Sino-Vietnamese War (1979): What was the end results of it ?

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Biscuits

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I understand the difference between PRC today and 45 years ago, but I don't understand what does today's PRC has to do with the discussion at hand which is about the Sino-Vietnamese war in 1979 and the current Ukraine war. It is irrelevant what PRC is like today. If anything the 43 years difference makes the similarities between the two wars even more notable. The Russian army right now is not well training and equipt just like PLA was not well trained after the cultural revolution prior to the 1979 war.

Objectively the 1979 war was still a fairly terrible rout for Vietnam. The viet army wasn't badly equipped at all, but China had directly aided their military buildup before, had air supremacy and armor support.

Viet nationalists try to spin it as a win for Vietnam because China didn't occupy them and taking a page from nato/reich propaganda by wildly exaggerating enemy losses and writing off their own combat dead as civilians. That China captured 8 times as many prisoners as acknowledged by both sides despite being on vietnam territory pretty much says all you need to know about how one sided the ground conflict was.

The goal was a show of force against the Soviets, win disputed territories, destroy Vietnamese progress made using Chinese aid so it would not fall into the hands of enemy nations. 1 and 2 were achieved, 3 was partly achieved but very soon relations normalised anyways and both CN and VN economies improved so much that whatever aid China rendered them before was just pocket change.

The Chinese command was literally in charge of training and building the Vietnamese command in the previous war between America and Vietnam, its a bare faced coping lie from the West that they "weren't well equipped". Both sides had world class infantry/army leadership, Vietnam just chose to send its elite troops into Cambodia while sending conscripts to the North. In the end, the gamble arguably paid off because Vietnam kept control over Cambodia for awhile longer.
 

antiterror13

Brigadier
Objectively the 1979 war was still a fairly terrible rout for Vietnam. The viet army wasn't badly equipped at all, but China had directly aided their military buildup before, had air supremacy and armor support.

Viet nationalists try to spin it as a win for Vietnam because China didn't occupy them and taking a page from nato/reich propaganda by wildly exaggerating enemy losses and writing off their own combat dead as civilians. That China captured 8 times as many prisoners as acknowledged by both sides despite being on vietnam territory pretty much says all you need to know about how one sided the ground conflict was.

The goal was a show of force against the Soviets, win disputed territories, destroy Vietnamese progress made using Chinese aid so it would not fall into the hands of enemy nations. 1 and 2 were achieved, 3 was partly achieved but very soon relations normalised anyways and both CN and VN economies improved so much that whatever aid China rendered them before was just pocket change.

The Chinese command was literally in charge of training and building the Vietnamese command in the previous war between America and Vietnam, its a bare faced coping lie from the West that they "weren't well equipped". Both sides had world class infantry/army leadership, Vietnam just chose to send its elite troops into Cambodia while sending conscripts to the North. In the end, the gamble arguably paid off because Vietnam kept control over Cambodia for awhile longer.

I don't think China used their air force and Vietnam didn't either, Chinese air force was in standby mode near the border and Vietnamese air force was concentrated around the capital, so there was no real air battle. China did use heli though
 

solarz

Brigadier
Objectively the 1979 war was still a fairly terrible rout for Vietnam. The viet army wasn't badly equipped at all, but China had directly aided their military buildup before, had air supremacy and armor support.

Viet nationalists try to spin it as a win for Vietnam because China didn't occupy them and taking a page from nato/reich propaganda by wildly exaggerating enemy losses and writing off their own combat dead as civilians. That China captured 8 times as many prisoners as acknowledged by both sides despite being on vietnam territory pretty much says all you need to know about how one sided the ground conflict was.

The goal was a show of force against the Soviets, win disputed territories, destroy Vietnamese progress made using Chinese aid so it would not fall into the hands of enemy nations. 1 and 2 were achieved, 3 was partly achieved but very soon relations normalised anyways and both CN and VN economies improved so much that whatever aid China rendered them before was just pocket change.

The Chinese command was literally in charge of training and building the Vietnamese command in the previous war between America and Vietnam, its a bare faced coping lie from the West that they "weren't well equipped". Both sides had world class infantry/army leadership, Vietnam just chose to send its elite troops into Cambodia while sending conscripts to the North. In the end, the gamble arguably paid off because Vietnam kept control over Cambodia for awhile longer.

The main takeaway for China from the war with Vietnam was the high casualty rate. It directly led to reforms in the PLA.
 

taxiya

Brigadier
Registered Member
Yeah but I still find it amusing that in the end PLA even took things like bikes, farming tools, animals, and sawing machines. Wonder if the Russians will also resort to a scorched earth policy.
What part of a deliberate scotch earth policy amuse you? It is a message of "not behaving? I shit on your bed, pee in your cooking pot".

So? What does it being 45 years ago have to do with anything? In fact, it's even more amusing that now 45 years later the Russians are doing the same thing. Maybe the washing machines are just as valuable to the Russians as sewing machines were to PLA back then.

The books give example that shows that while there was official order to take everything, there was still some looting due to personal greed, although that was swiftly punished.


I am very much aware of how much things value back then. The amusing thing is that PLA took all the trivial stuff is the same behaviour happening in the Ukraine war.
Why is it still amusing after 45 years? That policy is to show the consequences of someone misbehaving as a neighbour.

You are mistaking that China in 1979 and Russia in 2022 are looting for the economy value of those things. Nobody need Ukrainian washing machine or Vietnamese sewing machine. Just so you know, PLA also cut off or blown off all electricity/telephone poles, killed livestock on the way back. It has nothing to do with taking spoil, it is just to teach a lesson.
 

PLAEnthusiast.

New Member
Registered Member
4ea6y9tv7vkbsnqjme9tsz8v3.jpg

On September 23, 1985, the 67th Army's 138th Division 414th Regiment 3rd Battalion 7th Company launched the "New Project No. 1" sortie operation. This was the only Vietnamese soldier captured by the commandos at 395 Heights.

6di40celcdkb4dcftkbfczghg.jpg

The 15th Reconnaissance Brigade killed the Vietnamese troops in the ambush and capture operation on the south side of Gezao
 

Aniah

Senior Member
Registered Member
View attachment 95809

On September 23, 1985, the 67th Army's 138th Division 414th Regiment 3rd Battalion 7th Company launched the "New Project No. 1" sortie operation. This was the only Vietnamese soldier captured by the commandos at 395 Heights.

View attachment 95810

The 15th Reconnaissance Brigade killed the Vietnamese troops in the ambush and capture operation on the south side of Gezao
I feel like the Chinese commandos have a history of killing opposing commandos and special forces during the Korean and SinoViet wars. Quite the achievement.
 

PLAEnthusiast.

New Member
Registered Member
1000 (2).png

Interesting photo, Chinese Soldiers stand guard while Vietnamese Soldiers surrender their weapons, 1979, --(pretty cool to see that PPSH-43 huh?)

1000 (3).png

Chinese Recon with unusual camo and masks restrain a captured Vietnamese Soldier, Unknown date but definitely not 1979.
 
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