Chapter 51: The Sino-Vietnamese War (1)
(Today was busy fixing computers, feeling quite depressed. The previous chapter was updated at an internet cafe, which was really uncool and the editing wasn't good either. Now I'll post another chapter)
After the end of the Vietnam War against America in 1975, Vietnam brought up old affairs again, using the establishment of "Indochina Federation" as an excuse. Its real intention was to permanently occupy Laos and Cambodia and merge them into Vietnam's territory, realizing its ambition for regional hegemony. The decision of the fourth congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam in December 1976 clearly stipulated the policy towards Laos and Cambodia, which is to "make efforts to maintain and develop the special relationship between the Vietnamese people and the Lao and Cambodian peoples". Under the banner of "special relationship", the Vietnamese authorities carried out policies of control, subversion, aggression and annexation against Laos and Cambodia without any scruples. Therefore, it was naturally rejected by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge again.
Since 1977, the Vietnamese authorities have been conducting military provocations and invasions in the Vietnam-Cambodia border area. In September 1977, the Vietnamese army launched its first invasion campaign, penetrating deep into Cambodian territory by tens of kilometers in some areas. In December 1977, a second offensive was launched, mobilizing 14 divisions to invade eastern and southwestern Cambodia. However, it encountered the brave resistance of the Cambodian Pol Pot troops and was forced to withdraw.
In February 1978, the Soviet Union signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Vietnam to counter China's rising influence. With Soviet backing, Vietnam launched a full-scale invasion of Cambodia on December 25, 1978, militarily occupying the entire country and installing the Heng Samrin regime as its proxy government. To consolidate its hold on Cambodia, the Vietnamese authorities dispatched large numbers of cadres and technicians from their own country to help set up a network of local administrations and militia units loyal to the new regime. They also encouraged Vietnamese citizens to settle in Cambodia, with an estimated 700,000 people migrating there over time.
In order to "legitimize" the invasion of Cambodia, Vietnam successively signed with the Cambodian puppet government the "Treaty of Friendship", "Boundary Agreement", "Aviation Agreement" and so on. As early as during the anti-US resistance war, Vietnam sent large numbers of troops into Laos under the pretext of "assistance" and "defense". After the anti-US resistance war, not only did it not withdraw its troops, but also used the excuse of "helping to maintain border security" and "defending the rear of Laos" to massively increase its military presence in Laos and carry out military control.
In 1977, Vietnam forced the Lao authorities to sign a so-called "Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation" and border agreement, not only swallowing large tracts of Lao territory along the border with Laos but also exerting strict political influence over Laos under the guise of "assistance" and "cooperation", and economically plundering Laos. The Vietnamese rulers' long-held dream of an "Indochinese Democratic Republic Federation" was about to come true.
At that time, Cambodia had a population of only 6 million, with a vast and warm land, while Laos had an even smaller population of only 3 million. In contrast, Vietnam's population had reached 60 million after reunification, with the Kinh people accounting for 90%. It can be reasonably concluded that since Vietnam occupied Cambodia, it has been migrating to Cambodia on a large scale. Thirty years later, when Vietnamese immigrants have gained an advantage in both Cambodia and Laos, the two small countries will inevitably be thoroughly assimilated by Vietnam. A country with an area of 700,000 square kilometers (mostly rich, warm, and suitable for human habitation, with extremely high quality) and a population approaching 100 million is about to rise on the Indochinese peninsula.
Lam Phong cannot just watch Vietnam achieve its strategic goals, and now Vietnam has handed over the excuse for war to China. The main reason why Vietnam wants to take the initiative to launch a war against China and establish an Indochina Federation is that establishing an Indochina Federation in Southeast Asia meets the needs of the Soviet Union's war. The Soviet Union provides military and material support to Vietnam, while Vietnam uses attacking China as a means to curb China's opposition to Vietnam's expansion.
After 1975, Vietnam began to crazily expel Chinese people, suppressing the normal life of overseas Chinese, leading to a large number of Vietnamese Chinese returning to China. On the Sino-Vietnamese border, armed conflicts were provoked, and armed personnel were sent across the border to harass, injure border residents, knock down boundary markers, nibble at the border, and create incidents such as Phu Nuan Ridge and Tingmou Mountain. By the end of 1977, when Vietnam was armed invading Cambodia, China had made up its mind to use military force to teach the arrogant Vietnamese a lesson, especially after Vietnam shot and killed Chinese border soldiers, the Chinese military had begun to formulate a military plan to strike back at Vietnam. However, the new military reform of the Chinese army would not be completed until the end of 1978, and the new troops would not have combat effectiveness until early 1979.
On December 7, 1978, the Central Military Commission held a meeting and issued a decision and order to fight against Vietnam on the 8th. Deng Xiaoping, then Chairman of the Central Military Commission, appointed Xu Shiyou, Commander of the Guangzhou Military Region, as the General Commander of the Eastern Front Guangxi Border Defense Troops, and Yang Dezhi, Commander of the Wuhan Military Region, who had served as a Chinese military advisor to Vietnam during the Vietnam-France War, was transferred to serve as the Commander of the Chengdu Military Region, in charge of the Western Front Yunnan Border Defense Troops.
Our military campaign deployment: The 41st and 42nd Group Armies, with a total of 8 combat divisions, formed the Eastern Front Corps, led by Xu Shiyou, launched an attack from Guangxi; The 13th and 14th Group Armies, with a total of 5 combat divisions, formed the Western Front Corps, led by Yang Dezhi, launched an attack from Yunnan. At the same time, Lin Feng, Commander of the Taiwan Military Region, was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Cambodian Front Line, and the newly established Cambodian Corps and the Second Group Army were responsible for the attacking task in the direction of Cambodia.
In 1979, Deng Xiaoping visited the United States at the invitation of US President Carter and when asked about his policy towards Vietnam, he said with confidence: "Little friends who don't listen should be spanked!" In fact, a large army had long been waiting in array, only awaiting an order to march.
By the end of December 1978, nearly 100,000 PLA troops had gathered along the Sino-Vietnamese border. In the past, China had been constrained by international pressure and withdrew its forces after breaking through the Vietnamese military's defensive lines and eliminating the invading Vietnamese army. Now Lin Biao would not be constrained by foreign opinions; he had already petitioned the Central Committee to prepare for an all-out attack on Vietnam, then seize control of the entire Indochinese peninsula, solving China's southwestern border security issues.
The Guangzhou Military Region completed its tactical preparations on the morning of January 8, 1979: The 41st Group Army: the 121st Division (armored division), the 123rd Division (mechanized infantry division), the 164th Division (mountain division), the High Artillery Brigade, the Aviation Brigade, and the Pontoon Bridge Brigade; The 42nd Group Army: the 124th Division (mechanized infantry division), the 125th Division (armored division), the 126th Division (mechanized infantry division), the Missile Brigade, the Pontoon Bridge Brigade, the High Artillery Brigade, the Special Troops Battalion, and the Army Aviation Battalion; One ground-to-ground missile division, one artillery division, and one high-altitude artillery division, three railway regiments, one communication regiment, one chemical defense brigade, 13 aviation regiments, and six battalions all entered their designated positions. (Meanwhile, the air force's anti-aircraft and surface-to-air missile troops also completed their tactical deployments; The South China Sea Fleet of the Navy gathered over 120 ships and more than 370 combat aircraft in various ports west of the Chongqing Island.)
Chengdu Military Region (now merged with Kunming Military Region) changed its commander, and Yang Dezhi took office on January 7, 1979. From the 8th to the 10th, the military region held an enlarged meeting to study the battle deployment plan. On the 12th, leaders from the General Staff, military regions, armies, and divisions went to the border for investigation and research. The 13th Group Army participated in the war: the 37th Division (mountain division), the 38th Division (mechanized infantry division), missile brigade, artillery brigade, high-altitude gun brigade; the 14th Group Army: the 40th Division (armored division), the 41st Division (mountain division), missile brigade, aviation brigade, and Yunnan Provincial Military Region border defense troops. They were urgently transported by rail and road, completing their deployment by January 10 and finishing their combat preparations on February 9.
At the same time, the Shenyang Military Region, Beijing Military Region and Lanzhou Military Region, which border the Soviet Union and Mongolia, all entered a state of first-level combat readiness, preparing to defend against a Soviet attack. The infantry divisions in these three major military regions were supplemented with personnel and equipment, expanding into wartime divisions. The field armies left their garrisons and entered the battlefield, while Taiwan's major air bases were filled with soldiers rushing to the front lines. A 30,000-strong Cambodian army was on standby, ready to parachute into Cambodia after China's main forces launched an attack.
By the end of November 1978, the troops participating in the war from Guangzhou Military Region and Chengdu Military Region had completed all preparations for action. On December 8, the Central Military Commission issued a strategic deployment order. On December 13, an advance order was issued, and by the end of December, four Chinese army groups with 1.25 million soldiers gathered at the Sino-Vietnamese border in Guangxi and Yunnan, ready to strike.
On February 17, 1979, at 4:30 am on the 21st day of the first month of the lunar calendar, the Chinese army gathered on the Sino-Vietnamese border launched an attack on six provinces and 11 counties in Vietnam with four group armies from Guangxi and Yunnan. Some air force planes took off to patrol along the border on our side, while some naval warships entered the Beibu Gulf to defend the oil platform.
The war was fought in two directions, Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and was divided into three stages. The Yunnan Province campaign was commanded by Yang Dezhi, the commander of the Chengdu Military Region who was temporarily appointed to lead the troops; the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region campaign was led by Xu Shiyou, then commander of the Guangzhou Military Region. A total of 4 army corps, 10 infantry divisions, 2 artillery divisions (Artillery Division 1 and Artillery Division 4), 1 air defense division, as well as railway troops, engineering troops, communication troops and other types of troops with a total strength of nearly 160,000 People's Liberation Army soldiers (for example, each Type A infantry division and Type B infantry division was expanded to more than 12,000 people in the pre-war preparations) launched a surprise attack on Vietnam along a front line of approximately 500 kilometers.
At the same time, Vietnam also entered a state of war preparedness. The main force of the Vietnamese army was fighting in Cambodia, and the northern border was not the focus of combat, but a large number of troops were also gathered there. The Eastern Theater Command of the PLA faced the First Military Region of Vietnam, which had 11 divisions and 9 regiments/brigades of the Vietnamese army. Among them were the "High North Division" (346th Division) and the "Golden Star Division" (3rd Division), as well as the 325B Division, 338th Division, 473rd Division, and 304th Division, etc., which were all on the front line.
Behind the First Military Region is Hanoi, where the 1st and 2nd Corps of the Vietnam People's Army are stationed as reserve forces. Facing the Western Front of the PLA was the Second Military Region of Vietnam, with troops including the 345th Division, 316th Division, 316A Division, and 344th Division. Vietnam concentrated about 150,000 troops on the northern front.
In the tropical rainforest terrain on the Sino-Vietnamese border, the Vietnamese army's defense line was very solid, and if they had been cautious, they would have inevitably fallen into a brutal siege. The PLA faced such a situation and adopted a combat method of firepower suppression and destruction, with infantry accompanied by tanks, armored vehicles, and armed helicopters making a surprise attack. The Vietnamese did not expect the Chinese to use tanks in such terrain, and underestimated the appearance of tanks.
