Battle of Lào Cai
1979 battle of the Sino-Vietnamese War
The Battle of Lào Cai was fought between Chinese and Vietnamese forces during the Sino-Vietnamese War. Though the Chinese sustained heavy losses in fighting, they were successful in capturing and occupying the city of Lào Cai and the surrounding towns.
Planning and order of battle
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Kunming Military Region took responsibility for Chinese operations in Lào Cai direction, which involved the 11th and 13th Armies from the Kunming Military Region itself, and the 14th Army from the Chengdu Military Region, totaling about 125,000 troops. The three armies was followed by the reserve 149th Division of the 50th Army, as well as many support units, including the 4th Artillery and the 65th Anti-Aircraft Divisions. The invasion comprised three prongs of advances: while the 11th Army was assigned to attack Phong Thổ before hooking up to Sapa and Lào Cai from the west, the 14th Army was ordered to take Mường Khương and move against Lào Cai from the east; the central thrust was undertaken by the 13th Army, targeting Lào Cai itself, as well as the township of Cam Đường to the south.
For the Vietnamese side, historians believe that the defense of the Hoàng Liên Sơn Province (modern-day Lào Cai and Yên Bái provinces) was conducted by several regiments of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA), some of which consisted of the regular 345th and 316th Divisions. The 345th, which had originally been an economic construction unit transformed into a combat division, took responsibility for defending Bảo Thắng, while the elite 316th was garrisoned in the Bình Lư area. These two regular divisions were backed up by some 20,000 troops from regional and militia units, including the 192nd and 254th Regiments of Lào Cai province, one artillery battalion and eight infantry battalions of its districts, as well as the 16th Regiment, some companies and about a dozen border stations of the Armed Police. All Vietnamese forces on the Western Wing were under the command of the 2nd Military Region led by Major General Vũ Lập.
Battle
The battle began before the dawn of 17 February by a Chinese artillery barrage against Vietnamese positions.
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