introduction
The fierceness of the famous Battle of Shangganling was rare before, the volunteer defense troops put up stubborn resistance, the positions were lost and regained many times, and even the artillery fire density exceeded the highest level in World War II, so why was the war so fierce? Attacking China was so difficult, why didn't the U.S. military use highly lethal flamethrowers at that time?
The course of the war
First of all, let me tell you about the Battle of Shangganling, where the artillery firepower exceeded that of World War II, how fierce the battle was. And why is the fight so intense? In fact
This battle belonged to the Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and was one of the most fiercely fought wars in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
The Battle of Shangganling lasted for forty-three days from October 14 to November 25, 1952, and you may not know that after fighting for so long, the two sides fought in two highlands with an area of only 3.7 square kilometers, which was originally a small battle, but with the gradual increase in the number of troops and weapons invested during the period, it eventually developed from a battle into a battle.
The volunteer troops participating in the battle relied on the natural advantages of the tunnels
It can be said that there is a dispute with the US army, but our army has resisted no less than 25 large-scale enemy attacks. Such a high frequency does not reflect the fierceness of the battle, and the powerful artillery fire in the battle is the most fierce, averaging 6 rounds per second, and 76 shells explode per square meter of land.
The volunteers relied on the tunnels to shoot
In this campaign, the "United Nations Army" mobilized more than 60,000 troops, more than 300 artillery pieces, more than 170 tanks, and more than 3,000 aircraft sorties, and the positions of our two companies added up to a total of about 3.7 square kilometers. Directly, the hill of our position was cut down by two meters, the soil and stones on the high ground were blown loose by 1-2 meters, all of which became a scorched earth, and many rock tunnels were also blown short by three or four meters
However, our volunteer army was not left to be slaughtered, and in the face of such inhumane critical attacks, we also put up stubborn resistance, and the casualties on both sides were very heavy. The volunteers suffered 11,529 casualties, with a casualty rate of more than 20%. Enemy casualties were 25,498, with a casualty rate of more than 40 percent. However, in this comparison, we find that the enemy casualty rate is 2 times higher than ours. The Number was unexpected for the Americans, because the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific War, which the United States considered to have the highest casualty rate, was only 32.6%.
The Battle of Shangganling was mainly based on tunnel operations, which could minimize casualties under the extremely fierce fire of the enemy.
Our technical equipment is advanced by no one, but this method can effectively weaken the enemy's superiority in technical equipment. In this way, even if our army loses its superficial position, it can still cooperate with the second-line troops to counterattack and crush their attack by retreating to the tunnels.
In combat, artillery undoubtedly played an important role
Although the number of shells we fired was no less than that of South Korea and the United States, and the caliber of our artillery was mostly inferior to that of others, we still had no problem in conducting large-scale artillery battles with enemy artillery through flexible mobility and concentrated use. It is estimated that 70% of the casualties of the U.S. and South Korean troops in the battle were killed by volunteer artillery fire.
The volunteers insisted on land acquisition
Our army is also extremely difficult in this difficult battle. Because the combat area is small, the US and ROK armies mostly adopt the strategy of concentrated attack, the attack formation is very dense, and the pace of attack and defense conversion is very fast.
And the guns and weapons equipped by the volunteer army are not suitable for this battle, such as the Makqin heavy machine gun firepower, but the gun body is bulky, the structure is complex, and it needs to be cooled by adding water, which is extremely inconvenient to use; for example, the Czech light machine gun has high shooting accuracy, but the jam rate is high, and it needs continuous maintenance, just like our watch, only careful maintenance, it will provide you with accurate time. It was also not suitable for fierce combat; there were also Soviet light machine guns with fierce fire, but the magazine turned loudly when shooting, and it was easy to expose the target in the event of fierce fighting at night.
Therefore, throwing ammunition became the preferred target, especially heavy grenades, grenades, and explosive canisters, which were favored by fighters, after all, many battles were almost won by grenades and grenades.
Just as we just said, our army mainly relies on relying on tunnels to confront the enemy, but in this kind of tunnel warfare, the enemy's powerful firepower destruction is not the biggest obstacle, and our army's lack of food and water supply is the most serious, at this time the US military also seized this opportunity to carry out strong artillery bombardment on the tunnel troops and the communication lines in our rear, so that the troops in the tunnels ran out of food.
It can be said that the lack of food and water became our biggest enemy at that time. Throughout the entire campaign, the casualty rate of the front-line transporters was the highest, as high as 90%, even exceeding the casualty rate of the confrontation with the US army, it is no exaggeration to say that on the two high ground leading to Shangganling, where the blood of the line transporters was almost oozed, they insisted on resisting the fierce attack of the enemy for the supply of the front-line troops, and a large amount of materials were lost on the road, and even fewer were sent into the tunnels.
If you think it's already tough, you might be ignoring another category of people. It is in the tunnels that the wounded, we can think of them, the tunnels can not even be disinfected with alcohol, let alone bandages to bandage the wounds. These wounded can only allow the wound to heal itself, but the odds are minimal. But the phenomenon in many places is that the wounds fester, and they can only rely on a strong will to support. Even if we have a little injury in our hands, we begin to wipe our tears ~ and in order not to affect the emotions of our comrades-in-arms, the wounded are forced to endure physical pain, do not say a word of complaint, and even many wounded people really can't stand it, they bite the sheets with their mouths, and some of them can't take down the sheets in their mouths to death!
We have learned more about the Battle of Shangganling, are some of our friends already questioning? This battle is so hard to fight,
Why didn't the U.S. military use the flamethrowers that were used against Japan?
？ Is it that they are trying to save their own face, so they do not use such abusive means? Don't think of them as so righteous, haven't they always been unscrupulous?
In fact, in the Battle of Shangganling, they did not use flamethrowers, mainly because they could not use them ~ at that time, the geographical location did not allow the use of flamethrowers.
The terrain of Shangganling is very special, and our army is equivalent to fighting them on the ridge ridge, which is an easy position to defend and difficult to attack
Even if you use a flamethrower, the final result is to pick up a stone at your feet, which is easy to ignite the US side, and it does not pose any threat to our army, or this threat is very small.
A panoramic view of Shangganling
After all, the US military is in front of us, once the US army wants to take a fire attack, it has to run to our side or behind, and it is even more difficult to run behind us, because the only "clearance" key road has been firmly guarded by our army. And if the other side wants to raid from the side, then it will face the baptism of fire of our army, although our army's weapons are not very advanced, but in that geographical location, taking stones from above and smashing down can kill people.
Moreover, our army has long known that the United States has used this method to deal with Japan before, and it has also made preparations in advance for this purpose, and we have long thought of a way to crack it. If the other side sends a small force to carry out a fire attack, we can take the opportunity to ambush a unit and let them invite the king into the urn, and there is no return. Let's put it this way.
All of you small troops will be wiped out by the regiment when they come, and even if the big troops come over, it will be enough to choke. No matter how you look at it, it feels a bit too much to lose. So after several attempts, the U.S. military gave up the idea of attacking our army with flamethrowers.
postscript
If you fall behind, you will be beaten. But in the past, now, and in the future, although we are still some distance from the more developed countries, we are not left to be slaughtered, and we are bound to be countered. Besides, today's China is no longer backward, we are getting stronger and stronger, and the dignity of the country is even more inviolable!
The volunteers celebrated the victory