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All political people knew very well, that the Chinese would try to use
the discord between the USA and the USSR to their own advantage.
I was quite surprised that the Chinese had a better attitude towards the US,
than to the USSR.
During the opening day of Stockholm hockey championship on March 15th
Soviet hockey players met the Americans
The USSR team defeated the American team 17:2
This was reported on Soviet television. Soviet fans were overjoyed.
The same TV report said that Damansky Island was...
once again under attack by the Chinese forces.
At 10:10 AM the Chinese commenced artillery barrage of the island.
Five thousand soldiers of 24th regiment of People's Liberation Army
prepared to capture the island.
The Chinese commanders knew that resistance was composed of
around 40 Soviet border guards.
The Chinese planned a total victory in only several hours.
Peking was sure that, as before, Russians would not use the army.
The commander of Far-East military, Oleg Losik awaited orders from Moscow,
but Kremlin issued none.
By 3:00 PM, border guards finally received reinforcements
4 of the secret T-62 tanks.
The army hastily reassigned them to the border guards.
At that point, Colonel Leonov, commander of the border guards,
knew that he could only collect the wounded and provide cover for retreat.
The tank commanders did not know the island, so Leonov personally...
took place within one of the tanks and guided the tank teams.
He climbed in and all the tanks started to follow him.
They went over the ice...
around the island...
and went between the island and the Chinese side.
So the tanks were very close to the Chinese shore
where the Chinese soldiers and anti-tank weapons were.
So the head tank with Colonel Leonov ended up being hit.
The tank was disabled.
Leonov attempted to leave the tank through the top hatch
The Chinese shot him.
Lamentable...
The bullet went through his coat, identification paper and heart.
By 5:00 PM border guards could not hold any longer.
Commander Losik was informed that the Chinese are preparing for...
an attack that may be the last one.
Commander tried to call Moscow, but there was no reply.
The order for the army not to engage remained in place.
However, Colonel-General Losik made a decision that defined
the Damansky Island conflict.
Soviet heavy artillery and rocket fire fell *** the island and Chinese side
A 10 km-long area was hit by the Russian fire.
It destroyed several thousand Chinese fighters as well as military hardware,
and ammunition and fuel dumps.
After the artillery, the Chinese generals had no-one to command
Peking was sure that Kremlin decided to engage Soviet armed forces.
The Chinese commanders halted the operation.
They didn't know that Commander Losik took responsibility
The Minister of Defense told me that I should've saved the shells
Damansky defenders lost 58 men in both encounters.
Those, who defended the border, were treated as heroes.
President Nixon was surprised by China's aggression against the USSR
But Henry Kissinger quickly found an explanation.
He understood that Mao tested Moscow's authority.
If Brezhnev was to commit troops to fight for a small island
his promises of non-aggression and disarmament would seem
less sincere.
And if he was to allow the island to be taken over
then it would put a dent in the USSR's military prestige.
Much later, the newspapers would write about the secret weapons
used by the Soviet Union during the border incident.
The truth is, that beside the secred GRADs, Mao was wrong to underestimate
the valor of the defenders of Damansky Island.
Those, who although disobeyed orders to ignore provocations,
achieved the second objective: to avoid a full-scale war.
Henry Kissinger could not ignore Mao Zedong's actions in the USSR.
Two years later something unexpected would happen.
Two former enemies would meet in Peking, which had no...
American representative since 1949.
They would agree to restore diplomatic ties.
Soon, China would be allowed to join the UN.
Today, we can only guess why Mao delivered a tiny, acupuncure-like...
attack on a small island that is completely covered with water...
during the Spring-floods.
During his visit to Peking, Nixon quoted Mao:
"10,000 years are too long; seize the day."
Nixon probably did not know why Mao attacked Damansky
The truth lies with Mao in Tiananmen Square
But, it is certain, that Mao used the incident to take his country
to the international stage.
He disrupted the game of Nixon and Brezhnev and changed the world.
The tactics of Vitaly Bubenin would enter the textbooks
KGB would appoint him as a head of a anti-terrorist group
In 1979, the special unit under his command would take over President Amin's
fortified palace in Afghanistan in 40 minutes.
In 1991, after demarcation of the Russian-Chinese border
the Chinese maps gained a small dot marked "Zhenbao."
To those, who defended it in March of 1969...
the precious island will forever remain "Damansky."