Splendid Little Wars

[Guest Chairman Roberto]

I enjoy reading about the nooks and crannies of history. I was wondering if anyone could recommend any source describing China's skirmishes with India and Vietnam. I know any sources here in China would be hard to find...have there been any books written on the subject? I know absolutely nothing about why China got into it with India and Vietnam...can anyone enlighten me?

thanx!

the Chairman

[roddy 5,435]

The best resource I've found on the Sino-Vietnamese war is here

http://www.china-defense.com/history/sino-vn_1/sino-vn_1-1.html

although I've hardly done a comprehensive review of all available information.

The same site doesn't have anything (that I could see at first glance) on India - but it does have an interesting article about American efforts to decide if pictures in Chinese military journals of heavy artillery bolted to barges were a genuine part of a planned cross-straits trip, or just a bit of a bluff.

Roddy

ADDED: I should mention that I've sometimes been a little dubious about that site I link to above - there is no indication that I can see of who it is funded / run by, and it's been suggested to me that it might simply be 'Pentagon Progaganda'. I think this is a little unlikely, but maybe worth bearing in mind.

[holyman 0]

I enjoy reading about the nooks and crannies of history. I was wondering if anyone could recommend any source describing China's skirmishes with India and Vietnam. I know any sources here in China would be hard to find...have there been any books written on the subject? I know absolutely nothing about why China got into it with India and Vietnam...can anyone enlighten me?

thanx!

the Chairman

its not about easy or hard to find, u can find a lot but its mostly one sided affair.

[Quest 19]

most chinese dont even know or care about the skirmish with india, but i think the indians took it quite seriously. so i think u would find more information about it on indian websites. and the vietnam skirmish... all i know is that we tried not to attack their civilians, but their women and children killed more of our soldiers than their men did.

[Guest Anonymous]

and the vietnam skirmish... all i know is that we tried not to attack their civilians, but their women and children killed more of our soldiers than their men did.

Vietnamese women and children also fought in the Veitnam War against the U.S.

[Guest Chairman Roberto]

Roddy--Thanx for the website...it was a fascinating read, but still very general. I am wondering about the actual combat conditions, or any stories of that campaign.

Quest--It is a curious and idiomatic part of the verbal English to refer to one's home army as "we." I do it myself, unconciously, from time to time. "We attacked the Germans at Normandy." "We suffered heavy losses at Tet." etc etc. But now, I try to make an effort not to use that pronoun, for various reasons:

Number one, I'm not a soldier, nor ever have been, and I haven't the slightest idea of what real combat is like. I never even fired a gun. So, I feel that it's innappropriate for me to say "we" when talking about the manuevers of the U.S. military, for the simple fact that I never took part.

Number two, I often have strong disagreements about what the U.S. government does with its military. When I say "we" about any military campaign, it subtly implies that I agree with what my government is doing. "We went into Iraq and took Baghdad" sounds like I'm with the U.S. government all the way. Given the poor reputation of the U.S. govt abroad, and my personal distaste of George W., I like to distance myself from both. So, I avoid the "we" pronoun.

As far as women and children killing PLA soldiers, well...I'd like to think that if any foreign soldiers were invading my land, I'd try to kill a few myself, given the chance. Which is precisely happened in the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But unfortunately, "we" never learn, do "we"?

Sorry to go off on a tangent...now I'm way off topic! Whoops!

I'll keep looking around for sources for the Great Sino-Vietnamese War and Great Sino-Indian War. Thank you!

the Chairman

[roddy 5,435]

Here's a source for the Sino-Indian War

http://www.onwar.com/aced/nation/ink/india/findiachina1962.htm

Roddy