The Soviet leadership failed to take advantage of Khrushchev's removal to normalize relations with China. On the contrary, under Brezhnev they worsened even more. The blame for this falls on both sides - from the second half of 1966, the Chinese leadership, headed by Mao Zedong, organized a number of provocations on transport and the Soviet-Chinese border. Claiming that this border was forcibly established by the Russian tsarist government, it laid claim to several thousand square kilometers of Soviet territory. Particularly acute was the situation on the river border along the Amur and Ussuri, where a hundred years after the signing of the border treaty, the fairway of the river changed, some islands disappeared, others approached the opposite bank.

The bloody events took place in March 1969 on Damansky Island on the river. Ussuri, where the Chinese fired on the Soviet border detachment, killing several people. Large Chinese forces landed on the island, well prepared for combat. Attempts to restore the situation with the help of Soviet motorized rifle units were not successful. Then the Soviet command used the Grad multiple launch rocket system. The Chinese were virtually annihilated on this small island (about 1700 m long and 500 m wide). Their losses numbered in the thousands. On this active hostilities actually stopped.

But from May to September 1969, Soviet border guards opened fire on violators in the Damansky area more than 300 times. In the battles for the island from March 2 to March 16, 1969, 58 Soviet soldiers were killed, 94 were seriously injured. For their heroism, four servicemen received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The battle for Damansky became the first serious clash between the Armed Forces of the USSR and the regular units of another major power since the Second World War. Moscow, despite its local victory, decided not to aggravate the conflict and give Damansky Island to the People's Republic of China. The Chinese side subsequently filled up the channel separating the island from their coast, and since then it has become part of China.

On September 11, 1969, at the Soviet initiative, a meeting of the heads of government of the USSR (A.N. Kosygin) and the PRC (Zhou Enlai) took place, after which protracted negotiations on border issues began in Beijing. After 40 meetings in June 1972 they were adjourned. The Chinese government preferred to improve relations with the US, Western European countries and Japan. In 1982-85. Soviet-Chinese political consultations were held alternately in Moscow and Beijing at the level of government representatives with the rank of deputy foreign ministers. There were no results for a long time. Soviet-Chinese relations were settled only by the end of the 1980s.

ALIVE MATROSOV!

Our special correspondents V. Ignatenko and L. Kuznetsov are reporting from the area of ​​Damansky Island

Here, on the front line, as soon as the smoke of the last battle cleared, we were told about the exceptional courage of the Far Eastern border guard sailors. Not on distant oceanic meridians, not in campaigns on super cruisers and submarines, sailors distinguished themselves these days. In the mortal battle with the Maoist provocateurs on March 2 and 15, guys in pea coats stood shoulder to shoulder with the officers and soldiers of the outposts.

It is not difficult to recognize them among the military people of the border region: only the sailors wear black sheepskin coats, and hats and caps with anchors are pulled down somehow in a special way, sort of casually, but within the framework of the charter.

Fortunately, the sailors got out of the fire without loss. Shells and lead bursts lay side by side, spread over their heads. But, alive and unharmed, the guys rose to height, shook off the hot, smoking earth and rushed to the counterattack ... We saw these young Komsomol guys, in whose veins the blood of fathers, defenders of the legendary Malaya Zemlya, flows.

We want to talk about one sailor in particular. Long before dawn, on March 15, when there were all signs of preparing a new provocation near Damansky, Captain Vladimir Matrosov took up an observation post on a spit a few meters from the gently sloping coast of the island. He could see the provocateurs fidgeting fussily on the Chinese coast in the predawn twilight. From time to time, the hoarse sounds of motors were heard: it must have been brought up to the firing lines of the gun. Then silence again, viscous, cold.

A few hours later, the first round hit from the Chinese side, then the second, the first shells exploded ... The Maoists rushed in chains at Damansky. Our fire weapons began to speak, the vanguard of the Soviet border guards moved to the island.

I am Break! I am Break! How do you hear? The enemy is in the southern part of the island, - Matrosov shouted into the radiotelephone. This was the turn of his combat mission. - How did you understand?

I am Burav. You are understood!

A minute later, our fire became more accurate, the Chinese faltered.

I am Break! I am Break! The enemy moved to the northeast. - The sailors did not have time to finish: a mine struck nearby. He fell into the snow. It's gone! And the phone is intact.

I am Break! I am Break! Volodya continued. - How did you understand me?

And the earth shook again. Again the elastic wave pushed the sailor. And again, I just had to shake off the ground.

Then Matrosov got used to it. True, he did not get over the unpleasant feeling that someone invisible from the other side was watching him, as if he knew how much now depended on his, Volodina, adjustment of the fire. But again, the callsigns "Cliff" flew on the air ...

He saw our border guards fighting on the island. And if suddenly one of ours stumbled and fell, he knew: it was the Mao Zedong lead that threw the soldier to the ground. This was the second fight in the life of Matrosov ...

Captain Matrosov kept in touch with the command post for several hours. And all this time he was the epicenter of a barrage of fire.

Vladimir, one might say, is a border guard from the cradle. His father, Stepan Mikhailovich, only recently retired with the rank of colonel of the border troops, and the younger Matrosov, as far as he can remember, lived all the time on the edges of his native land, at outposts. From childhood, he knew the anxieties of the cutting edge, and this region planted good seeds of masculinity and kindness in his soul, and over time, having strengthened, these seeds began to grow. When the time came for Vladimir to choose his fate, there was no doubt: he chose the path of his father. Studied and became an officer. Now he is 31 years old. He is a communist. Frontier hardening before being assigned to this area was in the Kuril Islands. Probably not one of the eleven sailors who participated in the battle on Damansky is now dreaming of getting Matrosov's party recommendation. After all, Vladimir became a communist at their age, and they went through their first baptism of fire together: a communist and Komsomol members.

In the division, senior officers told us: “You noticed how similar our Matrosov is ...” And we, without listening to the end, agreed: “Yes, he is very similar to that legendary Alexander Matrosov.” Everything seems to happen on purpose. It seems that the journalistic move is naked to the limit. But no, this amazing external similarity is not more important. A hundred times brighter is the kinship of their characters - heroic, truly Russian. More important is the identity of their lofty spirit, the fieryness of their hearts in a difficult hour.

Historians of the Great Patriotic War find new evidence of many exploits of privates, sergeants, officers who repeated the feat of Matrosov. They died gloriously, and they became immortal, because in the Russian warrior there is this "sailor's" vein, this attitude to victory even at the cost of one's life.

Vladimir Matrosov is alive!

May he live happily to a ripe old age. May there be peace and harmony in his house, where his daughters are growing up: the second-grader Sveta and the five-year-old Katya. May they always have a dad...

N-sky division of maritime border guards
Red Banner Pacific
border district, March 20

YURI VASILIEVICH BABANSKY

Babansky Yuri Vasilievich - commander of the Nizhne-Mikhailovskaya border outpost department of the Ussuri Order of the Red Banner of Labor of the border detachment of the Pacific border district, junior sergeant. Born on December 20, 1948 in the village of Krasny Yar, Kemerovo Region. After graduating from an eight-year school, he graduated from a vocational school, worked in production, and then was drafted into the border troops. He served on the Soviet-Chinese border in the Pacific border district.

The commander of the department of the border outpost of Nizhne-Mikhailovskaya (Damansky Island) of the Ussuri Order of the Red Banner of Labor of the border detachment, junior sergeant Babansky Yu.V. showed heroism and courage during the border conflict on March 2 - 15, 1969. Then, for the first time in the history of the border troops, after June 22, 1941, the border guards of the detachment took battle with units of the regular army of the neighboring state. On that day, March 2, 1969, Chinese provocateurs who invaded Soviet territory shot from an ambush a group of border guards who had come out to meet them, led by the head of the outpost, Senior Lieutenant Strelnikov I.I.

Junior Sergeant Yuri Babansky took command of the group of border guards who remained at the outpost and boldly led them into the attack. The Maoists unleashed heavy machine gun and grenade launcher fire, mortars and artillery fire on the brave handful. Throughout the battle, Junior Sergeant Babansky skillfully led his subordinates, shot accurately, and assisted the wounded. When the enemy was knocked out of Soviet territory, Babansky went on reconnaissance to the island more than 10 times. It was Yuri Babansky with a search group who found the group of I.I. Strelnikov, and under the muzzles of machine guns and machine guns of the enemy organized their evacuation, it was he and his group on the night of March 15-16 who discovered the body of the heroically deceased head of the border detachment, Colonel D.V. Leonov and carried him off the island...

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 21, 1969, Junior Sergeant Yu.V. Babansky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Gold Star medal No. 10717).

After graduating from the military-political school, Babansky Yu.V. continued to serve in the border troops of the KGB of the USSR in various officer positions, including during the period of hostilities in Afghanistan. In the 1990s, he was deputy head of the troops of the Western Border District, was a member of the Central Committee of the Komsomol, was elected a deputy of the Supreme Council of Ukraine.

Currently, reserve lieutenant general Yu.V. Babansky is a military pensioner, engaged in social activities. He is the chairman of the all-Russian organizing committee for the action "Argunskaya outpost" and at the same time is the chairman of the public organization "Union of Heroes", an honorary citizen of the Kemerovo region. Lives in Moscow.

THE COUNTRY DID NOT KNOW YET

... They loved fire training at the outpost. They often went out to shoot. And the time in recent months for study has become less and less. The Red Guards did not give rest.

From childhood, Yuri Babansky was taught to consider the Chinese as brothers. But when he first saw the angry hooting mob brandishing clubs and weapons, shouting anti-Soviet slogans, he could not understand what was happening. He did not immediately learn to understand that faith in the holy bonds of brotherhood was trampled by the Maoists, that people deceived by Mao's clique are capable of any crime. The Chinese staged demonstrations with the slogans of the "great helmsman." Then they attacked the Soviet border guards with their fists. “This is how they were fooled,” Babansky thought. “But the fathers of our children fought for the liberation of China and died for People’s China.” There was a strict order: not to succumb to provocations. Machine guns in the back. And only the courage and endurance of the Soviet border guards did not allow the incidents to turn into a bloody conflict.

The Maoists were getting bolder. Almost daily in the morning they went out on the Ussuri ice, behaved cheekily. provocative.

On March 2, 1969, the border guards, as usual, had to expel the raging Maoists who had crossed the border back home. As always, the head of the outpost, Ivan Ivanovich Strelnikov, came out to meet them. Silence. You can only hear how the snow creaks under the boots. These were the last moments of silence. Babansky ran up the hillock and looked around. From the cover group, only Kuznetsov and Kozus fled after him. "I got away from the guys." Ahead, slightly to the right, stood the first group of border guards - the one that followed Strelnikov. The head of the outpost protested to the Chinese, demanding to leave Soviet territory.

And suddenly the dry frosty silence of the island was torn open by two shots. Behind them - frequent automatic bursts. Babansky did not believe. Didn't want to believe. But the bullets were already burning the snow, and he saw how one by one the border guards from Strelnikov's group fell. Babansky jerked a machine gun from behind his back, joined the store:

Get down! Fire! - he commanded and in short bursts began to mow down those who had just shot his comrades point-blank. Bullets whistled nearby, and he fired and fired. In the excitement of the battle, he did not notice how he had used up all the cartridges.

Kuznetsov, - he called the border guard, - give me a store!

They'll give you a ride. Enough for everyone. Be on the left, and I'm up to the tree.

He knelt down, threw up his machine gun and fired aimed fire from behind a tree. Cold-blooded, prudent. There is! One, second, third...

There is an invisible connection between the shooter and the target, as if you are sending a bullet not from a machine gun, but from your own heart, and it hits the enemy. He was so carried away that Sergeant Kozushu had to shout several times:

Yurka! Who is it in camouflage, ours or the Chinese?

Kozus was firing to the right of Babansky, a large group of Maoists was moving towards him, having taken refuge on the island in the evening. They walked straight ahead. The distance was shrinking every minute. Kozu fired several bursts and just had time to think that there weren’t enough cartridges, when he heard Babansky’s command: “Save cartridges!” and moved the lever to single fire.

Goat! Be careful not to go around to the right!

Like Babansky, he did not stay in place, changed positions and fired aimed. The ammo ran out.

Kuznetsov! And Kuznetsov! - he called and looked to where the border guard had just fired. Kuznetsov sat bent over, his head in his hands. The face is bloodless, the lower lip is slightly bitten. Lifeless eyes. A spasm clenched her throat, but there was no time to grieve. I took the rest of the cartridges from Kuznetsov. And then right in front of him, about thirty meters away, he saw a Chinese machine gun. Babansky fired, hit the machine gunner. Now we need to help Kozushu. Babansky acted swiftly and accurately. He shot through the channel and fired at the advancing enemy on the right. The Chinese machine gun again had a soldier. Yuri fired again. He was glad that the machine gun never fired a single burst.

Goat! Cover up! - Babansky ordered hoarsely and crawled to his group, which lay in the lowland. He crawled along the pitted island, blackened by fire and iron. Howled, mines whistled, explosions roared. In my head flashed: “How are the guys? Are you alive? How much longer can they hold out? The main thing is ammunition ... ”The guys were lying in a lowland, pressed by fire. Babansky did not have time to feel fear - there was only rage in him. I wanted to shoot, to destroy the killers. He ordered the border guards:

Swing to the tree! Observe! Bikuzin! Fire towards the parapet!

The border guards lay down in a semicircle, six meters apart. The cartridges were divided equally. Five or six per brother. Shells and mines exploded. It seemed to get off the ground - and you are gone. One bullet whistled over Babansky's ear. “Sniper,” flashed through my head. “You have to be careful.” But Kozus, who was covering him, had already removed the Chinese shooter. Suddenly, the fire died down. Preparing for a new attack, the Chinese regrouped. Babansky decided to take advantage of this:

One at a time, the distance is eight - ten meters, dashes to the leading marks! Yezhov - to the armored personnel carrier! Let support!

Babansky did not yet know that the riverbed was under fire. He did not know whether Eremin, who had been sent by him to the outlet, had time (“Let them send cartridges!”) To inform the outpost of the order of the commander. The Maoists pressed on. Five Soviet border guards led by junior sergeant Yuri Babansky against an enemy battalion. The border guards took a more advantageous position - at the leading signs. The Chinese are no more than a hundred meters away. They opened heavy fire. This fire was supported from the shore by a mortar battery. For the first time for twenty-year-old guys, armed combat has become a reality: life is next to death, humanity is next to treachery. You are against the enemy. And you must defend justice, you must defend your native land.

Guys, help is coming! Bubenin should come up. We must stand, because our land!

And Bubenin came to their aid. On his armored personnel carrier, he invaded the rear of the Chinese, introduced panic into their ranks and essentially decided the outcome of the battle. Babansky did not see the armored personnel carrier, he only heard the rumble of its motors on the river, right in front of them, and understood why the enemy faltered, receded back.

Running after me! - Yuriy ordered and led the fighters to the northern part of the island, where the bells came to the rescue. "Five machine guns is also a force!" Babansky fell, froze, then crawled. Bullets whistled from all sides. The body tensed. If only there was some pothole, a funnel - no, a snow-covered meadow spread like a tablecloth. Apparently, Yuri Babansky was not destined to die, apparently, "he was born in a vest." And this time the shells and mines spared him. He reached the bushes, looked around: the guys were crawling after him. I saw: help was coming from the Soviet coast in an extended chain. Baban sighed in relief. I wanted to smoke. It didn't take long for someone to find two cigarettes. He smoked them one by one. The tension of the battle has not subsided yet. He still lived with the excitement of the struggle: he picked up the wounded, searched for the dead, carried them out of the battlefield. It seemed to him that he was numb, unable to feel. But tears came to his eyes when he saw the face of Kolya Dergach, a fellow countryman and friend, mutilated by the Chinese. Late in the evening, completely tired, he turned on the radio at the outpost. Music was on the air. It seemed unthinkable, impossible, unnatural. And then, suddenly, the meaning of the border service was revealed in a new way: for the sake of children sleeping peacefully, for the sake of this music, for the sake of life, happiness, justice, there are guys in green caps at the border. They stand to death. The country did not yet know about what happened on Damansky ...

The biggest armed conflict in the 20th century between China and the USSR occurred in 1969. For the first time, the atrocities of the Chinese invaders on Damansky Island were demonstrated to the general Soviet public. However, people learned the details of the tragedy only many years later.

Why did the Chinese bully the border guards?

According to one version, the deterioration of relations between the Soviet Union and China began after unsuccessful negotiations on the fate of Damansky Island, which arose on the fairway of the Ussuri River as a result of the shallowing of a small part of the river. According to the Paris Peace Agreement of 1919, the state border of the countries was determined in the middle of the river fairway, but if historical circumstances indicated otherwise, then the border could be determined based on priority - if one of the countries was the first to colonize the territory, then it was given preference in resolving the territorial issue .

Strength Tests

A priori, it was assumed that the island created by nature was to fall under the jurisdiction of the Chinese side, but due to unsuccessful negotiations between the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Khrushchev and the leader of the PRC, Mao Zedong, the final document on this issue was not signed. The Chinese side began to use the "island" issue to establish relations with the American side. A number of Chinese historians argued that the Chinese were going to make the Americans a pleasant surprise, to show the seriousness of the break in relations with the USSR.

For many years, a small island - 0.74 square kilometers - was a tidbit that was used to test tactical and psychological maneuvers, the main purpose of which was to test the strength and adequacy of the reaction of Soviet border guards. Minor conflicts have occurred here before, but it did not come to an open clash. In 1969, the Chinese committed more than five thousand registered violations of the Soviet border.

The first landing went unnoticed

A secret directive of the Chinese military leadership is known, according to which a special plan of operation was developed for the armed seizure of the Damansky Peninsula. The first from the Chinese side moved to break through the landing, which on the night of March 1-2, 1969. They took advantage of the prevailing weather conditions. A heavy snowfall began, which allowed 77 Chinese soldiers to pass unnoticed along the frozen Ussuri River. They were dressed in white camouflage robes and armed with Kalashnikovs. This group was able to cross the border so covertly that its passage was unnoticed. And only the second group of Chinese in the amount of 33 people was discovered by an observer - a Soviet border guard. A message about a major violation was transmitted to the 2nd Nizhne-Mikhailovsk outpost, belonging to the Iman border detachment.

The border guards took a cameraman with them - Private Nikolai Petrov filmed the events on camera to the last. But the border guard did not have an accurate idea of ​​the number of violators. It was assumed that their number did not exceed three dozen. Therefore, 32 Soviet border guards were sent to eliminate it. Then they split up and advanced to the area of ​​violation in two groups. The task of the first is to neutralize the violators in a peaceful way, the task of the second is to provide reliable cover. The first group was led by twenty-eight-year-old Ivan Strelnikov, who was already preparing to enter the military academy in Moscow. Sergeant Vladimir Rabovich led the second group as cover.

The Chinese clearly imagined in advance the task of destroying the Soviet border guards. Whereas the Soviet border guards planned to resolve the conflict peacefully, as it happened more than once: after all, minor violations constantly occurred in this area.

Raised Chinese hand - a signal to attack

Strelnikov, as the most experienced commander and head of the outpost, was ordered to negotiate. When Ivan Strelnikov approached the violators and offered to leave Soviet territory peacefully, the Chinese officer raised his hand - this was the signal to open fire - the first line of the Chinese fired the first volley. Strelnikov was the first to die. Seven border guards accompanying Strelnikov died almost immediately.

All events were filmed until the last minute by Private Petrov.

Gray hair and gouged out eyes

Rabovich's cover group was unable to come to the aid of their comrades: they were ambushed and died one by one. All border guards were killed. The Chinese were already mocking the dead border guard with all the sophistication. The photographs show that his eyes were gouged out, his face was mutilated with bayonets.

The surviving corporal Pavel Akulov was in for a terrible fate - torture and painful death. They captured him, tortured him for a long time, and then threw him into Soviet territory from a helicopter only in April. On the body of the deceased, doctors counted 28 stab wounds, it was clear that he had been tortured for a long time - all the hair on his head was pulled out, and a small strand was all gray.

True, one Soviet border guard managed to survive in this battle. Private Gennady Serebrov was seriously wounded in the back, lost consciousness, and a repeated blow with a bayonet in the chest was not fatal. He managed to survive and wait for help from his comrades: the commander of the neighboring outpost Vitaly Bubenin and his subordinates, as well as the group of junior sergeant Vitaly Babansky, were able to put up serious resistance to the Chinese side. With a small supply of forces and weapons, they forced the Chinese to retreat.

31 dead border guards at the cost of their lives offered worthy resistance to the enemy.

Losik and Grad stopped the conflict

The second round of the conflict took place on 14 March. By this time, the Chinese military had deployed a five thousandth regiment, the Soviet side - the 135th motorized rifle division, equipped with Grad installations, which were used after receiving a number of conflicting orders: the party leadership - the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee - urgently demanded to remove and not send Soviet troops to Island. And as soon as this was done, the Chinese immediately occupied the territory. Then the commander of the Far Eastern Military District, Oleg Losik, who went through the Second World War, ordered to open fire on the enemy with the Grad multiple launch rocket system: in one salvo - 40 shells within 20 seconds were capable of destroying the enemy within a radius of four hectares. After such shelling, the Chinese military did not undertake any more large-scale military operations.

The final point in the conflict was put by the politicians of the two countries: already in September 1969, an agreement was reached that neither Chinese nor Soviet troops would occupy the disputed island. This meant that de facto Damansky passed to China, in 1991 the island became de jure Chinese.

The conflict on Damansky Island in 1969 was a reflection of the contradictions between China and the USSR

They have an old character. Good neighborly relations were replaced by periods of instability. The dispute over Damansky Island occupies a special place in the conflict with China.

Causes of the conflict

After the end of the opium wars in the 19th century, Russia and some Western European countries were able to reap considerable benefits for themselves. In 1860, Russia signed the Beijing Treaty, according to which the state border ran along the Chinese bank of the Amur and the Ussuri River. The document excluded the use of river resources by the Chinese population and secured island formations in the riverbed for Russia.

For several decades, relations between the countries remained smooth. The elimination of friction and disagreement was facilitated by:

• small population of the border strip;
• lack of territorial claims;
• political conjuncture.

In the 40s of the last century, in the face of China, the Soviet Union received a reliable ally. This was facilitated by military assistance in the conflict with the Japanese imperialists and support in the fight against the Kuomintang regime. But soon the situation changed.

In 1956, the 20th party congress was held, at which Stalin's personality cult was condemned and his methods of government were criticized. In China, the events in Moscow were closely followed. After a short silence, Beijing called the actions of the Soviet government revisionism, relations between the countries cooled.

The rhetoric between the parties took on the character of open claims, including territorial ones. China demanded that Mongolia and other lands be transferred to Chinese jurisdiction. In response to harsh statements by the Chinese side, Soviet experts were withdrawn from Beijing. Russian-Chinese diplomatic relations have degraded to the level of chargé d'affaires.

The territorial claims of the Chinese leadership were not limited to the northern neighbor. Mao's imperial ambitions turned out to be bigger and wider. In 1958, China began an active expansion against Taiwan, and in 1962 went into a border conflict with India. If in the first case the Soviet leadership approved the behavior of the neighbor, then in the issue with India it condemned the actions of Beijing.

Attempts to resolve territorial issues

Relations between the USSR and China continued to deteriorate. The Chinese side raised the issue of the illegality of state borders. Beijing's claims were based on the decisions of the Paris Conference of 1919, which regulated the drawing of borders between countries. The treaty demarcated the states along shipping routes.

Despite the severity of interpretations, the document provided for exceptions. According to the provisions, it was allowed to draw dividing lines along the coast, if such borders were formed historically.

The Soviet leadership, not wanting to aggravate relations, was ready to agree with the Chinese. To this end, bilateral consultations were held in 1964. They were supposed to discuss:

• territorial disputes;
• an agreement on border lands;
• legal regulation.

But due to a number of reasons, the parties did not reach an agreement.

China's preparations for war

In 1968, unrest began in Czechoslovakia, caused by dissatisfaction with the rule of the Communist government. Fearing the collapse of the Warsaw bloc, Moscow sent troops to Prague. The rebellion was suppressed, but not without casualties.

The Chinese leadership condemned Moscow's actions, accusing the USSR of excessive imperial ambitions and revisionist policies. As an example of Soviet expansion, Beijing cited the disputed islands, including Damansky.

Gradually, the Chinese side moved from rhetoric to action. Peasants began to appear on the peninsula and engage in agriculture. Russian border guards expelled farmers, but they crossed the line again and again. Over time, the number of provocations grew. In addition to civilians, Red Guards appeared on the island. The "Falcons of the Revolution" behaved exceptionally aggressively, attacking border patrols.

The scale of provocations grew, the number of attacks increased. The number of participants in illegal actions was in the hundreds. It became clear that the provocative attacks were taking place with the consent of the Chinese authorities. There is evidence that during 1968-1969, Beijing used the attacks for domestic political purposes. In January 1969, the Chinese planned a military scenario on the island. In February, it was approved by the General Staff and the Foreign Ministry.

How the USSR prepared for war

KGB agents who worked in the PRC repeatedly reported to Moscow about possible unfriendly actions by the Chinese. The reports said that as a result of the growing escalation, a large-scale Sino-Soviet conflict was possible. The government of the Soviet Union decided to pull in additional troops. For this purpose, units from the central and western military districts were transferred to the eastern borders.

Attention was paid to the army equipment of personnel. Troops additionally supplied:

• heavy machine guns;
• means of communication and detection;
• uniforms;
• combat vehicles.

The border was equipped with new engineering systems. The personnel of the border detachments was increased. Among the border guards, classes were held to repel aggression, to study the weapons and equipment received. The interaction of mobile groups and mobile detachments was worked out.

China's attack on the USSR 1969 - the beginning of the war

On the night of March 2, 1969, Chinese border guards secretly crossed the border of the USSR and set foot on Damansky Island. They headed for the western part of it, where they took up an advantageous position on a hill. The soldiers were dressed in white camouflage robes, light covers were put on their weapons. Warm uniforms were hidden under the robes, and the Chinese calmly endured the cold. Education and alcohol also contributed to this.

The foresight of the Chinese border guards was manifested in the thorough preparation for the operation. The soldiers were equipped with machine guns, carbines, and pistols. Separate parts of the weapon were treated with special compounds that exclude metallic sounds. In the coastal strip, sites were prepared for:

• recoilless guns;
• heavy machine guns;
• mortar calculations.

The coastal group consisted of about 300 people. About a hundred fighters were involved in the main detachment.

2nd of March

Thanks to covert night transfers and camouflage, the PRC fighters managed to go unnoticed for a long time. We found them only at 10 o'clock in the morning. The commander of the outpost, Senior Lieutenant Strelnikov, decided to advance towards the enemy. The outpost garrison was divided into 2 parts. The first went to the nearest group of Chinese. The task of the second was to neutralize the military, heading deep into Damansky.

Having approached the Chinese soldiers, the commander asked for an explanation of what their presence on Soviet territory meant. In response, automatic bursts rang out. At the same time, machine-gun fire was opened on the second group under the command of Rabovich. The suddenness and deceit left no chance for the Russian soldiers. Only a few Soviet border guards managed to survive.

The shooting was heard at a nearby outpost. The commander of the unit, Senior Lieutenant Bubenin, with two dozen soldiers advanced on an armored personnel carrier in the direction of the peninsula. The Chinese attacked the group by opening fire. The platoon courageously held the defense, but the forces were unequal. Then the commander made a strategically accurate and the only correct decision. Using the fire maneuverability of the combat vehicle, he went on the offensive. The raid on the flank of the enemy gave results: the Chinese faltered and retreated.

USSR and China conflict continues

With the outbreak of hostilities on the island, the Soviet command decided to increase the number of troops in the Damanskong area. A motorized rifle division advanced to the hot spot, reinforced by the division of Grad multiple launch rocket systems. In response, the Chinese deployed an infantry regiment.

In the dispute over Damansky Island, China took not only military actions. In the course were:

• diplomatic receptions;
• political methods;
• use of the media.

A picket was held near the Soviet embassy in Beijing condemning the actions of the Soviets. Chinese newspapers burst into a series of angry articles. Distorting the facts and throwing in outright lies, they accused the Soviet side of aggression. Newspapers were full of headlines about the invasion of Russian troops into Chinese territory.

The USSR did not remain in debt. On March 7, a rally was organized outside the Chinese embassy in Moscow. The picketers protested the unfriendly actions of the Chinese authorities and threw ink at the building.

March 15th

The Soviet-Chinese conflict entered a new phase on March 14. On this day, Soviet troops were ordered to leave their positions on the island. After the withdrawal of the units, the Chinese began to occupy the territory. Then a new order came: to push back the enemy. 8 armored personnel carriers advanced towards the enemy. The Chinese retreated, and our units again settled on Damansky. Lieutenant Colonel Yanshin commanded the military.

The next morning, the enemy opened heavy artillery fire. After a long artillery preparation, the Chinese again attacked the island. A group of Colonel Leonov hastened to help Yanshin. Despite the losses, the unit managed to stop the enemy. Leonov was hurt. He died from his wounds.

Ammunition ran out, and the Soviet troops had to retreat. Despite the numerical superiority of the enemy, the Soviet soldiers showed:

• heroism;
• courage;
• courage.

Outnumbering the Russians and elated by success, the enemy attacked continuously. A significant part of Damansky passed under the control of the Chinese. Under these conditions, the command decided to use the Grad systems. The enemy was stunned and suffered heavy losses in manpower and equipment. The offensive of the Chinese troops bogged down. Attempts to regain the initiative were unsuccessful.

Number of victims

As a result of clashes on March 2, 31 servicemen were killed on the Soviet side, and 39 on the Chinese side. On March 15, 27 Russian soldiers were killed. Damage from the Chinese side is estimated differently. According to some reports, the number of dead Chinese exceeds several hundred. The greatest damage to the Chinese side was caused by Grad rocket launchers.

During the entire conflict, the Soviet troops lost 58 people, the Chinese - about 1000. 5 Soviet soldiers received the title of Hero, many were awarded orders and medals.

The results of the war

The main result of the incident was the realization by the Chinese leadership of the impossibility of confrontation with the USSR. The courage and valor of Soviet soldiers is evidence of the fortitude of the fighters. The ability to act in difficult conditions, with dignity to get out of critical situations, commanded respect. The Soviet Union demonstrated the ability to quickly redeploy large formations, and the use of Grad systems left no chance for the enemy.

All these factors prompted the Chinese leadership to sit down at the negotiating table. A number of high-level meetings were held in autumn. Agreements were reached to end conflicts and revise some lines.

Damansky Island today

For twenty years Damansky's fate was not finally decided. Consultations on disputed territories were held repeatedly. Only in 1991, the island officially received the status of Chinese territory.

In honor of the dead Chinese soldiers, an obelisk was opened on the island, where they take schoolchildren and lay flowers. Nearby is a frontier post. The Chinese media rarely return to the topic of the conflict. In those distant days, the Chinese showed:

• perfidy;
• cruelty;
• cunning.

Contrary to the truth, some Chinese journalists and historians blame the Soviet Union.

Conclusion

The Daman incident went down in history as a conflict of political elites. Exorbitant ambitions, unwillingness to hear the arguments of the opposite side and the desire to achieve goals by any means almost led to a new tragedy and did not drag the world into another war. It was only thanks to the heroism of Soviet soldiers that the world escaped this danger.

Vladimir Dergachev


http://cs628421.vk.me/v628421888/11455/QbThtOBtvGU.jpg
Damansky Island. View from the Chinese coast.

During the 1973 field season, my main goal was to visit Dalnerechensk (former Iman), where the Trans-Siberian Railway comes close to the state border with the PRC. Damansky Island was located near Iman, where in 1969 there was a bloody conflict with China. My plans included a visit to the 2nd Nizhne-Mikhailovka frontier post, located 6 km from the island. In order to get into the border zone, in addition to the pass, I "armed myself" with the help of my supervisor Professor Saushkin with the direction of the Presidium of the All-Union Society "Knowledge" for lecturing in the Far East. In the Dalnerechensky district executive committee, I was assisted in negotiations with the border detachment and an agreement was reached that I would give a lecture at the frontier post. I was supposed to be picked up by a helicopter, but due to another pointing at Ussuri, it was sent for rescue work. My trip didn't work. In the early 70s, I did not know that Damansky Island, which was heroically defended by Soviet soldiers, was already de facto Chinese. on the Ussuri River, 230 km south of Khabarovsk and near Iman (Dalnerechensk). This is the largest Soviet-Chinese armed conflict in the modern history of Russia and China.

On the opposite bank of the Russian Dalnerechensk, the Ussuri is located the Chinese town of Khitou - the only border point (except for the CER), connected by a road with central Manchuria, when this part of China became a protectorate of Japan (the state of Manzhou-Guo).

Puppet state (empire) Manzhou-Guo It was formed by the Japanese military administration in the territory of Manchuria occupied by Japan and existed from March 1, 1932 to August 19, 1945. The Japanese occupiers wisely decided that it would be hard to find a better place for provocations against the Soviet Union than Hitou on the Ussuri. Since the city of Iman is located on the opposite bank, through which the Trans-Siberian Railway passes in close proximity to the state border, which has repeatedly served as a pretext for provocations (from the events of 1929 to the events on Damansky in 1969).

There is a railway bridge across the Iman River (Bolshaya Ussurka) within the reach of enemy heavy artillery. There is no bridge - and the Soviet Primorye turns out to be an island cut off from the rest of Russia. The Soviet government understood this, and when a second track was laid on the Trans-Siberian in the 1930s, the railway track with the second bridge in the area of ​​the Bolshaya Ussurka River was shifted to the east (see on the map), and the Imansky defensive fortified area was created along the state border.

For many decades, the authorities have expressed their intentions to build a substitute for the Trans-Siberian Railway and an existing highway, east inland from the state border. The construction of new sections of the Khabarovsk-Nakhodka federal road with a length of 824 km has been frozen since 2002.

During the 1969 border conflict, the Chinese military occupied Damansky Island on September 10, 1969, when the Soviet military command ordered a ceasefire. The next day, negotiations were held at the Beijing airport between the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A. N. Kosygin, who was returning from the funeral of the President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam Ho Chi Minh, and the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Zhou Enlai. An agreement was reached to stop hostile actions, while the troops remained in their positions. In fact, this meant the transfer of Damansky Island to China. On May 19, 1991, as a result of an international agreement, the island officially came under the jurisdiction of the PRC.

Today, the island is part of the military-administrative border zone of the PRC and is accessible to Chinese tourists. A museum of military glory has been created here so that the people of communist China do not forget their glorious history and remember the feat on Precious Island (the Chinese name of the island in translation into Russian).

A two-hundred-meter channel separates the native bank of the Ussuri River from the Chinese side and Damansky Island. In summer, boats with tourists go through the channel, and in winter a road is laid on the ice.

The history of the origin of the conflict goes back to 1860, when China (then still the Qing Empire) ceded vast lands in Central Asia and Primorye to Russia under the Aigun and Beijing treaties.

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

However, already in 1950, peace in the Far East was destroyed by the war that broke out in Korea. This war was a logical consequence of the Cold War that had begun four years earlier. The desire of the two superpowers - the USSR and the United States - to unite the Korean Peninsula under the rule of a friendly regime led to bloodshed.

Initially, success was entirely on the side of communist Korea. Her troops managed to break the resistance of the small army of the South and rushed deep into South Korea. However, the US and UN forces soon came to the aid of the latter, as a result of which the offensive stopped. Already in the autumn of 1950, an assault was landed in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe capital of the DPRK, the city of Seoul, in connection with which the North Korean army began a hasty retreat. The war threatened to end with the defeat of the North as early as October 1950.

In this situation, the threat of the emergence of a capitalist and clearly unfriendly state near the borders of China has increased more than ever. The specter of a civil war still 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 an "unofficial" participant in the conflict, and the course of the war changed again. In a very short time, the front line again fell to the 38th parallel, which practically coincided with the demarcation line before the war. Here the front stopped until the end of the conflict in 1953.

After the Korean War, in the Soviet-Chinese relations, the most noticeable was the desire of China to get out of the "suzerainty" of the USSR in order to conduct its own, completely independent foreign policy. And the reason was not long in coming.

The gap between the USSR and China

In 1956, the Twentieth Congress of the CPSU was held in Moscow. It resulted in the Soviet leadership's rejection of the personality cult of I. V. Stalin and, in fact, a change in the country's foreign policy doctrine. In China, these changes were closely followed, but they were not enthusiastic about them. Ultimately, Khrushchev and his apparatus were declared revisionists in China, and the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party abruptly changed 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 demands on the Soviet Union (for example, the annexation 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 was no less an enemy of the USSR than they were.

The gap between the Soviet Union and China widened and deepened. In this regard, all Soviet specialists who worked there were taken out of the PRC. In the highest echelons of the USSR, irritation grew over the foreign policy of the "Maoists" (as the followers of Mao Zedong's policy were called). On the Chinese border, the Soviet leadership was forced to keep a very impressive grouping, being aware of the unpredictability of the Chinese government.

In 1968, events took place in Czechoslovakia, which later became known as the "Prague Spring". The change in the political course of the country's government led to the fact that already at the end of August of the same year, the Soviet leadership was forced to intervene in this process in order to avoid the beginning of the collapse of the Warsaw Pact. The troops of the USSR and other countries of the Warsaw Pact were introduced into Czechoslovakia.

The Chinese leadership condemned the actions of the Soviet side, as a result of which relations between the countries deteriorated to the limit. But as it turned out, the worst was yet to come. By March 1969, the situation for a military conflict was fully ripe. It was fueled by the provocations from the Chinese side that took place in huge numbers since the early 1960s. Not only the Chinese military often entered Soviet territory, but also peasants, who defiantly engaged in economic activities in front of the Soviet border guards. Nevertheless, all violators were expelled back without the use of weapons.

By the end of the 1960s, full-fledged clashes involving servicemen from both sides took place in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bDamansky Island and other parts of the Soviet-Chinese border. The scale and audacity of the provocations grew steadily.

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

Fighting March 2, 1969

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

At about 10:20 a.m. on March 2, a Soviet observation post spotted a group of Chinese servicemen on Soviet territory. A group of border guards headed by the head of the 2nd Nizhne-Mikhailovka outpost, senior lieutenant I. Strelnikov, left for the place of violation of the USSR border. Upon arrival on the island, the group split up. The first part, under the command of I. Strelnikov, moved in the direction of the Chinese military personnel stationed on the ice near the southwestern tip of Damansky Island; another group under the command of Sergeant V. Rabovich moved along the coast of the island, cutting off a group of Chinese military personnel advancing deep into Damansky.

After about 5 minutes, Strelnikov's group approached the Chinese servicemen. I. Strelnikov protested to 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 of V. Rabovich, as a result of which the Soviet border guards were taken by surprise. In a short-lived battle, both Soviet groups were almost completely destroyed.

The shooting on the island was heard by the head of the neighboring 1st outpost "Kulebyakiny Sopki" senior lieutenant V. Bubenin. He decided to advance with 23 fighters in an armored personnel carrier towards Damansky to help his neighbors. However, approaching the island, the senior lieutenant's group was forced to take up defense, because the Chinese troops went on the offensive in order to capture Damansky Island. Nevertheless, the Soviet military personnel courageously and stubbornly defended the territory, not allowing the enemy to throw them into the river.

Realizing that this state of affairs could not continue for a long time, Senior Lieutenant Bubenin made a very brave decision, which, in fact, decided the outcome of the battles for Damansky Island on March 2. Its essence was to raid behind the lines of the Chinese group in order to disorganize it. On the BTR-60PB, V. Bubenin went to the rear of the Chinese, skirting the northern part of Damansky Island, inflicting serious damage on the enemy. However, Bubenin's armored personnel carrier was soon shot down, as a result of which the commander decided to get to the armored personnel carrier of the murdered senior lieutenant I. Strelnikov. This plan was successful, and soon V. Bubenin continued to move along the orders of the Chinese troops, inflicting losses on the enemy. So, as a result of this raid, the Chinese command post was also destroyed, but soon the second armored personnel carrier was hit.

The group of surviving border guards was commanded by junior sergeant Yu. Babansky. The Chinese did not manage to force them out of the island, and already at 13 o'clock the violators began to withdraw troops from the island.

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

Situation 2-14 March 1969

Immediately after the end of the fighting on Damansky Island, the command of the Imansky border detachment arrived here to plan further actions and prevent further provocations. As a result, it was decided to strengthen the border detachments on the island, the transfer of additional forces of border guards. In addition to this, the 135th motorized rifle division was deployed in the area of ​​​​the island, reinforced with the latest Grad multiple rocket launchers. At the same time, the 24th Infantry Regiment was deployed from the Chinese side for further operations against the Soviet troops.

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

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

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

Fights March 14-15, 1969

At 3 pm on March 14, 1969, Soviet troops received an order to leave Damansky Island. Immediately after that, the island began to occupy the Chinese military. To prevent this, the Soviet side sent 8 armored personnel carriers to Damansky, seeing which, the Chinese immediately retreated to their shore.

By the evening of the same day, the Soviet border guards were ordered to occupy the island. Shortly thereafter, a group under the command of Lieutenant Colonel E. Yanshin carried out the order. On the morning of March 15, from 30 to 60 barrels of Chinese artillery suddenly opened fire on Soviet troops, after which three companies of the Chinese went on the offensive. However, the enemy failed to break the resistance of the Soviet troops and capture the island.

However, the situation was becoming critical. In order not to allow the Yanshin group to be destroyed, another group under the command of Colonel D. Leonov advanced to help her, which entered into an oncoming battle with the Chinese at the southern tip of the island. In this battle, the colonel died, but at the cost of serious losses, his group managed to hold their positions and inflict significant damage on the enemy troops.

Two hours later, the Soviet troops, which had used up ammunition, were forced to begin a withdrawal from the island. Taking advantage of the numerical advantage, the Chinese began to re-occupy the island. However, at the same time, the Soviet leadership decided to launch a fire strike on the enemy forces from the Grad installations, which was done at about 17 hours. The result of the artillery strike was simply stunning: the Chinese suffered huge losses, their mortars and guns were disabled, the ammunition and reinforcements that were on the island were almost completely destroyed.

10-20 minutes after the artillery preparation, the motorized riflemen went on the offensive together with the border guards under the command of lieutenant colonels Smirnov and Konstantinov, and the Chinese troops hurriedly left the island. At about 19:00, the Chinese launched a series of counterattacks, which quickly bogged down, as a result of which the situation remained practically unchanged.

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

Five Soviet servicemen were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the heroism shown in the battles on Damansky Island. These are Colonel D. Leonov (posthumously), Senior Lieutenant I. Strelnikov (posthumously), Junior Sergeant V. Orekhov (posthumously), Senior Lieutenant V. Bubenin, Junior Sergeant Yu. Babansky. Also, approximately 150 people were awarded other government awards.

Consequences of the conflict

Immediately after the end of the battles for Damansky Island, Soviet troops were withdrawn across the Ussuri River. Soon the ice on the river broke, and the crossing for the Soviet border guards was very difficult, which was used by the Chinese military. At the same time, contacts between Soviet and Chinese troops were reduced only to machine-gun firefights, which ended in September 1969. By this time, the Chinese had effectively occupied the island.

However, provocations on the Soviet-Chinese border did not stop after the conflict on Damansky Island. So, already in August of the same year, another major Soviet-Chinese border conflict took place - the incident at Lake Zhalanashkol. As a result, relations between the two states reached a truly critical point - a nuclear war between the USSR and the PRC was closer than ever.

Another result of the border conflict on Damansky Island was that the Chinese leadership realized that it was impossible to continue its aggressive policy towards its northern neighbor. The deplorable state of the Chinese army, once again revealed during the conflict, only strengthened this guess.

The result of this border conflict was a change in the state border between the USSR and China, as a result of which Damansky Island came under the control of the PRC.

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