As we all know, in the army, there has always been a saying that "military orders are like mountains", and the duty of soldiers is to obey orders, and they must obey established military orders unconditionally.
However, on the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, a general changed his battle plan without asking his superiors. As a result, after the battle, he was not only not punished, but also received a commendation and promotion from the headquarters of the Volunteer Army.
This happened on July 13, 1953, the day the battle of the "Surprise Attack white tiger regiment" began.
According to the plan drawn up by the headquarters of the Volunteer Army, at 9 o'clock in the evening, the Twentieth Corps of our army, commanded by the famous general Yang Yong, launched a general attack on the South Korean Army south of Kimseong.
Yang Yong, commander of the corps, clearly instructed that when the time for the general offensive came, the "god of war", the artillery unit, would first bombard the designated area and give the enemy a head-on blow, and then the infantry and other branches of the army would launch a full-line attack.
The main offensive task of this battle was the 203rd Division of the Sixty-eighth Army. After receiving the task, division commander Yang Dongliang and the generals repeatedly studied and determined the combined tactics of continuous breakthroughs , interspersed divisions , and surprise attacks in disguise , aimed at annihilating the South Korean "White Tiger Regiment," which was known as the enemy's "ace force" in one fell swoop.
In the early morning of the 13th, two infantry regiments of the 203rd Division had been inserted in advance according to Yang Dongliang's deployment and lurked near the "White Tiger Regiment" station.
After nightfall, more than 1,000 cannons also entered a state of readiness for firing, and as soon as the time came, the headquarters of the 203rd Division, under an order, would bombard the enemy position with overwhelming force.
It can be said that from the artillery unit to the infantry companies, to the division headquarters, as well as the corps headquarters and the volunteer army headquarters, everyone is holding their breath and waiting for the arrival of the general attack time.
But just as the hour hand was pointing to 20:50, a situation that surprised everyone suddenly appeared - the sound of dense artillery suddenly came from the front!
"What's going on?" Although Yang Dongliang, the commander of the division, was a fierce general who had experienced hundreds of battles, he could not help but be surprised in the face of this unexpected situation.
"The enemy has shot in front of us!"
"Our army's offensive positions were bombarded by enemy artillery..."
The forward observation post and the division artillery group immediately reported to the command post of the 203rd Division what they knew, and the telephone calls were one after another, and the situation became more and more urgent, which could not help but make everyone in the command post mention the throat eye.
This is truly an unexpected change! Moreover, it happened a few minutes before our army was about to launch a general offensive!
What the hell is going on here? How should our military respond? Will the original plan be continued, or will the forward forces be cancelled immediately and ordered to move? A decision must be made as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences will become more and more serious!
For the sake of the way, first cure the heart. At such a critical juncture, Yang Dongliang fully demonstrated the super psychological quality of "Taishan collapsed in front of him and the color remained unchanged".
He quickly calmed down, calmly analyzed the current situation, and concluded that it was possible that our army's combat intentions had been discovered, so the enemy intended to oppose the main guests and use artillery attacks to disrupt the established deployment of our army.
He glanced at his watch, and the time was 20:55, that is, there were still 5 minutes to go before the total attack time determined by the head of the corps.
If you put it in the usual, 5 minutes of time is almost not worth mentioning, but in the battlefield where the enemy and us are fighting for life and death, every second may affect the direction of the war, and even determine the final success or failure, and must be decided immediately!
Yang Dongliang knew very well in his heart that the established general offensive time was related to the overall deployment of the whole army, and no one was allowed to change it without authorization. However, at this time, the situation changed, and if countermeasures were not taken immediately to suppress the enemy's artillery fire, it was very likely that the all-front attack plan planned by our army would be completely destroyed.
The battlefield is changing rapidly, and there is no room for the slightest hesitation, and Yang Dongliang has made up his mind: No matter what kind of punishment I personally will suffer for changing the battle plan without authorization, I must bear the corresponding responsibility at this time, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable.
Thinking of this, he suddenly raised his right arm high, swung down extremely powerfully and resolutely, and gave the order to the division artillery group by telephone: "Fire immediately!" ”
Immediately afterward, he ordered the Chief of Staff to quickly report to the Corps Headquarters on the start of the General Offensive Battle 5 minutes in advance.
With Yang Dongliang's order, our army's artillery positions quickly emitted a burst of roars like lions roaring and falling apart, and rain-like shells rushed into the clouds and then smashed into the long enemy positions, making them spectacular in the night sky.
Under the cover of our army's powerful artillery fire, the infantry unit of the 203rd Division rushed bravely to the enemy position like a sharp knife, and it took only more than 10 minutes to successfully break through the south Korean army's defense line.
It was precisely because Yang Dongliang, under tremendous pressure, ordered a general attack on the enemy 5 minutes in advance, so that our army took the lead and completely smashed the South Korean army's conspiracy to mischief at a critical moment, laying the foundation for the victory of this battle. In the end, the 203rd Division successfully annihilated the invincible "White Tiger Regiment" in one fell swoop.
After the battle was over, Yang Dongliang was preparing to "bear the guilt of Jingjing" to his superiors, but unexpectedly received a commendation order from the Corps Headquarters. Commander Yang Yong not only did not criticize him for changing the battle plan, but praised him for his "flexible command and decisive decision-making" and "you ordered the attack 5 minutes in advance, which played a key role in winning the battle."
It was precisely because of this brilliant performance that Yang Dongliang was promoted to the first deputy commander and chief of staff of the Sixty-eighth Army not long after.
Reference historical materials: "Chinese People's Volunteer Army War History", "Chinese People's Volunteer Army Character History" and so on