Border conflict with China in 1969. What armed conflicts were with China from Russia

Soviet-Chinese border conflict on the island of Damansky - Armed clashes between the USSR and the PRC on March 2 and 15, 1969 in the area of \u200b\u200bDamansky Island (Keith. 珍宝 , Zhenbao - "Precious") on the Ussuri River in 230 km south of Khabarovsk and 35 km west of Raycenter Raugorsk (46 ° 29'08 "s. sh. 133 ° 50 '40 " in. d. (G) (O)). The largest Soviet-Chinese armed conflict in the modern history of Russia and China.

Prehistory and Causes of Conflict

The island of Damansky, which was part of the Pozhara district of Primorsky Krai, is located from the Chinese side from the main channel of Ussuri. Its dimensions are 1500-1800 m from north to south and 600-700 m from west to east (area of \u200b\u200babout 0.74 km²). During the flood period, the island is completely hidden under water. However, there are several brick buildings on the island. And the bay meadows are a valuable natural resource.

From the beginning of the 1960s, the situation in the area of \u200b\u200bthe island has bent. According to the statements of the Soviet side, the group of civilians and military personnel began to systematically violate the borderline regime and go to the Soviet territory, whenever the border guards were expelled without the use of weapons. At first, the peasants came to the territory of the USSR to indicate the Chinese authorities and demonstratively engaged in economic activities: mortgage and grazing, stating that were in Chinese territory. The number of such provocations has increased dramatically: in 1960 there were 100 of them, in 1962 more than 5,000. Then the Hongwebins attacks were made on border patrols. The score of such events went for thousands, each of them was involved to several hundred people. On January 4, 1969, a Chinese provocation with the participation of 500 people were held on the island of Kirkinsky (Cilizindao).

The Hero of the Soviet Union, Yuri Babansky, who served in the conflict on the border serve, recalled: "... In February, I unexpectedly received the appointment as a commander of the Office Department, the head of which was Senior Lieutenant Strelnikov. I come to Zava, and there, besides the cook, there is no one. "Everything," says, - on the shore, with the Chinese fighting. " I, of course, an automatic on the shoulder - and to Ussuri. And there is really a fight. Chinese border guards crossed Ussuri on ice and invaded our territory. Here are the Strelnikov and raised the stamping "in a gun." Our guys and higher, and later were. But the Chinese are not a flasher shit - deft, fascinated; The fist do not climb, in every way trying to dodge our blows. While everyone was completely out, the hour and a half passed. But without a single shot. Only in the face. I was even then thought: "Fun Izpare". "

According to the Chinese version of the events, the Soviet border guards themselves "arranged" provocations and beat CNR citizens who were engaged in economic activity where they always did it. During the Kirkino incident, the Soviet border guards applied a BTR to extrude peaceful citizens, and on February 7, 1969 several single car shots took place in the direction of the Chinese border guard.

However, it was repeatedly noted that none of such clashes, on whose fault there was no one could, could not pour into a serious armed conflict without approval by the authorities. The statement that the events around the island of Damansky on March 2 and 15 became the result of a carefully planned precisely by the Chinese side of the action, now the most widespread; Including directly or indirectly recognized by many Chinese historians. For example, whether Danhuway writes that in 1968-1969, the response to Soviet provocations limited the Directives of the CPC Central Committee, only on January 25, 1969, it was allowed to plan "response hostilities" at the island of Damansky forces of three mouths. On February 19, the General Staff and Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China consent to this. There is a version according to which the leadership of the USSR was in advance by Marshal Lin Biao aware of the upcoming shares of the Chinese, which took place in conflict.

In the Public Department of State Department of the United States dated July 13, 1969: "Chinese propaganda made focus on the need for internal unity and encouraged the population to prepare for war. It is possible to read that the incidents were made solely to strengthen the domestic policy. "

The former resident of the KGB in China Yu. I. Drozdov argued that intelligence timely (still in Khrushchev) and the Soviet leadership of the preparing armed provocation in the Damansky region was very fully warned.

Chronology of events

On the night of March 1 to March 2, 1969, there are about 77 Chinese soldiers in winter camouflage armed with Carabins SKS and (partially) Kalashnikov machines, crossed the Damansky and clutched on a higher West shore of the island.

The group remained unnoticed to 10:20, when the 57th Imansky border detachment was admitted to the 2nd Imansky border detachment from the post of surveillance, which a group of armed groups of up to 30 people are moving in the direction of Damansky. 32 Soviet border guards left the place of events, including the head of the head of Senior Lieutenant Ivan Strelnikov, on cars GAZ-69 and GAZ-63 and one BTR-60PB (No. 04). At 10:40, they arrived to the southern tip of the island. Border guards under the command of Strelnikov were divided into two groups. The first group under the command of Strelnikov went to the group of Chinese military personnel standing on the ice of the south-west of the island. The second group, under the command of Sergeant Vladimir Rovyovich, was to cover the Strelnikov group from the southern shore of the island, which cuts off the group of Chinese military personnel (about 20 people), heading the islands.

At about 10:45, Strelnikov expressed a protest about the disorder of the border and demanded from the Chinese military to leave the territory of the USSR. One of the Chinese servicemen raised his hand up, which served as a signal to the opening of fire by the Chinese side by groups of Strelnikov and Rabovich. The moment of the beginning of the armed provocation managed to fix the military photoconduct to the film photoconductor to the military photoconduct of Nikolay Petrov. By this time, Rabovich's group went on an ambush on the shores of the island, and Fire Arms was opened on border guards. Strelnikov and those who followed him border guards (7 people) died, border guards were very mutilated by Chinese military workers, also in a speedy battle almost completely killed the border guards under the command of Sergeant Rabovich (11 people) - Solid Gennady of Silver and Efreitor Paul Sharov, subsequently remained captured in a captive unconscious. The body of Akulov with numerous torture trails was transferred to the Soviet side on April 17, 1969.

Having received a report on shooting on the island, the head of the neighboring, the 1st Ozpaspa "Kulebyakina Sopgia" Senior Lieutenant Vitaly Bubenin left for BTR-60PB (No. 01) and GAZ-69 with 23 fighters to help. Upon arrival at the island at 11:30, Bibenin took defense together with the Babansky Group and 2 BTR. The fire fight lasted about 30 minutes, the Chinese began shelling combat orders of border guards by mortars. In battle on Bibenin, a machine gun refused, as a result, it was necessary to return to the initial position to replace it. After that, he decided to send his BTR to the rear to the Chinese, rich on ice the northern tip of the island, coming down by the Ussuri bank to the Chinese infantry company nominated to the island, and began fire on it, destroying the mouth on the ice. But soon the BTR was bent, and Bibenin decided to go out with his fighters to the Soviet coast. Having reached BTR No. 04 of the deceased Strelnikov and recreated into it, the Bibinenin group moved along the positions of the Chinese and destroyed their command post, but the BTR was hit when attempting to pick up the wounded. The Chinese continued to attack the combat positions of Soviet border guards at the island. Assistance to border guards in evacuation of the wounded and bringing ammunition was provided by residents of the village of Nizhnyyihaylovka and the military battalion of the road to / h 12370.

Command over left in living border guards took the younger sergeant Yuri Babansky, whose department managed to secretly dispersed at the island because of the delay with the outpaty of the outpost and together with the crew of the BTR adopted a fire fight.

"After 20 minutes of battle," Babansky recalled, - from 12 guys left eight, after 15 - five. Of course, it was still possible to move, return to the stamping, wait for reinforcements from the detachment. But we were covered by such a busy malice on these bastards, that in those moments I only wanted one - put them as much as possible. For guys, for themselves, for this, this is not necessary for this, but all the same is our land. "

At about 13:00, the Chinese began a retreat.

In battle on March 2, 31 Soviet border guards, 14 were injured. The loss of the Chinese side (according to the Commission of the KGB of the USSR, chaired by Colonel-General N. S. Zakharov) amounted to 39 people killed.

Around 13:20, a helicopter arrived at Damansky with the command of the Imansky border guard and his head of Colonel D. V. Leonov and reinforcement from neighboring removal, reserves of Pacific and Far Eastern Border District are involved. In the Daman, the 135th motorized rifle division of the Soviet army with artillery and artillery and the installations of the BM-21 Hydral Fire System of BM-21 "Hrad" were deployed in the rear. From the Chinese side, a 24th infantry regiment with a number of 5 thousand people was preparing for combat actions.

On March 4, in Chinese newspapers "Guenmin Siboo" and "Zefanjun Bao" (解放军报), there was an editorial "Down of the New Tsars!", Who had a guilt for the incident on the Soviet troops, which, according to the author of the article, "moved by clicking revision renegades, The bracely invaded the island of Zhenbodao on the Usuljiang River in the province of Heilongjiang of our country, opened a rifle and cannon on the border guards of the People's Liberation Army of China, killing and wounding many of them. " In the Soviet newspaper "True" on the same day, an article "Shame of provocateurs!" Was published. According to the author, "Armed Chinese detachment passed the Soviet state border and headed for the island of Damansky. According to Soviet border guards, which guarded this area, the fire was suddenly opened from the Chinese side. There are killed and wounded. "

On March 7, the Embassy of the PRC in Moscow was subjected to picketing. The demonstrators also threw the building with ink bubbles.

March 14 at 15:00 he received an order to remove the units of border guards from the island. Immediately after the departure of the Soviet border guards, the island began to occupy Chinese soldiers. In response to this, 8 armored vehicles under the command of the head of the motometry group of the 57th frontier of the Lieutenant Colonel E. I. Yanshina in combat manner moved towards Damansky. The Chinese retreated on their own coast.

At 20:00 on March 14, the border guards received an order to occupy an island. The same night there was a group of Yanshina consisting of 60 people on 4 BTRs. On the morning of March 15, after playing on both sides of the broadcast through loudspeakers, at 10:00 from 30 to 60 stems of Chinese artillery and mortars, the shelling of Soviet positions began, and 3 companies of the Chinese infantry moved to the offensive. Fight battle.

From 400 to 500 Chinese soldiers took positions from the southern part of the island and prepared to go to the rear to Yansenin. Two BTRs of his group were chopped, the connection is spoiled. Four T-62 tanks under the command of the head of the 57th frontier of the Colonel D. V. Leonov attacked the Chinese in the southern tip of the island, but Tank Leonov was shot down (according to different versions, a shot from the RPG-2 grenade launcher or exploded on a Anti-Tank Mine), and Leonov was killed by a Chinese sniper shot while trying to leave the burning machine. The situation was aggravated by the fact that Leonov did not know the island and as a result of this, Soviet tanks approached the Chinese positions too closely, but the losses did not allow the Chinese to go to the island.

Two hours later, having spent the guests, the Soviet border guards were still forced to move away from the island. It became clear that the forces entered into battle are not enough, and the Chinese are significantly superior to the detachments of border guards numerically. At 17:00 in a critical situation, in violation of the instructions of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Soviet troops of the Commander of the Commander of the Far Eastern Military District of the Colonel-General O. A. Losika was opened from the secret of the Secret Town Systems (RSZO ) Grad. Shells destroyed most of the material and technical resources of the Chinese group and military, including reinforcement, mortars, shell stacks. At 5:10 pm, the onset of the 2nd motorized rifle battalion of the 199th motorized rifle shelf, and border guards under the command of the Lieutenant Colonel, Smirnov and Lieutenant Colonel Konstantinova, to finally suppress the resistance of the Chinese troops under the command of the Lieutenant Colonel. The Chinese began a departure from busy positions. Around 19:00 "came to life" several firepoints, after three new attacks were produced, but they were repulsed.

Soviet troops again moved to his shore, and the Chinese side no longer undertakes large-scale hostile actions in this area of \u200b\u200bthe state border.

Direct leadership of the Soviet Army, who took part in this conflict, carried out the first deputy commander of the Far Eastern Military District, the Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant General P. M. Carpenters

Settlement and consequences

In total during the clashes, Soviet troops lost 58 people killed and died from wounds (including 4 officers), 94 people were injured (including 9 officers). The irrevocable loss of the Chinese side is still closed information and amount to different estimates from 100 to 300 people. In the county Baocyne there is a memorial cemetery, where there is a dust of 68 Chinese military personnel who died on March 2 and 15, 1969. The information obtained from the Chinese Defense Ministry suggests that there are other burials.

For the heroism of the five servicemen received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: Colonel D. V. Leonov (posthumously), Senior Lieutenant I. Strelnikov (posthumously), Junior Sergeant V. Orekhov (posthumously), Senior Lieutenant V. Bibenin, Junior Sergeant Y. Babansky . Many border guards and soldiers of the Soviet Army were awarded by state awards: 3 of Lenin orders, 10 - the orders of the Red Banner, 31 - the Order of the Red Star, 10 - orders of Glory III, 63 - Medals "For Cook", 31 - Medals "For Martial Merit" .

Sided T-62 onboard No. 545 by Soviet soldiers could not return due to the permanent Chinese shelling. An attempt to destroy it from mortars was not crowned with success, and the tank fell under the ice. Subsequently, the Chinese were able to pull him on their shore, and now he is in the Beijing Military Museum.

After melting ice, the exit of Soviet border guards to Damansky was difficult, and to prevent Chinese attempts to capture accounted for sniper and machine guns. On September 10, 1969, fire was ordered to stop, apparently, to create a favorable background of the negotiations began the next day at the Beijing airport. Immediate Islands Damansky and Kirkinsky took Chinese armed forces.

On September 11, in Beijing, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A. N. Kosygin, who returned to Ho Chi Mini's funeral, and the Prime Minister of the State Council of the PRC Zhou Egnlay agreed on the cessation of hostile shares and that the troops remain in occupied positions. In fact, this meant the transfer of Daman Kitai.

On October 20, 1969, new negotiations of the heads of government of the USSR and the PRC were held, it was possible to achieve agreement on the need to revise the Soviet-Chinese border. Next, a number of negotiations were held in Beijing and Moscow, and in 1991 Damansky Island finally departed to the PRC (de facto he was transferred to China at the end of 1969).

In 2001, photographs of the discovered bodies of Soviet soldiers from the Archives of the KGB of the USSR were declassified, testifying to the facts of the Chinese side, the materials were transferred to the Museum of the city of Dalnerechensk.

Literature

Bibenin Vitaly. Bloody snow of Damansky. Events 1966-1969. - m.; Zhukovsky: border; Kuchkovo Field, 2004. - 192 p. - ISBN 5-86090-086-4.

Lavrene S. Ya., Popov I. M. Soviet-Chinese split // Soviet Union in local wars and conflicts. - M.: Astrel, 2003. - P. 336-369. - 778 p. - (Military Historical Library). - 5 thousand, ex. - ISBN 5-271-05709-7.

Andrei Musalov. Damansky and Jalanashkol. Soviet-Chinese armed conflict of 1969. - M.: Expritis, 2005. - ISBN 5-94038-072-7.

Dzerzhinsey. Compiled by A. Sadykov. Is agency "Kazakhstan". Alma-Ata, 1975

Morozov V. Damansky - 1969 (Rus.) // Magazine "Technique and Armament Yesterday, today, tomorrow." - 2015. - № 1. - P. 7-14.

The original is taken by W. parker_111 In conflict on the island of Damansky.1969

After the Paris peaceful conference of 1919, there was a provision that the borders between states should, as a rule (but not necessarily), pass through the middle of the main fairway of the river. But it also provided an exceptions like the border on one of the shores, when such a border has developed historically - under the contract or if one side colonized the second bank before it began to colonize the other.

In addition, international treaties and agreements do not have inverse. Nevertheless, in the late 1950s, when the PRC, seeking an increase in its international influence, entered into a conflict with Taiwan (1958) and participated in the border war with India (1962), the Chinese used new borders provisions as a reason to revise Soviet -Wisty border.

The leadership of the USSR was ready to go for it, in 1964 a consultation was held on border issues, but ended to no avail.

In connection with ideological disagreements during the cultural revolution in China and after the Prague spring of 1968, when the PRC authorities stated that the USSR rose on the path of "socialist imperialism", the relationship was particularly aggravated.

The island of Damansky, which was part of the Pozhara district of Primorsky Krai, is located from the Chinese side from the main channel of Ussuri. Its dimensions are 1500-1800 m from north to south and 600-700 m from west to east (area of \u200b\u200babout 0.74 km²).

During the flood period, the island is completely hidden under water and no economic value represents.

From the beginning of the 1960s, the situation in the area of \u200b\u200bthe island has bent. According to the statements of the Soviet side, the group of civilians and military personnel began to systematically violate the borderline regime and go to the Soviet territory, whenever the border guards were expelled without the use of weapons.

At first, the peasants came to the territory of the USSR to indicate the Chinese authorities and demonstratively engaged in economic activities: mortgage and grazing, stating that were in Chinese territory.

The number of such provocations has increased dramatically: in 1960 there were 100 of them, in 1962 more than 5,000. Then the Hongwebins attacks were made on border patrols.

The score of such events went for thousands, each of them was involved to several hundred people.

On January 4, 1969, a Chinese provocation with the participation of 500 people were held on the island of Kirkinsky (Cilizindao).

According to the Chinese version of the events, the Soviet border guards themselves arranged provocations and beat CNR citizens who were engaged in economic activity where they always did it.

During the Kirkino incident, they applied a BTR to extrude peaceful citizens and crushed 4 of them, and on February 7, 1969 several single automatic shots took place in the direction of the Chinese borderner.

However, it was repeatedly noted that none of such clashes, on whose fault they did not occur, could not pour into a serious armed conflict without approval by the authorities. The statement that the events around the island of Damansky on March 2 and 15 became the result of a carefully planned precisely by the Chinese side of the action, now the most widespread; Including directly or indirectly recognized by many Chinese historians.

For example, whether Danhuway writes that in 1968-1969, the response to Soviet provocations limited the directives of the CPC Central Committee, only on January 25, 1969, it was allowed to plan "response hostilities" at the island of Damansky forces of three mouths. On February 19, the General Staff and Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China consent to this.

Events March 1-2 and subsequent week
On the night of March 1 to March 2, 1969, there are about 300 Chinese soldiers in winter camouflage armed with automata AK and Carabins SCS, crossed the Damansky and clutched on a higher West shore of the island.

The group remained unnoticed to 10:40, when the 57th Imansky border detachment was received by the 2nd Imansky border detachment from the post of observation, which a group of armed groups of up to 30 people move in the direction of Damansky. 32 Soviet border guards left the place of events, including the head of the head of Senior Lieutenant Ivan Strelnikov, on GAZ-69 and GAZ-63 cars and one BTR-60PB. At 11:10, they arrived at the southern tip of the island. Border guards under the command of Strelnikov were divided into two groups. The first group under the command of Strelnikov went to the group of Chinese military personnel standing on the ice of the south-west of the island.

The second group, under the command of Sergeant Vladimir Rovyovich, was to cover the group Strelnikov from the southern shore of the island. Strelnikov expressed a protest about the breakdown of the border and demanded from the Chinese military to leave the territory of the USSR. One of the Chinese servicemen raised his hand up, which served as a signal to the opening of fire by the Chinese side by groups of Strelnikov and Rabovich. The moment of the beginning of the armed provocation managed to fix the military photoconduct to the film to the Military Photoconduct of the ordinary Nikolay Petrov. Strelnikov and the border guards who followed him died immediately, also in a speedy battle killed the border guards under the command of Sergeant Rabovich. Command over the surviving border guards took the junior sergeant Yuri Babansky.

Having received a report on shooting on the island, the head of the neighboring, the 1st Ozpaspa "Kulebyakina Sopgia" Senior Lieutenant Vitaly Bibenin left on BTR-60PB and GAZ-69 with 20 fighters to help. Bibenin was wounded in battle and sent a BTR in the rear to the Chinese, rich on ice the northern tip of the island, but soon the BTR was bent and Bibmenin decided to go out with his fighters to the Soviet coast. Having reached the BTR of the deceased Strelnikov and recreated into it, the Bibenin group moved along the positions of the Chinese and destroyed their command post. Those began to retreat.

In battle on March 2, 31 Soviet border guards, 14 were injured. The loss of the Chinese side (according to the Commission of the KGB of the USSR) amounted to 247 people killed

At about 12:00, the helicopter arrived at Damansky with the command of the Imansky border record and his head of the Colonel D. V. Leonov and reinforcement from the neighboring stamping. In the Daman, the 135th motorized rifle division of the Soviet army with artillery and artillery and the installations of the BM-21 Hydral Fire System of BM-21 "Hrad" were deployed in the rear. From the Chinese side, the 24th Infantry Regiment of 5,000 people was preparing for combat actions.

On March 3, a demonstration of the Soviet embassy was held in Beijing. On March 4, in the Chinese newspapers "Guenmin Zibao" and "Zefanjun Bao" (解放军报), the edge of the "Down of the New Kings!", Who had a guilty of the incident on the Soviet troops, which, according to the author of the article, "moved by the clique of renegade revisionists, brazenly They invaded the island of Zhenbodao on the Usuljiang River in the province of Heilongjiang of our country, opened a rifle and cannon fire on the border guards of the People's Liberation Army of China, killing and wounding many of them. " In the Soviet newspaper "True" on the same day, an article "Shame of provocateurs!" Was published. According to the author, "Armed Chinese detachment passed the Soviet state border and headed for the island of Damansky. According to Soviet border guards, which guarded this area, the fire was suddenly opened from the Chinese side. There are killed and wounded. " On March 7, the Embassy of the PRC in Moscow was subjected to picketing. The demonstrators also threw the building with ink bubbles.

Events March 14-15
March 14 at 15:00 he received an order to remove the units of border guards from the island. Immediately after the departure of the Soviet border guards, the island began to occupy Chinese soldiers. In response to this, 8 armored vehicles under the command of the head of the Motomagonian group of the 57th frontier of Lieutenant Colonel E. I. Yanshina in combat manner moved towards Damansky; The Chinese retreated on their own coast.

At 20:00 on March 14, the border guards received an order to occupy an island. The same night there was a group of Yanshina consisting of 60 people on 4 BTRs. On the morning of March 15, after playing on both sides of the broadcast through loudspeakers, at 10:00 from 30 to 60 stems of Chinese artillery and mortars, the shelling of Soviet positions began, and 3 companies of the Chinese infantry moved to the offensive. Fight battle.

From 400 to 500 Chinese soldiers took positions from the southern part of the island and prepared to go to the rear to Yansenin. Two BTRs of his group were chopped, the connection is spoiled. Four Tank T-62 under the command of D. V. Leonov attacked the Chinese at the southern tip of the island, but Tank Leonov was shot down (according to different versions, a shot from the RPG-2 grenade launcher or blew up on a Anti-Tank Mine), and Leonov himself was killed by a Chinese sniper shot When you try to leave the burning machine.

The situation was aggravated by the fact that Leonov did not know the island and as a result of this, the Soviet tanks were too close to Chinese positions. However, the loss price did not allow the Chinese to go to the island.

Two hours later, having spent the guests, the Soviet border guards were still forced to move away from the island. It became clear that the forces entered into battle are not enough and the Chinese are significantly superior to the detachments of border guards numerically. At 17:00 in a critical situation, in violation of the instructions of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Soviet troops are not introduced into the conflict, on the orders of the commander of the Far Eastern Military District Oleg Losika, fire from secret at that time of reactive systems of salvo flame (RSZO) "Grad" was opened.

Shells destroyed most of the material and technical resources of the Chinese group and military, including reinforcement, mortars, shell stacks. At 5:10 pm, the onset of the 2nd motorized rifle battalion of the 199th motorized rifle shelf and the border guards under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Smirnov and Lieutenant Colonel Konstantinova will finally suppress the resistance of the Chinese troops in the attack. The Chinese began a departure from busy positions. Around 19:00 "came to life" several firepoints, after three new attacks were produced, but they were repulsed.

Soviet troops again moved to his shore, and the Chinese side no longer undertakes large-scale hostile actions in this area of \u200b\u200bthe state border.

In total during the clashes, Soviet troops lost 58 people killed and died from wounds (including 4 officers), 94 people were injured (including 9 officers).

The irrevocable losses of the Chinese side are still closed information and amount to different estimates from 100-150 to 800 and even 3,000 people. In the county Baocyne there is a memorial cemetery, where there is a dust of 68 Chinese military personnel who died on March 2 and 15, 1969. The information obtained from the Chinese Defense Ministry suggests that there are other burials.

For the shown heroism, five servicemen received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: Colonel D. Leonov (posthumously), senior lieutenant I. Strelnikov (posthumously), Junior Sergeant V. Orekhov (posthumously), Senior Lieutenant V. Bibenin, Junior Sergeant Yu. Babansky.

Many border guards and soldiers of the Soviet Army were awarded by state awards: 3 of Lenin orders, 10 - the orders of the Red Banner, 31 - the Order of the Red Star, 10 - orders of Glory III, 63 - Medals "For Cook", 31 - Medals "For Martial Merit" .

Settlement and consequences
The Soviet soldiers were knocked back by the Soviet soldiers because of the permanent Chinese shelling. The attempt to destroy it from the mortars was not crowned with success, and the tank fell under the ice. Subsequently, the Chinese were able to pull him on their own coast and now he stands in the Beijing Military Museum.

After melting ice, the exit of Soviet border guards on Damansky turned out to be difficult and to prevent Chinese attempts to capture accounted for sniper and machine-gun fire. On September 10, 1969, fire was ordered to stop, apparently, to create a favorable background of the negotiations began the next day at the Beijing airport.

Immediately Damansky and Kirkinsky took Chinese armed forces.

On September 11, in Beijing, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A. N. Kosygin, who returned to Ho Chi Mini's funeral, and the Prime Minister of the State Council of the PRC Zhou Egnlay agreed on the cessation of hostile shares and that the troops remain in occupied positions. In fact, this meant the transfer of Daman Kitai.

On October 20, 1969, new negotiations of the heads of governments of the USSR and the PRC were held, it was possible to reach an agreement on the need to revise the Soviet-Chinese border. Next, a number of negotiations were held in Beijing and Moscow and in 1991 Damansky Island finally departed to the PRC.

China's desire to revise the Soviet-Chinese border led in March 1969 to an armed conflict between the two leading socialist states. It was the largest Soviet-Chinese armed conflict in history.

In the late 1950s, the leadership of the People's Republic of China, referring to the provisions of the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 that the borders between states should, as a rule (but not necessary), passing around the middle of the main Farwiter of the River, put forward claims to the island of Damansky (Chinese name Zhenbao Dao is a precious island), which was on the Ussuri River from the Chinese side from the main line. This small island is 1500-1800 m from the north to south and 600-700 from the east to the west - and caused the conflict.

Spotlight

For both countries, the relationship between which during these years deteriorated sharply, the question of Damansky became primarily political. China's Communist Party (PDA), accusing the USSR in revisionism and social imperialism, rose to the path of escalation of conflict by organizing mass provocations: first they were limited to demonstrative mortgages and grazing, but then the attacks on Soviet border patrols began.

The most massive provocation was organized on January 4, 1969, when about 500 aggressive Chinese burst into the island of Kirkinsky. With their displacement, the small Soviet border guards were forced to apply the armored personnel carriers, as a result of which four Chinese were crushed. On January 25, the CPC Central Committee gave permission to hold "response hostilities" at the island of Damansky.

On the night of March 2, 1969, about 300 soldiers of the People's Army, armed with light small arms, landed on the island of Damansky. They were discovered only at 10:20. 25 minutes later, arriving at the place of Senior Lieutenant Ivan Strelnikov demanded from the violators to leave the territory of the USSR. In response, the Chinese opened fire, Strelnikov and seven border guards died almost instantly. The remaining fighters headed the younger sergeant Yuri Babansky, and they accepted the fight. By 11:30, on the sounds of shots pulled up two cars 23 border guards, headed by senior lieutenant Vitaly Bubenin. The armored personnel carrier sent to the rear to the enemy successfully pressed against the land of the Chinese company, but he was shot down. Then, Bibenin on the armored personnel carrier Strelnikov destroyed the command post of the enemy. The Chinese, however, continued the attacks, but around 13:00 began to waste. The losses of Soviet border guards in this battle made up 31 people killed and 14 wounded, the Chinese lost 248 people killed. In the following days, the reinforcement of the border troops was transferred to Damansky, and the 135th motorized rifle division was deployed in the rear, including whose armament of BM-21 «Hrad» in the rear.

March 14 passed in maneuvers both Soviet and Chinese troops, but it did not reach the open conflict. On the night of March 15, the fighters of the Motometric Group of the 57th frontier, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel E. I. Yanshina (60 people on four armored personnel carriers) struck on the island. At 10:00, the Chinese began shelling Soviet troops from artillery and mortars, and then threw the infantry forward, sending at the same time up to 500 soldiers in the rear Yanshin. On the southern tip of the island, the Chinese positions were attacked by four T-62 tanks under the command of Colonel D. V. Leonov, whose tank was bridged, and Leonov himself killed a Chinese sniper. At about 12:00, when the ammunition began to end, the border guards were forced to leave Damansky. In this almost hopeless situation at 17:00, the commander of the Far Eastern Military District, Colonel-General O. A. Losik gave an order to open fire from the newest and at that time of the secret systems of Grad. Within 10 minutes, the Chinese group was almost completely destroyed, and the whole technique was disabled. When at 17:10, Soviet troops went to the offensive, the Chinese began to move away.

At night, the Chinese have taken some unsuccessful attempts to attack, then returned to their shore.

Consequences of conflict

In the course of clashes on the Damansky, the Soviet side lost 58 people killed and died from RAS (including four officers) and 94 injured (including nine officers). The losses of the Chinese are definitely not known and estimated at 500-1500 people killed.

The history of the emergence of the conflict is rooted in 1860, when China (then another Qing Empire) gave way to Russia in Central Asia and Primorye's extensive land in Central Asia and Primorye.

After the Second World War in the Far East, the USSR received a very reliable and devotional ally in the form of the People's Republic of China. Soviet assistance in war with Japan 1937-1945. And in the Civil War in China against the forces of the Romintana made Chinese communists very loyal in relation to the Soviet Union. The USSR, in turn, willingly used the benefit of the strategic situation.

However, in 1950, the world in the Far East was destroyed by the war broken in Korea. This war was a logical consequence of the four years earlier than the Cold War. The desire of two superpowers - USSR and the United States - to combine the Korean peninsula under the rule of the friendly regime led to bloodshed.

Initially, success was entirely on the side of Communist Korea. Her troops managed to break the resistance of a small army of the south and rushed deep into South Korea. However, the latest US and UN forces soon came to the rescue, as a result of which the offensive was stopped. In the fall of 1950, a landing land was planted in the district capital of the DPRK - Cities of Seoul, and therefore the North Korean army began hasty retreat. The war threatened to end the defeat of the North in October 1950.

In this situation, the threat of the emergence of the capitalist and clearly not friendly state has ever increased. The ghost of the Civil War also hung over the PRC, so it was decided to intervene in the war in Korea on the side of the Communist Forces.

As a result, China became a "unofficial" conflict party, and the course of war has changed again. For a very short time, the front line again sank to the 38th parallel, which almost coincided with the demarcation line before the war. Here the front and stopped until the end of the conflict in 1953.

After the Korean War in Soviet-Chinese relations, China's aspiration was most noticeable to leave the USSR's "suzerita" to lead their own, fully independent foreign policy. And the reason was not forced to wait.

Gap between the USSR and China

In 1956, the XX CPSS Congress was held in Moscow. The result was the refusal of the Soviet leadership from the cult of the personality of I. V. Stalin and actually a change in the country's foreign policy doctrine. In China, they were closely followed by these changes, but the delight did not experience them. Ultimately, Khrushchev and his apparatus were announced in China with revisionists, and the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party revised the foreign policy of the state.

That period in China is called the beginning of the "war of ideas between China and the USSR". The Chinese leadership put forward a number of requirements for the Soviet Union (for example, the Annexia of Mongolia, the transfer of nuclear weapons, etc.) and at the same time tried to show the United States and other capitalist countries that the PRC is not a smaller opponent of the USSR than they.

The gap between the Soviet Union and China was keen and deepened. In this regard, all Soviet specialists who worked there were exported from the PRC. In the highest echelons of the USSR, irritation increased about the foreign policy of "Maoists" (so called followers of Mao Zedun's policies). At the Chinese border, the Soviet leadership was forced to keep a very impressive group, giving himself a report in the unpredictability of the Chinese government.

In 1968, events occurred in Czechoslovakia, later the name "Prague Spring". Changing the political course of the government of the country led to the fact that at the end of August of the same year, the Soviet leadership was forced to intervene in this process to avoid the beginning of the collapse of the Warsaw Treaty. In Czechoslovakia, the troops of the USSR and other countries of the Warsaw Treaty were introduced.

The Chinese leadership condemned the actions of the Soviet side, as a result of which relations between the countries deteriorated. But as it turned out, the worst was still ahead. By March 1969, the situation for military conflict was completely abandoned. It was heated in a huge amount since the beginning of the 1960s provocations from the Chinese side. It was often not only the Chinese military, but also peasants, demonstratively engaged in the eyes of the Soviet border guards to the Soviet territory. Nevertheless, all the violators won back without the use of weapons.

By the end of the 1960s, in the area of \u200b\u200bthe island of Damansky and at other sites of the Soviet-Chinese border, there were also full collisions with the participation of military personnel of both parties. The scale and the audacity of the provocations steadily grew.

The Chinese leadership pursued the goals not only and not so much military victory as a visual demonstration of the US leadership, that the PRC is the enemy of the USSR, and therefore may be if not an ally, then at least a reliable partner of the United States.

Battles on March 2, 1969

On the night of March 1 to March 2, 1969, a group of Chinese military personnel from 70 to 80 people crossed the Ussuri River and landed on the West Bank of Damansky Island. Up to 10:20 am, the Group remained unnoticed by the Soviet side, as a result of which Chinese soldiers had the opportunity to carry out reconnaissance and plan further actions based on the situation.

At about 10 o'clock 20 minutes in the morning, on March 2, the Soviet post of observation was noticed by a group of Chinese servicemen in Soviet territory. A group of border guards led by the border of the USSR border, led by the head of the 2nd Nizhne-Mikhaylovka post, Senior Lieutenant I. Strelnikov. Upon arrival at the island, the group was divided. The first part under the command of I. Strelnikova moved towards the Chinese military workers who were on the ice in the south-western tip of the island of Damansky; Another group under the command of Sergeant V. Rabovich moved along the shore of the island, which cuts off a group of Chinese military personnel, moving deep into Damansky.

After about 5 minutes, the Strelnikov Group approached the Chinese military personnel. I. Strelnikov protested them in connection with the violation of the state border of the USSR, but the Chinese in response suddenly opened fire. At the same time, another group of Chinese soldiers opened fire on the group V. Rabovich, as a result of which the Soviet border guards were caught by surprise. In a rapid battle, both Soviet groups were almost completely destroyed.

The shooting on the island heard the head of the neighboring 1st outpost "Culebyakina Soping" Senior Lieutenant V. Bibenin. He decided to advance with 23 fighters on the BTR in the direction of Damansky to the help of neighbors. However, approaching the island, the senior lieutenant group was forced to take defense, because the Chinese troops were transferred to the offensive in order to master the island of Damansky. Nevertheless, the Soviet military personnel courageously and stubbornly defended the territory, not allowing the enemy to reset them into the river.

Understanding that a long time, such a state of affairs can not continue, Senior Lieutenant Bibenin accepted a very brave decision, which in essence decided the outcome of the battle for the island of Damansky on March 2. Its essence was in the raid in the rear of the Chinese group with the aim of her disorganization. On BTR-60PB V. Bibenin went to the rear to the Chinese, the rich northern part of the island of Damansky, causing a serious damage to the enemy. However, BTR Bibenin was soon chosen, as a result of which the commander decided to get to the BTR of the Killed Senior Lieutenant I. Strelnikov. This idea was a success, and soon V. Bibenin continued to move along the orders of Chinese troops, inflicting the loss. So, as a result of this raid, the Chinese command post was also destroyed, but soon the second BTR was shot down.

Commanded the group of surviving border guards Junior Sergeant Y. Babansky. Their Chinese displace from the island did not succeed, and already at 13 o'clock the violators began the removal of troops from the island.

As a result of the battle on March 2, 1969, on the island of Damansky, the Soviet troops lost 31 people killed and 14 injured. The Chinese side, according to Soviet data, lost 39 people killed.

Situation March 2-14, 1969

Immediately after the end of the battle on the island of Damansky, the command of the Imansky border detachment arrived here for planning further actions and suppress further provocations. As a result, it was decided to strengthen borderline outfits on the island, the transfer of the additional forces of the border guards. In addition to this, the 135th motorized rifle division was expanded in the area of \u200b\u200bthe island, reinforced by the newest plants of the Hallery Fire "Grad". At the same time, from the Chinese side for further actions against the Soviet troops, the 24th Infantry Regiment was deployed.

However, the parties were not limited to military maneuvers. On March 3, 1969, a demonstration was held at the Soviet embassy in Beijing. Participants demanded it from the Soviet leadership "to stop aggressive actions against the Chinese people." At the same time, Chinese newspapers published false and propaganda materials, arguing that the Soviet troops allegedly invaded the territory of China and fired Chinese troops.

From the Soviet side, an article was published in the newspaper "Pravda", in which the shame of Chinese provocateurs was branded. There is more reliably and objectively described the course of events. On March 7, the Chinese embassy in Moscow was picketed, the demonstrators threw it with bubbles with ink.

Thus, events March 2-14 in fact did not change the course of events, and it became clear that new provocations on the Soviet-Chinese border were not far off.

Fights 14-15 March 1969

At 15 hours on March 14, 1969, Soviet troops received an order to leave Damansky Island. Immediately after this, the island began to occupy Chinese military personnel. In order to prevent this, the Soviet side of Damansky was directed 8 BTrov, seeing which, the Chinese immediately moved to their shore.

By the evening of the same day, the Soviet border guards were given an order to occupy an island. Soon after, the band under the command of Lieutenant Colonel E. Yanshina fulfilled the order. On the morning of March 15, a fire from 30 to 60 stems of Chinese artillery suddenly opened a fire on Soviet troops, after which the three companies of the Chinese moved to the offensive. Nevertheless, the enemy failed to break the resistance of the Soviet troops and master the island.

However, the situation became critical. In order not to allow to destroy the Yanshina group, another group under the command of Colonel D. Leonov, who joined the oncoming battle with the Chinese in the southern tip of the island. In this battle, the Colonel died, but the price of serious losses of his group managed to keep busy positions and cause significant damage to the enemy's troops.

After two hours, the Soviet troops who spent ammunition were forced to start a departure from the island. Using a numerical advantage, the Chinese began to occupy an island again. However, at the same time, the Soviet leadership decided to apply fire strike forces by the enemy from the "Hrad" attitudes, which was made about 17 hours. The result of Artudar was simply stitching: the Chinese suffered huge losses, their mortars, tools, and the reinforcements located on the island were almost completely destroyed.

10-20 minutes after art preparation, motorized trigs were switched to the offensive together with the border guards under the command of Lieutenant Colonels Smirnov and Konstantinov, and the Chinese troops had a hurry left the island. At about 19:00, the Chinese took a number of counterattacks, which quickly choked quickly, as a result of which the situation had practically not changed.

As a result of the events of March 14-15, Soviet troops suffered losses in 27 people killed and 80 wounded. Chinese losses were strictly classified, but it can be said that they range from 60 to 200 people. The main part of these losses, the Chinese suffered from the fire of reactive plants of the Hallery Fire "Grad".

The five Soviet servicemen for heroism, manifested in the battles on the island of Damansky, was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. This is Colonel D. Leonov (posthumously), senior lieutenant I. Strelnikov (posthumously), Junior Sergeant V. Orekhov (posthumously), senior lieutenant V. Bibenin, Junior Sergeant Y. Babansky. Also about 150 people were awarded other government awards.

Consequences of conflict

Immediately after the end of the battle, the Damansky Soviet troops were assigned to the Ussuri River. Soon the ice on the river was touched, and the crossing for Soviet border guards was very difficult than and the Chinese soldiers took advantage. At the same time, contacts between the Soviet and Chinese troops were reduced only to machine gun shootings, the end of which was laid in September 1969. By this time, the Chinese actually occupied the island.

Nevertheless, the provocations on the Soviet-Chinese border after the conflict on the island of Damansky did not stop. So, in August of the same year, another major Soviet-Chinese border conflict occurred - the incident at Lake Jalanashkol. As a result, the relationship between the two states reached a truly critical mark - the nuclear war between the USSR and the PRC was close as ever.

Another result of the border conflict on the island of Daman was the fact that the Chinese leadership realized that it was impossible to continue aggressive policies against the northern neighbor. The depressing state of the Chinese army, once again revealed during the conflict, only strengthened this guess.

The result of this border conflict was the change in the state border between the USSR and China, as a result of which Damansky island passed under the power of the PRC.

If you have any questions - leave them in the comments under the article. We or our visitors will gladly respond to them

On October 7, 1966, against the background of political disagreements between the Maoist China and the Soviet Union, all Chinese students were sent from the USSR. In general, China was an ally of the USSR, and there were no fundamental and large-scale conflicts between countries, but some outbreaks of tension were still observed. We decided to recall the five most acute conflicts between the USSR and China.

So historians call the diplomatic conflict between the PRC and the USSR, which began in the late 1950s. The peak of the conflict came in 1969, while the end of the conflict is considered the end of the 1980s. The conflict was accompanied by a split of the international communist movement. Critica Stalin in the Khrushchev report at the end of the XX Congress of the CPSU, the new Soviet course on economic development in the politics of "peaceful coexistence" with capitalist countries caused displeasure to Mao Zedun as contrary to the idea of \u200b\u200b"Leninsky sword" and the entire communist ideology. Khrushchev's policy was called revisionist, and her supporters in the PDA (Liu Schoqi and others) were repressions during the "cultural revolution".

"The Great War of Ideas between China and the USSR (so conflict was called in the PRC) Mao Zedong was launched in order to strengthen his power in the PRC. During the conflict, the Chinese demanded from the USSR to transfer to China Mongolia, demanded permission to create an atomic bomb, "lost territories" and other.

Border conflict on the island of Damansky

On March 2 and 15, 1969, in the area of \u200b\u200bthe island of Damansky on the Ussuri River, 230 km of South Khabarovsk and 35 km of the west of the district center of Lights, the largest Soviet-Chinese armed clashes occurred. Moreover, they were the largest in the modern history of Russia and China.

After the Paris peaceful conference of 1919, there was a provision that the borders between states should, as a rule (but not necessarily), to pass in the middle of the main fairway of the river. But it also provided exceptions.

The Chinese used new provisions on the borders as a reason to revise the Soviet-Chinese border. The leadership of the USSR was ready to go for it: in 1964, consultation was held on the border issues, but ended to no avail. In connection with ideological disagreements during the "cultural revolution" in China and after the Prague Spring of 1968, when the PRC authorities stated that the USSR rose on the path of "socialist imperialism", the relationship was particularly aggravated.

The island of Damansky, which was part of the Pozhara district of Primorsky Krai, is located from the Chinese side from the main channel of Ussuri. From the beginning of the 1960s, the situation in the area of \u200b\u200bthe island has bent. According to the statements of the Soviet side, the group of civilians and military personnel began to systematically violate the borderline regime and go to the Soviet territory, whenever the border guards were expelled without the use of weapons. At first, the peasants came to the territory of the USSR to indicate the Chinese authorities and demonstratively engaged in economic activities there. The number of such provocations has increased dramatically: in 1960 there were 100, in 1962 more than 5,000. Then they began to attack Hungaibins on border patrols.

On October 20, 1969, new negotiations of the heads of the Government of the USSR and the PRC were held, and the parties managed to reach an agreement on the need to revise the Soviet-Chinese border. But only in 1991, Damansky finally departed to the PRC.

In total during the clashes, Soviet troops lost 58 people killed and died from wounds (including 4 officers), 94 people were injured (including 9 officers). The loss of the Chinese side is still closed information and make up, by different estimates, from 500-1000 to 1500 and even 3 thousand people.

Border conflict at Lake Jalanashkol

This fight is part of the "Daman Conflict", he occurred on August 13, 1969 between the Soviet border guards and Chinese military personnel who broken the border of the USSR. As a result, the violators were pushed out of Soviet territory. In China, this border conflict is known as an incident at the terctic, by the name of the river, current from the Chinese district of Yuminin towards Lake Jalanashkol.

Conflict on the Sino-Eastern Railway

The conflict on the Sino-Eastern Railway (CER) occurred in 1929 after capturing the ruler of Manchuria Zhang Syulyan control over the Sino-Eastern Railway, which was a joint Soviet-Chinese enterprise. In the course of subsequent hostilities, the Red Army defeated the enemy. Signed on December 22, the Khabarovsky Protocol put an end to the conflict and restored the status of the road existed before collishes.

Vietnamo-Chinese military conflict

The last serious crisis between China and the USSR occurred in 1979, when NAA PRC (Chinese Army) attacked Vietnam. According to Taiwanese writer Lun Intai, this act was largely related to the internal political struggle in the Chinese Communist Party. The then leader of the PRC Deng Xiaopin had to strengthen his position in the party, and he tried to achieve this with the help of a "little victorious campaign."

From the first days of war, Soviet specialists who were both in Vietnam and in neighboring countries began combat activities together with Vietnamese. In addition to them, reinforcements began to tighten from the USSR. The USSR Air Bridge was installed - Vietnam.

The USSR expelled the Chinese Embassy from Moscow, and he sent his staff not by the plane, but by rail. In fact, after the Ural ridge to the border itself with China and Mongolia, they could see the tanks running east. Naturally, such preparations were not ignored, and the Chinese troops were forced to leave Vietnam and return to the starting positions.

Video

Damansky Island. 1969