At dusk on November 25, 1950, the second campaign to resist US aggression and aid Korea was officially launched. On the broad front of the entire western front north of the Cheongcheon River, the 50th, 66th, 39th, 40th, 38th, and 42nd Armies of the Volunteer Army each launched a fierce attack on the enemy in front of them. The task of the 40th Army was to coordinate with the 39th Army to eliminate the US Second Infantry Division entrenched in the area of Xinxingli and Suminli. Commander Wen Yucheng's plan was to attack the 9th Regiment of the US 2nd Division in the direction of Xinxingli, the 119th Division to intersperse to the west and encircle the enemy in a roundabout way, and the main force of the 120th Division to stay on the west bank of the Cheongcheon River to ensure the flank of the main force of the army.
In order to completely cut off the enemy's retreat, Huang Guozhong, deputy commander of the 120th Division, personally led the 359th Regiment to forcibly cross the Qingchuan River and plunge directly into Yulongpu. However, if you want to cross the Cheongcheon River by force, it is extremely difficult. At that time, the temperature had dropped to minus 25 degrees, the river was cold and bone-chilling, and the 359 regiment did not have any tools to cross the river, and could only wade in vain. On the opposite bank, an American infantry battalion and an artillery battalion were stationed, and tanks were also equipped. Huang Guozhong gathered the battalion commanders together to make a simple mobilization, and finally said: "We are living and dying together, and you all have to sell me the strength!" ”
At about 20:30 on the 25th, the 359th Regiment, under the cover of a mortar company and heavy machine guns, began to forcibly cross the Cheongcheon River. Deputy Division Commander Huang Guozhong was the first to go into the water, the cold and piercing river water was as painful as a knife cut, and his legs quickly lost consciousness and moved forward mechanically. The soldiers saw that the deputy division commander had taken the lead and rushed to the water, they raised their guns above their heads, and moved forward step by step in the cold and bone-chilling water. The enemy, wrapped in thick cotton, obviously did not expect that the volunteers would wade into the Qingchuan River in such cold weather, and one by one they opened their mouths in surprise and then began to shoot in a panic.
Eight companies and three platoons took the lead in rushing to the opposite shore, facing the volunteer warriors who were covered with ice but shouted with bayonets, the will to fight of the American army quickly collapsed, turned around and ran back. The warriors of the 359th Regiment pursued the enemy to the depths, and in the middle of the night they attacked the 219 heights defended by Baker's company, and after a brief exchange, the 129-man Baker's company had only 34 men left. At the same time, the 118th Division also launched an onslaught from the front of the US 2nd Division under the command of division commander Deng Yue, and night battles and close combat were the best tricks of the volunteer army, and the defense line of the US 2nd Division was instantly rushed to pieces.
The U.S. military history records: "The Chinese army fired fiercely with rifles and machine guns, throwing grenades that seemed to never run out." They rushed to The American positions and stabbed the American soldiers to death in the scattered soldier pits with bayonets. During the battle, the volunteers captured alive an American second-class soldier named Smedley, and after a brief interrogation, they were released. Before Smedley was leaving, the Volunteer interpreter said to him, "We know you all the names of all the officers in your George Company." You go back and tell your bosses, don't use napalm anymore! ”
Smedley did not believe that the Volunteers had let themselves go so easily, and he walked back in disbelief, thinking that there must be a gunshot in the back, but the Volunteers did not shoot. Years later, when he recalled this scene, he still couldn't help but sigh, praising the volunteer army as a "civilized, benevolent teacher." Under the attack of the 40th Army and the 39th Army, the US 2nd Division was soon completely defeated and fled to the military corner. On the way, Lieutenant Sam Metz, platoon commander of the 4th Platoon of the 38th Tank Company, encountered 65 panicked American soldiers. To escape, the soldiers climbed into four tanks led by Mace.
At about 9 p.m. on November 26, Mace fled with the American troops to Gujang-dong, where they were ambushed by a company of volunteers. Metz wanted to fire back, but the American soldiers on the tank affected the turret and machine gun rotation. Mace knew that if he delayed a little longer, he wouldn't be able to run away. In order to escape, he ordered the turret to be rotated, throwing down his comrades on the tank. The screams of the American soldiers who fell off the tank were clearly audible, but Mace couldn't take care of them, and he drove the tank at a speed of 12 miles per hour to escape madly, and finally ran into the corner of the army, and survived.