Version has been changed. The main reason is that the two countries have redrawn their borders. We have recognized all the treaties that we didn't recognize originally, so we don't want them. After the founding of New China, Mao intended to ask Stalin for territory, but because of one-sided diplomacy, he stopped talking about it, but he didn't give up. When China and the Soviet Union became enemies, China forgot the old and new accounts together. If you want to find them, you can look at the books published in the 1980s or even the 1960s and 1970s. There are many books in the library.

1March, 969, this combat operation on the Wusuli River in the Far East was the largest combat operation on the Soviet border after the Second World War. In this regard, Russia has been speculating for many years, with different opinions, and it is difficult to distinguish between true and false. At that time, the Soviets didn't understand why China occupied the island. Jing asked, "What were our border guards doing when China people entered the island?" "Why didn't you take measures to prevent similar incidents from happening?" . Some people say that "there were too many people in China at that time, and the border guards could not cope with it at all, so they had to use regular troops". What's going on? It's impossible to explain the environment 30 years ago. Later, the Soviet government also deliberately made people forget this incident, and only described this conflict as the Wusuli River incident in March 1969. In the early 1990s, "Damansky Island" could not be found in Russian territory, so Russians began to guess and talk about the "secret tank" and the mysterious death of Colonel leonov, the captain of Iman Frontier Corps. Some people even said, "The island doesn't exist anymore. Let's blow it up so that no one can get it." The Damansky Island incident remains a mystery. Constantine, a retired colonel who was the captain of Iman Frontier Corps, gave a detailed description 30 years later.

Friction from small to large

According to Constantine's memory, in the autumn of 1968, we felt that China people might launch provocative actions this winter. I, leonov and Pavlov, the chief of staff of the frontier defense corps at that time, agreed that this would not be an ice fist fight like before, but a substantive charge.

Suddenly. The oral and written orders we received were: use all available means, we should not allow provocateurs to enter our territory, but we should not use weapons; And it is forbidden for officers and men to spread what happened here and fight. Therefore, neither local residents nor other people in China can imagine that the soldiers of these two great powers have often fought in the long Sino-Soviet border along amur river and Ussuri River in recent years, while the party leaders are preaching the ideology of * * * *. There were 40 battles between the two sides only in the Iman border section of 1968+0968. 196811one day in June, the headquarters of the frontier defense corps reported to the military region that there might be armed provocation and requested specific written instructions to strengthen its troops. A week later, the commander of the frontier defense corps and the political commissar were called to Vladivostok and told them that if there was armed provocation, they would fight back. But this is only an oral opinion and cannot be used as a basis. There have also been some minor frictions on the neighboring island of Kilding. 1969 1-2 In Damansky Island and Lower Mikhail Loka, there are frequent conflicts, and both sides attack each other with gun butts instead of sticks. In a battle, we took 15 guns from the Chinese and found bullets in the barrel. We were very surprised, which convinced leonov, the captain of the frontier defense corps, and his deputy that the danger was coming. If anything happens, it will definitely happen here. The number of personnel on duty at Damansky Island and the posts where border guards may be threatened has increased to 50, and armored personnel carriers have been added. At the same time, as soon as China people appear, our border guards will shoot at them and drive away these uninvited guests. Without the knowledge of our border guards, at the end of February, thousands of troops and a large number of weapons were secretly assembled on the left bank of the Wusuli River (China), and communication stations and command posts were opened. On the night of March 2, about 300 China soldiers entered Damansky Island, where they built fire launching positions and bunkers. The nearest observation post to Mansky Island is only 80 meters. Why didn't the border reconnaissance team find these situations? The main reason was that there was no night vision equipment at that time, China people's actions were all carried out at night, and the border guards found no suspicious signs when patrolling along Damansky Island in the morning, so we left under the nose of China people, and they didn't bother us, perhaps because they didn't want to expose themselves prematurely.

March 2 action

Constantine said: The military commander in charge of this operation in China is resourceful, well-trained and cunning. It is no accident that he chose March 2. In the propaganda reports at that time, the significance of this day was not mentioned. In fact, this day is extraordinary.

First, there was a light snow from the night of March/Kloc-0 to the early morning of March 2, and it was all white around, which enabled China people to quietly occupy Damansky Island, and the snow could cover their tracks.

2. March 2nd is a winter farewell festival in Binhai North District-Xierou Festival. China people estimate that people from the headquarters of the Frontier Defense Corps may be invited to dinner or get together, resulting in "poor communication" with the command post. Indeed, the leaders of the Frontier Corps went to the village of Viyanskaya, which is very

I went there a long time ago, but instead of going to a party, I went to exercise. For 30 years, no one mentioned that exercise again. In fact, there was a large-scale military exercise three days before the incident. Two divisions participated, and the military region instructed the frontier defense corps to play the role of "enemy". Can't two divisions take out two companies to fight the "enemy" instead of letting the frontier defense corps fight the "enemy"? Perhaps the original intention of the military headquarters at that time was good, mainly to improve their morale in the face of threats.

Third, on Sundays and Saturdays, our frontier aviation can't fly. It may be based on the above factors that the China military officer who commanded the operation chose to start the operation on this day. In addition, we also had a problem during the exercise: a tank regiment failed to arrive in time and announced a tactical suspension. After noon 12, Constantine returned to the command post, and an "anxious" phone rang in the exercise command post. The command of the Far East Military Region called and said: There is a battle going on at the lower Mikhail Loka post, and there are casualties. Leonov immediately ordered Pavlov to withdraw the cadet schools and mobile units participating in the exercise and set out for Damansky Island. That's what happened. When there was a bloody clash between two outposts on Damanski Island, the whole reserve team, that is, the NCO School and the mobile unit, was located at the outlying island 100 km. Smoke enveloped Damansky Island. According to Constantine's memory,1March 2, 969, the technical observation station reported that two teams, about 30 Russians, entered the Soviet border. Around 1 1 in the morning, Ivan at the border post? Captain Strenikov led a team of 30 people to meet the invaders in an armored personnel carrier and two cars. They decided to surround the island from two sides. Captain Strinkov led five border guards and H? Captain Buyevich approached the island from the front. About 300 meters behind them is the second regiment, led by Corporal babanski, 12 men. The third regiment, led by Sergeant Labovic, *** 13 men, approached the island from the flank. Suddenly, they were subjected to frontal machine gun fire, left bank artillery and mortar volley, and both teams led by Strenikov and Labovic were killed. Sergeant babanski and his soldiers occupied a circular fortification and fought back. Neighbouring sentry motorized mobile team rushed to support, led by Vitaliya? Captain Bubenin. However, due to the heavy artillery fire on the left bank, they failed. After receiving the order, the mobile detachment of the border guards and the NCO School who participated in the exercise quickly returned, and the helicopter caught up with them in Suhanov Ski Gorge. The mobile unit changed to a helicopter and rushed to Damansky Island, surrounded by thick smoke, bushes and burning land and equipment. Observing Damansky Island, we found our soldiers beside a tree and our men landed. At the same time, armored personnel carriers came from the NCO School in Nuka, Skranda. We occupied Damansky Island and began to send people to look for the wounded. Sergeant babanski, who took over his job after Strenikov's death, climbed over and told us that Strenikov and his team had been found and all were killed. Private Petrov comes from the Political Department of the Frontier Defense Corps. He found a camera under his coat and the photos were developed. These are the last three photos he took before he died. In one of the photos, we can see that a soldier from China raised his hand when Strenikov approached with people, apparently gesturing to the people lying in the trenches. Just then, the battle began. The battle on this day was cruel. The Soviets were killed 3 1 person and injured 14 person. Border guards recaptured Damansky Island and dug trenches, where a reinforced squad has been on duty.

The colonel was killed and the "secret tank" fell.

In order to prevent China from invading the island again, a mobile detachment led by Lieutenant Colonel Shen Ya came here. They have 45 people and four armored personnel carriers with Grenade launchers. A reserve of 80 people and armored personnel carriers were assembled on the shore. 12 On the night of March, the135th motorized infantry division of the Far East Military Region came to the conflict area. They have a Mobu regiment, an artillery regiment, an independent tank battalion and a hail -BM-2 1 rocket battalion. I don't know why, the team on duty on the island on March 14 received an order from the superior to evacuate the island. Constantinople still retains the report of Shalagin, the team leader who was on duty on the island at that time. The transcript reads as follows: "On March 14, the border guard heard the shouts of China people on the other side, and then we were ordered to withdraw." It can be seen from the recorded time that the order was issued 15 hours before the start of the new battle. I asked leonov who gave the order, and he said it was a "military area command". But I guess the order was not issued by the military region. We left, and China occupied the island again. We are not sure what this is about, but it is not normal. On March 14, just before midnight, leonov received an order from the military region to retake Damansky Island. About 1-2 hours later, the mobile team led by Lieutenant Colonel Shen Ya arrived. The fighting has begun, and the situation on the island is still unclear. News came from the highest observation post that China people had reached the southern tip of the island, and were ready to attack A Xin's flank after occupying the southern tip. Later, nine tanks came to help. When leonov found the tank, he said, "I'm going to the island now", and left in a hurry before even the contact signal could be determined. Although the border guards have a radio station, they don't know the frequency. The tank went to war, but we have no contact with it. China approached leonov's tank, followed by two tanks to return, not to the shore command post, but to the post. Why are you so alarmed? Because some people think that China tanks have come to our side, and the situation is very serious. Leonov was seriously injured in the tank mine. The incident was reported to Moscow, which ordered the prompt rescue of the tank and Colonel leonov. As a result, several attempts to rush to the tank failed.

15 night, 16 early morning, Bertkovsky, the reconnaissance company commander of the division, led a reconnaissance rescue team to rescue, and Colonel leonov was killed when the tank arrived. When he tried to escape from the hatch, he was shot in the heart by a sniper. China didn't touch him, but they took the instrument from the tank. We tried to blow up the tank with mines, but failed; Later, it was decided to use rockets to launch each rocket weighing 180 kg from the bank of Wusuli River, but it was not accurate. The tank tilted and the aiming hand could no longer see. At the end of April, China people dragged it out, and now it has become an exhibit in their museum. Due to the obvious advantages of China people, Damansky Island could not be occupied for a long time. The only way to succeed is to use artillery. But this means an escalation of the conflict. At that time, no one had the courage to give such an order, so they had to wait for the order from their superiors. Finally, on 17, I received an order from my superior (Moscow) to strike with hail. Hail was a "secret weapon" at that time. It is said that Brezhnev ordered the use of hail rocket launchers. Crewe Benkov, former head of the 199 regiment and retired colonel, recalled, "A hail battalion and a regiment equipped with122mm howitzers violently attacked the other island and the depth of 5-6 kilometers. Then a Mobu battalion stationed in Upper Ukinsk (now Ulan-Ude) took part in the battle, and the battalion commander was Major smirnoff. Many people in this camp are under 20 years old. In this battle, 7 people were killed, 9 people were injured and 4 armored vehicles were destroyed. Eventually China abandoned the island. At first, the motorized infantry division was responsible for island defense, and it was not until the situation gradually stabilized in April that island defense was handed over to the border guards again. Until September of that year, gunshots could still be heard there and there were casualties.

Why not tell the truth?

Constantinof said that regarding what happened on March 2, the government propaganda at that time was as follows: "10: 40, the battle alarm sounded at the post, and armored personnel carriers and cars entered the state of combat readiness. Captain Strenikov, the person in charge of the post, reported the situation to Bubeining and Xiao Hohloff of the neighboring troops, and also to leonov, the captain of the frontier defense corps. After receiving the news, the person in charge decided to get rid of China people ... "Why? There was only one purpose at that time: to show our people and the people of China that our border defense was normal and orderly, everything was done according to orders, and everyone was in his post. In fact, the distance between the mobile unit and the NCO school is 100 km.

At that time, the report did not mention the participation of NCO schools and armored personnel carriers. In fact, it is their participation that gives us an advantage. The reason why we don't mention them is to let people all over the world know that we drove away the people of China with very few troops. When the government reported the second battle on Damansky Island in mid-March, it said: The border guards beat Mao Zedong's troops to the ground. But this is not the case. The border guards were frustrated and suffered heavy casualties. China people have obvious advantages in numbers, technology, equipment and weapons, and they already owned the island before the fighting started. The use of regular troops and tanks, especially the death of Colonel leonov, was not mentioned in the propaganda.

Efforts for peace

1On March 6th, 969, the Political Bureau of the Soviet Union held a meeting to discuss what happened in the Wusuli River. Members of the Politburo spoke highly of the border guards, but they also pointed out many shortcomings. For example, there is no "good army cluster" in conflict areas, whether it is a cluster of border guards or conventional troops; The organization of combat and military reconnaissance is weak; No night observation, etc. A series of measures to strengthen border defense were adopted at the meeting. The political bureau's line is: the island has been the territory of the Soviet Union since ancient times, never giving in and resolutely confronting it. But it was not without peaceful efforts before. Soviet border guards have always advocated peaceful settlement of territorial disputes through dialogue. At 1964, the then commander of the border guards, General Zyryanov, was ordered to consult with China on these issues. In order to accomplish this mission, he was awarded the title of Deputy Minister. At a consultation meeting, Zilyanov summoned up his courage to announce that it was possible to make concessions on some islands, including Damansky Island. Khrushchev recalled him from Beijing when he learned about it. He was furious and gave him a good scolding. One year before the conflict, that is, in the summer of 1968, Zilyanov once again declared that he would settle the dispute peacefully through dialogue. At the meeting of the Khabarovsk Krai Committee, the situation in the border area with China was discussed. The host was then Deputy Foreign Minister Kuznetsov. At the meeting, he asked everyone to stand up and answer, "What do you think should be done?" None of the border guards said that they would use force to solve the worsening territorial dispute. Zyryanov still sticks to his point of view. In addition, after the meeting, he issued a supplementary order to his subordinates: "Take all necessary measures to prevent China people from entering our territory, but don't use weapons". Only at the end, when I wanted to say goodbye to everyone, did I hint: "If the situation is serious, then fight back." After that battle, mines were laid on all roads entering the island from China; A large number of troops gathered on the right bank of the Wusuli River. It was not until September 1969 that the tension gradually subsided after the leaders of the two governments met in Beijing. Now, the demarcation of the Russian-Chinese border has ended, and we no longer own Damansky Island. Because it is located on the China side of the main channel of Wusuli River, it was allocated to China. If we had followed General Zyryanov's advice in 1964, the tragedy of 1969 in March would not have happened.