Sino-Vietnamese War (1979): What was the end results of it ?
Footage of the PLA seizing the city of Caobang, 1979. Near the end you can see a gathering of a large number of Vietnamese POWs. You can even see some Female militia among the captured.
Some photos from the 1979 War and post-war battles;
antiterror13
Brigadier
At that time , 1979 ... China was at the weakest, just 3 years from big chaos and cultural revolution. While Vietnam was in full confident and arrogant after just defeated the US 4 years ago
Read this book, very good book and will tell you all about the war
The war was very beneficial to China and the main points are
* Met the main objective that The USSR is a paper tiger and didn't help Vietnam.
* The other objective wasn't met which was "to force Vietnam out of Cambodia"
* China managed to destroy most of Vietnamese armed forces in the northern part and also destroyed everything when PLA retreated
* To realize that China need to reform the arm forces as it was to obsolete
* Huge loses on both sides
* China gained great respect from ASEAN countries and the West
Also the best Chinese armed forces at that time were stationed in the north bordering USSR in a fear that the USSR might invade China
Read this book, very good book and will tell you all about the war
The war was very beneficial to China and the main points are
* Met the main objective that The USSR is a paper tiger and didn't help Vietnam.
* The other objective wasn't met which was "to force Vietnam out of Cambodia"
* China managed to destroy most of Vietnamese armed forces in the northern part and also destroyed everything when PLA retreated
* To realize that China need to reform the arm forces as it was to obsolete
* Huge loses on both sides
* China gained great respect from ASEAN countries and the West
Also the best Chinese armed forces at that time were stationed in the north bordering USSR in a fear that the USSR might invade China
Last edited:
D
Deleted member 23272
Guest
Plus, even US independent estimates of casualty figures shows China inflicted higher casualties on Vietnam and took more prisoners. This was despite China being the attacking force, being inferior to the Vietnamese army in both armaments and experience, and the fact Vietnam is famous for having one of the world's most easily defensible terrains.
So really, per the parameters available to China at the time, they performed remarkably well.
I have this book and recommended it to be read to gain the general understanding of why China and Deng had to fight this limited war with Vietnam along with the domestic political dynamics not to mention the things you mentioned above.
Estimates for Vietnamese losses are all over the place, but what isn't disputed is that China took ~1600 prisoners vs Vietnam which took ~200. Despite Chinese forces being on the advance and in unfamiliar territory, factors which should strongly skew the captured ratio towards Vietnam.
Casualty rates were likely around 8-14 to 1 in favor to the PLA, if we use the common undisputed estimate of prisoners as the low end and the PLA battle reports claims as the high end.
PLA had artillery superiority, better tanks/vehicles and had the organizational experience of having taught much of the VPA forces during the US-Vietnam war.
China's decision to withdraw was based on the experience of the Korean war. After achieving a swift battlefield defeat of the enemy through encirclement and maneuver tactics, if the troops dig in, it will result in mass casualties compared to the previous phase. Obviously Vietnam does not have nearly as much firepower as USA, but the principle would be the same.
Beijing was not fighting for conquest of inhabitated territory to begin with (hence, no strategic air force bombing), getting stuck in, forced to mobilize, potentially losing 10 000s of troops, would have ruined Deng's political career. Deng was nowhere near as powerful in convincing people as Mao.
I think despite the civilian societal chaos, the army was not really affected. During the cultural revolution, it was the army that remained professional and made sure the riots did not spill over into anarchy.
A post from Unz Review:
(Poster: )
(Article : "Year of the Dragon: Silk Roads, BRICS Roads, Sino-Roads" by Pepe Escobar)
" CCP’s military looks nifty on paper, but we may see a repeat of recent histoey, when another massacre, the China–instigated Ba Chúc Massacre, led by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge who slaughtered, tortured, beheaded 3,157 Vietnamese souls in 1978, then when the Viet Army invaded Cambodia to oust Pol Pot, China invaded from the north, repulsed by the Vietnamese Army which killed 100 PLA for each Viet soldier KIA !"
I would like to counter this claim of "Vietnamese Army which killed 100 PLA for each Viet soldier KIA". Can anyone help? Perhaps a source that states a more or less accurate ratio of Vietnamese to Chinese losses. (Thanks for any help.)
(Poster: )
(Article : "Year of the Dragon: Silk Roads, BRICS Roads, Sino-Roads" by Pepe Escobar)
" CCP’s military looks nifty on paper, but we may see a repeat of recent histoey, when another massacre, the China–instigated Ba Chúc Massacre, led by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge who slaughtered, tortured, beheaded 3,157 Vietnamese souls in 1978, then when the Viet Army invaded Cambodia to oust Pol Pot, China invaded from the north, repulsed by the Vietnamese Army which killed 100 PLA for each Viet soldier KIA !"
I would like to counter this claim of "Vietnamese Army which killed 100 PLA for each Viet soldier KIA". Can anyone help? Perhaps a source that states a more or less accurate ratio of Vietnamese to Chinese losses. (Thanks for any help.)