In the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, the Chinese army decisively attacked, dealing a heavy blow to Vietnam's inflated confidence since the victory in Vietnam and maintaining the stability of China's southwest frontier. Of course, the impact of the war of counterattack against Vietnam did not stop there, it also promoted peace in Southeast Asia and opened the way for a final settlement of the Cambodian problem.
In that war, there were two teams that liked to brag, one of which was the famous 316A Division, which claimed to be able to confront a Chinese army head-on, and annihilating 3 divisions was not a problem, but the final result was eye-popping, and the division was completely annihilated by our army's 149th Division in battle, which became a joke.
The 316A Division, also known as the "White-cheeked Bird Division", is a heroic unit of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces, established in May 1951 in the Lang Son area, under the jurisdiction of the 174th Regiment, 98th Regiment and 176th Infantry Regiment, the first division commander Li Quang Po and the political commissar Zhu Hui Min.
The Vietnamese authorities regard the 316A Division as a "fist" against our country, conduct military exercises with our army as an imaginary enemy, and do their utmost to instill anti-China and anti-China ideology in the troops and incite anti-China sentiment. In March 1978 and January 1979, Zhu Huimin, director of the General Political Bureau, went to the 316th Division twice as the founder to mobilize for battle, and gave each officer and soldier of the division a "Dien Bien Phu" brand cigarette to show concern and encouragement.
The 316A Division participated in the War against France, the United States, and the Liberation of the South in history, and participated in the Decisive Battle of Ho Chi Minh, the decisive battle to completely overthrow the puppet regime in South Vietnam. In June 1976, it was transferred out of the 3rd Army and deployed in the Pinglu area of Laizhou Province, as the combat duty unit of the Second Military Region.
The Battle of Sabah lasted 77 days, and our army basically annihilated the remnants of the 174th Regiment and the 148th Regiment of the enemy's 316A Division and the Sabah Independent Battalion, a total of more than 2,300 people, captured weapons, ammunition and other materials and equipment, and dealt a major blow to the enemy's so-called ace division. A few remnants of the enemy's 316A Division Commander, Nguyen Shao Xiong, escaped from the encirclement, and the myth of the invincibility of the 316A Division was shattered.
During the offensive battle of Sabah of the 149th Division of the Army, after five days of fierce fighting, some of which were very fierce, and in this battle our army annihilated a total of 2338 enemy troops, making this so-called Vietnamese pride a history, and also declaring to the world that the troops of the unjust division will surely kill themselves.
War is always cruel, although our army has gained the initiative on the battlefield and punished Vietnam fiercely, but there are still many fighters who spill their blood on the frontier land, but for the prosperity of the motherland they have no hesitation, and the martyrs who sacrificed them are immortal! Hats off to all the comrades who participated in the war against Vietnam!