It has 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 testifies that these were the first military operations for the entire post-war period, in which the KGB army and border troops took part. And all the more it was unexpected that the aggressor was not just a neighboring state, but a fraternal, as everyone thought then, China.
Location
Damansky Island on the map looks like a rather insignificant piece of land, which is stretched 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, whose photo has been preserved since then, covers 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 the Primorsky Territory. These lands border one of the provinces of China - Heilongjiang. The distance from Damansky Island to the city of Khabarovsk is only 230 km. It was about 300 m from the Chinese coast, and 500 m from the Soviet coast.
Island history
They tried to draw the border between China and tsarist Russia in the Far East since the 17th century. It is from these times that the history of Damansky Island begins. Then the Russian possessions extended along the entire Amur River, from the sources to the mouth, and were located both on the left and partially on the right side of it. Several centuries passed before the exact 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 that the Soviet Union played the main role in this. 2 years after the end of the Civil War, in which the Chinese Communists won, 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 should be controlled by the Soviet border troops.
Earlier in the world laws had already been adopted and were in force, according to which the borders passing along the rivers are drawn along the main fairway. But the government of tsarist Russia took advantage of the weakness and pliability of the Chinese state and drew a demarcation line on the section of the Ussuri River not by water but directly along the opposite bank. As a result, the entire body of water and the islands on it ended up on Russian territory. Therefore, the Chinese could only fish and swim along the Ussuri River 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 disagreements that arose between the two largest socialist states - the USSR and China. They began back in the 50s with the fact that the PRC decided to increase its international influence in the world and in 1958 entered into 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, in the second - on the contrary, it condemned.
In addition, the disagreement was further aggravated by the fact that after the so-called Caribbean crisis that erupted in 1962, Moscow sought to at least 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 competition for supremacy over countries that were part of the socialist camp.
For the first time, a serious crisis in Soviet-Chinese relations emerged in 1956, when the USSR participated in the suppression of popular unrest in Hungary and Poland. Then Mao condemned these actions of Moscow. The deterioration of the situation between the two countries was also affected 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 from the PRC.
On top of that, Mao Zedong was very concerned that Soviet troops were still stationed in Western China, specifically in Xinjiang, who had remained there since 1934. The fact is that soldiers of the Red Army took part in the suppression of the Muslim uprising on these lands. The great helmsman, as they called Mao, 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 critical at all. This is evidenced by the fact that before the conflict on Damansky Island, diplomatic relations between the two countries existed only at the level of temporary attorneys.
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 border sparsely populated territories. They resembled the Arakcheev military settlements operating under Nicholas I, which were able not only to fully satisfy their food needs, but also when the need arose to protect 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 constantly violated the established border regime and entered 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 on the territory of China.
Every year the number of such provocations increased, and they began to acquire a more menacing character. The facts of attacks by the Hungweibins (activists of the cultural revolution) on the Soviet border patrols appeared. Such aggressive actions by the Chinese were 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 the island of Kirkinsky, and now Tsilintsindao, the Chinese staged a provocation, in which about 500 people participated.
Group fights
While the Soviet government said that the Chinese are fraternal people, the increasingly evolving events in Damansky showed the opposite. Whenever border guards of two states accidentally crossed paths in disputed territory, verbal skirmishes began, which then turned into melee skirmishes. Usually they ended with the victory of stronger and larger Soviet soldiers and the crowding out 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, without hesitation, beat pseudo-journalists and confiscated the captured films from them. Despite this, Chinese soldiers, fanatically loyal 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.
China's preparations for war
Each, even seemingly insignificant border conflict, heated the situation between the PRC and the USSR. The Chinese leadership was constantly building 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 militarized state farms were built, which were a kind of military settlement.
In addition, 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 units consisted of groups of local residents led by representatives of public security.
1969 year. Chinese borderland with a width of about 200 km received the status of a forbidden and henceforth was considered the front line of defense. All citizens who have any kindred ties on the side of the Soviet Union or sympathize with it, were resettled in more remote areas of China.
How did the USSR prepare for war
This is not to say 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, some parts and formations were relocated from the central and western parts of the country both in Transbaikalia and 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.
Most importantly, on the eve 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 armored personnel carriers BTR-60 PB and BTR-60 PA. In the border detachments themselves, maneuver groups were created.
Despite all the improvements, security measures were still not enough. 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 in the course of hostilities.
Now, so many years after the Daman conflict took place, we can conclude that the country's leadership underestimated the seriousness of the situation at the border, as a result of which its defenders were completely 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 arising at the outposts, the command issued a strict order: “Do not use weapons under any pretext!”
The beginning of hostilities
The Soviet-Chinese conflict of 1969 began when about 300 soldiers of the PRC army, dressed in winter camouflage uniforms, crossed the border of the USSR. This happened on the night of March 2. The Chinese crossed to Damansky Island. The conflict was brewing.
I must say that the enemy soldiers were well equipped. The clothes were very comfortable and warm, in addition, they were in white camouflage robes. Their weapons were wrapped in the same fabric. That it did not rattle, 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-47 assault rifles and TT pistols.
Having crossed to the island, they lay on its western shore and took a position on a hill. Immediately after that, telephone communication was established with the shore. At night there was snowfall that hid all their tracks. And they lay until the morning on the mats and from time to time basked themselves in drinking vodka.
Before the Daman conflict had not yet developed into an armed conflict, the Chinese prepared a line of support for their soldiers from the coast. There were pre-equipped platforms for recoilless guns, mortars, as well as heavy machine guns. In addition, there was also an infantry of about 300 people.
The intelligence of the Soviet border detachment did not have devices for nightly monitoring the adjacent territories, so they did not notice at all any preparations for military operations by the enemy. In addition, from the nearest post to Damansky it was 800 m, and visibility at that time was very poor. Even at 9 a.m., when a three-man border patrol patrolled the island, the Chinese were not found. Violators of the border did not give themselves away.
It is believed that the conflict on Damansky Island began from the moment when, at about 10.40, a report was received from the military personnel of the observation post at the Nizhne-Mikhailovka border post, located 12 km to the south. It said that a group of armed people was found, numbering up to 30 people. She moved from the border with China in the direction of Damansky. The chief of the outpost was Senior Lieutenant Ivan Strelnikov. He gave the order for advancement, 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 the group of Yu. Babansky, consisting of 12 border guards, to the GAZ-63. The last car was 15 minutes behind the other two, as it turned out that she had problems with the engine.
First victims
Upon arrival at the place, a group led by Strelnikov, which included photographer Nikolai Petrov, approached the Chinese. He expressed protest over the illegal border crossing, as well as the demand to immediately leave the territory of the Soviet Union. After that, one of the Chinese shouted loudly and their first line parted. Chinese soldiers opened automatic fire on Strelnikov and his group. Soviet border guards died on the spot. Immediately from the hands of the already dead Petrov they took a movie camera, with which he shot everything that was happening, but they did not notice the camera - the soldier, falling, covered it with himself. These were the first victims with which the Daman conflict had just begun.
The second group under the command of Rabovich took on an unequal battle. She shot back to the last. Soon the rest of the soldiers arrived, led by Yu. Babansky. They took up defense behind their comrades and watered the enemy with machine-gun fire. As a result, the entire Rabovich group was killed. Only the miraculous Gennady Serebrov who survived was survived by a miracle. It was he who told about everything that happened to his comrades.
Babansky's group continued the battle, but the ammunition quickly ended. Therefore, it was decided to withdraw. The surviving border guards on the surviving APC took refuge in Soviet territory. Meanwhile, 20 fighters from the neighboring Kulebyakiny Sopa outpost, led by Vitaly Bubenin, were hurrying 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.
Tambourine and 4 more soldiers, plunging into an armored personnel carrier, drove around the enemy and began to fire at him from behind, while the rest of the border guards fired from the island. Despite the fact that there were several times more Chinese, they fell into an extremely unfavorable situation. As a result, Bubenin managed to destroy the Chinese command post. After that, 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, the conflict on which was still ongoing. He, with the main military personnel of the border guards, was in exercises 100 km from the place of military operations. 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 servicemen were injured. How many people have lost the Chinese side is still unknown, since such information is classified. According to Soviet border guards, the PRC missed about 100-150 of its soldiers and officers.
Continuation of the conflict
But what about Moscow? On that day, Secretary General L. Brezhnev called the chief of the USSR border troops, General V. Matrosov, and asked what it was: a simple conflict or a war with China? A senior 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 that happened a simple conflict. He did not know that the border guards had been holding the defenses for several hours now, with the enemy numerous superiority, not only in manpower, but also in armament.
After the collision that occurred on March 2, Damansky was constantly patrolled by reinforced outfits, 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 pulled to the border - about 5,000 people.
I must say that the Soviet border guards did not have any instructions on what to do next. There were no corresponding 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, take the most striking of them: in the early days of World War II, Stalin was not able to make an appeal to the Soviet people. It is the inaction of the leadership of the USSR that can explain the complete confusion in the actions of the military personnel of the border post on March 14, 1969, when the second stage of the Soviet-Chinese confrontation began.
At 15.00 the border guards received the 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 it in small groups and consolidate their fighting positions. And at about 8 p.m. the opposite order was received: "Occupy Damansky."
Unpreparedness and confusion reigned in everything. Conflicting orders were received constantly, the most ridiculous of them border guards refused to comply. In this battle, Colonel Democrat Leonov died, trying to get around the enemy from the rear in the new secret T-62 tank. The car was hit and lost. They tried to destroy her from mortars, but these actions were unsuccessful - she fell through the ice. After some time, the Chinese raised the tank to the surface, and now it is in the Beijing Military Museum. All this happened because the colonel did not know the island, so the Soviet tanks so imprudently came close to the enemy’s positions.
The battle ended with the Soviet side having to use Grad rocket launchers against superior enemy forces. This is the first time that such weapons have been used in real combat. It was the Grad installation that decided the outcome of the battle. After that there was silence.
Effects
Despite the fact that the Soviet-Chinese conflict ended in the complete victory of the USSR, negotiations on Damansky’s ownership 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 whom were officers. China, 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 which were posthumous. Another 148 troops were awarded with other orders and medals.