On March 3, 1979, the 445th and 446th Regiments of the 149th Division captured Sapa County, while the 447th Regiment continued to attack Hoang Lien Son Pass to the west, cutting off the rear route of the Vietnamese army. However, despite the accomplishment of this strategic goal, Deputy Army Commander Liu Guangtong was extremely angry: "You are playing with human life, and someone in the regiment must be responsible for this!"The cadres of the 445th Regiment also felt helpless and could not find a suitable response. They simply carried out the orders of their superiors and let the soldiers ride in tanks, which was undoubtedly a last resort. However, at that time, the enemy was hiding in the shadows, the tank equipment could not achieve all-round surveillance and shooting, and the soldiers could only advance at great risk. At this moment, Head Cao, who had just experienced the pain of losing his son, stood up with an objective attitude. Unexpectedly, after the troops verified the situation, he was commended by all. What's going on here?On February 21, 1979, the Vietnamese 316A Division was heavily attacked by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) while supporting Tangtang, and was forced to retreat in a hurry and occupied the Sabah main road in an attempt to stop the squadron from advancing eastward. As a seasoned unit, the combat capability of the 316A Division should not be underestimated, and the 149th Division needs to attack the Sabah main road.
Although the 149th Division is known as the "Tiger", under the fierce fire of the Vietnamese army, the 3rd Battalion of the 445th Regiment actually drove out 6 tanks. Each tank was equipped with 4 infantrymen, who were half-crouched on top of the tank and did not carry any **, but only assisted the tank crew in adjusting the angle of fire with naked eye observation. The army once strictly forbade the formation of tanks, and if it was necessary to assist the tanks in battle, the most correct way was to use the cover of the tanks and move in sync with the tanks. The approach of the cadres of the 445th Regiment is obviously incomprehensible. Deputy Army Commander Liu Guangtong was extremely angry after learning about the situation, thinking that this was playing with human life, but Commander Cao stood up with an objective attitude and finally won all the commendations. The capture of the county seat of Sabah and the capture of several important places in the surrounding areas are crucial to the breakthrough of our army. There is a landmark called Bridge No. 4 on Viet No. 10 near the county seat of Sabah, about 1,500 meters in the direction of the county seat at 1 o'clock. The northern end of the bridge stretches to the section of the county town of Sabah, forming a large bend and surrounded by mountains at an altitude of 1,000 meters. To the northeast is the 1662 Highlands Group, and to the southwest is the East Hill of the Waiyom River and the North Mount of. This kind of terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the 316A ace division stationed in it makes it extremely difficult to conquer this place.
However, in order to solve the headache of the Vietnamese army, the 316A Division must pass through Bridge No. 4, which makes it a strategic point for the Vietnamese army to fight the PLA. For the PLA to cross the bridge, it had to overcome the heavy firepower obstacles set up by the Vietnamese army and seize the high ground. The 2nd Battalion of the 446th Regiment occupied the position on the north side of Bridge 4 on February 28, and engaged in a fierce exchange of fire with the 1st Battalion of the 174th Regiment of the 316A Division of the Vietnamese Army, and finally killed 153 Vietnamese troops and mastered the position on the north side. However, the unnamed heights on the southern flank remained under the control of the Vietnamese army, which deployed heavy machine guns and firepower in an attempt to prevent the 149th Division from crossing the bridge. In this situation, Liu Guangtong, deputy commander of the 50th Army, ordered that the high ground must be taken as soon as possible and the enemy must be annihilated in the county town of Sabah. At 8 a.m. on March 2, Liu Guangtong, deputy political commissar Gao Xingyao, and deputy director of the Political Department Shao Nong personally commanded the operation. The 445th Regiment intensified its offensive, and the 446th Regiment readjusted its operational deployment, using anti-aircraft machine guns to suppress Vietnamese firepower, and then using artillery to destroy Vietnamese firepower points. The commander of the 446th Regiment's Cao Cong Company personally led the soldiers of the 1st Battalion to charge forward, and at the same time, the soldiers of the 1st and 3rd companies of the 2nd Battalion also bravely rushed across the bridge deck and captured the No. 1 and No. 2 heights.
At the same time, the 445th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 8th Regiment also launched an attack on the 4th height, and it seemed that the unnamed high ground on the south side of Highway 4 was about to fall into the hands of our troops. However, on the two heights on the southwest side of Bridge No. 4, Vietnamese machine guns continued to strafe, and it was clear that there were a large number of enemy troops in ambush here. The charging soldiers fell in a pool of blood, and the Vietnamese army had already set up an ambush here, waiting for our army's attack. The Vietnamese troops on the high ground in the rear were very fierce, and the Vietnamese troops on the No. 3 and No. 4 heights approaching in front also began to launch fierce fire suppression on the positions of the People's Liberation Army. At this time, the 445 battalion of the 3rd regiment mobilized 6 tanks, each of which carried 4 infantrymen, who not only did not carry any **, but also constantly directed the tankmen to shoot. "It's too dangerous, don't they know it?Cheng Wangming, the guard who followed Cao Conglian, couldn't help but get angry, and immediately summoned a soldier, who was the soldier Cao Hui lying on top of the tank, and the son of the commander of Cao. Cheng Wangming seriously criticized: "It is very dangerous to take a tank in battle, why would the regiment commander give such an order?."However, Cao Hui only smiled contemptuously, and then replied seriously: "Report, this is an order!."Then, he ran straight for his target tank.
Cheng Wangming was worried about these young soldiers, they were about to face the elite division of the Vietnamese army, and it was not easy to break through. Therefore, Cheng Wangming wanted to take advantage of the presence of cadres at the army and division levels to correct the wrong decision of the 445th Regiment. However, Regiment Commander Cao directly stopped Cheng Wangming's actions, saying: "Soldiers should obey orders, and we cannot interfere in the decision-making of the brotherhood." After saying this, before Commander Cao could come back to his senses, he heard a dense burst of machine-gun fire in front of him. It turned out that Cao Hui's tank was accurately shot by the Vietnamese army, and for a while, the four soldiers riding the tank fell to the ground one after another. Perhaps because of the affection between father and son, Captain Cao instinctively wanted to rush forward. However, Cheng Wangming grabbed him in time and advised him to calm down and restraint. As a father, his grief is beyond comprehension. So, he could only endure the pain with tears in his eyes and command the soldiers to charge. At the same time, the deputy commander was unusually angry. By 12 noon, the 149th Division of the People's Liberation Army had fully controlled the unnamed heights on the south side of Bridge No. 4 and was fully protecting the main force to advance towards the county town of Sabah. The 3rd Battalion of the 445th Regiment advanced 10 kilometers to repel enemy forces along the route and open the way for the capture of the county town of Sabah. During the night, the 446th Battalion of the 3rd Regiment occupied the unnamed heights northeast of Daping.
Under the coordinated operation of the 445th Regiment and the 446th Regiment, a total of 110 Vietnamese soldiers were killed, 16 bunkers were destroyed, and 60 mortars, 5 rocket launchers, 2 heavy machine guns, and various other ** were captured. 3 battalion** 11 people, 21 wounded. After the war, the 8th Company was awarded the collective first-class merit and won the honorary title of "Tiger Red 8th Company". On March 3, the 446th and 445th regiments captured the county town of Sabah. The 2nd Battalion of the 445th Regiment, which was blocked in Daping, met the 447th Regiment to the west, cutting off the rear route of the Vietnamese army, and the two units began to meet and move into the clearance. At 6 a.m. on the 3rd, the 1st Company captured the high ground on the north side of Bridge No. 8, killed and wounded more than 40 Vietnamese troops, and captured Bridge No. 8. Overall, the 149th Division's combat effectiveness was still strong, and in the seven-day battle, it inflicted heavy losses on the 316A Division of the Vietnamese Army. If the capture of Tangtang forced the 316A Division to flee in a hurry, then this duel between the 149th Division and the 316A Division was a head-to-head confrontation between aces and trumps. Immediately after the capture of the county town of Sabah, the deputy commander of the army convened a meeting of command-level cadres of the 445th Regiment and the 446th Regiment, expressed anger at the order of the 445th Regiment to let the soldiers fight in tanks, and even demanded that they be held accountable.
The cadres of the 445 regiment, who were severely criticized, were helpless, because they believed that the Type 59 tanks equipped by our army had a limited field of view of 180 degrees and could not flexibly play an effective strike role in combat. Let the fighters fight in tanks, just out of desperation, the purpose is to improve combat mobility and accuracy, and to accomplish combat objectives faster. Obviously, such an approach can only be seen as a helpless move. However, Liu Guangtong was convinced that the leadership of the 445th Regiment did not care about the safety of the soldiers at all, and he was deeply saddened by the sacrifice of these young lives. At the same time, Regiment Commander Cao was suffering the pain of losing his son, but he did not take the opportunity to blame him, but objectively stated that there was no mistake in the command of this operation. The infantry of the 445th Regiment played a key role in this battle, and although the personal safety of the fighters was neglected, special means were required in special times, and there seemed to be no choice. It is clear that after the investigation, the command cadres of the 445 regiment were not only not punished, but all of them were commended. However, the act of fighting in tanks has been strictly forbidden. Eventually, after the Battle of Sabah, the Vietnamese army was completely annihilated and the local population had been evacuated, and the city was clearly empty.
The battle was a showdown between two top forces, and it was clearly strong against strong. This is also the first time that our army has used the strength of one division against another, creating a historical precedent and demonstrating the momentum and courage of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.