During the war years, our army used to have a very special contingent. It was once the army of the Kuomintang, and in the battle against the devil of Japanese imperialist aggression, it bravely and tenaciously fought in bloody resistance and never failed. However, in the War of Liberation, it never defeated our People's Liberation Army.
This contingent, the former Kuomintang Yunnan Army's 60th Army, led by Zeng Zesheng, later the 50th Army of the People's Liberation Army, fought in Korea against US hegemony and achieved remarkable success in resisting US hegemony in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
What is the combat effectiveness of this army? What brilliant achievements have been made in the war against the enemy? In the War of Liberation, how can it not be won once again?
A generation of Yunnan Wang Longyun
The 60th Army of the Yunnan Army was first composed of Long Yun, the "King of Yunnan". Although this contingent later belonged to the miscellaneous army of the Kuomintang and was not taken seriously, the equipment of this army was definitely one of the best at that time. At that time, Yunnan, in China where local warlords were mixed, was quite special. Under the construction of various forces of the local warlords in Yunnan, the training of soldiers and troops was not inferior to that of the later Whampoa Military Academy for a certain period of time, and there was the first air force training base in China at that time, coupled with the border advantages of Yunnan and Vietnam, and Vietnam at that time was a French colony, and the "King of Yunnan" Long Yun even purchased a lot of weapons from the French army to equip the Yunnan army.
Judging from the figures of yunnan military expenditure in 1936, it reached a staggering 14 million, accounting for more than half of Yunnan's total fiscal expenditure. It can also be seen from this that Long Yun has spent a lot of effort on local military equipment. Maybe a lot of people think that the military spending is so large that the number of troops will be large, right? In fact, these advanced equipment only equipped a regular army of 36,000 men, including 6 infantry brigades, although the troops were still very well supplied. This is exactly what Long Yun has always emphasized, soldiers are expensive and not many.
In 1937, the 60th Army of the Yunnan Army had a total strength of more than 40,000 people and was first-class in weapons and equipment
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Long Yun proceeded from the justice of the country, was willing to provide his local army to resist the war, and made the greatest contribution to the financial and material resources of the state at that time to save the country from serious crises and the people of the whole country. He also told Chiang Kai-shek that Yunnan could supply 200,000 soldiers to the front lines of the war. In August of the same year, Long Yun integrated all the troops he had operated for many years and then handed them over to the unified management of Nanjing, which was the Kuomintang 60th Army.
From the perspective of the establishment, this is a new army, but from the perspective of combat capability, the combat capability of the 60th Army cannot be ignored. Its first commander was Lu Han, who at the time was a senior general in the Kuomintang army and later the last "king" of Yunnan.
The reorganized 60th Army continued to use the weapons and equipment of the Yunnan Army, which was usually deployed by Belgian weapons and French weapons. The total number of troops exceeded 40,000, which was a rare formation. Through regular exercises, the soldiers were basically improved, and they were an elite unit formed entirely from Yunnan.
After reaching the anti-Japanese front, the 60th Army existed as a supplementary unit. In the battles between China and Shanghai, there were no plans to get the 60th Army into the battlefield early on. However, after the Japanese landed on Jinshan, the situation on the battlefield soon got out of control. On the instructions of the Nationalist government, the 60th Army immediately went to the front to fight. Before they arrived, however, the battle was over, and the troops who had come down from the battlefield began to retreat to the rear. The 60th Army had to return to Wuhan with other troops, and even the figures of Japanese soldiers were not seen on the battlefield of the War of Resistance.
Nationalist 60th Army
In fact, Chiang Kai-shek had never seen the 60th Army before. Chiang Kai-shek's generals, everyone thinks that the 60th Army is the same as other local armies, how can it be compared with the regular ace army? Du Yuming was shocked to see that this team was one step ahead of Chiang Kai-shek. He even remembers the impression of seeing the 60th Army years later. He once gave a fair assessment that the 60th Army may indeed be better than the regular army in terms of military capabilities.
Chiang Kai-shek also got the news and went to see it, and the result was that Chiang Kai-shek was overjoyed. Then he ordered this army of soldiers from Yunnan, with neat military capabilities and strict military discipline, to stay in the city for a week, showing the people and international friends that China's army was indestructible and that we still had major initiatives at hand.
Chiang Kai-shek began to "dress up" the 60th Army, first equipped with more than 20 cars, and then distributed a large number of Weapons and Ammunition equipped with German equipment. In April 1938, the 60th Army finally ushered in the opportunity of the battlefield. The first battle was the Battle of Taierzhuang. The 60th Army fought with the main Force of the Japanese Army for more than 20 days, blocking the Japanese attack, and its own losses also reached 50%, and the attrition was great.
The 60th Army of the Dian Army fought a bloody battle in Taierzhuang
Under normal circumstances, after an army has been reduced to a certain extent in combat, it will be revoked. Some of Chiang Kai-shek's proud ace armies were reduced by less than 20 percent in combat and collapsed into a mess. If the combat personnel are reduced to 30%, they must withdraw from the battle sequence, replenish the source of troops, and re-practice after resting before they can go to the battlefield again. However, the 60th Army from Yunnan was simply an accident, the battle attrition reached an astonishing half, still had high morale, and was still able to hold its position and fight with the enemy in the front line, and it was completely a "predator" who was not afraid of life and death.
Since then, the 60th Army has participated in more famous battles, such as the Battle of Wuhan, the Battle of Nanchang, and the Battle of Changsha. In 1940, the Japanese invaders invaded Vietnam, and Yunnan was in a hurry. Part of the 60th Army returned home, and the rest continued to fight against Japan.
Battle of Wuhan
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Chiang Kai-shek transferred this detachment directly to the northeast. You should know that all of Chiang Kai-shek's ace troops and generals, such as Chen Cheng and Du Yuming, are here. Although the 60th Army was not bad, at this time it looked a bit like Grandma hurting her grandson but not liking her grandson, and the equipment and materials given were also very ordinary. In addition, the 60th Army of this period, during the Liberation War, it was even defeated many times, and the results were not so pleasant.
So why did the previous "ace" combat capability plummet? Perhaps Zeng Zesheng, who served as a military commander in 1945, can give the answer.
Zeng Zesheng was received by Chairman Mao for his outstanding command of the Korean War
Zeng Zesheng is also a native of Yunnan, graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy, a patriot, and unswerving. After Chiang Kai-shek launched the civil war, the entire 60th Army was reluctant to fight. They believed that guns should not be aimed at Chinese, Chinese would not fight Chinese, so every time they accepted combat missions, it was not as dynamic as it was during the War of Resistance Against Japan.
Soldiers of the 60th Army in Changchun
After Liao Shen began the First World War, according to Zeng Zesheng's soldiers guarding Changchun, under the mobilization of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, they decided to peacefully revolt, liberate Changchun, and vote for the sincerity of the People's Liberation Army. The central government then reintegrated the army, selecting the elderly and young sick and disabled who missed their hometowns and did not want to fight, and sent them back to their hometowns, and selected more than 2,000 advanced-minded, country-loving soldiers in the team to study at military and political universities in the rear.
The 60th Army revolted out of the city
On January 2, 1949, the former 60th Army was officially reorganized into the 50th Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army after integration, and Zeng Zesheng was the first commander. The team also demonstrated its talents in later anti-American attacks and aid to North Korea, becoming one of the most powerful units in the battle.
Zeng Zesheng spoke after the uprising
In October 1950, volunteers entered Korea under the guidance of the central government. However, the 50th Army, which had just traveled from the northeast to Hubei Province, returned to the northeast again without hesitation under the command of a telegram. This time, more than 30,000 soldiers of the 50th Army will cross the Yalu River in the bitter snow and wind, step on the downward peninsula, and become the national heroes, people's soldiers, and the "loveliest people" in everyone's eyes.
At this time, the troops of the 50th Army were carrying out water conservancy production tasks in Hubei and other places, which was sharply reduced from 58,000 to 33,000. As soon as it received the combat mission, the 50th Army quickly gathered its personnel and ran to the northeast by train all night. Shortly after arriving in Jilin, they received orders to cross the Yalu River into Korea to fight.
However, the 50th Army, which had just arrived in Korea in the first few battles, did not receive any glory and even made several mistakes in succession, especially in the second battle. The Volunteer Army Command drew up a battle plan, and the 50th Army, as an important unit, failed to reach the designated theater three times in a row according to the previous deployment, resulting in the failure of Liang Xingchu's 38th Army joint operations. However, the defeat did not defeat them and their commander Zeng Zesheng. The subsequent rise of the 50th Army was completely stimulated by self-esteem and Boss Peng.
After the defeat in this battle, Mr. Peng beckoned Zeng Zesheng and Liang Xingchu to meet at the headquarters. Zeng Zesheng sat next to him, he had thought that he would be scolded for three mistakes, but commander-in-chief Peng, who had a serious and angry face, did not mention him, but only severely rebuked Liang Xingchu, and even kicked him down directly when Liang Xingchu defended.
General Liang Xingchu
After this meeting, Zeng Zesheng was greatly stimulated. He knew in his heart that Commander-in-Chief Peng scolded others because he valued and cared about them. And without cursing themselves, is there no hope for the 50th Army? This was originally the force of the Kuomintang uprising, and he made mistakes one by one. He didn't say a word, but his face burned fiercely.
After the meeting, Zeng Zesheng returned to the 50th Army and called the military department to continue the meeting. After hearing the news conveyed by the commander, the low-level cadres were even more frustrated, and some even murmured to themselves that they were always scolded and could not vent.
It was this event that stimulated the officers of the 50th Army and the whole army. They decided that after that on the battlefield, they had to fight well. Zeng Zesheng also let go, if he could not fight, he commanded the army to find Liang Xingchu of the 38th Army, and Liang Xingchu came to command, and he went to the 38th Army cooking class.
Subsequently, the 50th Army drew on the propaganda and education methods of the People's Liberation Army, carried out serious training "self-criticism campaigns," and formulated strict military discipline and rules. After some ideological education, the whole army is full of combat effectiveness.
Soon, the third battle began. Two battalions of the 50th Army, west of Senyouli and Wuqinli, defeated the 149th Division of the Royal Heavy Tank Battalion, captured 31 enemy and armored vehicles, and killed more than 200 enemy troops and captured more than 190, including the battalion's commander. On the other hand, the 442nd Regiment of the 50th Army also became the first unit of the entire Volunteer Army to enter Seoul. At that time, the name of the 50th Army resounded throughout the army. Commander-in-Chief Peng and Chairman Mao praised the 50th Army. This transformation also restored the dignity of the 50th Army.
In the fourth battle, Peng Dehuai ordered three divisions of the 50th Army and several fraternal units to establish positions on the south bank of the Han River to blockade the Americans. The 50th Army was deployed directly in the forefront of the enemy's main targets. In this battle, they will face the ace troops of the enemy's strongest fighting force, and the 50th Army will face a severe test.
On 27 January, the U.S. military launched an offensive against the area where the 50th Army was located. Under the command of Zeng Zesheng, it defeated the enemy five times in a row. In order to hold baiyun mountain, the 50th Army faced a fierce attack by the American army in both land and air. Heavy rain of artillery fire almost leveled the mountain where the 50th Army was located. However, the soldiers of the 50th Army, who were responsible for holding on to the place, were not afraid or flinched at all. With the cooperation of fraternal forces, they stopped the enemy for 11 days and 11 nights, defeated the enemy's attack, and the 447th Regiment of the 50th Army, which was mainly responsible for this blockade task, was awarded the title of "Baiyun Mountain" Regiment. At the same time, the 447th Regiment was also the first unit in the Volunteer Army to be named regimental.
The 50th Army completely washed away the shame in the early days and exerted its prestige, making the enemy and all soldiers remember this team. The 50th Army has undergone several changes in its historical career, with great combat capabilities and countless military achievements. They are the pride of China's heroic army and country.