MacArthur's misjudgment of whether China would send troops to Korea suffered heavy losses in the next two battles, and the overall morale of the Un army seemed to be somewhat depressed.
In November 1950, Ridgway succeeded Walker, who had been killed in a car accident during the retreat, as commander of the 8th Army, officially becoming a direct subordinate of MacArthur.
But it didn't take long for Ridgway to succeed MacArthur as commander-in-chief of the United Nations Army. This matter can be largely judged to have been premeditated, because Ridgway's ability is not much worse than MacArthur's, but he is slightly inferior in merit and seniority.
Ridgway was sent here to supervise Maxus and pressure him, clearly telling him: If you don't do well, someone will naturally take over you!
Ridgway was also an old fox, and he had long wanted to touch the Chinese volunteers to see what level the Chinese army was.
But what Li Qiwei never expected was that he had not yet weighed the "muscles" of the Chinese army, so he was given a lesson by the other side and paid a tuition fee.
At the same time, the Chinese volunteers opened all 12 valves of the Huachuan Reservoir between Chunchuan and Huachuan, and suddenly reproduced the scene of "flooding the golden mountain". The unhindered current rushed toward the American troops downstream, and they were washed to pieces and suffered heavy losses.
And the author of this "a good play" is Wu Xinquan, commander of the 39th Army!
Initial strategy
After February 1951, the US military accumulated experience in the first three battles and launched the fourth campaign to resist the United States and aid Korea. Although the US army suffered losses in the previous battles, it could not stand them with good equipment and supplies, so those battles did not hurt their bones.
On the other hand, on the chinese side, although the previous battles had won major victories and fought out their own courage, the volunteer army was very hasty in entering the DPRK, so hurried that most of the troops did not even have time to bring cotton clothes for the winter. Supplies are also still in transit.
Therefore, in the face of the counterattack of the US army, the volunteer army formulated a strategy in time. The western front positions organized defenses to buy valuable time for the evacuation and retirement of the eastern front positions. When the U.S. army gradually advanced the front line to the 38th line, some volunteer troops began to have a food shortage crisis.
The 378th Regiment of the 42nd Army, which held its position in zhongyuanshan on the eastern front, had been without food for 2 days. According to records, when they received the order to retreat, all the fighters were already hungry and had no strength to walk down the mountain, and the commander Wu Ruilin ordered urgently and shocked to concentrate the fried noodles of the military headquarters and send the positions of the 378 regiment to the soldiers to eat.
At this time, Ridgway and Wu Xinquan were engaged in a game of air in their respective headquarters.
Ridgway planned a "tearing operation" plan, hoping to use the elite of the "United Nations Army" to open a gap in the Hongchuan and Huachuan areas, disconnect the practice between the volunteers on the eastern front and the volunteers on the western front, and then detour to the side of the volunteer army on the western front, cross the "38th line" again, and bring back the inferior situation of this war.
However, Wu Xinquan, commander of the 39th Army of the Volunteer Army, was an old Red Army soldier who had followed the Communist Party from the Long March to the present, a veteran who had experienced hundreds of battles, and had long been aware of Ridgway's plan and began to wait for an opportunity to counterattack. But knowing the enemy's intentions and cracking the enemy's intentions are two different things, and he needs to ensure that he has enough time to get rid of the enemy and then retreat to the resting place.
So he immediately summoned all the command cadres to give advice, and although the several strategies that everyone had painstakingly proposed were not bad, they did not necessarily have a miraculous effect on the old fox Ridgway.
After a long discussion, his mind was filled with all kinds of suggestions from his subordinates, numerous and cluttered. Wu Xinquan simply let everyone go to rest and eat, and he calmed down his thoughts alone.
Wu Xinquan took out a map of the Huachuan area, and while observing the terrain, he turned the line into a complete rope in his mind. Suddenly, Wu Xinquan saw four words in a blue area on the map, Huachuan Reservoir, and he counted them in his heart.
Implementation plan
In order to ensure that his plan could be carried out safely and smoothly, Wu Xinquan ordered the head of the reconnaissance section to personally lead the team to the dam of the Huachuan Reservoir to investigate. Make all the information about the gates and water storage clear, then close all the gates of the dam to raise the water level of the reservoir.
He then ordered the 115th Division to send people to guard the high ground next to the Huachuan Reservoir to prevent the enemy from attacking the north of Yingfeng Mountain. The enemy was able to crack this plan by closing the dam's gates, so the task of the 115th Division was to take advantage of all available conditions to firmly hold the Huachuan Reservoir in its own hands.
When the dam was filled with water for eight days, Wu Xinquan received information that the US military was going to cross the Han River from the downstream of the reservoir, and immediately ordered the floodgates to be opened to release water.
At this time, Wu Xinquan's subordinates put forward their own suggestions: directly blow up the dam, which will make the water more ferocious. However, after a short period of thought, Wu Xinquan rejected this suggestion, and his vision was more long-term, in wartime, some resources could be used, but things should not be done too much until the last resort.
Although blowing up the dam will make the water more ferocious, it is only the icing on the cake, not necessary, and will make post-war reconstruction more manpower and material resources.
However, Wu Xinquan asked his subordinates to destroy the opening and closing mechanism of the dam, in order to prevent the dam from falling into the hands of the enemy, and the enemy used it against himself. With Wu Xinquan's order, 12 sluice gates were opened at the same time, and the water flowed downstream like a flying dragon, and within half an hour, the water level rose by nearly 1.5 meters.
Taken a heavy hit
The "United Nations Army" downstream was still "strolling" in the river, when suddenly a torrent rushed down from the upstream, unstoppable. They did not expect that the volunteer army would use such a method, and the troops who were cut off by the current could only watch as the troops who were crossing the river were swept away by the water.
After the scene gradually stabilized, the "United Nations Army" realized that this was a ploy of the Volunteer Army and immediately reported the situation at the scene to its superiors. The artillery company positions of the "United Nations Army" and the pontoon bridges originally erected have been washed away, and the tents have been swept away by the water, and they can now only be stationed on the river and cannot advance.
After the "United Nations Army" command received the battle situation, it immediately sent someone to transport the storm boat and ordered an attack on the Huachuan Reservoir. However, the volunteers had long anticipated this step, and had stationed elite forces on the adjacent highlands early, and several attacks organized by the US army at night were all repulsed.
By the time the Americans brought in the storm boats, the volunteers had been holding them back for almost a week. In the end, Wu Xinquan perfectly completed the mission, allowing the "United Nations Army" to stay in place for almost a week or more, and fully bought time for the troops on the Eastern Front to complete the withdrawal plan and organize the defensive line.
Moreover, in some subsequent battles, the natural barrier formed by the Huachuan Reservoir played a particularly large role in blocking the enemy.
brief summary:
Just like the martial arts masters in the rivers and lakes, every grass and tree can become their weapon. Commanders on the battlefield, grass and trees can also become their strategy. When the two sides are in a balance of power, occupying a favorable terrain can increase the leverage for victory for your side.
When your side is at a disadvantage, a favorable terrain can also turn the situation upside down and turn defeat into victory. Sun Tzu's methods of warfare can be devious and changeable, just as Wu Xinquan can turn an inconspicuous reservoir into a weapon to kill the enemy.