At 4:00 a.m. on October 14, 1952, a "showdown operation" approved by Clark, commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Army" and carried out by Van Vliet, commander of the ground forces of the "United Nations Army" in South Korea, was launched in the Shangganling area of the Korean Battlefield, and their original purpose was only to send two battalions of the US 7th Division and the Han 2nd Division to raid the 597.9 and 537.7 heights in front of the Five Holy Mountains, the main peak of Shangganling, but unexpectedly triggered a battle that shocked China and foreign countries and was recorded in the annals of world war history - the Battle of Shangganling.
During the 43-day battle for the heights, the soldiers of the 15th Army of the Volunteer Army fought bloodily and went forward to repel more than 900 charges of the "United Nations Army" of more than 40,000 people. Successfully reversed the defeat at the Battle of White Horse Mountain and forced the "United Nations Army" to stop the attack;
During the campaign, 12,347 combat heroes at all levels such as Sun Zhanyuan, Hu Xiudao, and Huang Jiguang emerged, who fought indomitably against the United Nations army with the spirit of fearless sacrifice, making Shangganling synonymous with bravery and tenacity, and the spirit of Shangganling becoming an example for generations of Chinese people to learn;
"Special Combat Hero" Lu Xuemin is one of them.
Lü Xuemin, a native of Zhongjiang, Sichuan, was born in April 1933, and another volunteer "special combat hero" Huang Jiguang was from the same village; in 1951, when the volunteer army was recruited in Zhongjiang County, he and Huang Jiguang signed up together, and after entering the army, Huang Jiguang was assigned to the 15th Army 45th Division, 135th Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 6th Company as a correspondent, and Lü Xuemin was assigned to the 5th Company of the 2nd Battalion, 134th Regiment, 45th Division, 45th Division as a machine gunner.
At 4:00 a.m. on October 14, 1952, the fierce Battle of Shangganling began, and the US army launched a fierce bombardment of 597.9 and 537.7 heights on Wushengshan, which were only defended by 2 companies of the 135th Regiment of the 15th Army of the Volunteer Army, and then the charge of the US 7th Division. The soldiers of the 135th Regiment of the Volunteer Army fought desperately to defend, lost their positions during the day, and organized their forces to retake them at night, so they repeatedly fought and paid an extremely tragic price, but in the end the US 7th Division still captured the 597.9 and 537.7 heights. Volunteer soldiers were forced into tunnels to fight. Subsequently, Cui Jiangong, commander of the 45th Division of the 15th Army, ordered Liu Zhanhua, commander of the 134th Regiment, to lead reinforcements to the 135th Regiment to retake the two heights.
On the night of 19 October, the Volunteers sent three companies, supported by strong artillery fire from 44 heavy artillery pieces and 1 Katyusha rocket artillery regiment, to counterattack, retake the position, and then move on to a more difficult defensive operation.
Lü Xuemin's 133rd Regiment entered the war on October 29 when the 15th Army launched another large-scale counterattack
At that time, the combat task of their platoon was to take positions 7 and 8 on The 537.7 heights; Lu Xuemin led two new fighters and 1 machine gun to the No. 8 position first, eliminating the Roks defending the area (at this time, the US 7th Division suffered heavy casualties, van Vleet had replaced the attacking force with the Han 2nd Division), and then turned to defensive operations. Only Lü Xuemin and his 21 comrades defended position No. 8 but ushered in the ROK army from morning to night, from platoon to battalion of multiple counterattacks, although Lü Xuemin they successfully defended the position, but paid a heavy price, the whole platoon of more than 40 people only 3 people including Lu Xuemin.
Taking advantage of the break when the enemy organized a counterattack again, Lü Xuemin, as deputy squad leader, and his two comrades-in-arms Zhou Ruyan and Mao Chuanqi moved all the machine guns and grenades on position 8 to position 7, ready to meet the enemy's counterattack again.
When the enemy counterattacked again, Mao Chuanqi was also seriously injured and carried back to the tunnel by Zhou Ruyan (slightly injured). There was only Lu Xuemin left on the position, but he was also seriously injured.
The left eye was hit by shrapnel, and the eyeballs were all turned out
After a simple bandage, he threw himself into battle again with severe pain, machine guns and grenades taking turns to greet the enemy,
The entire 13 counterattacks of the Rok army were repelled by Lu Xuemin alone, and more than 100 flesh-and-blood corpses of the ROK army under the mountain showed the cruelty and fierceness of the battle just now, until more than 8 p.m., when reinforcements arrived, to replace Lu Xuemin, who was wounded again (his right calf was pierced).
In recognition of Lü Xuemin's exploits in the Battle of Shangganling, after the war, the leading organs of the Volunteer Army gave him a special merit and became one of the 26 recipients of special merit in the Battle of Shangganling, and the Korean government awarded him the International Medal of the Second Class
。
In the winter of 1957, Lü Xuemin was transferred from the army and was assigned to Laifeng County, an old revolutionary area in Hubei Province, to work in the local township grain management office; since then, Lü Xuemin has taken off his military uniform, hidden his meritorious name, and begun to serve the people in obscurity.
It was not until 2002 that the Archives Bureau discovered this Shangganlingte and other heroes who had lived in seclusion for nearly 50 years when sorting out the materials, and the combat deeds of Lu Xuemin's old hero were gradually known.
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