Battle of Bunker Complex 712

[James Langham]

A short article about a battle in the early days of the Sino-Soviet War.

The Battle of Bunker Complex 712

As the first shells from the Chinese artillery began to fall on Bunker Complex 712 near Lesozavodsk, the conscript troops of the 472nd Regiment of the 130th Machine Gun Artillery Division under Major General Ivan Chizkov took their posts. Many troops were off duty in the town (which was only 10km from the border) despite the fact that tensions were high. The first bombardment timed at 06:30 on 2nd August included a MRL strike on the barracks of the 472nd which inflicted many casualties, including the second in command of the regiment. The posts overlooking the Ussuri River (a tributary of the Amur) reported sightings of Chinese armour and APCs (later confirmed as belonging to the 16th Group Army). Artillery locating radar posts based behind the lines did their best to locate Chinese artillery positions as they fired and directed the Divisional BM21 regiment’s batteries in a vicious counter-battery duel.

Whilst the artillery duel intensified the commander of the 472nd started to use what little transport he had available to rush troops to the bunkers on the border to reinforce the 1st battalion there. The commander of the 3rd battalion Lt Col Pietor Cherenko ordered his men to commandeer taxis and buses. Quickly his men returned with this improvised transport (and in many cases the willing civilian drivers). Rushing to the bunkers he quickly found that the Chinese were starting their assault. Despite the Chinese pre-targetting the positions, many of the bunkers had survived intact (although the 3rd battalion frequently had to replace the shell shocked troops of the 1st battalion who had been manning them). As Type 62 and 63 light tanks of the 48th Armoured Division started to cross the Ussuri, the 472nd opened fire from their bunkers. The 100mm guns of the T54/55 turrets and the infantry’s wire guided missiles easily penetrated the thin armour of the Chinese light tanks and the smoke barrage laid down by the Chinese artillery proved ineffective (mainly due to losses inflicted on the artillery by the Soviet BM21s). Few of the Chinese tanks reached the Soviet bank and those that did were quickly eliminated. By now the 2nd battalion had arrived in numbers and Major General Chuzkov quickly reorganised the position, withdrawing the 1st battalion to form a reserve to plug gaps.

At 11:00 a second Chinese barrage occurred, landing heavily on the positions held by the 3rd battalion. While this was occurring more Chinese tanks attempted to cross the river, this time not just light Type 62 and 63 tanks but also the heavier Type 59s (again from the 48th Armoured Division). This time the fight was harder and the Chinese briefly established a small foot-hold on the east bank before a counter attack by the 1st battalion tank hunting teams with RPGs and AT5s picked off the surviving tanks.

The 472nd continued to receive sporadic artillery fire through the afternoon. The bunkers proved their worth and few casualties were inflicted. It gave Chuzkov chance to assess his situation. Checking with higher command he found that the positions to his sides were doing less well and were now heavily involved with fighting on their side of the river. He was ordered to hold in place.

At 14:00 Major Treskov commanding the rear part was surprised to find a delegation from the mayor. Expecting the worst he agreed to meet them. Much to his surprise the party had come to offer the services of 200 citizens who were willing to place themselves under military command (all had undergone their conscript training although as one admitted it had been some time ago). Major Treskov agreed instantly and ordering his supply troops to issue them what they could, put them to work helping with the logistics effort. He also took the opportunity to pull together a 13th company made up of troops that these volunteers replaced to act as infantry. These he ordered to move forward on foot to join the 1st battalion.

At 17:30 the Chinese launched a number of air strikes on the complex. At least three Chinese aircraft were shot down and a further five damaged by the anti-aircraft positions of the 472nd but the loses to the 472nd were worse. In addition to a number of tank turrets taking direct hits, the command centre of the 1st battalion took a direct hit rendering the reserves combat ineffective for a number of hours whilst command was re-established. Napalm was also used against the bunkers resulting in a number of asphyxiated casualties. The 13th company was caught on the march and decimated during these strikes.

At 18:30 another smoke barrage warned of the next Chinese attack. This time the attack was supported by Wz9 attack and Mi17 transport helicopters. These made a daring landing to the rear of the bunkers but took over 33% loses on the way in. The 1st battalion who’s role included mopping these up was still ineffective and the Chinese troops quickly moved towards the rear of the 2nd battalion’s bunkers leaving a small blocking force to delay the 1st battalion. As the 2nd battalion attempted to deal with the more advanced Type 88s of the 69th Armoured Division crossing the river (now supported by infantry mounted in Type 90 APCs) they suddenly found Chinese infantry engaging their positions from the rear. Despite a valiant defence, the 2nd battalion crumbled as bunker after bunker was destroyed. The 3rd battalion was having more success however and the (lighter) attack on it’s front was quickly beaten off.

By 21:00 the Chinese now had a foothold on the eastern side of the Ussuri and infantry were inside the northern flank of the complex. A vicious series of battles ensued as Chinese infantry fought corridor by corridor, room by room clearing out the 2nd battalion. By now the 1st battalion had reorganised and absorbing the survivors of the 13th company to replace some of its losses, launched an assault on the bridgehead. Despite vicious fighting the light infantry of the 1st battalion had little chance against the tanks of the Chinese and by 03:00 the attack had been thrown back with the 1st battalion taking heavy losses.

Even though the Chinese were now across the river, the could not bring further troops forward without coming under fire from the positions held by the 3rd battalion. As a result at dawn the exhausted troops of both sides were roused as another attack was made. Now the Chinese threw as much armour as they had available against the 3rd battalion while simultaneously the surviving airmobile troops attacked south from the 2nd battalion’s bunkers. Unable to withstand the weight of this attack the 3rd fought hard. Bunkers became isolated by infiltrators and fought on as long as they could. In the tunnels underground Soviet troops used directional MON-50 mines to hold corridors. By mid-day the fighting was reduced to isolated bunkers that were quickly silenced. The 472nd had ceased to exist as a unit. By 16:00 the Chinese had a bridge across the Ussuri and troops poured across and towards Lesozavodsk. A final defence by the rear party delayed the Chinese briefly but by evening they were inside the town. The last bunker position held by the 3rd battalion was not cleared until 09:30 the following morning.

The 472nd’s losses during the battle are put at 875 killed, 1212 captured or missing (many of them wounded). About 50 troops eventually escaped captured and returned to Soviet lines. No figure of Chinese losses has ever been released but it is believed to be over 3000 killed or missing. The 130th Machine Gun Artillery Division was awarded the streamer “Lesozavodsk” for the action. Survivors from the other two regiments were used as replacements for other divisions. It was reformed as the 130th Guards Motor Rifle Division “Lesozavodsk” in January 1996 (unusually for the Soviet Army it was named as well as numbered). The Division was again destroyed in July 1996 on the Chinese Front. It has not been reformed and again the survivors were sent to other divisions as replacements. Two Heroes of the Soviet Union medals were posthumously awarded for the defence of Complex 712.

[dragoon500ly]

Very nice!

[James Langham2]

A greatly expanded version. I a crrently working out more details of the Machine Gun Aerillery Units so hopefully more will follow.

[Draq]

Another great piece sir, downloading at once.