After five battles, the UN army realized that its strength was difficult to match the Chinese and North Korean forces.
They took the initiative to make demands, hoping to reach a unified opinion on the current situation and to put an end to the war by means of an armistice agreement.
At a time when the two sides were actively negotiating, South Korean President Syngman Rhee decided to call the volunteers alone.
Rhee dared to make such a decision, not because of the impulsiveness of his own brain. At this time, in terms of paper strength comparison, South Korea's military strength has been greatly enhanced after the baptism of four years of war.
Syngman Rhee
On February 2, 1952, the commander-in-chief of the United Nations Army, Clark, sent a telegram to Kim Il Sung and Mr. Peng, suggesting that the two sides exchange wounded and sick prisoners of war.
At this time, China, the DPRK, and the United States very much support this decision, believing that it is an important prerequisite for the completion of peace. Actively negotiate and respond to the conclusion of a final peace negotiation agreement.
But Syngman Rhee stood up and said,
The release of 27,000 prisoners of war to the Chinese and North Korean sides was refused.
Although the United States has no intention of investing a large number of troops, it will accompany South Korea to continue to confront China and North Korea on the peninsula. But Syngman Rhee believes that
Without the help of the United States, he can still complete the goal of reunifying the peninsula.
Arrogant Syngman Rhee
After Clarke's opinion was passed on to the top of the Chinese and North Korean leadership, Kim Il Sung and Pang agreed that the prisoner exchange was very meaningful. And Beijing, in fact, is very supportive of this decision.
Premier Zhou Enlai had a telephone exchange with the Chairman on March 22, in which it was clearly stated
The issue of prisoner-of-war swapping can be supported as the best opportunity to take the initiative in peace.
In accordance with Article 109 of the Geneva Conventions, the parties decided to exchange immediately seriously wounded and sick prisoners of war.
Prisoner of war by U.S. troops in the Korean War
The Chinese and DPRK sides have issued one positive document after another expressing their support for the prisoner-of-war exchange agreement. At this time, Syngman Rhee was very unconvinced.
On 24 April, he relayed his opinion to Eisenhower that if the United States insisted on reaching a peace negotiated agreement, they would withdraw from the United Nations military establishment. Unilateral warfare will continue to be conducted when necessary. Eisenhower realized that Syngman Rhee was still careful in his heart, but did not explicitly forbid him.
The reason for this is that Eisenhower is still lucky about the situation on the Korean battlefield.
At this time, in the process of negotiation at Panmunjom, many of the terms of both sides have not been finalized and implemented. The United States wants to fight for more interests, and naturally wants to find ways to exert pressure on the war situation. Syngman Rhee took the initiative to ask Miao to fight alone, which was beneficial to the United States and harmless. With the acquiescence of the United States, Syngman Rhee began to advance toward the original truce line.
However, although the United States did not organize itself on the surface, it also secretly tried to find a way to give Syngman Rhee a certain amount of pressure.
The Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Forces, Clarke, signed an armistice
Clarke has twice approached Syngman Rhee to negotiate, hoping that he will accept the current situation and suspend the senseless offensive plan. But Syngman Rhee made a number of unreasonable demands, making it difficult for Clark to reach a consensus with him.
He asked the United States to fully support him and also pointed out that he would seek a seat for him within the United Nations and hinder other countries' support for North Korea.
Clarke, knowing that these reasons would be difficult to satisfy, terminated his renegotiations with him. It was decided to borrow the hand of China and the DPRK to teach Syngman a little lesson and make him obediently accept reality.
The contradiction between the United States and South Korea
Clark wrote in his memoirs:
"Only Syngman Rhee himself knows how far he can go. But there is no doubt that he will continue this blackmail until the end. ”
Clark's attitude towards Rhee was not good, and it was also because Rhee did disappoint him too much. Previously, the U.S. military has been constantly assisting South Korea, helping them to build their own economic system and build a modern military force. But Americans spend a lot of money and don't get a better return.
On the Korean battlefield, the combat strength of the Roktan army is still limited. However, Syngman Rhee has gained a lot of benefits from this, and with the help of the US military, he has restructured most of the army.
MacArthur with Syngman Rhee
After realizing that the situation was not right, the United States decided to suspend endless military assistance to South Korea. The expansion of the last four South Korean Army divisions was suspended and the required equipment was refused for their expansion.
Even if the United States has achieved such a field, Rhee still hopes for a counter-offensive on the battlefield.
He told Clark:
"He and his people will not accept a ceasefire, and he is now taking the necessary action exactly as he pleases." From now on, he refused to give any explanation or inform the UN forces of their battle plans. ”
Syngman Rhee's move was indeed very unwise, he did not realize what kind of quagmire he would fall into without Clark.
Since South Korea has previously refused to sign the peace negotiation papers, our country has already found that South Korea will have small moves. In order to win the initiative on the battlefield, speed up the speed of peace negotiations. After consultation, it was decided to open a new battlefield on the front line and achieve the purpose of forcing South Korea to return to the negotiating table. Chairman Mao made a special telephone call to President Zhu on June 21, expressing his agreement with the operational agreement proposed by President Zhu earlier. He believes that this time is the most suitable time to deepen the internal contradictions of the enemy, and it is necessary to seize the opportunity to rub the sharpness of Syngman Rhee.
In accordance with Chairman Mao's instructions, the delegation decided to postpone the signing and make further plans in the light of the operational situation on the front line.
The Volunteer Offensive is coming
After receiving the order, our army carefully analyzed the situation on the battlefield at that time and decided to open up the battlefield on the front line of Jincheng.
Most of the troops stationed here are South Korean combat units. Here is the best battlefield to open a breakthrough and return Syngman Rhee to the negotiating table.
On June 22, the 20th Corps of the Volunteer Army held a combat meeting and began to decide on a strategic deployment plan. They focused the battlefield on the west bank of the North Han River, and decided to launch an attack on the Eighth, Sixth, Third, and Capital Divisions of South Korea here.
The South Korean army stationed here is already one of the few elite troops in Rhee's hands. Hitting this place hard is of great significance to the entire battlefield.
The U.S. military has actually reconnaissance through land and air to find signs of movement on the other side. Based on some analysis, Clark concluded that our army would operate in the Golden City. According to the past practice, the United States will inform the ROK military in advance of the movements of the other side. But this time, Clark refused to lend a helping hand to the South Korean side.
He ordered Taylor, commander of the Eighth Army, to withdraw the U.S. Third Division from its front-line positions and wait for an opportunity in the second-line positions. For the United States, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rub Rhee's vigor. Naturally, they will not take out elite troops and spend them on the front line with Syngman Rhee.
Our army has begun to prepare for the offensive and launch an offensive against the troops under Rhee' Command. Yang Yong proposed a battle plan to launch an offensive on three sides, from the central, western, and eastern sides, in accordance with the layout of the three major group armies. In order to support the battle plan of Yang Yong's 20th Corps, the General Headquarters of the Volunteer Army gave the greatest support. At that time, it was suggested that
This is considered to be the largest battle plan since the fifth campaign.
The total strength of more than five corps was invested, and if it caused large casualties, it was not cost-effective for the volunteer army.
How to make a breakthrough became the biggest problem faced by the 20th Corps. If Yang Yong wants to win the battle smoothly, he needs better support to complete it.
Multi-faceted collaboration powers the battlefield
Syngman Rhee knew that after the US troops left the front-line battlefield, the defense of the Jincheng front would face tremendous pressure. He kept putting pressure on the four divisions to build more defensive pillboxes and more key defensive units. Through the advantage of numbers, the advantages of American weapons were used to counter the volunteer army.
Rhee thought he was at ease, but he mistakenly underestimated China's military prowess.
Deng Hua and Yang Dezhi, two high-level operational commanders, believe that Yang Yong's plan to open a gap in the front line is worthy of recognition.
General Yang Yong
Yang Yong was supported by two fellow soldiers, and the military strength of the 20th Corps was greatly increased. This completely exceeded Syngman Rhee's expectations, he never thought that the volunteer army would show such great strength against the four masters stationed in Jincheng.
On July 13, 1953, the first shots were officially fired at the Battle of Jincheng. In just twenty minutes, our army fired more than 1,900 tons of artillery shells at the opposing positions. The sheer size shocked Rhee and the South Korean army.
Five legions came from three directions to the South Korean army, and Rhee had no time to think of a way to deal with it.
In such a situation, Syngman Rhee thought of Clarke, who had just quarreled with him. He told Clarke,
Whether it could get the support of the Third Division on the front.
Clark decided to throw this problem to Taylor, who was now in charge of the Third Army.
Unfortunately, Taylor only gave One Battalion of Assistance to Syngman Rhee. This bit of assistance has absolutely no value for Syngman Rhee.
Superior firepower did play a very big role for the volunteer army. The South Korean army simply did not have time to establish a defense mechanism, and could only allow the front-line battlefield to be broken through at will.
The fall of the White Tiger Regiment
In this battle, our army invested far more than the ROK army could match.
According to statistics, the final total strength of the Fifth Army was as high as 240,000 people. The total number of artillery pieces alone is as high as 1360. A strong offensive force that guarantees an overwhelming superiority over the Rok army.
One of the most brilliant battles was the capture of the regimental flag of the First Regiment of the Capital Division of the Rokmen Army.
In war, the soul of a legion's combat lies in the flag. The flag symbolizes the soul of a troop, and it is of great historical significance to be able to capture the flag. In World War II, Japan was very concerned about its own military flag, and did not hesitate to buy time to burn the military flag in a full-fledged manner.
The 1st Regiment of the Rokkaku Capital Division, known as the White Tiger Regiment, was defeated in the early morning of July 14 due to the unfavorable defensive layout. In the process of fleeing, the first regiment even lost its own regimental flag. The White Tiger Banner of the Surprise Attack on the White Tiger Regiment also became the biggest gain of the reconnaissance squad that night.
White Tiger Regiment Flag
The four divisions and regiments that Rhee had painstakingly supported could only be defeated and retreated because of his unfavorable command. In desperation, Taylor decided to ask the U.S. military to advance and take over the rout positions left by the Roks.
Since the 16th, under the leadership of the US 3rd Division, the ROK army has launched thousands of counterattack offensives. These offensives, without exception, were repulsed by the 20th Corps of the Volunteer Army.
Syngman Rhee, who eats bitter fruit
The entire campaign, until 27 July, was still showing a one-sided advantage. The undefeated status of the volunteers was still not shaken by the US and Roksar armies.
During the course of the campaign, the volunteers occupied more than 180 square kilometers of land. The 20th Corps annihilated 52,783 enemy personnel and captured more than a thousand tanks, vehicles, and artillery supplies.
Unjunct Clarke had this to say about the campaign:
South Korea and Syngman Rhee finally realized that the so-called "northward march" is more difficult than it is! ”
After losing the battle, Syngman Rhee finally realized that he was not at all an opponent of the Chinese and North Korean armies. And the U.S. military realizes that continuing to do unnecessary attrition is worthless. In the end, they chose to return to the panmunjom negotiating table and hold peace talks with China and the DPRK. Syngman Rhee's wolf ambitions were finally shattered.
The Battle of Jincheng was very successful, and it is regarded by modern war history as a classic example of a surprise attack campaign. In the face of a well-planned volunteer army, the South Korean army was in a hurry to rout and humiliate the American army.
Former South Korean Army Chief of Staff Baek Sun-yeol, in his memoirs in his later years, specifically mentioned the Battle of Kimseong. He commented on the differences between China and South Korea:
"In any case, the volunteer offensive in July 1953 is unforgettable for us."
After all, the White Tiger Regiment claimed to be the first elite in South Korea, but it was interspersed by the interspersed detachment of our army's surprise attack troops, which easily broke through and disrupted the defense system. In the history of special operations in the world, it is also a rare classic case.
Syngman Rhee, who had suffered bitter fruit, faced with humiliating defeat, finally realized that his strength had been completely thrown out of several positions by our army.