On February 17, 1979, in the face of Vietnam's groundless accusations and repeated acts of sending troops to undermine the security of the mainland's frontiers, the mainland government, after repeated warnings were ineffective, decided to send troops to Vietnam to crush Vietnam's aggressive arrogance, which is the origin of the famous self-defense counterattack against Vietnam.
In less than a month, Vietnam tasted the results of defeat, and after achieving its strategic objectives, our army also chose to withdraw from Vietnamese territory and did not continue to stay in Vietnam, and the self-defense counterattack war against Vietnam ended.
On the surface, the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam was a military contest between China and Vietnam, but if we look at the world background at that time, we can see that this war seems to be related to the Soviet Union and the United States.
How strange is that? How could China's war with Vietnam be related to the Soviet Union and the United States? I am afraid that we need to start with the Cold War at that time.
China and the United States established diplomatic relations and jointly resisted the Soviet Union
On March 5, 1946, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave an "Iron Curtain Speech" that completely opened the cold war.
Churchill
Although the final result of the Cold War was a complete victory for the United States, at the beginning of the Cold War, due to the capitalist cycle and other reasons, the United States fell into a complete disadvantage in the process of confrontation with the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union was a socialist country, and if the Cold War had been won by the Soviet Union, what would have happened to the capitalist countries led by the United States? Presumably, this is also needless to say.
Most importantly, the Soviet Union's military strength at that time was the largest in the world, and if the Soviet Union really launched a war at all costs, then the United States would probably be really difficult to stop the Soviet Union.
In the face of this situation, in order to win the Cold War, the United States must find helpers. However, the Soviet Union was a world-class power, and it was difficult to find a great power that could help the United States against the Soviet Union at that time, and finally the United States set its sights on the rising red power in the East, New China.
Although it was also a socialist country, at that time, because of the zhenbao Island conflict, the relations between New China and the Soviet Union had completely deteriorated, and even the leaders of the mainland at that time were ready to go to war with the Soviet Union.
It was precisely because of this that the United States thought of finding the new China at that time as a helper to contain the Soviet Union. However, the mainland's living environment at that time was harsh, the border was coveted by the Soviet Union, and the international community was suppressed by the capitalist countries headed by the United States, and now the United States is willing to throw an olive branch, which is obviously beneficial to national development, and the mainland leaders are naturally willing to accept it.
On February 21, 1972, US President Richard Nixon visited China, which opened the prelude to the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.
Originally, China and the United States shared common enemies and interests, and the establishment of diplomatic relations should have been very smooth, but at that time, the United States was sloppy on the issue of Taiwan Province of China, resulting in the delay in the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Faced with the issue of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, China's position is that the United States must sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan and immediately withdraw its troops from Taiwan. However, when talking about the issue of Taiwan, the United States always thinks about him from the left and the right, which also leads to the delay in the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, and it was not until an incident occurred later that the United States finally made up its mind.
In December 1978, Vietnam signed a treaty of mutual military assistance with the Soviet Union. The so-called military mutual assistance treaty means that when one of the parties is attacked militarily, the other party must fully assist.
The signing of the Treaty of Mutual Military Assistance between the Soviet Union and Vietnam meant that the Soviet Union would have the right to meddle in Southeast Asian affairs, and U.S. interests in Southeast Asia would be threatened. With this in mind, the United States immediately agreed to the terms of the new Chinese government, hoping that New China would contain the idea of Soviet expansion, and China and the United States also formally established diplomatic relations.
Dissatisfied with the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, Vietnam sent troops to harass the mainland border
Although China established diplomatic relations with the United States, although it was necessary to join hands with the United States to contain the Soviet Union, the benefits brought were also very obvious, and the Western countries led by the United States loosened their blockade against China, and China also ushered in a rare opportunity for development.
The establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States is good for China, but Vietnam feels very uncomfortable about it. This has to start with the relationship between the United States and Vietnam at that time.
In 1954, with the help of New China, Vietnam expelled the French colonists, and vietnam launched a fierce war of unification, and the army led by the Communist Party of Vietnam fought against the puppet regime in the south for the leadership of the country.
Because of the same socialist camp, in this war of unification, the Soviet Union chose to support the communist army in Vietnam. For its own interests in the Asian region, the United States also chose to intervene in this war, expressed support for the South Puppet regime in Vietnam, and provided relevant assistance.
The war of unification in Vietnam was the result of the victory of the socialist camp led by the Soviet Union, and the United States withdrew its troops from Vietnam in 1973.
It is worth mentioning that Vietnam can drive out the United States, which is also with the help of China. At that time, The new Chinese economy had not yet developed, and we were also living in tight belts, and in this case, New China was still aiding Vietnam with more than $20 billion.
China assists Vietnamese rice
In addition to material assistance, New China also expressed political support for Vietnam. When war broke out between the United States and Vietnam, New China repeatedly warned the United States that it was not allowed to cross the 17th parallel. Considering the bitter lessons of the Korean War, in the subsequent war, the United States did not cross the 17th parallel, and it was in this context that Vietnam was able to drive out the Americans and win the war.
Although it won the war, Vietnam and the United States were completely married, and Vietnam was very disgusted with the United States. At this time, Vietnam suddenly heard about the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, and unilaterally believed that China had betrayed him, so it threw itself into the arms of the Soviet Union and began to help the Soviet Union contain China.
At that time, the Vietnamese misunderstood their own strength, believing that they could drive out the Americans in the war because of their strength and ignored the help of the Soviet Union and China.
With this erroneous perception, less than a month after signing the military mutual assistance treaty with the Soviet Union, Vietnam sent troops to occupy Cambodia and frequently sent troops to harass the mainland border.
How to deal with the problem of Vietnam sending troops to harass the border?
Vietnam's behavior has clearly threatened the lives of people on the mainland border, and the mainland government must send troops to curb Vietnam's behavior. However, as we have already said, Vietnam has signed a military mutual assistance treaty with the Soviet Union, and if we start a war with Vietnam, the Soviet Union will inevitably help Vietnam militarily against us.
At that time, the mainland was in the stage of development, and there was still a certain gap in military strength compared with the Soviet Union, and if there was really a conflict with the Soviet Union because of Vietnam, the outcome of victory or defeat would be ignored, and the momentum of the mainland's development would definitely be interrupted.
How to deal with Vietnam's groundless provocations and avoid a head-on conflict with the Soviet Union? This question became a question that Chinese leaders pondered at the time.
At that time, some domestic military experts believed that China's action at this time could not be too large, otherwise it might interrupt the country's development momentum, in case of real conflict with the Soviet Union behind Vietnam, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Some people hold the opposite opinion, believing that Vietnam has hit its own doorstep, and at this time China still maintains a tolerant and peaceful attitude to deal with this matter, which will only make Vietnam's arrogance more and more arrogant, and it is necessary to send troops to give Vietnam a head-on blow.
In the face of many different voices, Deng Xiaoping was also deeply involved in thinking. At that time, China's relations with the Soviet Union had deteriorated, and the reason why Vietnam dared to challenge China's majesty was because of the soviet union's support behind it, and with Vietnam's provocation, Vietnam and the Soviet Union had formed a trap for China, and China had to repel one of them, so that it could develop with peace of mind. Given the soviet union's military might, Vietnam became China's only option.
However, once it fights with Vietnam, the Soviet Union will inevitably participate in the war, and China will also fall into the quagmire of war and lose the opportunity for its own development.
In this way, if you want to solve the dilemma at hand, the most important thing is speed, if you want to avoid a direct conflict with the Soviet Union, China must solve Vietnam as quickly as possible, and end the war before the Soviet Union can react. As soon as he thought of this, Deng Xiaoping had an idea in his heart.
Deng Xiaoping visited the United States
In January 1979, China and the United States formally established diplomatic relations. Taking this opportunity, Deng Xiaoping took a flight across the Pacific Ocean to the United States and held friendly interviews with the United States Government.
Deng Xiaoping visited the United States
The purpose of Deng Xiaoping's interview was very simple, that is, to tell the US Government that New China was going to send troops to strike Vietnam, and hoped that the United States would then be able to express its approval of New China's move internationally.
Upon learning of Deng's purpose, the U.S. government was shocked. Because if the U.S. government really agreed to Deng Xiaoping's request, wouldn't it be telling the Soviet Union that China and the United States colluded to attack Vietnam and undermine the Soviet Union's layout in Southeast Asia? At that time, when the Soviet Union learned about it, it was bound to go to war.
Once war broke out between the United States and the Soviet Union, it also meant the outbreak of World War III, which was definitely a huge blow to the United States, which was in urgent need of economic development at that time and the domestic war-weary mood was high, so the US government did not want to agree to Deng Xiaoping's request.
The problem, however, is that just a few days after the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, The Chinese leader visited the United States, and when China really sent troops to Vietnam, the Soviet Union must suspect that the United States is supporting it behind its back, even if the United States comes forward to explain that the Soviet Union will not necessarily believe it.
Thinking of the consequences of New China's invasion of Vietnam, the United States was also frightened into a cold sweat, vigorously dissuaded Deng Xiaoping from abandoning this idea, and proposed economic blockade, political isolation and other methods, hoping to solve this problem by means other than military.
Faced with the dissuasion of the US government, Deng Xiaoping calmly said:
The reason why New China told the US Government that it was about to launch military operations against Vietnam was not that it needed the consent of the United States, nor did it come to the United States to find a way, but we just came out of trust in our partners and came to tell you about it. If the US side has any concerns, it will take two months to consider.
After the Sino-US meeting, the US Government held a meeting to discuss countermeasures and tried its best to get New China to abandon the idea of sending troops to Vietnam, but in the end the US Government found it difficult to carry out this matter.
After his visit to the United States, Deng Xiaoping returned home and began to prepare for a self-defense counterattack against Vietnam.
The self-defense counterattack against Vietnam officially broke out
On February 17, 1979, eight group armies of the Mainland People's Liberation Army (PLA) were assembled in Yunnan, Guangxi Province, totaling 560,000 people. With Deng Xiaoping's orders, 560,000 troops began to sweep through southern Xinjiang, forming a pincer offensive against Vietnam. In this war, Vietnam finally realized the great combat power of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
Under the saturated firepower of the People's Liberation Army, Vietnam's military strength, which was ranked third in the world on paper at the time, was like a paper paste, and was defeated by the Plaster. On the path of the PLA, no Vietnamese army can resist our front.
Because Deng Xiaoping paid a state visit to the United States before the war, the Soviet Union suspected that the United States was behind the support of the United States in the face of the new China's invasion of Vietnam, did not dare to act rashly, and focused its attention on the United States, planning to follow closely after the United States attacked.
So in the beginning, the Soviet Union only provided weapons aid to Vietnam, intending to make Vietnam resist the Chinese People's Liberation Army for a period of time, but what the Soviet Union did not expect was that the war would end so quickly.
In less than a month, all the cities in northern Vietnam have completely fallen, and even Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, has become the turtle in the urn of the People's Liberation Army, and whether Hanoi will fall depends on the will of the People's Liberation Army.
Just when the international thought that the PLA would take Hanoi with a single blow, the PLA made an unbelievable decision to withdraw all of the PLA from Vietnam. With the withdrawal of the People's Liberation Army, the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam came to an end.
Some people may not understand, they have all hit the capital of Vietnam, why did they end the war so crisply and neatly? In fact, this is all because the Military Pressure on us by the Soviet Union is too great.
Deng Xiaoping's visit to the United States was, in the final analysis, just an "empty city plan," and whether the United States will really support us, we have no guarantee at all, so the United States only needs to hold the Soviet Union's attention for a period of time.
When the Soviet Union reacts and knows that China has not signed a relevant agreement with the United States, and China is still in a state of war with Vietnam, then the Soviet Union will inevitably intervene in the war. As a result, China simply ended the war neatly, so if the Soviet Union did not want to cause a world war, it would certainly be impossible to send troops to attack China, so that our strategic purpose was also achieved.
If we look at the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam in thirty years, we will admire Deng Gong's great talent and strategy more and more.
The victory in the counterattack against vietnamese self-defense can be said to be three shots in one shot. First of all, Vietnam's arrogance was completely extinguished, and after that Vietnam no longer dared to have any careful thoughts about China, and the mainland also retained its dignity internationally.
Secondly, the self-defense counterattack war against Vietnam ended cleanly, so that the Soviet Union had no excuse to intervene in the war, avoiding the further expansion of the war, and also breaking the Soviet Union's idea of intervening in Southeast Asia, breaking the Soviet Union's blockade of China, and ushering in an environment of peaceful development for China.
Finally, through this war, the Soviet Union also thoroughly understood the changes in the international pattern, and knew that if it continued to oppose China, then it was only a matter of time before the Soviet Union was defeated in a two-front war against China and the United States at the same time. After this war, China's relations with the Soviet Union were indeed slowly easing.
From the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, we can see that Deng Xiaoping's great military strategy and bold and accurate insight broke the Soviet Union's layout in Southeast Asia in a clever way, and created an environment for peaceful development while safeguarding national dignity.
The reason why New China can develop from a poor and weak country to a existence that can now break the wrist with the United States in the international arena is entirely because there are many leaders like Chairman Mao and Deng Gong who are leading us forward. It is believed that with the development of time, the mainland will one day be able to achieve the goal of rejuvenating the great Chinese nation.