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From: jwtlai@watcgl.waterloo.edu (Jim W Lai)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Chinese Army and the Vietnam conflict of 1979
Message-ID: <1990Aug7.040745.6588@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 7 Aug 90 04:07:45 GMT
References: <1990Jul27.015503.21955@cbnews.att.com> <1990Jul31.223503.6119@cbnews.att.com> <1990Aug6.031148.2110@cbnews.att.com>
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker)
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From: jwtlai@watcgl.waterloo.edu (Jim W Lai)
In article <1990Aug6.031148.2110@cbnews.att.com>
zrra07@crx34.UUCP (Randall R. Appleton) writes:
>In an article (Wayne Wood) writes:
>>In an article (Anthony Lee) writes:
>>>In 1979 China was involved in a major conflict with Vietnam.  The 
>>>Chinese Army made a very small penetration into Vietnam but suffered
>>>many casualties.  Many experts pointed out that the Chinese Army was
>>>then poorly organised and also poorly armed.  In many ways this was the
>>>the current political situation ?  Is the Chinese Army actually capable
>>>of defending China in a conventional war, considering her poor preformance
>>
>>first, consider logistical problems.  the invading force not only has to fight
>>and secure territory but it must also provide it's own logistical needs...
>
>The Chinese didn't get very far at all in their invasion.  In other words, 
>the never got vary far from their supply.

The Chinese army is not structured to be able to perform a lightning
invasion.  According to "How to Make War" by James F. Dunnigan, there is a
pervasive lack of equipment in the Chinese army, the equipment they have
being obsolete by Western and Russian standards.  Infantry must walk, as
trucks are reserved for moving heavy equipment.  Unlike the Vietnamese
army, the Chinese army also lacked recent combat experience.  The use of
political reliability as a criterion for promotion also reduces
effectiveness somewhat.  To quote: "This has produced mediocre performance
in border battles with combat-experienced Vietnamese troops...  Because of
the lack of strategic mobility, the Chinese army is primarily a defensive
force."

As a footnote, formal ranks have been reinstated in the Chinese army.