the country as planned from now on.
China took the initiative to withdraw its troops
Now the Vietnamese government is relieved, they thought that the Chinese government would stick around like the United States, and now Vietnam has started to clamor internationally, calling on the people of the whole country to drive back the Chinese army and withdraw China. The news was packaged as the result of their own army's victory, and they were even more involved in China's retreat route, which caused certain obstacles to our army.
can only say that the Vietnamese are too boring, the strength of China and Vietnam is obvious, no one will doubt that China has won, only they are confusing themselves, thinking that stubborn resistance has played a role.
But no matter how rude they are, our army can no longer stay there. The Soviet Union in the north is the biggest threat. Now that the goal is completed, the war must be ended quickly, otherwise the Soviets will take advantage of the situation. We cause a lot of stress.
But before we left, we couldn't make the Vietnamese so comfortable, so General Xu Shiyou ordered that no industrial facilities should appear anywhere we passed by, and Lang Son was really razed to the ground.
The fact that Vietnam can be so arrogant is not unrelated to the industrial zone in the north, which was built with the support of China and the Soviet Union. Both Vietnam and China have encountered imperialist aggression, and in the process of transforming from an agricultural country to an industrial country, they need external support. As a brother of the socialist camp and a long-term neighbor, the Chinese government supports Vietnam's construction in all aspects.
did our best in terms of economy and military, not only aided a large number of weapons and ammunition, but also moved the production lines of many products to Vietnam, which laid a solid industrial foundation for them.
Vietnam has established a heavy industry system during the war, so The relationship between Vietnam and China during the Ho Chi Minh period was very good. Vietnam and the Chinese people never imagined that in just a few years we would reach the point where we would meet each other, especially Vietnam would take the initiative. Aggression is completely the behavior of white-eyed wolves.
Our army's approach is reasonable. Since we are no longer friends, we should withdraw the industrial aid from that year, and Liangshan City will be the first city to be cleaned. The task of was carried out by the 55th Army, so Zhu Yuehua, the commander of the army, personally commanded the three engineer battalions into a blasting brigade.
After a preliminary survey, all industrial facilities in Liangshan City were counted and finally approved by Xu Shiyou. In five days, more than 300 tons of explosives were used to blow up all these places, effectively completing the commander's order without leaving a piece. brick requirements.
Then Xu Shiyou demanded that when the troops retreated, they would pack and take away all the supplies bearing the word China's aid, and destroy those that could not be taken away.
Since Vietnam started war with France, in order to help them, the Chinese people tightened their belts from top to bottom to provide them with material support, and even most of the Chinese even sent food to Vietnam when they were hungry, but these aid materials If they haven't used it yet, they betrayed them and killed Chinese people with Chinese guns.
The last order was to lay mines after the retreat. The Vietnamese army would definitely not let it go, and would not let the People's Liberation Army return to the country so smoothly, so a large number of guerrillas were dispatched to harass them.
According to the intelligence intercepted by our side, the high-level Vietnamese instructed the troops to make every effort to sabotage the retreat plan of the Chinese troops, and to carry out sabotage on the main traffic lines while our troops were retreating, until they reached the Sino-Vietnamese border before giving up.
That's why General Xu Shiyou attaches great importance to it. It stands to reason that the losing side must be eager for the winning side to withdraw, but the Vietnamese cling to the People's Liberation Army like candy, and many soldiers died on their way back home.
Fortunately, there was no danger, our army quickly withdrew to the country according to the established plan, and the first stage of the Vietnam War was ended. In the next few years, conflicts of different scales still broke out between China and Vietnam, but the influence and deterrence were not as great as this time. After years of war, the Vietnamese army has indeed figured out tactics suitable for its own characteristics. The border is causing some trouble.
But it is under the command of General Xu Shiyou that the industrial capacity of northern Vietnam has regressed for decades. They no longer have the capital to conduct large-scale battles with China, and can only rely on guerrilla warfare to cause damage to our side.
More importantly, in this battle, the Vietnamese understood that even if China has experienced long-term fluctuations, it is still not something they can challenge. At the same time, using the Soviet Union to restrict China will have no effect.
At that time, China was at a critical period in history. It had just emerged from ten years of turmoil, and powerful leaders had returned to work. In particular, the leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Deng Xiaoping as the core was determined. The future social development will lay a strong booster.
Chairman Mao repeatedly emphasized that political struggles are not allowed to involve the military, but many outstanding generals are calculated by people with ulterior motives. Problems in the military's command system are fatal to my country's national defense strength. combat power.
This war is an all-round demonstration and test of the People's Liberation Army. Only through this war can foreign forces understand how powerful their opponents are, and only then can we understand the problems in future development.
In short, this war has greatly increased China's international influence. Although Vietnam denied the fact that it was defeated, no one dared to underestimate the powerful combat effectiveness of the Chinese army. Although it has not participated in actual combat for decades, it can still win the war.
In Asia, the great-power chauvinism of the Soviet Union continues to infringe upon the sovereignty of various countries. China has made strong opposition. In the face of millions of Soviet troops, the Chinese government still has the courage to maintain regional peace.
But we cannot ignore the fact that our army has suffered too many casualties. Compared with Vietnam, we have a great advantage. We are far superior to our opponents in terms of troop size and weapons and equipment, but they have not reduced the number of casualties. This point needs to be reflected. At the same time, it exposed the big problems of our army. After analysis, we can find several factors that cause larger casualties.
The most important thing is that the troops have not experienced actual combat for a long time. Since the end of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, the military power of China has been shown to the world, and no country has dared to challenge China's border. The self-defense counterattack against India involves only the Chengdu Military Region. The whole army has little impact. Many recruits in the army have not participated in actual combat, and they are very passive on the battlefield when they are suddenly stretched.
In fact, our army has a problem in command. Although the strategy is correct, the command on the battlefield is very backward. The world is changing with each passing day. However, after ten years of catastrophe, we have not advanced but retreated. As far as their tactics are all up-to-date, they are all polished by the US military, so there are certain casualties in the command.
In addition, the Vietnamese army does not care about human nature, using women and children as bait, taking advantage of the kindness of the PLA soldiers to fall into the trap, and what is even more abhorrent is that they also use chemical weapons. heavy.
Postscript
The Battle of Liangshan, as the most critical battle in the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, determined the development direction of the entire war, and completed the tasks designated by the Central Military Commission. It can be said to be a significant battle. Although the Vietnamese are quite critical internationally, they cannot hide the truth. Our army exposed some problems during the command process, and as a whole showed a heroic and tenacious people's army.
Looking back at history, the Chinese People's Liberation Army has created a peaceful and stable international environment for the development of the People's Republic of China, and has also ensured the safety of people's lives and property.
We are not born in a peaceful world, but live in a safe country. There are wars on earth all the time. It is because of the people's soldiers that we can enjoy such a happy life.
Salute to the Chinese People's Liberation Army!
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