Soon after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh came to China and sent a plea for help to our country. At this time, Vietnam and France were at war, and the Vietnamese army was in a rout. After careful consideration, the leaders headed by *** decided to send General Chen Geng to Vietnam to personally command, and at the same time provide ** ammunition for Vietnam.
After receiving the order of the ** Military Commission, Chen Geng quickly formed a military delegation and went to Vietnam. Upon arrival in Vietnam, the Chinese delegation was warmly welcomed by Vietnam. Afterwards, Chen Geng quickly entered a state of combat readiness and began to deploy the battle plan through the front-line battle situation of the Vietnamese army. Vietnam's leaders have offered to launch a campaign on the Sino-Vietnamese border. The purpose of this campaign is,Liberate the important city of Cao Bang in Vietnam and establish direct land links with China.
Cheng Geng and the delegation unanimously agreed with Vietnam's opinions, and Chen Geng was also confident about the upcoming battle. Subsequently, Cheng Geng personally went to the front line to inspect and learned about the combat capability of the French army, as well as a series of information such as military strategy. Chen Geng learned that in the Nanshan area around Gaoping, the Vietnamese army set up an arsenal. This arsenal can continuously supply the Vietnamese army with the best ammunition, which is of great strategic significance.
When the French learned of this information through reconnaissance, they immediately sent troops to occupy it, but after three attacks, they failed to take the arsenal. In the process, the French sent bombers and heavy artillery and thousands of infantry. Although the Vietnamese had only one battalion of infantry, they withstood the French attack on four days. After Cheng Geng learned about this situation, he had a preliminary understanding of the strength of both sides.
Chen Geng thinks:The French army was too weak, and the next thing to capture was Gaoping. The two sides then began to make strategic arrangements, but when discussing strategies with the Vietnamese generals, they found that many Vietnamese troops were in a hurry to achieve results and were arrogant and complacent, which was very unfavorable to the operation. In addition, it is generally believed in the ranks of the Vietnamese army that as long as the first ammunition is good enough, it will be able to win the battle, which is simply nonsense.
Chen Geng found through observation that the Vietnamese army was bent on taking more territory and more towns at this time. This can increase the financial revenue of the Vietnamese army, and the Vietnamese army does not care about how to annihilate the French ** team. In the end, most of the commanders of the Vietnamese army did not have a detailed strategic plan for how to capture Cao Ping, and only knew that they had to take Cao Ping and occupy the big city.
However, according to the battle reports from the front, Vietnam did not win even a single victory in the previous Vietnam-France war. At this time, the French army was stationed in Cao Bang City, at least three battalions, and according to the current situation, there was little hope of victory for the Vietnamese army. After analysis, Cheng Geng found that Gaoping's fortifications were strong, surrounded by mountains, easy to defend and difficult to attack. If they wanted to take Cao Ping, the Vietnamese army would have to pay a heavy price. If this is the case, it is better to attack the enemy's weakly defended Dongxi.
If Dongxi is taken, it will be much easier to capture Gaoping. This is the PLA's consistent combat style, and it does not take into account the gains and losses of one city or one pool. In the face of a strong enemy, it is necessary to distinguish the main and secondary strengths and weaknesses, and then annihilate them one by one. And Dongxi is an important stronghold of Gaoping, and the enemy will definitely not give up easily, and when the time comes, it will be able to strike at the enemy's support. Chen Geng's strategic policy has a strong guiding significance for winning Gaoping.
In the eyes of the Vietnamese army, attacking Dongxi first was to expose the battle plan. Let the French know that they will attack Gaoping next, and they will definitely send reinforcements. In the face of the doubts of the Vietnamese army, Chen Geng expressed his opinion, it is easy to take Dongxi, and at the same time, it can also cut off the connection between Dongxi and Gaoping, so that Gaoping's external defense can be easily resolved. Moreover, the attack on Dongxi is not to occupy it, but to let the enemy continue to reinforce by attacking Dongxi, so as to achieve the goal of "encircling and reinforcing the enemy" to annihilate the enemy.
In the face of Chen Geng's explanation, the Vietnamese generals still had objections, but with the support of the Vietnamese army general Wu Yuanjia, they still accepted it. However, some Vietnamese commanders in private still have doubts in their hearts, can Chinese advisers really help them win? In fact, before Vietnam sent aid to China, it first sent a request for help to the distant Soviet Union. But Stalin did not agree, and said that the revolution in Asia was guided by China.
Therefore, in the minds of Vietnamese generals, they are also skeptical about the command ability of Chinese generals. Chen Geng's strategic guidance to Vietnam, the leaders are also always paying attention. And the leaders of *** and other leaders all saw the subtlety of Chen Geng's strategy at a glance. At the same time, the ** Military Commission also issued an order to Chen Geng:Agree to this battle plan, in order to ensure the victory of this battle, it is necessary to watch out for French reinforcements.
Under the command of Chen Geng, the Vietnamese army concentrated 7,000 troops and marched to Dongxi with China's **. At this time, the French army in Dongxi had only one battalion, with a total number of about 400. It can be said that the Vietnamese army has a great advantage in both manpower and firepower. According to this trend, the annihilation of the French army in Dongxi was in the palm of its hand. But after the war started, the unexpected battle situation from the front line made Chen Geng directly stunned.
After arriving at the designated position, the Vietnamese army took the lead in launching an attack. Quickly annihilated the enemy's strongholds to the north and northwest of Dongxi and occupied part of the position. However, the other unit lost contact with the command and did not resume communication until the afternoon. This also led to the postponement of the time of the assist until the afternoon, and after the launch of the general offensive, the artillery units of the Vietnamese army took the lead in the fire attack, and the enemy simply did not have the ability to parry.
The battle lasted until late at night, and good news came from the front, and the enemy's core positions were successfully occupied, and the battle came to an end. Everything was expected by Chen Geng, and he fell asleep with peace of mind. But after waking up on the second day, I received a ** from Wu Yuanjia: Our army did not enter the enemy's core position, and now it is confronting the French army. Chen Geng was stunned after listening to it, why did he still have variables, didn't he already occupy it yesterday?
It's daytime, if the offensive is launched again. It is very likely that it will be attacked by French fire and become a live target for the enemy. Wu Yuanjia believes that the top priority now is for the whole army to retreat. Chen Geng believes that retreating at this time means that the previous efforts are wasted, and if the retreat is improper, there will be greater losses. As a result, the Vietnamese army did not follow his advice and began to retreat in a hurry, but was bombed and strafed by French aircraft, and the losses were very huge.
Seeing the defeat of the Vietnamese army on the front line, Chen Geng immediately went to the front line headquarters. After communicating with Wu Yuanjia and other Vietnamese generals, Chen Geng believed that the main reason for this defeat was that the general offensive was not launched as planned. Moreover, some regimental commanders of the Vietnamese army were too timid on the front line and even hid far away in the rear of the security command. This kind of war-fearing behavior is extremely detrimental to the morale of a fighter. If the commanders are afraid of death, the soldiers will definitely be affected.
If it is in the Chinese battlefield, not only the front-line regimental-level cadres will command on the front, but they will also take the lead in rushing and killing. Chen Geng himself was also in such a bloody battle, and finally became a general commander. He had been wounded in battle several times, but every soldier trusted him very much and resolutely carried out his command. These are all feelings tempered in the flames of war.
7,000 Vietnamese troops against 400 French troops, no matter what, they can win. Through investigation, Chen Geng found that the Vietnamese army was still passive and afraid of war. When the artillery bombardment was over, the infantry did not immediately charge. Under Chen Geng's repeated urging, the attack was launched. However, the Vietnamese army still did not successfully take Dongxi, but waited for reinforcements from the French army. According to the latest intelligence from the front, the French army has already led 2000 troops to reinforcements.
At this time, the commander-in-chief of the Vietnamese army, Wu Yuanjia, panicked and called Chen Geng, demanding that the troops be withdrawn immediately. After Chen Geng received **. Said angrily:Still fighting? If this continues, I'll have to roll up and go back to China. When the two sides are facing each other, how can they shake the morale of the army, this is a taboo for soldiers.
Although Chen Geng hated iron and steel, he still continued to command the battle. He believed that the Vietnamese army could not successfully take Dongxi, mainly because the main and secondary objectives of the attack were not clear. The French could easily block the attack as long as they gathered their forces in one place. So Chen Geng began to make strategic adjustments, and the Vietnamese army wanted to mix with the enemy as much as possible, so that the enemy could not bomb. At the same time, let the army begin to attack from many sides, so that the enemy is unable to parry.
After Chen Geng's adjustment of strategy this time, the French army has gradually become a rout. However, at the critical moment, the Vietnamese army dropped the chain again, and even proposed to withdraw the troops for rest. Chen Geng ordered again:The enemy is now in a desperate throes, and if he holds on a little longer, he will surely win. In the end, he succeeded in winning the battle and captured a French commander alive.
After the success of this campaign, all the generals of the Vietnamese army never questioned Chen Geng's command ability. In the ensuing battle, the Vietnamese army began to blow the horn of the first and liberated important cities such as Cao Ping, Lao Cai, and Lang Son one after another. The French army began to rout and had to withdraw from Vietnam. Such a swift victory greatly exceeded the expectations of the whole of Vietnam.
With the help of Tran Geng, Vietnam finally won the war against France. In 1954, France withdrew from Indochina, ending a half-century of colonial rule in Vietnam. Tran Geng also won the love of the Vietnamese people, which is the highest affirmation of his military ability. There are still many outstanding generals like Chen Geng in China, who have made great contributions to the founding of New China, and I want to pay tribute to these heroes!