On the evening of March 5, 1953, the supreme leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin, died, and both China and the United States on the Korean battlefield breathed a sigh of relief, which heralded the imminent dawn of peace in the confrontation between China and the United States on the Korean battlefield.
However, all parties thought that the war was about to end, and a discordant voice suddenly came out, that is, South Korean President Rhee Rhee, who refused peace talks, and even "turned his face" with his master, the Americans, which led to the final battle of the Korean battlefield, the Battle of Jincheng.
A battle that shouldn't have happened
The Battle of Geumseong, which began on July 13, 1953, lasted 15 days, and the Chinese Volunteer Army annihilated more than 50,000 South Korean troops at a cost of 23,000 casualties, and Rhee's most elite four divisions were completely crippled.
When we look back and observe the battle, it is not difficult to find that on the surface we are fighting against the "United Nations Army", but in fact our opponents are only South Korean troops, and on the battlefield, the volunteer army and the US army tacitly buried the main force of South Korea.
Let's briefly review the campaign
When the commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Army" learned that our Chinese Volunteer Army was about to launch a general offensive, he directly ordered the elite US Third Infantry Division to be withdrawn from the Jincheng Defense Line, and at the same time let Rhee's South Korean Sixth Division rise to the top.
In the eyes of both China and the United States, the Battle of Jincheng was a "battle that should not have happened", and the reason why it occurred was only because of Syngman Rhee's arrogance and self-righteousness.
The Korean War, which broke out on October 25, 1950, more than two and a half years before the Battle of Kimseong, during which time our Chinese Volunteer Army experienced several life-and-death battles with its rudimentary equipment, scarce logistics, and the world's most advanced and well-equipped United Nations army.
The commanders of the US army were replaced by MacArthur and Ridgway and Clark, and in the face of the People's Volunteer Army, which was short of food and clothing and poorly equipped to the extreme, they knew very well that there was no possibility of defeating our army except the use of atomic bombs.
For this war, the US White House alone invested nearly 500,000 people, and in more than two years, the consumption of war materials exceeded 30 billion US dollars, and this consumption was higher than China's gdp of the whole people in that year.
With such a huge amount of attrition and the hope of victory in the war far away, the anti-war sentiment of the American people is getting bigger and bigger, and they have long been determined to end this war that "gains outweigh the losses" as soon as possible, but because of Stalin's intransigence in "exchanging prisoners of war", the United States has to fight this battle hard.
The fierce Battle of Shangganling once again refreshed the perception of the Americans, who could not have imagined that the Chinese Volunteers would defeat them under such a bad situation. The defeat of the US army in the Battle of Shangganling made them understand that defeating the Chinese Volunteer Army and using force to unify the peninsula was purely a pipe dream.
After several battles, the fronts of the Chinese Volunteer Army and the "United Nations Army" have basically stabilized near the "38th Line", and neither the North nor the South can push forward a step, and the war is far away, resulting in the extreme disappointment of the people in the United States in the White House, and their calls for an armistice are getting louder and louder.
In view of this situation, what the US White House needs to consider is "how to end the war with dignity", with the death of Stalin, there is no point in fighting any longer, and the three sides of china, the United States and the Soviet Union know that the dawn of peace has arrived. However, at this time, no one expected Li Cheng's party to jump out at this time, and even to stop the armistice with the attitude of "turning the other cheek" with the United States.
The final stumbling block of the armistice – Syngman Rhee
Within three months of Stalin's death, China, the United States, the Soviet Union, and north Korea had gone through several negotiations, and finally a consensus was reached around mid-June 1950 that the Korean War could basically end by the end of June as long as the representatives of the two sides signed the agreement.
When the news of the truce came, just when people were preparing to celebrate peace, Rhee emerged as a beam-jumping clown, refused to sign the armistice agreement, and did not hesitate to turn his face with his backstage Americans, in a vain attempt to push the entire war forward with his own strength.
On June 17, 1953, U.S. President Eisenhower, who was on the other side of the ocean, received a call from Syngman Rhee, who clearly told him that he did not want to end the war, and Eisenhower refused Rhee's request at that time.
When the US military learned of Rhee's actions, the Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Army, Clarke, and others were very angry, and they directly called Syngman Rhee, but at this time, Rhee did not even answer the phone, and directly asked his assistant Bai Shanye to reply to the Americans, and he would hold a press conference the next day to explain the matter.
We all know that without the Americans, Syngman Rhee's South Korean government would collapse in every minute, then why did he take such a big risk to offend the Americans?
Sure enough, the next day, US President Dwight Eisenhower received another phone call from Syngman Rhee, this time Syngman Rhee persuaded the United States not to armistice on the grounds that "an armistice means the defeat of the free world", at the same time, Syngman Rhee and his co-parties instigated the people to hold large-scale demonstrations to protest the armistice agreement, and at the scene of the rally, Rhee gave a passionate speech, he called on the people to continue fighting, even without the Americans, he Syngman Rhee would fight to the end.
Although the Americans are annoyed by Rhee's crazy behavior, they are embarrassed, and if They let Rhee continue to make such nonsense, the consequences will be unimaginable, and with the military strength of South Korea, no North Korea can deal with it, let alone the Chinese Volunteer Army and the Soviet Union; if the Americans pick a fight and do not do it, then all the efforts made in the past three years will not be lost? Not only can the United States not give an account to its allies, but it is even more difficult to calm the anger of the people at home, so they must not let go, but they cannot let Rhee lead the nose.
The White House clearly knew that the war had reached the point where it was in front of it, that the United States could not hold on any longer, and that an armistice was necessary, so Eisenhower was ready to stabilize Syngman Rhee before thinking of countermeasures. Eisenhower directly asked Syngman Rhee to set conditions, as long as he agreed to peace talks, everything else was good to say, and seeing that the White House had made up his mind, Rhee opened his mouth and put forward his own conditions.
The United States must sign a Mutual Defense Treaty with South Korea, must retain its air and naval forces in South Korea, and even if the war is over, the united States has promised South Korea that all aid will not be reduced, and will be increased on the basis of the original.
In order to appease Syngman Rhee, Eisenhower gritted his teeth and agreed to all the unreasonable demands of the South Korean side, and Rhee extorted so many benefits from the United States, but he was still not satisfied, and he wanted more.
Intolerable, the United States yin Rhee
Rhee's ultimate goal was to cease war and accomplish his "brilliant cause" with the blood of the Americans, and he had to make five demands on the United States, and it was these demands that completely angered the Americans. These demands include the disarmament of North Korea, the withdrawal of volunteers from the peninsula, the cessation of aid to North Korea by states, and the recognition of only one regime in South Korea by the United Nations on the Korean Peninsula.
When Eisenhower heard Syngman Rhee's demands, he was directly shocked to drop his chin, and the "little brother" who had been a promise was actually giving himself such a show at a critical moment, and at the same time he also understood that Rhee thought that he had grasped the weakness of the Americans and did not want peace talks, so he put forward a demand that all parties could not agree to.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill saw that Syngman Rhee was so ignorant and directly suggested that Eisenhower get rid of Syngman Rhee and replace him with an obedient man. However, Eisenhower knew that at present, it is still mainly stable, and once the operation is slightly unexpected, the balance of the peninsula is broken, and I wonder what storms will be turned over?
When Rhee and Eisenhower were arguing, the representatives of the Chinese Volunteer Army could not hold back and asked Clarke, commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Army", at the negotiating table, "Can the headquarters of the "United Nations Army" control Rhee in the end?" ”
With an embarrassed face, Clark had to euphemistically hint at the U.S. attitude toward South Korea and its determination to stop the war. Chairman Mao, who was far away in Beijing, had long been familiar with the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the filth between the United States and South Korea, so he decided to teach Rhee a profound lesson, directly breaking his spine and letting him know how many pounds and pounds he had, so the "Battle of Jincheng" began.
On July 13, 1953, the People's Volunteer Army concentrated 1,094 artillery pieces of various types, as well as 2 Katyusha artillery divisions, more than 1.3 million shells, and threw more than 1,900 tons of shells at the ROK positions in two hours. With the tacit cooperation of China and the United States, in less than 10 hours, the volunteer army fired 160,000 shells, since the Chinese Volunteer Army entered the Korean War, it has always been a side with insufficient firepower, and has never been so "rich", it can be said that the Battle of Jincheng is the most powerful battle of the volunteer army.
After the shelling, the Chinese volunteer troops from all sides of the battle broke through the Rok position within an hour, and the four divisions that Rhee had painstakingly managed were all crippled. After the war, Rhee pointed out in public that it was the US military that "betrayed" them, and the US military directly ridiculed the South Korean army as a "rice bucket", and the real situation was understood by everyone. In this battle, the volunteer army not only taught Rhee a lesson, but also made him recognize his position.
Although the Battle of Jincheng ended with a relatively satisfactory ending, this was a "battle that should not have happened", and the more than 50,000 South Korean soldiers who could have enjoyed peace were buried in the battlefield because of a politician who only cared about his own selfish interests, which was undoubtedly too cruel for them.