THE SINO-SOVIET BORDER WAR OF 1969 VOLUME 1

The victory of the communists in the Chinese Civil War resulted in the formation of a new socialist state in Asia – the People’s Republic of China – soon recognised and assisted by the Soviet Union. After Stalin’s death, however, relations between Moscow and Beijing began to rapidly deteriorate. With the beginning of the so-called ‘cultural revolution’ in the PRC, the disagreements intensified. Economic failures and social chaos forced the PRC’s leadership to seek to divest itself of the responsibility for what had taken place and organised a military conflict on the border with the Soviet Union to mobilise and rally the Chinese people around them.

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.

"Another very interesting read on a minor and rarely mentioned conflict. [...] An excellent if thin book on a limited subject that had far-reaching consequences. Recommended for armchair historians, wargamers and model-makers." Scale Military Modelling

"Give the authors credit for micro details of just about every soldier on the Soviet side and practically a second-by-second account of the action. It's obvious a lot of research labor went into the book." The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society

"As noted, this is the first volume covering this conflict. The authors have done an incredible amount of research on the subject and not only provide a ton of detail about the event and its aftermath, but also provide a great historical background of what led up to these events. The book provides a number of excellent photos and maps to help you with the sequence of events." ModellingMadness.com

"This is an excellent detailed book on this period of unstable relations between the two great communist ideologies who were at loggerheads and which is largely unknown. Highly recommended." Britmodeller.com

"Since many modelers are amateur military historians, I imagine that this will be a welcome addition to their libraries." IPMS/USA