On October 14, 1952, the world-famous Battle of Shangganling was officially launched, and the 45th Division of the 15th Army, under the command of division commander Cui Jiangong, engaged in a bloody battle with the enemy. Despite the heroic fighting of the fighters, due to the fierce firepower of the American army, after 7 days of holding out, all the surface positions of Shangganling were lost, and the 45th Division was forced to retreat into the tunnel to hold on. Van Vleet, commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, was overjoyed to learn that the Volunteers had retreated into the tunnels, and during World War II, the Americans fought tunnel battles with the Japanese on Iwo Jima and won the final victory.
Therefore, Van Vliet believed that as long as the experience of Iwo Jima could win the Battle of Shangganling. But he soon realized that he was wrong, the tactics of the volunteer army were extremely flexible, and under the cover of night, the tunnel troops of the 45th Division attacked from all sides in small groups, touching the sentry posts and blowing up the bunkers, making the enemy tired of coping. In order to eliminate our tunnel troops, the US army used intensive artillery fire to indiscriminately bombard the supply lines of the 45th Division, in a vain attempt to trap the volunteer troops who were holding out in the tunnels.
Under the blockade of the enemy's dense artillery fire, the tunnel troops soon suffered from a shortage of water and food. Cui Jiangong decided to take the initiative to launch a counterattack, and on the afternoon of October 30, the 15th Army concentrated more than a hundred large-caliber artillery pieces and launched a fierce attack on the enemy troops defending The 597.9 Heights. After more than an hour, the artillery began to extend fire, and the American troops hiding in the bunkers thought that our army was about to attack, and they entered the positions to prepare for battle. Unexpectedly, the artillery fire of the 15th Army suddenly rebounded, and the American troops who had just entered the position were instantly blown up.
The shelling lasted for a total of 4 hours, during which several true and false extended fires by the Volunteers inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. After the shelling, the newly formed 8 companies of the 45th Division and the three companies of the 86th Regiment of the 29th Division attacked quickly and quickly drove down the terrified enemy. After dawn the next day, the US troops, who were not willing to accept defeat, launched a frenzied counterattack under the cover of artillery and aircraft, and the enemy and us repeatedly tugged at the north mountain of the 597.9 highland, and the battle situation was very stale.
On November 4, the 87th Regiment of the 29th Division once again launched a counterattack against the enemy defending the 597.9 heights of Beishan, and Xue Zhigao and Wang Heliang from Sichuan both participated in the assault platoon. Xue Zhigao is a native of Jianyang, Sichuan, and Wang Heliang is a native of Santai, Sichuan. After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, both men followed the 15th Army to the battlefield. Xue Zhigao joined the army a year earlier than Wang Heliang, serving as deputy squad leader at the outbreak of the Battle of Shangganling, and Wang Heliang was a soldier in the class, when one of them was 21 years old and the other was 22 years old.
After the counterattack on this day, Xue Zhigao and Wang Heliang heroically killed the enemy with the assault platoon and destroyed several enemy bunkers. The U.S. army relied on superior firepower to resist, and although the assault platoon killed and wounded more than 40 enemy troops, it also paid a great price of casualties. There were only two people left on the entire position, Xue Zhigao and Wang Heliang, both of whom were seriously wounded, and Xue Zhigao's left leg was blown off by enemy artillery fire and could not continue the charge. Wang Heliang's left eye was injured, and his right eye vision was also seriously damaged, and his eyes were blurred.
Xue Zhigao and Wang Heliang were both seriously wounded, and neither of them could charge alone, and they could completely withdraw and treat their wounds. But after a brief discussion, a shocking scene of the US army appeared, and the blind Wang Heliang picked up Xue Zhigao, who had broken his leg, and launched a final charge against the enemy! Looking at the two like gods of war, the COMMANDER of the US Army lamented: We can't win the battle! Relying on the heroic and tenacious spirit and flexible tactics, our army finally won the victory in the Battle of Shangganling. Xue Zhigao died in this counterattack at the age of 21. Wang Heliang was sent back to China for medical treatment, and after recovering from his injuries, he returned to his hometown to work in the Civil Affairs Bureau, and died of illness in 1991 at the age of 62.