40 years of the Northern Border War: Part I - The Unequal War
(Baonghean.vn) - At the time of China's attack, Vietnam's total defense force in the northern border provinces was only about 50,000 troops. Meanwhile, the Chinese army was estimated to have 600,000 soldiers, more than 10 times the actual combat force of Vietnam.
“At 4:17 a.m. on February 17, 1979, while the people of Hoang Lien Son were sleeping soundly, suddenly a series of artillery shells from the North rained down, setting the entire border ablaze…”, that was part of a news report broadcast by the People’s Army newspaper exactly 40 years ago. The news reported the moment when China suddenly sent troops to invade our border - opening the way for a fierce war that lasted 30 days.
According to historical documents, Vietnam-China relations began to crack in 1968. Especially after 1972, when US President Nixon visited Beijing and reached an agreement with China. In May 1975, the Khmer Rouge sent troops to occupy Phu Quoc and Tho Chu islands and then advanced deep into Vietnamese territory, massacring thousands of civilians. When Vietnam had just reunified the country, the soldiers had not yet had a day of peace before they had to shoulder their guns to protect the Fatherland. China was behind the Khmer Rouge's aid in weapons as well as military advisors.
