If China and the Soviet Union had gone to war that year, what were our chances of victory? This is a question that many people used to think about in the 70s of the last century.
At that time, the relations between China and the Soviet Union fell to a freezing point, and for this reason, the other side did not hesitate to deploy millions of troops on the border between the two countries, and the number of its tank and armored units was enough to penetrate the entire Eurasian continent, and even the United States was afraid of it.
For this problem, ** once proposed a tactic, even if I** is not as strong as the Soviet side, but we still have a chance to win, so that everyone is amazed!
So, what is this tactic? When China and the Soviet Union went to war, what were our chances of winning?
To solve these problems, we must first understand why China and the Soviet Union went to war at that time.
In 1960, the Soviet Union withdrew Soviet specialists working in China, and then forced our country to repay its debts ahead of schedule. After 15 days of repeated fierce fighting, our country finally killed and wounded 152 enemy soldiers and won the victory.
At this point, the contradictions between the two sides have intensified to the extreme.
The Soviets then amassed a million troops in the north. In the northwestern part of our country alone, there were as many as 25 divisions of Soviet troops.
In the Far East, the Soviets deployed more troops, and at a glance they were all crowded Soviet troops.
According to historical records, the Soviet Union had 1.3 million troops, 60,000 main battle tanks and more than 70,000 armored vehicles here, and countless logistics and transport vehicles.
And that's not all, as the world's largest army power at the time, the Soviet Union also deployed 1,200 warplanes and 200 missiles here, and instructed its troops to force their way to the border under the pretext of "responding to threats".
And hardliners such as Marshal Grechko, then Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union, even strongly advocated a "surgical nuclear strike" against our country.
You must know that the Soviet army has deployed medium-range ballistic missiles in the Far East, and there are also nuclear bombs with a yield of several million tons in the vicinity, which may be the first to launch a nuclear strike at any time.
It can be said that in the 70s of the last century, China and the Soviet Union were on the verge of a major war, and they could affect the whole body at any time.
Against such a strong lineup of the Soviet army, do we still have a chance of winning?
In fact, the real situation was beyond everyone's expectations, and in the event of a war, we would most likely resist the USSR and drag it into the quagmire of war until it was completely crushed!
There are three main reasons for this.
First of all, the first reason is that China's military strength should not be underestimated.
As everyone knows, China's modernization started late, its development has often been hindered or even interrupted, and its military strength has always been relatively weak.
However, our first team has experienced the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and even the War of Self-Defense and Counterattack against India.
At the same time, in the 70s, our military strength was very strong. In the face of the sudden increase in pressure from the north, the great man increased the number of armies by 5 armies, and the total strength came to an astonishing 36 armies of more than 1.1 million people.
If we count the non-staff militia and its cadres and other military personnel, our country's military strength will reach a terrifying 6.3 million! What is this concept? At that time, the strength of the Soviet Army, the "strongest army on the surface", was less than 4 million!
In addition to the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the all-army contest held by our country in 1964 is also one of the best examples.
In 1964, China implemented Guo Xingfu's teaching method throughout the army and launched mass military training activities, which suddenly set off a great upsurge of martial arts competitions throughout the country. In this craze, a lot of "kings of individual soldiers" have emerged.
For example, in the Jinan Military Region competition visited by the great man, a soldier named Song Shizhe only aimed with the naked eye, fired 40 shots in a row within 40 seconds, and the gun hit 40 steel targets 150 meters away!
You know, he also changed the magazine three times in these 40 seconds, and really achieved one bullet in one second, one bullet and one enemy!
Another soldier named Wang Qiaosheng was not far behind, using only one arm to reload and shoot, and all 5 shots were hit. And he also changed his hands, opened the bow left and right, and hit all 10 shots!
It can be said that in terms of individual strength, our army is absolutely not inferior to the Soviet army, and even surpasses it.
Not only that, but the first equipment of the People's Liberation Army in the 70s has also been greatly improved.
At this time, the ** used by our army is no longer the criticized "made in all countries", but the five or six gun families made by our country alone. The Type 63 rocket launcher, which has a simple but not simple structure, is also very powerful.
And the previous very weak air force equipment has also been greatly improved, because of its excellent performance, the J-7 series fighters exported to many countries have been installed in the air force.
It can be said that in terms of conventional **, although the PLA is not as good as the Soviet army, its absolute strength is certainly not weak.
And in terms of nuclear weapons, our country is not without the strength of a war.
In 1964 and 1967, China's first atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb were successfully tested, and since then, Japan no longer has to fear the nuclear threat of other countries.
Of course, in terms of long-range nuclear weapons delivery capabilities, although China is not as good as the Soviet Union, it is absolutely enough to defend the country.
Therefore, our country, which is not weak in terms of the quality of its soldiers, conventional and nuclear forces, has a chance to resist the attack of the Soviet army. Once the Soviet army is dragged into the vast sea of the people's war, our country's chances of victory will rise year by year.
Secondly, China's second major advantage is that it has a strong tactical strategy.
As early as the beginning of 1965, ** was keenly aware of the possibility of war between China and the Soviet Union, and creatively put forward the general policy of "preparing for war, preparing for famine, and serving the people".
Under the guidance of this strategic principle, all departments in our country always consider the possibility of the outbreak of war when formulating development and construction plans, and have been making long-term preparations for war.
At the same time, the localities are also making preparations, in addition to organizing the masses to conduct military exercises on a large scale, they are also hoarding surplus materials as military rations for the outbreak of wars in the future.
By the end of the 60s, this strategic thinking of the first class was further developed into the famous nine-character policy of "digging deep holes, accumulating grain, and not seeking hegemony", preparing for "early fighting, big fighting, and nuclear war".
Among them, deep digging refers to the construction of a large number of underground air defense fortifications in various places, especially in strategic places, to prevent the attack of the Soviet army. It is easy to understand that accumulating grain is to hoard grain reserves to prepare for war. Not seeking hegemony means not engaging in hegemonism and striving for international excellence.
In fact, this strategy did play a very good effect, at that time when almost all the people were soldiers and the whole people were preparing for war, the Soviet Union did not have the courage to start a war, and even if the war broke out, they did not have the confidence to win.
China is a big country with a vast territory, and if the Soviet Union launches a war, then China can rely on its numerical superiority and geographical "great depth" to implement the tactic of "exchanging space for time" during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and completely drag down the Soviet Union.
In particular, our country had already issued a combat readiness order at that time and began to respond to a possible strategic surprise attack by the Soviet Union. And in a prepared anti-invasion war, our country has never lost.
Not only that, but ** also proposed a tactic, and it was precisely because of it that the Soviet Union did not win in the possible Sino-Soviet war, which is the famous "change of house tactic".
As everyone knows, since the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has won the worldwide reputation of "the king of light infantry." Our army's long-distance raids and detours have terrified the world's No. 1 US military.
If a war breaks out between China and the Soviet Union, the PLA and the entire militia can naturally carry out another long-distance attack and go straight into the hinterland of the Soviet Union! At the same time, our country will drop all nuclear bombs to open the way for the PLA.
In this way, the Soviet army will either return to defend its homeland, and our country will naturally be protected from intrusion, or it will continue to attack our country, and without troops and civilians on our territory, they will not be able to hold out for long.
Therefore, with the strategy and tactics of the great man, even if there is a real war, ours will not necessarily lose.
The third major advantage of our country is that it has strong international support.
In the 70s of the last century, at the climax of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union attracted other countries in the world to join their camp in order to sit on the hegemonic throne.
When Sino-Soviet relations fell to the freezing point, the United States immediately extended an olive branch to our country, hoping to use it to balance the Soviet Union. As a result, with the improvement of Sino-US relations, China has received help in the international community.
Moreover, at the beginning of October 1969, the United States also used the mouth of Britain to announce to China a list of locations where the Soviet Union was preparing for a nuclear strike, and publicly promised that once a Sino-Soviet war broke out, they would not sit idly by.
One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the news announced by the United States caused an uproar in the world. After hearing the news, the great man immediately mobilized the whole people to prepare for a nuclear war, many private enterprises turned to military production, and a large number of factories moved to the mountainous areas and the rear of the southwest with the concept of "mountain, scatter and hole".
When other countries heard about this, they changed their previous views on our country and turned to support our country, and the Soviet Union was under unprecedented pressure in the international community. After receiving a positive reply from the United States, Brezhnev was even so angry that he scolded them, believing that the United States had "betrayed" them.
Maybe the United States is just paying lip service, and it is very likely that it will not officially send troops, but the Soviet Union, which was in the hegemony of the Cold War, did not dare to gamble and could not afford it. And our country is really preparing for a big war, and it is already impossible for the USSR to launch a surprise attack.
Once the Sino-Soviet war broke out, the Soviet Union would already be under considerable pressure from our country, and if the United States was added, it would be even more impossible for them to win.
And not only the United States, at that time our country also had some good friends in the third world, such as Pakistan, Albania, Cambodia and other countries, they were united and were also a considerable force in the international community.
Taking Pakistan as an example, at that time, there was a constant conflict between India and Pakistan, and the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, were supporting India, but it was our country that stood up and helped them tide over the difficulties.
In this way, China has developed a large number of trustworthy friends in the third world, and I believe that this help will definitely be rewarded, and it is very likely that they will help our country in the Sino-Soviet war.
Therefore, in the face of international accusations, if the Soviet Union is still willing to bear such pressure, but even if it starts a war, the Soviet Union, which has a low support rate, will not have much chance of winning.
Moreover, our country still has the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, these two major precedents of defeating the strong with the weak, even if the war breaks out, we may not lose!