In the Fifth Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Ridgway used "magnetic tactics" to inflict heavy losses on the volunteer army. Ridgway planned to capture the transportation hub of Tieyuan and completely cut off the route of the volunteer army's retreat to the north. Peng Dehuai, who had been in the battlefield for a long time, also saw this, and the 63rd Army closest to Tieyuan was ordered to be in danger: even if it was all gone, it was also necessary to defend Tieyuan. Fu Chongbi, commander of the 63rd Army, gave an order to Cai Changyuan, commander of the 189th Division, to hold the U.S. army for 3 days and give the 63rd Army time to repair the fortifications. After analyzing the situation between the enemy and my situation, Cai Changyuan thought that this was an impossible task to complete, so he ordered that the 189th Division be disbanded in situ.
After a month of the Fifth Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, which began on April 22, 1951, the front-line soldiers were close to the danger of running out of ammunition due to the length of the volunteer army's front line and the destruction of the volunteers' supply line by the US army. Ridgway was rapidly closing the encirclement, and Peng Dehuai realized that if he did not retreat immediately, the three main corps on the front line would be in danger of being completely annihilated.
Tieyuan is a railway from Pyongyang to Seoul, and there are many highways intersecting, which is a transportation hub. If The Iron Plains fall into enemy hands, the U.S. Army will maximize the advantages of the armored forces and completely cut off the volunteer army's northward retreat. Once the Iron Plains were occupied, it was tantamount to another Inchon landing. Both sides are famous players, and naturally they can see the key, so for The Iron Plain, one is determined to win, and the other is sworn to defend.
With the 1st Cavalry Division as the backbone, Ridgway concentrated 4 divisions with a total of 57,000 people, more than 1,300 artillery pieces, 187 tanks, and more than 300 aircraft. The unit stayed in the rear and did not participate in the battle, only waiting for the volunteers to rush straight to the Iron Plains when they were exhausted. Crucially, it only takes them a day to reach Tetsuhara.
The task of blocking the American army was handed over to the 63rd Army of the 19th Corps, and of the three corps of the 19th Corps, only the 63rd Army was relatively complete, with a total of 24,000 people at this time, less than half of the American army; 240 artillery pieces, only a fraction of the American army. There were no aircraft and tanks, and in the case of complete inferior firepower, they held out for 15 days in the front of 25 kilometers wide!
Fu Chongbi, commander of the 63rd Army, was only 35 years old
Fu Chongbi believed that only by building a strong field fortification could it be possible to hold out for 15 days, and it would take 3 days to build a fortification, so he gave the 189th Division a death order: hold the American troops for 3 days, and give the 63rd Army time to repair the fortifications. The 189th Division had only a few hours left to build fortifications, an apparently impossible task. There are no fortifications, under the powerful firepower of the US army, let alone 3 days, 3 hours can not be defended, how to fight this blockade war?
The commander of the 189th Division, Cai Chang, thoughtlessly, made a decision that had never been made in military history: the 189th Division was disbanded in situ! He knew his soldiers, and the volunteers were super disciplined and organized, able to gather and disperse. The disbanded 189th Division, with squads and platoons as units, divided into more than 200 small units, dispersed into a huge area of 25 kilometers wide and 20 kilometers deep, and established more than 200 small simple positions.
The 189th Division of the Volunteer Army was dispersed into more than 200 small units
Ridgway was stunned when he heard the news, which completely subverted his perception as a tactical master. He had envisioned a variety of defensive plans for the volunteer army, but he never imagined that someone would disband the troops and let them fight separately.
Each simple position has more than a dozen people, as few as three or five people, in the face of the powerful firepower of the US army, it is easily destroyed in tens of minutes, and the people in the position cannot survive. However, there are more than 200 such simple positions, and when the US troops fight one by one, the time of 3 days has already passed, and the volunteers are exchanging their lives for time.
Even if they fight separately, they will not let the US military move forward
The 189th Division successfully held the Americans back for 3 days, destroying hundreds of improvised positions and killing half of the soldiers. The 63rd Army used this time to complete the construction of field fortifications, successfully delayed the US army for 15 days, and effectively guaranteed the retreat of the large troops of the volunteer army to the north.
Looking around the world, only volunteers can accomplish such feats. Leaving aside the super organizational discipline, its will to fight is unmatched. Every soldier in the improvised position knows that he will undoubtedly die, and this kind of lifeless task, placed in the armies of other countries, will inevitably cause a collapse of morale, and passive combat or even direct surrender are possible.
During the Battle of Tieyuan Blockade, the volunteer army launched a charge
But the volunteers did not, and the simple positions not far away were destroyed, and the comrades-in-arms were sacrificed in front of their eyes, which not only did not frighten them, but also stimulated their enemy heart. With this fighting spirit and spirit, the volunteer army is a well-deserved king of light infantry.