It's been 45 years since the spring of 1969, when an armed conflict broke out on one of the Far Eastern sections of the Soviet-Chinese border. We are talking about Damansky Island, located on the Ussuri River. The history of the USSR shows that these were the first military operations in the entire post-war period, in which army forces and border troops of the KGB took part. And it was all the more unexpected that the aggressor turned out to be not just a neighboring state, but a fraternal, as everyone believed then, China.
Location
Damansky Island on the map looks like a rather insignificant piece of land, which stretches for about 1500-1800 m in length and about 700 m in width. It is impossible to establish its exact parameters, since they depend on the specific time of the year. For example, during spring and summer floods, it can be completely flooded with the waters of the Ussuri River, and in the winter months, the island rises in the middle of a freezing river. That is why it does not represent any military-strategic or economic value.
In 1969, Damansky Island, a photo of which has been preserved since those times, with an area of just over 0.7 square meters. km, was located on the territory of the USSR and belonged to the Pozharsky district of Primorsky Krai. These lands bordered on one of the provinces of China - Heilongjiang. The distance from Damansky Island to the city of Khabarovsk is only 230 km. It was removed from the Chinese coast at a distance of about 300 m, and from the Soviet one - at 500 m.
History of the island
The Far East has been trying to draw a border between China and Tsarist Russia since the 17th century. It is from these times that the history of Damansky Island begins. Then the Russian possessions stretched along the entire Amur River, from source to mouth, and were located both on the left and partially on the right side of it. Several centuries passed before precise boundary lines were established. This event was preceded by numerous legal acts. Finally, in 1860, almost the entire Ussuri region was given to Russia.
As you know, the communists led by Mao Zedong came to power in China in 1949. In those days, it was not particularly spread about the fact that it was the Soviet Union that played the main role in this. 2 years after the end of the Civil War, in which the Chinese Communists emerged victorious, Beijing and Moscow signed an agreement. It said that China recognizes the current border with the USSR, and also agrees that the Amur and Ussuri rivers be under the control of the Soviet border troops.
Earlier in the world, laws have already been adopted and were in force, according to whichthe borders passing along the rivers are drawn exactly along the main fairway. But the government of tsarist Russia took advantage of the weakness and compliance of the Chinese state and drew a line of demarcation in the section of the Ussuri River not along the water, but directly along the opposite bank. As a result, all the water area and the islands on it ended up on Russian territory. Therefore, the Chinese could fish and swim on the Ussuri River only with the permission of the neighboring authorities.
Political situation on the eve of the conflict
The events on Damansky Island became a kind of culmination of ideological differences that arose between the two largest socialist states - the USSR and China. They began back in the 1950s with the fact that the PRC decided to raise its international influence in the world and in 1958 entered into an armed conflict with Taiwan. After 4 years, China took part in the border war against India. If in the first case the Soviet Union expressed its support for such actions, then in the second case, on the contrary, it condemned it.
In addition, the differences were aggravated by the fact that after the so-called Caribbean crisis that erupted in 1962, Moscow sought to somehow normalize relations with a number of capitalist countries. But the Chinese leader Mao Zedong took these actions as a betrayal of the ideological teachings of Lenin and Stalin. There was also a factor of rivalry for supremacy over the countries that were part of the socialist camp.
For the first time, a serious crisis in Soviet-Chinese relations emerged in 1956year, when the USSR participated in the suppression of popular unrest in Hungary and Poland. Then Mao condemned these actions of Moscow. The worsening of the situation between the two countries was also influenced by the recall of Soviet specialists who were in China and helped him successfully develop both the economy and the armed forces. This was done due to numerous provocations by the PRC.
On top of everything else, Mao Zedong was very concerned about the fact that Soviet troops were still stationed in Western China, and specifically in Xinjiang, which had remained there since 1934. The fact is that the soldiers of the Red Army took part in the suppression of the Muslim uprising in these lands. The great helmsman, as Mao was called, was afraid that these territories would go to the USSR.
By the second half of the 60s, when Khrushchev was removed from his post, the situation became completely critical. This is evidenced by the fact that before the conflict on Damansky Island began, diplomatic relations between the two countries existed at the level of only chargé d'affaires.
Border provocations
It was after Khrushchev's removal from power that the situation on the island began to heat up. The Chinese began to send their so-called agricultural divisions to the border sparsely populated territories. They resembled the Arakcheev military settlements that operated under Nicholas I, which were able not only to fully meet their food needs, but also, if necessary, to defend themselves and their land with weapons in their hands.
In the early 60s, events on Damansky Island began to develop rapidly. For the first time, reports flew to Moscow that numerous groups of Chinese military and civilians were constantly violating the established border regime and entering Soviet territory, from where they were expelled without using weapons. Most often, these were peasants who defiantly engaged in grazing or mowing grass. At the same time, they stated that they were allegedly in China.
Every year the number of such provocations increased, and they began to acquire a more threatening character. There were facts of attacks by the Red Guards (activists of the cultural revolution) on Soviet border patrols. Such aggressive actions on the part of the Chinese already numbered in the thousands, and several hundred people were involved in them. An example of this is the following event. Only 4 days have passed since 1969 came. Then on Kirkinsky Island, and now Qilingqingdao, the Chinese staged a provocation, in which about 500 people participated.
Group fights
While the Soviet government said that the Chinese are a brotherly people, the increasingly developing events on Damanskoye testified to the opposite. Whenever the border guards of the two states accidentally crossed paths in the disputed territory, verbal skirmishes began, which then escalated into hand-to-hand skirmishes. Usually they ended with the victory of the stronger and larger Soviet soldiers and the displacement of the Chinese to their side.
Each time, the PRC border guards tried to film these group fights and subsequently use them for propaganda purposes. Such attempts were always neutralized by the Soviet border guards, who did not hesitate to beat the pseudo-journalists and confiscate their footage. Despite this, the Chinese soldiers, fanatically devoted to their "god" Mao Zedong, again returned to Damansky Island, where they could be beaten again or even killed in the name of their great leader. But it is worth noting that such group fights never went beyond hand-to-hand combat.
Preparing China for war
Each seemingly insignificant border conflict heated up the situation between the PRC and the USSR. The Chinese leadership constantly built up its military units in the territories adjacent to the border, as well as special units that formed the so-called Labor Army. At the same time, extensive paramilitary state farms were built, which were a kind of military settlements.
Besides, militia units were formed from among active citizens. They were used not only to protect the border, but also to restore order in all settlements located near it. The detachments consisted of groups of local residents, led by representatives of public security.
1969 The border Chinese territory, about 200 km wide, received the status of a forbidden one and was henceforth considered an advanced defensive line. All citizens who had any family ties on the side of the Soviet Union or sympathized with it wereresettled in more remote areas of China.
How the USSR prepared for war
It cannot be said that the Daman conflict took the Soviet Union by surprise. In response to the buildup of Chinese troops in the border zone, the USSR also began to strengthen its borders. First of all, they relocated some units and formations from the central and western parts of the country both to Transbaikalia and to the Far East. Also, the border strip was improved in terms of engineering structures, which were equipped with an improved technical security system. In addition, enhanced combat training of soldiers was carried out.
The most important thing is that the day before, when the Soviet-Chinese conflict broke out, all border outposts and individual detachments were provided with a large number of heavy machine guns, as well as anti-tank hand grenade launchers and other weapons. There were also armored personnel carriers BTR-60 PB and BTR-60 PA. Mobile groups were created in the border detachments themselves.
Despite all the improvements, the means of protection still turned out to be insufficient. The fact is that the impending war with China required not only good equipment, but also certain skills and some experience in mastering this new technology, as well as the ability to apply it directly during military operations.
Now, after so many years after the Daman conflict, we can conclude that the country's leadership underestimated the seriousness of the situation on the border, as a result of which its defenders turned out to becompletely unprepared to repel aggression from the enemy. Also, despite the sharp deterioration in relations with the Chinese side and the significantly increased number of provocations occurring at the outposts, the command issued a strict order: “Do not use weapons, under any pretext!”
Start of hostilities
The Soviet-Chinese conflict of 1969 began with the fact that about 300 soldiers of the PRC army, dressed in winter camouflage uniforms, crossed the border of the USSR. It happened on the night of March 2. The Chinese crossed over to Damansky Island. Conflict was brewing.
I must say that the enemy soldiers were well equipped. The clothes were very comfortable and warm, in addition, they were wearing white camouflage robes. Their weapons were also wrapped in the same cloth. To keep it from rattling, the ramrods were filled with paraffin. All the weapons that were with them were made in China, but only under Soviet licenses. Chinese soldiers armed with SKS carbines, AK-47s and TT pistols.
After they crossed to the island, they lay down on its western shore and took up a position on a hill. Immediately after that, a telephone connection with the shore was established. At night there was a snowfall, which hid all their traces. And they lay until morning on mats and from time to time warmed themselves by drinking vodka.
Before the Daman conflict had not yet escalated into an armed clash, the Chinese prepared a line of support for their soldiers from the shore. There were pre-equipped platforms for recoilless rifles, mortars, as well as heavy machine guns. In addition, there was also infantry numbering up to about 300 people.
The reconnaissance of the Soviet border detachment did not have devices for night observation of the surrounding territories, so they completely did not notice any preparations for military operations on the part of the enemy. In addition, it was 800 m from the nearest post to Damansky, and visibility at that time was very poor. Even at 9 o'clock in the morning, when a border detachment consisting of three people was patrolling the island, the Chinese were not found. Border violators did not give themselves away.
It is believed that the conflict on Damansky Island began from the moment when, at about 10.40 am, a report was received from the military personnel of the observation post at the Nizhne-Mikhailovka frontier post, located 12 km to the south. It said that a group of armed people, numbering up to 30 people, was discovered. She was moving from the side of the border with China in the direction of Damansky. The head of the outpost was Senior Lieutenant Ivan Strelnikov. He gave the order to advance, and the personnel got into combat vehicles. Strelnikov and seven soldiers went to the GAZ-69, Sergeant V. Rabovich and 13 people with him - to the BTR-60 PB and Yu. Babansky's group, consisting of 12 border guards, to the GAZ-63. The last car was 15 minutes behind the other two, as it turned out to have engine problems.
First victims
Upon arrival, a group led by Strelnikov, which included photographer Nikolai Petrov, approached the Chinese. They protested about the illegal border crossing, as well as the requirement to immediately leaveterritory of the Soviet Union. After that, one of the Chinese shouted loudly and their first line parted. PRC soldiers opened automatic fire on Strelnikov and his group. Soviet border guards died on the spot. Immediately, a movie camera was taken from the hands of the already dead Petrov, with which he filmed everything that happened, but the camera was never noticed - the soldier, falling, covered him with himself. These were the first casu alties from which the Daman conflict had just begun.
The second group under the command of Rabovich took on an unequal battle. She shot to the last. Soon the rest of the fighters, led by Yu. Babansky, arrived in time. They took up defensive positions behind their comrades and poured automatic fire on the enemy. As a result, the entire group of Rabovich was killed. Only Private Gennady Serebrov, who miraculously escaped, survived. It was he who told about everything that happened to his comrades.
Babansky's group continued to fight, but the ammunition quickly ran out. So the decision was made to leave. The surviving border guards on the surviving armored personnel carrier took refuge on Soviet territory. Meanwhile, 20 fighters from the nearby Kulebyakiny Sopki outpost, led by Vitaly Bubenin, hurried to their rescue. It was located north of Damansky Island at a distance of 18 km. Therefore, help arrived only at 11.30. The border guards also joined the battle, but the forces were unequal. Therefore, their commander decided to bypass the Chinese ambush from the rear.
Bubenin and 4 more soldiers, boarding an armored personnel carrier, drove around the enemy and began to fire at him from behind, while the rest of the border guards firedislands. Despite the fact that the Chinese were several times more numerous, they found themselves in an extremely unfavorable situation. As a result, Bubenin managed to destroy the Chinese command post. After that, the enemy soldiers began to leave their positions, taking with them the dead and wounded.
At about 12.00, Colonel D. Leonov arrived on Damansky Island, where the conflict was still ongoing. He, with the main military personnel of the border guards, was on exercises 100 km from the place of hostilities. They also entered the battle, and by the evening of the same day, Soviet soldiers managed to recapture the island.
In this battle, 32 border guards were killed and 14 soldiers were wounded. How many people the Chinese side lost is still unknown, since such information is classified. According to Soviet border guards, the PRC missed about 100-150 of its soldiers and officers.
Conflict continues
And what about Moscow? On this day, Secretary General L. Brezhnev called the head of the USSR border troops, General V. Matrosov, and asked what it was: a simple conflict or a war with China? A high-ranking military official was supposed to know the situation on the border, but, as it turned out, he was not in the know. Therefore, he called the events a simple conflict. He did not know that the border guards had been holding the line for several hours, despite the enemy's multiple superiority not only in manpower, but also in weapons.
After the collision that occurred on March 2, Damansky was constantly patrolled by reinforced detachments, and a whole motorized rifle division was deployed in the rear a few kilometers from the island,where, in addition to artillery, there were Grad rocket launchers. China was also preparing for another offensive. A significant number of military personnel were brought to the border - about 5,000 people.
I must say, the Soviet border guards had no instructions about what to do next. There were no relevant orders either from the General Staff or from the Minister of Defense. In critical situations, the silence of the country's leadership was commonplace. The history of the USSR is replete with such facts. For example, let's take the most striking of them: in the early days of the Great Patriotic War, Stalin was never able to address the Soviet people. It is precisely the inaction of the leadership of the USSR that can explain the complete confusion in the actions of the military personnel of the frontier post on March 14, 1969, when the second stage of the Soviet-Chinese confrontation began.
At 15.00, the border guards received an order: “Leave Damansky” (it is still unknown who gave this order). As soon as the Soviet troops moved away from the island, the Chinese immediately began to run across to it in small groups and consolidate their combat positions. And at about 20.00, the opposite order was received: “Take Damansky.”
Unpreparedness and confusion reigned throughout. Contradictory orders were constantly received, the most ridiculous of them the border guards refused to carry out. In this battle, Colonel Democrat Leonov died, trying to get around the enemy from the rear on the new secret T-62 tank. The car was hit and lost. They tried to destroy it from mortars, but these actions did not succeed.success - she fell through the ice. Some time later, the Chinese raised the tank to the surface, and now it is in the military museum in Beijing. All this happened due to the fact that the colonel did not know the island, so the Soviet tanks approached the enemy positions so imprudently.
The battle ended with the Soviet side having to use Grad rocket launchers against superior enemy forces. This is the first time such a weapon has been used in a real battle. It was the Grad installations that decided the outcome of the battle. There was silence after that.
Consequences
Despite the fact that the Soviet-Chinese conflict ended with the complete victory of the USSR, negotiations on the ownership of Damansky lasted almost 20 years. Only in 1991 this island officially became Chinese. Now it is called Zhenbao, which means "Precious" in translation.
During the military conflict, the USSR lost 58 people, 4 of which were officers. The PRC, according to various sources, has lost from 500 to 3,000 of its troops.
For their courage, five border guards were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, three of them posthumously. Another 148 servicemen were awarded other orders and medals.
