As is known to all, in the first campaign to resist US aggression and aid Korea, the leaders of the 38th Army, who had just gone abroad to fight, because they credulously believed the false information that "there was a black regiment of the US army in Guicheng," in the process of repeatedly verifying the intelligence, they missed the fighter plane, failed to penetrate the Xichuan River behind the enemy in time, and cut off the enemy's retreat, resulting in a large number of enemy troops being able to escape. Commander Peng Dehuai was very dissatisfied with this, so at the post-war summary meeting, not only did Liang Xingchu, commander of the 38th Army, scold the dog blood sprinkler, but even the 38th Army was also scolded by Peng Zong as a "main ass", and Peng Zong, who was furious, also threatened to revoke his name.
▲ Liang Xingchu, commander of the 38th Army (second from the right), and Peng Dehuai, commander of the Volunteer Army
However, even when the 38th Army was being criticized and the whole army was gray-headed, the 2nd Battalion of the 342nd Regiment of the 114th Division, which was subordinate to it, performed well in this campaign that humiliated the whole army, and not only made a great contribution, but even received a telegram of thanks from the headquarters of the Korean People's Army. What's going on?
▲ In a battle, the 38th Army was severely criticized by General Peng for losing its fighter
On the evening of November 1, 1950, the 342nd Regiment of the 114th Division of the 38th Army entered Xichuan as the rear guard unit of the 38th Army. The main force of the 8th Division of the South Korean Army, which had been at Heecheon, had fled south, leaving only the empty city. Since the 38th Army had just been criticized by General Peng for failing to take it in time, the whole army did not have a good feeling for this place. The 342nd Regiment ordered the troops to camp and cook, but the regimental headquarters had just settled down, the troops were busy cooking, and when they were preparing for the camp, there was a sudden sound of the transfer of troops, and the commander of the regiment, who was puzzled, immediately ordered to find out where the trumpet was blowing, but at this moment the city suddenly burst into gunfire and shouted killing.
It turned out that the cooking class of the regimental artillery company had just made a meal and was waiting for the whole company to come to eat, when suddenly a group of people broke into the gang room, and without saying a word, they opened the pot and grabbed the rice to eat. The cooker was immediately anxious, "The whole thing has not even arrived, why did you open the meal first?" "But this gang didn't pay any attention to it, and only buried their heads in food to eat." The cook angrily grabbed one of the guys and tried to argue with him, but through the dim light he found that the guys were actually South Korean troops! When the cooker took advantage of the fact that the other party was hungry and did not react, he quickly ran out of the gang room to find the trumpeter, asked him to quickly blow the trumpet, and let the troops come up immediately.
After the 2nd Battalion near the regimental headquarters heard the call for troop transfer, the 2nd Battalion Commander immediately ordered the 3 companies of the whole battalion to immediately move closer to the regimental headquarters. The 1st Battalion also immediately turned around to support the regimental headquarters after hearing the trumpet, and the various units of our army formed a front-to-back attack on the enemy near the regimental headquarters. This group of South Korean troops was of the 6th Division, and the enemy army had reached the Yalu River because it had advanced the fastest before our volunteer army sent troops, so the retreat was lagging behind, and the 8th Division regiment lost Heecheon and fled south regardless of the fact that its accomplices had not yet retreated, and the 6th Division regiment did not know that Heecheon had been controlled by the 38th Army, so it swung into Heecheon with the front and back feet of the 342nd Regiment. After hearing the gunshots, the troops of the 6th Division also reacted, and they preemptively occupied the nearby commanding heights, firing fiercely at the 342nd Regiment troops and launching an onslaught on our army at the same time.
Cao Yuhai, commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 342nd Regiment, shouted: "When the narrow road meets, the brave will win!" Taking the lead in counterattacking the South Korean army, the two sides then began a melee, and the fierce fighting lasted from the evening of the 1st until dawn the next day, and the 6th Division, sensing that the situation was not good, left a large number of heavy loads, vehicles and supplies to flee south.
In this battle, the 2nd Battalion and 1st Battalion of the 342nd Regiment fought together to annihilate a brigade of the South Korean Army, of which 2 battalions and 4 companies, with the cooperation of fraternal troops, annihilated a machine gun squadron of the enemy army, captured more than 400 enemy troops, including 5 American advisers, and also rescued 5 female fighters from the headquarters of the Korean People's Army who were captured because they were left behind.
Resources
"The 38th Army in Korea"
History of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea
Editor/Zhou Hongxin
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