On the Korean battlefield in February 1951, the Volunteer Army entered its most difficult period since entering the war. After entering the DPRK, four large-scale campaigns were launched in succession, and the troops had almost no time to rest, and the materials, ammunition, and troops were seriously depleted, but it was too late to replenish. What is even more serious is that with the continuous lengthening of the front line and the crazy bombing of our logistics and transportation lines by US aircraft, the logistics supply of the soldiers on the front line cannot be effectively guaranteed.
Ridgway, a troublesome opponent, judged the difficult situation of the volunteer army:
The soldiers were tired and the food and grass were poor.
In the eyes of the leader of the YOUNG AND STRONG faction of the US army, this is a good time to launch a new offensive and further expand the results of the battle to the north. The reality is that all the units of the Volunteer Army are in an extremely difficult situation.
Therefore, on February 16, General Peng ordered the volunteer army to retreat backwards to the north of the 38th Line. Mr. Peng made this decision under tremendous pressure, and he once said to Hong Xuezhi: "People will ask us, what is wrong with you?" The last battle was fought so well, and it suddenly reached the three or seven lines, how could this battle be withdrawn so far at once? In the face of such problems, how to explain to the democratic camp, to the Chinese people, and to the Korean people? ”
The military is subordinate to politics, and the retreat is not a sudden retreat to the 38th Line, which will not only have a great political impact, but also dampen the morale of the army. To this end, General Manager Peng formulated "retreat indicators" for all armies, clearly stipulating how many kilometers can be retreated in a day. And as long as the enemy does not advance, I will not retreat; when the enemy retreats, I will go further.
On 20 February, Ridgway gave the Eighth Army the order to "butcher's operations" in order not to give the Volunteers and the Korean People's Army time to rest.
In order to level the concave front created by the breakthrough of the Volunteers in the Battle of Hengcheng, while the Americans on the Western Front were doing the northern crossing of the Han River, the US First Marine Division, the First Cavalry Division, the British Twenty-seventh Brigade, and the Third and Sixth Divisions of South Korea began to launch a fierce attack on the Volunteer Corps 42nd, 66th and 38th Armies on the Hengcheng front.
Wu Ruilin, commander of the 42nd Army, was very clear in his heart the extreme difficulties that the troops were currently encountering. In order to delay the enemy's northward advance to the greatest extent possible, Wu Ruilin followed the principle of "light front and rear weight" in the arrangement of troops and the principle of "heavy front and light after rear" in the allocation of firepower, with the aim of repeatedly competing with the US troops in the forward positions of a small number of troops.
In addition, Wu Ruilin also ordered all regimental, battalion, and company cadres and combat backbone cadres to draw down half of them and reserve them on the second-line positions. In order to ensure that once the front line is exhausted, these reserve cadres and backbones can quickly reorganize the battle.
The blockade battle was very fierce, and the enemy, under the cover of aircraft, artillery, and tanks, threw himself into the attack with the strength of the whole battalion and the whole regiment. The volunteers and the enemy repeatedly competed for forward positions, and many companies on the front-line positions ended up fighting with only a few people left, and some positions were even completely exhausted.
The 2nd Company of the 377th Regiment defended Baolongli, fighting bloodily for five days and nights, and finally only the second squad leader Zhao Xingwang was left on the position. With two companies of troops, the U.S. army crawled in two directions to the position with only one Chinese soldier, and Zhao Xingwang ran back and forth on the position, and the machine guns and grenades never stopped.
The U.S. army thought that a large number of reinforcements had come up from the position, but it was never able to climb up. In order to seize the position of Baolongli, the 1st Cavalry Division of the United States spent six days organizing thirty-two attacks, and the largest attack was the strength of a regiment. In front of the position, more than 220 American corpses were left.
Just when the blockade battle was at its most arduous, a message from the front made cadres at all levels of the 42nd Army nervous:
A volunteer soldier shot down a U.S. plane with a machine gun. It was Guan Chonggui, a northeastern Hanzi, who shot down this US military plane.
Guan Chonggui was an authentic northeastern man, whose hometown was in Meihekou City, Jilin Province, and joined the revolution in November 1947. When the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea broke out, he was the deputy squad leader and machine gunner of the second squad of the 1st Platoon of the 1st Company of the 375th Regiment.
In this blockade, his company attacked his own British Twenty-seventh Brigade on Hill 614. It was a necessity for the soldiers to fight for days, but the British attacks not only did not weaken, but became more fierce. In the afternoon, more than a dozen U.S. aircraft also came to help in the battle.
Since entering Korea, the Volunteer Army has been attacked by US aircraft. The arrogant American pilots had never encountered ground fire since they entered the Korean War, so every time they came, they flew close to the heads of the volunteer soldiers, and the wings could almost lift the hats of the soldiers when they swooped.
Guan Chonggui was a hot-blooded man, and the enemy plane's unscrupulous bombing and strafing made him anxious, and he raised his machine gun to strafe the enemy plane. Ammunition man Marco Xin quickly stopped him: "Deputy squad leader, let's not make a mistake!" ”
The Volunteers had regulations prohibiting aircraft shooting at the air. The reason is simple: small arms fire against the air not only can not hit the aircraft, but will expose the ground target, thus inviting more accurate enemy bombing. This was a lesson that the volunteers exchanged their blood for in the early days of entering the korean war, so that this discipline was emphasized very strictly, and the handling after violation was also very severe.
It is not difficult to understand that Guan Chonggui laid down the enemy plane, and the military leaders were not only not happy, but on the contrary, they were very nervous.
In the face of Marco's new persuasion, guan Chonggui, who was anxious, shouted: "It's a big deal to shoot me!" With that, he took up his gun and fired a strafing, firing seven rounds, but not. An enemy plane swooped down at him, and Guan Chonggui fired again, firing seven bullets. As a result, even he himself froze in the scene, and a US P-51 fighter jet emitted black smoke, planted its head into a ravine, and exploded violently after hitting the ground.
The volunteer soldiers on the position cheered!
The news quickly reached the regiment, which immediately ordered it to find out who had fired the gun. The battalion headquarters quickly sent people to the position to ask, but no one admitted, no one said Guan Chonggui, and everyone said they didn't know. Guan Chonggui stood up and admitted that he had done it himself, and the discipline he had committed was likely to be a big mistake in killing the head.
Before the battalion headquarters could make a decision on how to deal with Guan Chonggui, the enemy's more frantic attack began again. Guan Chonggui took up his machine gun and shot back and forth at the position, thinking that he would take advantage of the opportunity to kill a few more enemies. The 1st Company withstood the attack of a battalion of British troops.
The matter of Guan Chonggui's landing of the plane was reported to Peng Zongna step by step, and it was all an opinion on the handling of the request. Peng Zongyi, who was having weak anti-aircraft firepower for the volunteers, was extremely excited. After inquiring about what had happened, he said: "This disciplinary offender has learned that the light weapons in his hands can shoot down enemy aircraft." To give this warrior a heavy prize. ”
Because of this incident, Guan Chonggui was awarded the title of "first-class combat hero" and recorded special merit, and decided to carry out activities to learn from Guan Chonggui in various units and promote the experience of shooting down enemy aircraft with small arms. When the order was announced, Guan Chonggui felt that he was dreaming, and he felt unsteady in his heart, and he made a request to the regiment: to record a punishment for himself.
Bao Nansen, the political commissar of the regiment, was amused, and deliberately raised his face and said: "Don't be stupid, go on, I really deal with you!" ”
After this incident, Guan Chonggui's fighting spirit was greatly encouraged, and he showed amazing bravery and tenacity in the following battles. He led a squad to block the enemy, and after all the soldiers of the squad were killed, he was the only one left on the position, and by this time the large army had retreated.
The enemy's planes continued to bombard the positions defended by Guan Chonggui alone, and the gaps in the bombardment were faintly heard as the gunshots of resistance were heard on the positions. To the disbelief of the enemy, the bombardment had been going on for several days, and there were still gunfire of resistance on the volunteer positions.
Wu Ruilin was not relieved, and sent two battalions to encircle it from both sides of the position. After the troops rushed up, they saw that on this position full of british and volunteer corpses, there was indeed another comrade of their own, that is, Guan Chonggui.
It turned out that when the large troops withdrew, Guan Chonggui did not come down. He hid in the crevices of the stone and shot at the enemy, holding his position alone, never letting the enemy occupy this small position. Ammunition and food were gone, so he searched among the corpses, and he stood alone in this position for two days and three nights.
When the warriors who rushed up saw Guan Chonggui, he could no longer stand up due to hunger and fatigue. Next to him, there were more than thirty rifles, machine guns, and submachine guns collected from British corpses. Everyone was in awe of this steely man.
After Peng Zong learned of this, he immediately issued an order: Use it on Guan Chonggui who has been promoted to the third level in a row! Kwan Chonggui was directly appointed deputy company commander from deputy squad leader, and the government of the Korean People's Republic awarded him the "Medal of Honor for Soldier of the First Class".
It takes not only courage, but also wit and firm faith! There are many lonely heroes like Guan Chonggui on the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and among the officers and men of the Volunteer Army.
The officers and men of the volunteer army not only relied on their fearless courage and tenacious perseverance to fight against the enemy armed to the teeth, but more importantly, behind them was the Yalu River, the northeast industrial base, the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, and the happiness and stability of hundreds of millions of Chinese compatriots.
"Defending the family and defending the country" is not a slogan, but a sacred mission engraved in their bones, for this mission, even in the face of death, they have nothing to fear, this is a lovely and respectable volunteer soldier, an admirable Chinese soldier.
The great victory in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea laid the foundation for China's position in all countries in the world, and also allowed China to gain nearly a hundred years of peaceful development, thanks to the strategic vision of the great leader Chairman Mao, which was also bought with the blood of 170,000 volunteer soldiers.
The predecessors planted trees, and the posterity cooled down! Don't forget the grace of the previous generations who planted trees!