"Every year on August 1st, Chinese army units from all around gather to celebrate the Birthday of the Chinese Red Army. Senior and retired officers are invited to tell stories of their glorious past in order to inspire the younger generation. The following story is an account as told to me by Jian Zhou, a special forces officer of the 49th field Chinese Red Army (and my instructor) in Manchuria."

On March 2, 1969, Chinese and Soviet troops opened fire upon one another on a small piece of disputed land located along the Ussuri River on the northeast border between Chinese Manchuria and the Soviet Union. This area is known to the Chinese as "Zhenbao" island (or "treasure island"). This was the first time in modern history that these two communist superpowers have clashed. The two sides fought again on March 14-15. This time using a larger number of troops and armoured vehicles. Sporadic confrontations continued along the border in the coming months with both sides claiming victory while blaming the other side for aggressive tactics. The tension had eventually escalated to the point of rumours of a "limited nuclear confrontation" as being a possibility. The Chinese government immediately began a feverish anti-Soviet propoganda campaign and ordered the nation to prepare for war against this "new menace". Extensive networks of air raid tunnels and shelters were built and key military/industrial establishments were moved into the hinterland. All across the Manchurian border, people would be busy digging shelters and taping their glass window in addition to conducting intensive military and guerrilla war training against the possibility of a Soviet invasion.

The immediate threat of war finally eased somewhat on September 11, 1969 when Soviet Premier, Alexei Kosygin, made an unscheduled stop in Beijing while on his way back from Ho Chi Minh's funeral in Hanoi for a 3 hour meeting with Chinese Premier Zhou. The two agreed that efforts should be made to disengage the troops along the border and open talks should commence.

So what was the real reason behind this border war? Who started it in the first place? Both sides blame the other but in order to truly understand the real cause of the 1969 Sino-Soviet border dispute, one should first look at and understand the social and political situation surrounding that time.

It is well known that the Chinese Communists, after a long struggle, finally seized power in 1949. What is not well known is that the Soviets had a pivotal role in helping the communist Chinese gain control. In 1945, Soviet troops attacked Japanese troops with lightening speed and liberated Manchuria in one month. Monuments to honour these Soviet troops can still be seen today in Manchuria. The Soviets then allowed the Chinese Red Army to enter Manchuria and armed them with captured Japanese weapons in addition to training them. This directly lead to speed up the liberation of China. However, relations started to go bad in 1960 when Chinese Chairman Mao became fearful of Soviet control. In order to turn the Chinese people's attention away from domestic troubles caused by his now famous Cultural Revolution (1966-69), he announced that the nation's first threat is the Soviet Union. This directly encouraged the Chinese Red Army to look for trouble with Soviet border troops along the northern border.

The border agreement made during friendlier times clearly stated that the border would be defined by the main stream of the Ussuri River. However, in the summer of 1968, local flooding had changed the route of the main stream and cut a piece of land from the Chinese side which was later called Zhenbao island. When winter arrived, frontier guards from both sides met occassionally on the disputed territory. At first, these confrontations were peaceful negotiations but later these oral arguments had escalated to violent confrontations. Most of these physical confrontations resulted in the larger and stronger Soviet soldiers beating their Chinese counterparts and kicking them back to their "border side". Also, Chinese attempts to photograph these beatings (in order to document it for propoganda) were neutralized by the Soviets as they would have no hesitation beating these "journalists" and taking their film.

However, the Chinese soldiers, being eternally loyal to their "god" Chairman Mao and his revolutionary road, would always return to Zhenbao island to be beaten again and even die happily for their great leader. This irritated the Soviet troops more but the beatings never did escalate beyond unarmed combat as both sides feared the consequences of any use of weapons. Hence, these confrontations became known as "group street fights".

To save face, the Chinese Red Army decided one day to send well trained special forces soldiers from the 49th field army regiment in place of the local frontier guards to deal with the larger Soviets. In addition, the "journalist" had been replaced by a top ranking instructor of the special forces in order to finally document "Soviet aggression". These special forces were taught unarmed combat according to the 1963 version of the unarmed combat handbook of the Chinese Red Army. They were able to easily defeat the Soviet frontier guards in these unarmed "street fights". From intercepted messages on the Soviet side, it is known that the local Soviet commander reported to his superiors the replacement of the Chinese frontier guards with the formal field army special forces. Their judgement were based on the "new" Chinese troops' fighting stance, speed, kickboxing, and arm and neck control against Soviet troops. It was apparent to the Soviets what had happened since they were involved in the training of the Chinese just 10 years prior.

In retaliation, the Soviet army decided to deploy their special forces for upcoming "street fights". The leader of this unit was known as the "Limped Lieutenant" because of his distinguished gait. It was reported that he injured his ankle tendon in combat training during his professional career. Nevertheless, he was still an outstanding boxer and upon his arrival, many Chinese soldiers had their noses broken. it was a common joke among the Chinese troops that "if you should ever meet the Limped Lieutenant in a street fight, you should give up hopes in trying to find a future wife!", meaning that your face would be smashed up and therefore, be unattractive.

Western boxing techniques, especially the front jab, impressed the Chinese. As mentioned earlier, the Chinese special forces were trained according to the 1963 manual which taught the use of the rear hand (which was kept low for protection of the groin) for offense and the front hand as a defensive shield. therefore, the front jab was a totally new concept as was keeping the rear hand high. In addition, during the winter, it was found that kicks were difficult to execute safely because of the terrain and clothing worn. Therefore, the Chinese had lost any superiority with the introduction of Western boxing techniques. This later led the 49th field army to incorporate Western boxing into their unarmed combat skills. This was achieved with the help of a branch of Red Army Intelligence known as the Department of Enemy Studies. Another lesson learnt from these border confrontations was that given equal skills, size of the combatants DOES matter. Therefore, soldiers selected for the special forces tend to be larger in stature. in fact, this was how my instructor, Jian Zhou, was originally selected. Given his physical demeanor (ht.=182 cm, wt.=85 kg), having a martial arts/wrestling background, and coming from a military family in Mongolia, selection into the special forces was inevitable. In addition, it was discovered that wrestling skills and well-trained attacking skills from behind was very useful during "group street fights". From these lessons, it was decided to develop a better training program for the Chinese soldiers based on application of scientific principles and direct observation in order to compensate for their overall smaller size and strength.

However, in the meantime, the Chinese special forces became frustrated with the defeat of their troops in these encounters. One of the junior officers nicknamed "Xiao Shang Dong" (translation "the Shang Dong Kid") was famous for his martial arts and his skills in the broadsword. It should be noted that Shang Dong is one of the Chinese provinces that many consider the homeland of Chinese martial arts. Xiao Shang Dong had suggested a solution to these humiliating defeats would be to train their soldiers in broadsword techniques. However, in battle, they would use wooden sticks instead of swords so as it (the stick) would not be considered a weapon. His superiors approved of his suggestion. In the ensuing confrontation, Chinese soldiers, with their sticks hidden up their long sleeved jackets, easily chased away their Soviet counterparts who were taken by surprise by the speed and power of their stick techniques. Later on, the Soviets also tried to use sticks. However, their skills were not comparable to the Chinese. In one famous confrontation, an angry and desperate Limped Lieutenant, having just had his arm broken by Xiao Shang Dong, decided to open fire with his handgun in order to survive and protect his troops. This caused a rapid escalation from both sides using heavy automatic weapons and a blood bath ensued. Oddly enough, the sole survivor of this confrontation was Xiao Shang Dong, despite having 7 shots entering his body from both sides. The Chinese government formally decorated him as "Red Army Hero" and every year on August 1st, he is invited to tell his story to the new soldiers of the 49th field army special forces.

The last crisis between China and the USSR occurred in 1979 when the Chinese had started an attack of Vietnam, the Soviet Union's "smaller brother". In order to help Vietnam, the Soviet volunteer army gathered on the Manchurian border near my homeland threatening invasion if the Chinese did not immediately withdraw from vietnam. I was in my second year of service in the 5th defense regiment of the Sheiyong defensive regional army group. We were based in the Great Xinan Range. We decided to move most of our forces behing the mountain ranges so as not to be vulnerable. It was reported that the Soviets had 25 mechanized infantry units and about 250,000 man gathered in front of us with air backup and we were asked to hold off the invasion for at least 24 hours so as reinforcements could be sent from the 23rd field army in Daqin Gas Field. We had available 12,000 men and a network of underground tunnels and fortresses built within the last 20 years. Informal rumours stated that our commander had no confidence in our ability to hold off a Soviet invasion for 24 hours given the complexities of a three dimensional assault (ie. air, tank, and troops). Hence, we helped train civilians in guerilla warfare tactics and the use of explosives and time bombs should an invasion and occupation occur. Fortunately, the Soviet invasion never did materialize as the Chinese withdrew from Vietnam after 9 days of attack.

After the collapse of the USSR, the border area remains peaceful. People can travel to the area without applying for special permission. The former Chinese secret police unit, anti-Soviet division, in the border area is known today as the Division of International and Political Security.

Today, former enemies visit each other for trade and exchange. in Canada, I had first introduced Chinese military martial arts to North America via a manual (Paladin Press 1996) I had written based on the 49th field army special forces and their experiences in the 1969 border dispute. Interestingly enough, I have met several former Russian military men here in my new found home, and have established a friendly relationship with the American Center of Russian Martial Art who have also successfully submitted a manual on Russian combat skill to Paladin-Press. So who's system is better? I cannot honestly tell you. We probably have to test our systems again in order to improve each other. However, this time, 27 years after the border disputes, it will not be for the sake of war, but instead an academic study and test.

Finally, to complete this legendary story, I would like to comment that soldiers from both sides were innocent pawns in this struggle between two great communist superpowers. However, the soldiers' love, hate, courage, and fears still deserve to be revealed and it is like a beautiful song that someday I will be happy to share with everyone on stage.

Mizhou Hui

Member of MARTIAL ARTS HYPERBANNER !