Damansky's weapon debuts
1960-s. in the border stories - This is primarily a standoff on the Soviet-Chinese border. It ended with a bloody battle on Damansky Island, on the Ussuri River in Primorye Territory (2 and 15 in March 1969) and a clash in the area of Lake Zhalanashkol (12-13 in August of the same year) in the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan.
At the same time, the 2 battle of March had no analogues in world history and even entered the encyclopedia “Great Battles and Battles of the 20th Century”: Soviet border guards 30, armed mostly with machine guns and machine guns, defeated the Chinese-armed 500 battalion, killing 248 enemy soldiers and officers ...
In general, all these three battles are also a series of debuts in the use of various types. weapons, mainly small, and in the development of tactics of actions with him in specific combat situations.
No rattle in any way
Even before the gates of machine guns clicked on Damanskoye and gunfire sounded, the border guards "went to the Chinese" who massively violated the border then, with homegrown cold arms. To their surprise, they themselves returned to the fact that only prehistoric people used in cave times and men in the course of large and small peasant uprisings. The Museum of Border Troops has characteristic pictures taken in the winter of 1968.
Hero of the Soviet Union, Major-General Vitaly Bubenin (at that time lieutenant, head of the Klebyakiny sopki outpost, 2) told the author of this article about one of the first clashes with violators because of Ussuri. 6 November 1967 g. And a half dozen Chinese took to the ice of the river, began to hammer holes and install networks. As soon as the border guards approached, the uninvited guests quickly gathered in a heap and unequivocally set themselves in front of what the ice broke through, crowbars, axes and axes. They could not be turned out peacefully — they had to use “belly tactics,” as the soldiers themselves called this method. That is, they were taken under the arms and, in an effort to reach the Chinese in a semiring, push them abroad.
Soon, dissatisfied with the sluggish actions of the residents of the frontier, the Chinese organizers of the provocations sent to the Damansky “Mao's oprichniki” - the Red Guards and the zaofani. These are radicals from young people up to the age of 35 who helped the “great helmsman” successfully carry out a cultural revolution, carry out a series of purges. And these fanatics, Bubenin notes, from one provocation to another became more and more violent and fiercer.
It was then that, in order to protect personnel and reduce the risk of injury during force contact, Lieutenant Bubenin I. “invented” spears and clubs. He also described in detail the tactics of actions with them in the book published in 2004 in the publishing houses Border and Kuchkovo Pole, the book Blood Damanskoe, Events 1966-1969. With the permission of the author, we quote:
“The soldiers, with great pleasure and zeal, carried out my command to prepare a new and at the same time most ancient weapon of primitive man. V of each soldier had his own oak or black birch, with a lovingly planed and polished cudgel. And a lanyard is attached to the handle so that it does not fly out of the hands. They were kept in a pyramid with weapons. So, on alert, the soldiers took an automatic rifle and grabbed a cudgel. And as a group weapon used the rattles. In their appearance, tactical and technical data, in terms of their application, they resembled the weapons of Siberian hunters who in ancient times used to go with them to the bear.
At first they helped us out great. When the Chinese perly on us wall, we just put the spears forward, well, just like in medieval battles. The soldiers loved it. Well, if some daredevil did break through, then, excuse me, I voluntarily ran into a club. ”
But the Maoists also changed the tactics of provocations, each made some novelty. Against the frontier bluffs and slings, they “perfected” their stakes and sticks, strengthening them with nails at the ends.
Fire foam and jet
And soon Bubenin applied against violators ... regular fire extinguishers from an armored personnel carrier. He came up with the following: when the BTR caught up with the Chinese, powerful streams of foam suddenly struck at them from the loopholes of one of the sides of the armored vehicle. “The Chinese were literally stunned,” said General Bubenin. - Immediately rushed scatter, but most fell into the wormwood, near which they stood. We got out and, in order not to get frostbite, quickly left the island. True, they had time to mock the BTR from annoyance and anger: they left marks on the sides of the blows with a crowbar, doused them with tar. ”
After some time, Bubenik applied to the restless and ... fire truck. He borrowed it for a time from the district fire chief. While there was no provocation, Lieutenant Bubenin trained his fire brigade for several days. Then - again quote the memories of General Bubenin:
- On that December day, about a hundred Chinese came out on the Ussuri ice. We advanced on their expulsion. Our column had a rather threatening appearance; An armored personnel carrier was ahead, followed by a sparkling fresh red paint ZIL with a huge fire brigade, similar to a gun barrel, a GAZ-66 with guards. The Chinese were definitely shocked ... As usual, they climbed on our soldiers with stakes. And then I gave the command to run away to the fire truck and cover it. At the same time, she roared and a powerful ice jet struck the crowd of Chinese people running after the soldiers from the fire brigade. This was a must see!
Automatic as a club
In February, 1968, a new ice battle took place, in which up to a thousand soldiers had already participated from the Chinese coast of Ussuri near Kirkinsky Island. Border guards were much smaller. Bubenin added the following details to the picture of this “cold battle”: “There was a crackling sound of stakes, butts, skulls and bones ... The soldiers, winding the straps on their hands, fought with what was left of them.”
In this fight, Bubenin first used the APC against an angry mob of Maoists. He acted unconsciously, only feeling that there is no other way out. The situation was on the verge of irreparable, a spark was missing, and so that it did not arise, the head of the outpost jumped into an armored personnel carrier and ordered to send it directly to the Chinese. The car went to the ram of the crowd, cutting off the outrages from the border guards. The Chinese shied away from the powerful wheels and armor in fear, began to scatter ... Silence reigned. The battle was over.
- We looked around, looked around ... - says Bubenin, - Imagine, they fought in such a way that about fifty automata and machine guns became completely useless! From them there were only trunks with belts, the rest - scrap metal.
First shots
In one of the ice battles described, the Chinese from the ambush tried to capture a whole group of border guards. To the rescue of the last rushed soldiers from the reserve.
“At that moment,” recalls General Bubenin, “two pistol shots were fired on the Chinese side.” Immediately snapped shutters of our machines. Fortunately, the soldiers have not yet decided to open fire without a command. And it seemed to me: here, now ... I rushed to them and, shaking my fists, that there was urine, screamed; “Do not shoot-a-o! Fuse set! All back! ”. The barrels of soldiers lowered reluctantly.
For the first time, a warning fire on provocateurs was opened in August of 1968. From the islands mentioned above, the Chinese managed to force out border guards and bring ferries. It was then that machine guns hit the sky, and then mortars were used. With the help of the latter, the ferries were destroyed and the islands were “liberated”.
In January, 1969-th in Damanskiy against the Soviet border guards were no longer acted by the Red Guards, but by the soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA). “During the clashes,” wrote in his historical study “Damansky and Zhalanashkol. 1969 ”military journalist Andrei Musalov, - our border guards managed to repulse several dozen guns. When inspecting weapons, it was found that in some machine guns and carbines the cartridges were sent to the chamber ”... Bubenin in his memoirs clarifies that in one of the fights he and his subordinates managed to get trophies in the form of five X-9957 carbines, AK-47 and pistol "TT", and almost all of them were ready for fire use.
“Without a machine gun on the border, you are zero”
Meanwhile, despite the difficult situation on the border, the diversion of forces to the expulsion of the Chinese people and the elimination of the consequences of provocations, intensive fire training was taking place at 1 and 2.
“My subordinates shot uniquely,” recalls Vitaly Bubenin. - 2-I outpost, where I was the chief, spent on the shooting range around the clock. Shot - went to the service. It was like this: if you shoot a little, then you are reprimanded for it at a meeting, in a detachment. Two or three ammunition for training practice be kind - shoot! Everyone at the outpost knew how to shoot from all standard weapons, including my wife.
One curious incident connected with Bubenin’s wife, Galina, which Vitaly Dmitrievich described in his book “The Blood Snow of Damanskii”, in the summer of 1968, the head of the detachment, Colonel Leonov, arrived at the outpost and decided to see how the young officers live. Asked where Galina, expressed a desire to talk with her. “Coming to the house,” writes Bubenin, “I heard incomprehensible sounds that vaguely resemble hammer blows on a nail. “The spouse does seem to be repairing-”. - "It seems not going." Entering the courtyard, we heard the sounds of shooting from a small-caliber rifle. The arrow was not yet visible, but the cans, hung on the fence fence, were aptly making their way one by one. It became clear to me: my wife was practicing skills in possession of military weapons. ”
In these stories, Bubenin is supplemented by General Yuri Babansky (at the time of the fighting for the island he served on the 1 th outpost):
- A lot of attention was paid to fire training in the Border Guards. Each fired exclusively from his machine gun, and not from one or two brought to the shooting range, as I know, happened then in the units of the Soviet army ... If the border guard at the training point did not learn to shoot accurately enough, then he continues to improve fire training at the outpost. The first thing he does when he arrives at the outpost is to get a machine gun and two stores for him. And he daily cleans the weapon, cherishes it, caresses, shoots him, shoots him. At the outpost, weapons are an integral part of the border guard’s daily life. Understanding that without a machine gun on the border you are zero, everyone who has tried on a green cap, comprehends during combat service. If you happen to be obliged to take the fight and keep the border area until reinforcements arrive. Damansky happened ...
“Tactics of border troops,” the general continues. - based on combat techniques that allow you to save lives. And in the course of the battle, these techniques were used by us — already subconsciously; when they shot at us, we didn’t lie in one place, but quickly changed positions, ran across, rolled, camouflaged, shot back ... And the fact that we won a lot of Chinese forces that are superior to us - I explain only with our combat skills, that our soldiers they knew how to shoot well, superbly owned their weapons! Plus, of course, courage, courage, high moral qualities. But possession of weapons is the most important factor.
Damansky debuts
The events of 2 and 15 in March of 1969 were described repeatedly in the literature and periodicals, so there is no point in repeating. We only recall that the group of Senior Lieutenant Strelnikov consisting of seven people was shot by the Chinese at close range during the first moments of the battle - not one of these sevens had time to respond with a single bullet. A minute before this, private Nikolai Petrov, who was taking photographs and filming while negotiating with provocateurs, had time to take his last picture. It is clearly visible how the Chinese soldiers disperse into positions ... The March 2 battle began around 11 in the morning and lasted more than an hour and a half ...
The parties acted against each other with practically the same type of small arms — Kalashnikov assault rifles and machine guns (the Chinese, as is well known, during the years of “indestructible friendship between two peoples” acquired the license for the production of the AK-47 machine gun from the Soviet Union). It was on the Damansky Kalashnikov assault rifle, which was already distributed all over the world, for the first time became the main type of weapon used by both opposing sides.
In addition, the Chinese were armed with carbines and grenade launchers.
Let us dwell only on the most remarkable moments of the battle, which have become novelties in the use of weapons.
A group of sergeant Babansky, who followed Strelnikov to intercept offenders, fell behind and accepted the battle after the head of the outpost was killed. In his study, military journalist Andrei Musalov writes that “as a result of intensive shooting, the Babansky group almost completely shot ammunition” (note that in that fight in the pouches, the border guards had two shops, and the Chinese in bras , or “unloading” - six each). Babansky himself told the author of these lines the following:
“When we moved around the island, down below, in 25-30 meters, I saw the negotiators, ours and the Chinese. It was heard that they were talking in a raised voice. I realized that something was wrong, and at that moment I heard a single shot on the island. After that, the Chinese parted and shot all our guys, along with Strelnikov, at point-blank range. And it became clear to me that it was necessary to open fire. I gave the command to my subordinates, who ran after me in a chain: “Fire on the Chinese!” We quickly intuitively felt that if we shoot in bursts - and the 600 machine gun fire rate per minute - we’ll spend the fire in a second, and the Chinese just shoot us . Therefore, they began to shoot single. And - precisely, and not anywhere. And it saved us. We shot at the nearest enemy, because he was for us the most dangerous than the one who hid somewhere far away. We suppressed the firing points of the Chinese, especially machine guns, and this allowed us to reduce the density of their fire, and give us the opportunity to survive.
In general, it is best to shoot a single machine gun. To create a psychological environment, as if to induce panic in the ranks of the enemy, the fire turns in bursts, but in terms of its real damaging power it is ineffective ...
Due to the fact that the weapon was the same type and ammunition from both sides of the same caliber, the border guards in some cases borrowed ammunition from the dead Chinese. The most remarkable episode is connected with the actions of junior sergeant Vasily Kanygin and the cook of the outpost Nikolai Puzyrev. They managed to destroy a large number of Chinese soldiers (they later calculated it was almost a platoon), and at that moment they ran out of ammunition. Puzyrev crawled over to the dead and took from them the six stores mentioned above. This allowed both to continue the fight.
General Babansky, in his conversation with me, also noted the reliability of the weapon:
- Nobody had any failures, despite the fact that the rifles hit the ground, lay in the snow ...
The machine gunner Sergeant Nikolai Tsapaev. who gave an interview to Komsomolskaya Pravda at one time, said the following about his PC machine gun: “I fired at least five thousand shots from my rifle machine gun. The barrel “turned gray”, the paint melted, but the machine gun worked flawlessly. ”
For the first time, armored personnel carriers equipped with KPVT and PKT turret machine guns were used in combat. At the end of the 1960-x these armored personnel carriers were still considered a novelty. BTR-60PB, unlike other modifications, was fully armored. Bubenin, who acted on one of these machines, from the machine guns suppressed the enemy firing points, and crushed the Chinese with wheels. In one of the episodes of the battle, he said, he managed to put a whole infantry company of PLA soldiers who had moved to the island in order to reinforce the offenders who were already leading the battle. When one BTR was shot down, Bubenin moved to another, re-entered it on the Maoists, and destroyed even a fair number of them before this machine was hit by an armor-piercing projectile.
Therefore, already on the 15 of March, PLA soldiers fired, armed with a significant number of hand-held grenade launchers, For here, in order to thwart a new combat provocation, not two armored personnel carriers, but 11, four of which operated directly on the island, and seven were in reserve.
The intensity of the battle can be judged by the memories of the commander of the motivated-manned border group of Lieutenant Colonel Yevgeny Yanshin acting on one of the wheeled armored vehicles: “In my commander’s car there was a continuous rumble, chad. powder smoke. I look, Sulzhenko, who fired from an armored troop-carrier machine gun, threw off the sheepskin coat, then the pea jacket, with one hand undid the gate of the tunic. I see, I jumped up, threw my seat down with my foot, and while standing I poured fire. Without looking around, a hand over a new jar of cartridges stretches. Charging Round only has time to charge the tape. “Don't get excited, I scream, save your ammunition!” I point out to him the targets ... Because of the continuous fire, explosions of mines and shells of the neighboring APCs, it is not visible,. The machine gun fell silent. Sulzhenko was taken aback for a moment. Recharges, presses the electric release - only a single shot follows. He to the lid of the machine gun, opened it, eliminated the fault. Machine guns earned ... "
“Against the border armored personnel carriers,” points out in his book “Damansky and Zhapanashkol. 1969 "Andrei Musalov, - the Chinese have thrown a large number of single-person grenade throwers. They were well camouflaged among the bushes and trees that grew densely on the island. Yanshin singled out from the composition of the landing group of border guards, whose task was to destroy the grenade throwers. Under heavy fire, this group had to seek out grenade throwers, suppress them with small arms and not allow them to approach armored personnel carriers at a distance of an RPG shot. Such tactics gave the result - the fire from the RPG decreased. To reduce the likelihood of defeat, the APCs did not stop maneuvering for a minute, moving from one natural shelter to another. At critical moments, when the threat of destruction of armored personnel carriers increased, Yanshin deployed paratroopers in a chain. They, together with the crew of the BTR, inflicted fire damage on the enemy. After that, the paratroopers boarded an armored personnel carrier and proceeded to the next shelter. The armored personnel carriers, in which the ammunition ended, came out of the battlefield, moved to the Soviet coast of Ussuri, where a point of supply was organized. Replenishing the stock, fighting vehicles again went to the Damansky. With every minute the enemy increased the density of mortar fire. At the same time, the border guards from the “heavy” weapons had only LNG-9 heavy-duty grenade launchers and KPVS heavy machine guns.
In total, in the battle, the Chinese managed to knock out and completely disable three armored personnel carriers of the border guards, but all the vehicles directly involved in the battle had more or less damage. The main fire weapon that was used against the armored personnel carriers was the RPG-2 hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher. Mao’s army commanders threw up to a dozen individual grenade launchers against each armored personnel carrier. As noted by Musapov, “despite the fact that Chinese grenade launchers, manufactured like the rest of Chinese weapons, according to Soviet technology, were inferior to Soviet models, they turned out to be very formidable weapons. Later it was convincingly proved in the course of the Arab-Israeli conflicts. ”
Later that day, against the Chinese, Tanks T-62. However, the Chinese were ready for their meeting. On the path of the tank group, they disguised several anti-tank guns. There were many grenade launchers in ambush. The head vehicle was hit immediately, the crew trying to leave it was destroyed by rifle fire. Colonel Democrat Leonov, the head of the border detachment located in this T-62, died from a sniper bullet that hit his heart. The remaining tanks were forced to withdraw. (see details on the T-62 tank wrecked on Damansky Island)
The outcome of the case finally decided the fire debut of the army battalion of the BM-21 volley fire "Grad", which hit the Chinese deep into their territory on 20 km. At that time, the super secret, “Grad”, during 10 (according to other 30 data), produced several volleys of high-explosive fragmentation ammunition. The defeat was impressive - almost all the reserves, warehouses and enemy ammunition facilities were destroyed. For half an hour the Chinese were bothering the island with fire until they finally calmed down.
Zhalanashkol
Events in the area of Lake Zhalanashkol in August 1969 (in the literature they are also described in some detail) in terms of the use of weapons and military equipment here were distinguished by more verified tactics of Chinese military personnel. By that time, they already had not only the bloody experience of Damansky, but also the lessons of bloodless military provocations in the area of the village of Dulaty (Kazakhstan) 2-18 in May and in the area of the Tasty River 10 in June (also Kazakhstan).
Under Dulatami, as Candidate of Military Sciences Colonel Yury Zavatsky described the events in the magazine “Veteran of the Border” (No.3 / 1999), the Chinese defiantly began digging in the hills located on Soviet territory. The Soviet military command also demonstratively pulled Grades here. And within two weeks, both sides, improving their positions and conducting reconnaissance, were in a psychological confrontation. The Chinese soon realized that “there is no arguing against the Grads” and after the negotiations they left the so-called contested area. In the area of the river Tasty, as described by the Musalov skirmish, the fire opened. Here, the border guards expelled the shepherd, defiantly drove a flock of sheep across the border. The first closures were distorted by Chinese armed cavalrymen, providing for the shepherd’s actions, they were helped from two more directions, including from the dominant height in Chinese territory. But the calculation of the machine gun soldiers Viktor Shchyugarev and Mikhail Boldyrev suppressed all the firing points at this height with accurate fire. And then both were stopped by fire and a raid by an armed Maoist group. It is not known whether the Chinese gathered corpses, but the Soviet "green hats" reflected this provocation without loss.
And in August, events broke out at Zhalanashkol. Here the tactics of the struggle of the Chinese against the armored personnel carriers received further development. At night, the Maoists managed to dig in three hills on the Soviet side, which they considered to be "originally Chinese." In the morning they began to send reinforcements to occupied positions. In order to prevent the movement of the armed forces of the enemy, the chief of staff of the detachment in charge of this area, Lieutenant Colonel Nikitenko, moved to intercept three armored personnel carriers. To the demands of Lieutenant Yevgeniy Govor, the head of the Zhalanashkol outpost, to leave the territory, the Chinese immediately responded with fire from machine guns and carbines. While the situation was reported to the “tops” (and there it was, as in the cases on Damansky, perebutblili from chief to chief), the enemy continued to dig in. And then Nikitenko decided to attack him on armored personnel carriers with the support of the assault groups.
At one of them, at number 217, which moved to the flank of enemy positions, PLA soldiers concentrated the most dense fire. BTR was very tenacious. All external equipment was demolished with bullets and splinters, wheels were riddled, armor was punched in several places, the tower was wedged from a grenade rupture. The lieutenant lieutenant Vladimir Puchkov, the platoon commander of the maneuverable group, who was sitting behind a machine gun, was wounded in the thigh, but, bandaging the wound, continued to fire. To the rescue of 217, three more wheeled armored vehicles rushed. It was then that the Chinese grenade launchers showed themselves most actively: the experience of the Damansky was not for nothing. (Incidentally, after the battle among the Chinese corpses, one was discovered who was awarded a sign with a portrait of Mao Zedong during his lifetime. Under the image of the "Great Helmsman" it appeared that the award was granted "in honor of the victorious reflection of the aggression of the Soviet revisionists on Zhenbaodao island". Since The Chinese in their own way called - and now call - who went to them, according to the agreements with Russia of 1990, the island of Damansky.
One of the grenade throwers, who had approached a dangerous distance to an armored troop-carrier, was struck down by the gunner junior sergeant Vladimir Zavoronitsyn, who had hit the enemy with on-board machine guns. The frontier armored personnel carriers constantly maneuvered back and forth, while allowing the Maoist grenade launchers to conduct aimed fire. In this case, the drivers tried to keep to the enemy with the thickest frontal armor. Only half an hour after the start of the battle 217 was finally put out of action.
The battle at the lake Zhalanashkol is remarkable by that. that in the last minutes both sides used hand grenades against each other. The Chinese from the crest of the height they occupied threw black grenades with thick, for some reason unmasking, white wooden handles at the attacking border guards. In response, Private Viktor Ryazanov managed to throw grenades at the enemy’s enemies. This became the "victory point" in that fierce battle. True, Ryazanov himself was mortally wounded and died in a helicopter on the way to the hospital.
Loss ratio
The losses of the Soviet border guards and border troops of China and the PLA in 1969 battles are as follows. On the island of Damansk 2 March, 31 frontier guard was killed and 20 was injured. The provocateurs lost a minimum of 248 people killed (as many of their corpses were discovered directly on the island after the battle ended). Vitaly Bubenin recalled how March 3 on Damanskiy arrived first deputy chairman of the KGB of the USSR, Colonel-General Zakharov, who personally used the whole island, studied all the circumstances of an unequal fire fight. After that, Zakharov told Lieutenant Bubenin: “Son, I went through a civil war, the Great Patriotic War, the fight against OUN in Ukraine. I saw everything. But I have not seen anything like this! ”By the way, Bubenin and Babansky themselves are still“ modest ”. In a conversation with me, none of them "claimed" the number of Chinese casualties more officially recognized, although it is clear that dozens of corpses remained on Chinese territory, and the losses of the Maoists may well be 350-400 people.
March 15 killed 21 border guard and seven motorized infantry. There were more injured - 42 man. The Chinese have lost more than 700 people. The number of wounded from the Chinese side amounted to several hundred people. In addition, 50 Chinese soldiers and officers were shot for their cowardice.
Two border guards died near the Zhalanashkol lake and about 20 people were injured and contused. The dead Chinese only in the Soviet territory buried a half dozen.
All this suggests that it is not enough to have good weapons (we recall once again: it was about the same among the Soviet border guards and the Maoists), we must also own them perfectly.
Panorama of Damansky Island (shot from a helicopter)
The border guards of the 1 th outpost "Nizhne-Mikhailovka" on an armored troop-carrier, but with "medieval" spears
A map of the Daman region, owned by Colonel D.V. Leonov
At the same time, the 2 battle of March had no analogues in world history and even entered the encyclopedia “Great Battles and Battles of the 20th Century”: Soviet border guards 30, armed mostly with machine guns and machine guns, defeated the Chinese-armed 500 battalion, killing 248 enemy soldiers and officers ...
In general, all these three battles are also a series of debuts in the use of various types. weapons, mainly small, and in the development of tactics of actions with him in specific combat situations.
No rattle in any way
Even before the gates of machine guns clicked on Damanskoye and gunfire sounded, the border guards "went to the Chinese" who massively violated the border then, with homegrown cold arms. To their surprise, they themselves returned to the fact that only prehistoric people used in cave times and men in the course of large and small peasant uprisings. The Museum of Border Troops has characteristic pictures taken in the winter of 1968.
Hero of the Soviet Union, Major-General Vitaly Bubenin (at that time lieutenant, head of the Klebyakiny sopki outpost, 2) told the author of this article about one of the first clashes with violators because of Ussuri. 6 November 1967 g. And a half dozen Chinese took to the ice of the river, began to hammer holes and install networks. As soon as the border guards approached, the uninvited guests quickly gathered in a heap and unequivocally set themselves in front of what the ice broke through, crowbars, axes and axes. They could not be turned out peacefully — they had to use “belly tactics,” as the soldiers themselves called this method. That is, they were taken under the arms and, in an effort to reach the Chinese in a semiring, push them abroad.
Soon, dissatisfied with the sluggish actions of the residents of the frontier, the Chinese organizers of the provocations sent to the Damansky “Mao's oprichniki” - the Red Guards and the zaofani. These are radicals from young people up to the age of 35 who helped the “great helmsman” successfully carry out a cultural revolution, carry out a series of purges. And these fanatics, Bubenin notes, from one provocation to another became more and more violent and fiercer.
It was then that, in order to protect personnel and reduce the risk of injury during force contact, Lieutenant Bubenin I. “invented” spears and clubs. He also described in detail the tactics of actions with them in the book published in 2004 in the publishing houses Border and Kuchkovo Pole, the book Blood Damanskoe, Events 1966-1969. With the permission of the author, we quote:
“The soldiers, with great pleasure and zeal, carried out my command to prepare a new and at the same time most ancient weapon of primitive man. V of each soldier had his own oak or black birch, with a lovingly planed and polished cudgel. And a lanyard is attached to the handle so that it does not fly out of the hands. They were kept in a pyramid with weapons. So, on alert, the soldiers took an automatic rifle and grabbed a cudgel. And as a group weapon used the rattles. In their appearance, tactical and technical data, in terms of their application, they resembled the weapons of Siberian hunters who in ancient times used to go with them to the bear.
At first they helped us out great. When the Chinese perly on us wall, we just put the spears forward, well, just like in medieval battles. The soldiers loved it. Well, if some daredevil did break through, then, excuse me, I voluntarily ran into a club. ”
But the Maoists also changed the tactics of provocations, each made some novelty. Against the frontier bluffs and slings, they “perfected” their stakes and sticks, strengthening them with nails at the ends.
Fire foam and jet
And soon Bubenin applied against violators ... regular fire extinguishers from an armored personnel carrier. He came up with the following: when the BTR caught up with the Chinese, powerful streams of foam suddenly struck at them from the loopholes of one of the sides of the armored vehicle. “The Chinese were literally stunned,” said General Bubenin. - Immediately rushed scatter, but most fell into the wormwood, near which they stood. We got out and, in order not to get frostbite, quickly left the island. True, they had time to mock the BTR from annoyance and anger: they left marks on the sides of the blows with a crowbar, doused them with tar. ”
After some time, Bubenik applied to the restless and ... fire truck. He borrowed it for a time from the district fire chief. While there was no provocation, Lieutenant Bubenin trained his fire brigade for several days. Then - again quote the memories of General Bubenin:
- On that December day, about a hundred Chinese came out on the Ussuri ice. We advanced on their expulsion. Our column had a rather threatening appearance; An armored personnel carrier was ahead, followed by a sparkling fresh red paint ZIL with a huge fire brigade, similar to a gun barrel, a GAZ-66 with guards. The Chinese were definitely shocked ... As usual, they climbed on our soldiers with stakes. And then I gave the command to run away to the fire truck and cover it. At the same time, she roared and a powerful ice jet struck the crowd of Chinese people running after the soldiers from the fire brigade. This was a must see!
Automatic as a club
In February, 1968, a new ice battle took place, in which up to a thousand soldiers had already participated from the Chinese coast of Ussuri near Kirkinsky Island. Border guards were much smaller. Bubenin added the following details to the picture of this “cold battle”: “There was a crackling sound of stakes, butts, skulls and bones ... The soldiers, winding the straps on their hands, fought with what was left of them.”
In this fight, Bubenin first used the APC against an angry mob of Maoists. He acted unconsciously, only feeling that there is no other way out. The situation was on the verge of irreparable, a spark was missing, and so that it did not arise, the head of the outpost jumped into an armored personnel carrier and ordered to send it directly to the Chinese. The car went to the ram of the crowd, cutting off the outrages from the border guards. The Chinese shied away from the powerful wheels and armor in fear, began to scatter ... Silence reigned. The battle was over.
- We looked around, looked around ... - says Bubenin, - Imagine, they fought in such a way that about fifty automata and machine guns became completely useless! From them there were only trunks with belts, the rest - scrap metal.
First shots
In one of the ice battles described, the Chinese from the ambush tried to capture a whole group of border guards. To the rescue of the last rushed soldiers from the reserve.
“At that moment,” recalls General Bubenin, “two pistol shots were fired on the Chinese side.” Immediately snapped shutters of our machines. Fortunately, the soldiers have not yet decided to open fire without a command. And it seemed to me: here, now ... I rushed to them and, shaking my fists, that there was urine, screamed; “Do not shoot-a-o! Fuse set! All back! ”. The barrels of soldiers lowered reluctantly.
For the first time, a warning fire on provocateurs was opened in August of 1968. From the islands mentioned above, the Chinese managed to force out border guards and bring ferries. It was then that machine guns hit the sky, and then mortars were used. With the help of the latter, the ferries were destroyed and the islands were “liberated”.
In January, 1969-th in Damanskiy against the Soviet border guards were no longer acted by the Red Guards, but by the soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA). “During the clashes,” wrote in his historical study “Damansky and Zhalanashkol. 1969 ”military journalist Andrei Musalov, - our border guards managed to repulse several dozen guns. When inspecting weapons, it was found that in some machine guns and carbines the cartridges were sent to the chamber ”... Bubenin in his memoirs clarifies that in one of the fights he and his subordinates managed to get trophies in the form of five X-9957 carbines, AK-47 and pistol "TT", and almost all of them were ready for fire use.
“Without a machine gun on the border, you are zero”
AK-47 Private V.Izotova. This machine gun shot on the Damansky ...
Meanwhile, despite the difficult situation on the border, the diversion of forces to the expulsion of the Chinese people and the elimination of the consequences of provocations, intensive fire training was taking place at 1 and 2.
“My subordinates shot uniquely,” recalls Vitaly Bubenin. - 2-I outpost, where I was the chief, spent on the shooting range around the clock. Shot - went to the service. It was like this: if you shoot a little, then you are reprimanded for it at a meeting, in a detachment. Two or three ammunition for training practice be kind - shoot! Everyone at the outpost knew how to shoot from all standard weapons, including my wife.
One curious incident connected with Bubenin’s wife, Galina, which Vitaly Dmitrievich described in his book “The Blood Snow of Damanskii”, in the summer of 1968, the head of the detachment, Colonel Leonov, arrived at the outpost and decided to see how the young officers live. Asked where Galina, expressed a desire to talk with her. “Coming to the house,” writes Bubenin, “I heard incomprehensible sounds that vaguely resemble hammer blows on a nail. “The spouse does seem to be repairing-”. - "It seems not going." Entering the courtyard, we heard the sounds of shooting from a small-caliber rifle. The arrow was not yet visible, but the cans, hung on the fence fence, were aptly making their way one by one. It became clear to me: my wife was practicing skills in possession of military weapons. ”
In these stories, Bubenin is supplemented by General Yuri Babansky (at the time of the fighting for the island he served on the 1 th outpost):
- A lot of attention was paid to fire training in the Border Guards. Each fired exclusively from his machine gun, and not from one or two brought to the shooting range, as I know, happened then in the units of the Soviet army ... If the border guard at the training point did not learn to shoot accurately enough, then he continues to improve fire training at the outpost. The first thing he does when he arrives at the outpost is to get a machine gun and two stores for him. And he daily cleans the weapon, cherishes it, caresses, shoots him, shoots him. At the outpost, weapons are an integral part of the border guard’s daily life. Understanding that without a machine gun on the border you are zero, everyone who has tried on a green cap, comprehends during combat service. If you happen to be obliged to take the fight and keep the border area until reinforcements arrive. Damansky happened ...
“Tactics of border troops,” the general continues. - based on combat techniques that allow you to save lives. And in the course of the battle, these techniques were used by us — already subconsciously; when they shot at us, we didn’t lie in one place, but quickly changed positions, ran across, rolled, camouflaged, shot back ... And the fact that we won a lot of Chinese forces that are superior to us - I explain only with our combat skills, that our soldiers they knew how to shoot well, superbly owned their weapons! Plus, of course, courage, courage, high moral qualities. But possession of weapons is the most important factor.
Damansky debuts
The last pictures taken by the photographer, Private N. Petrov. In a minute, the Chinese will open fire and Petrov will be killed ...
A group of border guards from the V. Bubenin's outpost (the picture was taken shortly after the battles on Damascus, in the background are seen the armored personnel carriers
Trophy weapons seized in battles on Damansky (SKS carbine and Chinese-made M-22 submachine gun)
The events of 2 and 15 in March of 1969 were described repeatedly in the literature and periodicals, so there is no point in repeating. We only recall that the group of Senior Lieutenant Strelnikov consisting of seven people was shot by the Chinese at close range during the first moments of the battle - not one of these sevens had time to respond with a single bullet. A minute before this, private Nikolai Petrov, who was taking photographs and filming while negotiating with provocateurs, had time to take his last picture. It is clearly visible how the Chinese soldiers disperse into positions ... The March 2 battle began around 11 in the morning and lasted more than an hour and a half ...
The parties acted against each other with practically the same type of small arms — Kalashnikov assault rifles and machine guns (the Chinese, as is well known, during the years of “indestructible friendship between two peoples” acquired the license for the production of the AK-47 machine gun from the Soviet Union). It was on the Damansky Kalashnikov assault rifle, which was already distributed all over the world, for the first time became the main type of weapon used by both opposing sides.
In addition, the Chinese were armed with carbines and grenade launchers.
Let us dwell only on the most remarkable moments of the battle, which have become novelties in the use of weapons.
A group of sergeant Babansky, who followed Strelnikov to intercept offenders, fell behind and accepted the battle after the head of the outpost was killed. In his study, military journalist Andrei Musalov writes that “as a result of intensive shooting, the Babansky group almost completely shot ammunition” (note that in that fight in the pouches, the border guards had two shops, and the Chinese in bras , or “unloading” - six each). Babansky himself told the author of these lines the following:
“When we moved around the island, down below, in 25-30 meters, I saw the negotiators, ours and the Chinese. It was heard that they were talking in a raised voice. I realized that something was wrong, and at that moment I heard a single shot on the island. After that, the Chinese parted and shot all our guys, along with Strelnikov, at point-blank range. And it became clear to me that it was necessary to open fire. I gave the command to my subordinates, who ran after me in a chain: “Fire on the Chinese!” We quickly intuitively felt that if we shoot in bursts - and the 600 machine gun fire rate per minute - we’ll spend the fire in a second, and the Chinese just shoot us . Therefore, they began to shoot single. And - precisely, and not anywhere. And it saved us. We shot at the nearest enemy, because he was for us the most dangerous than the one who hid somewhere far away. We suppressed the firing points of the Chinese, especially machine guns, and this allowed us to reduce the density of their fire, and give us the opportunity to survive.
In general, it is best to shoot a single machine gun. To create a psychological environment, as if to induce panic in the ranks of the enemy, the fire turns in bursts, but in terms of its real damaging power it is ineffective ...
Due to the fact that the weapon was the same type and ammunition from both sides of the same caliber, the border guards in some cases borrowed ammunition from the dead Chinese. The most remarkable episode is connected with the actions of junior sergeant Vasily Kanygin and the cook of the outpost Nikolai Puzyrev. They managed to destroy a large number of Chinese soldiers (they later calculated it was almost a platoon), and at that moment they ran out of ammunition. Puzyrev crawled over to the dead and took from them the six stores mentioned above. This allowed both to continue the fight.
General Babansky, in his conversation with me, also noted the reliability of the weapon:
- Nobody had any failures, despite the fact that the rifles hit the ground, lay in the snow ...
The machine gunner Sergeant Nikolai Tsapaev. who gave an interview to Komsomolskaya Pravda at one time, said the following about his PC machine gun: “I fired at least five thousand shots from my rifle machine gun. The barrel “turned gray”, the paint melted, but the machine gun worked flawlessly. ”
For the first time, armored personnel carriers equipped with KPVT and PKT turret machine guns were used in combat. At the end of the 1960-x these armored personnel carriers were still considered a novelty. BTR-60PB, unlike other modifications, was fully armored. Bubenin, who acted on one of these machines, from the machine guns suppressed the enemy firing points, and crushed the Chinese with wheels. In one of the episodes of the battle, he said, he managed to put a whole infantry company of PLA soldiers who had moved to the island in order to reinforce the offenders who were already leading the battle. When one BTR was shot down, Bubenin moved to another, re-entered it on the Maoists, and destroyed even a fair number of them before this machine was hit by an armor-piercing projectile.
Therefore, already on the 15 of March, PLA soldiers fired, armed with a significant number of hand-held grenade launchers, For here, in order to thwart a new combat provocation, not two armored personnel carriers, but 11, four of which operated directly on the island, and seven were in reserve.
The intensity of the battle can be judged by the memories of the commander of the motivated-manned border group of Lieutenant Colonel Yevgeny Yanshin acting on one of the wheeled armored vehicles: “In my commander’s car there was a continuous rumble, chad. powder smoke. I look, Sulzhenko, who fired from an armored troop-carrier machine gun, threw off the sheepskin coat, then the pea jacket, with one hand undid the gate of the tunic. I see, I jumped up, threw my seat down with my foot, and while standing I poured fire. Without looking around, a hand over a new jar of cartridges stretches. Charging Round only has time to charge the tape. “Don't get excited, I scream, save your ammunition!” I point out to him the targets ... Because of the continuous fire, explosions of mines and shells of the neighboring APCs, it is not visible,. The machine gun fell silent. Sulzhenko was taken aback for a moment. Recharges, presses the electric release - only a single shot follows. He to the lid of the machine gun, opened it, eliminated the fault. Machine guns earned ... "
“Against the border armored personnel carriers,” points out in his book “Damansky and Zhapanashkol. 1969 "Andrei Musalov, - the Chinese have thrown a large number of single-person grenade throwers. They were well camouflaged among the bushes and trees that grew densely on the island. Yanshin singled out from the composition of the landing group of border guards, whose task was to destroy the grenade throwers. Under heavy fire, this group had to seek out grenade throwers, suppress them with small arms and not allow them to approach armored personnel carriers at a distance of an RPG shot. Such tactics gave the result - the fire from the RPG decreased. To reduce the likelihood of defeat, the APCs did not stop maneuvering for a minute, moving from one natural shelter to another. At critical moments, when the threat of destruction of armored personnel carriers increased, Yanshin deployed paratroopers in a chain. They, together with the crew of the BTR, inflicted fire damage on the enemy. After that, the paratroopers boarded an armored personnel carrier and proceeded to the next shelter. The armored personnel carriers, in which the ammunition ended, came out of the battlefield, moved to the Soviet coast of Ussuri, where a point of supply was organized. Replenishing the stock, fighting vehicles again went to the Damansky. With every minute the enemy increased the density of mortar fire. At the same time, the border guards from the “heavy” weapons had only LNG-9 heavy-duty grenade launchers and KPVS heavy machine guns.
In total, in the battle, the Chinese managed to knock out and completely disable three armored personnel carriers of the border guards, but all the vehicles directly involved in the battle had more or less damage. The main fire weapon that was used against the armored personnel carriers was the RPG-2 hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher. Mao’s army commanders threw up to a dozen individual grenade launchers against each armored personnel carrier. As noted by Musapov, “despite the fact that Chinese grenade launchers, manufactured like the rest of Chinese weapons, according to Soviet technology, were inferior to Soviet models, they turned out to be very formidable weapons. Later it was convincingly proved in the course of the Arab-Israeli conflicts. ”
Later that day, against the Chinese, Tanks T-62. However, the Chinese were ready for their meeting. On the path of the tank group, they disguised several anti-tank guns. There were many grenade launchers in ambush. The head vehicle was hit immediately, the crew trying to leave it was destroyed by rifle fire. Colonel Democrat Leonov, the head of the border detachment located in this T-62, died from a sniper bullet that hit his heart. The remaining tanks were forced to withdraw. (see details on the T-62 tank wrecked on Damansky Island)
The outcome of the case finally decided the fire debut of the army battalion of the BM-21 volley fire "Grad", which hit the Chinese deep into their territory on 20 km. At that time, the super secret, “Grad”, during 10 (according to other 30 data), produced several volleys of high-explosive fragmentation ammunition. The defeat was impressive - almost all the reserves, warehouses and enemy ammunition facilities were destroyed. For half an hour the Chinese were bothering the island with fire until they finally calmed down.
Zhalanashkol
Events in the area of Lake Zhalanashkol in August 1969 (in the literature they are also described in some detail) in terms of the use of weapons and military equipment here were distinguished by more verified tactics of Chinese military personnel. By that time, they already had not only the bloody experience of Damansky, but also the lessons of bloodless military provocations in the area of the village of Dulaty (Kazakhstan) 2-18 in May and in the area of the Tasty River 10 in June (also Kazakhstan).
Participants of the fighting on the Kamennaya hill (Zhalanashkol, August 1969)
Trophy Chinese gun "model 51". 7,62 caliber mm, kg weight 0.85, store capacity 8 patr.
Under Dulatami, as Candidate of Military Sciences Colonel Yury Zavatsky described the events in the magazine “Veteran of the Border” (No.3 / 1999), the Chinese defiantly began digging in the hills located on Soviet territory. The Soviet military command also demonstratively pulled Grades here. And within two weeks, both sides, improving their positions and conducting reconnaissance, were in a psychological confrontation. The Chinese soon realized that “there is no arguing against the Grads” and after the negotiations they left the so-called contested area. In the area of the river Tasty, as described by the Musalov skirmish, the fire opened. Here, the border guards expelled the shepherd, defiantly drove a flock of sheep across the border. The first closures were distorted by Chinese armed cavalrymen, providing for the shepherd’s actions, they were helped from two more directions, including from the dominant height in Chinese territory. But the calculation of the machine gun soldiers Viktor Shchyugarev and Mikhail Boldyrev suppressed all the firing points at this height with accurate fire. And then both were stopped by fire and a raid by an armed Maoist group. It is not known whether the Chinese gathered corpses, but the Soviet "green hats" reflected this provocation without loss.
And in August, events broke out at Zhalanashkol. Here the tactics of the struggle of the Chinese against the armored personnel carriers received further development. At night, the Maoists managed to dig in three hills on the Soviet side, which they considered to be "originally Chinese." In the morning they began to send reinforcements to occupied positions. In order to prevent the movement of the armed forces of the enemy, the chief of staff of the detachment in charge of this area, Lieutenant Colonel Nikitenko, moved to intercept three armored personnel carriers. To the demands of Lieutenant Yevgeniy Govor, the head of the Zhalanashkol outpost, to leave the territory, the Chinese immediately responded with fire from machine guns and carbines. While the situation was reported to the “tops” (and there it was, as in the cases on Damansky, perebutblili from chief to chief), the enemy continued to dig in. And then Nikitenko decided to attack him on armored personnel carriers with the support of the assault groups.
At one of them, at number 217, which moved to the flank of enemy positions, PLA soldiers concentrated the most dense fire. BTR was very tenacious. All external equipment was demolished with bullets and splinters, wheels were riddled, armor was punched in several places, the tower was wedged from a grenade rupture. The lieutenant lieutenant Vladimir Puchkov, the platoon commander of the maneuverable group, who was sitting behind a machine gun, was wounded in the thigh, but, bandaging the wound, continued to fire. To the rescue of 217, three more wheeled armored vehicles rushed. It was then that the Chinese grenade launchers showed themselves most actively: the experience of the Damansky was not for nothing. (Incidentally, after the battle among the Chinese corpses, one was discovered who was awarded a sign with a portrait of Mao Zedong during his lifetime. Under the image of the "Great Helmsman" it appeared that the award was granted "in honor of the victorious reflection of the aggression of the Soviet revisionists on Zhenbaodao island". Since The Chinese in their own way called - and now call - who went to them, according to the agreements with Russia of 1990, the island of Damansky.
One of the grenade throwers, who had approached a dangerous distance to an armored troop-carrier, was struck down by the gunner junior sergeant Vladimir Zavoronitsyn, who had hit the enemy with on-board machine guns. The frontier armored personnel carriers constantly maneuvered back and forth, while allowing the Maoist grenade launchers to conduct aimed fire. In this case, the drivers tried to keep to the enemy with the thickest frontal armor. Only half an hour after the start of the battle 217 was finally put out of action.
The battle at the lake Zhalanashkol is remarkable by that. that in the last minutes both sides used hand grenades against each other. The Chinese from the crest of the height they occupied threw black grenades with thick, for some reason unmasking, white wooden handles at the attacking border guards. In response, Private Viktor Ryazanov managed to throw grenades at the enemy’s enemies. This became the "victory point" in that fierce battle. True, Ryazanov himself was mortally wounded and died in a helicopter on the way to the hospital.
Loss ratio
The losses of the Soviet border guards and border troops of China and the PLA in 1969 battles are as follows. On the island of Damansk 2 March, 31 frontier guard was killed and 20 was injured. The provocateurs lost a minimum of 248 people killed (as many of their corpses were discovered directly on the island after the battle ended). Vitaly Bubenin recalled how March 3 on Damanskiy arrived first deputy chairman of the KGB of the USSR, Colonel-General Zakharov, who personally used the whole island, studied all the circumstances of an unequal fire fight. After that, Zakharov told Lieutenant Bubenin: “Son, I went through a civil war, the Great Patriotic War, the fight against OUN in Ukraine. I saw everything. But I have not seen anything like this! ”By the way, Bubenin and Babansky themselves are still“ modest ”. In a conversation with me, none of them "claimed" the number of Chinese casualties more officially recognized, although it is clear that dozens of corpses remained on Chinese territory, and the losses of the Maoists may well be 350-400 people.
March 15 killed 21 border guard and seven motorized infantry. There were more injured - 42 man. The Chinese have lost more than 700 people. The number of wounded from the Chinese side amounted to several hundred people. In addition, 50 Chinese soldiers and officers were shot for their cowardice.
Two border guards died near the Zhalanashkol lake and about 20 people were injured and contused. The dead Chinese only in the Soviet territory buried a half dozen.
All this suggests that it is not enough to have good weapons (we recall once again: it was about the same among the Soviet border guards and the Maoists), we must also own them perfectly.
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