Soviet-Chinese conflict 1964. Damansky Island - conflict with China: how did it happen? China's preparation for war

45 years ago, a conflict began on the Soviet-Chinese border. During the clashes, 58 Soviet soldiers and officers were killed. However, at the cost of their lives, the big war was stopped.

Damansky (Zhenbaodao)– small desert island on the Ussuri River. The length is about 1500-1700 m, the width is about 500 m. The island was 47 m from the Chinese coast and 120 m from the Soviet coast. However, in accordance with the Beijing Treaty of 1860 and the map of 1861, the border line between the two states did not run along the fairway, but along the Chinese bank of the Ussuri. Thus, the island itself was an integral part of Soviet territory.

In the spring of 1969, the CPC Central Committee began preparations for the IX CPC Congress. In this regard, the Chinese leadership was very interested in a “victorious” conflict on the Soviet-Chinese border. Firstly, striking the USSR could unite the people under the banner of the “great helmsman”. Secondly, a border conflict would confirm the correctness of Mao’s course of turning China into a military camp and training for war. In addition, the incident guaranteed the generals solid representation in the country's leadership and expanded powers of the military.

In mid-1968, the Chinese military leadership studied the option of striking in the Suifenhe area. Here, the main posts of the Soviet border guards were located near the territory of the PRC and it seemed easy to capture them. To solve this problem, units of the 16th Field Army were sent to Suifenhe. However, ultimately the choice fell on Damansky Island. According to Li Danhui, an employee of the Research Institute of Modern China of the Academy of Social Sciences of the People's Republic of China, the Damansky area was not chosen by chance. On the one hand, as a result of the border negotiations in 1964, this island had allegedly already ceded to China, and, therefore, the reaction of the Soviet side should not have been too violent. On the other hand, since 1947, Damansky was under the control of the Soviet army, and, therefore, the effect of carrying out an action on this section of the border would be greater than in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bother islands. In addition, the Chinese side took into account that the Soviet Union had not yet created a sufficiently reliable base in the place chosen for the attack, which is necessary for conducting offensive operations, and, therefore, would not be able to launch a large-scale retaliatory strike.

On January 25, 1969, a group of officers from the Shenyang Military District completed the development of a combat plan (codenamed "Retribution"). To implement it, it was planned to use approximately three infantry companies and a number of military units secretly located on Damansky Island. On February 19, the plan, code-named “Retribution,” was approved by the General Staff, agreed with the Foreign Ministry, and then approved by the CPC Central Committee and personally by Mao Zedong.

By order of the PLA General Staff, the border outposts in the Damansky area were assigned at least one reinforced platoon, transformed into 2-3 patrol groups. The success of the action had to be ensured by the element of surprise. After completing the task, a quick withdrawal of all forces to pre-prepared positions was envisaged.

Moreover, special attention was paid to the importance of capturing evidence from the enemy of his guilt in aggression - samples of Soviet weapons, photographic documents, etc.

Further events unfolded as follows.

On the night of March 1 to 2, 1969 a large number of Chinese military personnel secretly concentrated on their shore of the island. It was later determined that it was a regular PLA battalion, numbering more than 500 people, five companies strong, supported by two mortar and one artillery batteries. They were armed with recoilless rifles, large-caliber and heavy machine guns, and hand grenade launchers. The battalion was equipped and armed according to wartime standards. Subsequently, information appeared that he had undergone six months of special training to conduct combat operations on the border. That same night, with the help of three infantry companies numbering about 300 people, he entered the island and took up defense along the line of the natural rampart. All Chinese soldiers were dressed in camouflage suits, and their weapons were adjusted so that they did not make any unnecessary sound (ramrods were filled with paraffin, bayonets were wrapped in paper so as not to shine, etc.).

The positions of two 82-mm batteries and artillery (45-mm guns), as well as heavy machine guns, were located so that it was possible to fire at Soviet equipment and personnel with direct fire. The mortar batteries, as an analysis of the combat operations later showed, had clear firing coordinates. On the island itself, the battalion's fire system was organized so that it was possible to conduct barrage fire from all fire weapons to a depth of 200 to 300 meters, along the entire front of the battalion.

On March 2, at 10.20 (local time), information was received from Soviet observation posts about the advance of two groups of military personnel, consisting of 18 and 12 people, from the Chinese border post "Gunsi". They pointedly headed towards the Soviet border. The head of the Nizhne-Mikhailovka outpost, senior lieutenant Ivan Strelnikov, having received permission to expel the Chinese, with a group of border guards in an BTR-60PB (No. 04) and two cars, moved towards the violators. The commanders of the neighboring outposts, V. Bubenin and Shorokhov, were also informed about the incident. The head of the Kulebyakiny Sopki outpost, senior lieutenant V. Bubenin, was ordered to provide insurance for Strelnikov’s group. It should be said that, despite the fact that the Chinese have been bringing up military units in their closest border area for a week, and before that they have been improving the routes to the border for a long time, no measures have been taken to strengthen outposts or military surveillance by the command of the Pacific Border District was. Moreover, on the day of the Chinese invasion, the Nizhne-Mikhailovka outpost was only half staffed. On the day of the events, instead of three officers on staff, there was only one at the outpost - senior lieutenant I. Strelnikov. There were slightly more personnel at the Kulebyakiny Sopki outpost.

At 10.40, senior lieutenant I. Strelnikov arrived at the scene of the violation, ordered his subordinates to dismount, take the machine guns “on the belt” and turn around in a chain. The border guards split into two groups. The main commander was Strelnikov. The second group of 13 people was led by Junior Sergeant Rabovich. They covered Strelnikov’s group from the shore. Having approached the Chinese about twenty meters, Strelnikov said something to them, then raised his hand and pointed towards the Chinese coast.
The head of the outpost is senior lieutenant I. Strelnikov.
Private Nikolai Petrov, standing behind him, took photographs and films, recording the fact of border violations and the procedure for expelling violators. He took a few shots with the FED Zorki-4 camera, and then raised the movie camera. At this moment, one of the Chinese sharply waved his hand.

THE LATEST PHOTOS TAKEN BY PHOTOCHRONIKER PRIVATE N. PETROV. IN A MINUTE THE CHINESE WILL OPEN FIRE AND PETROV WILL BE KILLED.

The first line of Chinese parted, and the soldiers standing in the second line opened machine-gun fire on the Soviet border guards. Shooting was carried out at point-blank range from 1-2 meters. The commander of the outpost, senior lieutenant I. Strelnikov, the detective of the special department of the 57th border detachment, senior lieutenant N. Buinevich, N. Petrov, I. Vetrich, A. Ionin, V. Izotov, A. Shestakov, died on the spot. At the same time, fire was opened on Rabovich’s group from the side of the island. It was fired from machine guns, machine guns and grenade launchers. Several border guards were killed immediately, the rest scattered and returned fire. However, being practically in open space, they were very soon completely destroyed. After this, the Chinese began to finish off the wounded with bayonets and knives. Some had their eyes gouged out. Of the two groups of our border guards, only one survived - Private Gennady Serebrov. He received bullet wounds in his right hand, leg and lower back, and a “control” blow with a bayonet, but survived. Later, Serebrov, who had lost consciousness, was carried out by border guard sailors from a brigade of patrol boats who arrived to help the Novo-Mikhailovka outpost.

By this time, a group of junior sergeant Yu. Babansky had arrived at the battlefield, lagging behind Strelnikov (the group was delayed on the way due to a technical malfunction of the vehicle). The border guards dispersed and opened fire on the Chinese lying on the island. In response, PLA soldiers opened fire with machine guns, machine guns and mortars. Mortar fire was concentrated on armored personnel carriers and vehicles standing on the ice. As a result, one of the cars, GAZ-69, was destroyed, the other GAZ-66 was severely damaged. A few minutes later, the crew of armored personnel carrier No. 4 came to Babansky’s rescue. Using fire from the turret machine guns, he suppressed the enemy’s firing points, which made it possible for the five surviving border guards of Babansky’s group to escape from the fire.


10-15 minutes after the start of the battle, a man group from the 1st border outpost “Kulebyakiny Sopki” under the command of Senior Lieutenant V. Bubenin approached the battlefield.

"Having disembarked from an armored personnel carrier, under cover eastern shore“,” recalls V. Bubenin, “we turned around in a chain and jumped out onto the island. This is about 300 meters from the place where the tragedy just occurred. But we didn't know about it yet. There were 23 of us. In battle formation they began to move in the direction of the dying fire. When we went about 50 meters deeper, we saw that a platoon of Chinese soldiers was attacking us from the rampart. They ran towards us, shouted and fired. The distance between us is from 150 to 200 meters. It was shrinking quickly. I not only heard the shooting, but also clearly saw flames flying out of the barrels. I understood that a battle had begun, but I still hoped that it was not true. I hoped they were taking singles out of fear."

With a decisive attack, the Chinese were driven back behind the embankment on the island. Despite the wound, Bubenin, leading the survivors, went around the island in an armored personnel carrier and suddenly attacked the Chinese from the rear.

“A dense mass of Chinese,” writes V. Bubenin, “jumped from the steep bank and rushed to the island through the channel. The distance to them was up to 200 meters. I opened fire with both machine guns to kill. Our appearance in their rear turned out to be so unexpectedly, the running crowd suddenly slowed down and stopped, as if they had stumbled upon a concrete wall. They were completely at a loss. At first, the distance between us was quickly closing. They climbed onto it, but, defeated, the Chinese opened fire on their own, trying to return them to the battle. Everything was mixed up in this heap, seething. Those who were deployed began to make their way to island B. At some point they were so close that we shot them point-blank, hit them with their sides and crushed them with our wheels."

Despite the death of many border guards, the second wounding of V. Bubenin and the damage to the armored personnel carrier, the battle continued. Having transferred to an armored personnel carrier of the 2nd outpost, Bubenin struck the Chinese in the flank. As a result of the unexpected attack, the battalion command post and a large number of enemy personnel were destroyed.

Sergeant Ivan Larechkin, privates Pyotr Plekhanov, Kuzma Kalashnikov, Sergei Rudakov, Nikolai Smelov fought in the center of the battle formation. On the right flank, junior sergeant Alexey Pavlov led the battle. In his department were: Corporal Viktor Korzhukov, privates Alexey Zmeev, Alexey Syrtsev, Vladimir Izotov, Islamgali Nasretdinov, Ivan Vetrich, Alexander Ionin, Vladimir Legotin, Pyotr Velichko and others.

By 2 p.m. the island had completely come under the control of Soviet border guards.

According to official data, in just over two hours, Soviet border guards killed up to 248 Chinese soldiers and officers on the island alone, not counting the channel. During the battle on March 2, 31 Soviet border guards were killed. About 20 border guards were injured of varying degrees of severity, and Corporal Pavel Akulov was captured. After severe torture, he was shot. In April, his mutilated body was dropped from a Chinese helicopter onto Soviet territory. There were 28 bayonet wounds on the body of the Soviet border guard. Eyewitnesses recall that almost all the hair on his head was torn out, and those scraps that remained were completely gray.
Dead Soviet border guards
The Chinese attack on Soviet border guards alarmed the Soviet political and military leadership. On March 2, 1969, the USSR government sent a note to the PRC government, in which it sharply condemned the Chinese provocation. It stated, in particular: “The Soviet government reserves the right to take decisive measures to suppress provocations on the Soviet-Chinese border and warns the government of the People's Republic of China that full responsibility for the possible consequences of adventurist policies aimed at aggravating the situation on the border between China and the Soviet Union, lies with the government of the People's Republic of China." However, the Chinese side ignored the statement of the Soviet government.

In order to prevent possible repeated provocations, several reinforced motorized maneuver groups from the reserve of the Pacific Border District (two motorized rifle companies with two tank platoons and a battery of 120-mm mortars) were transferred to the area of ​​the Nizhne-Mikhailovka and Kulebyakiny Sopki outposts. The 57th border detachment, which included these outposts, was allocated an additional flight of Mi-4 helicopters from the Ussuri border squadron. On the night of March 12, units of the 135th arrived in the area of ​​recent fighting. motorized rifle division Far Eastern Military District (commander - General Nesov): 199th motorized rifle regiment, artillery regiment, 152nd separate tank battalion, 131st separate reconnaissance battalion and BM-21 Grad rocket division. The operational group created by the head of the troops of the Pacific Border District, headed by the deputy chief of the district troops, Colonel G. Sechkin, was also located here.

Simultaneously with the strengthening of the border, reconnaissance activities were intensified. According to intelligence data, including aviation and space intelligence, the Chinese have concentrated large forces in the area of ​​Damansky Island - mainly infantry and artillery units. At a depth of up to 20 kilometers, they created warehouses, control centers and other structures. On March 7, a concentration of up to an infantry regiment of the PLA with reinforcements was revealed in the Daman and Kirkinsky directions. 10-15 kilometers from the border, reconnaissance discovered up to 10 batteries of large-caliber artillery. By March 15, a battalion of Chinese had been identified in the Guber direction, a regiment with attached tanks in the Iman direction, up to two infantry battalions in the Panteleimon direction, and up to a battalion in the Pavlovo-Fedorov direction. In total, the Chinese concentrated a motorized infantry division with reinforcements near the border.

During these days, the Chinese also conducted intensive reconnaissance, even using aviation for this purpose. The Soviet side did not interfere with this, hoping that, having seen the real strength of the Soviet side, they would stop provocative actions. That did not happen.

On March 12, a meeting of representatives of the Soviet and Chinese border troops took place. During this meeting, an officer of the Chinese border post Hutou, referring to the instructions of Mao Zedong, expressed a threat to use armed force against the Soviet border guards guarding Damansky Island.

March 14 at 11.15 Soviet posts During surveillance, a group of Chinese military personnel was noticed moving towards Damansky Island. She was cut off from the border by machine gun fire and was forced to return to the Chinese coast.

At 17.30 two Chinese groups of 10-15 people entered the island. They installed four machine guns and other weapons at firing positions. At 18.45 we took up our starting positions directly on the shore from it.

To preempt the attack, by 6.00 on March 15, a reinforced maneuver group of the border detachment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel E. Yanshin (45 people with grenade launchers) on 4 BTR-60PBs was deployed to the island. To support the group, a reserve of 80 people was concentrated on the shore (the school of non-commissioned officers of the 69th border detachment of the Pacific Border District) on seven armored personnel carriers with LNG and heavy machine guns.

At 10.05 the Chinese began to capture the island. The path for the attackers was cleared by the fire of about three mortar batteries, from three directions. The shelling was carried out on all suspicious areas of the island and river where Soviet border guards could be hiding.

Yanshin's group entered the battle.

“...in the command vehicle there was a continuous roar, fumes, gunpowder smoke,” recalls Yanshin. “I saw Sulzhenko (he was firing from the machine guns of the armored personnel carrier) take off his fur coat, then his pea coat, unbutton the collar of his tunic with one hand... I see the guy jumped up and kicked the seat and while standing pours fire.

Without looking back, he reaches out his hand for a new can. Loader Kruglov only manages to load the tapes. They work in silence, understanding each other with one gesture. “Don’t get excited,” I shout, “save your ammo!” I show him goals. And the enemy, under cover of fire, again went on the attack. A new wave is rolling towards the shaft. Due to continuous fire, explosions of mines and shells, neighboring armored personnel carriers are not visible. I command in plain text: “I’m going on a counterattack, cover Mankovsky and Klyga with fire from the rear.” My driver Smelov rushed the car forward through the fire curtain. It deftly maneuvers among the craters, creating conditions for us to shoot accurately. Then the machine gun fell silent. Sulzhenko was confused for a moment. Reloads, presses the electric trigger - only a single shot follows. And the Chinese are running up. Sulzhenko opened the cover of the machine gun and fixed the problem. The machine guns started working. I command Smelov: “Forward!” We repulsed another attack..."

Having lost several people killed and three armored personnel carriers, Yanshin was forced to retreat to our shore. However, at 14.40, having replaced personnel and damaged armored personnel carriers, replenishing ammunition, he again attacked the enemy and knocked them out of their occupied positions. Having brought up reserves, the Chinese concentrated massive mortar, artillery and machine-gun fire on the group. As a result, one armored personnel carrier was shot down. 7 people died immediately. A few minutes later the second armored personnel carrier caught fire. Senior Lieutenant L. Mankovsky, covering the retreat of his subordinates with machine gun fire, remained in the car and burned out. An armored personnel carrier, commanded by Lieutenant A. Klyga, was also surrounded. Only half an hour later, the border guards, having “groped” for a weak area of ​​the enemy positions, broke through the encirclement and united with their own.

While the battle was going on on the island, nine T-62 tanks approached the command post. According to some reports, by mistake. The border command decided to take advantage of the opportunity and repeat the successful raid of V. Bubenin, carried out on March 2. The group of three tanks was led by the head of the Iman border detachment, Colonel D. Leonov.

However, the attack failed - this time the Chinese side was ready for a similar development of events. When Soviet tanks approached the Chinese coast, heavy artillery and mortar fire was opened on them. The lead vehicle was almost immediately hit and lost speed. The Chinese concentrated all their fire on her. The remaining tanks of the platoon retreated to the Soviet shore. The crew trying to get out of the damaged tank was shot with small arms. Colonel D. Leonov also died, having received a fatal wound to the heart.

Damansky Island - a view from the Chinese side.

Two other tanks still managed to break through to the island and take up defense there. This allowed the Soviet soldiers to hold out on Damansky for another 2 hours. Finally, having shot all the ammunition and not receiving reinforcements, they left Damansky.

The failure of the counterattack and the loss of the newest T-62 combat vehicle with secret equipment finally convinced the Soviet command that the forces brought into the battle were not enough to defeat the Chinese side, which was very seriously prepared.

Captured T-62 tank in the PLA museum. Beijing.

Despite the heavy losses among the border guards, Moscow was still wary of introducing regular army units into battle. The Center's position is obvious. While the border guards were fighting, everything boiled down to a border conflict, albeit with the use of weapons. The involvement of regular units of the armed forces turned the clash into an armed conflict or a small war. The latter, given the mood of the Chinese leadership, could result in a full-scale one – and between two nuclear powers.

The political situation was apparently clear to everyone. However, in a situation where border guards were dying nearby, and army units were in the role of passive observers, the indecisiveness of the country's leadership caused disagreement and natural indignation.

“The army men sat down on our communication line, and I heard how the regiment commanders criticized their superiors for their indecision,” recalls the head of the political department of the Iman detachment, Lieutenant Colonel A.D. Konstantinov. “They were eager to go into battle, but were tied hand and foot by all sorts of directives.” .

When a report came from the battlefield about two damaged armored personnel carriers of Yanshin’s group, the deputy chief of staff of the Grodekovsky detachment, Major P. Kosinov, on his personal initiative, moved to the rescue in one armored personnel carrier. Approaching the damaged vehicles, he covered their crews with the side of his armored personnel carrier. The crews were removed from the fire. However, during the retreat, his armored personnel carrier was hit. While leaving the burning car as the last one, Major Kosinov was wounded in both legs. After some time, the unconscious officer was pulled out of the battle and, considered dead, was placed in the barn where the dead lay. Fortunately, the dead were examined by a border guard doctor. He determined from the pupils that Kosinov was alive and ordered the wounded man to be evacuated by helicopter to Khabarovsk.

Moscow remained silent, and the commander of the Far Eastern Military District, Lieutenant General O. Losik, made the sole decision to help the border guards. The commander of the 135th MRD was given the order to suppress enemy personnel with artillery fire, and then attack with the forces of the 2nd battalion of the 199th motorized rifle regiment and motorized maneuver groups of the 57th border detachment.

At approximately 17.10, an artillery regiment and a division of Grad installations of the 135th MSD, as well as mortar batteries (Lieutenant Colonel D. Krupeinikov) opened fire. It lasted for 10 minutes. The strikes were carried out to a depth of 20 kilometers across Chinese territory (according to other sources, the shelling area was 10 kilometers along the front and 7 kilometers in depth). As a result of this strike, the enemy's reserves, ammunition supply points, warehouses, etc. were destroyed. His troops advancing to the Soviet border suffered heavy damage. In total, 1,700 shells from mortars and the Grad multiple launch rocket system were fired at the Daman and Chinese coasts. At the same time, 5 tanks, 12 armored personnel carriers, the 4th and 5th motorized rifle companies of the 2nd battalion of the 199th regiment (commander - Lieutenant Colonel A. Smirnov) and one motorized group of border guards moved into the attack. The Chinese put up stubborn resistance, but were soon driven off the island.

In the battle on March 15, 1969, 21 border guards and 7 motorized riflemen (soldiers of the Soviet army) were killed and 42 border guards were wounded. Chinese losses amounted to about 600 people. In total, as a result of the fighting on Damansky, Soviet troops lost 58 people. Chinese - about 1000. In addition, 50 Chinese soldiers and officers were shot for cowardice. The number of wounded on the Soviet side, according to official data, was 94 people, on the Chinese side - several hundred.

At the end of hostilities, 150 border guards received government awards. Including five were awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union(Colonel D.V. Leonov - posthumously, senior lieutenant I.I. Strelnikov - posthumously, senior lieutenant V. Bubenin, junior sergeant Yu.V. Babansky, commander of the machine gun squad of the 199th motorized rifle regiment, junior sergeant V.V. Orekhov) , 3 people were awarded the Order of Lenin (Colonel A.D. Konstantinov, Sergeant V. Kanygin, Lieutenant Colonel E. Yanshin), 10 people were awarded the Order of the Red Banner, 31 - the Order of the Red Star, 10 - the Order of Glory III degree, 63 - the medal " For Courage", 31 - medal "For Military Merit".

Participant in the conflict on Damansky Island Vitaly Bubenin: “You don’t need to remember this every day, but you shouldn’t forget either”...

In China, the events at Damansky were proclaimed a victory for Chinese weapons. Ten Chinese military personnel became Heroes of China.

In the official interpretation of Beijing, the events at Damansky looked like this:

“On March 2, 1969, a group of Soviet border troops numbering 70 people with two armored personnel carriers, one truck and one passenger vehicle invaded our island of Zhenbaodao in Hulin County, Heilongjiang Province, destroyed our patrol and then destroyed many of our border guards with fire. This forced our soldiers to take action self-defense.

On March 15, the Soviet Union, ignoring repeated warnings from the Chinese government, launched an offensive against us with 20 tanks, 30 armored personnel carriers and 200 infantry, with air support from its aircraft.

The soldiers and militias who bravely defended the island for 9 hours withstood three enemy attacks. On March 17, the enemy, using several tanks, tractors and infantry, tried to pull out a tank that had previously been knocked out by our troops. Hurricane response artillery fire from our artillery destroyed part of the enemy forces, the survivors retreated."

After the end of the armed conflict in the Damansky area, a motorized rifle battalion, a separate tank battalion and a BM-21 Grad rocket division of the 135th motorized rifle division remained in combat positions. By April, one motorized rifle battalion remained in the defense area, which soon also left for its permanent location. All approaches to Damansky from the Chinese side were mined.

At this time, the Soviet government took steps to resolve the situation through political means.

On March 15, the leadership of the USSR sent a statement to the Chinese side, which issued a sharp warning about the inadmissibility of armed border conflicts. It noted, in particular, that “if further attempts are made to violate the inviolability of Soviet territory, then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and all its peoples will resolutely defend it and give a crushing rebuff to such violations.”

On March 29, the Soviet government again issued a statement in which it spoke in favor of resuming negotiations on border issues that had been interrupted in 1964 and invited the Chinese government to refrain from actions on the border that could cause complications. The Chinese side left these statements unanswered. Moreover, on March 15, Mao Zedong, at a meeting of the Cultural Revolution Group, raised the issue of current events and called for urgent preparations for war. Lin Biao, in his report to the 9th Congress of the CPC (April 1969), accused the Soviet side of organizing “continuous armed incursions into the territory of the PRC.” There, the course towards “continuous revolution” and preparations for war was confirmed.

Nevertheless, on April 11, 1969, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR sent a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK, in which it proposed to resume consultations between plenipotentiary representatives of the USSR and the PRC, expressing their readiness to begin them at any time convenient for the PRC.

On April 14, in response to a note from the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese side stated that proposals regarding the settlement of the situation on the border were “being studied and a response will be given to them.”

During the “study of proposals,” armed border clashes and provocations continued.

On April 23, 1969, a group of Chinese, numbering 25-30 people, violated the border of the USSR and reached Soviet island No. 262 on the Amur River, located near settlement Kalinovka. At the same time, a group of Chinese military personnel concentrated on the Chinese bank of the Amur.

On May 2, 1969, another border incident occurred in the area of ​​the small village of Dulaty in Kazakhstan. This time, Soviet border guards were prepared for a Chinese invasion. Even earlier, to repel possible provocations, the Makanchinsky border detachment was significantly strengthened. By May 1, 1969, it had 14 outposts of 50 people each (and the Dulaty border outpost - 70 people) and a maneuver group (182 people) on 17 armored personnel carriers. In addition, a separate tank battalion of the district was concentrated in the detachment’s area (the village of Makanchi), and according to the plan of interaction with army formations - a motorized rifle and tank company, a mortar platoon of a support detachment from the 215th motorized rifle regiment (the village of Vakhty) and a battalion from the 369th 1st motorized rifle regiment (Druzhba station). Border security was carried out by surveillance from towers, patrols on cars and checking the control strip. The main merit of such operational readiness of the Soviet units belonged to the head of the troops of the Eastern Border District, Lieutenant General M.K. Merkulov. He not only took measures to strengthen the Dulatin direction with his reserves, but also achieved the same measures from the command of the Turkestan Military District.

Subsequent events developed as follows. On the morning of May 2, a border patrol noticed a flock of sheep crossing the border. Arriving at the scene, Soviet border guards discovered a group of Chinese military personnel numbering about 60 people. To prevent an obvious conflict, the Soviet border detachment was reinforced with three reserve groups from nearby outposts, a company of the 369th motorized rifle regiment with a platoon of tanks and two maneuver groups. The actions of the Soviet border guards were ready to be supported by the fighter-bombers of the air regiment based in Ucharal, as well as the motorized rifle and artillery regiments, two jet and two mortar divisions concentrated in the nearest areas.

To coordinate actions, a district operational group was formed, headed by the chief of staff, Major General Kolodyazhny, located at the Dulaty outpost. A forward command post headed by Major General G.N. was also located here. Kutkikh.

At 16.30, Soviet border guards began to “squeeze” the enemy, who also received significant reinforcements, from the territory of the USSR. The Chinese were forced to retreat without a fight. The situation was finally resolved diplomatically by May 18, 1969.

On June 10, near the Tasta River in the Semipalatinsk region, a group of Chinese military personnel invaded the territory of the USSR 400 meters and opened machine-gun fire on Soviet border guards. Return fire was opened on the intruders, after which the Chinese returned to their territory.

On July 8 of the same year, a group of armed Chinese, violating the border, took refuge on the Soviet part of Goldinsky Island on the Amur River and fired machine guns at Soviet rivermen who arrived on the island to repair navigation signs. The attackers also used grenade launchers and hand grenades. As a result, one riverman was killed and three were wounded.

Armed clashes continued in the area of ​​Damansky Island. According to V. Bubenin, in the subsequent summer months after the incident, Soviet border guards were forced to use weapons more than 300 times to counter Chinese provocations. For example, it is known that in mid-June 1969, an “experimental” multiple launch rocket system of the “Grad” type, which arrived from Baikonur (combat crew of military unit 44245, commander - Major A.A. Shumilin), visited the Damansky area. The combat crew included, in addition to military personnel, specialists involved in supporting space programs. Among them were: Yu.K. Razumovsky is the technical manager of the lunar complex, Papazyan is the technical manager of the rocket-technical complex, A. Tashu is the commander of the Vega guidance complex, L. Kuchma, the future president of Ukraine, at that time an employee of the testing department, Kozlov is a telemetry specialist, I. A. Soldatova – test engineer and others. The “experiment” was controlled by a high-ranking state commission, which included, in particular, the commander of the missile forces Kamanin.

Perhaps the strike of Major A.A. Shumilin was demonstrative, with the aim of stimulating the Chinese side to begin peaceful negotiations to resolve the contradictions that had arisen. In any case, on September 11, 1969, during confidential negotiations between the head of the Soviet government A. Kosygin and the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Zhou Enlai in Beijing, an agreement was reached to begin official negotiations on border issues, which took place on October 20, 1969.

However, even a month before the meeting of representatives of the Soviet and Chinese governments, another large-scale armed provocation occurred on the Soviet-Chinese border, which claimed dozens of lives.

On March 2, 1969, on Damansky Island, located in the middle reaches of the Ussuri River, a battle took place between Soviet border guards and a Chinese detachment, which included border guards and soldiers of the People's Liberation Army of China.

On March 2, 1969, on Damansky Island, located in the middle reaches of the Ussuri River, a battle took place between Soviet border guards and a Chinese detachment, which included border guards and soldiers of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA). To this day, there are very different versions of the causes, course and results of this collision. This situation was partly caused by the fact that all the Soviet border guards who were in the first detachment that entered the battle died, and only one seriously wounded remained alive from the second detachment. The rest of the participants in the events could not see the beginning of the battle. The main reasons are probably the disinterest of both sides in an objective investigation of the conflict, the lack of mutual understanding and cooperation in this matter.

A group of Soviet border guards fights for Damansky Island on March 2, 1969
(artist N. N. Semenov, Central Border Museum of the FSB of the Russian Federation)

Today, in principle, the Russian and Chinese sides have a common position on the number of dead Soviet border guards. On March 2, in a battle that lasted about two hours, 31 or 32 Soviet border guards were killed on Damansky Island and on the ice of the Ussuri River. The first to be killed were the head of outpost No. 2 of the Iman border detachment, senior lieutenant I. I. Strelnikov, the detective of the special department of the detachment, senior lieutenant N. M. Buinevich, and the five border guards who followed them. Almost simultaneously, a battle broke out in which 12 men from Sergeant V.N. Rabovich’s squad were killed (the seriously wounded private G.A. Serebrov survived). Then most of the squad of junior sergeant Yu. V. Babansky died. After some time, the border guards of Outpost No. 1, Senior Lieutenant V.D. Bubenin, entered the battle. From this outpost on March 2, 8 border guards were killed in battle, and 14 were wounded. Almost generally accepted data on the losses of the Soviet side on March 2 are the following: of the 66 border guards who participated in the battle, 31 died, one seriously wounded border guard died in Chinese captivity, 14 were wounded.

Memorial at the city cemetery of Dalnerechensk, where the remains are buried
dead Soviet border guards of the Iman border detachment (photo by Sergei Gorbachev)

As for losses on the Chinese side (according to Soviet data, about 30 border guards and up to 300 PLA ​​soldiers took part in the battle), even modern Russian publications contain different figures - from 17 dead Chinese soldiers to 300. Published Soviet documents and scientific publications do not talked about the number of Chinese killed at Damansky. Only in the 2000s. At the instigation of General V.D. Bubenin, a figure of 248 killed Chinese appeared in historical literature. Soviet border guards, after the Chinese retreated from the island, found the body of one Chinese there; the rest of the dead and wounded were probably evacuated by the enemy at the end of the battle.

Original taken from parker_111 in Conflict on Damansky Island. 1969

After the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, a provision emerged that borders between states should, as a rule (but not necessarily), run along the middle of the main channel of the river. But it also provided for exceptions, such as drawing a border along one of the banks, when such a border was formed historically - by treaty, or if one side colonized the second bank before the other began to colonize it.


In addition, international treaties and agreements do not have retroactive effect. However, in the late 1950s, when the PRC, seeking to increase its international influence, entered into conflict with Taiwan (1958) and participated in the border war with India (1962), the Chinese used the new border regulations as a reason to revise the Soviet -Chinese border.

The leadership of the USSR was ready to do this; in 1964, a consultation was held on border issues, but it ended without results.

Due to ideological differences during the Cultural Revolution in China and after the Prague Spring of 1968, when the PRC authorities declared that the USSR had taken the path of “socialist imperialism,” relations became particularly strained.

Damansky Island, which was part of the Pozharsky district of Primorsky Krai, is located on the Chinese side of the main channel of the Ussuri. Its dimensions are 1500–1800 m from north to south and 600–700 m from west to east (area about 0.74 km²).

During flood periods, the island is completely hidden under water and has no economic value.

Since the early 1960s, the situation in the island area has been heating up. According to statements from the Soviet side, groups of civilians and military personnel began to systematically violate the border regime and enter Soviet territory, from where they were expelled each time by border guards without the use of weapons.

At first, peasants entered the territory of the USSR at the direction of the Chinese authorities and demonstratively worked there. economic activity: mowing and grazing livestock, declaring that they are on Chinese territory.

The number of such provocations increased sharply: in 1960 there were 100, in 1962 - more than 5,000. Then Red Guards began to attack border patrols.

Such events numbered in the thousands, each of them involving up to several hundred people.

On January 4, 1969, a Chinese provocation was carried out on Kirkinsky Island (Qiliqindao) with the participation of 500 people.

According to the Chinese version of events, the Soviet border guards themselves staged provocations and beat up Chinese citizens engaged in economic activities where they had always done so.

During the Kirkinsky incident, they used armored personnel carriers to oust civilians and killed 4 of them, and on February 7, 1969, they fired several single machine gun shots in the direction of the Chinese border detachment.

However, it was repeatedly noted that none of these clashes, no matter whose fault they occurred, could result in a serious armed conflict without the approval of the authorities. The assertion that the events around Damansky Island on March 2 and 15 were the result of an action carefully planned by the Chinese side is now the most widespread; including directly or indirectly recognized by many Chinese historians.

For example, Li Danhui writes that in 1968-1969, the response to Soviet provocations was limited by the directives of the CPC Central Committee; only on January 25, 1969, it was allowed to plan “response military actions” near Damansky Island with the help of three companies. On February 19, the General Staff and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China agreed to this.

Events of March 1-2 and the following week
On the night of March 1-2, 1969, about 300 Chinese troops in winter camouflage, armed with AK assault rifles and SKS carbines, crossed to Damansky and lay down on the higher western shore of the island.

The group remained unnoticed until 10:40, when the 2nd outpost “Nizhne-Mikhailovka” of the 57th Iman border detachment received a report from an observation post that a group of armed people of up to 30 people was moving in the direction of Damansky. 32 Soviet border guards, including the head of the outpost, Senior Lieutenant Ivan Strelnikov, went to the scene of events in GAZ-69 and GAZ-63 vehicles and one BTR-60PB. At 11:10 they arrived at the southern tip of the island. The border guards under the command of Strelnikov were divided into two groups. The first group, under the command of Strelnikov, headed towards a group of Chinese military personnel standing on the ice southwest of the island.

The second group under the command of Sergeant Vladimir Rabovich was supposed to cover Strelnikov’s group with south coast islands. Strelnikov protested about the border violation and demanded that Chinese military personnel leave the territory of the USSR. One of the Chinese servicemen raised his hand up, which served as a signal for the Chinese side to open fire on the groups of Strelnikov and Rabovich. The moment of the start of the armed provocation was captured on film by military photojournalist Private Nikolai Petrov. Strelnikov and the border guards who followed him died immediately, and a squad of border guards under the command of Sergeant Rabovich also died in a short battle. Junior Sergeant Yuri Babansky took command of the surviving border guards.

Having received a report about the shooting on the island, the head of the neighboring 1st outpost “Kulebyakiny Sopki”, senior lieutenant Vitaly Bubenin, went to the BTR-60PB and GAZ-69 with 20 soldiers to help. In the battle, Bubenin was wounded and sent the armored personnel carrier to the rear of the Chinese, skirting the northern tip of the island along the ice, but soon the armored personnel carrier was hit and Bubenin decided to go out with his soldiers to the Soviet coast. Having reached the armored personnel carrier of the deceased Strelnikov and boarded it, Bubenin’s group moved along the Chinese positions and destroyed their command post. They began to retreat.

In the battle on March 2, 31 Soviet border guards were killed and 14 were injured. The losses of the Chinese side (according to the USSR KGB commission) amounted to 247 people killed

Around 12:00 a helicopter arrived at Damansky with the command of the Iman border detachment and its chief, Colonel D.V. Leonov, and reinforcements from neighboring outposts. Reinforced squads of border guards were deployed to Damansky, and the 135th Motorized Rifle Division of the Soviet Army with artillery and installations of the BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system was deployed in the rear. On the Chinese side, the 24th Infantry Regiment, numbering 5,000 people, was preparing for combat.

On March 3, a demonstration took place near the Soviet embassy in Beijing. On March 4, the Chinese newspapers People's Daily and Jiefangjun Bao (解放军报) published an editorial "Down with the New Tsars!", blaming the incident on the Soviet troops, who, according to the author of the article, "moved by a clique of renegade revisionists, brazenly invaded Zhenbaodao Island on the Wusulijiang River in Heilongjiang Province of our country, opened rifle and cannon fire on the border guards of the People's Liberation Army of China, killing and wounding many of them." On the same day, the Soviet newspaper Pravda published an article “Shame on the provocateurs!” According to the author of the article, “an armed Chinese detachment crossed the Soviet state border and headed towards Damansky Island. Fire was suddenly opened on the Soviet border guards guarding this area from the Chinese side. There are dead and wounded." On March 7, the Chinese Embassy in Moscow was picketed. Demonstrators also threw ink bottles at the building.

Events March 14-15
On March 14 at 15:00 an order was received to remove border guard units from the island. Immediately after the withdrawal of the Soviet border guards, Chinese soldiers began to occupy the island. In response to this, 8 armored personnel carriers under the command of the head of the motorized maneuver group of the 57th border detachment, Lieutenant Colonel E. I. Yanshin, moved in battle formation towards Damansky; The Chinese retreated to their shore.



At 20:00 on March 14, the border guards received an order to occupy the island. That same night, Yanshin’s group of 60 people in 4 armored personnel carriers dug in there. On the morning of March 15, after broadcasting through loudspeakers on both sides, at 10:00 from 30 to 60 Chinese artillery and mortars began shelling Soviet positions, and 3 companies of Chinese infantry went on the offensive. A fight ensued.

Between 400 and 500 Chinese soldiers took up positions near the southern part of the island and prepared to move behind Yangshin's rear. Two armored personnel carriers of his group were hit, and communication was damaged. Four T-62 tanks under the command of D.V. Leonov attacked the Chinese at the southern tip of the island, but Leonov’s tank was hit (according to various versions, by a shot from an RPG-2 grenade launcher or was blown up by an anti-tank mine), and Leonov himself was killed by a shot from a Chinese sniper when trying to leave a burning car.

What made the situation worse was that Leonov did not know the island and, as a result, Soviet tanks came too close to the Chinese positions. However, at the cost of losses, the Chinese were not allowed to enter the island.

Two hours later, having used up their ammunition, the Soviet border guards were nevertheless forced to withdraw from the island. It became clear that the forces brought into the battle were not enough and the Chinese significantly outnumbered the border guard detachments. At 17:00, in a critical situation, in violation of the instructions of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee not to introduce Soviet troops into the conflict, on the orders of the commander of the Far Eastern Military District, Oleg Losik, fire was opened from the then-secret Grad multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).

The shells destroyed most material and technical resources of the Chinese group and military, including reinforcements, mortars, and stacks of shells. At 17:10, motorized riflemen of the 2nd motorized rifle battalion of the 199th motorized rifle regiment and border guards under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Smirnov and Lieutenant Colonel Konstantinov went on the attack in order to finally suppress the resistance of the Chinese troops. The Chinese began to retreat from their occupied positions. At about 19:00 several firing points came to life, after which three new attacks were launched, but they were repulsed.

Soviet troops again retreated to their shores, and the Chinese side no longer took large-scale hostile actions on this section of the state border.

In total, during the clashes, Soviet troops lost 58 people killed or died from wounds (including 4 officers), 94 people were wounded (including 9 officers).

The irretrievable losses of the Chinese side are still classified information and, according to various estimates, range from 100-150 to 800 and even 3000 people. In Baoqing County there is a memorial cemetery where the remains of 68 Chinese soldiers who died on March 2 and 15, 1969 are located. Information received from a Chinese defector suggests that other burials exist.

For their heroism, five military personnel received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: Colonel D. Leonov (posthumously), Senior Lieutenant I. Strelnikov (posthumously), Junior Sergeant V. Orekhov (posthumously), Senior Lieutenant V. Bubenin, Junior Sergeant Yu. Babansky.

Many border guards and military personnel of the Soviet Army were awarded state awards: 3 - Orders of Lenin, 10 - Orders of the Red Banner, 31 - Orders of the Red Star, 10 - Orders of Glory III degree, 63 - medals "For Courage", 31 - medals "For Military Merit" .

Settlement and aftermath
Soviet soldiers were unable to return the destroyed T-62 due to constant Chinese shelling. An attempt to destroy it with mortars was unsuccessful, and the tank fell through the ice. Subsequently, the Chinese were able to pull it to their shores and now it stands in the Beijing military museum.

After the ice melted, the exit of the Soviet border guards to Damansky turned out to be difficult and it was necessary to prevent Chinese attempts to capture it with sniper and machine-gun fire. On September 10, 1969, a ceasefire was ordered, apparently to create a favorable background for the negotiations that began the next day at Beijing airport.

Immediately, Damansky and Kirkinsky were occupied by Chinese armed forces.

On September 11 in Beijing, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A.N. Kosygin, who was returning from the funeral of Ho Chi Minh, and Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Zhou Enlai agreed to stop hostile actions and that the troops would remain in their occupied positions. In fact, this meant the transfer of Damansky to China.

On October 20, 1969, new negotiations between the heads of government of the USSR and the PRC were held, and an agreement was reached on the need to revise the Soviet-Chinese border. Then a series of negotiations were held in Beijing and Moscow, and in 1991, Damansky Island finally went to the PRC.

On the night of March 2, 1969, a Soviet-Chinese border conflict began on Damansky Island. At the cost of the lives of 58 Soviet soldiers and officers, they managed to stop a major war between the two states.

The deterioration of Soviet-Chinese relations, which began after the death of Stalin and Khrushchev’s condemnation of the cult of personality, resulted in an actual confrontation between the two world powers in Asia. Mao Zedong's claims to China's leadership in the socialist world, harsh policies towards Kazakhs and Uyghurs living in China, and China's attempts to contest a number of border territories from the USSR have extremely strained relations between the powers. In the mid-60s. the Soviet command is consistently increasing troop groups in Transbaikalia and in Far East, taking all possible measures in case of a possible conflict with China. In the Trans-Baikal Military District and on the territory of Mongolia, tank and combined arms armies were additionally deployed, and fortified areas were developed along the border. Since the summer of 1968, provocations from the Chinese side have become more frequent, becoming almost constant on the Ussuri River in the area of ​​​​the Damansky island (less than 1 sq. km in area). In January 1969, the General Staff of the Chinese Army developed an operation to capture the disputed territory.

2nd border outpost of the 57th Iman border detachment “Nizhne-Mikhailovka”. 1969

On the night of March 2, 1969, 300 Chinese soldiers occupied the island and set up firing positions on it. In the morning, Soviet border guards discovered the violators, apparently determining their number; approximately one platoon (30 people), in an armored personnel carrier and two cars, headed to the island to expel uninvited guests to their territory. The border guards advanced in three groups. At about 11 o'clock, the Chinese fired small arms at the first of them, consisting of two officers and 5 soldiers, while simultaneously opening fire with guns and mortars on the other two. Help was hastily called.

After a long firefight, Soviet border guards drove the enemy out of Damansky, with 32 border guards killed and another 14 wounded. A maneuver group led by the commander of the Iman border detachment, Lieutenant Colonel Democrat Leonov, hastily moved to the combat area. Its vanguard consisted of 45 border guards in 4 armored personnel carriers. As a reserve, this group was covered by about 80 soldiers from the sergeant school. By March 12, units of the 135th Pacific Red Banner Motorized Rifle Division were pulled up to Damansky: motorized rifle and artillery regiments, a separate tank battalion and a division of Grad multiple launch rocket systems. On the morning of March 15, the Chinese, supported by tanks and artillery, launched an attack on Damansky. During the counterattack by a tank platoon, the commander of the Iman detachment, Leonov, was killed. Soviet soldiers were unable to return the destroyed T-62 due to constant Chinese shelling. An attempt to destroy it with mortars was unsuccessful, and the tank fell through the ice. (subsequently, the Chinese were able to pull it to their shores and now it stands in the Beijing military museum). In this situation, the commander of the 135th division gave the order to unleash fire from howitzers, mortars and Grad launchers on Damansky and adjacent Chinese territory. After the fire raid, the island was occupied by motorized riflemen in armored personnel carriers.

The losses of Soviet troops in this attack amounted to 4 combat vehicles and 16 people killed and wounded, and a total of 58 killed and 94 wounded. Four participants in the Daman battles: the head of the Nizhne-Mikhailovka outpost, senior lieutenant Ivan Strelnikov, the head of the Iman border detachment, Lieutenant Colonel Democrat Leonov, the head of the Kulebyakina Sopki border outpost, Vitaly Bubenin, and Sergeant Yuri Babansky, were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Strelnikov and Leonov – posthumously. The Chinese lost, according to various estimates, from 500 to 700 people.

But tension on the border remained for about a year. During the summer of 1969, our border guards had to open fire more than three hundred times. Damansky Island soon de facto went to the PRC. The de jure border line along the fairway of the Ussuri River was fixed only in 1991, and it was finally fixed in October 2004, when the President of the Russian Federation signed a decree transferring part of the Greater Ussuri Island to China.

Damansky - Soviet-Chinese border conflict in 1969 over an island on the Ussuri River (about 1,700 m long and 500 m wide), in the area of ​​which fighting between Soviet and Chinese troops took place on March 2 and 15, 1969. On the night of March 2, 1969, 300 Chinese troops secretly occupied Damansky and set up camouflaged firing points there. In their rear, on the left bank of the Ussuri, reserves and artillery support (mortars and recoilless rifles) were concentrated. This act was undertaken as part of Operation Retaliation, which was led by the deputy commander of the Shenyang Military Region, Xiao Cuanfu.

In the morning, Chinese soldiers opened fire on 55 Soviet border guards heading to the island, led by the head of the Nizhne-Mikhailovka border post, Senior Lieutenant I. Strelnikov.

The border guards, led by the surviving commander, junior sergeant Yu. Babansky, lay down and entered into battle with superior Chinese forces. Soon, reinforcements came to their aid in armored personnel carriers, led by the head of the neighboring Kulebyakiny Sopki outpost, Senior Lieutenant V. Bubenin.

Supported by mortar fire from their shore, the Chinese secured a position behind the embankment on the island and again forced the Soviet soldiers to lie down. But Bubenin did not retreat. He regrouped his forces and organized a new attack using armored personnel carriers. Having bypassed the island, he led his maneuver group to flank the Chinese and forced them to abandon their positions on the island. During this attack, Bubenin was wounded, but did not leave the battle and brought it to victory. In the battle on March 2, 31 Soviet border guards were killed and 14 were wounded.

But it turned out that the Chinese are prepared for such a turn of events and have a sufficient number of anti-tank weapons. Due to their heavy fire, the counterattack failed. Moreover, Leonov exactly repeated Bubenin’s bypass maneuver, which did not come as a surprise to the Chinese. In this direction they had already dug trenches where grenade launchers were located. The lead tank in which Leonov was located was hit, and the colonel himself, who was trying to get out through the lower hatch, died. Two other tanks still managed to break through to the island and take up defense there. This allowed the Soviet soldiers to hold out on Damansky for another 2 hours. Finally, having shot all the ammunition and not receiving reinforcements, they left Damansky.

The failure of the counterattack and the loss of the newest T-62 combat vehicle with secret equipment finally convinced the Soviet command that the forces brought into the battle were not enough to defeat the Chinese side, which was very seriously prepared. Then the forces of the 135th Motorized Rifle Division deployed along the river came into play, whose command ordered its artillery (including a separate BM-21 Grad rocket division) to open fire on the Chinese positions on the island. This was the first time that Grad rocket launchers were used in battle, the impact of which decided the outcome of the battle.

A significant part of the Chinese soldiers at Damansky (more than 700 people) were destroyed by a barrage of fire.

At this point, active hostilities virtually ceased. But from May to September 1969, Soviet border guards opened fire on intruders in the Damansky area more than 300 times. In the battles for Damansky from March 2 to 16, 1969, 58 Soviet soldiers were killed and 94 were seriously injured. For their heroism, four servicemen received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: Colonel D. Leonov and Senior Lieutenant I. Strelnikov (posthumously), Senior Lieutenant V. Bubenin and Junior Sergeant Yu. Babansky.

The Battle of Damansky was the first serious clash between the USSR Armed Forces and regular units of another major power since World War II. After Soviet-Chinese negotiations in September 1969, it was decided to give Damansky Island to the People's Republic of China. The new owners of the island filled up the channel, and since then it has become part of the Chinese coast (Zhalanashkol).