The self-defense counterattack against Vietnam was a war between China and neighboring Vietnam that took place between mid-February and mid-March 1979.
Where is Vietnam's confidence?
At the end of 1978, Sino-Vietnamese relations could be said to have reached a situation on the verge of rupture, and there were many factors in this situation, which was also the fundamental reason for the outbreak of war between China and Vietnam.
At this time, however, Vietnam is posing as "invincible in Asia" to face this stalemate on the mainland, not to seek a politically negotiated solution, but to actively prepare for war.
At that time, when Chu Hui Min, then director of the General Political Bureau of the Vietnam People's Army, talked about his policy on the Sino-Vietnamese issue in public, he said with great arrogance:
"The Vietnam People's Army is fully capable of crushing the PLA's attempt at the first time and crushing the strategic determination of the first echelon of 1.5 million people placed by the PLA in the main direction!"
Zhu Huimin
Where does Vietnam's confidence come from?
From 1955 to 1975, which lasted 20 years, Vietnam had just beaten the world military power, the United States, away, which was the beginning of its inner expansion.
The withdrawal of the US military, on the one hand, has left a large number of advanced weapons and equipment for Vietnam, which has greatly improved its military equipment. On the other hand, after 20 years of fighting with the US military, the Vietnamese army does have a very strong combat effectiveness and experience in actual combat, which is far from being comparable to the armies of peaceful countries.
U.S. forces in the Vietnam War
To this end, Vietnam did not hesitate to live as the "third military power in the world", and at the same time launched a war of aggression against Laos and Cambodia, with the intention of establishing the so-called "Federation of Indochina", and began to dream of unrealistic hegemony.
Of course, the main reason is that Vietnam has the Soviet Union behind it, because not long ago, Vietnam and the Soviet Union just signed the "Soviet-Vietnamese Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation."
At that time, in the eyes of the vast majority of Vietnamese, the People's Liberation Army was nothing more than a large number and a large scale, and its troops were not only backward in equipment, but also the combat capabilities of the troops were completely not on the same level as them.
So much so that before the outbreak of the war, the elite 3rd Division of the Vietnamese Army even shouted such an arrogant slogan as "fight until friendship pass to eat breakfast, and fight to Nanning for the Spring Festival". But they apparently forgot how much Chinese support helped and paid for the war between Vietnam and the United States.
Deng Xiaoping: It depends on which country fights
In 1978, after Vietnam invaded Cambodia, friction between Vietnam and China also began to escalate. Vietnam not only implemented an extreme anti-Chinese policy at home, expelling more than 200,000 overseas Chinese, but also openly firing guns at China's territory, and by the end of 1978, the border bloodshed had risen to an astonishing 1,100, reaching the point of "dissuading and not listening."
With the escalation of the conflict, Vietnam's acts of aggression have seriously threatened the security of China's borders and national stability. In this regard, the self-defense counterattack of the Party Central Committee against Vietnam has also been put on the agenda.
In January 1979, when Deng Xiaoping visited the United States, in Washington, D.C., Deng Xiaoping said publicly and loudly: "For Vietnam, I think that no other way will have any effect except to teach the necessary lessons." ”
Deng Xiaoping visited the United States
During this period, Jimmy Carter, then president of the United States, cautiously mentioned the "lesson" of the United States in Vietnam, but Deng Xiaoping was very calm after listening to it, and he also said confidently: "It depends on which country's army it is!" ”
This is clearly China's last solemn warning!
However, the Vietnamese side did not pay any attention to Deng Xiaoping's remarks at all. But "the higher you fly, the heavier you fall," and the punch in the face comes so quickly.
When the war broke out, the Vietnamese army was completely dumbfounded.
With Xu Shiyou's remark that "there is not a single house left in Liangshan", the 3rd Division of the Vietnamese Army, which originally wanted to go to Friendship Pass for breakfast, was completely annihilated by the People's Liberation Army in Liangshan.
In less than a month, under the powerful offensive of the People's Liberation Army, the Vietnamese army painstakingly built, the so-called unbreakable defense line collapsed, and the capital Hanoi was exposed to the PLA armored torrent, and Vietnam was chaotic for a time.
The PLA's self-defense counterattack operation against Vietnam adheres to the principle of "reasonable, advantageous, and restrained," so even the air force has not been dispatched, which shows that the scale of the war is strictly limited. After achieving its goal, the PLA withdrew.
The self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, to this day, perhaps many people talk about it before and after dinner, and what may come to mind may be all kinds of things between China and Vietnam. In fact, as I said earlier, this war has no less impact on China than the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and it is a "war to break the situation."
The counterattack against Vietnamese self-defense is the true purpose
On the one hand, China's self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, in addition to maintaining stability on the frontier and punishing Vietnam's aggression and "white-eyed wolf" behavior, the more important other aspect is to break the Soviet Union's containment. So in the real sense of this war, the chinese were either Vietnam or the Soviet Union.
In the Soviet Union in the 70s and early 80s, it can be said that the comprehensive national strength was a peak period, and the grand military exercise in 1981 made the entire European country "shiver".
1981 Soviet military exercise
The Soviet Union during this period was also a peak period of its southward policy, and the relations between the Soviet Union and India heated up sharply, but the relations with the mainland were about to reach a freezing point. With India, a powerful "bridgehead" in South Asia, the Soviet Union's southward policy can be described as smooth sailing.
In Vietnam during this period, due to the death of Ho Chi Minh, the new supreme leader of Vietnam, Le Son, went to the pro-Soviet road. On the surface, the reason is that Lê Sun is dissatisfied with the thawing of Sino-US relations, but in fact, the strategic needs of the Soviet Union coincide with Vietnam's expansionist policy, and both sides need each other.
If Vietnam is allowed to continue to expand southward, then it is likely that Thailand will have to face a situation of war with Vietnam, and successive Southeast Asian countries will be "in danger". This is not alarmist, the combat effectiveness of the Vietnamese army can indeed dominate in Southeast Asian countries.
If it is allowed to develop by that time, the Soviet Union's strategic goal of going south can basically be said to have been achieved.
At that time, this strategic route from the South China Sea through the Strait of Malacca to the Indian Ocean will be firmly controlled by the Soviet Union and Vietnam. It can point to the Pacific Ocean to the east, and it can also directly hit the Atlantic Ocean to the south, which is undoubtedly extremely fatal to China.
Geographical location of the Strait of Malacca
In 1978, under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, China's reform and opening up was just beginning, and if this important geographical location was controlled by the Soviet Union, then China's heavy dependence on imported oil resources and foreign trade routes would be basically cut off.
At the same time, once Vietnam completes the annexation of neighboring Southeast Asian countries, then Vietnam will immediately become a resource-rich and populous country. At that time, China will face a north-south attack from Vietnam and the Soviet Union, and the geopolitical environment will be quite unfavorable.
At that time, a large amount of the country's capital, manpower, and material resources will be invested in military defense in both the north and the south. This kind of long-term defense will not only seriously restrict China's development, but also make it impossible to talk about reform and opening up.
Reform and opening up have been decided, and economic development as the core is the national policy of the motherland in the next hundred years, and once it is delayed, it is irresponsible to the country and the people, and in Deng Xiaoping's heart, this is more important than anything else.
Therefore, in the war of self-defense and counterattack against Vietnam, from another aspect, since Vietnam is willing to act as a thug of the Soviet Union, then this war is not fought, and if it is to be fought, it must be "beaten fiercely", only in this way can we contain the pace of Vietnam's expansion and break the strategic siege.
The rapid breakthrough and retreat of the war not only achieved the purpose of punishing Vietnam, but also did not let China fall into the same quagmire of war as the United States. Therefore, it is very necessary to use "cattle knives to kill chickens", which is why China has gathered heavy troops.
Vietnam, on the other hand, was devastated after this battle, and at the same time, in the next 10 years after the war, Vietnam and China fought intermittently on the border for another 10 years. In the past 10 years, in order to resist, 60% of Vietnam's troops have been concentrated on the Sino-Vietnamese border, a large number of manpower and material resources have been completely used for war, and domestic development has almost stagnated, it has been bleak, and a good opportunity for development has been missed.
At this point, Vietnam's dream of dominating Southeast Asia has been completely shattered, and the layout of the Soviet Union's southward strategy in the Indochina Peninsula has been shattered, and the encirclement and containment circle of China envisaged by it has been broken.
The so-called "break a little and live completely" is this truth. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to use the term "game-breaking battle" to describe the self-defense counterattack war against Vietnam.
In the 1970s, the "détente" expected by the United States did not occur due to U.S.-Soviet relations. On the contrary, the Soviet Union gradually extended its strategic tentacles to the Middle East, South Asia and other places, which made the United States feel more pressure. Therefore, in order to maintain and stabilize the political and military situation of the United States in the western Pacific region and expand its influence in the third world, the United States feels the need to improve its relations with China as soon as possible.
At this point, deng xiaoping keenly grasped that this was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for Deng Xiaoping, who was carrying the tremendous pressure of the Soviet Union and was just beginning reform and opening up. Deng Xiaoping made it clear: "The most important thing for us is not to miss this opportunity." ”
However, under the premise that China has great benefits, the "stumbling block" in front of China must be kicked away, which is also a problem that Deng Xiaoping has been thinking about and solving day and night for many days and nights.
The result of this war is undoubtedly the best "good medicine".
When the People's Liberation Army launched a self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, the Soviet Union was left with only a war of words from beginning to end, except for increasing aid. Obviously, Vietnam, an ally, once guaranteed that in the event of a military strike in Vietnam, had an obligation to help eliminate the "threat", which shows that it is a broken promise. This also allowed Deng Xiaoping to see the Soviet Union clearly from reality and find out the bottom line of the Soviet Union.
So, after the war, Deng Xiaoping made an unusually bold and difficult decision, that is, the great disarmament of the Chinese troops.
Speaking of boldness, it is because at the beginning, focusing on the defense in the north was the consistent proposition of Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong, and at this moment, In Deng Xiaoping's mind, China no longer needs to invest a lot of military forces in the north to defend the Soviet Union from going south. But as a leader, it is not an exaggeration to say that everything is responsible for the people, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is bold.
Speaking of difficulties, it was Deng Xiaoping who had to face pressure and incomprehension from all sides of the country, which was undoubtedly very heavy for an old man. For this reason, he said to the people around him: "Disarmament is a matter of offending people, or should I be offended by an old man, and do not hand over the contradictions to the new chairman of the Central Military Commission." ”
From 1891 to 1984, China's disarmament was as high as more than 2 million, but there were still more than 4 million troops, in the eyes of Deng Xiaoping, China was still "overwhelmed", he deeply realized that today, with the increasing development of science and technology, the army can no longer adapt to future wars by relying on scale development, and must rely on quality, and the modernization of the army is the most important task. Instead of engaging in this kind of "impracticality," it is better to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to economic construction. So on June 4, 1985, Deng Xiaoping once again announced to the world that China would disarm another 1 million.
It can be seen that Deng Xiaoping has already considered the matter of disarmament very clearly.
"Get the economy up first, everything will be easy!"
These were the words that Deng Xiaoping often hung on his lips later.
Facts have proved that reform and opening up is a very important turning point for China's development today. Today, China is inseparable from the great policy decision of reform and opening up, and from all the efforts made by Deng Xiaoping for reform and opening up.
The war of self-defense against Vietnam is not limited to a local war, but a game that focuses on the world pattern. Deng Xiaoping's series of decisions have scored points for China in this game, and also reflect his extraordinary strategic vision and the untouchable talent of ordinary people, which is very admirable in height and pattern.