Although doctrines are different and armaments more so - the Sino-Vietnamese war holds important lessons for Bangladesh. China invaded Vietnam in 1979 after Vietnam invaded Cambodia, and despite the Chinese having far more modern equipment and armor, the Vietnamese beat back the Chinese (using WWII era T-34s), solely depending on response times as well as superior coordination. I believe there are important lessons there for Bangladesh Army. Let's discuss. Brother
@Viet your comments are of course quite welcome.
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The Sino-Vietnamese War
China, which was already estranged from Vietnam, was an ally of the Khmer Rouge and declared the Vietnamese invasion intolerable. China also felt that the USSR, through it’s proxy Vietnam, was encircling southeast Asia. On 17 February 1979 the Chinese army launched an invasion of Vietnam.
(A Chinese Type 62 during the initial Chinese invasion of Vietnam in February 1979. The 1960s-vintage Type 62 was armed with a high-velocity 62-85TC 85mm gun and was superior in all regards to Vietnam’s WWII-vintage T-34s.)
Now 34 years past the end of WWII, Vietnam’s old T-34s not only again saw combat but during the war’s opening days bore much of the brunt of the fighting, as Vietnam’s more modern tank types were either garrisoned in the former South or tied up in Cambodia.
The Chinese invasion was styled as a pincer-type attack originating from Vietnam’s extreme northwestern and northeastern tips, intending to link up and trap and destroy Vietnamese units in the northern provinces.
(A Vietnamese T-34 knocked out during the 1979 war with China.)
After an initial spate of success crossing the border, the Chinese advance slowed, despite very weak Vietnamese opposition. Vietnam’s T-34s met Chinese tanks (all more advanced Cold War-era types) at Lang Son, about 12 miles deep into Vietnam. With nothing else available, T-34 tanks led the defense of the town, which finally fell on 5 March 1979 (which was also the day the Chinese decided to end the offensive).
During the Lang Son battle, Chinese coordination was atrocious and despite having superior tanks available, they were generally unable to engage the T-34s in tank vs tank combat. None the less, the Vietnamese T-34s suffered significant losses to Chinese artillery and RPG-7 teams. Chinese troops also captured one Vietnamese T-34 intact; it was transported back to Beijing and is today displayed in a museum there.
Vietnam mobilized much faster than China had imagined possible and within days was moving units to the northern part of the country. None the less, the Vietnamese government temporarily evacuated Hanoi.
(A Vietnamese T-34 advances to meet the Chinese in 1979.)
On 5 March 1979, China announced it had “achieved it’s objectives” and began a chaotic withdrawal back across the border. The short war ended on 16 March 1979. Both sides declared victory; China stated it had forced the Vietnamese government to flee their capital and had destroyed much of Vietnam’s industrial capacity rebuilt after the Vietnam War. For it’s part, Vietnam continued it’s occupation of Cambodia and inflicted appalling losses on the Chinese army. The latter is particularly true.
Despite the element of surprise, a technological advantage, and outnumbering Vietnam 2:1, China suffered personnel losses at a 1:1.5 ratio. During the Lang Son battle alone, China suffered over 10,000 casualties. Of the equipment destroyed, most of the Vietnamese losses were old legacy items (like the T-34) while the Chinese losses were modern, expensive items.
(Chinese infantry pose atop a destroyed Vietnamese T-34 near Lang Son in 1979.)
The war was a very unique instance of the Cold War; one communist country invading another communist country, causing a war with a third communist country.
China’s performance overall during the war was terrible, in particular the logistics system was a mess and at several key moments, a chance for a breakthrough victory was lost due to ammunition or fuel shortages. On the other hand, the Vietnamese army showed it had progressed beyond the guerrilla tactics of the Vietnam War and was now a de jure traditional army.
