On January 3, 1951, the 149th Division of the 50th Army of the Volunteer Army received a successful report, the division used 3 battalions of troops to eliminate 27 British "Centurion" tanks and captured 4. It also captured 18 cars, 3 armored vehicles, and 2 howitzers, annihilated more than 300 British troops, captured 1 major, and 227 others. Hearing such good news, Mr. Peng's eyebrows were twisted, and he said coldly: "Lying about the results of the battle is to kill the head!" "Why is this happening? It turned out that the performance of the 50th Army before him was too dissatisfied.
British tanks blown up by the 446th Regiment of the 50th Army
The 50th Army was originally the 60th Army of the Yunnan Army, but in October 1948, under the leadership of its commander Zeng Zesheng, it was reorganized into the 50th Army of the People's Liberation Army. After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, it was reorganized into the 50th Army of the Volunteer Army, which was one of the first volunteer troops to cross the Yalu River.
However, in the first and second battles, the performance of the 50th Army can only be described as bad. Because the ideological mobilization work is not in place, the 50th Army has a common "life-saving mentality" and "short-term work mentality," and even has strange words about "eating confused meals, taking confused roads, and fighting confused wars." In view of the above situation, after the end of the second campaign, the whole army began a major ideological rectification, readjusting personnel, summing up experience, and criticizing erroneous thinking.
After rectification, the thinking of the 50th Army has undergone a great change, and the army has put forward the slogan: We must dare to meet the enemy, and meeting with the enemy is victory. This can also be seen in the performance of the 50th Army in the first two battles. At the beginning of the third campaign, Shiji's requirements for the 50th Army were not high: to cooperate with the 39th Army to cross the Linjin River and annihilate the pseudo-First Division. General Manager Peng particularly stressed that the 39th Army should receive the 50th Army to cross the river.
On 1 January, the 50th Army crossed the Linjin River under the strategy of the 39th Army, but only attacked forward for 2 kilometers before stopping, and by this time the performance of the 50th Army was still shaking. The turning point occurred on January 2, when the intended enemy pseudo-1st Division of the 50th Army suddenly fled out of sight, and Shiji temporarily adjusted the task of the 50th Army: to attack Gaoyang.
The volunteers braved artillery fire to cross the river
Located 20 kilometers northwest of Seoul, Goyang was the combined defense of the 35th Regiment of the 25th Division of the U.S. Army and the Royal Ulest Rifle Regiment of the British 29th Brigade, and the two armies had their own divisions of labor and mixed together. Tearing open this opening, the door to Seoul was completely opened.
After receiving the order, the 50th Army sent the 149th Division to quickly pounce on Gaoyang, and the division's reconnaissance company and the 1st Battalion of the 446th Regiment were used as the vanguard to conduct reconnaissance. About 15 kilometers north of Gaoyang, fighters and U.S. troops met unexpectedly. The 35th Regiment of the US 25th Division was nicknamed the "Wolfhound Regiment of the Pacific", but at this time the US Army had no intention of fighting, and the "Wolfhound" became a lost dog.
The Centurion tank equipped by the Royal Heavy Tank Regiment was one of the most powerful tanks of the time
The American pit teammates were not the first time, and the 35th Regiment escaped and directly sold the British 29th Brigade, causing them to face the volunteers directly. At this time, there were two options in front of the 1st Battalion, one was to guard according to the predetermined plan and wait for the arrival of the main force behind. The second is to take the initiative to attack and annihilate the current enemy.
After a brief weighing, Battalion 1 chose the latter. First, Gaoyang is the only way for the British army to retreat, and if it does not fight now, if the British army wants to flee, it is tantamount to letting the tiger return to the mountain. Only by dragging them back will the main force have a chance to annihilate them. Second, the 50th Army's heart is full of resentment and wants to use victory to justify itself. At the moment when the 1st Battalion made this decision, the unit had actually undergone a transformation.
British tanks destroyed by the Volunteers
In the early morning of 3 January, the 1st Battalion launched a surprise attack, crushing a company of British troops, annihilating 47 enemy troops, and inflicting no casualties on their own. The 1st Battalion occupied Hill 195.3, cutting off the British retreat. After dawn, the British concentrated 12 guns, 7 tanks and 16 American aircraft began to bombard the 195.3 heights in an attempt to open the opening, and by noon, the 1st Battalion and 1 Company had only 17 men left.
At this time, Zeng Zesheng, commander of the 50th Army, understood in his heart that the 1st Battalion used itself as bait to create a good opportunity for the whole army to annihilate the enemy army, and he ordered all the troops of the whole army to quickly move closer to the 1st Battalion. Battalion 1 held out on 195.3 high ground until 19:00 p.m. By the time the other two battalions arrived, the 1st Battalion was largely incapacitated, and the British had begun a slow retreat.
Wounded volunteer soldiers are still holding out the fight
The British "Centurion" tank was the biggest trouble for the volunteers, and the soldiers could not beat it. There is only one way to stop them: to trade their lives for them. Taking advantage of the fact that the enemy tanks did not dare to turn on the lights at night, the soldiers lay on the road with explosives packages, and rolled to the side when the tanks approached and pulled the fuse. But at such a close distance, the air wave can also shock people to death, and the warriors can't manage so much.
When a series of explosions sounded, the British army completely collapsed. 27 Centurion tanks and 3 armored vehicles were destroyed, the B Company of the Utres Rifle Regiment was completely annihilated, the Heavy Firearms Company and the C Company were severely damaged, and the 50th Army fought its first major victory since the war.
The 50th Army became one of the first two units to attack Seoul
When the news came, Mr. Peng did not believe it, so he would say that "lying about the results of the battle is to kill the head." It was not until after verifying the results of the battle that General Manager Peng became excited, saying: "This kind of bold combat action deserves to be studied by the whole army and praised by the general order." Commander Zeng Zesheng said happily: We can finally raise our heads in front of the brother troops! In the subsequent Battle of the Han River Blockade, the 50th Army held its position for 50 days and nights, and the tragic situation and the glory of the battle results shocked everyone. The 50th Army thus entered the ranks of the main force of our army.