In March 1946, Chinese and French armies engaged in fierce clashes in the coastal phong area. The battle was fierce and the artillery was incessant. According to incomplete statistics, after the end of the battle, our side annihilated a total of 3,000 captured French troops, while our side only lost more than 30 people. This result not only shocked France, but also surprised everyone.
This victory was a great victory in the Sino-French war, and it was also a war in which the mainland defeated imperialism and the national humiliation of the motherland for a hundred years! Let the French, who once set foot on the territory of the mainland, understand the great transformation of the mainland's military strength, the strength of the continent's national strength, and the sanctity of the mainland. It also made the continent, which was a victorious country in World War II, straighten its waist and have more confidence and voice in the international community.
Picture 丨 Group photo after the surrender ceremony
But at the end of the Second World War, why did China and France, which were also victorious powers, go to war? How did the Chinese military respond to achieve such a huge effect? What was the impact of victory in this war? Next, dig deeper into this little-known Sino-French battle of coastal defense.
North Vietnam storm
On August 15, 1945, Japan's unconditional surrender declared the end of World War II. According to the Provisions of the Potsdam Proclamation, the Sino-Indian Peninsula is divided into two. Taking the 16th parallel north, the southern side was surrendered to the British army, and the northern side was surrendered to the Chinese army. On September 12, the Chinese delegation arrived in Hanoi to arrange for the landing.
The situation in Vietnam at this time was complex, and Britain, which had been the recipient of the surrender, did not have enough troops at this time to take care of it, so that it could be handed over to France in October. On 5 October, General Leclerc of France arrived in Saigon as a representative of the French surrender to Japan and began work to restore colonial rule.
Figure丨 Divided China-India Peninsula
Our international environment at that time was also quite unfavorable. The first is the French side, which intends to restore colonial rule, which is a big threat to the mainland. Then there were the forces behind France, both the United States and Britain supported French colonial expansion and provided military assistance on all fronts.
Domestically, chiang kai-shek launched the Wuhuashan Incident in order to stabilize his own power, and put Long Yun, the leader of the Dian army, under house arrest. The multifaceted tug-of-war led the Nationalist government to abandon its original plan and agree to hand over the area north of Vietnam to France in exchange for Western political support and economic aid.
On 7 February 1946, as France began to test the bottom line of our occupation forces, eight British-supported transport planes descended with a full load of soldiers at Hue airfield north of the 16th Parallel. This move infuriated us, when General Chen Xiuhe, the representative of the Chinese Army Headquarters in Vietnam, directly ordered that the British and French troops be directly captured and taken into custody. This confrontation directly pushed the two countries together and engaged in a head-on confrontation.
Location of Hue Airport (Hue Airport is now Hue Fuji International Airport)
On February 28, after several rounds of negotiations, China and France signed the Sino-French Agreement. Although the negotiation process was not smooth, in the end, the good thing was that an agreement was reached. The agreement stipulates a specific time for the handover of defense and evacuation from Vietnam, but the agreement does not specify the time for the landing of French troops in Coastal Phong.
Ma Zhao, who participated in the negotiations at the time, said that everyone present was very dissatisfied with this arrangement, but for the sake of the overall situation, he was still ready to obey the order to hand over defense. However, france's request for a time for The Sixth to land in Haiphong was unacceptable. Because at that time, there were a large number of Chinese ships in the port of Haiphong, and it was impossible to move. The Chinese side suggested that the French side suspend the login, but the French side still insisted on its own ideas, and the two sides reached an impasse on this time issue.
Figure 丨 Ma Ying
On the evening of March 4, China and France held another meeting, the French side still asked to log in to Haiphong on March 6, our side still did not agree, and the commissioner Chen Xiuhe attending the meeting gave a warning to the French side, clearly expressing the necessity and two-way nature of the negotiations.
Figure丨The negotiation process of the "Franco-Vietnamese Preliminary Agreement" is the same as before
Ma Believe believes that the key to the problem lies in the agreement between France and Vietnam, so communicate with the Vietnamese side and do not sign the Franco-Vietnamese agreement without surrendering. This directly forced the French side to accept the conditions of the Vietnamese side. Subsequently, China and France finally discussed and decided that France would first sign the "Preliminary Agreement between France and Vietnam" on March 6, and then land in Haiphong on the morning of March 7.
In response to this result, we have made many concessions. However, on the morning of the 5th, the French side unilaterally announced to Wang Lihuan, commander of the 130th Division of the 53rd Army, that the French army would land in Haiphong early on the morning of the 6th.
This directly ignores the previous negotiations, and its arrogant attitude is not at all what a country capitulating in World War II should have! As a victorious power at that time, our side was justified in accepting the surrendered lands according to the provisions of the Potsdam Proclamation and defending the last line of defense of Vietnam with benevolence and morality. France, on the other hand, with only the power of Britain and the United States behind it, a ruined country that is almost completely occupied, dares to clamor like this.
Photo丨Potsdam Proclamation
It can be seen from this that France still does not pay attention to the mainland. He still thought that the mainland at that time was still a country trampled by people under the corrupt Qing government before. These so-called negotiations were nothing more than a façade for their military operations and attempted to arrive in Hanoi early with the intention of obstructing the signing of the Preliminary Franco-Vietnamese Agreement by force.
Wang Lihuan was also very angry and directly rejected the other party's unreasonable request. No matter what the French side said, it all returned to the past as "unordained". At this point, the confrontation between China and France has begun to surge in a dark tide.
Sino-French confrontation
After rejecting France's request to forcibly log in to coastal defense in advance, Wang Lihuan immediately analyzed the situation at that time, and it turned out that there was a reason for such arrogance. Not only is he backed by two countries, but also because France is already quietly conducting military activities. The French fleet had already departed from South Vietnam to the port of Haiphong, and the estimated arrival time was the early morning of the 6th.
Picture丨 French warship "Triumph"
At present, this storm is obviously a conspiracy of the French side, and the negotiations after several twists and turns are only a cover in the end. Its purpose is mainly to organize the signing of the "Franco-Vietnamese Preliminary Agreement" between France and Vietnam by force, and the fundamental purpose is to facilitate his subsequent expansionary behavior!
After analyzing the situation, Wang Lihuan, who had been in the battlefield for a long time, immediately judged that the French army was about to forcibly land and was ready to face it. After making preparations for battle, Wang Lihuan immediately made a series of combat readiness instructions. First, the lighthouse of coastal defense was closed and the port of coastal defense was sealed; second, from the evening of March 5, it entered a state of combat readiness; third, all ships in the port of coastal defense were required to drive into the inland river to avoid the fighting.
Pictured as a warrior preparing for battle
Arranging for his subordinates to arrange the combat readiness of the port station, Wang Lihuan himself went to the coast and the dock department to make position deployment. The entire city of Haiphong was ready for battle, but at that time the Chinese defenders of Haiphong only had the 130th Division and the 1st Battalion of the 388th Regiment, and the heavy firepower was only mortars. Two other battalions of mountain artillery arrived at a rapid pace, preparing for an artillery attack on the French fleet.
Figure 丨 Wang Lihuan
At 7:50 a.m. on March 6, Wang Lihuan received a report that the French fleet was close to the port, and that our side had fired more than a dozen signal bombs to stop it, but did not get a response from the other side and continued to move forward.
At 8 a.m. on March 6, a dozen French fleets had already sailed past the South Gate and approached the port, approaching in a lineup of one, two, and six, and several warships waiting outside the port to enter.
There were several cruisers, destroyers and frigates in the French fleet, and the Ninth Colonial Division, the Far East Naval Combat Brigade and other units also followed the fleet. According to rough statistics, the French army dispatched about 20,000 people this time. Not only that, but the main fleet of the French fleet was equipped with new weapons and even carried a squadron of attack aircraft. This change, which could provide long-range air support at any time, was a major boost to the French fleet.
Picture 丨 Warship diagram
In the face of frequent provocations by the French army, the Chinese army has been stopping the firing of air guns. But the French still regarded our side as the previous unit led by the Qing government and had no combat strength. It even claims that our army has no warships, no aircraft, not even tanks or artillery.
The arrogant French still believed that the mainland was inferior in combat, so it simply ignored the warning and even fired first. The gun hit the ammunition depot directly on the dock, because the ammunition depot stored a large number of mines, which was directly ignited and detonated. A huge explosion sounded in the city of Haiphong, and nearby buildings were directly destroyed by the waves.
Since the other side is not kind, there is no need for our side to treat each other with courtesy, and the Chinese army immediately began to fight back, no longer being merciful. Especially after the ammunition depot was destroyed, it stimulated the blood and fighting spirit of our fighters!
Figure丨 Location of Haiphong City
During the engagement, french warships tried to land forcibly twice, but were repelled by our guards. The French fleet had to stop outside the port for a short rest, and the Chinese army achieved a stage victory in this conquest.
However, because of the range problem, our army could not hit the enemy, so some soldiers directly rushed to the front line to throw grenades, explosive packs and the like on. But in the face of well-equipped warships, the effect is minimal. So, fight, yes, but only wait for the right moment.
Considering that the mountain artillery was not enough to destroy the warship, the Chinese troops mobilized the Bazooka bazooka to hide inside the mountain artillery. Only when the French warships approached the docks, they launched a fierce attack. Reinforcements from the 60th Army arrived, bringing with them dozens of artillery pieces and more than thirty rocket launchers.
Picture 丨 Bazooka rocket
French warships, although well-equipped enough, were more suitable for long-range attacks than for close combat. In places like the docks, the Light and Heavy Weapons of the Chinese Troops can be regarded as having the advantage. Soon, the French were ready to attack again, this time dividing the fleet into three echelons.
The Chinese troops also took advantage of this opportunity to launch a fierce attack on it. More than a dozen artillery pieces were launched together, and the war raged on. All three oncoming warships were hit, one was directly sunk, and two were heavily damaged and dying. The sudden attack caught the French off guard, and the warships trying to evacuate were thrown into disarray and eventually trapped in a small harbor. It directly became the palm of our army, our troops directly came forward to attack, and the battlefield initiated by France eventually evolved into our unilateral attack on France.
Picture 丨 Old photo of the warship
France never dreamed that an army that was once so vulnerable could have such strength in front of it. Watching his compatriots either burned to death, or hit by shells, or fall into the sea, he gradually became afraid. After all, whether it is equipped with weapons or armed forces, Chinese troops are not at all comparable.
At 10:30 on March 6, France raised its white flag and surrendered.
Shame on the snow
Before France surrendered, it also tried to ask the US Coastal Defense Liaison Department to intervene. Even when this forced landing was unsuccessful, the battle losses were enormous, and the french side even made very unreasonable demands.
The French side demanded that the Chinese flag and the white flag be handed over to the shore for negotiations, not to mention that it would be over. Just by letting the Chinese flag hang with the white flag, I personally feel that the French side has not forgotten its brain in the harbor. Our liaison officer directly refused this, replying that the Chinese flag never hangs with the white flag. Subsequently, France hung the French flag and the white flag, which allowed them to enter the shore.
Pictured by General Abanoo
Even so, when meeting and negotiating, the French representative Abanoo was still extremely tough. Fortunately, Wang Lihuan was not a weak man, and with his tough attitude, he dismissed Abanu's slander one by one, and successfully forced the French side to admit his mistakes.
After some negotiations, China and France signed the "Main Points of agreement between the Chinese and French armies on the 3.6 incident in Haiphong", which not only made France admit its mistake, but also ordered France to compensate all residents of Haiphong for the loss of life and property. It also demanded that the French no longer sneak into the sea defenses, and agreed to release the prisoners and allow the French to salvage the sunken and wounded warships.
Pictured the battleship that was hit
The Sino-French Battle of Coastal Defense was a very brilliant battle, a counterattack battle with a huge disparity in strength.
Our troops at that time were quite small, and even with the support troops that arrived later, the total number was only two or three thousand. At that time, the Strength of the French Army on the ground alone reached as many as 20,000 people.
It is even inferior to the enemy in terms of weapons. The strongest firepower of our army at that time was only the Japanese mountain gun, which was more used in land combat, whether it was range or explosive strength, and basically had no lethality to sea combat. Later, although there were Bazooka bazookas as a supplement, they were still unqualified in the face of the heavy fleet. Therefore, in this case, it is more necessary to fight strategy than to fight head-on strength. That's why there was a warship into the harbor, and a melee attack came out.
Map 丨 map
In this battle, our army fully borrowed the terrain environment and gave full play to its own advantages. Take timely attacks on the enemy through the different properties of the weapons. As a result, France has a body of ability and cannot be used, no matter how sophisticated the weapons are equipped, after all, it is in the harbor land, ready to be slaughtered.
The biggest problem in this battle was actually the arrogance of France, which is the realistic explanation of the inevitable defeat of the arrogant army. However, if France has made a detailed investigation and analysis and fully understood the specific situation and terrain environment of our side, how can it be that with its excellent equipment and abundant troops, we will lose 30 people and annihilate and capture 3,000 enemy people.
Picture 丨 Spirited warrior
Although the Sino-French coastal defense campaign did not have a great impact on the international community, it was of great significance to our army! He greatly improved the morale of our army, was a battle to show the strength of the mainland, and also told the enemy that the mainland is not afraid of any coercion! Soldiers will come to cover the water and dare to fight!