Battle of Lahasusu

The Battle of Lahasusu was a riverine clash fought during the Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929 around the mouth of the Sungari River.

Battle of Lahasusu
Part of Sino-Soviet conflict (1929)
Date 12 October 1929 Location Sungari River Result Soviet victory
Belligerents
China	Soviet Union
Strength
11 ships	Amur Flotilla
Casualties and losses
3 gunboats lost other vessels captured	at least 2 ships damaged

Battle

The battle begun when the Soviet Amur Flotilla attacked the garrisoned city of Lahasusu from the river. Soviet monitors Lenin, Sverdlov, Sun Yat-sen and Krasnyi Vostok and other minor units faced a Chinese flotilla of 11 units. Chinese steamer Kiang Tai suffered a direct hit, while monitor Lenin set aflame the gunboat Kiang Ping. The gunboat Lee Ju managed to score hit on the Soviet gunboat Proletarii and the monitor Sun Yat-sen but was eventually hit by Krasnyi Vostok and grounded by its crew.

Older sources report different transliteration of the Chinese ships, stating gunboats Chantai and Chanan sunk, followed by Chianping, while the ex-German gunboat Lichi was abandoned and taken in tow by Soviets. The army transport steamer n°18 and seven barges were also seized. While the Soviet side suffered human casualties (17 men), they lost no ship.

Aftermath

With the river battle still ongoing, other Soviet ships successfully landed troops close to Lahasusu and defeated the local garrison. As was common practice for the Soviets during this conflict, Soviet troops opened the grain stores of the city to distribute grain to the population to win their support. It was a heavy defeat for the Chinese, that were forced to gather their defense at Fushin: there the rest of the Chinese fleet was destroyed.