Building Ho's army : Chinese military assistance to North Vietnam

"The Chinese have a decades long history of aiding the Vietnamese through military training, strategic advising, and monetary means. As a communist state bordering Vietnam, China actively supported Ho Chi Minh's wars against France from 1950 - 1954 and against America from 1965 - 1970. Even after the signing of the Geneva Peace Agreement, China continued its military assistance to North Vietnam. Between 1955 and 1963, Chinese military aid to Ho totaled $106 million, including weapons and ammunition that armed more than one hundred infantry battalions, or about 80,000 men. The massive contributions to North Vietnam enabled Ho to build up a strong conventional force. After 1964, China increased its aid, and from 1964 to 1973, it provided approximately $20 billion more in military and economic aid to Vietnam. Among the Communist states, China was the largest supplier of war materials to North Vietnam until 1967, supplying about 44.8 percent of total military aid that year. In Building Ho's Army: Chinese Military Assistance to North Vietnam, Xiaobing Li assembles a detailed overview of Chinese military aid, training, and cooperation with the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) in the 1950s and 60s. Western strategists and historians have long speculated about Chinese military assistance in the Vietnam War, but it was not until recently that newly available archival materials revealed the true extent of Chinese involvement. Li uses these new Communist sources in an unprecedented manner to offer a Chinese military perspective on the Vietnam War. This book builds upon previous scholarly efforts to add a better understanding of the ground-level contribution of China's effort to improve NVA combat effectiveness in the Vietnam War." Read more... "The Chinese have a decades long history of aiding the Vietnamese through military training, strategic advising, and monetary means. As a communist state bordering Vietnam, China actively supported Ho Chi Minh's wars against France from 1950 - 1954 and against America from 1965 - 1970. Even after the signing of the Geneva Peace Agreement, China continued its military assistance to North Vietnam. Between 1955 and 1963, Chinese military aid to Ho totaled $106 million, including weapons and ammunition that armed more than one hundred infantry battalions, or about 80,000 men. The massive contributions to North Vietnam enabled Ho to build up a strong conventional force. After 1964, China increased its aid, and from 1964 to 1973, it provided approximately $20 billion more in military and economic aid to Vietnam. Among the Communist states, China was the largest supplier of war materials to North Vietnam until 1967, supplying about 44.8 percent of total military aid that year. In Building Ho's Army: Chinese Military Assistance to North Vietnam, Xiaobing Li assembles a detailed overview of Chinese military aid, training, and cooperation with the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) in the 1950s and 60s. Western strategists and historians have long speculated about Chinese military assistance in the Vietnam War, but it was not until recently that newly available archival materials revealed the true extent of Chinese involvement. Li uses these new Communist sources in an unprecedented manner to offer a Chinese military perspective on the Vietnam War. This book builds upon previous scholarly efforts to add a better understanding of the ground-level contribution of China's effort to improve NVA combat effectiveness in the Vietnam War." --Provided by publisher

Built upon a solid foundation of sources, memoirs, and interviews, this study sheds new light on China's efforts in the Vietnam War. Utilizing secondary works in Chinese, Vietnamese, and Western languages, and the author's own familiarity as a former member of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, this examination expands the knowledge of China's relations with the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) during the 1950s and 1960s.

As a communist state bordering Vietnam, China actively facilitated the transformation of Ho Chi Minh's army from a small, loosely organized, poorly equipped guerrilla force in the 1940s into a formidable, well-trained professional army capable of defeating first the French (1946–1954) and then the Americans (1963–1973). Even after the signing of the Geneva Peace Agreement, China continued to aggressively support Vietnam. Between 1955 and 1963, Chinese military aid totaled $106 million and these massive contributions enabled Ho Chi Minh to build up a strong conventional force. After 1964, China increased its aid and provided approximately $20 billion more in military and economic aid to Vietnam.

Western strategists and historians have long speculated about the extent of China's involvement in Vietnam, but it was not until recently that newly available archival materials revealed the true extent of China's influence—its level of military assistance training, strategic advising, and monetary means during the war. This illuminating study answers questions about China's intention, objective, strategy, and operations of its involvement in the Vietnam Wars.

Built upon a solid foundation of sources, memoirs, and interviews, this study sheds new light on China's efforts in the Vietnam War. Utilizing secondary works in Chinese, Vietnamese, and Western languages, and the author's own familiarity as a former member of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, this examination expands the knowledge of China's relations with the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) during the 1950s and 1960s. As a communist state bordering Vietnam, China actively facilitated the transformation of Ho Chi Minh's army from a small, loosely organized, poorly equipped guerrilla force in the 1940s into a formidable, well-trained professional army capable of defeating first the French (1946--1954) and then the Americans (1963--1973). Even after the signing of the Geneva Peace Agreement, China continued to aggressively support Vietnam. Between 1955 and 1963, Chinese military aid totaled $106 million and these massive contributions enabled Ho Chi Minh to build up a strong conventional force. After 1964, China increased its aid and provided approximately $20 billion more in military and economic aid to Vietnam. Western strategists and historians have long speculated about the extent of China's involvement in Vietnam, but it was not until recently that newly available archival materials revealed the true extent of China's influence -- its level of military assistance training, strategic advising, and monetary means during the war. This illuminating study answers questions about China's intention, objective, strategy, and operations of its involvement in the Vietnam Wars. Built upon a solid foundation of sources, memoirs, and interviews, this study sheds new light on China's efforts in the Vietnam War. Utilising secondary works in Chinese, Vietnamese, and Western languages, and the author's own familiarity as a former member of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, this examination expands the knowledge of China's relations with the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) during the 1950s and 1960s. As a communist state bordering Vietnam, China actively facilitated the transformation of Ho Chi Minh's army from a small, loosely organised, poorly equipped guerrilla force in the 1940s into a formidable, well-trained professional army capable of defeating first the French (1946-1954) and then the Americans (1963-1973) Introduction: Vietnamese request and Chinese intention -- Ho's China connection -- Advisors and aid -- Infantry rearmament, training, and operations -- Control and campaigns -- New standards, strategy, and artillery -- Dien Bien Phu: the taste of victory -- Postwar transformation and new geopolitics -- Conclusion: conflict and cooperation: friend or foe?.