In the early morning of October 14, 1952, the U.S. 7th Division and the Rohan 2nd Division, totaling 40,000 men, used more than 320 heavy artillery, 30 aircraft, and 127 tanks to launch a surprise attack on the positions of the 15th Army of the Volunteer Army stationed in the Kim Hoa area of North Korea. With an unprecedented density of firepower, an average of 6 shells per second landed on volunteer positions, the artillery fire illuminated the night sky almost the entire Korean Peninsula.
The U.S.-ROK coalition had been planning this offensive for a long time, with 7 battalions launching a fierce attack on the forward heights of the Volunteer Army's Five Holy Mountains in 6 routes, and four battalions attacking the direction of Xishan and Shiba Village. Almost all of the frontal defensive lines of the 15th Army, which were about 30 kilometers wide, were attacked by American troops.
At the same time, in the headquarters of the 15th Army in TaoDe Dong, the sound of more than 10 radio stations receiving telegrams even overshadowed the sound of artillery fire not far away. The Volunteer Command, the 38th and 12th Armies on the left and right, were all sending telegrams to inquire about the situation on the battlefield. The US offensive was very fierce, and its various feints and confusing attacks to contain the troops greatly interfered with the judgment of Qin Jiwei, commander of the 15th Army. Although Qin Jiwei believed that the main direction of attack of the US-ROK coalition should be the western mountains, rather than the five sacred mountains with steep terrain. However, years of war experience have made Qin Jiwei hesitate, and there may not be no other means behind such a big move by the US military.
After several hours of fighting in the forward position, Qin Jiwei finally waited for the news he wanted to know the most. "Shangganling! Shangganling! "Cui Jiangong, commander of the 45th Division on the other end of the phone, kept repeating it loudly so that his voice could appear clearer in the huge artillery fire." The main forces of the US and ROK troops launched a fierce attack on the two highlands of 597.9 and 537.7 left and right of Shangganling. ”
After several hours of "confused battles," Qin Jiwei finally saw clearly the true intentions of the US army, that is, the Throat Five Holy Mountains of the Central Front of the Volunteer Army. As the frontier gateway of the Five Holy Mountains, Shangganling's strategic location is very important and related to the overall situation. At this time, the 45th Division of the Volunteer Army, which was holding on to Shangganling, was in a very unfavorable situation, and in the face of the repeated attacks of the US troops 10 times that of themselves, the position of Shangganling had been lost in half.
What is even more difficult is that the ARTILLERY investment of the US military this time is very large. Hours of continuous artillery fire and the suppression of the air force's napalm bombs made Shangganling almost a sea of fire, and many soldiers were even shocked to death. Cui Jiangong, commander of the 45th Division, a veteran general who came out of the Battle of Pingxingguan, issued a military order to Qin Jiwei on the phone: "There is one company left, I am the company commander, the remaining squad, I am the squad leader, I am sacrificed, the deputy division commander replaces me." ”
The 45th Division fought bloodily for several days, with heavy casualties, but in order to hold its position. Cui Jiangong boldly asked the soldiers to launch a counter-charge and retake the position, and all 15 companies of the division were put into battle. Many positions changed hands repeatedly, and each clash was a fight of blood and fire, and the blood stained the entire Shangganling. At that time, the attacking American troops were very confused, under such fierce artillery cover, why was the combat effectiveness of the volunteer soldiers still so strong?
It was not until the intelligence staff officer of the Han 2nd Division personally led a group of scouts to the front that they found that the volunteers had built a large number of tunnels to defend against artillery fire. At this time, the position defense of the volunteer army was not only based on the strength of the soldiers, but also on the construction of very perfect fortifications, which was also the real terrible place of this unit.
For 7 days and 7 nights, Qin Jiwei, who was in command, hardly slept for a minute, constantly commanding troops to support Shangganling, while letting the 45th Division launch a counterattack. On October 31, after the Volunteers regained a large number of lost positions, the U.S. Army, with the support of the Air Force and artillery, once again attacked the 597. 9 Highlands counterattacked.
At dusk, during the last group charge of the American Army, an American F-51 strike aircraft was hit by low-altitude artillery of the Volunteer Army due to low-altitude support infantry attacks, and exploded in the air. The wreckage of the plane carried this large number of fire and metal fragments and smashed into the charging American army, frightening the American soldiers to hold their heads and scurry, and the volunteer soldiers took the opportunity to launch a counter-charge and won a great victory. Seeing this scene, Qin Jiwei once laughed and said, "The US military has little knowledge and poor courage." People are unlucky enough to drink cold water and stuff their teeth, and if they fight smoothly, they can also hit the plane. ”
The Battle of Shangganling lasted 43 days, and the two sides fought the fiercest offensive and defensive battles on two high grounds with an area of only 3.7 square kilometers. The hill of the volunteer army's position was cut down by 2 meters by artillery fire, repelled more than 900 charges of the US-ROK coalition army, won the final victory, played a great national and military prestige, and also announced to the world that this was an army that could not be defeated.