The history of our civilization is dotted with bloody wars and tragedies. People still do not know how to live in peace on one small planet, lost in cold space. War is increasingly becoming an instrument of enrichment for some at the expense of the grief and misfortune of others. In the twentieth century, the assertion that force rules the world was once again confirmed.
In early September, in the year of the final surrender of fascism, the creation of the second people's state in Asia, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, was proclaimed. The power in the country was in the hands of the communist leader Ho Chi Minh, which radically changed the geopolitical situation in the region. However, the Europeans did not intend to leave their colonies, and soon a new bloody war. British troops under the leadership of General Gracie created favorable conditions for the return of the French colonists, instead of the promised help to expel the Japanese aggressors. The Allies openly violated the provisions of the Atlantic Charter, which stated that all countries that fought against fascism would receive their long-awaited freedom. Soon, French troops landed on the territory of Vietnam in order to restore their former influence in the region. However, Vietnam by this time was experiencing an incredible rise in national spirit and the French met with fierce resistance.
At the initiative of the Soviet Union, at the end of April 1954, a document was signed in Geneva recognizing the independence of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as restoring peace in the region. As a result, two parts of the country were formed, separated by a conditional border: North Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh, and South, headed by Ngo Dinh Diem. If Ho Chi Minh was a leader with real authority among the local population, supported by the countries of the socialist camp, then Diem turned out to be an ordinary puppet of the West. Soon, Diem lost even the appearance of popularity among the people, and a guerrilla war broke out in South Vietnam. The democratic elections scheduled by the Geneva Act turned out to be completely disadvantageous for the Europeans, since it became clear that Ho Chi Minh's victory was predetermined. It should be noted that the communists from the DRV played an important role in the development of the partisan movement. Soon the United States intervened in the conflict, but the lightning-fast conquest of the country did not take place.
T-34-85 from the 203rd tank regiment on the outskirts of the fortified point Charlie. The infantry sitting openly on the armor of the tank is extremely vulnerable to shelling from all types of weapons, but the North Vietnamese did not have enough armored personnel carriers. Soldiers of the North Vietnamese special forces Dak Kong act as a tank landing. Spetsnaz were often used as assault groups, the personnel of these formations were distinguished by excellent combat skills and high morale. The special forces, by the standards of the DRV army, were well armed and equipped. For example, here every fighter has a Soviet-style helmet on his head. (http://otvaga2004.narod.ru)
The southern part of Vietnam was almost completely covered with impenetrable jungle, in which the partisans successfully hid. Military operations, customary and effective in Europe, were inapplicable here, the communist North provided significant support to the rebels. After the Tokyo Incident, the US Air Force bombed North Vietnam. Black phantoms were sent to Hanoi and psychological impact on the population, destroyed mainly military installations. The air defense system in the underdeveloped country was almost completely absent, and the Americans quickly felt their impunity.
Help from the USSR followed immediately. To be more precise, Soviet support for the young people's state was carried out a year before the famous meeting in 1965, however, large-scale deliveries of military equipment began after the official decision was made and the issues of transportation through China were settled. In addition to weapons, Soviet military and civilian specialists, as well as correspondents, went to Vietnam. In the famous movie "Rambo", American directors cover the fierce battles between the "hero" and notorious thugs from the "Russian special forces". This work concentrates all the fear of the Soviet soldiers, who, according to US politicians, fought with their valiant half-million army. So, given that the number of soldiers from the USSR who arrived in Hanoi was only six thousand officers and about four thousand privates, it becomes clear how exaggerated such stories are.
In fact, only officers and privates were present on the territory of North Vietnam, called to train local military personnel in the management of Soviet equipment and weapons. Contrary to the expectations of the Americans, who predicted the appearance of the first results of such training only a year later, the Vietnamese entered into confrontation after only two months. Perhaps such an unexpected and unpleasant circumstance for the American command gave rise to suspicions that Soviet pilots, and not at all local soldiers, were on the side of the enemy. Legends of Bolsheviks with machine guns hiding in the impenetrable jungle and attacking American civilians in Vietnam are still popular in the States today. If you believe these stories, then we can conclude that only ten or eleven thousand Soviet soldiers were able to defeat half a million American army and it's really incredible. The role of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese in this approach is not at all clear.
The offensive of the 3rd Corps of the DRV Army began on April 2, 1972. The Corps operated in the province of Tai Ninh on the border with Cambodia in the Saigon direction. With a combined attack of tanks and infantry on April 4, the northerners drove the southerners out of the city of Lokk Ninh. In the picture - T-54 tanks from the 21st separate tank battalion are moving past the wrecked South Vietnamese M41A3 tank (the tank belonged to the 5th armored cavalry regiment of the 3rd armored brigade). Both the T-54 and M41 are camouflaged with tree branches. (http://otvaga2004.narod.ru)
However, it cannot be denied that the Americans had reason not to trust the assurances of the USSR about the exclusively advisory mission of military specialists. The fact is that the majority of the population of North Vietnam was illiterate. The vast majority were starving, and people were exhausted, so ordinary fighters did not even have a minimum margin of endurance and strength. Young men could only endure ten minutes of combat with the enemy. There was no need to talk about skill in the field of piloting on modern machines. Despite all of the above factors, during the first year of confrontation with North Vietnam, a significant part of American military aircraft was destroyed. MiGs outperformed the legendary phantoms in maneuverability, so they successfully evaded pursuit after the attack. Anti-aircraft systems, thanks to which most of the American bombers were shot down, were difficult to eliminate, since they were located under the cover of dense tropical forests. In addition, intelligence worked successfully, reporting fighter sorties in advance.
The first months of work of the Soviet rocket scientists turned out to be extremely tense. Completely different climatic conditions, unfamiliar diseases, annoying insects have become far from the main problem in fulfilling the task. The training of the Vietnamese comrades, who did not understand the Russian language at all, took place through a demonstration, with the involvement of translators, who were often in short supply. However, Soviet specialists did not participate directly in the battles, as they were few in number and were of too great value. According to the testimony of direct participants, they even had their own weapons.
North Vietnamese PT-76, shot down in the battle near the Benhat special forces camp. March 1969
The American command strictly forbade shelling Soviet ships and transport, since such actions could provoke the outbreak of the Third World War, however, it was the Soviet military-economic machine that turned out to be opposed to the Americans. Two thousand tanks, seven hundred light and maneuverable aircraft, seven thousand mortars and guns, more than a hundred helicopters and much more were supplied by the USSR as gratuitous friendly assistance to Vietnam. Almost the entire air defense system of the country, later assessed by the enemy as impenetrable for any type of fighter, was built at the expense of the USSR, by the forces of Soviet specialists. The armament of the belligerent state took place in the most difficult conditions of constant bombing and open robbery by China. Over 10,000 Vietnamese were sent to the Soviet Union to undergo military training and to learn how to use modern Soviet technology. According to various estimates, the support of friendly Vietnam cost the USSR budget from one and a half to two million dollars daily.
There is an opinion that the Soviets sent obsolete weapons to help the belligerents. In refutation, one can cite an interview with the chairman of the MO OR veterans in Vietnam, Nikolai Kolesnik, a direct participant and eyewitness to the events under study. According to him, modern MiG-21 vehicles were put into service, as well as Dvina anti-aircraft guns, the shells of which, according to the Americans, turned out to be the deadliest on earth at that time. Kolesnik also notes the high qualification of military specialists, and the incredible perseverance of the Vietnamese in learning and striving to master the science of management as quickly as possible.
Despite the fact that the US authorities were well aware of the provision of military assistance to North Vietnam, all specialists, including the military, were required to wear only civilian clothes, their documents were kept at the embassy, and they learned about the final destination of their business trip at the last moment. Secrecy requirements were maintained until the withdrawal of the Soviet contingent from the country, and the exact numbers and names of the participants are not known to this day.
After the signing of the peace accords in Paris on January 27, 1973, Hanoi reinforced its troops in the so-called "liberated areas". Massive deliveries of weapons and military equipment from the Soviet Union and China allowed Hanoi to reorganize the armed forces, including armored forces. From the USSR, then for the first time, Vietnam received wheeled armored personnel carriers BTR-60PB. The picture shows a BTR-60PB platoon, Locke Ninh air base near the border with Cambodia, solemn ceremony, 1973 (http://otvaga2004.narod.ru)
Relations between the USSR and Vietnam were based on the conditions of "unequal friendship". The Union was interested in spreading its influence in the region, which is why it provided such generous and disinterested assistance. Vietnam, on the other hand, cooperated with the Soviets solely for reasons of profit, successfully speculating on the position of the country fighting for independence and freedom. Sometimes help was not asked, but demanded. In addition, direct participants often describe cases of provocations by the Vietnamese authorities.
International relations with this tropical country are being built today by Russia as the immediate legal successor of the Union. The political situation is developing in different ways, but the local population has retained a sense of gratitude for the Russian soldiers, and the heroes of that secret war are still proud of participating in it.
At the final stage of Operation Ho Chi Minh, the DRV army for the first time used the latest and best ZSU-23-4-Shilka in the world. At that time, the only battery of these self-propelled guns from the 237th anti-aircraft artillery regiment could take part in the hostilities (http://www.nhat-nam.ru)
Three armored personnel carriers BTR-40A, armed with anti-aircraft guns, on patrol on a highway near the coastal city of Nha Trang, early April 1975. Armored personnel carriers BTR-40 in the anti-aircraft version were often used in reconnaissance units of tank regiments (http://www.nhat-nam.ru )
According to the US intelligence community, North Vietnam received ISU-122, ISU-152 and SU-100 self-propelled artillery mounts from the USSR in addition to and to replace the SU-76 self-propelled guns. Nothing is known about the combat use of the above self-propelled guns in Indochina. In the reports of units of the army of South Vietnam, they were not mentioned even once. Here is an extremely rare shot of the SU-100 self-propelled gun of the DRV army, but the tail number with the letter “F” is very confusing, the style of depicting letters and numbers is no less strange for the North Vietnamese army. Pay attention to different types of track rollers (http://otvaga2004.narod.ru)
There were thousands of them - but officially there were none at all. The participation of the Soviet military in the Vietnam War was not advertised. "Voice of Russia" managed to interview one of those who defended the skies of Vietnam from US Air Force raids.
January 30 is another anniversary of the establishment of Soviet-Vietnamese diplomatic relations. One of the brightest pages in the relations between the two countries is military assistance to Vietnam during the war against American aggression. Voice of Russia was told about those days by a person who was directly involved in the events of the Vietnam War. Nikolai Kolesnik, Chairman of the Interregional public organization Russian veterans of the Vietnam War, since 1965, participated in the battles fought against US aircraft by Soviet missilemen.
Kolesnik: Soviet military assistance was huge and comprehensive. In value terms, this amounted to about two million dollars daily during all the years of the war. A huge amount of equipment was delivered to Vietnam. It is enough to give just a few figures: 2,000 tanks, 7,000 guns and mortars, over 5,000 anti-aircraft guns and installations, 158 anti-aircraft missile systems, over 700 combat aircraft, 120 helicopters, over 100 warships. And all these deliveries were free of charge. The Vietnamese had to be taught to fight on all this equipment. For this, Soviet military specialists were sent to Vietnam. From July 1965 to the end of 1974, about 6.5 thousand officers and generals, as well as more than 4.5 thousand soldiers and sergeants of the Soviet Armed Forces, took part in the hostilities in Vietnam. In addition, the training of Vietnamese military personnel was started in military schools and academies of the USSR - more than 10 thousand people.
They say that the equipment sent from the USSR to Vietnam was outdated.
Kolesnik: At that time it was the most modern. For example, the MiG-21 jet fighters - it was on them that the Vietnamese pilots shot down both the F-105 and the B-52 "flying fortresses". During all the years of the war, fighter aircraft of the Vietnamese People's Army destroyed 350 enemy aircraft. Vietnamese aviation lost much less - 145 aircraft. The history of the VNA included the names of air aces, on whose account there were 7, 8 and 9 downed American aircraft. At the same time, de Beliva, the most successful US pilot, had only six air victories in Vietnam. The Soviet Dvina missile systems supplied during this war were capable of hitting air targets even at a 25-kilometer altitude. “These are the most deadly projectiles that have ever been fired from the ground on aircraft,” the American Military Technical Journal stated in those years.
The anti-aircraft missile forces of the DRV, created and trained by Soviet specialists, shot down about 1,300 American aircraft, including 54 B-52 strategic bombers. Each of them carried 25 tons of bombs, and each could destroy all living things and all buildings on an area equal to thirty football fields. The Americans regularly bombed both the "Ho Chi Minh trail" and the cities of North Vietnam, flying at an altitude inaccessible to anti-aircraft guns. After our first victories, they sharply lowered their altitude so as to be inaccessible to missiles, but fell under fire from anti-aircraft artillery. After the appearance of Soviet missiles, American military pilots began to refuse to fly to bomb the territory of North Vietnam. Their command had to take urgent measures, including increasing payments for each sortie, constantly replacing the flight crew of aircraft carriers. At first, Soviet officers conducted missile battles, the Vietnamese adopted their experience. For the first time, Soviet missiles showed themselves in the sky of Vietnam on July 24, 1965. 4 American "Phantoms" then went to Hanoi, at a height where they could not get the Vietnamese anti-aircraft guns. Soviet missiles were fired at them. 3 out of 4 aircraft were shot down. Since then, the date of this victory has been celebrated annually in Vietnam as the Day of the Missile Forces.
Do you remember when your first fight took place? Who is who then?
Kolesnik: August 11, 1965. During the day we occupied places on combat alert 18 times. And all - to no avail. And, finally, late at night, 4 enemy planes were shot down with three missiles. In total, the divisions of the First and Third Vietnamese anti-aircraft missile regiments shot down 15 enemy aircraft in the battles in which I participated.
The Americans must have hunted for your combat crews?
Wheeler: Yes. Places of deployment had to be changed after each battle. It was impossible otherwise - the Americans immediately launched rocket and bomb strikes on the identified positions of rocket launchers. The Americans did their best to prevent the use of our technology: they used interference, Shrike missiles. Our military designers also reacted and improved our anti-aircraft missile technology.
Have you personally seen captured American pilots?
Kolesnik: I have never seen it in person. Yes, our presence in Vietnam was not advertised. Suffice it to say that we spent the entire business trip in civilian clothes, without any personal and even without any documents. They were kept in our embassy.
And how did they announce to you that you were flying to Vietnam and what did you say at home?
Kolesnik: I served in an air defense regiment near Moscow. The regimental commander announced that we were invited to go on a business trip to a country with a "hot tropical climate." Almost everyone agreed, and those who for some reason did not want to go, as a result, did not go. I said the same at home.
What struck you the most as a young guy in the first place?
Kolesnik: Everything amazed me: the unusual nature, the people, the climate, and the first bombardment that I had to visit. After all, in Moscow we were guided by the fact that we would simply train and prepare Vietnamese calculations. And I had to train directly on combat positions, with daily incessant raids by American aircraft. The Vietnamese are very stubborn people, they learned very quickly. And I also mastered the basic commands and terms in Vietnamese.
What was the hardest thing?
Nikolai Kolesnik: Unbearable heat and high humidity. For example, after a 40-minute refueling of rockets with an oxidizer in a special rubberized suit, they lost almost a kilogram of weight.
What is the attitude of the current Vietnamese youth towards that war and your participation in it?
Nikolai Kolesnik: With great respect, the Vietnam veterans of that war. We remember our difficult military days and our common victories. And the younger, more pragmatic generation asked us with interest about those battles and details of that war unknown to them.
Now many in our country have a very ambiguous attitude towards the participation of the Soviet Union in conflicts outside its borders. What was participation in the Vietnam War for you?
N. Kolesnik: For me, those fights are still the brightest events in my life. I and my comrades-in-arms - both Soviet and Vietnamese - participated in historical events, forged victory, in the truest sense of the word. I am proud that I helped the Vietnamese people in the struggle for their independence and took part in the creation of Vietnam's anti-aircraft missile forces.
Exactly half a century ago, on July 24, 1965, near the Vietnamese town of Bavi Sontei, 50 km west of Hanoi, an F-4C Phantom combat jet was first shot down by an anti-aircraft guided missile of the Soviet S-75 complex.
The history of the confrontation between Soviet air defense systems and American aircraft by that time had already spanned more than a dozen years.
Soviet 85-mm anti-aircraft guns proved to be a very formidable weapon in the Korean War. In less than six months, from February 12 to June 27, 1953, the three Soviet anti-aircraft regiments armed with them were credited with downing 19 F-86 Saber jet fighter-bombers. Upon return to Soviet Union regiments with combat experience logically received the latest weapons - 100-mm guns and SON-9 guidance radars. And at the end of the fifties, on the basis of well-deserved units, anti-aircraft missile regiments and brigades were created, equipped with the subsequently famous S-75 anti-aircraft missile systems, in the US classification - SA-2. They were deployed near Sverdlovsk and Nizhny Tagil.
It was the rocket men of these military units who "led" the U-2 of Francis Gary Powers on his last flight on May 1, 1960 - from Peshawar to Sverdlovsk. Major I. N. Shishov, the division commander who put the final point, had experience in the Korean War. But on that day, Shishov was on vacation, and the division was commanded by the chief of staff, Major M. R. Voronov. The commander of the missile battery N. I. Kolosov, who destroyed the intruder at 8.53 Moscow time, fought in both the Great Patriotic War and the Korean War. Since Powers approached the division's strike zone at an acute angle, the rocket flew, in fact, already "in pursuit" - into the rear hemisphere, and beat off the tail of the aircraft. The plane was completely destroyed by the next hit. Falling aircraft debris (on the ground they were scattered for 5 km) in the atmosphere increased nervousness continued to track as a jamming target. The launch of three missiles shot down his own MiG-19 fighter, pilot Sergei Safronov died. The wreckage of the aircraft and Powers' equipment later adorned the expositions of the museums of the Soviet army and border troops.
But until now, few people know that Powers' U-2 was not the first spy plane shot down by a Soviet anti-aircraft missile. On October 7, 1959, a Taiwanese high-altitude reconnaissance RB-57D was shot down near Beijing with three missiles at an altitude of 20 km.
With the beginning of the massive bombardments of North Vietnam (or the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, DRV) in the USSR, at the request of the government of the DRV, it was decided to protect the friendly country with the supply of modern air defense - anti-aircraft missiles and jet fighters. According to the Geneva Accords of 1954, the DRV did not have its own aviation. Back in the 50s, after the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, about a hundred anti-aircraft guns were delivered to Vietnam.
But now the Vietnamese had to master a much more complex and unfamiliar technique as quickly as possible, ideally in two and a half months. Moreover, they even saw plexiglass for the first time - and they didn’t cut it, but broke it. Therefore, the specially selected military of the USSR helped the Vietnamese air defense forces. The first training center was organized 40 km south of Hanoi, on the banks of a small river. Residential houses and classrooms were assembled from bamboo and covered with palm or banana leaves.
On city roads, every 4-5 m, the Vietnamese built bomb shelters for one person - concrete wells with a lid. Even with a strong impact of the blast wave, they did not collapse and protected from fragments and balls of bombs. But one passive defense, of course, was not enough.
It was incredibly difficult for Soviet military specialists (SVS) not only to fight, but simply to live in the tropical climate of Vietnam. Even at night, the temperature did not fall below 30 degrees with an air humidity of 90%. Even the equipment could not stand it, especially the power supply transformers. At times, the humidity reached 99 and even 100%! Therefore, the bodies of people were constantly covered with a film of sweat. Rubbing with lemon juice helped, but only on a short time. Instead of water, which had to be not only boiled, but also filtered, they tried to drink green tea without sugar, lemonade, fruit compote or fruit water. Exhausted by centuries of malnutrition, the four of them could not lift the 100-kg bridge. The specialists themselves had to unload the missiles and the complexes themselves from the ships - at night, eating rice and tea without bread. About black bread, herring and cold water all that was left was to dream.
At the end of April 1965, training began, which took place in three stages. The first is classes in training center. The second - when the air defense systems arrived, double calculations were created, Soviet specialists, together with the Vietnamese, fought. The third stage - when the Vietnamese fully mastered the technique, the division was served only by Vietnamese calculations. For each division of missiles, 7–8 Soviet specialists remained, located 2–3 km away and helping with routine maintenance or repairs.
Anti-aircraft gunners sat in positions in nothing but shorts and pith helmets on their heads, holding a flask of tea in their hands - at a temperature that exceeded 60 degrees. According to the memoirs of one of the Soviet veterans, "Under each swivel operator's seat was a never-drying puddle of human sweat". It was no better for the calculations filling the rockets with the AK-20F oxidizer. Imagine yourself in a 35-degree heat without wind in a protective suit made of overcoat and rubber, a gas mask and a closed hood, high boots and rubber gloves. In forty minutes of work, the suit turned brown from highly toxic fumes, and the tanker himself lost almost a kilogram of weight, pouring half a glass of sweat out of each boot.
On the night of July 22-23, two anti-aircraft missile battalions moved into position to track down American F-100, F-105 and F-4 fighter-bombers taking off from Thailand. In theory, the division included six launchers, in fact, among the rice fields, mountains and jungles, only three were placed. Several times, due to the heat in the cabins, the equipment had to be turned off. A few minutes after the next inclusion on July 24, a large target was detected. As it turned out later, these were four aircraft flying in pairs. At 14.25, the target was taken for automatic tracking, the commander of the 63rd division, Lieutenant Colonel Boris Mozhaev, commanded "Start". The guidance officer, senior lieutenant Vladislav Konstantinov, pressed the "Start" button, and two missiles with an interval of 15 seconds went to the target, hitting, as the anti-aircraft gunners thought, two aircraft. The 64th division of Fedor Ilinykh also successfully shot back. The Vietnamese closely watched the actions of the Soviet military. In total, that day, the missilemen declared three planes shot down, another one reached Laos and fell there. His pilot, according to Soviet memoirs, ejected, injured his back, was rescued and sent to Australia for treatment.
The targets of the Soviet missiles were four F-4C "Phantom" fighters under the call sign "Leopard" of the 45th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS), which took off from the Ubon base in Thailand. Their task today was to cover the F-105 fighter-bombers bombing warehouses and ammunition factories near Dien Bien Phu and Lang Chi from attacks by Vietnamese fighters. The route of the fighters turned out to be exactly in the zone of action of the missile batteries, and the pilots were not even aware of the threat - of all the means of detecting missiles, they had only their own eyes, although even after the downing of Powers, the United States began to develop countermeasures. The fuel in the tanks of the Phantoms was running out, clouds were spreading below, masking the launch of the missiles ... Even if the pilots had time to notice the launch, they simply did not have time. A remote radar fuse blew up an almost two hundred kilogram missile warhead with ready-made fragments inside. A sheaf of fragments covered the left wing, tail and fuselage of the Leopard-2. Of the two crew members, only Captain Richard "Pops" Keirn ejected and spent the next 7.5 years in captivity - until February 12, 1973. The fate of Captain Ross Faubair, ironically a former EW specialist on the RB-47 reconnaissance aircraft, remained unknown until 1997, when his nephew, Bruce Giffin, discovered his uncle's remains and brought them home. Cairn had a solid age for a fighter and had already been shot down - in September 1944 over Leipzig, in the 14th sortie on a B-17.
Three more Phantoms were damaged by rocket fragments.
"Flew". American plane shot down in the sky of Vietnam. Photo from the personal archive of Nikolai Nikolaevich Kolesnik.
Today we know why it took the United States so long to withdraw from Vietnam: the withdrawal meant a sign of weakness in the face of the global communist threat, which could provoke a backlash at home and a loss of confidence among the allies.
But while America's involvement is understandable, the same cannot be said for its superpower adversary, the Soviet Union. What did the Russians gain from supporting the distant jungle war by sending advisers, equipment and money to help the North Vietnamese, even though this not only froze Soviet-American relations, but could also ignite the devastating fire of a global war?
Was it the geopolitical importance of Vietnam, or perhaps Moscow's preoccupation with the spread of revolutionary ideology? We often attribute to the other side more foresight and purpose than we have ourselves. In fact, the parallels between American and Soviet involvement in the events in Vietnam were quite obvious. Moscow, like the United States, was most concerned about its credibility as an ally and superpower, and the domestic and international legitimacy that comes with that credibility.
Nikita Khrushchev, who in the 1950s was one of the first to initiate the turn of the USSR towards the Third World, had limited interest and patience with the North Vietnamese and was suspicious of them, especially after Hanoi, in the unfolding Sino-Soviet split, became gravitate noticeably towards the Chinese side.
The North Vietnamese defection to China was a tactical move in the absence of better options. Khrushchev himself hastened this shift by refusing to provide aid. But he attributed the loss of North Vietnam to alleged machinations by "Chinese half-breeds" in the Vietnamese party leadership. For Khrushchev, the problem of Vietnam was only an aspect of a larger struggle with China, and rather a peripheral one.
Everything changed when Khrushchev was overthrown by his colleagues in October 1964. The successors in the person of Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin wanted to prove their loyalty to an ally in trouble by providing military assistance. The main reason was that the new Soviet leadership was faced with a lack of political legitimacy. Helping Vietnam in the war against "imperialism" helped them gain recognition from the people, the allies and the rest of the world as the rightful heirs of the leadership of the socialist camp. For the same reason, Moscow has tried to improve relations with China.
However, Mao Zedong was not going to reciprocate. This became apparent during Kosygin's trip to Beijing in February 1965. The Soviet premier spoke of the need for "combined action" to help Hanoi's military efforts. Mao responded to his pleas with hostile sarcasm, declaring that the Sino-Soviet struggle would last at least 10,000 years. “The US and the USSR are now deciding the fate of the world,” Mao said decisively. “Well, keep deciding.” He seemed indifferent to the new round of escalation in Vietnam: “So what? What is terrible about the death of a certain number of people? — and contrasted Kosygin's fears of a deepening conflict with optimistic calls for a "revolutionary war."
Context
May Buddha forgive me
Stern 04.02.201815 years ago America destroyed my country
The New York Times 03/21/2018Vietnam War
InoSMI 03/02/2015 Even against the backdrop of worsening relations between Moscow and China, Hanoi abandoned its pro-Chinese position in favor of some semblance of neutrality. This was due to the fact that to protect against American bombing, the inhabitants of North Vietnam needed Soviet weapons, especially modern anti-aircraft missiles. The Chinese Cultural Revolution also came to the rescue. Vietnamese leaders were outraged by Beijing's attempts to incite the many Chinese living in North Vietnam to radicalism. “Paradoxically,” Nguyen Van Vinh, one of the Politburo members, noted in 1967, “the Vietnamese are not afraid of the Americans, but of their Chinese comrades.”Tensions between Beijing and Hanoi became much more pronounced in 1971, after Henry Kissinger's clandestine trip to China and the announcement of an upcoming visit by Nixon. The North Vietnamese, whose advice they did not bother to ask, felt betrayed. But there was a more fundamental problem: the Chinese and Vietnamese had very different ideas about their relative importance. The Chinese leaders viewed the North Vietnamese as subordinates and helped and mentored them, expecting respect in return. However, the Vietnamese refused to give in because, after years of fighting the US, they felt entitled to claim revolutionary leadership—at least in Southeast Asia.
With this idea, General Vo Nguyen Giap came to Moscow in December 1971, when the Vietnamese were preparing for a spring offensive to deliver the final blow to South Vietnam. Giap promised that a joint Soviet-Vietnamese victory in Vietnam would herald Hanoi's ascension to the ranks of the leader of the Third World, as well as the latter's socialist foothold. “We would like to continue this mission together with the Soviet Union, because without the Soviet Union it is impossible to do this,” he said. Soviet leaders appreciated the idea, especially after Giap's promise to grant the USSR naval rights in Cam Ranh Bay, which at that time was still under American control.
Supporting the warlike moods of Hanoi carried a danger. The resumption of large-scale hostilities in March 1972 threatened to disrupt progress towards Soviet-American detente. After the Americans responded to the Hanoi spring offensive with heavy bombing, several Soviet leaders, including Kosygin, proposed canceling the upcoming summit in Moscow.
Brezhnev, however, considered détente a personal achievement and was not prepared to sacrifice it for Vietnam. However, at the same time, he did not want to put pressure on Vietnam to improve relations with the United States. Kissinger and Nixon did not fully realize that Vietnam was important element Brezhnev's struggle for world leadership. Soviet support for Hanoi made the USSR a true superpower on par with America.
Nixon later recalled his bewilderment during the Moscow summit in May 1972 when Brezhnev, "who a moment ago was laughing and slapping me on the back, began to shout angrily" accusing the United States of terrible crimes in Vietnam. This act was due to the need for Brezhnev to protect his authority both in front of his colleagues and also in front of North Vietnam. “I don’t remember that I or my comrades ever had to speak so sharply and harshly as with Nixon about Vietnam,” Brezhnev later told General Secretary Le Duan and Prime Minister Pham Van Dong.
At that time, Sino-Vietnamese relations reached another low. By the summer of 1973, Le Duan was expressing concern about China and sharing with Brezhnev his fears that Mao was planning to "invade Indo-China and Southeast Asia, if circumstances permit." Brezhnev promised to help defend Vietnam, this time from its northern neighbor.
The costs of post-war reconstruction were colossal. Le Duan and Pham Van Dong frankly discussed Hanoi's expectations with Brezhnev: in order to show Southeast Asia the practical advantages of a socialist orientation, major efforts were needed on the part of the USSR to assist in the "industrialization" of Vietnam.
Brezhnev agreed to write off all of Hanoi's debts. However, loans continued to come in, and by 1990 Vietnam had received more than $11 billion, most of which had never been paid back. Subsidizing Vietnam became a serious burden on the Soviet economy in the 1980s.
The war ended with a Soviet-Vietnamese victory, but for Moscow it was tantamount to defeat. The support of the satellites contributed to the growth of confidence in it as a superpower and the political legitimacy of the leaders, but it turned out to be a disaster for the state budget. The policy pursued by Russia in recent years, including operations in Syria, is reminiscent of the pursuit of legitimacy in Vietnam in the era of cold war. The long-term consequences of the resumption of such a pursuit will be just as dire.
Sergey Radchenko Professor of International Relations at Cardiff University in Wales.
The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.
The Soviet Union initiated the signing of documents recognizing the independence of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Vietnam was instantly divided into North and South - the first went to the pro-communist Ho Chi Minh, the government of the second was headed by Ngo Dinh Diem.
Soon a civil war broke out in South Vietnam, and the United States took advantage of this reason, deciding to "establish peace in the region." What happened next, the Americans still call "crazy disco in the jungle."
Fraternal help
Naturally, the Soviet Union could not leave its “younger brother” in trouble. In Vietnam, it was decided to place a small contingent of Soviet specialists and send a significant part of the equipment there. In addition, the USSR received about 10,000 people from Vietnam for training - they later formed the backbone of the Vietnam Liberation Army.
Russian Rambo
Many are inclined to believe that a large contingent of Soviet military personnel was based in Vietnam at that time and skirmishes with the Americans took place constantly. There was nothing like this in reality: 6,000 officers and 4,000 privates arrived in Hanoi. They practically did not participate in the clashes. Schools of death
The Soviet Union did not have the goal of dissipating its valuable military specialists in an essentially foreign war. The officers were needed to organize the training of local troops in the management of Soviet equipment - that's the equipment the Land of Soviets poured out to the allies with a handful. iron barrier
Despite the fact that formally the Soviet Union did not take part in the war, very significant material support was provided to Vietnam. Two thousand tanks, seven hundred planes, seven thousand guns and about a hundred helicopters went to another continent as friendly assistance. Soviet specialists were able to create an impenetrable air defense system.Li Xi Qing and other legends
Relatively recently, the Russian Ministry of Defense finally admitted that Soviet fighter pilots did occasionally take part in hostilities. According to official data, the sorties were listed for Vietnamese pilots, but in reality, Russian specialists made productive sorties. Untouchables
In fact, almost nothing threatened our troops in Vietnam. The American command imposed a ban on the shelling of Soviet ships - this, excuse me, could lead to a very real World War III. Soviet specialists could work without fear, but in fact two powerful military-economic machines collided on the territory of Vietnam - the USA and the Soviet Union. Losses
During the entire period of the war, very few of our soldiers died. Unless, of course, to believe the official sources. According to the documents, the entire USSR lost 16 people, several dozen were wounded and shell-shocked.
