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In 1979, Sino-Vietnamese relations deteriorated rapidly, and Vietnam posed a serious threat to peace and stability on the mainland border.
Under such circumstances, our army launched a self-defense counterattack against the Vietnamese army, which violated the border with the mainland.
In this counterattack against Vietnam, the two generals Xu Shiyou and Yang Dezhi, the commanders of front-line operations, are familiar to everyone.
Xu Shiyou and Yang Dezhi
And behind them, there is another heavyweight, who is he?
Counterattack against Vietnam
He was Marshal Xu Xiangqian, who was the mainland's defense minister at the time.
In 1978, Marshal Xu Xiangqian, who was already 77 years old, succeeded Marshal Ye Jianying and became the mainland's defense minister.
And not long after, the "old" defense minister ushered in his first challenge in office.
In 1975, Vietnam had just won the War of Resistance Against the United States, but at this time they did not focus on national construction, but relied on the support of the Soviet Union to vigorously promote regional hegemony.
China and Vietnam were originally friendly countries with mountains and rivers, and in the mid-20th century, the mainland provided much military and economic support to Vietnam.
At this time, Vietnam was ungrateful and repeatedly harassed the border areas of the mainland and harmed many ordinary people on the mainland.
In the face of such a provocation, the mainland naturally cannot sit idly by.
Xu Xiangqian
In February 1979, the border guards of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on the Sino-Vietnamese border entered their positions and sounded the clarion call for a self-defense counterattack.
After the battle began, General Xu Shiyou and General Yang Dezhi commanded the troops of the Guangzhou Military Region and the Kunming Military Region to fight on the front line.
Marshal Xu Xiangqian sat in Beijing, dispatching and directing the battle situation.
Although Marshal Xu Xiangqian was not on the front line, he needed to pay attention to the battle reports coming from the front at all times, and carried out strategic deployments and military movements, and more importantly, he had to take into account the overall situation.
At this time, the enemies of the mainland were not only Vietnam, which had already exchanged fire in the south, but also the relations between the Soviet Union, a superpower in the north, and the mainland.
Therefore, Xu Shuai not only had to deal a blow to the invading Vietnamese army, but also had to pay attention to every move of the Soviet Union in the north, and the pressure on Xu Shuai's shoulders was unimaginable to ordinary people.
Faced with such a situation, Xu Shuai formulated a quick battle plan to deal a devastating blow to the Vietnamese army in the shortest possible time.
However, after the U.S.-Vietnam War, the Vietnamese army broke out with strong combat effectiveness, and they used guerrilla tactics, causing heavy casualties to our army.
Faced with the casualty figures reported on the front line and the battle situation that could not be advanced for a long time, Xu Shuai saw it in his eyes and was anxious in his heart.
After many days of careful consideration, Xu Shuai made a decision to temporarily ignore the strategic pressure of the Soviet Union in the north, concentrate the superior forces and artillery fire of our army, and launch a fierce attack in the direction of Vietnam.
After seeing the true strength of our army, the Vietnamese army, which was already of average strength, finally couldn't resist it and began to retreat one after another.
Our army, on the other hand, marched all the way, capturing many important cities in Vietnam, and after capturing the Vietnamese military town of Lang Son, the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi, was completely exposed to the military range of our army.
So far, our army has basically won a victory in the battle.
On 5 March, our army issued a statement that the expectation of a self-defense counterattack had been basically achieved, and that from that day on, Chinese troops would withdraw from Vietnam one after another and return to the Sino-Vietnamese border area.
Such a victory in the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam was inseparable from the careful command of Marshal Xu Xiangqian, who still paid a lot of effort despite being in the rear.
According to the memories of the people around Xu Shuai at that time, in those days, Xu Shuai seemed to have returned to the years of Jin Ge Iron Horse decades ago.
Xu Shuai had a habit of sleeping late and eating much less than usual whenever he commanded a battle.
Xu Shuai, who was already over the age of old, was already in poor health, and after such a long period of exertion, his body couldn't bear it and fell ill.
Xu Shuai dragged his sick body and commanded the troops to complete the victory of the self-defense counterattack.
Rong Ma for life
The victory of a self-defense counterattack against Vietnam is only the tip of the iceberg for Xu Shuai's star-studded credit book.
As the first graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, Marshal Xu Xiangqian, as early as the National Revolution, he participated in the Eastern Expedition against the warlord Chen Jiongming.
After that, he joined our party and participated in many wars such as the Guangzhou Uprising.
After the establishment of the Red Army, he served as the commander of the Red Fourth Army and commanded a series of anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaigns against the Kuomintang, making great achievements.
For a time, Xu Xiangqian's name, the enemy was all terrified.
During the Anti-Japanese War, Xu Shuai successively served as the deputy commander of the 129th Division and the commander of the first column of the Eighth Route Army, commanding many battles.
During the War of Liberation, he successively commanded the Linfen Campaign, the Jinzhong Campaign, and the Taiyuan Campaign, liberating dozens of cities, including Taiyuan, and annihilating countless Kuomintang reactionary troops.
Xu Shuai's fighting style is just like his name, the more he faces tough battles, the more he bravely moves forward, he has devoted all his life to the army, leading our people's army to create one brilliant achievement after another.
Although Xu Shuai has made countless contributions in his life, he is not complacent because of this.
Xu Shuai is kind and simple in daily life, loves soldiers like a son, and is approachable.
Because of his simplicity and kind character, the soldiers affectionately called him "Marshal Buyi".
Xu Shuai's life is also very much in line with this title, Xu Shuai has been simple all his life, and he has never sought half a benefit for himself or his relatives because of his own merits.
Even when his daughter got married, he only gave a fountain pen as a dowry.
Xu Shuai's spirit of keeping the bitterness to himself and dedicating all the sweetness to the people is worthy of our learning and praise. Xu Shuai dedicated his life to the people and the revolutionary cause, and deserves the respect and love of each of us.
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