3. Self-defense counterattack along China-India border area
In 1962, the Battle of Walong, the most critical and last battle in the self-defense counterattack along the China-India border area, kicked off in Zayu County where Hero Slope is located. It wiped out more than 1,200 personnel from the 11th Brigade of the Indian Army, well known as Walong Victory in history.
India had vigorously expanded northward, gradually invading and occupying more than 90,000 square kilometers of land in south Tibet since 1950. In March 1959, the Indian government stepped up its aggressively expansionary policy after the failure of the Tibetan reactionary groups of the upper class in a full-scale armed insurrection and rebellion.They made territorial claims to the Chinese government on March 22, 1959, given the historical issues left along the China-India border area: claiming approximately 90,000 square kilometers of Chinese territory in the Eastern Sector of, 2,000 square kilometers in the Middle Sector of, as well as more than 33,000 square kilometers in the Western Sector of the China-India boundary, covering a total area of 125,000 square kilometers.
As instigated by the Indian government, the Indian troops crossed the “McMahon Line”, provoking various incidents. Then, it attempted to demarcate the Chinese territory on both sides of the Namka River to the south of the Mountain in Cona County, Tibet, to the south of the "McMahon Line", belonging to India.
In 1962, bloody clashes and skirmishes occurred in the west and east sectors of the China-India border as launched by the Indian side. From October 20 to November 21, 1962, the PLA border troops engaged in the self-defense counterattack on the east sector as ordered. The troops selected from various military commands and troops delivered to Tibet were not afraid of hardship or death. They fought tenaciously, annihilated the 7th Brigade, 62nd Brigade, and 4th Artillery Brigade of the Indian Army, and severely damaged the 11th, 48th, 65th, and 67th Brigades. A total of 8,404 Indian military personnel below the rank of Brigadier General were killed or captured, and a relatively stable situation along the China-India border area formed at last.
