"Royal Gloucester Battalion", listening to the name, you know that this unit is not ordinary. Indeed, he is the ace of the British Army, from its establishment to the present has a history of more than 150 years, but also participated in two world wars, with strong combat effectiveness, once awarded by the Emperor engraved with the word "Royal Army" hat emblem, so the officers and men of the battalion wear two hat badges, also known as the "Royal Army Double Emblem Battalion".
However, this so-called "elite force" was vulnerable to the volunteer army, and in the battle with the volunteer army, an ordinary volunteer soldier of the 63rd Army actually captured 63 British soldiers alone! Can you believe it?
Time back to April 22, 1951...
On this day, the Volunteer Command issued the operational order for the fifth campaign, determined to concentrate the main force of the Volunteer Army on the western front, and the Korean People's Army annihilated 1 to 3 regiments of the South Korean Army on the eastern front. The commander of the Volunteer Army placed high hopes on this battle, and planned to annihilate 5 enemy divisions (including 3 divisions of the US army) in the first stage of the attack, and advance the front line to the 37th line...
April 22 was a Sunday, and except for the attack of the South Korean 6th Division in the central battlefield at Chewon and Kim Hoa, which was defeated by our army, the other fronts were very calm. The Americans also held motorboat races on the Han River. However, they did not know that hundreds of thousands of volunteers were about to launch a full-scale attack!
At five o'clock in the afternoon, on a section of about 200 kilometers from Linhe on the eastern front to Kaesong on the western front, our army's "Katyusha rocket artillery" began to speak, and one fire dragon after another crossed the line of fire and directly attacked the enemy's position, and with the cooperation of other mountain artillery and artillery, the volunteer army launched an almost extravagant "artillery preparation." The exploded water column on the Imjin River raged like a tsunami, and the mountains and sky on the south bank shone red.
According to Shiji's deployment, Yang Dezhi's 19th Corps launched an attack in front of the Linjin River, and after the full line of artillery fire was ready to stop, all the commanders and fighters of the 19th Corps of the Volunteer Army, regardless of the bombing and strafing of the enemy aircraft and the fire net on the opposite shore, followed by their predecessors and successors, pounced on the Linjin River, which was more than 100 meters wide.
Why is the Linjin River a natural danger?
Linjin River
The river is turbulent and mighty, and the width of the north and south banks is more than 100 meters long, and it is the main river on the Korean Peninsula. Even if the river is the shallowest, the depth of the river is also "waist-deep", and on the south bank is mostly cliffs, not easy to climb, so the south bank is easy to defend and difficult to attack.
The 64th Army of the 19th Corps was hindered at the Linjin River, causing certain casualties, but "the east is not bright, the west is bright", and the 63rd Army led by Fu Chongbi led the troops, took the lead in tearing open an opening, and broke through the Linjin River with "lightning speed and unconcealed momentum"!
Just before the campaign was launched, Commander Fu Chongbi asked the 187th Division to lead the company and platoon cadres to explore the terrain to ensure that a surprise attack could be launched at the time of the attack! Be able to break through the beachhead on the south bank of the river at all costs! Then quickly advance towards the enemy's deep attack!
Thanks to their full preparations, all the officers and men of the 187th Division rushed into the Linjin River in the shortest time with the fastest speed, the fastest action, the most familiar route, and the shortest distance! Pounce on the British 29th Brigade! The British 29th Brigade is the unit of the "Royal Gloucester Battalion" mentioned at the beginning of the article.
On April 24, after the 561st Regiment of the 187th Division of the 63rd Army broke through the Linjin River, it caused a siege of the "Royal Gloucester Battalion" in the Shermari area, this "elite" unit was already in danger, they were the "souls" of the British army invading Korea, and if they were annihilated, it would cause great repercussions!
Snow Mali, located 4 kilometers south of the Linjin River, has two highlands as a barrier in the north and two highlands in the south, and the mountains are low in the north and high in the south, easy to defend and difficult to attack, which is a strong point in the defense front of the enemy in the south. Despite this, the 561st Regiment still "surrounded" the enemy!
At this moment, the commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Army" Who heard the news, Ridgway, personally went to Korea to study the convenience of rescuing the "Royal Gloucester Battalion", and he angrily said to his generals: "We must rescue the British army at all costs." ”
Say it's late, it's fast. The rescue force of the US 3rd Division rushed to the "Sheri", but they could not get close to this area at all, because the outlying troops of the 187th Division made a tenacious blockade of the enemy's "reinforcements", and although the enemy went crazy and used planes and tanks to bomb our positions, they just could not break through the defense line...
On April 25, the 561st Regiment launched a final attack on the British "Royal Gloucester Battalion", the British army with rich battlefield experience tried to make a final resistance, but where they were the opponents of the brave and strong volunteer army, after a fierce battle, the British army was beaten and fled!
The soldiers of the 561st Regiment began a fierce attack on the British army! The instructor of the 2nd Company issued a call to the soldiers: "Rush bravely, take more prisoners, and the opportunity to make meritorious contributions has arrived!" ”
warrior
Liu Guangzi
Guo Quanxi and Zhang Hong used military rifles and light machine guns to fiercely fire at the British troops, and the Officers and Men of the British Army lost their command, and the ghosts cried wolf howls all over the mountains and the wolves rushed to the ground. At this moment, Liu Guangzi suddenly found a group of British troops running towards the ravine, and they followed them to a small highland.
Liu Guangzi fixed his eyes on it, and suddenly found that there was an artillery company of the "Royal Gloucester Battalion" at the bottom of the mountain, and more than 100 people were packing up their belongings in the chaos and preparing to flee with guns. Liu Guangzi did not hesitate, holding the submachine gun is a fierce shot, he let two new soldiers behind the stone to cover the shooting, he himself with the gun rushed to the enemy group!
50 meters... At 10 meters, Liu Guangzi threw a "flying thunder" at the enemy, which was a highly powerful weapon "invented" by volunteer soldiers, which was made of grenades tied with explosives. Just listen to the loud "bang", a large piece of British troops fell to the ground.
Liu Guangzi took advantage of the thick smoke, while impacting, while strafing at the enemy, his mouth also shouted: "The first battalion to the left, the second battalion to the right, give me a charge!" "Coupled with the cover shooting of the two people behind him, he was stunned that one person had made half a regiment of movements...
The British were confused, they had no idea how many volunteers were attacking them, and they did not dare to return fire, only to mess around with guns. Liu Guangzi fell from the sky at this time, shouting in the little unintelligent English he had learned before the war: "
Shoot and don't kill!
”
When he rushed into the enemy camp, liu Guangzi shouted these four words that were earth-shattering
Unexpectedly, all the living soldiers of the British artillery raised their hands and surrendered to this heroic volunteer soldier! At this point, Liu Guangzi alone captured a bunch of British troops, but at this time, the British had already taken prisoners before they understood what was going on.
Seeing the hordes of British troops in front of him, it was false to say that Liu Guangzi was not nervous in his heart, but he was very quick in his thinking and nervous in his heart, but his face did not change color, and he shot a shuttle of bullets into the air, and immediately shouted: "Immediately stand in line and assemble!" ”
But when the British lined up, some of the British understood that there was only one person in front of them! Some tried to sneak up on Liu Guangzi and shoot at him. To the surprise of the British army, the soldier in front of him "prejudged their prejudgment", one after another solved those British troops who were not willing to surrender, and the rest of the situation did not dare to come nonsense...
In this way, Liu Guangzi carried a long line of captives to the mountain, but it was not long before he left, and another group of people wanted to escape, Liu Guangzi was cruel this time, threw out a grenade, and sent them back to his hometown at that time. Then shout at the remaining Britons:
"Don't run, whoever shoots me kills!"
Later, the two recruits also rushed over, and the British were all honest and obediently taken prisoner.
Although Liu Guangzi was very brave on the battlefield, he was a very honest person in reality, he had captured so many enemies, but he did not dare to report to his superiors, and he was unwilling to admit that he had captured so many people.
But he didn't hide it. While the head of the unit was counting the prisoners, after the other soldiers had reported their numbers, the chiefs found that there were 63 more British prisoners, but they could not find who had taken them. Finally, the two soldiers who followed Liu Guangzi did not hold back and told the chief the truth:
"These prisoners were captured by our group leader Liu Guangzi!"
The regimental leader was astonished: "Can he alone capture 63 British troops?" This is the artillery company of the British ace army! "Although everyone didn't quite believe it, after verification, it was found that the situation was true!"
Before the Battle of Shemari, the 561st Regiment of the Volunteer Army had put forward a slogan: Capture a prisoner and make a contribution! After Liu Guangzi's heroic deeds materials were reported,
At the end of 1951, Liu Guangzi was awarded the honorary title of "Lone Hero" and was credited with first-class merit.
After the news of Liu Guangzi's heroic deeds spread, North Korean President Kim Il Sung also received him on a special basis; after Liu Guangzi returned to China in 1952, Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou, and others also received this hero and praised his heroic deeds.
In 1953, when Liu Guangzi went to the Soviet Union to participate in the World Youth Festival, Stalin had already heard about Liu Guangzi, so he took this opportunity to receive this legendary hero and asked Liu Guangzi with great interest: "
How can you capture so many British troops at once? ”
Liu Guangzi said a little embarrassedly: "At that time, I was open-minded anyway!" ”
The four words "open-minded" look short and clear, but behind this is his achievements in braving the rain of bullets and bullets on the battlefield, he has dealt a heavy blow to the "elite" of the British army, and set a heroic example for the volunteer soldiers!
Liu Guangzi, who joined the army in 1948, participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in 1951, and was demobilized in 1958 and returned to his hometown of Linhe, Inner Mongolia. After Liu Guangzi was demobilized, he maintained his modest character, and he never made any demands on the organization because of his meritorious service. At the same time, the requirements for their children are very strict. For many years, the old man has maintained the true color of when he was a soldier!
He rarely told his family or outsiders about his captivity. He said: "To be a person is to do more and say less. ”
Although he did not often mention his exploits, the motherland and the people did not forget him, and his heroic deeds were made into a documentary and selected for the "Wonderful Examples of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea", and the submachine gun he used in the Battle of Shemali is now treasured in the Chinese Military Museum.
Continue back to the battlefield...
In the Siege of Shermari, the 187th Division, with the cooperation of other units, completely annihilated the "Royal Gloucester Battalion" of the British 29th Brigade and its subordinate units, and captured 26 artillery pieces, 18 tanks, 48 vehicles and a large number of combat materials, causing great panic within the "United Nations Army".
Ridgway recalled the war very sadly and said:
"The enemy drove the South Korean 1st Division south of the 'Kansas Line' with a sudden blow, thus exposing the left flank of the British 29th Brigade. Despite repeated attempts by the 1st Army to rescue the 1st Battalion of the Gloucester Regiment, the battalion was cut off and crushed by the enemy. Lieutenant Colonel Kahns (who had served in the regiment for 20 years) and his troops held out heroically and tenaciously in their positions for several days until all ammunition ran out. Only a few soldiers of the battalion managed to return to the United Nations side. ”
No matter how hard Ridgway tried to save this force, he could not save their fate of being completely annihilated!
At 24:00 on the 25th, after three days and nights of continuous combat, the 19th Corps occupied the first line of Wenshanli, Court-ri and Qifengshan, and annihilated the first part of the 1st Division of South Korea and the "Royal Gloust Battalion" of the British 29th Brigade and most of the tank regiment, totaling more than 4,000 people. A complete victory was achieved!
Why did the British lose?
The "Royal Gloucester Battalion" is actually not low in combat effectiveness, they are a well-known heroic team in Britain, and they are an old invading army. In 1801, during the colonial war on the expedition to Egypt, they were surrounded by Egyptian troops, but they fought bravely and turned defeat into victory. So for more than a hundred years, they have enjoyed a high honor ...
So, when the battalion was surrounded, Ridgway was stunned and immediately realized that this might shake Britain, shake Europe. If the entire Gloucester battalion is annihilated, British public opinion will make a big uproar, and world public opinion will make a big fuss!
Originally, a considerable part of the British people opposed the participation in the Korean War and the continuation of the Korean War regardless of European interests, demanding that the British government withdraw from the United Nations army and "get rid of the United Nations"! There is a lot of pressure from the British government. Every effort must be made to rescue that force.
However, although Ridgway worked very hard to rescue and the "Gloucester Battalion" also tried very hard to break through, they did not escape the fate of being surrounded and annihilated! Why did the British lose under their mighty military might?
First of all, the opponent of the Royal Gloucester Battalion Chinese the 63rd Army of the People's Volunteer Army is not a vegetarian, the commander of the 19th Corps, Yang Dezhi, is a corps commander with rich battlefield experience, and Fu Chongbi, the commander of the 63rd Army, is a tiger general, and Fu Chongbi even asked the most grass-roots commanders to go to the river to check the terrain and formulate strategies before breaking through the "Linjin River".
Secondly, the volunteer army has countless witty and brave soldiers such as "Liu Guangzi", and the name of "Royal Gloucester Battalion" is very large, but the volunteer soldiers like to "gnaw hard bones", and the more they encounter hard stubble, the more courageous their combat effectiveness is! "Lone hero" Liu Guangzi, one person dared to rush into an artillery company! Such a warrior, what will the British army take to defeat?
In the end, the Volunteers fought a just battle to "defend the country", and it was unjust for the British army to join the so-called "United Nations Army" to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Therefore, such a match, the "Royal Gloucester Battalion" has only one end, that is, it is completely annihilated by the volunteer army!