(History) USSR assistance to Vietnam in the war against the USA

[Russian Bear]

Parts of the page were translated from Russian to English using Google Translate by Russian Bear

Only in 1961 - 1965, the Soviet Union provided Vietnam with 130 guns and mortars, 1.4 thousand machine guns, 54 thousand small arms (A.V. Okorokov. Secret Wars of the USSR). Subsequently, the Vietnamese People's Army received MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighters, IL-28 bombers, T-54 tanks, and SA-75 Dvina air defense systems (I.Ya. Kuminov. Soviet military-technical assistance to Vietnam during the war). By 1965, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam received 340 million rubles free of charge from the Soviet Union; weapons, ammunition and other material resources were supplied. Soviet military specialists helped Vietnam master military equipment.
At the request of Vietnam for help, Soviet military soldiers were sent from the USSR. According to the operational directorate of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces, there are 6,359 generals and officers, 4.5 thousand sergeants and privates who shot down American planes and controlled air defense and aviation, while simultaneously teaching the Vietnamese military how to handle Soviet equipment. 13 people were officially declared dead. Every day of this nine-year war cost the USSR 2 million dollars.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=R7y30-pRKcE

The American command strictly forbade shelling Soviet ships and transport, since such actions could provoke the outbreak of the Third World War, however, it was the Soviet military-economic machine that was opposed to the Americans. “We are destroying the infrastructure of Vietnam, bombing power plants and roads. However, we are prohibited from dropping bombs on ships on which the Soviet Union delivers missiles” - from the memoirs of American pilots. Two thousand tanks, seven hundred light and maneuverable aircraft, seven thousand mortars and guns, more than a hundred helicopters and much more were supplied by the USSR as free friendly assistance to Vietnam. Almost the entire air defense system of the country, which was later assessed by the enemy as impassable for any type of fighter, was built at the expense of the USSR, by Soviet specialists. The armament of the warring state took place under the most difficult conditions of constant bombing and open robbery by China. Over ten thousand Vietnamese were sent to the Union to undergo military training and learn how to use Soviet modern technology. According to various estimates, supporting friendly Vietnam cost the USSR budget from one and a half to two million dollars daily.
The Americans knew very well where the Soviet camps were located, so while there were no active hostilities, they were tolerant of the Russians. Occasionally, flying planes dropped leaflets indicating the time of the bombing and inviting the Russians to leave the danger zone.
The Americans' sense of complete impunity ended with a shock on July 25, 1964. This was the first battle between Soviet anti-aircraft gunners and American aircraft. On this day, three planes were destroyed by three missiles near Hanoi. The Americans experienced such horror that they did not fly for two weeks. The Vietnamese shamelessly speculated on help from the USSR and even exposed Soviet ships to attack.
Even after the withdrawal of American troops from the territory of Indochina, Soviet troops maintained their presence to achieve other military goals, only this time the Cold War. Their task was to control the movement of ships of the US and Chinese navies in the Pacific and Indian oceans. This was an important component in defending the military and political interests of the Soviet Union.

[Jim_Duyer]

When China soon asks Russia to team up with them against the USA, I hope that Russia will remember that they would do far better in the long run to work with us in the future.

[Russian Bear]

Russia has never had friends except the army and navy. The time will come when China will attack Russia, there are prophecies about it. Even America will be afraid of China. So Russia and USA will have to unite.