In 1894, the Sino-Japanese War broke out, and the soldiers of the Beiyang Marine Division fought bloodily, and their entire army was destroyed and did not win a victory.
At the critical moment of saving the nation from danger, the soldiers of the Beiyang Marine Division composed a heroic song that could be sung and wept.
On April 17, 1895, under military pressure, the Qing government signed the Treaty of Maguan with Japan. The defeat in the Sino-Japanese War brought a serious national crisis to China and greatly deepened the degree of semi-colonization of Chinese society.
If you fall behind, you will be beaten, and this is an eternal truth. At any time, we must rely on strength to speak, during the Sino-Japanese War, our strength in all aspects was inferior to Japan's, and defeat was not almost an inevitable thing.
Sino-Japanese War
Eighty years later, in 1974, South Vietnamese forces invaded and occupied parts of the mainland's Paracel Islands. The People's Liberation Army launched a self-defense counterattack and won the final victory, which was the first major victory in the history of the People's Navy since the founding of New China.
This hard-won victory was enough to comfort those Beiyang Marine Division soldiers who died 80 years ago, just as Wei Mingsen, then deputy commander and chief of staff of Yulin Base, said:
Our People's Liberation Army will certainly give a head-on blow to the invading enemy and prevent the tragedy of the Sino-Japanese naval battle from repeating itself.
In January 1974, the ambitious South Vietnamese successively invaded and occupied the islands of Xisha, Jinyin, Ganquan and other islands that belonged to China since ancient times. Saying that Vietnam is a white-eyed wolf, I don't think everyone will object.
I think that when we helped Vietnam against the French aggressors and against the American aggressors, they have taken the opportunity to invade the territory of the mainland.
Is it tolerable or intolerable? In order to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the motherland, the central government decided to launch a self-defense counterattack against South Vietnam.
The ships of the South China Sea Fleet were ready to go out at any time, and the Central Military Commission, according to the instructions of Zhang Yuanpei, commander of the South China Sea Fleet, mobilized the three ships of the East China Sea Fleet 505, 506, and 508 to go south for reinforcements.
You know, at that time, the relationship between the two sides of the strait was very tense, and under normal circumstances, if the ships of the People's Liberation Army went south, they would first go to the Pacific Ocean and pass through the Bashi Strait to reach there
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However, if this method is followed, it will take a long time and there will be no point in reinforcing Xisha. Just when everyone is undecided. Chairman Mao waved a big hand:
From the Taiwan Strait past.
Everyone present was shocked, you know, Chiang Kai-shek has always thought of "counterattacking the mainland." If the East China Sea Fleet passes through the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan's navy and air force will certainly take the opportunity to obstruct it, and whether the East China Sea Fleet can smoothly reach the Xisha battlefield will be a problem.
But in the end, the East China Sea Fleet successfully passed through the Taiwan Strait, and the East China Sea Fleet and the South China Sea Fleet joined forces to repulse the South Vietnamese Navy, which is a major stroke in the history of the Chinese Navy.
There are two theories circulating on the Internet.
One theory is that Chiang Kai-shek ordered the PLA to pass, and even sent a naval escort, turned on the beacon lights, and provided foster care, and eventually the PLA successfully passed through the Taiwan Strait.
Another theory is that when the PLA passed through the Taiwan Strait, the PLA's secrecy measures were well done, and the Taiwan army did not find out, so the Taiwan army did not interfere. Is this really the case? Let's first look at the causes of the Battle of the Paracels.
First, the causes of the Battle of the Paracel Sea
We know that the Paracel Islands have been China's territory since ancient times, and this is recorded in history. Since the beginning of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, we have developed and operated records here.
In the 1930s, the Nationalist government also clearly marked the Paracel Islands on the map as the inherent territory of the Republic of China.
The Paracel Islands are not only strategically important, but also very rich in resources, and the rich Paracel Islands have the reputation of the second "Persian Gulf". Such a feng shui treasure land has also been coveted by imperialism, and has been occupied by France and Japan.
Since the founding of New China, especially after entering the 1950s, under the strong pressure of New China, South Vietnam has gradually withdrawn its troops from coral, gold and silver and other islands.
In 1973, the Vietnam War came to an end, the Paris Peace Pact was signed, and the United States officially began to withdraw its troops from Vietnam.
The U.S. military began to retreat, which would have been a good thing for South Vietnam. But the arrogant President of South Vietnam, Nguyen Van Sau, wanted to hold back the U.S. military and maintain his rule.
They used the advanced weapons left by the US military in Vietnam to create incidents in the South China Sea, killing and injuring fishermen on the mainland one after another.
After the incident, the Chinese government proceeded from the overall situation, maintained great restraint on South Vietnam's behavior, remained in a state of forbearance, and actively sought diplomatic means to peacefully resolve the territorial dispute.
Paracel Islands
Benevolence to the enemy is cruelty to oneself, and the South Vietnamese not only did not appreciate it, but on the contrary became more arrogant and intensified, and their provocative activities became more and more rampant.
Beginning on January 15, 1974, the South Vietnamese Navy's Li Chang Jie and Tan Thanh Yu entered the Paracel Sea to shell fishing boats operating normally on the mainland.
Not only that, they also sent troops to occupy ganquan and jinyin islands. This act of the South Vietnamese Navy has seriously violated the sovereignty and territory of the mainland, which is a naked provocation to China's sovereignty, and we will absolutely not condone this behavior.
On the night of January 17, 1974, Chairman Mao ordered a self-defense counterattack against South Vietnam. In accordance with the instructions of the Central Military Commission, the Guangzhou Military Region dispatched 396,389,271,281,282 ships of the South China Sea Fleet to the Xisha Battlefield.
The commander of the South China Sea Fleet, Zhang Yuanpei, made a full analysis of the South Vietnamese Navy, and most of the warships of the Vietnamese Navy were equipment left behind by the US military and were very advanced. The total tonnage of the four ships operating in the South China Sea adds up to a total of 6,000 tons.
The total tonnage of the South China Sea Fleet added up to less than 2,000 tons, and considering the huge disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves, the commander of the South China Sea Fleet called the Central Military Commission to ask the East China Sea Fleet to participate in the battle to ensure the victory of this battle.
After receiving Zhang Yuanpei's instructions, the Central Military Commission instructed the Three Guided Missile Destroyers of the East China Sea Fleet 505, 506, and 508 to rush south to aid the South China Sea Fleet.
Zhang Yuanpei
Second, did Chiang Kai-shek really escort the People's Liberation Army?
Someone mentioned above that Chiang Kai-shek escorted the People's Liberation Army, but in fact, there is no Taiwan army escorting or providing foster care, and even playing the slogan "Please pass."
Chiang Kai-shek was still a military adviser in South Vietnam, and he could not have openly supported us in fighting the South Vietnamese navy.
After the victory of the War of Resistance, the Nationalist government sent a company of troops to garrison Woody Island, and because of the anti-communist stance, the Kuomintang had always cooperated with South Vietnam.
After the French withdrew from Vietnam, with the support of the United States, the Republic of Vietnam was established to confront North Vietnam.
From this point on, Chiang Kai-shek joined the United States in providing great assistance to South Vietnam and sent a military advisory group to provide military and economic assistance to South Vietnam to jointly oppose the Ccp.
It was not until after the reunification of South vietnam and North Vietnam in 1975 that nationalist troops gradually withdrew from Vietnam.
Although Chiang Kai-shek also hated the South Vietnamese occupation of China's Paracel Islands, he would not blatantly support the CCP.
It is also impossible to turn on the beacon lights to facilitate the PLA. Because it's against common sense, why?
The Taiwan Strait is no better than the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, the average width of the Taiwan Strait is 102 nautical miles, and the narrowest place is 70 nautical miles, even if the navigation lights are turned on, the PLA can not see.
Chiang Kai-shek in his later years
Since you can't see the navigation lights when you turn on them, what is the significance of turning on the navigation lights?
As for the second theory is that the CCP's Secrecy Measures for the East China Sea Fleet have done a good job, the Taiwan military has not found out, and this is not advisable.
The three ships in the East China Sea were dispatched, and this movement was not small, and it was impossible for the Radar and Air Force of the Taiwan Army to find out, but they only adopted a tacit attitude toward the East China Sea Fleet.
Third, why was the East China Sea Fleet able to smoothly pass through the Taiwan Strait, and why did Chiang Kai-shek not take the opportunity to obstruct it?
1. Chiang Kai-shek's "Great National Righteousness"
Afterwards, Chairman Mao once said humorously: "Mr. Jiang still talks about the great national righteousness." This is a humorous sentence, whether Chiang Kai-shek thought so, we do not know.
But after all, Chiang Kai-shek is also a member of the Chinese nation, a descendant of the dragon, and a descendant of yanhuang's descendants. Although the CCP and the Kuomintang are facing each other, there is a consensus that the Paracel Islands have been China's territory since ancient times.
The Chinese Communist Navy is the aggressor in fighting South Vietnam, and if Chiang Kai-shek does not help, if he still helps the enemy to fight the People's Liberation Army's East China Sea Fleet, then this person will be left behind in history for thousands of years, will become a sinner of history, and will be indignant with everyone. I believe that Chiang Kai-shek also does not want to leave this insult in history.
As an opponent of the CCP, if it is a confrontation of beliefs or ideologies, it can be resolved internally through force. For example, between brothers, no one obeys anyone, and the brothers fight with real knives and guns. But if there are outsiders to bully the brothers, the brothers must first agree with the outside world.
In the same way, in the face of this kind of big issue of right and wrong and the question of the great national righteousness, Chiang Kai-shek still has a measure in his heart.
Although Chiang Kai-shek was anti-communist, he coincided with Chairman Mao in adhering to the one-China principle. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek did not send a navy to interfere with the passage of the East China Sea Fleet.
2, the People's Liberation Army has made full preparations
In the face of the obstruction that Chiang Kai-shek may launch, in fact, the Platon Army has made full preparations and prepared for the worst. If the Kuomintang army dares to rush into action, our army will certainly fight back.
In order to ensure that these three warships can smoothly go south, the Fujian base has urgently deployed dozens of large and small ships to escort them, hundreds of shore guns, anti-aircraft artillery units have all entered a state of combat readiness, and the air force has dispatched fighter planes to cover in the air.
When the fleet secretly passed through the Taiwan Strait, all lights were controlled, and only telegrams were received and not sent, and land command was implemented. In order not to expose your whereabouts too much.
And the East China Sea Fleet passed along the mainland baseline, rarely crossing the center line of the Taiwan Strait.
This also told the Kuomintang on the side that I am not here to fight with you this time, I have a more important task, and I want to deal with the invaders of South Vietnam.
With full preparations, the Kuomintang navy did not dare to rush to make a mistake.
3. Chiang Kai-shek is not certain of victory and may be retaliated against.
Although At that time, Chiang Kai-shek was clamoring to "counterattack the mainland," and the Kuomintang's naval and air force did have an advantage over the mainland, this did not mean that Chiang Kai-shek had a certainty of victory.
Clear-eyed people know that Chiang Kai-shek's defeat and retreat is inevitable, and "counterattacking the mainland" is only his wishful thinking, and there is no feasibility. As for the mainland, Chiang Kai-shek has always been in a state of "guarding," but in fact he is afraid that the People's Liberation Army will come calling, and to put it bluntly, one more day in Taiwan is one more day.
This has always been in a state of "guarding," and if he is allowed to take the initiative to provoke or attack the mainland, he will not be able to bear the consequences. If he dared to attack the East China Sea Fleet at that time, he would surely be hit back by a strong counterattack from the mainland.
There is no need for Chiang Kai-shek to take this risk; if he attacks the East China Sea Fleet, what awaits him may be the fate of Taiwan, which will only provoke the mainland to retaliate by force.
Originally, the Shelling of the Golden Gate at that time was enough for him to drink a pot, and there was no need for him to make any more mistakes at this juncture.
Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek adopted a tacit attitude toward the passage of the East China Sea Fleet through the Taiwan Strait, which is in his interest and in the interests of China as a whole.
Oil painting of the Battle of The Paracel Sea
Overall, the Battle of Xisha in 1974 was one of the most brilliant victories won by the People's Navy in foreign naval battles since the founding of New China. It is no exaggeration to say that the war laid the foundation for China's position in the South China Sea for decades to come.
When the East China Sea Fleet passed through the Taiwan Strait, Chiang Kai-shek did not give an order to escort the People's Liberation Army or turn on the navigation beacons, but only adopted a tacit attitude and allowed the East China Sea Fleet to smoothly pass through the Taiwan Strait into the Paracel Battlefield.
We salute the martyrs who died in the Battle of the Paracel Sea, thank you for defending the dignity of the motherland with your blood and lives, for repelling the aggressors with your strong will and spirit of seeing death as a homecoming, and for safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.
The martyrs who died in the Battle of Xisha are immortal!