In 1970, in order to prevent the invasion of millions of Soviet troops, Su Yu traveled across 5 provinces to investigate, and what was the result?
In 1970, as relations between China and the United States began to improve, Sino-Soviet relations became increasingly tense. In order to put pressure on China, the Soviet Union did not hesitate to station a million troops in the border areas of the two countries, making the "Third World War" imminent.
In the face of this urgent situation, ** urgently ordered to strengthen combat preparedness measures, rapidly shift the focus of defense from the south to the north, and carry out large-scale military engineering construction in the northern border areas, with a view to "luring the enemy into depth."
However, in the face of the Soviet Union's almost heavily armed mechanized forces, these measures could only be regarded as a response.
In addition, the Soviet Union formed an alliance with Vietnam to try to form a north-south flank posture against China, and if it lacked appropriate tactics, the consequences would be unimaginable.
At such a critical moment, the founding general Su Yu was entrusted to go to the Northwest and North China Frontiers to investigate and understand the actual situation in the Northwest Border Region.
With this important mission in mind, Su Yu traveled nearly 7,000 kilometers across five border provinces, and finally achieved considerable results.
So, what exactly did Su Yu do during his expedition to the northwest?What was the result?What impact did this have on Sino-Soviet relations?
In the early 50s of the 20th century, China and the Soviet Union experienced a rare "honeymoon period", and the Soviet Union provided all kinds of support at the beginning of China's establishment, and China also regarded the Soviet Union as a reliable ally.
However, in the early 60s, due to various factors, the two countries broke up and even fell into a situation of short-handed combat.
In order to counter the Soviet threat to China, the Soviet Union amassed a huge army and various types of **, such as tanks, artillery, armored vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles, etc., to create tensions on the border between the two countries.
In view of this grim situation, China has quickly strengthened its vigilance and adopted corresponding countermeasures. Considering that the possibility of the Soviet Union launching a "large-scale war" is relatively small, and that "local wars" and "small-scale wars" may break out at any time, it is necessary to take war as a starting point, start from preparing for a large-scale war and starting it as soon as possible, actively prepare for war, and focus on preparations for early, large-scale, and even nuclear wars.
At the same time, a major decision was made to shift the focus of defense from the South to the North.
In the past, the Central Military Commission has always adopted the strategic principle of "putting the north on top of the south". In view of the complexity of Sino-Soviet relations at that time, it was decided to focus the strategic focus on the northeastern region.
Since Soviet mechanized units were stationed on the edge of the northern plains, the consequences of a frontal war would be unimaginable. In order to lure the enemy deeper, it was decided to build fortifications on a large scale on the northern border, and ordered the pilot construction of "artificial mountains" in Tianjin and northern Jiangsu.
The original idea of the man-made mountain was to ensure the safety of the coastal areas without mountains, the transportation hub of the plains, and the backbone of large cities, and at the same time to provide support for long-range artillery, and to serve as an observation and command post for artillery.
The man-made mountain needed to be able to withstand direct hits from 500 to 1,000-pound blasting shells, and it needed to have good internal ventilation, electricity, and water infrastructure.
The purpose of all these efforts is to strengthen the defensive line and ensure that our army can have a greater advantage in combat.
However, there are still many doubts about whether this project can actually achieve the desired results. For example, similar to the question raised by Lanzhou Commander Pi Dingjun.
Judging from his time in Lanzhou, the cost of building this artificial mountain was too expensive and somewhat impractical.
Moreover, if we finally build a sand mountain, but we are faced with the situation that the enemy does not take the initiative to attack, but chooses to encircle it from a long distance, then will our army not fall into a situation of being passively beaten?
Regarding this point of view put forward by Pi Dingjun, there are many people who also hold a similar attitude, including Su Yu, the founding general of New China.
In 1970, Su Yu had to bid farewell to his beloved troops and join the industrial military management team of the Ministry of National Defense for various reasons. However, due to the later withdrawal of cadres of the Academy of Military Sciences, his work again came to a standstill.
At this time, ** happened to specially invite Su Yu and asked him to stay and work. Perceiving Su Yu's strong interest in national defense issues, he was assigned a new task: to go to the northwest and north China frontiers to learn about local work and the border defense situation.
Faced with the urgent situation that the country was facing the threat of foreign enemies, Su Yu naturally could not ignore this. With the belief that "once there is a war in the future, we will return to the front line", Su Yu gladly accepted this mission.
After packing up, he officially embarked on a nearly 50-day inspection trip and embarked on a journey.
It passes through the Hexi Corridor in Gansu, Helan Mountain, Daqing Mountain and Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia, as well as Bailing Temple and Huade in Inner Mongolia, and passes through Zhangjiakou and other places in Hebei Province along the way.
It spanned five border provinces and covered a total distance of nearly 7,000 kilometers. Su Yu gained profound insights and rich gains during this investigation, the first of which was the profound questioning of the "artificial mountain".
After arriving at the border of Inner Mongolia, Su Yu learned from others that there were a large number of "artificial mountains" in this land. Almost every once in a while, one was erected, made of stone and clods. The interior of these "artificial hills" can accommodate a battalion or a company, as well as a number of tanks and armored vehicles.
Hearing this, Su Yu couldn't help frowning. In his opinion, this "artificial mountain", which seemed to be able to withstand Soviet tanks, actually had no real effect. I'm afraid that a single fire will be able to burn it down, and it will still be easy to cross after burning.
In addition, it is known that the million-strong army of the USSR was a highly mechanized force, so to speak, already well equipped, even armed to the teeth. The technology of the tank is far from being comparable to that of more than twenty years ago, the speed and defense capabilities have increased significantly, and the "artificial mountain" seems to be difficult to become an effective blocker.
The Soviets also excelled in air power, and in the event of a war between the two countries, they were likely to attack with aircraft first. As a result, the striking "man-made mountains" were among the first to be targeted.
Previously, Su Yu had tried to get close to the border to check the enemy's situation, but unfortunately found that the area was under Soviet firepower, and the situation was quite dangerous.
In view of this situation, Su Yu quickly summoned a meeting of Pi Dingjun, commander of the Lanzhou Military Region, and other leading cadres to discuss how to deal with these "artificial mountains."
These "artificial mountains" are far from the rear support and too close to the front line. Taking into account the possible attack of the enemy in depth, which will lead to irreparable consequences, the situation may become even more dangerous.
As a veteran, Su Yu felt a responsibility for the safety of his country, so he quickly submitted a report to the Academy of Military Sciences on how to conduct defensive operations.
At the same time, Su Yu put forward a proposal on "artificial mountains" to the ** Military Commission. After careful consideration, the CMC quickly suspended these works.
In addition to paying attention to the "artificial mountain" project, Su Yu also had an in-depth understanding of the situation of the border guards. Due to the long period of maintaining combat readiness, the training burden of local soldiers increased significantly. Each soldier has to carry fifty or sixty pounds or even seventy pounds of equipment, which will have a great adverse impact on the battle.
In addition, Su Yu conducted a detailed survey of military factories, military industrial enterprises, and army construction, such as various fortifications and defense projects, in these provinces. Along the way, he made key military maps along the border.
Through this investigation, Su Yu gained a clearer understanding of the situation of the confrontation between China and the Soviet Union. He believes that our army has some advantages against the Soviet army, but the times are constantly changing, industrial and military ** are constantly developing, and the form of war is constantly evolving.
With the research and development of electronics, lasers, and other technologies, conventional warfare has transformed into high-tech warfare. Therefore, we need to pay more attention to how to effectively deal with future anti-aggression wars.
At that time, the problem Su Yu faced was a topic worthy of in-depth consideration. In order to find the real answer, he carried out a series of in-depth research.
After Su Yu returned from the northwest investigation, he quickly reported what he had seen and heard to *** and stated his views. Although it was not immediately implemented, Su Yu had already set his goal: to firmly pursue the truth he had identified. He once again submitted relevant reports on the guiding ideology of future anti-aggression operations to *** and ***, and immediately devoted himself to the study of new tactics against the Soviet Union.
By 1977, Su Yu was in his seventies, but he went to Xinjiang without hesitation. Despite his poor health and limited mobility, he made no complaints in order to contribute to his country.
During this period, Su Yu conducted several inspections. Every time he set foot on the vast land of the motherland, he realized more profoundly that "luring the enemy into depth" may no longer be suitable for future wars.
This method of warfare was originally used for the strategic defense of a weak army against a strong army, and our army has gradually grown in strength over the decades of development. With this in mind, Su Yu put forward his own opinion, advocating that the enemy's strategic surprise attack should be contained in the early stage of the war, and that the enemy should not be allowed to fully develop his posture, and that he should take the initiative to look for an opportunity to win a decisive victory in the course of active defense.
The following year, Su Yu submitted his opinion to ** on the initial operation of the war. However, the international situation changed significantly at this time, and the Soviet Union began to operate in the shadows.
Following Vietnam's provocation on China's southern border, the Soviet Union signed a treaty with it in 1978, establishing an alliance in an attempt to flank China from the north and south. The following year, China and the United States established diplomatic relations, and the Soviet Union again provoked the border.
Su Yu always paid attention to all this, and once again wrote a special report to go deep into the initial combat methods of the future anti-aggression war. The report deals with the problems of our army against the Soviet army and new ways of warfare.
In Su Yu's view, the understanding of the military combat concepts of the major powers has changed, the application of light warfare has also changed to heavy warfare, and gun battles have evolved into tank battles and artillery battles.
Our military needs to change its thinking and extensively use artillery and missiles to build a solid defensive fire network to counter the enemy's heavily armored defense system.
In addition, large-scale frontal clashes should be avoided and the combat strength of our army should be preserved to the greatest extent. It is crucial to grasp the enemy's weak point and launch an offensive in time.
Not being overly obsessed with mobile warfare can create an effective defense in the city, both to weaken the enemy and to create fighters for the rest of your forces.
Finally, to ensure that our side occupies favorable terrain and conduct a wide range of small-scale guerrilla warfare to weaken the enemy's supply lines.
Su Yu's suggestions were really practical, and our army immediately began to study them quickly and successfully applied them in the actual battlefield.
In February of the same year, in view of the frequent incursions of the Vietnamese army on the Sino-Vietnamese border, which posed a threat to the security of our country's periphery, and at the same time invaded neighboring Cambodia, our army officially decided to wage war against the Vietnamese army.
Although the Soviets had provided some support as an ally of Vietnam, their response was relatively weak when the war broke out. Senior leaders wait and see the situation and wait for the follow-up development.
Knowing that Vietnam had been defeated in repeated battles and had fallen into a disadvantage, the Soviet Union accelerated the mobilization process and assumed a posture of fighting in concert with the Vietnamese army on the northern border.
More than 20 arms of the armed forces were mobilized from different military regions, and more than 2,600 tanks and 900 planes were dispatched to conduct joint exercises.
It is reported that during this period, Soviet pilots flew for nearly 5,000 hours, dropping thousands of bombs and missiles, while the airborne division also conducted large-scale exercises.
However, our army had long foreseen a series of moves by the Soviet Union, and in order to prevent the Soviet army from cooperating with the Vietnamese army, the Military Commission quickly issued an order advocating a quick victory.
In the end, in just half a month, our army successfully inflicted heavy losses on the Vietnamese army, forced it back to its hometown, and withdrew to the country in an orderly manner after more than ten days.
By this time, it was too late for the Soviet Union to increase its mobilization again.
In 1980, he presided over a gathering of senior cadres of the whole army called the "801 Conference", and the focus of the discussion was the strategic adjustment of our army's defense operations against the Soviet Union.
At this meeting, our army made a major decision, that is, to remove the strategic policy of "luring the enemy into depth" from the military plan and actively adopt defensive tactics.
By modestly strengthening its national defense capabilities, our army made it difficult for the USSR to launch another large-scale war.