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Chapter 8: Do not ask for whom the bell tolls
Do not ask for whom the bell tolls
Autumn 1949, the remnants of the Nationalist Chinese armies retreated southwards to Guangzhou. The majority of these forces fled to Hainan and onwards to Taiwan. However, the remainder crossed into Northern Vietnam with the vanguard of the People’s Liberation Army (“PLA”) on their heels.
The Nationalist forces initially crossed the border in small bands and then a torrent. They were met at the border by the Royal Vietnamese Army who proceeded to disarm them and escorted them into captivity. Lucien Bodard describes the scene:
This crush of refugees announced the arrival of the first units from the People’s Liberation Army led by the Marshall Lin Biao reaching the border of Vietnam. A question reverberated around the country, would the Chinese invade Vietnam to destroy the remaining Nationalist forces?
The Vietnamese General Staff advised the government that their present force in Tonkin was unable to stop the Communist Chinese if they invaded. Accordingly, their recommendation was to conduct a fighting withdrawal to a defensive line north of Hanoi combined with a limited partisan campaign. The first division of the Royal Vietnamese Army began to dig in at Ky Lau in the mountains just north of Lang Son and nervously waited for the Communist hordes to roll south. Soldiers that had previously fought alongside Chinese soldiers during the March to Independence [1]now prepared to face their former comrades.
It was at this stage a message was delivered from Marshall Lin Biao advising the Vietnamese government if their army did not disarm and intern the Nationalist Chinese the PLA would do so at the point of their guns. The country as a whole held its collective breath, as Vietnamese Air Force Hayabusas shadowed Communist LA – 5’s over the heads of the retreating Nationalist Chinese soldiers.
The tip of the spear for the Vietnamese was the 2nd Battalion at Ai Diem led by Colonel Minh[2] who decided to parley with his Communist counterpart in a bid to defuse the escalating tension on the border. The Communist commander was physically a bear of man who spoke an incomprehensible northern dialect of Chinese. Through an interpreter he requested Colonel Minh repatriate all of the Nationalists soldiers that had surrendered to the Vietnamese in order to face justice. If this did not happen, then half a million communist soldiers would cross the border and do so. Colonel Minh apparently listened to the speech and remained impassive as it was translated to him. His reply was terse and has been paraphrased for readers:
It was said after the contents of the speech had been relayed to the Red Napoleon, that Marshall Lin Biao blinked. In reality it was a combination of factors, such as the recognising his army was at the end of their logistical supply line, his soldiers were exhausted and war had broken out on the Korean peninsula. The communist army moved away from the Vietnamese border to consolidate communist rule and the new neighbours eyed each other suspiciously.
However, the hard eyed red mandarins of the Chinese Communist Party remembered the defiance shown by the Vietnamese Nationalists and began to slowly build a rapport with their Vietnamese counterparts.
Author's notes:
[1] TTL reference to the liberation of Vietnam from the French by the VNQDD.
[2] Referred to as ‘Big Minh’ in the OTL, in this TL known as Buffalo Minh.
Autumn 1949, the remnants of the Nationalist Chinese armies retreated southwards to Guangzhou. The majority of these forces fled to Hainan and onwards to Taiwan. However, the remainder crossed into Northern Vietnam with the vanguard of the People’s Liberation Army (“PLA”) on their heels.
The Nationalist forces initially crossed the border in small bands and then a torrent. They were met at the border by the Royal Vietnamese Army who proceeded to disarm them and escorted them into captivity. Lucien Bodard describes the scene:
It went on fast and smoothly. Every quarter of an hour there arrived a fresh batch or men, or rather creatures, for there were some were wretched beings with disgusting wounds. But after 10 o’clock it was no longer possible to control the Chinese. They suddenly began flooding in from everywhere in huge masses, panic stricken mobs coming by every track and path and down the mountainside. There were now a great many peasants carrying huge burdens in the crowd.
This crush of refugees announced the arrival of the first units from the People’s Liberation Army led by the Marshall Lin Biao reaching the border of Vietnam. A question reverberated around the country, would the Chinese invade Vietnam to destroy the remaining Nationalist forces?
The Vietnamese General Staff advised the government that their present force in Tonkin was unable to stop the Communist Chinese if they invaded. Accordingly, their recommendation was to conduct a fighting withdrawal to a defensive line north of Hanoi combined with a limited partisan campaign. The first division of the Royal Vietnamese Army began to dig in at Ky Lau in the mountains just north of Lang Son and nervously waited for the Communist hordes to roll south. Soldiers that had previously fought alongside Chinese soldiers during the March to Independence [1]now prepared to face their former comrades.
It was at this stage a message was delivered from Marshall Lin Biao advising the Vietnamese government if their army did not disarm and intern the Nationalist Chinese the PLA would do so at the point of their guns. The country as a whole held its collective breath, as Vietnamese Air Force Hayabusas shadowed Communist LA – 5’s over the heads of the retreating Nationalist Chinese soldiers.
The tip of the spear for the Vietnamese was the 2nd Battalion at Ai Diem led by Colonel Minh[2] who decided to parley with his Communist counterpart in a bid to defuse the escalating tension on the border. The Communist commander was physically a bear of man who spoke an incomprehensible northern dialect of Chinese. Through an interpreter he requested Colonel Minh repatriate all of the Nationalists soldiers that had surrendered to the Vietnamese in order to face justice. If this did not happen, then half a million communist soldiers would cross the border and do so. Colonel Minh apparently listened to the speech and remained impassive as it was translated to him. His reply was terse and has been paraphrased for readers:
We have only regained our independence from the French and we will not surrender this most precious gift easily. If you cross our border your logistical tail will be overextended and your armies no longer able to move as a fish through water.
It was said after the contents of the speech had been relayed to the Red Napoleon, that Marshall Lin Biao blinked. In reality it was a combination of factors, such as the recognising his army was at the end of their logistical supply line, his soldiers were exhausted and war had broken out on the Korean peninsula. The communist army moved away from the Vietnamese border to consolidate communist rule and the new neighbours eyed each other suspiciously.
However, the hard eyed red mandarins of the Chinese Communist Party remembered the defiance shown by the Vietnamese Nationalists and began to slowly build a rapport with their Vietnamese counterparts.
Author's notes:
[1] TTL reference to the liberation of Vietnam from the French by the VNQDD.
[2] Referred to as ‘Big Minh’ in the OTL, in this TL known as Buffalo Minh.
- La Rouge Beret
- Word Count: 690