At 3:00 a.m. on October 14, 1952, Shangganling 597. Highlands 9 and 537.7 were suddenly attacked by the U.S. army's rare heavy artillery fire, dropping an average of six rounds per second. Tunnels collapsed, traffic ditches were filled, civil fortifications blew up, and telephone lines were broken.
The garrison soldiers of the 45th Division of the 15th Army of the Volunteer Army were blown up, and many of them had their lips and tongues broken, and their ears were deafened.
At 4:30, the United States and South Korea, supported by aircraft, artillery and tanks, launched a fierce attack on the two highlands. The smoke of gunfire filled the positions, obscuring the sky, and the sound of gunshots and shouts of death resounded through the clouds.
From the 14th to the 20th, the enemy and us engaged in a tug-of-war for seven days and nights on two small hills of 3.7 square kilometers. During the day, the enemy occupies the position; at night, we counterattack with all our might.
By dawn on the 20th, the 21 infantry companies of the 45th Division suffered heavy casualties, and some companies were all exhausted, and their support was useless, and they could no longer fight, so they had to turn to the tunnels and hold on.
Song Xin'an, chief of the operations section of the 45th Division, wept bitterly when reporting the casualties.
During these 7 days and nights, at the Military Headquarters Command Post of Daodedong, more than 20 kilometers north of Shangganling, Qin Jiwei, commander of the 15th Army, did not close his eyes for a moment.
Why is the nerves of a famous general who has been on the battlefield since the age of 13 and has been fighting for 25 consecutive years?
On the one hand, it has something to do with the importance of the war; on the other hand, it is also related to the beginning of some passivity.
At the same time, it is also related to the judgment and response errors in the early stage of the campaign.
Ignore pre-war intelligence
On October 5, Li Jiqiu, a captain and staff officer of the 32nd Regiment of the Han 2nd Division, crossed the blockade line at night and surrendered to the 45th Division of the 15th Army of the Volunteer Army! He revealed the entire plan of the Han 2nd Division to cooperate with the US 7th Division in the near future to launch a large-scale attack on Shangganling.
The 15th Army did not attract any attention. Neither believe nor verify.
It was not until three or four days after the battle began that the 15th Army's operational intentions and main offensive direction against the US army were gradually clarified.
Qin Jiwei said at the campaign briefing:
If we anticipate the direction of the enemy's attack, the enemy will not be able to climb up on the first day
。 ”
In fact, there are many signs that a great war is imminent.
In mid-to-late September, a number of US and ROK officers arrived at the North Mountain of Highlands 597.9 and 537.7 to inspect the terrain;
On the highway of the US 7th Division's defense area, the dust is flying all day long, and the number of transport vehicles has increased sharply;
The number of US reconnaissance planes circling over Shangganling has increased significantly;
Small units of the US army frequently made tentative attacks on forward positions.
Misjudged the enemy's main attack direction
At the report meeting on the Shangganling Campaign, Qin Jiwei said: "There are loopholes in our preparations, and we did not estimate that the enemy would use such a large number of troops to attack the direction of the Five Holy Mountains. We are prepared to deal with the enemy's attack in the direction of the western mountains,
The results were unexpected
。 “
After the 15th Army was stationed at the Five Holy Mountains, Qin Jiwei surveyed the terrain. Due to the steep terrain of the Five Sacred Mountains, when descending the mountain, it actually slid all the way down.
Qin Jiwei said to the staff officers: "You look at that terrain, you can't get down the plane, you can't get up the tank, people to people, top one, Lao Tzu is not afraid of you." ”
Did Van Fleet have to "push the bull's horn"? Do you have to "take the big road and don't take the small road"? No means"
Avoid the real and hit the virtual
“？
As a result, almost all of the 15th Army's heavy artillery, vehicles, and ammunition, as well as most of its strength, were concentrated on the western mountain and The Pingkang River Valley.
No battle tunnels were built
On April 26, 1952, the headquarters of the Volunteer Army held a meeting of the corps and the chief of staff of the corps in Hinoki, and asked the whole army to build a battle tunnel in the position.
In the Shangganling position, only a reverse slope reserve tunnel with its back to the enemy was constructed, but no battle tunnel was constructed.
There is a big difference between the two. To put it simply, the battle tunnel is the tunnel warfare in Jidong, and the reserve tunnel is the cat ear hole of Laoshan.
After the Battle of Shangganling was fought, objectively speaking, it suffered a big loss. The rear of the 15th Army was extremely difficult to support and supply the tunnels, and was almost cut off by the enemy! Coupled with inadequate preparations, there was a great shortage of water, food and medicine in the tunnels.
"Qin Jiwei's Speech at the Report Meeting on the Participation of the 31st Division in the Battle of Shangganling" admitted that heavy losses were caused by the failure to build a battle tunnel. To this end, the leaders of the 3rd Corps specially wrote a review letter.
Rush to fight back
Qin Jiwei said at the campaign briefing: After the battle began, "
At first, it was a bit passive, and the second echelon was hastily invested
。
The sustainability of the enemy's attack was also underestimated, so there was an illusion in command.
“
On October 18, the surface positions of Shangganling were completely lost for the first time.
Cui Jiangong, commander of the 45th Division, reported: "The fighting was too hard, and the casualties were too great. There were no soldiers in front of me, and I couldn't attack anymore. ”
Qin Jiwei: "Tell you Cui Jiangong, you can't regain your position,
Don't come back and see me!"
”
Cui Jiangong: "Fight! I am the company commander, I am the company commander, I am the squad leader. ”
Qin Jiwei: "I have issued a call to the military organs and the direct subordinate units.
Mother-in-law dolls together
。 Please tell the troops that if you fight to the last person, you must also hold your position! ”
Qin Jiwei later recalled: "When the position was occupied by the enemy,
My brain was hot and I wanted to slap him down
。 So I said that to Master Cui Jiangong. It doesn't matter if I put this sentence out, the brain below is hotter, and a stream of blood gas comes up desperately, increasing casualties. ”
Too much emphasis is placed on the struggle for every inch of land
On October 29, due to the excessive casualties of the 15th Army, Li Desheng, deputy commander of the 12th Army, led four fully loaded main regiments and was ordered to be assigned to the 15th Army to fight and take over the Shangganling position.
Qin Jiwei, commander of the 15th Army, said: "
I will hand over to the position of the 12th Army, and I will never let it be less than an inch!
On October 29, the 15th Army against the 537th. Highland 7 launched a counterattack; on the 30th, against 597. Highland 9 launched a major counterattack. Strive to take back all the positions and hand them over to the 12th Army.
The 133rd Regiment of the 15th Army had 4 companies counterattacking the 537.7 heights, and after a fierce battle, only 24 men were left to retreat to Tunnel 7, receiving no support for 11 days, of which 17 died of freezing and starvation, and the remaining 7 broke through in the early morning of the 8th. After Qin Jiwei learned about it, he felt extremely guilty.
Some people believe that some small positions on the 537.7 heights do not have much military value, do not need to place troops, only use artillery control.
On 1 November, the 12th Army took up the Shangganling position.
Lee Tak Sang brainstormed and made adjustments:
It is necessary to change tactics, "the strength of the troops is light before and after, and the firepower is heavy before and after." It is necessary to disperse the troops, and put only small groups and individual soldiers in each position; fight alone and fight for themselves; and fall down and "add lamp oil" to the tunnels.
It is necessary to dig the tunnel deeper, form a deeper shelter, and dig between the tunnel shelter parts, plus civil cover.
It is necessary to take the initiative to attack, actively defend, and "squeeze the position" of the enemy through underground tunnels.
On November 5, led by Li Desheng, the Five Holy Mountains Command Post was formed to command the 29th Division of the 15th Army, the 31st Division and the 34th Division of the 12th Army.
Wang Jinshan, who was then deputy commander of the 3rd Corps, said in his later years: Li Desheng fought seven more days than Qin Jiwei, and his casualties were only a quarter of what Qin Jiwei had when he was fighting, thus creating experience for us to deal with a modern enemy.
epilogue
In general, at the beginning of the Battle of Shangganling, there were misjudgments and miscalculations between the enemy and us. A small-scale battle for positions, the two sides actually fought red eyes! Repeated tug-of-war, like a snowball, became bigger and bigger, from battle to battle, from 5 days to 43 days, and the two verdant hills were beaten into a mass grave.
The volunteer army began to be a little passive, but the more it fought, the more comfortable it became, completely powdered the combat intentions of the US army, and played a heroic spirit that dared to overwhelm all enemies, a fighting style of "one is not afraid of suffering, the other is not afraid of death", and a superb combat art, making Shangganling a monument.
The "showdown" operation of the US military has not only become a figment, but also fallen into a wave of doubt and opposition.
Clarke, commander-in-chief of the United Nations Army, said in his memoirs: "This attack, which began as a limited target, developed into a cruel face-saving gamble, and I think this operation was a failure."
American military correspondent Bevin Alexander wrote in "North Korea: Our First Defeat": "Ironically, the original plan was only to use a 5-day 'showdown' operation, and after a few weeks of hard fighting, the POSITIONs of the American army were only slightly improved, and the losses were too big and too big." ”
At the beginning of Qin Jiwei's war, there was a mistake in judgment, but the flaws did not hide Yu, and he and the 15th Army were famous in the world! And Shangganling has also become a pain that can never be erased in the hearts of the US military!