Description

On 2 March 1969, a Chinese army detachment made a surprise attack on the Soviet border guards in the area of Damansky Island on the Ussuri River, resulting in more than 50 deaths amongst the belligerents. Further clashes along the entire Sino-Soviet border – from Primorye to Central Asia – occurred in the following weeks and months. Although smaller in scale than the Damansky events, men still died in them and shooting on Damansky Island continued practically into mid-September.  The first volume of this two-part mini-series examines the historical and political precursors of the 1969 events and the battle of 2 March 1969. Principal attention is focused on a detailed chronological description of the first battle battle, Soviet and Chinese tactics, the weapons used and the fate of the men involved. Due to a wider lack of willingness to discuss events on the part of the governments of Russia and the PRC, the authors have relied on finding veterans of the battles and obtaining from them documentary evidence of those distant events. The authors believe that this study is the most detailed and objective work on the 1969 Sino-Soviet border war to date.  Illustrated throughout.