In July 1951, the 419th Regiment of the 140th Division of the 47th Army of the Volunteer Army captured several prisoners of the 1st Cavalry Division of the Us Army during the ambush at Huangxidong, providing important information for the operational deployment of the 47th Army.
According to the prisoners' confessions, the area of Huangxidong was a wandering attack, while the enemy's main force was on the front line of the Linjin River.
In order to adapt to the changed situation, the 419th Regiment was ordered to move, marched for more than 10 days, and moved to the 38th Line along the Linjin River to build fortifications, and waited in a strict position, preparing to attack the enemy in the north.
At that time, the enemy and us were negotiating in Kaesong, and no progress was made, and the enemy launched the so-called "Autumn Offensive" in order to obtain what was not available at the negotiating table.
As a result, the volunteer troops originally stationed on the west bank of the Linjin River needed to make an adjustment - move to the east bank. This is because the favorable terrain of the two armies against each other has been preemptively occupied by the enemy. The volunteer positions were located on a low ground, and the enemy could observe the entire depth of the volunteer positions.
Between the commanding heights occupied by the enemy and the positions of the volunteers, there was a hill not too high, called Beacon Rock, whose geographical location was extremely important, and both the enemy and we had repeatedly fought for it.
Between the enemy's high ground and the Beacon Rock, there was a large ravine with a rice field in the middle, and the enemy and we were separated on both sides of the ravine, which was connected to the Henggang Mountain Range. On the Beacon Rock, there is a huge natural stone block, which is a good defensive point after being renovated and excavated under the stone.
Previously, when the first unit of the Thirty-ninth Army of the Volunteer Army was stationed on the Linjin River, it had repeatedly competed with the enemy for beacon rocks, for which the thirty-ninth army also suffered great losses, and the beacon rocks once fell into the enemy. In order to reduce casualties, the Thirty-ninth Army used the Soviet-made "Katyusha" rocket artillery to bombard the enemy, and was able to retake beacon rock. However, since then, the enemy has organized many counterattacks and occupied beacon rocks again.
After the withdrawal of the Thirty-ninth Army, the four companies of the second battalion of the 419th Regiment were ordered by their superiors to retake beacon rocks again.
At three o'clock in the morning, the commanders and fighters of the four companies quietly crossed the river, and soon they exchanged fire with the enemy, and the enemy desperately resisted, and the battle was very cruel and fierce. The four companies fought hard with the enemy until more than four o'clock in the afternoon, and then they struggled to capture the artillery position.
The fourth company was a reinforced company, originally with more than 180 people, but after conquering beacon rocks, only 42 people were left in the whole company, and the enemy also paid a heavy price, and more than 100 defenders were completely annihilated, and the corpses were all over the field.
After the four companies captured the position, they were hungry, thirsty, and exhausted. In order to solve the most urgent problem of drinking water, the company commander ordered a deputy squad leader Mo Yantang to take two soldiers to the foot of the hill to find water.
At about one o'clock in the morning, Mo Yantang and the two soldiers each carried three marching kettles and quietly touched down from the position.
The fourth company and the second platoon were very close to the enemy's outpost position, and it was only more than 50 meters, and Mo Yantang and three other people went down the hill to pass in front of the second platoon position. However, just when Mo Yantang and the other three were about to reach the second row position, they vaguely saw a long series of black shadows touching it.
Mo Yantang was startled, and from the sporadic reflection of the steel helmet on the black shadow's head, he concluded that this was an enemy who came out at night, about the strength of a platoon. But there are only three people on my side, and I can't hide from them, so what should I do?
At this extremely critical moment, Mo Yantang suddenly saw many corpses of enemy soldiers on the ground who had been lost in the daytime battle with the four companies, and he was in a hurry and thought of a good way.
He whispered for the two warriors to "pretend to be dead bodies," and the three quickly lay on the ground, hiding in the pile of enemy corpses. Fortunately, it was dark at night, and they could see each other clearly. Sure enough, he used this trick to hide from the enemy.
After the enemy passed, the three men continued down the hill to find water. After walking for a while, he saw a small ditch glowing, and Mo Yantang thought it was water, and immediately ordered the two soldiers to touch the edge of the ditch. The three of them drank a lot of water at the side of the ditch, filled the nine kettles they had brought, and immediately rushed back.
Back at the position, the three of them handed the kettle to the company commander, and the company commander poured out the cup with his mouth to see that the kettle was full of red blood!
Although these nine pots of water were retrieved by Mo Yantang and the other three who risked their lives, and the warriors were already thirsty and smoking, they did not dare to drink these bloody waters.
At this time, Mo Yantang and the other three warriors who took the water were disgusted, and they all spit out all the blood and water they had just drunk, and personally poured out all nine pots of water.
The company commander ordered the three of them to go down the mountain again to fetch water. This time they were led by a second platoon, cleverly avoiding the enemy's sight. The three of them changed places, touched a rice field at the bottom of the mountain, and filled the kettle with water. Although they brought back nine jugs of water, they gave it to more than 40 people in the whole company, and each of them only moistened their throats.
Eating is also a big problem, it is impossible to cook on the position, and the room is far away from the position. Every day, the cooking class cooks at about 7:30 a.m., and then packs it in four square oil drums and bundles them on their backs to send them to the position.
When the cook who delivered the meal crossed the blockade line, the soldiers had food to eat; if they did not pass or the cook died, the people could only starve.
In this way, the four companies held out in the Beacon Rock position for three and a half months. Due to the lack of nutrition, the soldiers were all suffering from night blindness, and it was impossible to see who was opposite when it was dark. It can only be touched by hand, and it is very inconvenient to move.
Soon, the troops changed their defenses and went to the rear for rectification and training, replenishing the soldiers, and sending the sick to the rear for recuperation. After a long period of retraining in preparation for another battle, the troops were ready to go to the front line at any time.