There are many identical place names on the Korean Peninsula, such as Mount Eagle Peak, and for people like me who like to look up the mountains one by one, this place name alone can make me dizzy.
For the 359th Regiment of the 40th Army of the Volunteer Army, the place name Yulongpu is unforgettable to them. On November 25, 1950, it was the 359th Regiment that crossed the Cheongcheon River and attacked Yulongpu in a low temperature of more than 20 degrees below zero, destroying the 1st Battalion, the 15th Artillery Battalion and the 72nd Tank Battalion of the 23rd Regiment of the US Army, creating a classic battle example in the history of the 40th Army.
More than two years later, the 359th Regiment came to Yulongpu again. It's just that this Yulongpu is not the one on the Qingchuan River above, but a little east of Panmunjom, and this time they are assigned to the Forty-sixth Army. Yulongpu Beishan was in the hands of the U.S. Army and was a company of the 5th Regiment of the 1st Marine Division. The 9th Company of the 359th Regiment, which confronted the U.S. Army, was stationed on an unnamed plateau 400 meters northwest of Yulongpu North Mountain.
The U.S. Marine Corps is indeed much better militarily than the Army. Harassing volunteer positions with small units was a common task of the U.S. army, but the Marines attacked them at night. Moreover, it is deeply rooted in the essence of our army's combat, and if there is a bargain to take advantage of, it will be fiercely attacked, and if it is not cheap, it will run, and it will not be able to catch up. This made the volunteers, accustomed to harassing the enemy, very unaccustomed. I have always beaten others like this, when did I become the target of the attack, but it was still at night?
However, the volunteer army is an expert after all, and they know that it is false to deal with attack and harassment tactics, increase vigilance, and strengthen defense, and no matter how to prevent it, it is also passively beaten. The best way to deal with the raid is to ambush. By giving the U.S. Marines a hard blow through ambush battles, they would not dare to come later.
It is a duel between hunter and prey that is more patient than wise.
The 9th Company of the 359th Regiment decided that the deputy platoon commander of the 1st Platoon would lead 3 squads to carry out the ambush mission. Just when the 3rd class happily surveyed the terrain and chose an ambush position. The 360th Regiment launched the Battle of Matali West Hill, and the 5th Regiment of the US 1st Marine Division was too busy dealing with the Battle of Matali to send a small detachment to harass it. After the Battle of Matari, the 5th Marine Regiment suffered heavy losses and turned to rest. As a result, the 9th Company of the 359th Regiment ambushed for 9 consecutive nights, and the American troops did not appear. Everyone who knows the work of the criminal police knows that this kind of squatting and ambushing is the most tiring, and the whole person will be dragged down. However, the 9th Company of the 359th Regiment believed that the US Marine Corps had suffered a heavy loss in Ma Ta Li, and as long as it slowed down, it would definitely intensify the attack and harassment operation.
On the night of 10 April, the 3rd Squad once again entered the ambush position. Before entering the position, the 3rd squad checks the traps first, just like the hunters, first checks the 8 explosive canisters in the ambush to determine whether their ambush attempts have been exposed. It is determined that there is no situation before entering the position.
The ambush position chosen by the Volunteers was carefully observed, located in the northwest saddle of Yulongpu North Mountain, and was a necessary road for the US Marines to move. The 3rd Squad had already constructed a pocket-shaped battle fortification on favorable terrain and carried out elaborate camouflage to eliminate all traces. At the same time, the terrain that the Volunteers might use after the Attack of the American Army was pre-set with explosive canisters.
After waiting for more than three hours, at 21:20, the volunteers finally found that 2 squads of American troops had come out of the North Mountain of Yulongpu and advanced northwest with a squad column. The volunteer soldiers were immediately ready for battle.
However, the U.S. Marine Corps did have a high tactical quality, and when there were still 30 meters away from the ambush circle, the U.S. Army's first shift was changed to a search formation, and it slowly advanced while searching.
But the volunteers were not vegetarians either, they had already conducted drills before, and the combat discipline was strict, and there was no signal that no one was allowed to shoot, and the signal was a long horn, and nothing else.
The deputy platoon commander of the 1st Platoon of the 9th Company nervously watched the US troops search forward step by step, and the success or failure of this battle all depended on when his signal was sent. His 11 fighters were divided into four combat groups—3 assault groups, each armed with a submachine gun; and a firepower group, with the main and deputy shooters and the deputy platoon commander himself, all waiting for his signal.
The vigilance of the U.S. Marine Corps was very high, and the distance of tens of meters was enough to search for 10 minutes. Finally, most of the U.S. troops entered the ambush circle, and the sharp soldiers were only a few meters away from the ambushed volunteer soldiers. The U.S. military had not yet spotted the volunteers in disguise, but could not wait any longer.
As the crisp sound of horns sounded in the night sky, the entire squad of fighters suddenly fired violently at the American Marines. After the sudden blow, the U.S. Marines showed their tactical qualities, did not panic, but quickly seized the favorable terrain to prepare for the engagement with the volunteers.
But that was what the volunteers had expected, and the blasters were waiting for the Americans. However, an unplanned scene appeared, after the explosion of the blasting canister, although some American troops began to flee everywhere, but several American troops did not run, but rolled on the spot and then shot. The two volunteer soldiers in the first group who rushed forward were immediately shot and fell to the ground. These U.S. Marines must have been veterans of great combat experience, and they did not panic in the air waves and loud noises of the blast canisters. Veteran readers have read previous articles, and I myself have personally experienced the pre-set explosion points in the exercise, and I was blown up, trembling, pale, and my brain was blank. In this case, these US Marines not only did not panic, but also immediately identified the enemy's direction of shooting and could hit the target, which was truly elite.
Fortunately, the opponents of these American troops were the Fortieth Army. The Forty Army, nicknamed the "Whirlwind Force," is, in my personal opinion, I am afraid that it is a unit that has brought Lin Biao's "three fierce tactics" into full play. Although the impact of the first group was blocked, the coordination of the second group was very good, and the impact was launched from the right side almost at the same time. Although the US military is elite, it is obviously impossible to see and listen to the eight directions in this situation. The volunteers of the second group pounced directly and fiercely, killing the American troops and taking two prisoners at the same time. I wrote a lot, in fact, on the battlefield this scene is only a few tens of seconds. Regardless of nationality, race, enemy and enemy, these American troops are indeed warriors. Respecting respectable opponents is also a common practice in Chinese and foreign militaries.
The division of labor and cooperation of this squad of the Volunteer Army was quite excellent, and when the first and second groups dealt with the recalcitrant American troops, the third group pursued the fleeing American troops. In the end, the 3rd Squad of the 9th Company of the 359th Regiment killed 18 American Marines, captured 2 prisoners, captured 3 light machine guns, 3 rifles, and 3 carbines at the cost of 1 casualty and 1 wounded, and won a complete victory.
In this ambush battle, the 9th company and 3 squads of the 359th Regiment of the Volunteer Army achieved a 1:10 battle loss ratio in a 1:2 ratio of strength, mainly because:
1. Select the ambush area accurately. Whether or not we can choose a good ambush area is the most basic condition for the success of the ambush battle. Ambush combat is, in a certain sense, a kind of passive battle for the enemy, but doing a good job of reconnaissance and judging the enemy's mobile route is also an active act. The enemy's maneuver path could not be discerned, and any ambush was meaningless. That's what I told a reader before, that there is no ambush without intelligence.
2. Tight camouflage. Not allowing the enemy to detect an ambush attempt is another key to ambush combat. In this battle, the volunteers were ambushed in advance, and the straight-line distance between the positions of the two sides was actually only more than 400 meters. However, the volunteers used the terrain to complete the ambush position in front of the us army, and predicted that the us army might use the terrain to set up an explosive canister ambush. This camouflage measure was extremely successful, and for 10 days, all kinds of Sentries in the Us Army did not find any volunteer ambush positions, or even volunteer soldiers who entered the positions concealed every day. This fully reflects the excellent tactical quality of the volunteer army.
3. Punch hard. Resolving the battle quickly is another key to ambush combat. Ambushes, in themselves, are meant to take advantage of the suddenness of the blow. But because it relies entirely on signals, fire control cannot be perfectly achieved. That is to say, in the first wave of shooting, it is impossible to hit all the enemy troops, and even multiple guns are aimed at the same target. Therefore, it is necessary to launch a bold attack at the moment when the enemy army is flustered by the blow, and cannot give the enemy time to reorganize the battle. This requires that the various groups formed should closely coordinate and cooperate well. It is precisely because the coordination of the various groups is in place, so although the AMBUSH US troops are very effective and resist on the spot, they are still eliminated by the volunteer army by seizing the time difference.
In this battle, the coordination of the 3rd company and 3 squads of the 359th Regiment of the Volunteer Army was almost perfect.