On February 15, 1951, the fierce battle of Pingli ended, and it had to be admitted that the volunteer army's attack on Pingli was a failure, and for this, peng Dehuai, then commander-in-chief of the Volunteer Army, also admitted it.
The biggest impact of this defeat was that the Volunteer Army was forced to abandon the strategic offensive and turn to the strategic defense.
Figure 丨 Map of the Battle Situation in Pingli
To this end, Peng Dehuai had to issue an order to withdraw on all fronts, so the fourth battle of the Korean War was marked by the withdrawal of all volunteer troops to the north of the Han River, ending the first phase of the battle.
Although Seoul was still in the hands of the volunteers, the Eighth Army led by Ridgway was already pressing forward step by step, and it was very likely to take Seoul with a big bang.
As for the retreat, Peng Dehuai also had concerns, he believed that the speed of retreat should not be too fast, and the distance of retreat should not be too far, otherwise it would inevitably affect the morale of the volunteer army and be detrimental to the next stage of the battle.
Therefore, while ordering a full-line retreat, Peng Dehuai also stressed that all units should block the attack step by step, and even put forward "retreat indicators" for the troops, that is, how many kilometers the troops can retreat at most per day, and "as long as the enemy does not advance, I will not retreat, the enemy retreats, I still have to advance a little" such seemingly unconventional requirements.
Obviously, these instructions made by Peng Dehuai are not in line with military conventions or with the previous tactical play of the Chinese army, because the Chinese army was good at finding favorable fighters in a large number of attacks and retreats to eliminate the enemy in one fell swoop.
Pictured: Marshal Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai is obviously very clear about this kind of unreasonable "instructions", but as the commander of the First Army and fighting in a foreign country, Peng Dehuai must take into account some political factors when formulating any strategy and tactics and issuing various operational orders.
In the third campaign, the Volunteers drove the UN forces out of the 38th Line and occupied Seoul, so why did the Fourth Campaign begin to retreat?
This issue is a very important factor that Peng Dehuai must consider when issuing the retreat order, not only to retreat, but also to explain to the NORTH Korean side as much as possible so that they can understand, thinking about it, Peng Dehuai can only make this kind of retreat order that is blocked step by step.
In fact, the commander of the Eighth Army at the time, Ridgway, did creatively formulate "magnetic tactics" for this style of play of the Volunteer Army.
I have to say that a generation of famous players Peng Dehuai encountered a very strong opponent on the Korean Peninsula!
Ridgway was a very observant soldier, and unlike his superior, MacArthur, Ridgway's composure and keen insight were enough to make every opponent feel in awe, and in fact it was Ridgway's arrival that reversed the unfavorable situation of the United Nations army's gradual defeat in the Korean battlefield.
Photo: MacArthur, then The Prime Minister of the United Nations Army
The subsequent trend of the war also proved that on the Korean battlefield, the famous Chinese general Peng Dehuai could not take too much advantage in the hands of Ridgway.
Ridgway's sense of smell was very sensitive, and after Peng Dehuai gave the order to retreat, he immediately urged the UN army to quickly resume the posture of attacking northward, so he formulated a new battle plan and named it -
Butcher combat
。
On 20 February, Ridgway issued operational orders to the Eighth Army, and the United Nations Army advanced northward from the west, center, and east lines at the same time. In order to ensure the smooth advance of the front-line troops, Ridgway even transferred the 1st Marine Division, which had been severely damaged in the previous Battle of Chosin Lake, from the guerrilla battlefield in the rear to the front.
It can be seen that Ridgway is determined to retake Seoul this time.
Butcher operations plunged the Volunteers into the most difficult period of the Korean War, and butcher operations were only the first step in a massive northward advance that Ridgway had orchestrated.
Relying on the strong artillery support, the United Nations army carried out a fierce bombardment of various positions on all fronts of the Volunteer Army, and the troops on the front line of the Volunteer Army suffered very heavy casualties.
On 5 March, the Un forces occupied Hengcheng and reached the occupation line specified in the Butcher's Battle Plan, and the Butcher's Operation was declared over.
After the butcher operation ended, Ridgway immediately released a new round of battle plan and named this plan -
Tearing combat
At that time, he was the commander of the US Eighth Army, Ridgway
Ridgway was not very satisfied with the butcher operation, because according to the pre-war plan, the United Nations army in the butcher operation should have the ability and opportunity to eliminate the Volunteer 42nd Army and the 50th Army and severely damage the Volunteer Army, after all, Ridgway's implementation of the butcher operation was timely and well prepared, and he was fully convinced that such a rapid counterattack would catch the Volunteers by surprise.
But it was clear that the tenacious willpower of the volunteer soldiers had once again shocked Ridgway.
During those difficult years of fighting, every volunteer soldier exerted his will to fight to the extreme.
In the face of Ridgway's counter-offensive, even if it was retreating, the volunteer army still strongly carried out Peng Dehuai's retreat orders, and stubbornly held on to every position in the retreat. The counterattack occurred in the cold spring season, the ice and snow did not melt, the volunteer soldiers could not get effective cold because of insufficient logistics supply, many soldiers had to use needle and thread to suture the frozen wounds, and then build simple fortifications for a limited time to wait for the UN army to attack.
For the United Nations Army, every tough battle often develops into a brutal hand-to-hand combat, and every seemingly insignificant hill is often filled with volunteer soldiers!
Pictured: Volunteer soldiers in battle
In battle, the volunteer soldiers often had to fight with the enemy because of insufficient ammunition supply, and the stones on the top of the hill were often the weapons they used to fight with artillery and tanks.
To this day, they still lie here and cannot enter their homeland!
It's just such a group of lovely people who are blocking riding off one strong attack after another!
Although Ridgway was facing a group of warriors who were not afraid of death, Ridgway was not a person who easily conceded defeat, and he firmly believed that the United Nations army would win the final victory of the war with its huge firepower superiority, and the regrets of the previous butcher operations would be compensated in the tearing operation.
The purpose of the tearing operation was to advance the UN forces to the east of Seoul, Chuncheon, and east along the southern side of the 38th Parallel.
This line is called the Idaho Line.
According to the previous strategic deployment of the volunteer army, the so-called "tearing" is to tear a hole in the middle line of the Korean battlefield, isolate the volunteer army on the east and west fronts, and encircle Seoul.
The reason why famous generals are called famous generals is because the thinking of famous generals is never set in stone, and they will make timely adjustments to their strategic and tactical thinking to adapt to the ever-changing situation of the battlefield with the changes in the battlefield situation.
Figure 丨 Situation map of the fourth battle
At the beginning of the Korean War, due to the lack of understanding of the Chinese army, the United Nations Army suffered several losses from the volunteer army's interspersed division and encirclement of the fighting style, and the Volunteer Army also took advantage of the fact that the United Nations Army was not familiar with the PLA's playing style in the first three battles to decisively and quickly launch three battles and achieved very good results, and even regained Pyongyang with a single blow and went south to occupy Seoul.
Compared with butcher operations, tearing operations were more ferocious, the volunteer troops in extreme difficulties had to continue to retreat, the front-line defensive troops suffered great casualties, many troops were seriously reduced, and even a formed regiment could only form five or six companies after the war.
Peng Dehuai was well aware of the stakes in Ridgway's tearing operation, and in order to prevent the penetration of the United Nations Army from causing a great passive situation for the volunteer army, Peng Dehuai once again issued a retreat order in the whole army and decided to abandon Seoul on March 14.
On March 15, Un troops marched into Seoul, and the volunteer occupation of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, was frozen in 70 days.
Seoul, unlike other cities, is the capital of South Korea, and it would be detrimental to either side that attacked and defended without strong resistance, because such behavior would bring them pressure on public opinion, which often turned into political pressure in the end.
Pictured: Marshal Peng Dehuai in North Korea
The essence of war is to serve politics, and it is impossible for the commanders of the first army to completely disregard political factors in battle, otherwise the war will be difficult to sustain, so in comparison, generals such as Peng Dehuai and Ridgway are even more valuable.
Therefore, Ridgway had always believed that the Volunteer Army would hold seoul, and he could also annihilate the 38th and 50th Armies defending the Han River, but it was clear that Ridgway's calculation was still in vain.
Ridgway was shocked by the timely retreat of the volunteers, he did not expect that the volunteers would also give up Seoul as easily as his previous self, presumably at that moment Ridgway also had a kind of respect for Peng Dehuai.
Ridgway's plan to annihilate the active forces of the volunteer army has never been realized, so he does not feel the slightest joy of victory in retaking Seoul.
After the recapture of Seoul, he ordered the UN forces to continue northward towards the intended target of the tearing operation.
On the 20th, the United Nations occupied the Idaho Line, and the tearing operation ended, while the Volunteers also retreated to the north of the 38th Line for defense, which was also the starting point of the Volunteers' third campaign.
After going round and round, the two sides once again entered the initial state of confrontation.
Pictured as a volunteer soldier charging
Whether or not to move on became a choice in front of MacArthur and Ridgway.
For MacArthur, he was absolutely pro-forward, he was an arrogant fellow, and only advancing could satisfy his vanity at this moment, but after the tearing operation, the intelligence returned to him by the Intelligence Services of the Far East put him in a dilemma.
Because the REI reconnaissance planes repeatedly found a large number of Chinese troops on the road to Pyongyang, they also found that there were convoys stretching for more than ten kilometers on the mountain roads, and new unit numbers of the Chinese army were constantly appearing in the radio surveillance.
All in all, there are growing signs that the Chinese military is pouring more troops into the Korean battlefield.
However, this information did not affect MacArthur's decision too much, and Ridgway had his own unique reasons to move forward.
Ridgway believed that since the enemy had the superiority of manpower and the United Nations army lacked the strength to defend, there was no other way to complete the task and ensure the safety of the troops than to attack. It is precisely because of the small number of troops that it is necessary to attack!
Ridgway's views were affirmed by MacArthur, so with MacArthur's consent, Ridgway formulated a new battle plan, which was named -
Go berserk combat
The goal of the rampage was for UN forces to continue northward to the Kansas Line.
Pictured: U.S. President Harry S. Truman at the time
The kansas line runs from the south bank of the Rinjin River Estuary, through Panmunjom, and then diagonally across the 38th line to the north of Lianchuan, and then reaches the Huachuan Reservoir.
This is a battlefield line that is basically equal to the 38th Line, from which it continues north, and if you take Cheonwon and Kim Hoa, you can go straight into North Korea.
The United Nations army continued to rely on strong firepower superiority to saturate the defending volunteers, although the volunteers still suffered heavy casualties, but in almost every offensive route, the United Nations army was still stubbornly blocked by the volunteers, and for the emergence of this situation, presumably Ridgway also expected it in advance, perhaps this is why he named the battle plan "Violent Operation".
However, the continued obstruction of the UN offensive surprised Ridgway, because the UN army encountered all the resistance of small units of the Volunteer Army along the way, and as for where the main force of the Chinese army went, Ridgway did not know, nor did his staff officers and his intelligence network.
So Ridgway concluded that the main force of the Chinese army would be interspersed with various positions as before, waiting like a big net for the UN to enter.
Therefore, Ridgway hesitated about the northward advance of the United Nations army, and what made Ridgway feel even more unimaginable was the encounter of the First Marine Division at the Huachuan Reservoir.
At that time, Helsmith, commander of the U.S. First Marine Division
After the start of the fury, the UN forces began to advance towards the established targets, of which the US First Marine Division aimed at the end of the Kansas Line .
Huachuan Reservoir
When the 1st Marine Division approached the Hwacheon Reservoir, they received the news that Chinese troops were defending there and that the floodgates of the reservoir had been opened to wash away many South Korean soldiers and equipment.
Therefore, the First Marine Division immediately formed an attacking force, wanted to learn the tactics of the Chinese army, changed the usual practice of marching by car during the day, and ordered the attacking troops to carry personal supplies and ammunition, and marched on foot in the dark of night to carry out a surprise attack on the Huachuan Reservoir.
The attacking force was mainly the Seven Regiments of the First Marine Division, and after Ridgway passed the review, he specially equipped the attacking force with a special forces company.
At that time, the Defense of the Huachuan Reservoir was the 344th Regiment of the 115th Division of the 39th Army of the Volunteer Army.
After the rampage began, they descended to the Huacheon Reservoir Dam in the early morning of April 9, led by Shen Mu, deputy chief of the division's operations section, to assist the North Korean workers guarding the reservoir in opening all ten floodgates to block the attack of the Uncom forces downstream.
The operational task of the 1st Marine Division's attacking troops was to suddenly occupy the reservoir, close the sluice gates, and then cooperate with the main force of the division to surround and annihilate the 344th Regiment.
Tu Shu was then the commander of the 39th Army of the Volunteer Army, Lieutenant General Wu Xinquan
However, just as the attacking troops approached the reservoir in rubber boats, they were found by the 344 regiment stationed here, and the attacking troops were fiercely counterattacked by the 344 regiments, and they could not find a suitable ferry to land for a while.
Just as the attacking force and the 344th Regiment troops stationed at the reservoir were in a state of anxiety, the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Marine Division, which was covering for it, began a fierce attack on the 288.4 heights leading to the reservoir, in an attempt to open an opening from here and ease the attacking force's offensive pressure.
At this time, the troops stationed in this small highland were the 1st Company of the 344th Regiment, and the company commander Zhao Zhili.
When the 3rd Regiment of the First Marine Division was ready to launch an attack, Zhao Zhili immediately ordered the whole company to enter the state of battle, perhaps Zhao Zhili did not expect that this offensive and defensive battle not only made him famous in the first battle, but also shocked the entire Western world at that time.
In the four days from the beginning of the 9th to the end of the battle, the 3rd Regiment of the First Marine Division launched more than a dozen attacks on the 288.4 heights, each time more crazy than the previous one, and each time the two sides fought in the dark, and the enemy successively threw bombs, incendiary bombs, napalm bombs and other shells so that this highland of less than 500 square meters became an endless sea of fire again and again, only on the 10th day. The Un Army poured thousands of shells on the 288.4 high ground, and above the high ground, there was a scorched earth and no grass.
But even so, the volunteer soldiers on the high ground were still stationed there, never taking a step back!
It was under such difficult circumstances that the soldiers of the 1st Company, under the leadership of Zhao Zhili, braved the tremendous pressure of artillery fire, endured the mental destruction of the soldiers, held their positions for four days and four nights, and stubbornly defended the 288.4 heights with the record of killing and injuring more than 400 people in the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Marine Division of the US Army.
Pictured as a volunteer soldier throwing stones at the enemy
It can be said that the victory in the defensive battle of Huachuan Reservoir crushed Ridgway's plan to attack all fronts, and after this battle, Ridgway had to admit that learning the tactics of the Chinese army was a failure, and admitted that the attack had failed.
However, for this offensive and defensive battle at huachuan reservoir, Ridgway and other UN troops even at home and abroad gave a very high evaluation, and even some foreign media called Zhao Zhili as "
Victor of the Battle of Gibraltar in the East
”。
However, at that time, the United Nations army, especially the American army, firmly did not believe that they encountered only one company of the volunteer army on the Huachuan Reservoir, and they did not believe that a small company of the Chinese army could withstand the attack of a regiment of the first division of the land war and a powerful firepower. Therefore, in the negotiation stage a year later, the United States made a request to the Chinese and North Korean sides, that is:
Is it possible to meet the commander of the Chinese army commanding the battle at the Huachuan Reservoir?
The Americans want to see what this die-hard Chinese soldier really looks like, and whether he is really just an ordinary company commander in the Chinese army.
The Chinese responded positively to the Americans' demands, so Zhao Zhili, a peasant child born in the old society, appeared at the negotiating table on the Korean battlefield after being dressed up.
At that time, in order to show that the Chinese officer was not the kind of "rough guy" that the Americans said, the Chinese military not only changed him into new shoes and clothes, but also specially prepared a briefcase and a pair of glasses for Zhao Zhili, so that Zhao Zhili looked polite and polite, in addition, it also taught him a lot of historical knowledge and the precautions for speaking.
Picture 丨Panmunjom negotiations
When they saw Zhao Zhili, the Americans still did not believe that he was just a company commander, because at that time, the US military invested the most elite troops and the most powerful fire support. So they agreed that Zhao Zhili was at least a battalion commander of the reinforcement battalion, and Chinese had lied again.
In the face of The Americans' doubts, Zhao Zhili, who grew up in the war, was not flustered or angry, and he calmly responded to the Americans' questions, saying: "I am 22 years old this year, and I am an infantry company commander in the Chinese Volunteer Army. The day my company fought the Third Regiment of the U.S. First Marine Division was my birthday. Then he recalled in detail the entire operation of the Huachuan Reservoir, and tried his best to restore the terrain and landform of the highlands at that time to prove that what he said was not false.
As Zhao Zhili continued to reminisce about the battle, the Americans no longer questioned his identity and began to affirm the tenacious willpower he had shown in that battle. Since then, Zhao Zhili, an ordinary company commander of a Chinese volunteer force, has appeared in major newspapers in Western countries, and he has been called "the victor of the battle of Gibraltar in the East."
Perhaps from Zhao Zhili's dictation, Westerners gradually understood why they had returned in this war, weapons and equipment are certainly an important factor in winning the war, but it is definitely not the only factor, and the tenacious will shown by Chinese soldiers on the Korean battlefield is enough to make every Westerner move.
The military history of the First Marine Division recounts a scene in which when they struggled to capture a volunteer position, they were shaken by the sight in front of them, and in the cold winter, the cotton clothes worn by many sacrificial volunteer soldiers were full of holes and even uncovered. They lay on their backs, many with The American soldiers, because it was cold at the time, and their bodies had cooled down long ago, and it was impossible to separate them at all...
At this point, I can't bear to continue, thinking back to the cruelty of the war 70 years ago, I can't help but wonder how many heroes and sons and daughters are heroic and heroic and sleep in a foreign country.
Peace is not easy to come by, development is not easy to come by, the road to the future, obstacles and long, remember the history can revitalize China!