Title: Demystifying the 1984 Battle of Laoshan: The Tragic Battle Behind the World Record and the Thief Heart of the Vietnamese Army Text: In the history of China after the reform and opening up, the Battle of Laoshan was a unique battle.
The war lasted five years, and in the most brutal 712 artillery battle, our army used up 3400 tons of shells in one day, setting a global record. Why, then, did the Battle of Lao Son break out after the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam?
What happened in this terrible battle? Today, let's uncover the secrets of the 1984 Sino-Vietnamese Lao Son artillery battle. Although the blow of the People's Liberation Army against the Vietnamese army after the end of the counterattack against Vietnam seemed to make them relent, the withdrawal after the victory made Vietnam more advanced and the thief's heart did not die.
In March 1979, after the end of our victory in the war against Vietnam, Vietnam continued to violate our border territory many times. Even though our People's Liberation Army has withdrawn, the Vietnamese army still took the opportunity to occupy Lao Son on the border of Yunnan Province.
Taking advantage of the complex and varied topography of Lao Mountain, they built a large number of fortifications in Lao Mountain, including positions of 400 to 600 meters, equipped with traps, barbed wire, anti-infantry trenches and a large number of minefields.
The Vietnamese army also arranged a variety of **, forming a firepower arrangement that crosses far and near, and combines left and right, and also arranges a lot of hidden hidden firepower. It can be seen that the Vietnamese army has put a lot of effort into the deployment of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and has arranged Lao Son into a solid defensive position that can be attacked and defended.
During the five years from the end of the self-defense counterattack in 1979 to 1984, the Vietnamese army continued to carry out unprovoked provocations against China's Yunnan border area. They opened fire, causing severe damage to farmland, schools and villages.
According to statistics, the Vietnamese army fired more than 40,000 rounds of various types of guns, resulting in more than 200 soldiers and civilians on the border of our country. During this period, more than 30,000 acres of farmland on China's border could not be cultivated normally, and more than 50 schools could not attend classes normally.
In order to protect the security of our territory and people, our country has decided to take drastic action. On April 18, 1984, with Qiaotou Village as the center, our artillery units first fired offensive artillery fire.
Hundreds of artillery pieces bombarded the Vietnamese positions in Lao Son in unison, covering more than 400 targets such as infantry, artillery, and warehouses of the Vietnamese army.
Under the fierce artillery offensive, our border guards were on standby, and all the armed forces were waiting for the order to launch an assault on the Lao Son Vietnamese army. After nearly an hour of artillery bombardment, our troops launched a charge towards Laoshan.
The fortifications laid out by the Vietnamese army were like tofu scum projects in front of the PLA, and they collapsed as soon as the PLA rushed them. After more than 5 hours of fierce fighting, our troops successfully occupied the main peak of Laoshan.
On May 15, after 18 days of continuous fighting, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) successfully regained Lao Son and Zheyin Mountain, and once again told Vietnam with practical actions how big the difference in strength between the two armies was.
The Vietnamese army's five-year defensive offensive at Lao Son was completely broken by PLA fighters in more than ten days, and other areas were recovered. According to post-war records, it took only 3 days to capture the entire Laoshan Mountain.
But Vietnam, which did not give up, after a month's rest, organized troops to start ** Lao Son.
The recapture of Lao Son before the 712 artillery battle was a battle that shocked the world. In just three days, the Chinese PLA fighters broke through the fortifications that the Vietnamese army had painstakingly laid out for five years.
In this Lao Son Campaign, the troops commanded by Vu Li, commander of the Second Military Region of Vietnam, were defeated and defeated. Vu Li, a veritable ace commander in Vietnam, studied at the Higher Military Academy in Nanjing, China, and has a great understanding of the PLA's strategy and tactics.
Therefore, he established Laoshan as a powerful strategic support point with tropical jungle characteristics, modern fortifications and ace troops. However, this battle became the most humiliating battle for the Vietnamese army, and it also showed the world the strength and wisdom of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
Wu Li held an operational meeting in Vietnam and boasted that he would resign if the ** squadron captured Lao Shan, which he had worked hard to manage for five years. However, our People's Liberation Army (PLA) broke through the strong fortifications boasted by Wu Li in only three days, and not only recovered Lao Son, but also captured the Yinshan, Nala and Bali River areas in less than half a month, and the first battle ended in a crushing defeat for Vietnam.
The Second Military Region of Vietnam held three successive operational meetings in its Bei Quang district overnight and formulated a plan for Lao Son and Bali Ha ** on June 1, but they were all repulsed by our troops.
On the evening of June 12, the Vietnamese army took advantage of our army's unpreparedness to sneak attack the position in the Lao Son Nala area, and a company of soldiers desperately resisted and almost completely annihilated.
Under the cover of night, the PLA successfully recaptured the position with a volley of artillery fire and completely annihilated more than 500 Vietnamese troops who attacked by sneak attack. Wu Li led his soldiers to carry out many attacks on Songmaoling, Nala and other places, but they were all repelled by the PLA.
In desperation, the Vietnamese army convened the second Beiguang Conference and invited the No. 1 adviser of the Soviet army to jointly develop an operational strategy called the "MB-84 Northern Operation Plan".
The plan was to regain the lost territory point by point and restore the original situation, under the personal command of Wu Li and the No. 1 adviser of the Soviet Army. This time, the Vietnamese army invested a large number of troops and large-caliber artillery ammunition, with a total strength of more than 40,000 troops, and the number of artillery shells transported accounted for almost half of the number of artillery shells in Vietnam.
Despite the Vietnamese army's desperate gamble, Vu Li was full of confidence in the plan and said at the meeting: "I still have to be the commander, and we will regain the lost territory within three days." ”
Our army not only has great strength, but also has advanced reconnaissance means. We have grasped the movements of the Vietnamese army, and the preparations for war of the PLA are proceeding in an intense and orderly manner.
The upcoming big battle will be a fierce contest. The 712 artillery battle of 1984 was a classic battle in the history of our army, and our fighters loaded an average of 13 shells1 ton, the commander-in-chief of the Vietnamese Military District was directly subdued.
Our army held an emergency meeting in Mo Son and received information from various sources that the date of a large-scale offensive by the Vietnamese army was likely to be within a few days. Therefore, our army is fully prepared to meet the challenge at any time.
Among the defensive tasks deployed, the 40th Division was responsible for garrisoning the Laoshan Mountain, Songmaoling Heights and Nala areas, and the tasks were arduous, especially in Songmaoling and Nala Pass.
Liu Changyou, commander of the 40th Division, drew up a battle plan on the night of the 10th, requiring the troops to be ready for battle in the early morning of the 11th, and stipulating that one-third of the troops' personnel should be on standby at the forward positions during the day and half of the personnel at night.
Wu Li prepared to regain his position in three days, and the soldiers of the 40th Division were ready for a bloody battle for five days. Division Commander Liu resolutely stated at the operational meeting that he would not hesitate to fight to the last man, and would resolutely prevent the Vietnamese army from succeeding.
On the night of July 11, the artillery fire of the Vietnamese army towards our positions was suddenly interrupted, and with the experience of many years of military career, Liu Changyou judged that a big battle was coming. Sure enough, at 2:45 a.m. on July 12, the 40th Division oversaw preparations for a large-scale attack by the Vietnamese army.
At three o'clock in the morning, the Vietnamese troops had already reached a position 600 meters in front of the forward positions of our troops.
The Vietnamese army originally planned to send assault troops to secretly advance to the forward positions of our army, and then attack our positions with artillery fire, and finally the assault troops rushed forward to seize the PLA. What they did not expect, however, was that the 40th Division had already sensed their movements.
When the Vietnamese assault troops approached the forward positions, the 40th Division of our army directly preemptively launched an artillery bombardment of the Vietnamese army. 700 artillery pieces were fired at the same time, successfully cutting off the Vietnamese troops, and the assault troops at the front were left in a situation of isolation.
However, Wu Li, as a general who had defeated the American army, quickly came to his senses after a short panic and immediately commanded the artillery to launch a counterattack artillery attack on our position.
After the Vietnamese army opened fire, their position was revealed. Division Commander Liu immediately ordered the artillery to attack the Vietnamese artillery positions. The two sides fought fiercely until noon on July 12.
In the course of this shelling, each mortar was equipped with three firing pins, one bent and replaced with a new one, and each cannon fired more than twice as many shells as the usual tutorial.
The barrels of the guns were beaten red, and the soldiers were smoky and on fire.
At 20 o'clock on July 12, the shelling in the Laoshan area gradually subsided. In this artillery battle, the Vietnamese army paid the price of more than 7,000 people, but failed to capture any high ground.
On this day, the artillery of the 40th Division fired more than 3,400 tons of shells, setting a world record in artillery battles. Wu Li's plan to regain the lost territory in 3 days was disrupted by this artillery battle.
From this day on, apart from small-scale harassment, the Vietnamese army never organized a large-scale offensive again. After this artillery battle, the Vietnamese artillery lost the courage to fight our artillery, and our army established a firepower superiority in Lao Son.
The Battle of Lao Son made the Vietnamese army feel the gap between themselves and our People's Liberation Army again. In the decades that followed, they did not dare to station large forces at the front.
The battle on July 12 also became the last large-scale battle of the Vietnamese army.