In June 1950, the Korean War broke out, and the U.S. military imposed intervention in the Korean Civil War and sent troops to land at Inchon, which changed the war situation in Korea in one fell swoop.
Ignoring our warnings, the US military burned the flames of war south of the 38th Parallel and pushed the front near the Yalu River, threatening the security of our northeast border.
MacArthur and his U.S. generals were arrogant, believing that China would not dare to send troops to confront them, and made a special guarantee to U.S. President Truman.
But MacArthur was wrong, and China at this time was no longer the republic of China government under the leadership of chiang kai-shek, but a new China headed by Chairman Mao. We are not afraid of the US military, and the chairman even more despises the US military, calling them "paper tigers", and we must despise the enemy strategically and attach importance to the enemy tactically.
Chairman Mao stood tall and looked far ahead, and after thinking about it, he felt that he must send troops to Korea to resist us aggression and aid Korea. At that time, there was great resistance to the invasion of North Korea, and many people did not agree or be confident that the Chinese army at that time could defeat the first-class Us army.
The chairman expounded his reasons for supporting the dispatch of troops to aid the DPRK, and was supported by the premier and President Peng and others, and persuaded those who opposed the dispatch of troops.
The Chinese volunteers, under the command of Mr. Peng, secretly sent troops to Korea and attacked the American army in the first and second battles.
MacArthur's "coalition forces" suffered heavy losses, and he himself was also disgraced, and in a frenzy, he even proposed to Truman the atomic bomb.
Truman, unlike MacArthur, did not want to expand the war, and the use of atomic bombs against our country would have irreparable consequences. Eventually, Truman removed MacArthur and soon had Ridgway take over as he commanded the Coalition.
In terms of performance on the Korean battlefield, Ridgway was much better than MacArthur. After Ridgway took over MacArthur's post, some of the weaknesses of the Volunteer Army were thoroughly studied by him, which caused us great losses.
Ridgway attacked strongly
After the outbreak of the Korean War, the commander of the US Eighth Army, Walker, died, and Ridgway took over his position and served as the commander of the ground forces of the "United Nations Army".
Through various intelligence data analysis, Ridway judged that the volunteer army had great logistical deficiencies, and in January 1951, he planned to abandon Seoul as a strategic bait to lengthen the volunteers' logistics line, and launched a counterattack in February of the same year.
Ridgway's counterattack, which we call the Fourth Campaign, was planned to take advantage of the volunteers' recuperation to make a surprise counterattack. The volunteer army had a certain degree of prevention against the sudden attack of the US army, and senior generals such as Peng Laozong and Han Xianchu had prepared a way to deal with it.
On February 20, 1951, Ridgway launched the "Butcher Operation" and "Tear Operation" to attack Seoul and Hengcheng. After discussion, the volunteer army felt that there were many plains south of the 38th Parallel, which was not suitable for our army to fight, and chose to retreat tactically.
As a senior commander of the US army, Ridgway was very aware of the weaknesses of the volunteer army's logistical supply, and he did not intend to give up this opportunity to pursue the volunteer army, and launched the "rampage operation" plan, planning to occupy strategic places such as Binh Kang, Chewon and Jinhua.
The top brass of the Volunteer Army knew very well that if Ridgway captured these strategic points as he wished, he would directly threaten North Korea and could drive straight in. Therefore, General Peng Laodian ordered all units of the Volunteer Army to organize a counterattack, use the terrain to block the enemy's offensive, and turn passive into active.
In mountain combat, the mechanized units of the US military cannot play their full role, and their combat effectiveness will be reduced. The volunteer army blocked the attack layer by layer, the US army suffered heavy losses, and our army dispatched many small-scale troops to harass and strike at the enemy, which greatly delayed the enemy's advance.
Ridgway's "furious operation" offensive was unfavorable, and the troops sent news that the attack was blocked, which made him hesitate to continue to advance. Soon, the U.S. attack on the Huachuan Reservoir was blocked, and the morale of the troops fell to the extreme.
288.4 Highland Hero Company Commander Zhao Zhili
In March 1951, after the 115th Division of the 39th Army of the Volunteer Army completed the task of blocking the enemy, the troops withdrew from the North Han River, leaving the 1st Company of the 344th Regiment to hold the 288.4 heights of Huachuan Lake to block the enemy's advance to the north.
Zhao Zhili, commander of the 1st Company, accepted this task and stepped up the layout of the defensive line at The 288.4 Heights, waiting for the American army to attack. In April, a regiment of the US 1st Marine Division arrived at Lake Huachuan and launched a four-day attack there, all of which ended in failure.
On the first day, the US army launched an attack on the 288.4 heights with the strength of the whole platoon and the whole company, and the company commander Zhao Lizhi commanded the company to counterattack and repelled six enemy attacks.
During this period, the US military used aircraft and artillery to indiscriminately bombard the 288.4 heights, and the volunteers hid in the fortifications without causing too many casualties.
At any cost, the US military continued to drop a large number of incendiary bombs, gasoline bombs and other lethal weapons to the 288.4 highland, blowing up the highland of less than 500 square meters into a sea of fire.
After a company of stubborn resistance, the U.S. army failed to occupy Hill 288.4 on the first day, and at night, the volunteers took advantage of the night to repair the fortifications that had been blown up by the U.S. army during the day.
The next day, the US army was not willing to lose, still launched a fierce attack on the 288.4 heights, the method is still the same, first bomb the 288.4 highlands with a large number of shells, and then concentrate superior forces to launch a charge.
Under the command of company commander Zhao Zhili, the volunteer army repelled several enemy attacks. Several consecutive attacks were blocked, the US army judged that the strength of the 288.4 highland garrison had at least one battalion, and the First Marine Division decided to continue to launch a fierce attack on the highlands with the strength of the whole battalion, and when the position was in danger, Zhao Zhili personally led the team to organize a counter-charge to repel the enemy.
Five times to block the enemy successfully, a company killed and wounded more than a hundred enemy people, the fifth squad is even more courageous, squad leader Wang Haiwen took a machine gun, like a fierce tiger down the mountain, pounced on the enemy, repelled a battalion of the attackers.
On the same night, the regiment party committee decided to award the title of "288.4 Highland Hero Class" to the 5th class of the 1st Company and give Wang Wenhai, the leader of the 5th class, a first-class merit.
On the third day, the U.S. army was already crazy, and once again carried out a more violent bombardment of the 288.4 heights, and part of the volunteer communication trenches were blown up, and the mobility of the troops was hindered. Company Commander Zhao Zhili cheered up the soldiers: People are in the position, and they swear to coexist and die with the position!
The enemy once again attacked in all directions of the 288.4 heights with the strength of the whole company and the whole battalion, and Wang Wenhai, the leader of the 5th Squad, took a machine gun and fired wildly at the enemy, the barrel of the gun burned red, and he was unfortunately killed in a counter-charge.
Zhao Zhili came to the 5th squad and ordered Liu Qinghua to serve as the squad leader and command the 5th squad to snipe the enemy. Liu Qinghua did not eat dry food, holding a machine gun, firing a fierce shot at the enemy's recoilless cannon, which had just been pulled to the front line by the enemy was destroyed, and on the third day, the American army still could not take the position.
By the fourth day, the American offensive began to weaken, and on the same day two rounds of large-scale attacks were launched on The 288.4 Heights, both of which were repelled by the Volunteers. Zhao Zhili did not dare to slacken off, did not ask for reinforcements from his superiors, and he and the soldiers of the first company held the spirit of seeing death as a homecoming, and guarded the heights of 288.4 for four days and four nights.
In 4 days, Zhao Zhili, the commander of the first company of the volunteer army, repelled more than a dozen crazy attacks by the enemy, destroyed more than 400 enemy people, and held the high ground.
In the volunteer army's crushing of the us army's all-front offensive, Zhao Zhili and his company made outstanding contributions, and the 39th Army Headquarters gave special commendations, awarded Zhao Zhili second-class merit, and awarded the 1st company of the 344th Regiment the glorious title of "288.4 Highland Garrison Hero Company".
A hero respected by the U.S. military
The U.S. army spent a lot of time and resources on the 288.4 heights of Huachuan Lake, invested about two battalions of troops, but still failed to occupy the heights, ushered in a fiasco, and interrupted Ridgway's offensive.
Afterwards, the INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT OF THE US MILITARY ANALYZED THAT AT LEAST ONE BATTALION WAS DEPLOYED BY THE 288.4 HIGHLAND VOLUNTEERS, AND AFTER LEARNING THE TRUTH, THE US MILITARY ITSELF WAS CONVINCED.
The Volunteer Army's 288.4 Highland Defense Battle shocked foreign countries, and many radio reports even called it the "Battle of Dunkirk", and the company commander Zhao Zhili became a celebrity.
In 1953, the Volunteer Army and the U.S. Army began negotiations at Panmunjom, during which the U.S. Military reporters asked the Volunteers to meet Zhao Zhili, who commanded the defense of the 288.4 Heights.
At a press conference at Panmunjom, Zhao Zhili was ordered to attend, and many U.S. military reporters asked him about the 288.4 high ground battle at Lake Huachuan.
At the press conference, Zhao Zhili did not hesitate to describe the course of the battle, talked in great detail, and then answered some questions raised by SOME US reporters.
At the end of the reception, a US military reporter spoke highly of Zhao Zhili, saying:
"Dear Mr. Zhao, your command of the 288.4 Highland Battle is no less effective than the Gibraltar War of that year!" You are the winner of the battle of Gibraltar in the East! ”
Zhao Zhili and the 1st Company of the Volunteer Army won the respect of their opponents with their strength, and it was a miracle that they were able to hold 288.4 heights for 4 days and 4 nights under the continuous bombardment of artillery fire in the face of an enemy several times their own in extremely difficult circumstances.
Of course, this kind of miracle often occurred in the history of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and this miracle was created with the tenacious will of the volunteer army and the courage not to be afraid of sacrifice.
In a war, the quality of weapons does have a great influence on victory or defeat, but the spirit of the volunteer army to defend the country is better than all weapons.
Throughout the history of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, there have been countless combat heroes like Zhao Zhili and Wang Wenhai, whose efforts and sacrifices have brought about the peace and prosperity of the motherland today.
As descendants, we do not forget the sacrifices of revolutionary martyrs, keep firmly in mind our mission, contribute to the construction of the motherland, and jointly build our beautiful motherland.