During the period of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the weapons and equipment of the People's Volunteers and the United Nations Army were very different, but there was such a battle, the volunteer army did not release a single shot and a cannon, but it was enough to stop the United Nations army for six days and six nights, which afterwards made Ridgway stunned and dumbfounded, and became a nightmare in his military career. How did they come up with this miracle?
Beginning in 1950, the People's Volunteers were full of vigor and vowed to drive US imperialism out of their homeland, and taking advantage of this unyielding courage, they did play a lot of brilliant results at the beginning, so that the United Nations army had to retreat to the south of the 38th Line.
However, with the passage of time, many shortcomings of our army have gradually been revealed, the most important of which is that the domestic industrial development is not enough to support long-term operations, the supply in the later period cannot keep up, and the weapons and ammunition are seriously lacking.
Moreover, at that time, the soldiers did not have enough to eat and wear warm, and they often fought in single clothes on the cold days of the number nine, and the meal was only powder made of rice and flour, and there were almost no vegetables and fruits, which caused the physical fitness of the soldiers to decline year after year for a long time.
Without good soldiers, there are no good troops, so what the volunteers urgently need now is to retire and retire to avoid affecting the future combat trend.
Soon, under Chairman Mao's decision, Peng Dehuai led his troops to northern Korea for recuperation and prepared for the final decisive battle, while the 39th Army of the Volunteer Army also quickly withdrew to the west bank of the Han River for strategic defense.
On the other hand, after three battles in the Korean battlefield, not only did our army fall into a state of exhaustion, the US army was also mired in one defeat after another, and the commander MacArthur from the beginning looked down on the Chinese army, to the later was beaten to the heart, arrogant to the extreme, but also angered Truman, so the top commander of the US army was changed from MacArthur to Ridgway, hoping that after this change of coach, the war situation could be reversed.
Compared with MacArthur's arrogance, Ridgway has always been steady and steady, saying that the new officers took office with three fires, and as soon as Ridgway took office, he began a large-scale rectification, incidentally transferring a large number of supplies to the troops, increasing the soldiers' good feelings for him, and later taking the flour that the volunteers usually eat, hoping that the army would also learn this firm will, but how could the American soldiers appreciate the perseverance and determination of the volunteers?
After careful analysis of the situation of our army, Ridgway clearly felt that something was wrong with the volunteer army, when the soldiers were retreating on a large scale, and had no intention of engaging, they were all advancing towards a target, so Ridgway thought that this was an excellent opportunity to carry out a blockade battle, and if he pursued the retreating volunteer army, he would definitely gain a lot.
As soon as Ridgway's pursuit order was issued, the 39th Army could only speed up the process of hurrying, and it would never engage the US army until it had to, after all, the weapons and equipment of the two sides were really poor, and the US aircraft and artillery were all available, but our army often ran out of bullets.
In addition, the number of people is also a lot worse, if there is a war, not only will it be difficult to protect itself, but also let the retreating vanguard troops lose protection, the 39th Army is on a mission, in this difficult situation, can only withdraw troops while thinking of ways to block the US army.
In April 1951, the 39th Army had arrived in the Chuncheon and Huachuan areas, and they received orders to drag the US army to attack, but at that time our army did not have air superiority, not only was it extremely inconvenient to transport and fight, but even the strength to compete with the US army was not there, and the physical strength of the soldiers was about to reach its limit, and the task of dragging the US army to seize the high ground was particularly difficult at this time.
Since he could not think of a way, the cadre Wu Xinquan decided to go around and try to find a favorable terrain that could help him turn the tide of the war, and finally the kung fu paid off, and as he turned around, Wu Xinquan discovered the existence of the Huachuan Reservoir, and at this time he already had a way to block the US army in his mind.
To ensure that the plan was foolproof, Wu Xinquan personally surveyed the terrain with Cai Yu, the head of the reconnaissance section, and carefully studied each step on the sand table.
There are not a few cases of "replacing soldiers with water", and the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has described a classic battle, Guan Yu flooded the Seventh Army, captured in the forbidden, beheaded Pound, and since then threatened the Central Plains.
However, if you do not make good use of the water conditions, it will also cause casualties in our army and have a great impact on the local people, and the breaking of the Yellow River embankment over the years is a good example, so Wu Xinquan must find the best of both worlds no matter what.
After much deliberation, he decided to have the soldiers close all 12 gates of the reservoir, thereby storing water on a large scale, and by April 9, the reservoir had been filled for eight days.
As the saying goes, everything is ready only thanks to the east wind, this morning, the volunteer army finally waited for the US army to cross the river, when they were still in the United States, such shallow water is not easy to pass.
However, they did not know that as Wu Xinquan quickly opened the floodgates, the river blocked by the 12 gates instantly rushed the US tanks and trucks like a flood beast, causing them to temporarily lose their ability to quickly pursue and long-term combat, and at the same time, the US troops were also scattered in the water, providing sufficient time for the volunteers to retreat.
In fact, the suggestion of Cai Yu, the head of the reconnaissance section at that time, was to blow up the dam to avoid that the 12 gates could not be opened at the same time, and the amount of water was not enough to cause a fatal blow to the US military.
But Wu Xinquan showed a heart of benevolence and righteousness, believing that the reservoir can still be used to generate electricity after the battle, and we can destroy a little less damage on people's land.
When Wu Xinquan arranged for the soldiers to open the gate, the US army was preparing the sapper bridge downstream, completely unaware that the danger was coming, with Wu Xinquan's order, the water level in the lower reaches of the Han River rose rapidly, and the rolling waves did not give the US troops the opportunity to react, along with the soldiers and material equipment, they were suddenly submerged in the water.
Under the panic of the US military and the surprise of Ridgway, after the flood was another world, Wu Xinquan and Cai Yu prepared a "big gift package" for them for eight days, so that the bridge collapsed, the road was muddy, and the communication equipment was all interrupted, and the advanced mechanized troops of the United States became a burden on this muddy road.
It was already close to catching up with the volunteers, who knew that this trip to the flood directly allowed the US troops to rest in place for six days and six nights, and only after the seventh day of regrouping was completed, the 39th Army at this time had already retreated to the designated location and carried out the defense plan according to the deployment.
Afterwards, looking back on the flooding of the US army this time, in fact, it was not as easy as imagined, except for Wu Xinquan's wit and command, it was completely inseparable from the favorable time and place, so that our army could use the terrain to play.
During the eight days of water storage, the troops had been fighting the enemy, and the volunteer soldiers bravely marched forward again and again, so that the American troops did not advance one step, thus destroying Wu Xinquan's grand plan.
In addition, the time when Wu Xinquan released the water was in the early morning, when the sky was slightly bright, the visibility was not very high, and the soldiers who acted quietly were completely able to hide their eyes and ears, and after dawn, the initiative in the war had been mastered by our army, so Wu Xinquan's plan could be implemented, and it was inseparable from the efforts of the frontline soldiers.
Under the premise that the weapons and equipment were extremely disparate and all the soldiers were exhausted, the volunteer army gave full play to its own wisdom and ingenuity, did not release a single shot and a cannon, but blocked the United Nations army for six days and six nights, so that the US military could not help but sigh, military textbooks have not taught this style of play.
When Ridgway recalls the Korean War, he cannot forget this nightmarish battle, writing in his memoirs: Until now, every time I think of that war, I am still shocked by the wisdom of the Chinese soldiers!
Facts have proved that the history of the United States in just 200 years is far inferior to the 5,000 years of cultural accumulation in our country, so how can we understand that mountains, rivers, and mountains are all soldiers?
Whether it is Guan Yu of the flooded Seventh Army or Wu Xinquan of the flooded American Army, they are all members of thousands of good sons and daughters of China, who have inadvertently won by surprise, formulated combat methods according to local conditions, blocked enemies a hundred times stronger than themselves, and demonstrated benevolence and great wisdom.