Chapter 54 Sino-Vietnamese War (4)

  On April 3, 1979, the main force of Vietnamese troops invading Cambodia began to withdraw from the country, while Chinese troops on both the eastern and western fronts had already laid out pocket arrays after annihilating the main force of Vietnamese troops in China.

  The Chinese army is best at surrounding and attacking, as well as various mobile warfare. In order to mobilize the Vietnamese army, our army made a gesture of attacking Hanoi, forcing the Vietnamese army to deploy its main force here and engage in a strategic decisive battle with us.

  The main force of the Vietnamese army has begun to withdraw from Cambodia, and their every move is under the surveillance of our country's reconnaissance satellites, while high-altitude reconnaissance planes are also tracking and monitoring the Vietnamese army from time to time.

  After withdrawing from Cambodia, the Vietnamese army supported Heng Samrin to become Chairman of the People's Republic of Kampuchea. Under Vietnam's support, Heng Samrin established a new government - "People's Republic of Kampuchea" and served as Chairman of the People's Revolutionary Committee. Under Heng Samrin, there were approximately 50,000 Cambodian troops, plus 30,000 Vietnamese troops, totaling 80,000 people controlling most areas around Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

  After Vietnam occupied Cambodia, there were two resistance forces in the Cambodian region: The first was the Kampuchean People's National Liberation Armed Forces led by Son Sann. The second was the Khmer Rouge guerrilla force led by Khieu Samphan. In 1979, after Vietnam invaded Cambodia and overthrew the Khmer Rouge regime, Khieu Samphan fled to the jungle area. After Pol Pot resigned as prime minister that year, Khieu Samphan became the prime minister of the Democratic Kampuchea government and continued to lead the Cambodian people in resisting Vietnam's invasion.

  The only hope for the Cambodian people now is the Cambodian Nationalist Army led by Prince Sihanouk, who has unparalleled prestige and influence in Cambodia.

  At this time, Prince Norodom Ranariddh is on the "Khan Sesan" missile cruiser. He will take the cruiser to Kampong Saom, a coastal town in southwestern Cambodia on the Gulf of Thailand, which was once the country's largest port and pepper-growing center in the 19th century, and an export hub for pepper, coffee, and rice. The city is connected by rail and road to Phnom Penh.

  Gongbu now has 5,000 Vietnamese troops and 10,000 Cambodian auxiliary troops stationed there, with some scattered gunboats and patrol boats maintaining coastal security. Lin Feng and the king's plan was to first occupy the city and then take the railway directly to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The vanguard unit of the Cambodian nationalist army, the 1st Armored Division, landed smoothly under the cover of Taiwanese naval gunfire.

  These auxiliary troops could not stop the advance of the People's Army, and the commander of the rear Vietnamese army discovered a gap in the defense line and hastily ordered the main force to launch a counterattack. The Vietnamese army still had some combat effectiveness, and its offensive temporarily alleviated the crisis on the entire defensive line of Kompong Thom. However, this was only a temporary relief from pressure, and soon the Khmer-Chinese coalition forces launched a second wave of attacks, this time with air force fire support, and the 1st Armored Division quickly broke through the Vietnamese army's defense line.

  Half an hour later, the 5,000 Vietnamese troops stationed in Gongbu were completely annihilated, and after 2,000 of the 10,000 servants were eliminated, they surrendered to the king's army.

  On April 4, 1979 at 9:00 am, Prince Sihanouk issued a letter to the Cambodian people in Kompong, formally announcing his decision to return to Cambodia and his ideal of liberating all Cambodians. The "Letter to the People" caused a huge stir in Cambodia as soon as it was released, and Heng Samrin, the leader of the puppet regime, was immediately frightened and uneasy, knowing well the influence of the Prince among the Cambodian people.

  Prince Sihanouk also made a promise to the Cambodian people that he would put an end to the Khmer Rouge's rule in Cambodia, and this declaration propelled the prince's personal prestige to historic heights. Secret welcoming activities for the prince's return sprouted up all over Cambodia. After the Cambodian National Army occupied the coastal city of Kompong Som, they immediately advanced along the railway line towards the capital Phnom Penh, while Taiwan's 2nd Army Group followed and took over the occupation of Kompong Som, replacing the National Army which had already departed.

  Lin Feng and the King have entered the city of Kompong, the King looked at the somewhat dilapidated city and said to Lin Feng: "General Lin, if I'm lucky enough to drive out the invaders this time, I hope your government can continue to provide us with support in economic construction. After the new government is established, I will arrange for people to visit Taiwan for study, we want to build Kompong into Cambodia's Keelung Port."

  Lin Feng smiled and agreed to the king's request, comforting him by saying: "Your Majesty need not worry, our military morale is high now, while the enemy has been hit repeatedly and their morale has fallen to an all-time low. The main force of the Second Army has made preparations for the attack, and once the National Army occupies Chuk, both armies will launch a pincer attack on Kim Bien, at which time Kim Bien will be in our pocket. As long as we capture Kim Bien and destroy the main force of the Vietnamese army, the remaining Cambodian puppet army will not be able to withstand a single blow, and the recovery of all of Cambodia will be imminent."

  The king nodded in agreement after hearing Lin Feng's words. The National Army did not disappoint the hard training in Taiwan for a year and quickly defeated the blocking troops along the way, occupying the city of Chuk. At the same time, the main force of the Vietnamese army set up three defense lines in Kim Bien, adding 20,000 troops to make a total of 50,000 enemy soldiers in Kim Bien.

  The main force of the National Army and the Second Army had nearly 70,000 troops, with about 60,000 people available for attack. On April 7, 1979, the Phnom Penh Campaign began. The main force of the National Army used armored divisions equipped with tanks as the vanguard, breaking through three defensive lines of the Vietnamese army under the cover of armed helicopters, and suddenly broke into the city of Phnom Penh. At the same time, the second wave of attacking troops also started to surround and annihilate the remaining enemy forces in the city. After 3 hours of fierce fighting, the coalition forces wiped out the main force of the Vietnamese army with 2,000 casualties, while capturing 30,000 enemy soldiers.

  On April 10, 1979, Prince Sihanouk announced the establishment of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Sihanouk ascended to the throne again and the kingdom implemented a constitutional monarchy system. Subsequently, all parts of Cambodia were settled by imperial edict, and local governments expressed their allegiance to the kingdom. With China's help, Prince Sihanouk gradually stabilized the situation in Cambodia and began trials against the leaders of the Khmer Rouge.

  This trial greatly enhanced the prestige of the new government, and the king was very envious of Taiwan's economic life. Therefore, he relied heavily on Chinese Taiwanese economic experts sent by Lin Feng in terms of national construction. Lin Feng increased his economic investment in Cambodia out of consideration for controlling Cambodia. Soon after, with the support of the Chinese embassy, most people in various parts of Cambodia gradually returned to normal life. After Cambodia gradually became regularized, the Sino-Vietnamese War also came to an end. The Second Army handed over the internal security of Cambodia to the National Army and then entered Vietnam through the Cambodian-Vietnamese border to start the second phase of combat mission.

  China's newly formed 13th, 14th, 41st and 42nd Group Armies have transformed from new recruits to elite veterans after the first phase of combat, and these troops have withstood the test of war.

  The main force of the second stage will be the Chinese Air Force equipped with fourth-generation fighter jets. On April 7, the Chinese Air Force organized more than a thousand aircraft to launch devastating attacks on Vietnam's military facilities and living forces. The Vietnamese ground-to-air defense troops couldn't even touch the shadow of the Chinese Air Force. These "Fei Hong Qing" fighter jets, which possess ultra-strong stealth capabilities, relied on their advanced weapon equipment to carry out carpet-style attacks on the Vietnamese army. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese Air Force lost more than 500 aircraft and only managed to injure a few Chinese Air Force planes. Soon after, China fully grasped air superiority over Vietnam.

  Although the Vietnamese side had countermeasures against air raids, they soon discovered that their experience in dealing with the US was useless against China's various special warfare bombs. After a week of air raids, the Vietnamese side suffered heavy losses. The main force of the Vietnamese army, which had withdrawn back to the country, lost half of its effective strength in this air raid, and refugees were everywhere at home, and the national economy had completely collapsed. Faced with such difficulties, the Viet Cong side has announced a general mobilization order, calling on all Vietnamese people to bravely stand up to resist the Chinese invasion, and even shouted: "Let the Chinese blood splatter all over Vietnam".

  But what puzzled the Vietnamese side was that the Chinese People's Liberation Army did not rush to launch a second wave of attacks, but instead relied on its powerful air force to strike Vietnam. After being hit by the Chinese Air Force and missile troops, Vietnam had no organized resistance forces left, but Lin Feng was still worried about Vietnam's jungle guerrilla warfare, which was the bloody experience summed up by Vietnam and the United States after a decade of war.

  After careful consideration, Lin Feng felt that the Chinese army still had to go through this test. Moreover, the PLA was grown up from guerrilla warfare, so the Chinese military finally decided to launch the second phase of combat. The Chinese elite troops quickly defeated the main force of the Vietnamese army and entered the stage of mopping up the remnants. Foreign countries generally reported positively on the strength shown by the Chinese army.

  Reuters commented: "Red China has shown the world its mighty navy and now it is showing off its mighty land army"

  Time Magazine: "The world's most powerful army defeated the US military and then went on to defeat the Vietnamese who had previously defeated us"

  The Times of London: "The Oriental giant has thoroughly awakened and is now gradually embarking on the road to outward expansion."

  "Soviet public opinion reports: 'The betrayers of socialism are invading our brothers, the workers of the whole world unite to resist the Chinese aggressors'."

  After a month of continuous fighting, China completely overthrew the Viet Cong regime, and after the failure of the Vietnamese government, China established a puppet regime in Vietnam. Although this move was unanimously opposed by the outside world, China still re-elected the new government of Vietnam on the premise of maintaining stability in Vietnam. This new government is all pro-China factions, and all pro-Soviet anti-China forces have been swept away by China.