How fierce was the Battle of Shangganling? In the fiercest battlefield, who is the veritable god of guns? There is no doubt that it is Zhang Taofang. As long as it is the enemy he is looking at, none of them can escape, almost every two bullets, one enemy is killed, and he can become a feared existence of the enemy without using a sniper scope. In addition to Zhang Taofang, what other popular sharpshooters do you know?
Zhang Taofang
Sino-AMERICAN ace showdown
June 1953 was the hottest time in North Korea, and under normal circumstances, the battlefield was already full of gunshots, but this day was very different.
The ground was scorched with vegetation and trees, silent, but if you look closely, you will find a dedicated gunman lying on his stomach in an extremely hidden corner.
Speaking of late and fast, in this silent land, suddenly there was a sudden sound of gunfire, and a bullet in our trench was fired, and at the same time, the enemy trench also sounded the sound of gunfire, which was the first clash of Chinese and American ace snipers.
The ace sniper sent by the US military is the US military colonel who is famous in the whole army, code-named "ghost", and the one he wants to fight is the ace sniper of our army, Zhang Taofang.
The other side's sniper level is not below him, Zhang Taofang has a premonition, this is not a good battle, in the face of a strong enemy, Zhang Taofang immediately calmed down and formulated a set of targeted plans.
If you want to take down the enemy, you must first determine the position of the enemy, so that you can accurately snipe, so Zhang Taofang uses the usual method, picks up a helmet, uses something to top it, let the helmet emerge from the cover, if the enemy is shot, Zhang Taofang can determine the enemy's position within two seconds, and shoot accurately.
Unexpectedly, the enemy seems to know this routine, when Zhang Taofang first threw out his helmet, the other party did not shoot, it seems to be waiting for a new opportunity, until this time, Zhang Taofang finally understood that the enemy he had to face could not be underestimated.
Lure the enemy
Since the blindfold method can not shake him, then take a more dangerous, Zhang Taofang decided to personally fight, from the current position, to another place, the enemy's bullets stick to his heels, but always a slow step, Zhang Taofang directly planted in the trench, this move in order to let the enemy let down his guard, thinking that he was injured, taking advantage of the gap between the fall, Zhang Taofang instantly saw the location of the enemy, in his line of sight, there are two machine guns, but Zhang Taofang thought carefully, these two machine guns are not real enemies, If he risked killing the other party, the real sniper would instantly penetrate him, so Zhang Taofang was still hidden under the cover, constantly observing from the left and right sides, while the enemy was in the shadows, shooting at the bunker non-stop, so it was a stalemate for ten minutes.
Sniper positions
Such a situation finally ended, the enemy last shot, Zhang Taofang successfully found the location of the sniper, just in front of the gap between the two large stones, according to the frequency of the other side's shooting, Zhang Taofang actually found the law, may be habitual, the number of attacks on the left side of the other side, obviously a little more, especially in the case of not seeing people, the enemy will suppress the shooting on the left side, after finding this loophole, Zhang Taofang decided to make a surprise attack from the right side, just before the enemy shoots, Zhang Taofang stood up decisively and sniped at the other side.
Fortunately, the enemy's bullet did not cause a fatal blow to Zhang Taofang because of the deviation, but Zhang Taofang's bullet was strong and hit the enemy's head.
To know that Zhang Taofang used at that time, is the ordinary M1944, this rifle as a sniper rifle, there is a fatal drawback, that is, there is no scope, a sniper rifle does not have a scope, just like there is no rearview mirror reversing, all by experience and ability, Zhang Taofang is in such a situation, completed the sniper, so that the Ace sniper of the US army, completely left on the Korean battlefield.
You must know that Zhang Taofang was shot down, but the US military ace sniper Colonel Ike, this person during World War II, once alone for two days to kill hundreds of enemy troops, but he died under Zhang Taofang's gun, how good is That Taofang?
Took down 214 enemies in 32 days
In January 1952, the 24th Army of the Volunteer Army entered the Korean War, and their task was to replace the 15th Army, stationed in the Shangganling Theater, and carried out a difficult change of defense when it was only 100 meters away from the enemy.
During this period of time in the garrison, Zhang Taofang frantically took the head, and for a full 32 days, he actually killed 214 enemy troops, an average of two bullets, and took down a human head.
At that time, after Pi Dingjun came to the Shangganling position, he formulated many means, the most famous of which was the cold gun and cold cannon plan, and Zhang Taofang was the most thorough implementer of this plan.
Upper Ganling Position
When she first entered the Shangganling position, Zhang Taofang was sent to perform sniper missions, and almost every day there would be gains, familiar terrain and landforms, after all, slowly groping out new methods, Zhang Taofang's actions became more and more outstanding.
In the first 22 days, he killed 71 enemies, which was already a legend at that time, and his deeds quickly spread to the military commander Pi Dingjun, because since entering the DPRK, our army has never had such excellent killing results, and such an unheard of sharpshooter is a valuable asset for our army.
In order to reward Zhang Taofang, Pi Dingjun even took out a treasured collection of military leather boots, to know that this was a rare object at that time, the whole army had a total of this pair, and then asked the chief of staff to give him to Zhang Taofang, and told him to observe Zhang Taofang, whether he really has such a great talent, if he sees with his own eyes, he killed three enemies, then give the boots to Zhang Taofang.
Snipe the enemy
The two were lying in the ice and snow, the chief of staff was already frozen and trembling, but Zhang Taofang was motionless, I don't know how long it took, Zhang Taofang suddenly shot, a figure on the opposite side of the shadow fell down slowly, not long after, several people also fell in the enemy position, witnessed the process of the chief of staff, directly gave the leather boots to Zhang Taofang.
Interestingly, at the next meeting between Pi Dingjun and Zhang Taofang, it was found that the leather boots that Pi Dingjun gave him were still a new look, and the contents were all empty shells, a total of 211 shells.
Pi Dingjun smiled and told Zhang Taofang that since this was the case, it was better to make a whole, Zhang Taofang's troops were 214 regiments, it was better to kill three enemies, this amount is not perfect.
Zhang Taofang said just do it, and walked out with a sniper rifle, only an hour later. Zhang Taofang returned to the headquarters with an empty shell casing, no more, no less than three bullets, at that time it had been 32 days since he entered the DPRK, and in these 32 days, Zhang Taofang annihilated a total of 214 enemy troops, which meant that on average, every day, he would annihilate seven enemies, and for most of the day, he had to crawl motionless on the position, not only to ensure that he would not be discovered by the enemy, but also to effectively strike at the enemy.
32 days to kill 214 snipers, such a brilliant record, it is not too much to say that it is a genius made in heaven, who ever thought, is it such a "genius", three months ago, or three consecutive off-target recruit eggs?
Off-target recruits
In mid-September 1952, Zhang Taofang followed the troops across the Yalu River and rushed to Yuanshan to garrison, where their troops were stationed in a small village, and it was here that Zhang Taofang conducted the first military training with his troops. The content is very simple, that is, target shooting.
In fact, before entering the Korean war, Zhang Taofang received more than two months of sniper training, like this simple target training, for him is a piece of cake, but the results of the training, but shocked everyone, three opportunities, even once on the target.
The company commander directly drove him to the cooking class, a trained recruit, should not be this level, it turned out that since entering the Korean battlefield, Zhang Taofang has become a correspondent of the company, there is no time to study firearms, he even doubted, is there a problem with the gun, but this batch is a new batch of guns, and after many people tested, there will be no problems at all.
After this examination, Zhang Taofang often held his rifle and sat on the side to meditate, and later he was like a middle evil, often practicing with a gun, starting in one hour each time.
Zhang Taofang took objects at different distances as the target of his own shooting, and kept firing, but his rifle chamber was never loaded with bullets, because the rifle he used was characterized by a short chamber and a very large recoil, which was very good for the requirements of the shooter, and the bullet was discharged but there was the slightest deviation, which directly affected the final target, in order to keep himself still, Zhang Taofang's shoulders were red and swollen.
In order to enhance his arm strength, Zhang Taofang according to personal circumstances, homemade two sandbags, as long as there is spare time, he will tie sandbags to practice, finally, the weight of sandbags has increased to more than a dozen kilograms, Zhang Taofang can still pull the trigger motionless.
In order to practice precision, Zhang Taofang also aimed at the oil lights of the night tunnel, this target is suddenly big and small, far more difficult than the trees and pines, in order to practice the accuracy of aiming, Zhang Taofang almost lived in the tunnel, it is such a hard practice, so that he can find lurking enemies at a distance of 100 meters.
In the middle of January of the following year, Zhang Taofang had followed the troops to the Shangganling position, which was already a scorched earth, which had been destroyed by 2.3 million shells, and the casualties on both sides had reached 30,000 people, which was unprecedentedly fierce, and Zhang Taofang's unit came here after the war.
However, the enemy does not seem to know that the troops have changed their defenses, and even dares to swing around the position, not to mention their ostentatious construction of fortifications, these American troops actually formed a group to lie on the position and bask in the sun.
Commander Pi, who was observing at the front, immediately decided that he must teach the US military a lesson. So designate Zhang Taofang's class, pick out four good gunners, cold gun strikes on the enemy, Zhang Taofang, who trained hard, was selected, but he went off target three times in a row, which made Pi Dingjun very suspicious, so Pi Dingjun personally went to the front line and pointed out three people to Zhang Taofang, and sure enough, the result was not worth it, which made people finally killed by Zhang Taofang.
In the next few days, Zhang Taofang's daily task was to carry a day's dry food, hide behind the position, and snipe the enemy, when the United Nations army from the initial swing, to the later can only cower, after all, as long as you leave the construction fortifications, you will be killed by snipers, let alone change defenses, even eating and drinking is difficult.
Zhang Taofang, on the other hand, is obviously an unavoidable "hypnotic charm" for the enemy army, and no one could have imagined that this new recruit egg who shot the target and went off target could become an sniper god on the Korean battlefield in just three months.
Up to the ace sniper, down to the artillery observer, Zhang Taofang, a man full of miracles, even if the enemy is hiding in the bunker, he can accurately snipe, and it is no exaggeration to praise the eagle eye.
Rifles win over cannons
On the Korean battlefield, Zhang Taofang's main position was in Shangganling, and he was at the forefront of the entire army, and his task was to keep an eye on every enemy who tried to attack.
Zhang Taofang waited quietly on the front line of the battlefield, but the probability of the target appearing seemed to be infinitely close to zero, but they did not know that the real danger had come to them.
After the Ace Sniper of the American Army was killed, the enemy decided to carry out a large-scale bombing of the Volunteers immediately, so that a large number of artillerymen and observers were transferred to the front line, and we did not know about this plan.
One evening, the volunteer soldiers, who were preparing to replenish supplies for a good rest, were bombed by a sudden bomb, the unprepared volunteer soldiers, paid huge casualties, and more importantly, the other side can be clear and accurate, for our army position fire coverage, such a situation made Zhang Taofang quickly realize that in addition to the artillery, there must be more accurate observers, they use advanced weapons, long distance can report the target location, and before that, Zhang Taofang has observed, On the enemy's position, a lot of bunkers were added that could be used for observation, which also allowed him to determine his own guess, so Zhang Taofang decided to take the initiative.
U.S. troops raided
After a day of observation in the shelter, Zhang Taofang decided to board the sniper station, and his position was behind a huge bluestone, a place where he could shoot at different positions and angles.
After two days of observation, he determined that there were people in this bunker, he repeatedly tried many times, and finally came to the best shooting position, initially Zhang Taofang decided not to move, until the other side returned for the 4th time, Zhang Taofang finally moved.
Not surprisingly, the observer was directly killed by Zhang Taofang, but Zhang Taofang did not move, and based on two days of observation, he was sure that there must be two or more artillery observers under the bunker.
Zhang Taofang sniper
The facts confirmed his idea, and it did not take long for another American soldier to emerge from the bunker, but surprisingly, the American troops who came out of the bunker did not hide, but began to circle around the bunker.
This is a very big challenge for the sniper, because the enemy runs around the circular bunker, it is difficult to calculate the amount of advance, and if he cannot hit it with one hit, his position will be exposed.
The U.S. military deliberately ran in this way in order to guide him to expose the target, but if he retreated in this way, the artillery observers would cause more damage to our army. So Zhang Taofang decided that he must kill the enemy's artillery observers, he silently moved his position, calculated the height and walking speed of the US troops, every time he aimed, he would shoot with an empty gun once, correcting his speed and position, so he carried out three times in a row, Zhang Taofang shot again, and it was no accident that he succeeded again.
Each time was a hit, and this afternoon, Zhang Taofang fired a total of three bullets, each bullet, killing an observer, which is tantamount to a blind man for the US military, and can only rely on local observation to guess the internal situation of the volunteer army.
But now that the sniper is dead, the only thing that records his legend is the old gun hidden in the museum.
An old gun
This ordinary old gun, lying quietly in the Chinese Military Museum, Zhang Taofang's comrades recalled that this gun did not belong to Zhang Taofang completely, it belonged to the entire sniper squad.
In people's impressions, sniper guns are inseparable from each other, such as the TV series "My Brother Is Called Shunshun", the protagonist and his sniper rifle even sleep together, but the real situation is that in that era, guns were scarce, everyone could only share a gun, and this gun was not even a sniper rifle.
This rifle was originally a cavalry rifle, the original sniper scope, has long been dismantled, because their enemy troops, the distance is only 100 meters, sometimes closer, as long as there is something reflective, it is indispensable to a wild bombardment, so the rifle removed from the sniper scope, mediocre without any peculiarities.
And this rifle was originally used for street combat, so the barrel is very short, which leads to a very large dispersion area of bullets, even if it is hard training, you may not be able to master this gun, but it is such a rifle, it is put on the battlefield, but also used for sniper combat.
Sniper frontline
In 1952, our army command issued an order requiring organizations to conduct targeted sniper warfare against the enemy, and the standard weapon was this rifle.
But it is such a difficult rifle, used by Zhang Taofang, and his teammates who lived in the same trench as him recalled that Zhang Taofang at that time was always used to squinting one eye, and the other eye, extra energetic, this habit not only stayed on the battlefield, but finally even retained in life, especially after the end of the Korean War, just like the "sequelae" of the war, the habit could not be changed at all, and even let his original appearance change.
Single soldiers fought for 32 days, killing 214 enemy troops, this legend has never been seen before, did not expect, even more bizarre, is that he was unharmed?
The unscathed king of snipers
Zhang Taofang often said a word to the US military, don't believe in God, your God is used to bless me. It sounds like a joke, but it seems like that's the way it is.
As a sniper, Zhang Taofang faces a large part of the enemy, all of whom are professional snipers, and the equipment of the US army has always been very sophisticated, so it is reasonable to be able to cause damage to our army.
On the edge of death to meet and test, is Zhang Taofang's daily life, once, he and the US sniper battle, the other side's bullets have penetrated his cotton coat, but just like this, he did not even scratch the skin, and another more dangerous, the bullet directly overturned his hat, but Zhang Taofang did not suffer any damage.
Until July 1953, the entire Korean War came to an end, the 24th Army killed more than 14,000 enemy troops in the defensive battle, and Zhang Taofang was also named a second-class hero, and was also awarded the National Flag Medal of the First Class by the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of Korea.
After returning from the Korean battlefield, Zhang Taofang became an air force pilot, with his outstanding achievements, joined the ranks of fighters, in the thousands of hours he flew, there was not a single minute of accidents, Zhang Taofang, is a real miracle.
Zhang Taofang's experience as a sniper is no exaggeration to say that it is legendary, even after his death, he is a real hero in the hearts of the Chinese people, and later there are even hot people, who listed him as one of the world's top ten sniper gods.
And his story is also about to be made into a movie, Zhang Yimou director is preparing the "Coldest Gun", telling the story of Zhang Taofang, the sniper god has passed, the gun can not speak, but the hero's story can not pass in the river of time, we should always remember these bloody sacrifices of the predecessors, it is because of their fearless sacrifice, in exchange for today's peaceful life?