After the 358th Regiment of the 40th Army of the Volunteer Army captured the two highlands of Meiliangli East Mountain and Ma tari West Mountain, no one cheered for victory. Because they knew that, according to the urine nature of the First Marine Division, they would soon counterattack, and the fortifications on the two highlands had been largely destroyed in the previous battles, so the warriors here were busy building new fortifications.
The fortifications of the First Marine Division were almost destroyed in the attack of the Volunteer Army
As expected by the Volunteers, the First Marine Division was now nervously mobilizing its forces to prepare for a counterattack. They dispatched 3 battalions (owed 2 companies) of the 5th Marine Regiment and 1 battalion from the 7th Marine Regiment, for a total of 4 battalions of offensive strength. In addition, 3 artillery battalions and 1 tank battalion were provided with fire support on the second line. The script of the First Marine Division goes like this:
Pre-war reconnaissance revealed that only two platoons of the 358th Regiment were stationed on two heights. Due to terrain limitations, the U.S. offensive could only be carried out in company-level units. First, the volunteer positions were bombarded with aircraft and artillery, and then the infantry began to attack. This plan is actually very old-fashioned, but the plan of the First Marine Division is very meticulous, and they list two key nodes.
The volunteer soldier with a childish look on his face, holding the captured Bazooka
One was at about 200-300 meters from the volunteer position, which was the first point of resistance. The Volunteers would intercept them with heavy machine guns and mortars. The Americans used artillery and tank guns to shoot directly, destroying the volunteer fire points. The second resistance point is around 40 meters, where there will be volunteer light weapons fire and a rain of grenades.
If they can withstand this wave, the US army will have the opportunity to rush into the trenches, and the US army is superior in strength, even if it is hand-to-hand combat, it can win. Beginning at 5:00 a.m., U.S. warplanes carried out eight heavy bombardments over two high grounds, and the artillery coverage has not stopped since then. In just two hours, 3 artillery battalions fired thousands of shells. As soon as the shelling stopped, the Marines rushed up.
At this time, the firepower of the volunteer army is no longer what it was when it first entered the war two years ago
However, what they did not expect was that not long after the departure, the shells of the volunteer army came over, and it was a large-caliber artillery and mortar, and the first resistance point could not be rushed. It was not until 11 o'clock that the three companies of the first group of the Fifth Marine Regiment were beaten to the ground, and more than half of the people who lost were unable to rush to the foot of the mountain.
The U.S. army had to add another tank battalion, so that two tank battalions braved artillery fire to approach and fire, and three companies of the 7th Marine Regiment launched an onslaught under artillery fire. At this time, there were many casualties on the volunteer positions, and because the time was too short to complete the repairs, many soldiers died in the preparation of American artillery fire. Now Matarisi hill is commanding only a squad leader.
After cleaning up the battlefield after the war, it was found that the sacrificed volunteer soldiers still held their hands for a long time
After nearly 10 hours of bitter fighting, in the evening, the US army finally captured a corner of the West Hill position. There were no more complete fortifications on the positions, and both sides were lying in the craters firing light weapons. It hit sporadically until dawn the next day.
At dawn, American planes arrived, heavy bombs blew up the fortifications that the volunteers had repaired at night, and the two platoons that had just been replenished also suffered heavy casualties. But fortunately, the artillery observer Yu Chengzhi has always stuck to his post, constantly reporting the location and number of AMERICAN troops, and calling for artillery to cover. The US military once occupied the main peak of the West Mountain twice, but both were destroyed by our artillery fire.
The U.S. army in the movie "Heroes and Children"
At the most critical moment, chengzhi was the only one left on the position, and he reported to the command: Now that I am alone, I am glorious and will never retreat and fire at me. In the days that followed, the U.S. military made no major progress. Although the positions changed hands several times, they were eventually in the hands of the volunteers.
Crucially, the Volunteer Artillery played an important role in the case of significantly fewer troops than the other side. According to post-war statistics, in the 5-day defensive battle, the volunteer army suffered more than 200 casualties and annihilated more than 1,700 people of the first marine division.
Artillery observer Yu Chengzhi was a Wang Chengzhi figure
Four months later, when the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea ended, our army conscientiously summed up the experience of artillery use in the Battle of Matary and actively promoted it. 26 years later, in the Battle of Songmaoling, one infantry regiment of our army defended and 5 artillery regiments supported, annihilating nearly 4,000 enemy troops in one day. Today, our army's army's support firepower has reached the world-class level, but we must never forget the spirit of the volunteer army in daring to use inferior equipment to show the sword to the enemy.