On October 14, 1952, the Battle of Shangganling, known for its fierce and brutal war history, was launched. The U.S. 7th Infantry Division and the ROK 2nd Infantry Division, together with artillery, armored troops, and aviation units attached to the operation, totaling more than 60,000 people, launched a fierce attack on the two small heights of the Shangganling Front defended by the 15th Army of the Chinese Volunteer Army.
As soon as the battle was fought, it became white-hot, and the two sides repeatedly fought with their troops, shouting and killing all day long, and the corpses on the two highlands were strewn across the field, and the severed limbs and bones were stacked several layers, and the scene was extremely fierce. Multiple companies of the Volunteer Army fought to the last man and collectively sacrificed themselves in their positions. The U.S. military also suffered heavy casualties and lacked reserves, and had to throw elite airborne troops into a battle of attrition.
The U.S. army took the famous 187th Airborne Regiment. The regiment is one of the earliest parachute regiments formed by the US army, the quality of officers and men and weapons and equipment are first-class, and it has played a great role in World War II and has repeatedly served as a shock force. Like the Battle of Sicily, the Normandy landings, the Salerno landings, the Market Garden Operation, etc., the 187th Airborne Regiment was the vanguard force, and the strange soldiers fell from the sky, fought bloody battles, and established a great merit.
After the outbreak of the Korean War, the 187th Airborne Regiment once again served as a sharp knife force, carried out airborne landings in Suchuan and Shunchuan, and intercepted the people's army and organs that retreated northward, with little success. In particular, the regiment parachuted with heavy equipment such as artillery and vehicles, which refreshed the page of military technology. During the fourth campaign, the 187th Airborne Regiment successfully parachuted in Wenshan, forcing a KPA corps to divert its course. The Headquarters of the Coalition Army attaches great importance to the role of the airborne 187 regiment and organizes it into a direct subordinate unit of the group army, and refuses to use it until the critical moment. However, the Battle of Shangganling became a gamble for the US 8th Army, and after the red eye, even the airborne 187th Regiment was thrown into it without hesitation.
On 2 November, the 187th Airborne Regiment took up its position and dispatched a battalion of troops to attack Hill 597.9. This enemy is worthy of being an elite force, with offensive formations, fire support, tactical applications, and air-to-air liaison all at a glance, and the fight is quite orderly. However, by this time in the battle, everyone in the volunteer army's holding troops had become proficient and had a great understanding of how to hold the position under the superior firepower of the enemy. The holding troops left only a small number of personnel on the position, playing the role of monitoring the enemy, and the main force was hidden in the tunnel. When the enemy prepared for artillery fire, the personnel in the position also withdrew into the tunnel. When the enemy's artillery fire shifts and the infantry launches a charge, they enter the position with a small number of troops, resolutely block the enemy, and call for rear artillery fire support through walkie-talkies. According to the needs of the position, the troops in the tunnel will add more fuel to the position, and the troops will be like gold, and the missing one will make up for one. In this way, the volunteers could exchange a small amount of killing and wounding of the enemy at a small cost.
Although the US Airborne 187 regiment has a glorious history, it cannot take advantage of the tenacious volunteer army. There were many casualties on the way of the charge, and it was easy to rush to the forward position of the volunteer army under the cover of artillery fire, but suddenly a group of volunteer soldiers emerged from the tunnel, followed by the explosion point of the shell, and a meal of submachine guns and grenades shot down the AMERICAN airborne troops face to face.
In just one morning of this exchange, the battalion attacked by the airborne 187th Regiment suffered more than 100 casualties and did not gain any land. The American general was so distressed that he had to withdraw the regiment and prevent them from entering the war again. As a result, the famous American ace airborne regiment was defeated in front of the heroic volunteer army.