1979年的中越戰爭中，雙方投入的兵力與損失是多少，眾說不一。為了解決這個問題，我當初是從英文版維基入手的，然後根據其提供的索引順藤摸瓜。

中國投入的兵力大家沒有什麼爭議，配備了兩百輛50,62和63式坦克的二十萬大軍：

On February 17, a PRC force of about 200,000 supported by 200 Type 59, Type 62, and Type 63 tanks from the PRC People's Liberation Army (PLA) entered northern Vietnam.^[22]

有爭議的是越南出動的兵力。越南聲稱只有七萬正規軍，和數目不詳的民兵。中國則說越南出動的正規軍是這個數目的兩倍：

The Vietnamese government claimed they left only a force of about 70,000 including several army regular divisions in its northern area. However, the Chinese claimed to have encountered more than twice this number. During the war, Vietnamese forces also used American military equipment abandoned during the Vietnam War.

蘇 聯崩潰後，俄羅斯《紅星報》採訪了原蘇聯武裝部隊駐越南總參謀部顧問團成員。據介紹，當時越南要求蘇聯立即履行蘇越友好合作條約的義務，蘇聯決定向越南總 參謀部派遣軍事指揮顧問團協助作戰。蘇軍總參謀長奧加爾科夫元帥挑選剛被授予大將軍銜的國防部第一副總監奧巴圖羅夫擔任總軍事顧問。

2月19日晨顧問團乘飛機抵達河內，各顧問分別派到越軍總參謀部各對口局進入狀況。奧本人則乘火車赴諒山前線就地了解戰況。沿途只見從諒山逃下來的難民如潮水般湧向河內，道路堵塞，無法前行，只得換乘吉普車。

在前線指揮所奧了解到戰線極不確定，越軍的防守戰術呈現手工作坊式的特點，完全是游擊戰性質。相當一部分越南部隊已被敵人包圍，整個防線近於崩潰。他認為必須即刻採取措施鞏固河內針對諒山方向的防守，為此需要從柬埔寨撤回一部分部隊在河內以北建立新的防線。

奧巴圖羅夫找到黎筍，向他講解了前線的嚴峻局勢並建議立刻調回一個軍；用剛從蘇聯運到的武器緊急組建一個BM-21火箭炮師，補充增援到諒山方向。黎筍批准了上述建議。從柬埔寨撤回的一個軍分乘火車和安-12軍用運輸機星夜馳援河內。

這些部隊隨後有沒有被投入戰場呢？答案應該是肯定的，因為解放軍在戰後展示的戰利品，其中就有BM-21火箭炮，俗稱“冰雹”火箭炮。所以，保守估計，與解放軍廝殺的越南正規軍，可能是十一萬人左右。從理論上講，其武器裝備和單兵經驗勝過解放軍，因為他們幾乎個個是越南的王牌師。

至於中國軍隊的損失情況，魏京生偷到了一份情報，賣給了西方媒體：九千人犧牲，一萬多人負傷。他因此被老鄧送進了大牢。後來史文銀在其著作中不慎泄密 - 他的數據是6954人犧牲，14800人負傷，另有238人被俘。這兩個數字與越南人的估計相吻合，他們認為自己打死打傷了兩萬多解放軍。

To this day, both sides of the conflict describe themselves as the victor. The number of casualties is disputed, with some Western sources putting PLA casualties at more than 20,000 throughout the war. Chinese democracy activist Wei Jingsheng told western media in 1980 the Chinese troops had suffered 9,000 deaths and more than 10,000 wounded during the war,^[26] but recent leak shows that the PLA had 6,954 killed and 14,800 wounded,^[4] and 238 Prisoners of War ^[27] in the course of the war.

至於他們自己的傷亡數據，越南政府守口如瓶。中國宣稱打死越南正規軍100,100人，打傷一萬多人，俘虜2210人。至於消滅了多少民兵，中國政府沒有相關統計。不過，越南的一個省委黨報曾透露，戰爭期間約有二十萬“平民”被打死。

There are no independently verifiable details of Vietnamese casualties; like their counterparts in the Chinese government, the Vietnamese government has never announced any information on its actual military casualties. The Nhan Dan newspaper^[24] the Central Organ of the Communist Party of Vietnam claimed that Vietnam suffered more than 200,000 civilian deaths during the Chinese invasion^[24] and earlier on May 17, 1979, reported statistics on heavy losses of industry and agriculture properties.^[24]

Vietnamese armed personnel:

Regular forces (from Chinese sources): 100,100 killed in total, Wounded: more than 10,000. 2210 Prisoners of War.^[4][28] Province Militia and divisions of the Public Security Army: unknown, the causality estimated: 70,000^[29]