When it comes to the East China Field Army, people first think of the first, fourth, and sixth columns. However, the Ninth Column, later the 27th Army, came to the top, surpassing the Fourth and Sixth Columns and becoming the second main force of the East China Field Army. What's going on?
On May 18, 1951, while the second phase of the Fifth Campaign was underway, The famous American General Ridgway began planning a counterattack. From 20 May, the U.S. First, Ninth, and Tenth Armies, under the command of Van Vleet and Almond, deployed from west to east, suddenly counterattacking in full swing. After a month of hard work, the volunteers reversed the unfavorable situation at the beginning, smashed the US offensive, and stabilized the front.
In this vicious battle, countless heroic models emerged in the volunteer army, and General Chi Haotian, who later served as defense minister, was one of them.
At that time, General Chi Haotian was an instructor of the 3rd Battalion of the 235th Regiment of the 79th Division of the 27th Army, and also the acting battalion commander. The 79th Division was ordered to block the penetration of the 2nd Division of beauty and the 187th Airborne Regiment. The 79th Division blocked the American troops in the areas of Momomizuan, Sogzhili, and Chenghuangtang with its main force, and at the same time occupied positions with the 3rd Battalion of the 235th Regiment in the area of Galuli and Guanluli to block the American troops attacking from 90,000 miles to Linjiao and ensure the safety of the Linhou Ferry.
The opponent of the 3rd Battalion was the 187th Airborne Regiment, an elite unit in the American Army. The regiment was originally a subordinate unit of the U.S. 11th Airborne Division. The 11th Airborne Division served as the U.S. occupying force in Tokyo after Japan's surrender. After the outbreak of war in 1950, his 187th Regiment, along with other units under the command of the division headquarters, formed the 187th Parachute Regiment Combat Team to fight in Korea.
At that time, due to the sudden counterattack of the US army, the volunteer army was caught off guard at the beginning. Major General Almond, commander of the U.S. Tenth Army on the Eastern Front, organized a contingent on May 24 under the command of Colonel Galehart, deputy head of the U.S. 187th Airborne Regiment. It consisted of: one battalion of the 187th Airborne Regiment, the 72nd Tank Battalion, an intelligence reconnaissance detachment, an artillery company, an engineer company and four M-16 self-propelled anti-aircraft machine guns. Major Newman, deputy battalion commander of the 72nd Tank Battalion, commanded 4 tanks and the intelligence reconnaissance detachment and the engineer platoon rushed to the front as sharps, so they were called "Newman's sharps".
In fact, this contingent was personally commanded by Almond, who took a helicopter to observe the situation on the battlefield, constantly issued orders to the task force, and at the same time commanded the 187th Airborne Regiment to carry out airborne landings in 90,000 miles, constantly rushing and rushing against us in an attempt to encircle the 27th Army of the Volunteer Army.
Faced with a critical situation, Peng Deqing, commander of the 27th Army, was very calm. He believes that in this case, if we continue to transfer troops as planned, we will have to compete with the mechanized units of the US army in a faster time, which is very unfavorable to our army marching on foot. It is better to deploy troops on the spot to resist the US army flexibly and flexibly in accordance with the development of the battlefield situation. One word, hit! It was this determination that allowed the 27th Army, the most critical situation at that time, to withdraw from the battle unharmed.
From May 25 to 26, the U.S. Tenth Army attacked the Jiangnan troops of the 79th Division of the Volunteer Army in multiple ways, in an attempt to attack from the south, north and west, annihilating the main force of the 79th Division and the rear organs of the 9th Corps in one fell swoop in the area south of the Zhaoyang River. In order to cover the transfer of the main force, the 79th Division stubbornly resisted the coordinated attack of the various branches of the US army in the absence of food and ammunition.
On May 27, the U.S. Gellhart task force suddenly appeared in front of the 3rd Battalion of the 235th Regiment of the 79th Division in the area of Galuli and Guanyuanli, and the enemy launched wave after wave of fierce attacks with the cooperation of a large number of aircraft and tanks. Fighting was fiercely fought in positions north of Galluri. Using tanks as tanks, the U.S. army guided the infantry to repeatedly attack the positions of the 3rd Battalion, and used an infantry wade through the water to make a detour, all of which were repelled by the 3rd Battalion. Then the U.S. army changed its tactics, the tanks burst forward, with tank guns to hit our fire points one by one, and then a large number of infantry attacked again. By noon, there were nearly 300 american infantry in front of the 3 battalion positions. The U.S. army launched a group charge against the positions of the 3 battalions one at a time, and the positions of the 3 battalions were gradually lost.
As the advancing Americans rushed to the main position, the heavy machine guns of the 3rd Battalion suddenly went dumb, and it turned out that a heavy machine gunner could not fire his gun due to excessive nervousness. Saying that it was too late and fast, General Chi Haotian, who was commanding the battle on the side, kicked down the machine gunner in a hurry, and took up the machine gun to fight, finally repelling the largest charge of the US army. However, this was not the first time That General Chi Haotian had done so. In the battle of the 13th Regiment of the General's army in late July to attack Daxing Station, the heavy machine gunners and company commanders were shot down one after another, and the general took the heavy machine guns and swept the enemy, which also repelled the enemy's counterattack.
It was precisely because of Peng Deqing's bold determination and the tenacious will to fight of the vast number of commanders and fighters of the Volunteer Army that after the 27th Army launched its formation, the US Tenth Army changed the momentum of the attack that had advanced by leaps and bounds in the previous few days, kicked at the iron plate, and could no longer advance in these three days.
In the face of heavy encirclement and extreme disadvantage of the US army, it dared to fight and dare to fight, and the whole army stood out safely and heavily, which is precisely the reason why the 27th Army was able to catch up behind and become the second main force of the East China Field Army.