China's 1979 invasion of Vietnam
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The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a border war fought between
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
in early 1979. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's actions against the Khmer Rouge in 1978, which ended the rule of the Chinese-backed
Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 ...
. Both China and Vietnam claimed victory in the last of the
Indochina Wars The Indochina Wars ( vi, Chiến tranh Đông Dương) was a series of wars which were waged in Southeast Asia from 1946 to 1991, by communist Indochinese forces (mainly the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) against anti-communist forces (mainly Fr ...
. Chinese forces invaded northern Vietnam and captured several cities near the
border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...
. On 6 March 1979, China declared that the gate to
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...
was open and that their punitive mission had been achieved. Chinese troops then withdrew from Vietnam. As Vietnamese troops remained in Cambodia until 1989, China was unsuccessful in its goal of dissuading Vietnam from involvement in
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...
. Following the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
in 1991, the Sino-Vietnamese border was finalized. Although unable to deter Vietnam from ousting
Pol Pot Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist ...
from Cambodia, China demonstrated that its
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
communist adversary, the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, was unable to protect its Vietnamese ally.


Names

The Sino-Vietnamese War is known by various names in Chinese and Vietnamese. The neutral names for the war are (Sino-Vietnamese war) in Chinese and (Vietnamese-Chinese border war) in Vietnamese. The Chinese government refers to the war as the "Self-defensive war against Vietnam" () or the "Self-defensive counterattack against Vietnam" (). The Vietnamese government calls it the "War against Chinese expansionism" (). The Sino-Vietnamese War is also known as the
Third Indochina War The Third Indochina War was a series of interconnected armed conflicts, mainly among the various communist factions over strategic influence in Indochina after Communist victory in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in 1975. The conflict primari ...
in
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians h ...
.


Background

Just as the First Indochina War—which emerged from the complex situation following World War II—and the Vietnam War both exploded from the unresolved aftermath of political relations, the Third Indochina War again followed the unresolved problems of the earlier wars. The major allied victors of World War II, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union, all agreed that the area belonged to the French.. As the French did not have the means to immediately retake Indochina, the major powers agreed that the British would take control and troops would occupy the south while Nationalist Chinese forces would move in from the north. Nationalist Chinese troops entered the country to disarm Japanese troops north of the 16th parallel on 14 September 1945. The parallel divided Indochina into Chinese and British controlled zones (see Timeline of World War II (1945)). The British landed in the south rearming the small body of interned French forces as well as parts of the surrendered Japanese forces to aid in retaking southern Vietnam, as there were not enough British troops immediately available. On the urging of the Soviet Union, Ho Chi Minh initially attempted to negotiate with the French, who were slowly reestablishing their control across the area, although still under British control until hostilities had ceased. Once hostilities had ended, the British handed over the territory to the French.. In January 1946, the
Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
won elections across central and northern Vietnam.. On 6 March 1946, Ho signed an agreement allowing French forces to replace Nationalist Chinese forces, in exchange for French recognition of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam as a "free" republic within the
French Union The French Union () was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial empire system, colloquially known as the " French Empire" (). It was the formal end of the "indigenous" () status of French subj ...
, with the specifics of such recognition to be determined by future negotiation. British forces departed on 26 March 1946, leaving Vietnam in the control of the French. The French landed in Hanoi by March 1946 and in November of that year they ousted the Viet Minh from the city. Soon thereafter, the Viet Minh began a
guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics ...
against the French Union forces, beginning the first Indochina War.


French colonialism and the First Indochina War

Vietnam first became a French colony when France invaded in 1858. By the 1880s, the French had expanded their sphere of influence in Southeast Asia to include all of Vietnam, and by 1893 both
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...
and
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...
had become French colonies as well. Rebellions against French colonial power were common up to
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. The European war heightened revolutionary sentiment in Southeast Asia, and the independence-minded population rallied around revolutionaries such as
Hồ Chí Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as ('Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as Pri ...
and others, including royalists. Prior to their attack on
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...
, the Japanese occupied
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
, but left civil administration to the
Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
administration.Hood, S. J. (1992). ''Dragons Entangled: Indochina and the China-Vietnam War''. Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, p. 16. On 9 March 1945, fearing that the Vichy French were about to switch sides to support the Allies, the Japanese overthrew the Vichy administration and forces taking control of Indochina and establishing their own puppet administration, the Empire of Vietnam. The Japanese surrender in August 1945 created a power vacuum in Indochina, as the various political factions scrambled for control. The events leading to the First Indochina War are subject to historical dispute.Burns, R. D. and Leitenberg, M. (1984). ''The Wars in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, 1945–1982: A Bibliographic Guide''. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio Information Services, p. xx. When the
Việt Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
hastily sought to establish the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
, the remaining French acquiesced while waiting for the return of French forces to the region. The
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
supported French restoration, but Viet Minh efforts towards independence were helped by Chinese communists under the Soviet Union's influence. The Soviet Union at first indirectly supported Vietnamese communists, but later directly supported Hồ Chí Minh.Hood, S. J. (1992). ''Dragons Entangled: Indochina and the China-Vietnam War''. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, pp. 13–19.Chen, Min. (1992). ''The Strategic Triangle and Regional Conflict: Lessons from the Indochina Wars''. Boulder: Lnne Reinner Publications, pp. 17–23. The Soviets nonetheless remained less supportive than China until after the
Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...
, during the time of
Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and ...
when the Soviet Union became communist Vietnam's key ally. The war itself involved numerous events that had major impacts throughout Indochina. Two major conferences were held to bring about a resolution. Finally, on 20 July 1954, the Geneva Conference resulted in a political settlement to reunite the country, signed with support from China, the Soviet Union, and Western European powers. While the Soviet Union played a constructive role in the agreement, it again was not as involved as China. The U.S. did not sign the agreement and swiftly moved to back South Vietnam.


Sino-Soviet split

The
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
and the Viet Minh had a long history. During the initial stages of the
First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
with France, the recently founded communist People's Republic of China continued the Soviet mission to expand communism. Therefore, they aided the Viet Minh and became the connector between Soviets and the Viet Minh. In early 1950, the Viet Minh fought independently from the Chinese Military Advisory Group under
Wei Guoqing Wei Guoqing (; Zhuang: Veiz Gozcing; 2 September 1913 – 14 June 1989) was a Chinese government official, military officer and political commissar of Zhuang ethnicity. He served as the Chairman of Guangxi from 1958 to 1975 and on the Chine ...
. This was one of the reasons for China to cut the arms support for the Viet Minh. After the death of
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
in March 1953, relations between the Soviet Union and China began to deteriorate.
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
believed the new Soviet leader
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
had made a serious error in his
Secret Speech "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences" (russian: «О культе личности и его последствиях», «''O kul'te lichnosti i yego posledstviyakh''»), popularly known as the "Secret Speech" (russian: секре ...
denouncing Stalin in February 1956, and criticized the Soviet Union's interpretation of
Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology which was the main communist movement throughout the 20th century. Developed by the Bolsheviks, it was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, its satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and various c ...
, in particular Khrushchev's support for peaceful co-existence and its interpretation. This led to increasingly hostile relations, and eventually the
Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...
. From here, Chinese communists played a decreasing role in helping their former allies because the Viet Minh did not support China against the Soviets. Following worsening relations between the Soviet Union and China as a result of the
Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...
of 1956–1966, as many as 1.5 million Chinese troops were stationed along the Sino-Soviet border in preparation for a full-scale war against the Soviets. Vietnam antagonized China by increasing its alignment with the Soviet Union by joining the
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (, ; English abbreviation COMECON, CMEA, CEMA, or CAME) was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc along wit ...
(CMEA) (and signing the Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation with the Soviet Union, which had the Soviet Union pledge to aid Vietnam if attacked. Following the death of Mao in September 1976, the overthrow of the Gang of Four and the ascent of
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...
, the Chinese leadership revised its own positions to become compatible with market aspects, denounced the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...
, and collaborated with the US against the Soviet Union.


Vietnam War

As France withdrew from a provisionally divided Vietnam in late 1954, the United States increasingly stepped in to support the South Vietnamese leaders due to the
Domino theory The domino theory is a geopolitical theory which posits that increases or decreases in democracy in one country tend to spread to neighboring countries in a domino effect. It was prominent in the United States from the 1950s to the 1980s in t ...
, which theorized that if one nation would turn to communism, the surrounding nations were likely to fall like dominoes and become communist as well. The Soviet Union and North Vietnam became important allies together due to the fact that if South Vietnam was successfully taken over by North Vietnam, then communism in the far east would find its strategic position bolstered. In the eyes of the People's Republic of China, the growing Soviet-Vietnamese relationship was a disturbing development; they feared an encirclement by the less-than-hospitable Soviet sphere of influence. The United States and the Soviet Union could not agree on a plan for a proposed 1956 election meant to unify the partitioned Vietnam. Instead, the South held a separate election that was widely considered fraudulent, leading to continued internal conflict with communist factions led by the
Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...
that intensified through the late 1950s. With supplies and support from the Soviet Union, North Vietnamese forces became directly involved in the ongoing
guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics ...
by 1959 and openly invaded the South in 1964. The United States played an ever-increasing role in supporting South Vietnam through the period. The U.S. had supported French forces in the First Indochina War, sent supplies and military advisers to South Vietnam throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, and eventually took over most of the fighting against both North Vietnam and the Viet Cong by the mid-1960s. By 1968, over 500,000 American troops were involved in the Vietnam War. Due to a lack of clear military success and facing increasingly strident opposition to the war in the U.S., American forces began a slow withdrawal in 1969 while attempting to bolster South Vietnam's military so that they could take over the fighting. In accordance with the Paris Peace Accords by 29 March 1973 all U.S. combat forces had left South Vietnam, however North Vietnamese combat forces were allowed to remain in place. North Vietnam attacked South Vietnam in early 1975 and South Vietnam fell on 30 April 1975. The People's Republic of China started talks with the United States in the early 1970s, culminating in high level meetings with
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
and later
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
. These meetings contributed to a re-orientation of Chinese foreign policy toward the United States.


Cambodia

Although the Vietnamese Communists and the Khmer Rouge had previously cooperated, the relationship deteriorated when Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot came to power and established
Democratic Kampuchea Kampuchea ( km, កម្ពុជា ), officially known as Democratic Kampuchea (DK; km, កម្ពុជាប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ ) from 5 January 1976, was a one-party totalitarian state which encompassed modern-day Camb ...
on 17 April 1975. The
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, on the other hand, also supported the
Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
Khmer Rouge against Lon Nol's regime during the
Cambodian Civil War The Cambodian Civil War ( km, សង្គ្រាមស៊ីវិលកម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khmer Rouge, supported by North Vi ...
and its subsequent take-over of Cambodia. China provided extensive political, logistical and military support for the Khmer Rouge during its rule. After numerous clashes along the border between Vietnam and Cambodia, and with encouragement from Khmer Rouge defectors fleeing purges of the Eastern Zone, Vietnam invaded Cambodia on 25 December 1978. By 7 January 1979 Vietnamese forces had entered Phnom Penh and the Khmer Rouge leadership had fled to western Cambodia. The offensive took the Chinese by surprise, and its Phnom Penh embassy fled to the jungle with the Khmer Rouge where it remained for 15 days. The fall of the Khmer Rogue was not a surprise, but from China's perspective, Vietnam's occupation of Cambodia threatened China's interests on the Indochina peninsula and its position among non-communist ASEAN states of Southeast Asia. Members of ASEAN saw Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia as a blatant violation of international borders and an act of aggression.


Ethnic minorities

China supported the ethnic minority
United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races The United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races (FULRO; french: Front unifié de lutte des races opprimées, vi, Mặt trận Thống nhất Đấu tranh của các Sắc tộc bị Áp bức) was an organization whose objective was auton ...
against Vietnam during the
FULRO insurgency against Vietnam The United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races (french: Front uni de lutte des races opprimées, abbreviated FULRO) waged a nearly three decade long insurgency against the governments of North and South Vietnam, and later the unified Soc ...
. The Vietnamese government also began persecuting overseas Chinese living in Vietnam in the late 1970s. Vietnamese authorities confiscated property owned by overseas Chinese, and expelled many Chinese from Vietnam and to a number of provinces in southern China. The Vietnamese executed collaborators who worked for the Chinese, regardless of ethnicity. The Chinese received a significant number of defectors from the Thu Lao ethnic minority in Vietnam during the war. During the war China received as migrants the entire A Lù based population of the Phù Lá ethnic minority. China received so many defectors from the ethnic minorities in Vietnam that it raised shock among Vietnam which had to launch a new effort to re-assert dominance over the ethnic minorities and classify them. Post Vietnam War, insurgency against Vietnam lasted among the indigenous Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesians of the Central Highlands. Assistance was sought from China by the
Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...
ethnic minority. The border was frequently crossed by Chinese, Lao, Kinh, Hmong, Yao, Nung, and Tai. The Laotian Hmong and
FULRO The United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races (FULRO; french: Front unifié de lutte des races opprimées, vi, Mặt trận Thống nhất Đấu tranh của các Sắc tộc bị Áp bức) was an organization whose objective was auton ...
were both supported against Vietnam by China and Thailand.


China attacks Vietnam

China, now under
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...
, was starting the
Chinese economic reform The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up (), known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed " Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and " socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of ...
and opening trade with the West, in turn, growing increasingly defiant of the Soviet Union. China grew concerned about the strong Soviet influence in Vietnam, fearing that Vietnam could become a pseudo-
protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...
of the Soviet Union. Vietnam's claim to be the world's third largest military power following its victory in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
also increased Chinese apprehensions. In the Chinese view, Vietnam was pursuing a regional hegemonic policy in an attempt to control Indochina. In July 1978, the Chinese Politburo discussed possible military action against Vietnam in order to disrupt Soviet deployments and, two months later, PLA General Staff recommended punitive actions against Vietnam. The major breakdown in the Chinese view of Vietnam occurred in November 1978. Vietnam joined the CMEA and, on 3 November, the Soviet Union and Vietnam signed a 25-year mutual defense treaty, which made Vietnam the "linchpin" in the Soviet Union's "drive to contain China" (however, the Soviet Union had shifted from open animosity towards more normalized relations with China soon after). Vietnam called for a special relationship between the three Indochinese countries, but the Khmer Rouge regime of Democratic Kampuchea rejected the idea. On 25 December 1978, Vietnam invaded Democratic Kampuchea, overrunning most of the country, deposing the Khmer Rouge, and installing Heng Samrin as the head of the new Cambodian government. The move antagonized China, which now viewed the Soviet Union as capable of encircling its southern border. On 29 January 1979, Chinese Vice-premier Deng Xiaoping visited the United States for the first time and told American president
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
: "The child is getting naughty, it is time he got spanked" (). Deng sought an endorsement from the United States in order to deter the Soviet Union from intervening when China launched a punitive attack against Vietnam. He informed Carter that China could not accept Vietnam's "wild ambitions" and was prepared to teach it a lesson. According to United States National Security Advisor
Zbigniew Brzezinski Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzeziński ( , ; March 28, 1928 – May 26, 2017), or Zbig, was a Polish-American diplomat and political scientist. He served as a counselor to President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1966 to 1968 and was President Jimmy Carter' ...
, Carter reserved judgment, an action which Chinese diplomats interpreted as tacit approval. Deng returned to China on 8 February 1979, and on 9 February, made the final decision to invade Vietnam. On 15 February, the first day that China could have officially announced the termination of the 1950
Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance The Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance ( Russian: Советско-китайский договор о дружбе, союзе и взаимной помощи, ), or Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance fo ...
, Deng Xiaoping declared that China planned to conduct a limited attack on Vietnam. Thus, he further developed China's burgeoning cooperation with the United States against the Soviet Union and would take a similar stance later regarding
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. According to academic Suisheng Zhao, "The proximity in the timing of the military thrust gainst Vietnamto take advantage of the normalization to bluff the Soviets with a nonexistent US endorsement." The reason cited for the attack was to support China's ally, the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia, in addition to the mistreatment of Vietnam's
ethnic Chinese The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...
minority and the Vietnamese occupation of the
Spratly Islands The Spratly Islands ( fil, Kapuluan ng Kalayaan; zh, c=南沙群島/南沙群岛, s=, t=, p=Nánshā Qúndǎo; Malay, id, Kepulauan Spratly; vi, Quần đảo Trường Sa) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed ...
which were claimed by China. To prevent Soviet intervention on Vietnam's behalf, Deng warned Moscow the next day that China was prepared for a full-scale war against the Soviet Union; in preparation for this conflict, China put all of its troops along the Sino-Soviet border on an emergency war alert, set up a new military command in
Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
, and even evacuated an estimated 300,000 civilians from the Sino-Soviet border. In addition, the bulk of China's active forces (as many as one-and-a-half million troops) were stationed along China's border with the Soviet Union.


Order of battle


Chinese forces

Although the People's Liberation Army vastly outnumbered the Vietnamese forces, the Soviet-Vietnamese alliance compelled the Chinese to deploy the majority of their forces along China's northern frontier with the Soviet Union (as well as, to a lesser extent, Soviet-allied
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
) as a deterrent to Soviet intervention. The Chinese force that engaged the Vietnamese consisted of units from the Kunming Military Region,
Chengdu Military Region The Chengdu Military Region was one of seven military districts and is located in the southwest of the People's Republic of China, covering Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and the Xizang/Tibet Autonomous Region. It includes some of the area ...
,
Wuhan Military Region Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city and ...
and
Guangzhou Military Region The Guangzhou Military Region was from 1955 to 2016 one of the People's Liberation Army PLA Military Regions, located in the south of the People's Republic of China. In May 1949, the Central China (Hua Zhong) Military Region (MR) was formed. In Ma ...
, but commanded by the headquarters of Kunming Military Region on the western front and
Guangzhou Military Region The Guangzhou Military Region was from 1955 to 2016 one of the People's Liberation Army PLA Military Regions, located in the south of the People's Republic of China. In May 1949, the Central China (Hua Zhong) Military Region (MR) was formed. In Ma ...
in the eastern front. * Guangxi Direction (East Front) commanded by the Front Headquarter of
Guangzhou Military Region The Guangzhou Military Region was from 1955 to 2016 one of the People's Liberation Army PLA Military Regions, located in the south of the People's Republic of China. In May 1949, the Central China (Hua Zhong) Military Region (MR) was formed. In Ma ...
in Nanning. Commander-
Xu Shiyou Xu Shiyou (; 1906–1985) was a general in the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Early career Born in Xinxian, Henan Province (it belonged to Hubei previously), Xu grew up studying martial arts at the Shaolin Temple for eight years and he later ...
, Political Commissar- Xiang Zhonghua, Chief of Staff- Zhou Deli **North Group: Commander- Ou Zhifu (Deputy Commander of Guangzhou Military Region) *** 41st Army Commander- Zhang Xudeng, Political Commissar- Liu Zhanrong **** 121st Infantry Division Commander-Zheng Wenshui **** 122nd Infantry Division Commander- Li Xinliang **** 123rd Infantry Division Commander-Li Peijiang **South Group: Commander- Wu Zhong (Deputy Commander of Guangzhou Military Region) *** 42nd Army Commander- Wei Huajie, Political Commissar- Xun Li **** 124th Infantry Division Commander- Gu Hui **** 125th Infantry Division **** 126th Infantry Division **East Group: Commander- Jiang Xieyuan (Deputy Commander of Guangzhou Military Region) *** 55th Army Commander- Zhu Yuehua, Temporary Political Commissar- Guo Changzeng **** 163rd Infantry Division Commander- Bian Guixiang, Political Commissar-Wu Enqing, Chief of Staff- Xing Shizhong **** 164th Infantry Division Commander-Xiao Xuchu (also Deputy Commander of 55th Corps) **** 165th Infantry Division *** 1st Artillery Division **Reserve Group (came from
Wuhan Military Region Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city and ...
except 50th Corps from
Chengdu Military Region The Chengdu Military Region was one of seven military districts and is located in the southwest of the People's Republic of China, covering Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and the Xizang/Tibet Autonomous Region. It includes some of the area ...
), Deputy Commander- Han Huaizhi (Commander of 54th Corps) *** 43rd Army Commander- Zhu Chuanyu, Temporary Political Commissar- Zhao Shengchang **** 127th Infantry Division Commander-
Zhang Wannian Zhang Wannian (; 1 August 1928 – 14 January 2015) was a general of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of the People's Republic of China. Biography Zhang Wannian was born in Huang County (now Longkou), Shandong Province of China on 1 August 1 ...
(also as the Deputy Commander of 43rd Corps) **** 128th Infantry Division **** 129th Infantry Division *** 54th Army Commander- Han Huaizhi (pluralism), Political Commissar-Zhu Zhiwei **** 160th Infantry Division (commanded by 41st Corp in this war) Commander-
Zhang Zhixin Zhang Zhixin (; 5 December 1930 – 4 April 1975) was a dissident during the Cultural Revolution who became famous for criticizing the idolization of Mao Zedong and the ultra-left. She was imprisoned for six years (1969 to 1975) and tortured, ...
, Political Commissar-Li Zhaogui **** 161st Infantry Division **** 162nd Infantry Division Commander- Li Jiulong *** 50th Army Temporary Commander- Liu Guangtong, Political Commissar- Gao Xingyao ****
148th Infantry Division The German 148th Reserve Division (German: ''148. Reserve-Division'') was a German reserve infantry formation during the Second World War. It was made up of three infantry regiments (the 281st, 285th, and 286th) and an artillery regiment. Initi ...
**** 150th Infantry Division *** 20th Army (only dispatched the 58th Division into the war) **** 58th Infantry Division (commanded by the 50th Corps during the war) ** Guangxi Military Region (as a provincial military region) Commander-
Zhao Xinran Zhao may refer to: * Zhao (surname) (赵), a Chinese surname ** commonly spelled Chao in Taiwan or up until the early 20th century in other regions ** Chiu, from the Cantonese pronunciation ** Cho (Korean surname), represent the Hanja 趙 (Chinese ...
Chief of Staff- Yin Xi ***1st Regiment of Frontier Defense in Youyiguan Pass ***2nd Regiment of Frontier Defense in
Baise Baise (; local pronunciation: ), or Bose, is the westernmost prefecture-level city of Guangxi, China bordering Vietnam as well as the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan. The city has a population of 4.3 million, of which 1.4 million live in the ...
District ***3rd Regiment of Frontier Defense in Fangcheng County *** The Independent Infantry Division of Guangxi Military Region ** Air Force of Guangzhou Military Region (armed patrol in the sky of Guangxi, did not see combat) *** 7th Air Force Corps **** 13th Air Force Division (aerotransport unit came from
Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...
province) ** 70th Antiaircraft Artillery Division **The 217 Fleet of
South Sea Fleet The Southern Theater Command Navy (), or the South Sea Fleet (SSF; ) is one of the three fleets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, operating in the South China Sea under the Southern Theater Command. It is headquartered in Zhanjiang, ...
** 8th Navy Aviation Division ** The Independent Tank Regiment of Guangzhou Military Region **
83rd Bateau Boat Regiment 83rd may refer to: * 83rd Academy Awards, a ceremony that honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011 *83rd Grey Cup, the 1995 Canadian Football League championship game *83rd meridian east, a line of lo ...
** 84th Bateau Boat Regiment *
Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
Direction (the West Front) commanded by the Front Headquarter of Kunming Military Region in Kaiyuan. Commander-
Yang Dezhi Yang Dezhi (; January 13, 1911 – October 25, 1994) was a Chinese general and politician. He was senior military officer in the North China (or 5th) Field Army, a veteran of the Korean War and commander in China during the Sino–Vietnamese ...
, Political Commissar- Liu Zhijian, Chief of Staff- Sun Ganqing ** 11th Army (consisted of two divisions) Commander- Chen Jiagui, Political Commissar- Zhang Qi *** 31st Infantry Division *** 32nd Infantry Division ** 13th Army(camed from
Chengdu Military Region The Chengdu Military Region was one of seven military districts and is located in the southwest of the People's Republic of China, covering Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and the Xizang/Tibet Autonomous Region. It includes some of the area ...
) Commander- Yan Shouqing, Political Commissar- Qiao Xueting *** 37th Infantry Division *** 38th Infantry Division *** 39th Infantry Division **
14th Army Fourteenth Army or 14th Army may refer to: * 14th Army (German Empire), a World War I field Army * 14th Army (Wehrmacht), a World War II field army * Italian Fourteenth Army * Japanese Fourteenth Army, a World War II field army, in 1944 converted ...
Commander- Zhang Jinghua, Political Commissar- Fan Xinyou *** 40th Infantry Division *** 41st Infantry Division *** 42nd Infantry Division ** 149th Infantry Division (from
Chengdu Military Region The Chengdu Military Region was one of seven military districts and is located in the southwest of the People's Republic of China, covering Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and the Xizang/Tibet Autonomous Region. It includes some of the area ...
, belonged to 50th Corps, assigned to Yunnan Direction during the war) ** Yunnan Military Region (as a provincial military region) ***11th Regiment of Frontier Defence in Maguan County ***12th Regiment of Frontier Defence in
Malipo Malipo County (, vi, Ma Lật Pha) is under the administration of the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, in the southeast of Yunnan province, China, bordering Ha Giang Province to the southeast. Administrative divisions In the presen ...
County ***13th Regiment of Frontier Defence in ***14th Regiment of Frontier Defence in *** 1st Garrison Division of Chengdu Military Region commanded by 11th Army in the war ** 65th Antiaircraft Artillery Division ** 4th Artillery Division ** Independent Tank Regiment of Kunming Military Region ** 86th Bateau Boat Regiment **
23rd Logistic Branch Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...
(consisted of five army service stations, six hospitals, eleven medical establishments) **
17th Automobile Regiment 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...
commanded by 13th Corps during the war ** 22nd Automobile Regiment ** 5th Air Force Corps *** 44th Air Force Division (fighter unit) ***Independent unit of 27th Air Force Division *** 15th Air Force Antiaircraft Artillery Division


Vietnamese forces

The Vietnamese government claimed they only had a force of about 70,000 including several army regular divisions in its northern area. However, the Chinese estimates indicate more than twice this number. Some Vietnamese forces used American military equipment captured during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. 1st Military Region: commanded by Major General
Đàm Quang Trung Đàm Quang Trung (September 12, 1921 – March 3, 1995) was a Vietnamese general in the People's Army of Vietnam. He served in the First Indochina War and Vietnam War. Đàm Quang Trung joined the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1939. In 1940 he ...
, responsible for the defense at Northeast region. *Main forces: ** 3rd Infantry Division (Golden Star Division), consisted of 2nd Infantry Regiment, 12th Infantry Regiment, 141st Infantry Regiment and 68th Artillery Regiment. All were located at Dong Dang, Van Dang, Cao Loc and Lạng Sơn town of Lạng Sơn Province **338th Infantry Division, consisted of 460th Infantry Regiment, 461st Infantry Regiment, 462nd Infantry Regiment and 208th Artillery Regiment. All were located at Loc Binh and Dinh Lap of Lạng Sơn Province **346th Infantry Division (Lam Son Division), consisted of 246th Infantry Regiment, 677th Infantry Regiment, 851st Infantry Regiment and 188th Artillery Regiment. All were located at Tra Linh, Ha Quang and Hoa An of
Cao Bằng Province Cao or CAO may refer to: Mythology *Cao (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology Companies or organizations *Air China Cargo, ICAO airline designator CAO *CA Oradea, Romanian football club *CA Osasuna, Spanish football club * Canadian Assoc ...
**325th-B Infantry Division, consisted of 8th Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Regiment, 288th Infantry Regiment and 189th Artillery Regiment. All were located at Tien Yen and Binh Lieu of Quảng Ninh Province **242nd Infantry Brigade, located at coastlines and islands of Quảng Ninh Province *Local forces: **At
Cao Bằng Province Cao or CAO may refer to: Mythology *Cao (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology Companies or organizations *Air China Cargo, ICAO airline designator CAO *CA Oradea, Romanian football club *CA Osasuna, Spanish football club * Canadian Assoc ...
: 567th Infantry Regiment, 1 artillery battalion, 1 battalion of air defense artillery and 7 infantry battalions **At Lạng Sơn Province: 123rd Infantry Regiment, 199th Infantry Regiment and 7 infantry battalions **At Quảng Ninh Province: 43rd Infantry Regiment, 244th Infantry Regiment, 1 artillery battalion, 4 battalions of air defense artillery and 5 infantry battalions *Armed police forces (Border guard): 12th Mobile Regiment at Lang Son, 4 battalions at Cao Bang and Quang Ninh, some companies and 24 border posts 2nd Military Region: commanded by Major General Vu Lap, responsible for the defense at Northwest region. *Main forces: **
316th Infantry Division The 316th Division or Bông Lau Division (Vietnamese: ''Sư đoàn Bông Lau'', literally: Silvergrass Division) was a division of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). One of the 6 original "Steel and Iron Divisions", it was created in 1951 and ...
(Bong Lau Division), consisted of 98th Infantry Regiment, 148th Infantry Regiment, 147th Infantry Regiment and 187th Artillery Regiment. All were located at Binh Lu and Phong Tho of
Lai Châu Province Lai or LAI may refer to: Abbreviations * Austrian Latin America Institute (Österreichisches Lateinamerika-Institut) * ''Latin American Idol'', TV series * La Trobe University#La Trobe Institute, La Trobe Institute, Melbourne, Australia * Leaf ...
**345th Infantry Division, consisted of 118th Infantry Regiment, 121st Infantry Regiment, 124th Infantry Regiment and 190th Artillery Regiment. All were located at Bao Thang of Hoang Lien Son province ** 326th Infantry Division, consisted of 19th Infantry Regiment, 46th Infantry Regiment, 541st Infantry Regiment and 200th Artillery Regiment. All were located at Tuan Giao and Dien Bien of Lai Châu Province *Local forces: **At Ha Tuyen: 122nd Infantry Regiment, 191st Infantry Regiment, 1 artillery battalion and 8 infantry battalions **At Hoang Lien Son: 191st Infantry Regiment, 254th Infantry Regiment, 1 artillery battalion and 8 infantry battalions **At Lai Châu: 193rd Infantry Regiment, 741st Infantry Regiment, 1 artillery battalion and 5 infantry battalions *Armed police forces (Border guard): 16th Mobile Regiment at Hoang Lien Son, some companies and 39 border posts In addition, Vietnamese forces were supported by about 50,000 militia at each Military Region
Air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
* 372nd Air Division ** 1 air flight of ten F-5s (captured after Vietnam War) ** 1 air flight of ten A-37s (captured after Vietnam War) ** 1 air flight of seven UH-1s and three UH-7s (captured after Vietnam War) * 919th Air Transport Regiment responsible for transporting troops ** Several C-130, C-119 and C-47 (captured after Vietnam War) * 371st Air Division ** 916th Helicopter Regiment *** Several Mi-6 and Mi-8 ** 918th Air Transport Regiment ** 923rd Fighter Regiment *** Several MiG-17s and MiG-21 The Vietnam People's Air Force did not participate in the combat directly, instead they provided support to the ground troops, transported troops from Cambodia to northern Vietnam as well as performed reconnaissance missions.
Air Defence Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...
* Northern and Northwestern regions: ** 267th Air Defence Regiment ** 276th Air Defence Regiment ** 285th Air Defence Regiment ** 255th Air Defence Regiment ** 257th Air Defence Regiment * Northeastern region: ** 274th Air Defence Regiment


Course of the war

On 17 February 1979, a People's Liberation Army (PLA) force of about 200,000 troops supported by 200 Type 59,
Type 62 The Norinco Type 62 () is a Chinese light tank developed in the early 1960s and is based on the Chinese Type 59 with a reduced main gun calibre, lighter armour and a smaller suite of electronics and other equipment to help reduce weight. T ...
, and Type 63 tanks entered northern Vietnam in the PLA's first major combat operation since the end of the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
in 1953. The PLA invasion was conducted in two directions: western and eastern * Western direction, commanded by Xu Shiyou, aimed to attack
Cao Bằng Cao Bằng () is a city in northern Vietnam. It is the capital and largest settlement of Cao Bằng Province. It is located on the bank of the Bằng Giang river, and is around away from the border with China's Guangxi region. According to the ...
,
Lạng Sơn Lạng Sơn () is a city in far northern Vietnam, which is the capital of Lạng Sơn Province. It is accessible by road and rail from Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, and it is the northernmost point on National Route 1. History Due to its ge ...
and Quảng Ninh Provinces: * Eastern direction, commanded by Yang Dezhi, aimed to attack Ha Tuyen, Hoang Lien Son and Lai Châu Provinces Vietnam quickly mobilized all its main forces in Cambodia, southern Vietnam and central Vietnam to the northern border. From 18 to 25 February, the 327th Infantry Division of Military District 3 and the 337th Infantry Division of Military District 4 were deployed to join Military District 1 for the defense of northwestern region. From 6 to 11 March the Second Corp (Huong Giang Corp) stationed in Cambodia was deployed back to Hanoi. The 372nd Air Division in central Vietnam as well as the 917th, 935th and 937th Air Regiments in southern Vietnam were quickly deployed to the north. The PLA quickly advanced about 15–20 kilometres into Vietnam, with fighting mainly occurring in the provinces of
Cao Bằng Cao Bằng () is a city in northern Vietnam. It is the capital and largest settlement of Cao Bằng Province. It is located on the bank of the Bằng Giang river, and is around away from the border with China's Guangxi region. According to the ...
,
Lào Cai Lào Cai () is a city in the Northwest region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Lào Cai Province. The city borders Bảo Thắng District, Bát Xát District, Sa Pa and the city of Hekou Yao Autonomous County, in Yunnan province of southwes ...
and
Lạng Sơn Lạng Sơn () is a city in far northern Vietnam, which is the capital of Lạng Sơn Province. It is accessible by road and rail from Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, and it is the northernmost point on National Route 1. History Due to its ge ...
. The Vietnamese avoided mobilizing their regular divisions, and held back some 300,000 troops for the defence of Hanoi. The People's Army of Vietnam (VPA) tried to avoid direct combat and often used guerrilla tactics. The initial PLA attack soon lost its momentum and a new attack wave was sent in with eight PLA divisions joining the battle. After capturing the northern heights above Lạng Sơn, the PLA surrounded and paused in front of the city in order to lure the VPA into reinforcing it with units from Cambodia. This was the main strategic ploy in the Chinese war plan as Deng did not want to risk escalating tensions with the Soviet Union. After three days of bloody
house-to-house fighting Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and city, cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban war ...
, Lạng Sơn fell on 6 March. The PLA then took the southern heights above Lạng Sơn and occupied Sa Pa. The PLA claimed to have crushed several of the VPA regular units. Supporting attacks were also conducted by the PLA at Quảng Ninh Province in the Battle of Mong Cai and Battle of Cao Ba Lanh but were unsuccessful. According to Vietnam, since January 1979 Chinese forces performed numerous reconnaissance activities across the border and made 230 violations into Vietnamese land. To prepare for a possible Chinese invasion, the Central Military Committee of the Communist Party ordered all armed forces across the border to be on stand-by mode. On 6 March, China declared that the gate to Hanoi was open and that their punitive mission had been achieved. During the withdrawal, the PLA used a scorched-earth policy, destroying local infrastructure and looting useful equipment and resources (including livestock), this severely weakened the economy of Vietnam's northernmost provinces. The PLA crossed the border back into China on 16 March. Both sides declared victory with China claiming to have crushed the Vietnamese resistance and Vietnam claiming to have repelled the invasion using mostly border militias. Henry J. Kenny, a research scientist for US
Center for Naval Analyses CNA, formerly known as the CNA Corporation, is a federally-funded nonprofit research and analysis organization based in Arlington County, Virginia. CNA has around 625 employees. General CNA operates: * The Center for Naval Analyses. CNA's Cente ...
, noted most Western writers agree that while Vietnam outperformed the PLA on the battlefield, the PLA's seizure of Lang Son did allow the Chinese the option of moving into the
Red River Delta The Red River Delta or Hong River Delta ( vi, Châu thổ sông Hồng) is the flat low-lying plain formed by the Red River and its distributaries merging with the Thái Bình River in northern Vietnam. ''Hồng'' (紅) is a Sino-Vietnamese word ...
and thence into Hanoi. However, Kenny also mentions that Lang Son is farther from Hanoi than it is from the Chinese border, and at least 5 PAVN divisions in the delta remained ready for a counterattack and thirty thousand additional PAVN troops from Cambodia along with several regiments from Laos were moving to their support. Thus, had the PLA decided to attack Hanoi, the PLA would have suffered huge losses.


Soviet support to Vietnam

The Soviet Union, although it did not take direct military action, provided intelligence and equipment support for Vietnam. A large airlift was established by the Soviet Union to move Vietnamese troops from Cambodia to Northern Vietnam. Moscow also provided a total of 400 tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs), 500 mortar artillery and air defense artillery, 50 BM-21 rocket launchers, 400 portable surface-to-air missiles, 800 anti-tank missiles and 20 jet fighters. About 5,000 to 8,000 Soviet military advisers were present in Vietnam in 1979 to train Vietnamese soldiers. During the Sino-Vietnamese War, the Soviet Union deployed troops at the Sino-Soviet border and Mongolian-Chinese border as an act of showing support to Vietnam, as well as tying up Chinese troops. However, the Soviets refused to take any direct action to defend their ally. The
Soviet Pacific Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Pacific Fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Russian Pacific Fleet Great emblem , dates = 1731–present , country ...
also deployed 15 ships to the Vietnamese coast to relay Chinese battlefield communications to Vietnamese forces.


Soviet inaction

While the Soviet Union deployed naval vessels and supplied materiel to Vietnam, they felt that there was simply no way that they could directly support Vietnam against China; the distances were too great to be an effective ally, and any sort of reinforcements would have to cross territory controlled by China or U.S. allies. The only realistic option would be to restart the unresolved border conflict with China. Vietnam was important to Soviet policy but not enough for the Soviets to go to war over. When Moscow did not intervene, Beijing publicly proclaimed that the Soviet Union had broken its numerous promises to assist Vietnam. Another reason why Moscow did not intervene was because Beijing had promised both Moscow and Washington that the invasion was only a limited war, and that Chinese forces would withdraw after a short incursion. After moderation by the U.S., Moscow decided to adopt a "wait and see" approach to see if Beijing would actually limit their offense.
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...
, because Vietnam's anti-air capabilities were among the best in the world at the time and in order to reassure Moscow it was conducting a limited war, ordered the Chinese navy and air force to remain out of the war; only limited support was provided by the air force. When Beijing kept its promise, Moscow did not retaliate.


Aftermath

China and Vietnam each lost thousands of troops, and China lost 3.45 billion yuan in overhead, which delayed completion of their 1979–80
economic plan Economic interventionism, sometimes also called state interventionism, is an Economic policy, economic policy position favouring government intervention in the Market (economics), market process with the intention of correcting market failures a ...
."China "Should Learn from its Losses" in the War against Vietnam" from "August 1" Radio, People's Republic of China, 1400 GMT, 17 February 1980, as reported by BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 22 February 1980 Following the war, the Vietnamese leadership took various repressive measures to deal with the problem of real or potential collaboration. In the spring of 1979, the authorities expelled approximately 8,000
Hoa people The Hoa people ( Vietnamese: ''Người Hoa'', or ) are citizens of Vietnam of full or partial Chinese origin. Chinese migration into Vietnam dates back millennia but most Hoa today derive their recent ancestral Chinese heritage from the 18t ...
from Hanoi to the southern "New Economic Zones", and partially resettled the
Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...
tribes and other ethnic minorities from the northernmost provinces. In response to the defection of Hoàng Văn Hoan, the Communist Party of Vietnam removed from its ranks pro-Chinese elements and persons who had surrendered to the advancing Chinese troops during the war. In 1979, a total of 20,468 members were expelled from the party. After the invasion, Vietnam created a
puppet government A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sover ...
in Cambodia led by Heng Samrin. Samrin was obligated to consult with the Vietnamese on major decisions. Although Vietnam continued to occupy Cambodia, China successfully mobilized international opposition to the occupation, rallying such leaders as Cambodia's deposed king Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodian anticommunist leader
Son Sann Son Sann ( km, សឺន សាន, ; 5 October 191119 December 2000) was a Cambodian politician and anti-communist resistance leader who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Cambodia (1967–68) and later as President of the National As ...
, and high-ranking members of the Khmer Rouge to deny the pro-Vietnamese
Cambodian People's Party The Cambodian People's Party (CPP), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; is a Cambodian political party which has ruled Cambodia since 1979. Founded in 1951, it was originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP)., UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ...
in Cambodia diplomatic recognition beyond the Soviet bloc. China improved relations with
ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
by promising protection to
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
and
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
against "Vietnamese aggression". In contrast, Vietnam's decreasing prestige in the region led it to be more dependent on the Soviet Union, to which it leased a naval base at
Cam Ranh Bay Cam Ranh Bay ( vi, Vịnh Cam Ranh) is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kil ...
. On 1 March 2005, Howard W. French wrote in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'': Some historians stated that "the war was started by Mr. Deng (China's then paramount leader Deng Xiaoping) to keep the army preoccupied while he consolidated power..." Despite using a force that did not see major combat since the early 1950s and whose weaponry was inferior to the Vietnamese forces, the PLA was considered to have fought well. The PLA pushed Vietnamese forces from the border and succeeded in severely damaging the area they occupied. The Vietnamese forces had a combat-seasoned force and modern weapons. After the war, border skirmishes at the Chinese-Vietnamese border continued; the Vietnamese government intensified its discriminatory policies against the Chinese community in Vietnam; and the Vietnamese were not deterred from maintaining their occupation of Cambodia, and increasing its control over Laos and threatening the security of Thailand, making Vietnam a greater threat to ASEAN than before. However, China caused Vietnam to suffer from serious economic and military hardship by threatening to launch a second invasion, and by supporting Pol Pot guerrillas in Cambodia. The Vietnamese government had to spend money on maintaining a military presence at the Chinese-Vietnamese border, and on supporting its puppet government in Cambodia. Vietnam's scarce resources were drained, and economic conditions were bad throughout Vietnam.


Chinese casualties

The number of casualties during the war is disputed. Shortly after China had announced the withdrawal of its troops from Vietnam, the state-run
Vietnam News Agency Vietnam News Agency (VNA; vi, Thông tấn xã Việt Nam (TTXVN)) is the official state-run news agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It operates more than 30 foreign bureaux worldwide and maintains 63 bureaux in Vietnam — one f ...
claimed that the PLA had suffered over 44,000 casualties, a figure which Western analysts at the time considered to be greatly inflated. Other Vietnamese sources claimed the PLA had suffered 62,500 total casualties, including 550 military vehicles, and 115 artillery pieces destroyed; while Chinese democracy activist Wei Jingsheng told western media in 1980 that the Chinese troops had suffered 9,000 dead and about 10,000 wounded during the war. Leaks from Chinese military sources indicate that China suffered 6,954 dead. Deputy chief of the General Staff
Wu Xiuquan Wu Xiuquan (; March 1908 – 9 November 1997) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, military officer, and diplomat. He studied in the Soviet Union, enlisted in the Chinese Red Army, and participated in the Long March. After the founding of the ...
revealed in a meeting with a French military delegation that Vietnam suffered 50,000 casualties, whereas China had suffered 20,000 casualties. Regardless of the accuracy of the Vietnamese casualties, it can be concluded that the Chinese losses were severe, according to Daniel Tretiak.


Vietnamese casualties

Like their Chinese counterparts, the Vietnamese government has never officially announced any information on its actual military casualties. China estimated that Vietnam lost 57,000 soldiers and 70,000 militia members during the war. The Vietnamese state newspaper ''
Nhân Dân ''Nhân Dân'' (Vietnamese: ''The People'') is the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Vietnam. According to the newspaper, it is “the voice of the Party, the State and the people of Vietnam.” It has a daily circulation of 180,000 ...
'' claimed that Vietnam suffered more than 10,000 civilian deaths during the Chinese invasionXem các nguồn Edward C. O'Dowd, Bùi Xuân Quang, Laurent Cesari, Gilles Férier. P148 and earlier on 17 May 1979, reported statistics on heavy losses of industry and agricultural properties.


Prisoners

The Chinese held 1,636 Vietnamese prisoners and the Vietnamese held 238 Chinese prisoners; they were exchanged in May–June 1979. The 238 Chinese soldiers surrendered after getting separated from their main unit during the withdrawal from Vietnam and became surrounded by Vietnamese. After surrendering, they were transferred by the Vietnamese soldiers to a prison. The Chinese prisoners reported that they were subjected to torturous and inhumane treatment, such as being blindfolded and having their bodies bound and restrained with metal wire.


Sino-Vietnamese relations after the war

Border skirmishes continued throughout the 1980s, including a significant skirmish in April 1984 and a naval battle over the Spratly Islands in 1988 known as the
Johnson South Reef Skirmish The Johnson South Reef Skirmish was an altercation that took place on 14 March 1988 between Chinese and Vietnamese forces over who would control the Johnson South Reef in the Union Banks region of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. ...
. Armed conflict only ended in 1989 after the Vietnamese agreed to fully withdraw from Cambodia. Both nations planned the normalization of their relations in a secret summit in Chengdu in September 1990, and officially normalized ties in November 1991. In 1999, after many years of negotiations, China and Vietnam signed a border pact. There was an adjustment of the land border, resulting in Vietnam giving China part of its land which was lost during the battle, including the Ai Nam Quan Gate which served as the traditional border marker and entry point between Vietnam and China, which caused widespread frustration within Vietnamese communities. The December 2007 announcement of a plan to build a Hanoi–Kunming highway was a landmark in Sino-Vietnamese relations. The road will traverse the border that once served as a battleground. It is predicted to contribute to demilitarizing the border region, as well as facilitating trade and industrial cooperation between the nations.


In popular culture


Chinese media

There are a number of Chinese songs, movies and TV programs depicting and discussing this conflict from the Chinese viewpoint. These vary from the patriotic song " Bloodstained Glory" originally written to laud the sacrifice and service of the Chinese military, to the 1986 film ''
The Big Parade ''The Big Parade'' is a 1925 American silent war drama film directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Tom O'Brien, and Karl Dane. Written by World War I veteran, Laurence Stallings, the film is about ...
'' which carried veiled criticism of the war. The 1984
Xie Jin Xie Jin (; 21 November 1923 – 18 October 2008) was a Chinese film director. He rose to prominence in 1957, directing the film ''Woman Basketball Player No. 5'', and is considered one of the Third Generation directors of China. Most recently he ...
film ''
Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain ''Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain'' () is a 1984 Chinese film about the life of the soldiers in a PLA army company before, during and after the Sino-Vietnamese War. It is based on the novel written by Li Cunbao, and directed by Xie Jin, starri ...
'' was the earliest mainland China film to depict the war, although its narrative was that the Chinese were on the defensive after Vietnamese attacked the Chinese border first with the objective of Nanning. The male protagonist of the television series '' Candle in the Tomb'' was a veteran of conflict. The 2017 Chinese movie ''
Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...
'' covers the period of the Sino-Vietnamese conflict from the perspective of the larger cultural changes taking place in China during that period of time.


Vietnamese media

The war was mentioned in the film ''Đất mẹ'' (''Motherland'') directed by Hải Ninh in 1980 and ''Thị xã trong tầm tay'' (''Town at the Fingertips'') directed by
Đặng Nhật Minh Đặng Nhật Minh (b. Huế, Vietnam, 1938) is one of Vietnam's foremost film directors. He began making documentary films around 1965 and is the first Vietnamese person to be awarded the Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture, in 1999. His films have w ...
in 1982. Besides in 1982, a documentary film called ''Hoa đưa hương nơi đất anh nằm'' (''Flowers over Your Grave'') was directed by Truong Thanh, the film told a story of a Japanese journalist who died during the war. During the war, there were numerous patriotic songs produced to boost the nationalism of Vietnamese people, including "Chiến đấu vì độc lập tự do" ("Fight for Independence and Freedom") composed by Phạm Tuyên, "Lời tạm biệt lúc lên đường" ("Farewell When Leaving") by Vu Trong Hoi, "40 thế kỷ cùng ra trận" ("40 Centuries We Fought Side By Side") by Hong Dang, "Những đôi mắt mang hình viên đạn" ("The Eyes Shaped Like Bullets") by Tran Tien and "Hát về anh" (Sing for you) by The Hien. The Sino-Vietnamese War also appeared in some novels such as: ''Đêm tháng Hai'' (''Night of February'') written by Chu Lai in 1979 and ''Chân dung người hàng xóm'' (''Portrait of My Neighbors'') written by Duong Thu Huong in 1979.


See also

* List of wars involving the People's Republic of China * List of wars involving Vietnam *
China–Vietnam relations Relations between Vietnam and China ( zh, 中越关系, p=, pinyin: ''Zhōng-Yuè Guān Xì''; vi, Quan hệ Việt–Trung) have been back and forth for thousands of years. Despite their Sinospheric and socialist background, centuries of conques ...
*
Cambodian–Vietnamese War The Cambodian–Vietnamese War ( km, សង្គ្រាមកម្ពុជា-វៀតណាម, vi, Chiến tranh Campuchia–Việt Nam), known in Vietnam as the Counter-offensive on the Southwestern border ( vi, Chiến dịch Phản ...
* Sino-Soviet border conflict * Sino-Vietnamese conflicts (1979–1991)


Notes


References


Citations


Sources


Books

* * Liegl, Markus B. ''China's use of military force in foreign affairs: The dragon strikes'' (Taylor & Francis, 2017)
excerpt
* * * * Zhang, Xiaoming. ''Deng Xiaoping's Long War: The Military Conflict Between China and Vietnam, 1979–1991'' (U of North Carolina Press 2015
excerpt


Journal articles

* * Path, Kosal. "China's Economic Sanctions against Vietnam, 1975–1978." ''China Quarterly'' (2012) Vol. 212, pp 1040–1058. * Path, Kosal. "The economic factor in the Sino-Vietnamese split, 1972–75: an analysis of Vietnamese archival sources." ''Cold War History'' 11.4 (2011): 519–555. * Path, Kosal. "The Sino-Vietnamese Dispute over Territorial Claims, 1974–1978: Vietnamese Nationalism and its Consequences." ''International Journal of Asian Studies'' 8.2 (2011): 189–220
online
* * Zhang, Xiaoming. "Deng Xiaoping and China's Decision to go to War with Vietnam." ''Journal of Cold War Studies'' 12.3 (2010): 3–2
online
* Zhang, Xiaoming. "China's 1979 war with Vietnam: a reassessment." ''China Quarterly'' (2005): 851–874
online


Other

* Kurlantzick, Joshua. ''China-Vietnam Military Clash'' (Washington: Council on Foreign Relations, 2015)
online


External links



at GlobalSecurity.org



* G. D. Bakshi
The Sino-Vietnam War – 1979: Case Studies in Limited Wars

"China's War Against Vietnam, 1979: A Military Analysis"
at the School of Law, University of Maryland


Additional sources



* ttp://news.qq.com/a/20080110/004144.htm 对越自卫反击战:我军大量伤亡原因分析 {{Authority control 1979 in China 1979 in Vietnam 20th century in Vietnam Cold War conflicts Conflicts in 1979 History of Vietnam (1945–present) Invasions by China Invasions of Vietnam Proxy wars Indochina Wars Punitive expeditions Warfare post-1945 Wars between China and Vietnam Wars involving Vietnam Wars involving the People's Republic of China