(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.

Documentary film, view from the Russian side:

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.

The Vietnam War is an example of how the US (a civilized country) fights



We will not talk about just any war, but about a war waged by a state whose leadership today, as they say, cannot sleep or eat because people are dying in the country of the blue and yellow flag. They are very worried. Very! At least, that is what they tell the average person.

The United States has participated in a ton of military conflicts since 1945. Well, how did they participate?

NOBODY HAS EVER THREATENED THE TERRITORY OF THE USA.

This is practically impossible, given their geographical location and the presence of nuclear weapons, which they demonstrated in Japanese cities immediately after their creation.


Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and 9, 1945)

Therefore, the US simply, without any threat to their territory, attacked this or that country for some reason.

Although the reason, in general, is naturally clear - these are resources and the establishment of the dollar's power, so that it would be possible to rob the entire world.

But of all the wars organized by the Americans, the Vietnam War is worth mentioning separately. Since this is not a short-term armed conflict, but a full-fledged war of the United States with the Vietnamese people, who are 12 thousand km away from them.

But since it was the Americans who exterminated the Vietnamese people, then in civilized Europe this was considered, and is still considered, the norm - after all, no one, except the totalitarian USSR, condemned the Americans for this. So this is what the civilized world had to do.

And now a little history and interesting facts.

Every time, as "hawk" politicians, i.e. supporters of aggressive actions in the United States propose to intervene in events in some country or to start another war, anti-war Americans remind them: "Do you want a second Vietnam?"



This was the case
⚠️ in 1999 during the Yugoslav conflict,
⚠️ in 2001 in Afghanistan,
⚠️ in 2003 in Iraq,
⚠️ in 2011 during the Libyan events.

The thing is that the long war in Vietnam lasted 9 years - from 1964 to 1975 and ended with a poorly concealed defeat for the United States. But in fact, this conflict lasted longer - from 1955 to 1975.

On the morning of April 30, 1975, tanks with five-pointed stars on their towers entered the capital of South Vietnam - Saigon. They were supported by detachments of Viet Cong guerrillas. The red flag of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam with a yellow star was raised above the palace, and the city was soon renamed Ho Chi Minh City, in honor of the communist who founded the North Vietnamese state. That is, the communists won, and they rule Vietnam to this day.

At that time, the US troops had already left the country three years ago. They were forced to do so by mounting losses and anti-war protests in their own country.

How it was is very instructive to remember every time another war breaks out on the planet.

VIETNAM, FRANCE
At the beginning of the 20th century, Vietnam, along with neighboring Laos and Cambodia, were colonies of France.



During World War II, these lands of Indochina were occupied by the Japanese. But when the guns died down and the samurai and their soldiers laid down their arms, the Vietnamese made it clear that they were not happy about the return of the colonizers.

In 1945, a democratic republic was proclaimed in the northern Vietnamese city of Hanoi, headed by 55-year-old underground fighter Ho Chi Minh, who graduated from the Communist University of the Toilers of the East in the Soviet Union.

The French, of course, did not recognize the new state and tried to take the country back by force. The future famous French actor Alain Delon served in the punitive troops that arrived from Europe.

“We were not given a rest… If someone had a fever, you couldn’t even think about going to the first aid station. We were being prepared to be turned into cannon fodder,” recalled one of the future star’s colleagues.

Alain Delon did not want to fight. He broke the rules so often that he was transferred to a disciplinary company in the city of Saigon. He spent his days loading rice on the dock and returned to the guardhouse in the evening. However, he later recalled: "This time allowed me to become who I became later and who I am now." From March to May 1954, French troops fought heavy battles in northern Vietnam against the national liberation movement of this country and were eventually surrounded. The French government sued for peace and agreed to recognize the independence of Vietnam. But when leaving, the French divided the country into two parts. In order not to give the communists power over the entire territory, South Vietnam was created - a state south of the 17th parallel.


In order not to give the communists power over the entire territory, South Vietnam was created - a state south of the 17th parallel
While Hanoi was the capital of the north, Saigon became the capital of the south.

A similar situation was already in Germany, divided into the FRG and the GDR,


Germany, divided into the FRG and the GDR

and Korea, which had just ended a war.


North and South Korea

The division of Vietnam and the beginning of the war

So, like the previously mentioned countries, such as Germany and Korea, Vietnam was divided into two ideologically different territories. As was said, France divided Vietnam in order to somehow retain its influence in the country. For what purpose - it is clear, to continue to rob it.

In the West by this time, which included France, the hegemon had already clearly formed - the United States, which pushed France aside and began to fulfill its role as colonizers in the south of Vietnam, trying to suppress pro-communist sentiments and the further liberation struggle, which, naturally, was supported by the Soviet Union.

Saigon, i.e. the south, was immediately flooded with different people from across the ocean - some were engaged in trade (largely - drug trafficking), others - in buying up antiquities, others - in espionage.

The atmosphere of those days is perfectly described in Graham Greene's story "The Quiet American", twice filmed in Hollywood. Its main character, the English journalist Fowler, tells a friend from the USA, who supposedly arrived in Saigon on a humanitarian mission, but in fact leads the local military: "Do you think General The wouldn't have carried out a sabotage? It would be much more advantageous than a parade! Dead women and children - that's a sensation! The entire world press will scream about what happened." In 1955, in the south of Vietnam, which was under the West, guerrilla units of the Viet Cong movement appeared, using red North Vietnamese flags.


Soviet military specialists and Vietnamese anti-aircraft gunners in Nam Dinh Province, 1965.

It was from this moment that the real war began.

That is, the war began because the Vietnamese simply organized a liberation struggle for their territory from the occupiers. What impudence!

The US was constantly increasing the number of its citizens in South Vietnam - now real intelligence officers, military advisers, and anti-guerrilla specialists.

President John Kennedy said in 1961: “They do not fire missiles. Their troops are rarely seen. They send weapons, agitators, aid, equipment, and propaganda into all troubled areas… This is a battle for minds and souls, as well as for lives and territory. And in this competition, we cannot remain on the sidelines.”

During his presidency, the number of “advisers” with US passports in South Vietnam increased from 1 to 23 thousand.

Open US intervention

In August 1964, the US aircraft carrier Maddox, which had entered the Gulf of Tonkin and approached the Vietnamese coast for electronic reconnaissance, was attacked by three Vietnamese boats. They fired torpedoes at it, and F-8 aircraft took off from the carrier and drove the boats away. This "Tonkin incident" was used by the US as a pretext for direct intervention in the war with the Vietnamese.

At the same time, Viet Cong guerrillas attacked an American base in the south of the country for the first time.

Here I will remind you once again: Vietnam is 12 thousand kilometers from the US!

Since the beginning of 1965, President Lyndon Johnson, re-elected for a new term, began sending to Vietnam not "advisers", but real military units to fight the guerrillas. The number of US troops in Vietnam increased to 184,000 by the end of his rule.

The US military behaved so arrogantly that even South Vietnamese officers, i.e. collaborators - US allies, began to run away from the service.

US General Norman Schwarzkopf later recalled how they talked to these supposed allies: "We pushed them aside, saying: "Get out of the way, little yellow-faced brother. The good guys are already here, the cavalry is here, now we are going to go out of town and defeat the Indians, so you just get out." It was a terrible mistake! "

In addition, on March 2, 1965, the Americans began air raids on the north of the Asian country, i.e. the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which they themselves recognized. This operation was called "Rolling Thunder". Bombs fell on port piers, Vietnamese airfields, and cities, including the capital Hanoi. Both soldiers and civilians perished. That is, the war was waged not only against the partisans who sympathized with the North, but also against the North itself. A country that Western countries themselves recognized.

Why? Just to intimidate. They did the same with the Japanese, Germans, and Arabs in Iraq. That's how they fight.

Against this background, the Soviet government decided to help Vietnam in the air war against the United States. Soviet anti-aircraft gunners and pilots went to Vietnam. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam received 95 S-75 Desna anti-aircraft missile systems and almost 8,000 missiles for them.


The Democratic Republic of Vietnam received 95 S-75 Desna anti-aircraft missile systems and almost 8,000 missiles for them
In addition, 687 tanks were delivered to Vietnam by cargo ships. 316 MiG-17, MiG-21 and Su-17 aircraft arrived in North Vietnam partly by sea and partly by air. These were quite modern machines for those times.

The first battle of the anti-aircraft gunners who arrived from the Union and American pilots took place on July 24, 1965. And soon there were the first victories.

As is known, at that time it was the height of the Cold War, which the West declared on the USSR after the Soviet government refused to recognize the power of the dollar, not ratifying the Bretton Woods Agreement. Therefore, helping the Vietnamese communists was quite logical.

By the way, there are many legends about the participation of Soviet soldiers in this war. One of which is reflected in the popular song "Phantom", when an American pilot asks the Vietnamese:
"Who is that pilot who shot me down?", and he
Answered the slanted one
Who commanded the interrogation
You were shot down by our pilot Li Si Tsin (i.e. Lisitsyn)

Senator McCain in captivity

One of the famous US politicians in the 21st century, who fiercely hated Russia, Senator John McCain, was a pilot during the Vietnam War.


John McCain, was a pilot during the Vietnam War
On October 26, 1967, he flew out to bomb a power plant in Hanoi and was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile from the S-75 complex. McCain ejected and glided by parachute into a fountain in the center of the North Vietnamese capital, breaking both arms and a leg. During interrogation, he gave only brief information about himself, but the Vietnamese guessed from his last name that he was a relative of Admiral McCain. Even a French journalist was allowed to see him, who saw him gray-haired and having lost 26 kilograms of weight.

The future senator spent five and a half years in captivity and was released only after the signing of peace agreements.

In 2009, while traveling through Asian countries, he even visited his former cell.

Anti-war movement in the USA

In the United States, from the very beginning of its army's entry into the war, an anti-war movement emerged. At first, it was a few pacifist intellectuals and hippie vagabonds. But then, as the number of killed increased, hundreds of thousands of people began to speak out against the war.



In 1967, pacifists in the United States held a "march on the Pentagon", when 100 thousand young people came to Washington to protest against the war and the draft.

Soon the first data appeared about the war crimes of the US troops in Vietnam - the murder of civilians and inhumane methods of warfare.

The resonance was caused by the use of defoliants - chemicals that cause leaves to fall on trees so that guerrillas could not hide in the jungle.

☢️ During the war, the US Army sprayed 72 million liters of defoliants on the territory of South Vietnam to destroy forests.

☢️ In addition - and other poisons, which, entering the human body with water and food, caused various liver and blood diseases, mass congenital malformations of newborns and disruptions in the normal course of pregnancy.

After the use of defoliants by the American military after the war, several tens of thousands of people died.

In total, there are about 4.8 million victims of defoliant spraying in Vietnam.
Not only areas of South Vietnam were exposed to chemical influence, but also neighboring Laos and Cambodia.

The American military also
☢️ used gases;
☢️ caused artificial cloud formation and acid rain, using ☢️ cloud treatment with chemicals and acidification of the atmosphere;
☢️ sprayed chemicals that caused severe fires in the jungle

By the way, as a result of the use of prohibited chemical weapons by the Americans, about 400,000 people died in Vietnam.

The weapons that the US used were banned back in 1925. That is, it is clear that if the Americans treated their Vietnamese allies as second-class citizens, then they were extremely cruel to their opponents. This is quite comparable to the actions of the Nazis! They destroyed not only people, but also the nature of Vietnam.

The large-scale use of chemicals by American troops led to serious consequences:
⚠️ mangrove forests were almost completely destroyed (500 thousand hectares),
⚠️ 60% (about 1 million hectares) of jungles were affected and
⚠️ 30% (more than 100 thousand hectares) of lowland forests.
⚠️ Since 1960, the yield of rubber plantations has decreased by 75%.
⚠️ American troops destroyed from 40 to 100% of crops:
- bananas,
- rice,
- sweet potatoes,
- papaya,
- tomatoes,
- 70% of coconut plantations,
- 60% of rubber trees,
- 110 thousand hectares of casuarina plantations.

As a result of the use of chemicals, the ecological balance of Vietnam has seriously changed:



In the affected areas,
⚠️ out of 150 bird species, 18 remained,
⚠️ amphibians and insects almost completely disappeared,
⚠️ the number of fish in the rivers decreased and
⚠️ the composition of the rivers changed;
⚠️ the microbiological composition of the soil was disrupted,
⚠️ plants were poisoned;
⚠️ the number of tree and shrub species of the tropical rainforest sharply decreased: in the affected areas, only a few species of trees and several species of thorny grasses remained that were not suitable for cattle feed.

☢️ In general, the United States was not only the first to use nuclear weapons against civilians, they were the first to use scorched earth tactics, using chemical and environmental weapons.

☢️In addition, the Americans burned villages with napalm, a substance that could not be extinguished if it caught fire on a person's clothing.

☢️ In March 1968, US troops committed a mass murder of civilians in the village of Song My.
⚠️ More than 500 residents were killed,
⚠️ all buildings were burned,
⚠️ livestock and
⚠️ crops were destroyed.

Later, only one soldier was found guilty by an American court!

Of course, North Vietnamese soldiers also committed war crimes. For example, after the battle at Hill 1338 in June 1967, they finished off 43 wounded and captured Americans with shots to the head.
But unlike the Americans, they were fighting for their lives on their own soil against a foreign army.

Well, in general, everyone knows how Americans fight since World War II.

In addition to using nuclear weapons against the civilian population of Japan, it is important to note that during the entire Second World War, 4 million civilians in Germany were killed. So, of these 4 million civilians, 3 million were killed by Anglo-American bombings. This is 3 times more than the military of Hitler's Germany and its allies destroyed by them during the entire Second World War.

In general, to be honest, the main war then was Europe against the USSR, where 1 million civilians in Germany died as a result of military actions.

Afterwards, Britain and the United States simply decided to join the victory and killed 3 million civilians with their bombings. This is not counting the Japanese. This is how the Americans fight. Including in Vietnam.

As for the position of the Soviet Union in that war, Stalin said: "Hitlers come and go, but the German people remain."

So, US Defense Department analyst Daniel Ellsberg, having served as a Marine in Vietnam and having seen the horrors that were happening there, later took a secret report about US policy in Vietnam from his job at the Pentagon and in 1971 gave it to journalists. And they published it.

Ellsberg had to sue the government for several years and prove that it had done more harm to the country with its policy than he had done with his publication of the report. Oddly enough, the court sided with him and the journalists.

In the early 1970s, rock festivals, ethnic holidays, demonstrations and rallies in cities were already being held against the war in Vietnam.



In the early 1970s, rock festivals, ethnic holidays, demonstrations and rallies in cities were already being held against the Vietnam War.
Famous people of the world created the "Russell Tribunal" to morally condemn Americans fighting in a foreign country. It included world celebrities.

Military operations and heavy losses

The leadership of the American army, understanding the unpopularity of the war, sought to end it by defeating the communist guerrillas in South Vietnam and destroying the cities of North Vietnam.

American units launched offensives in the jungle twice: in 1965-1967 and in 1968. The US Army managed to take control of the roads, but the guerrillas laid "Viet Cong trails" through the mountains and through the neighboring country of Laos, along which they dragged weapons and ammunition by hand, transported them on carts and pack donkeys. While the Americans were winning in open battles, they were unable to cope with the partisans.

In 1969, the Vietnamese President of the DRV Ho Chi Minh died. But this did not affect the course of the war, nor did the human losses of the communists. They were ready for such sacrifices. Their motivation was high.

But American society was not ready for large losses in a distant Asian war. In total, 58 thousand US servicemen were killed, missing, died of wounds and diseases from 1964-1973 (47 thousand in battles, 11 thousand from diseases and other causes). There were 303 thousand wounded, and many of them returned to America as cripples and served there as living evidence of the uselessness of the war.

Two communist offensives from north to south in 1968 and 1972 led to a complete revolution in the minds of Americans: "We have been fighting for many years, but we are not succeeding!" - even those who initially advocated war shouted. They changed their position radically.

In 1969, when the US president changed and the Republicans led by Richard Nixon came to power, a course was proclaimed for the "Vietnamization of the war": let some Vietnamese, i.e. American puppets, fight with others, and we need to leave.

As practice has shown more than once later, the withdrawal of American troops from anywhere in the 21st century leads to filling the "vacuum". This happened in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And in fact, the withdrawal from Vietnam itself was similar to the flight from Afghanistan.
There is a famous photo on the Internet where the Americans and their vassals, fleeing, throw a helicopter off a ship - a working, normal one, to make room for people.



The famous photo of the Americans and their vassals escaping, throwing a helicopter off a ship to make room for the people
But naturally, this did not help, as in Afghanistan, the native collaborators tried to escape to the USA, but they were simply pushed out of the transport.

Withdrawal of troops and defeat

Between 1971 and 1973, American units were withdrawn from Vietnam more and more, until by the time the peace agreement between North Vietnam and the USA was signed in Paris, there were only 24 thousand of them left.

The document on the complete withdrawal was signed on January 27, 1973.

After that, the communists continued the fight - the partisans in the south received constant assistance from the north.

And in 1974, the US Congress decided to reduce military aid to South Vietnam - and soon its army began to retreat.

In December 1974, the North Vietnamese army crossed the border and began an offensive. Five generals who served as Americans committed suicide, and on April 30, 1975, the communists raised the red flag over Saigon.

This is how the story of the Americans' attempt to curb the Vietnamese ended.

In essence, the United States lost to a small nation with a traditional system, while having hundreds of times more resources and the most modern technologies, using vile methods and prohibited weapons.

The war was waged, as was said, for a zone of influence. The Americans, having covered thousands of kilometers, killed about 5 million Vietnamese so that they could continue to exploit them and use them in their geopolitical interests. This is how Western civilization works, which today talks about humanism and democracy.

❌Unfortunately, no one was punished for what they did.
❌In addition, the American state has since started numerous wars around the world, naturally choosing a weaker opponent who cannot fight back.

This is how Americans fight.

[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.

Everyone we were friends with always betrayed us. Only our Army and Navy saved us – they are true friends.

[Russian Bear]

Vietnam War, I edited the article. https://projectavalon.net/forum4/sho...=1#post1663757

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=_BTHEi4xxOE

Lyrics
I'm running on the scorched earth
Having slammed my helmet shut on the go
My "Phantom" is a white arrow
On the spread wing
Gains altitude with a roar
My "Phantom" is a white arrow
On the spread wing
Gains altitude with a roar
I see the blue distance
It's just a pity to disturb it
It's a pity that you don't see it
Our path is difficult and far
My "Phantom" is rushing to the east
I make a left turn
I'm now an executioner, not a pilot
I bend over the sight
And the missiles rush to the target
I make another approach
I see a white line in the sky
My "Phantom" is losing altitude
A catapult is salvation
And the tension on the lines
My heart in my heels, I go into a tailspin
I just landed, in at the same moment
A wild cry came from the bushes
Yellow-faced Vietnamese
Squealing in the bushes like hares
I fell to the ground and fell silent
Again I walk on the damned land
No helmet on my head
A machine gun barrel from behind
Soldiers are poking me in the back
My life is hanging by a thread
Who is the pilot who shot me down
I asked one Vietnamese
The slanted one answered
Who commanded the interrogation
Our pilot Lee Si Tsin* shot you down
It is you, Vietnamese, who are lying in vain
I clearly heard in the helmet -
Kolya, press, and I will cover
Slava, hit, and I will cover the tail
Russian ace Ivan shot me down
Somewhere in the distance, my native Texas
My father and mother are waiting for me at home
My "Phantom" exploded quickly
In the blue sky and pure
Now I will not see you anymore
My "Phantom" exploded quickly
In the blue and clear sky
Now I will not see you anymore

Lee Si Tsin* (Lisitsyn is a Russian surname, if you split it it looks like Vietnamese names. The American phantom was shot down by a Russian soldier)

[Russian Bear]

How Soviet military specialists fought against the Americans in the Vietnam War. USSR vs. USA.



A little background


Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 1890 – September 2, 1969) was a Vietnamese revolutionary, statesman, politician, military leader and party leader. A follower of Marxism-Leninism, he was the first president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the founder of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (Viet Cong) (1960). He was the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the South Vietnamese FDR in the Vietnam War in 1964–1969.

In September, the year of the capitulation of Nazism and Japanese militarism, the formation of the 2nd people's state in Asia was announced - the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The country was headed by the communist leader Ho Chi Minh.

The current situation radically changed the geopolitical situation in the region. But the European imperialists did not plan to give up their positions and give up their colonies without a fight. And after some time, a French expeditionary corps landed on the shores of Vietnam.


Vietnam landing of French paratroopers.

But the Vietnamese, who had managed to breathe the air of freedom, gave the aggressors a fierce rebuff. The final turning point in the war came in 1954, after the battle of Dien Bien Phu. The war, which had become sickening to the French soldiers, and the constant anti-war protests in France itself forced the French Government to negotiate. The same scenario would repeat itself a little later, but with the Americans.


April 1954. Geneva. Representatives of Vietnam and France signed agreements.

On the initiative of the USSR, in April 1954, a treaty was signed in Geneva recognizing the independence of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. As a result of the peace treaty, Vietnam was divided into two parts: North Vietnam under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh and South Vietnam, led by Ngo Dinh Diem. After some time, the puppet of the West, Diem, lost even the appearance of popularity in South Vietnam, and a guerrilla war broke out in this territory. Soon, these hostilities escalated into a large-scale war.

In the North, the Communist Party ruled the country. The National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam also supported the communists. And the so-called Puppet Government of South Vietnam asked the United States for help. The United States immediately filled the gap from which the French left and began to provide assistance to this Puppet regime.

The US plan was to surround the Soviet Union with a perimeter of states whose governments were pro-American. In the Asian region, this meant Pakistan, South Korea, and South Vietnam. But if Communist North Vietnam captured the South, the US risked losing its advantage in that area.


American Marines in South Vietnam.

By decision of President Kennedy, the Americans brought their troops into South Vietnam. At the end of 1962, their number was 11,326 people, and by 1964 – already about 25,000. In order to find justification for the invasion of Vietnam, the American intelligence services organized a carefully thought-out provocation.

On August 2, 1964, an armed incident occurred in the Gulf of Tonkin. According to the American version of what happened, North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked one of the US Navy destroyers in neutral waters.


1964. Tonkin incident.

In fact, the boats had no identification marks. The American side suffered no casualties. These boats were not found later. Nevertheless, this served as a pretext for the start of open military action. America began bombing North Vietnam. According to the good old Vietnamese tradition, a full-scale conquest of the country did not occur.

In the absence of anti-aircraft missile systems and the presence of only anti-aircraft artillery guns, naturally, the effectiveness of the combat operations of the North Vietnamese air defense was low. The Americans adapted to the tactics of anti-aircraft artillery and began to go to high altitudes. And already over 5 km they were practically inaccessible. And then Vietnam turned to the Soviet Union for help. The Vietnamese asked them to give them equipment that would allow them to conduct combat operations and shoot down American planes at medium and high altitudes.


Alexei Kosygin in Vietnam next to the Ho Chi Minh tribune.

In early 1965, a delegation from the USSR headed by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexei Kosygin visited North Vietnam. The Vietnamese government was promised support "in all directions."

The commanders of some air defense units received an order marked "Top Secret":
"Immediately. Urgently form groups of the best officers to serve in the South in conditions as close to combat as possible."

Where were the Soviet missilemen heading in early 1965? They already knew where exactly this South was and were happy to write reports. But what they were supposed to do in this distant southern country, none of them knew. For many years, the participation of Soviet specialists in that war remained classified.

But the Soviet Union had no intention of officially getting involved in the American-Vietnamese conflict. Accordingly, military specialists from the USSR who arrived in the DRV in the spring of 1965 were listed in all official documents only as civilians.


Military specialists from the USSR in Vietnam.

Our officers came to Vietnam mainly as agricultural specialists. They had ordinary Soviet civilian passports.

Many secrets of the Soviet presence in Vietnam were not disclosed for a long time. Veterans of this war, which still remained unknown for many years, did not have the right to talk about how everything really was.

In 1965, the first echelons with S-75 Dvina missile stations and Soviet specialists traveled for weeks to Vietnam through China. All the officers were in civilian clothes, and the combat equipment was covered from prying eyes. It did not have any identification marks, not even the stamps of the manufacturers. A special secret department located in Kapustin Yar was engaged in the preparation, assembly and dispatch of this equipment to its destinations.


The first Soviet S-75 Dvina anti-aircraft missile systems were delivered to Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh and Soviet military specialists at the historic meeting of the first missiles from the USSR.

For the equipment that was supplied abroad, a special scheme for installing combat charges was developed. In case of extreme necessity for the destruction of this equipment, its main units. It was completed with the relevant documentation. True, information about the enterprises that prepared this equipment was carefully removed from the documents.

When the equipment arrived at the site, completely unexpected problems arose that the Soviet Union could not even foresee.

In Vietnam, the microflora and microfauna are specific. Our equipment had not yet been used in such climatic conditions. The problem was that the insulating material used in our equipment became a source of nutrition for the microflora and microfauna. It was necessary to urgently remake and replace these materials.

Our specialists responded quickly, and our industry immediately replaced these materials with others.


The S-75 Dvina anti-aircraft missile system and a Vietnamese crew.

Between April 1965 and May 1967, ten training centers of the Soviet anti-aircraft missile forces arrived and deployed in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam under a thick veil of secrecy. The main task of these centers was to train Vietnamese missilemen.

The Americans said: it took us 8 months to retrain Turkish troops on the Hawk anti-aircraft missile system. The Russians would probably need 10-12 months to retrain the Vietnamese. But the Vietnamese received orders to go on combat duty 2 months after our arrival.

Vietnam War veteran Yevgeny Glazunov recalled:
"It was funny to watch when it was necessary to deploy a missile. The Vietnamese try - it doesn't work, they don't know how, they don't have the strength, they don't have the experience. Our four men come up and deploy this missile instantly. Our role was to cover the Vietnamese skies so that they could forge victory on the ground. Victory is forged by soldiers on the ground, and for this it was necessary to create conditions. Thus, we, the Vietnamese Air Defense and we, the advisers, solved this task of covering the Vietnamese skies."

The US specialists were well aware of the locations of the Soviet camps, so until active military operations were carried out, they treated the Soviet contingent with ironic condescension. They could, flying over the camp, drop leaflets indicating the time of the bombing and offering to leave the danger zone.

From time to time, the Americans specially arranged for the Soviet specialists to broadcast Russian songs on the radio. They would broadcast openly on the air, allegedly at the request of such-and-such a commander, and they would state the exact last name, first name and patronymic: "we are broadcasting the song Katyusha in a jazz performance."


Vietnam. Shot down American plane.

The feeling of complete impunity among US pilots passed on July 24, 1965. This was the first clash of our air defense officers with supersonic American aircraft. On this day, three Soviet missiles destroyed three American aircraft as they approached the Vietnamese capital. Three days later, three Soviet missiles and four US Air Force aircraft were shot down. The next day, three enemy aircraft again fell apart in the sky. The US Air Force felt such horror that they could not fly for 15 days. They realized that now they were confronted not only by the Vietnamese, but also by Soviet aces of their craft.

The Soviet specialists who were directly in the combat units lived in the same conditions as the Vietnamese. The Russians had great difficulty getting used to the tropical climate. Because of the heat, they even went to combat positions in their underwear. The vaccinations they had received back home were of little help. High humidity. In the cabins of the vehicles it was over 70° Celsius. In the first month the young lieutenants lost 15 kg. But they suffered not only physically, the psychological pressure was even worse.


Military specialists from the USSR in Vietnam.

A foreign country, incomprehensible customs, daily bombings. It was not easy to endure this. It must be admitted that there were officers who came and reported to their commanders: "I can't be here anymore!" Some because of their physical condition, some because of their mental state. But these were few and far between, and replacements were immediately sent from the Union.

It is incredible, but even in this hell the Russians did not lose heart. In their free time they organized concerts, published combat leaflets. They did not lose their sense of humor, escaping from despondency with irony towards themselves.

The local population greeted the Soviet specialists with joyful cries: "Lien Ho" means "Soviet" and supported them in everything. It was the Vietnamese who prepared positions, dug trenches, and did camouflage.

It is necessary to note an unusual fact. In the event of a bombing, if our soldiers fell into a trench, the Vietnamese would definitely fall from above, covering the Soviet specialists with their bodies.


Soviet military missile specialists and Vietnamese cadets.

Combat operations took place daily. Our anti-aircraft gunners developed a cunning plan of action: fire from ambushes. A shot at an American fighter and an immediate retreat to another, previously prepared point. The slightest delay and inaccuracy resulted in a retaliatory strike.

US pilots also learned to fight and bombed like snipers. But they stopped feeling like "masters of the Vietnamese sky." There were recorded situations when an American pilot instantly ejected, having only seen the launch of a Soviet S-75 missile. More experienced pilots directed their planes towards the missile and instantly fell to low altitudes. But there they were destroyed by Vietnamese machine gun crews.


The pilot of the downed American fighter jet ejected.

Soon, the losses of American aviation reached 25%. This forced the US military machine to urgently develop countermeasures. A fierce hunt for Russian missile systems from the air began. One of the serious threats to the missile stations was the Shrike missile. The Soviet troops did not have a similar weapon.

As soon as a Soviet missile station began working, it was doomed. Its radar radiation became a beacon for the Shrike.


AGM-45 Shrike air-to-surface missile.

Self-guided air-to-ground missile "Shrike" AGM-45. Entered service with the US Air Force and Navy in 1964.
Full length of the missile - 3.5 m.
Body diameter - 203 mm.
Wingspan - 914 mm.
Launch weight of the missile - 177 kg.
Maximum speed - up to 1000 m/s.
Flight range - 50 km.

This steel shell is cut in such a way that when the missile body opens, 4x4 mm steel cubes fly out. It was designed to destroy Soviet anti-aircraft missile systems.

In addition to military specialists, a group of civilian engineers was sent to Vietnam, whose duties included studying captured military equipment and selecting samples to send to Moscow. One day, the Vietnamese pulled a Shrike out of a swamp in one piece. The downed plane did not have time to release it during the flight. Our specialists were given the opportunity to study the deadly American missile in detail.


A group of civilian Soviet engineers study captured military equipment.

Everyone understood that Vietnam was a huge testing ground for evaluating various weapons in combat conditions. In addition, the Vietnam War allowed the development of counter-weapons.

When the Shrike began to be used in Vietnam. Our missilemen made a so-called "birdhouse" on the antenna, where lookouts sat and visually observed the flight of American aircraft. After some time, this "birdhouse" turned into a telescopic guidance device. That is, the locator stopped emitting, the enemy did not feel this signal, and on TV it was possible to watch where it was flying and calmly launch.

A tactic was developed to combat the Shrike missile. It looked like this: instantaneous switching on and off of two nearby radar stations produced a flickering effect. As a result, the Shrike began to swing and fall, falling short of the target.


Soviet military specialists and Vietnamese comrades.

After each downed plane, the Vietnamese tried to arrange a rest for the Russian officers. Whenever possible, they were taken from combat positions to Hanoi. They showed them the city, told the history of their people. The Russians, in turn, also told about their country, arranged screenings of Soviet films for their Vietnamese comrades.

The Vietnamese loved patriotic Soviet war films. At the same time, they also loved romantic films. For example, they really loved the film "Amphibian Man". In Vietnam, this film was nicknamed "Dong chi Sa", which translates into Russian as "Comrade Fish".


Awarding of military specialists from the USSR in Vietnam.

Russians were forbidden to wear military uniforms. Everyone wore civilian clothes. They wore tracksuits even for ceremonial parades and to receive military awards. But a few people who were directly involved with both the Ministry of Defense and the GRU of the USSR had the rare right to wear the uniform of a Soviet officer. These were the employees of the military attaché's office.

Soviet secret military specialists were also engaged in analyzing American combat operations. They closely monitored the actions of the American military. They were interested in literally everything: what planes, what ammunition they used, what efficiency, etc.

And in turn, our pilots helped train the flight crews of the Vietnamese Air Force. The Vietnamese were distinguished by their desperate, even reckless bravery, but they simply did not have the physical strength to conduct a full-fledged air battle with the American aces.


Soviet and Vietnamese pilots.

Vietnamese pilots were given the same rations as Soviet pilots. But they still couldn't fly for more than 10 minutes. They were so physically exhausted that they simply didn't have the strength for a longer flight.

Imagine what they ate back then: rice with greens for breakfast, rice with greens for lunch, and rice with greens for dinner. And that's it! Maybe once a month fate will smile upon them and they'll find a dog somewhere.

Contrary to popular belief, Soviet pilots did not take part in air battles. American planes were shot down by Russian missilemen from the ground. And Russian pilots taught the Vietnamese to fly military MiGs, shared their experience of fighting the Nazis, but they themselves only took to the air during training flights.

The Vietnamese command valued and protected our pilots. In difficult situations, they simply did not let them into the air. Soviet pilots flew only when everything was clearly visible. And if during training flights there was a threat that American planes were coming, or a raid was expected, or radars were detected somewhere, the command to land was immediately given.


Navy pilots flew missions over North Vietnam in two-seat F-4Bs, F4Js, and RF-4Bs, while Air Force pilots flew F4-Cs, F-4Ds, and RF-4Cs. While the pilot in the front seat flew the aircraft, the weapons systems officer in the rear seat handled navigation, radar, and weapons.

A kind of competition between Soviet and American military equipment took place. Before the Vietnam War, our pilots could see the American Phantom aircraft only in primitive training films.

Tactical fighters F4C, D and E "Phantom" II.
Aircraft span - 12.6 m, length - 18.2.

The Soviet MiG-17 was significantly inferior to the Phantom in armament and speed. However, the MiG also had its advantages - maneuverability. Already at the beginning of 1966, Vietnamese aviation shot down 11 American aircraft with its own losses of nine aircraft. After the introduction of new, more powerful MiG-21s into combat, the United States lost 47 fighters in a few months, Vietnam - 12.


A Soviet MiG-21 shot down an American Phantom aircraft.

The Americans responded immediately. They significantly improved the already excellent training of their pilots and aircraft. By the end of the war, the MiG fought in extreme conditions, showing itself from the best side. A particular surprise for the Americans was that the Soviet machine could approach their aircraft from behind at supersonic speed. Over 9 years of war, Vietnamese pilots, under the guidance of Soviet specialists, conducted 500 air battles, shooting down 350 enemy aircraft and losing 131 of their own. During the war, almost 800 US pilots were captured. It is necessary to note the well-prepared, detailed system for evacuating American pilots when an aircraft crashes. When a pilot of the American Air Force was shot down, he ejected and, while gliding on a parachute, transmitted his coordinates. A rescue group immediately appeared: helicopters for evacuation, fighters that covered this place from the air. But the Vietnamese still managed to take American pilots prisoner.

This picture very clearly characterizes this whole strange war in Vietnam. Big America and little Vietnam, which eventually won.

A young Vietnamese woman leads a captured American.

Because of the high probability of being captured, American pilots were not allowed by the command to have access to strategic information. Pilots were OFFICIALLY recommended to tell everything that was required of them during possible interrogations. Since this would not affect the course of military operations in any way. Before flying out on a combat mission, every American pilot repeated memorized phrases in Vietnamese like a mantra:

"I am an American pilot, provide assistance, you will receive a reward!"

American pilots were expensive prey for the Vietnamese. We all remember the famous American action films, for example, "Rambo", where Americans are interrogated with bias by the Vietnamese together with Soviet officers and, in addition, are kept in inhumane conditions. Western propaganda did not spare colors, describing the horrors of Asian captivity. But in reality, Vietnamese soldiers did not even have the right to shoot if they tried to escape or resist. It was a living commodity for exchange or ceremonial transfer of captured soldiers to international organizations.


The Paris Agreement freed Americans from captivity, many of whom had spent years in North Vietnamese camps and prisons.

Then rumors appeared about the involvement of the Soviet military in interrogating the pilots. They were mostly spread by the Americans themselves. In reality, the Vietnamese tried to keep Soviet intelligence officers away from the captured Americans. They were far from stupid people, and they needed secret information like air.

By the end of 1966, the first missilemen began to arrive from the USSR - Vietnamese who had been trained in Soviet military schools. This allowed the Russian military specialists to move to the status of exclusively military advisers. But the Vietnamese were still far from the skill of their teachers.

For example, if the missilemen under the command of Colonel Mozhaev shot down 23 aircraft in a year, using only 40 missiles, then the Vietnamese comrades shot down only 5 fighters, firing 80 missiles at them. Nevertheless, the Americans officially admitted that the Vietnamese air defense system had become the most dangerous and practically impenetrable for aircraft in a very short time.

Please note: A very rare photo from that war. Captured the moment when the tail of an American plane was torn off.


Vietnam. Shot down American plane.

During the entire period of the Vietnam campaign, the US Air Force lost 4,500 fighters and bombers, almost half of its Air Force. The DRV army was 80% equipped with Soviet weapons. Weapons were delivered via the Chinese Republic, where the "Cultural Revolution" was taking place at the time. Relations between the USSR and the PRC became tense due to Khrushchev's anti-Stalin policy. The Chinese openly robbed Soviet military trains, arming themselves at someone else's expense.

But relations with the Vietnamese were not always smooth either. It also happened that at night on the streets of Vietnam, Soviet citizens were mugged. They could be robbed of trousers, jackets, boots, watches and, of course, wallets.

It should be noted that the curators from the Central Committee forbade our specialists to ride Vietnamese rickshaws (bicycle taxis). Allegedly, this was seen as exploitation of a person. But a solution was found. The Russian paid for the rickshaw, put the Vietnamese in the carriage, and sat behind the wheel and went about his business. There were problems in his personal life, too. For a relationship with a foreigner, a Vietnamese woman could be sent to forced labor in an area of intense bombing, that is, to certain death.

[Russian Bear]

Soviet military specialists and Vietnamese girls.

As Soviet specialists said about it: "There was a dry law regarding women in Vietnam." Communication with Vietnamese women was strictly prohibited. Even marriage was punishable by prison terms. But there were still Vietnamese girls who, as they say, at their own risk communicated with Soviet military specialists.

But in 1966, a law was passed prohibiting the local population from communicating with foreigners, whether Russian, French, Polish or German. Of the 26 points, 6 provided for the death penalty. Absolutely all Soviet specialists were under the control of the state security of North Vietnam. Constant external surveillance. Listening devices were installed in hotel rooms. At the government level, the leaders of North Vietnam began to take the USSR's help for granted.

The Vietnamese tried to speculate on the war and said: we are fighting, defending national independence, so don't be stingy with your help. And this is as always! It turns out: they climbed onto the head and dangled their legs.


Explosion in Haiphong port. Soviet ship in foreground.

All actions of the USSR were perceived by the Government of Vietnam from only one point of view - benefit. For example, the Vietnamese naval authorities artificially delayed the unloading of Soviet sea vessels, believing that as long as they were in Haiphong, relative safety in the port would be preserved. Transport with Russians was placed near coastal anti-aircraft batteries in the expectation that the Americans would not bomb them. The Americans really had the strictest orders from their command not to drop bombs on Soviet facilities under any circumstances. This was monitored very strictly. The crew of the plane that shot up the steamship "Turkestan" was court-martialed. Although the actions of these pilots were provoked by the Vietnamese, since their boat fired machine guns at the planes, covering themselves with the sides of the Soviet vessel.


Soviet merchant ship "Turkestan".

There were also cases when the Vietnamese would deliberately send Soviet ships through a dangerous area, thereby trying to find out whether there were bottom mines in this area. Nevertheless, the USSR's military aid to Vietnam did not cease. Part of the colony of Soviet specialists, about 400 people, was in the capital of North Vietnam, Hanoi. They were mostly civilians: embassy diplomats, geologists, engineers, builders, doctors, journalists. Among them were a few employees of Soviet intelligence.

Intelligence work was carried out at the highest professional level. Much of the data obtained was passed on to the Vietnamese side. For example, the Americans could not understand why the use of the famous "B-52" formidable flying fortresses did not bring the necessary result. In one combat sortie, the "B-52" dropped 30 tons of aerial bombs. But most often, the Vietnamese troops remained intact. Why? Another secret of Soviet intelligence!


B-52 bomber in Vietnam.

With the help of Soviet intelligence, the Vietnamese knew about all the B-52 raids in advance. As soon as the American B-52s took off from Guam Island and headed towards Vietnam, our representatives reported this to the General Staff of the Vietnamese troops.

But Hanoi was bombed almost daily. Enemy planes rarely broke through to the city center. Most air battles took place on the outskirts. As soon as the first raids began, the USSR Ambassador Ilya Shcherbakov ordered diplomats to dig a shelter in the embassy courtyard.

They soon got used to the air raids. Missiles and bombs did not fly into the Central District, so the feeling of fear and danger gradually dulled.


Vietnam. Hanoi after the bombing.

But our citizens did not run to the bomb shelter. Not because they were all heroes and daredevils. The fact is that the bomb shelters had very high humidity, a kind of "mosquito kingdom". Water with larvae on the floor, all the walls were covered with mosquitoes. And the local encephalitis, it affects both the spinal cord and the brain. And Soviet specialists were more afraid of these mosquitoes than American planes.

A certain bravado of the Russians did not go unnoticed. In the Polish newspaper "Zyche Warszawy" an article appeared about the war in Vietnam, which said the following:

"Russian journalists in Hanoi are the most undisciplined. During the bombings, they do not go to the bomb shelter as expected, do not put on helmets, but drink vodka in the bar."

They tried not to think about the fact that death was lurking at every step. They got used to it. It was only by a miracle that no one from the Soviet colony in Hanoi died in the bombings.


Protests in the US against the Vietnam War.

Vietnam was ready to fight to the last soldier. Everyone understood that prolonging the mutual bloodshed was becoming mortally dangerous for both the Vietnamese and American sides. The Soviet Union acted as an authoritative mediator in the peace talks.

By the beginning of the 70s, the United States began to resemble a cornered animal. The American public demanded an immediate withdrawal of troops from Vietnam. American soldiers were dying in the thousands. In the United States itself, a wave of protest against this senseless war was growing. Numerous protests often ended in clashes with the police.


Protest action. A reservist conscript publicly burns his draft notice.

Conscripts burned their draft notices. US President Nixon either forbade the bombings or, on the contrary, gave the order to begin new air strikes.

Fighters and bombers burned in the skies of Indochina. Vietnam suffered heavy losses, but did not make any concessions. US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger even gave the Soviet government a special proposal for settling the conflict.

In short, it was as follows: we want to leave Vietnam, but we want to save face. If you give us some promises that this step of ours will not be immediately followed by the capture of Saigon and reprisals against the leaders of South Vietnam, then we ourselves will calmly leave. The Americans made up their minds. They no longer had any other way out of the situation. Continuing the hostilities threatened to escalate into World War III.


Richard Milhous Nixon – 37th President of the United States of America (1969–1974)

The new American President Nixon was going to come to Moscow for the first time. It was a bold step for both the USA and the USSR. And then the Politburo asked a question. How are we going to receive Nixon in Moscow when, on his initiative, the situation in Vietnam is getting worse? To which Brezhnev said:

"Our relations with the Americans are more important to us than our relations with the Vietnamese."


On January 27, 1973, an agreement was signed in Paris on a ceasefire and the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam.

Finally, on January 27, 1973, an agreement was signed in Paris between Hanoi and Washington on a ceasefire and the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam.

The most modern army in the world was defeated.

60,000 dead soldiers and hundreds of thousands maimed.

The US spent almost 300 billion dollars on the military conflict. Each day of the 9 years of the war cost the USSR 2 million dollars. If it were not for this help from the Soviet Union, the American military machine would have wiped Vietnam off the face of the earth in a short time.

Today's Vietnam is a wonderful country where Russians are treated like brothers.


Modern Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City.

Those civilians who were sent to Vietnam and worked alongside military specialists to win that war, unfortunately, did not receive any benefits in the Soviet Union. The veterans' law does not apply to them. But their comrades in Vietnam consider them comrades in arms.


45 years after the Vietnam War, the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam honored Soviet military specialists.

And every year they all gather together on August 5 to remember those distant days. Every year there are fewer and fewer of them, and fewer and fewer people remember that 50 years ago, somewhere far away, thousands of kilometers from the Soviet Union, there was a war.

7 million tons of bombs were dropped into the blazing center of the Vietnam War and 80 million liters of toxic substances were poured out, and this is 2 times more than in all previous wars of mankind.

And in this fire, on the other side of the earth, there were Russians - just over 6,000 officers, soldiers and civilian specialists. Officially, 13 people were recognized as dead.





Military specialists from the USSR in Vietnam.

At the same time, it can be stated without any doubt that Soviet military specialists actually created the modern Armed Forces of Vietnam. It was the presence of Soviet specialists in this war that pushed the American army to flee from Vietnam.