In January 1953, the area around Sangamyeong and Wusheng Mountain in North Korea was extremely cold. A strong wind blew through the American positions, bringing with it a stinking smell. In front of the position, there were a bunch of canned boxes lying horizontally and vertically, and the stench was emitted from it.
Since October 14 of the previous year, when the U.S. front-line commander Van Vleet gave the order to attack, the overwhelming artillery fire cut the elevation of the two highlands 597.7 and 537.7 by two meters. Fighting with huge casualties, they finally occupied part of the position. But the volunteers relied on the tunnel defenses, put up stubborn resistance, and eventually counterattacked with powerful firepower. This is the famous Battle of Shangganling in history.
After the battle, although the American and South Korean troops stopped attacking, they still faced the volunteer road. In order to more effectively contain the enemy, the volunteer army launched the "cold gun and cold artillery campaign", a large number of snipers with individual combat units, accumulating a small number of kills and injuries to the enemy.
The U.S. and South Korean armies were so troubled by the tactics of the volunteers that they were so beaten that they didn't even dare to go to the toilet, so they had to store the excrement in can boxes and throw them in front of the position when they were finished. That's why they stink in front of them.
Even so, from time to time, U.S. troops still became the prey of volunteer snipers. At that time, the two people who frightened them the most were Zou Xixiang and Zhang Taofang. Zou Xixiang killed two hundred and three enemies with two hundred and six bullets, while Zhang Taofang had the most shots and the farthest sniper range, killing two hundred and fourteen enemies in the entire battle, known as the "god of sniping". Interestingly, his record is actually related to a pair of shoes.
Zhang Taofang was a recruit who had just joined the army in 1951. In the new barracks, his shooting results were not outstanding, and he once made three bullets to hit three "burnt cakes" (that is, not a single shot was fired). Later, after groping, his shooting performance improved. Later, the instructor also discovered one of his characteristics: Zhang Taofang was born with farsighted eyes, and he saw distant targets more clearly than near them! He was born to be a sniper. Later, the shooting instructor conducted targeted training for him, and Zhang Taofang himself also understood with his heart, and his shooting ability was greatly improved.
On September 12, 1952, zhang Taofang's 214th Regiment of the 72nd Division of the 24th Army entered the Korean battlefield and was stationed at Wonsan. In January of the following year, the 24th Army succeeded the 15th Army led by General Qin Jiwei and garrisoned the Shangganling position. This position is located between Pingkang, Jinhua and Tieyuan, known as the "Iron Triangle", and is a place where soldiers must fight. The enemies were the US 3rd Division, the 9th Division of the South Korean Army, and the Capital Division. Since the end of the Battle of Shangganling, it has become the front line for the volunteer army to confront the enemy. Zhang Taofang, on the other hand, was also able to feed her shooting skills with "live targets". Although he did not play well at first, under the guidance of the old sniper, his performance improved rapidly, and he soon became a model figure in the army.
What is more bizarre is that Zhang Taofang once killed a defensive American soldier at a distance of 800 meters. At that time, Zhang Taofang was waiting for the target on the sniper platform and found a shaking black spot in the distance. He stared at it with his far-sighted eyes and saw that it was a bloated enemy who was walking forward little by little in the form of a turning back run in front of the position. Zhang Taofang measured it with her thumb ranging method and found that the distance between her and the target reached 800 meters. This distance, for him who does not have a professional sniper rifle, is not very strong. If it is an ordinary person, it may let the other party pass, but Zhang Taofang does not want to give up. He carefully summarized the movement rules of the other party, and first fired two shots to find a feeling. After getting ready, Zhang Taofang calculated the amount in advance, and a shot hit the past, and the enemy fell down in response!
Accurately sniping enemies is only one of Zhang Taofang's skills. At a sniper exchange meeting, Zhang Taofang took the bird as the target, 4 shots and 3 shots, and the technique was shocking four. It should be known that birds are much more flexible than people, and their size is much smaller than that of people, and old hunters usually use iron sand bullets to fight birds. Zhang Taofang, on the other hand, is using a serious rifle cartridge, without any scattering buffs! It can be seen how superb Zhang Taofang's sniper skills are.
Zhang Taofang's legendary deeds soon spread in the army, which alarmed Pi Dingjun, commander of the 24th Army. Pi Dingjun was a general in the battlefield, and when the Central Plains broke through that year, he led the "Leather Brigade" to cover the breakthrough of the large troops with a lone army, and made great achievements. He ruled the army strictly, and there was not a trace of sand in his eyes. After hearing about Zhang Taofang's deeds, his first reaction was to verify the situation. How could a recruit who had just been in the army for a few months and still had such poor early shooting results become the number one sniper in the whole army in such a short period of time? This matter cannot be investigated clearly.
Pi Dingjun summoned a staff officer and said, "I heard that the 72nd Division produced a sharpshooter?" ”
The staff officer replied, "Yes, Zhang Taofang, 214th Regiment of the 72nd Division." Just got the report that he killed 71 enemies in 22 days with 246 rounds of ammunition! ”
Pi Dingjun was silent for a while, then suddenly walked to the edge of the bed, crouched down and rummaged around. After a while, I found a new pair of leather warmer boots.
Leather boots, that is, leather boots lined with fluff, were a rare object at that time. Pi Dingjun took his boots in his hand and said to the staff officer, "We can't fully believe the figures reported below." Of course, I would also like to have a soldier who is good at marksmanship, but fighting a war can never be faked. You go to the front to take a look, and if necessary, you will examine this Zhang Taofang. If he can destroy three enemies in front of you, you will give him these boots on my behalf. If not, not only will his reward be revoked, but all the commanders on his line will be punished. ”
After receiving the order, the staff officer took his leather boots and a photojournalist named Wang Jirong and rushed to the forward position to find Zhang Taofang. He did not say his intentions, but only said to "study and study", wanting to see how Zhang Taofang snipped. Zhang Taofang did not realize that this was a big test for herself, and she was in a relaxed mood on the sniper stand. On this day, the enemy also gave face, and the outcropping activities were clean and neatly achieved by Zhang Taofang. The staff officer was very happy and immediately asked Wang Jirong to take a photo of Taofang's sniper. This photograph later became a precious historical material and was cited by major media outlets.
After getting off the sniper station, the staff officer pulled Zhang Taofang into the tunnel. Only then did he explain his intentions and organize the soldiers to open a "boot awarding ceremony" for Zhang Taofang. In the thunderous applause, Zhang Taofang blushed and smiled shyly. The staff officer hung his boots around his neck and said in a serious tone, "This is the prize given to you by the commander." He has never been willing to wear these boots, and he hopes you can wear them for your own merit. ”
Zhang Taofang heard this, looked at the pair of felt-wool shoes on her feet that had rotted to the bottom, put away her smile, and gave a standard military salute.
This pair of boots, Zhang Taofang has not worn later. This prize inspired him to constantly refresh his killing numbers in the future. A few days later, he received a notice that he had gloriously joined the Communist Youth League and was going to return to China to see Chairman Mao as a representative of the advanced members! He immediately took his boots and went to the commander of the back hill to see his commander.
Pi Dingjun was very happy after seeing Zhang Taofang, and the two chatted warmly. At this time, he saw the boots in Zhang Taofang's hand and immediately asked, "These boots are still so new, have you not been wearing them?" ”
Zhang Taofang smiled and said, "I don't want to wear these boots." I'm not going back to china, I don't need it, I'll take it back and give it back to you. You are a military commander, and you are in the safety of the whole army, so you have to pay attention to your own body. After saying that, he put his boots on the table and made a sound of metal colliding.
Pi Dingjun looked at it doubtfully and found that his boots were full of bullet casings. He asked, "What's going on?" ”
"These are my souvenirs. In the position, I left the shell casing for every enemy I killed. There are already 211 of them, and I've brought them to you. Zhang Taofang said.
Pi Dingjun nodded and said, "Very good." I heard that your results were good, and I didn't expect to see you for a few days. But it's a bit of a shame..."
Zhang Taofang quickly asked, "What regrets?" ”
"You see, you are a soldier of the 214th Regiment of the 72nd Division. Now your grades are three less than your number. It would be perfect if you could make it all. ”
Zhang Taofang listened, and a smile of "how difficult is this" appeared on her face. He immediately bid farewell to Pi Dingjun, took the gun and went to the sniper station again. In just an hour, he returned, holding three shell casings that were still warm, placing them in his boots, and then said to Pi Dingjun: "Report to the commander, I have completed the task, 214, one no more, no less." ”
Pi Dingjun smiled and said, "Very good, very good!" It seems that these boots are magical, and can inspire you to play a new record of our killing enemies. I order you to put it on now, wear it back to China for a meeting, wear it to see Chairman Mao. When you come back, you'll have to wear it to continue killing enemies! ”
In 1953, the headquarters of the Volunteer Army honored Zhang Taofangrong with special merit and awarded him the honorary title of "Second-class Sniper Hero". The Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK also awarded him the "National Flag Medal of the First Class." Zhang Taofang has since been known as the "Hero of the Cold Gun", and his exploits have been praised. His position was later called "Sniper Ridge" by the Americans, which became their insurmountable graben.