On the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, there was a battle, the degree of which was comparable to the Battle of Chosin Lake, and the intensity of artillery fire was even more intense than the Battle of Ganling, which was called the pinnacle of human tactical application by later generations of military scientists, and the volunteers showed the world what is called the king of human light infantry.
This was a key battle in the changing situation of the Korean War, which directly contributed to the Panmunjom peace talks in the future. This battle was the battle of miracles created by the volunteers, the Battle of Iron Plains.
So, what exactly were the tactics used by the volunteers in this battle? Why did it directly promote the later Sino-US peace talks? In the course of the battle, what amazing characters have emerged? What do you think of the Iron Plains Blockade Battle before the video? You can type your point of view in the comment area, friends who like the video of the editor, please also press the like and pay attention, your support is the biggest motivation for my creation.
On June 5, 1951, in Yichuan, North Korea, a remnant of an army that had just returned from the front line was waiting in the sunset, they were waiting for the beloved Comrade Peng Dehuai, commander-in-chief of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, and the volunteer army, which had always paid attention to military appearance and was clean and serious in any situation, looked miserable and abnormal at this time, all the soldiers were injured to varying degrees, their hair and beard were full of dirt on their faces, and their uniforms had long been beaten into wisps of cloth by artillery fire and bullets, but their bodies were straight, and their eyes were firmly looking ahead. That was the journey that Mr. Peng had come from, and it was also the direction of the motherland in his heart.
Soon, Peng Dehuai rushed to this piece of iron casting and tearfully paid the highest respect to the soldiers, at this moment, this dilapidated team responded with a cry that resounded through the clouds, long live the motherland, long live China!
Time back to April 22, 1951, when the Volunteer Army led the Korean People's Army all the way south, crossed the Linjin River, and opened the prelude to the Fifth Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. At this time, the supreme commander of the US army has been replaced by MacArthur to Ridgway, unlike the former's rush to make rapid progress, Ridgway as his name, the combat method is cautious, experienced and sophisticated, after referring to the previous defeats, he knows the strength of the volunteer army, no matter when, can not be taken lightly.
Therefore, he formulated a new set of combat methods to avoid the detours, interludes, night raids, etc. that the volunteers are best at, but instead gave full play to the advantages of the United Nations army in logistics, air force firepower, mobile operations, etc., and dealt a heavy blow to the volunteers. After continuous in-depth study, Ridgway summed up the characteristics of the volunteer army's troops, although the volunteer army in the early stage of the struggle, the offensive is very fierce, but with the continuous lengthening of time, the logistics supply becomes fragile and long, according to this, Ridgway summed up this operational characteristics as a weekly offensive, which means that the volunteer army's personal material supply during each attack can only be maintained for a week at most, and when the supply is exhausted, the attack will be stopped.
In response to this loophole of the volunteer army, Ridgway formulated a corresponding magnetic retreat tactic, which roughly means that the United Nations troops on the front line avoid direct engagement as much as possible when fighting the volunteers, retreat at a predetermined speed of thirty kilometers per day, and then use the advantages of long-range artillery to lure the enemy deep and annihilate them. On the other hand, in response to the problem of the supply of the volunteer army, he once again ordered the air power of the US army to do everything in its power to block the rear supply line of the volunteer army, and when our army ran out of ammunition for a week, they would be able to take advantage of the advantages of mechanization and motorization to counterattack with all their might. The ideal is very full, and as to whether reality will proceed according to his vision, we will continue to look down.
On May 21, the volunteer army beat the United Nations army to the vicinity of Seoul and the north line of the Han River, annihilating about 4.6 million enemy troops, although the major results were achieved, but the supply has been seriously insufficient, even if it is the commander of the army, there is only one bowl of fried noodles every day to fill the hunger, digression, fried noodles are not the kind we roll out today, and then put in the oil pot to fry, but by some wheat and corn sorghum and other mixtures, directly fried and then added salt fried flour, this fried noodles have no vitamins, Eating too much is easy to get night blindness, coupled with the fact that there is often no water to drink on the battlefield, it is difficult to swallow, even so, these fried noodles were also collected by half of China at that time, and it is conceivable how difficult the combat conditions were at that time.
At this time, the Un army had destroyed all the food and ammunition that could be captured, and Mr. Peng was also keenly aware that the US army had laid a huge trap for itself, and if it did not retreat at this time, the three main corps of the volunteer army would face the risk of total annihilation.
Without further ado, orders were issued from the battalion commanders that day, and the headquarters ordered all the armies to retreat and turn to the defense near the 38th line. However, Ridgway was not a vegetarian, he had already anticipated this move of the volunteer army, and ordered the United Nations army to divide into three roads, with motorization, infantry, artillery, and tanks as the guide, to launch a comprehensive counterattack against the volunteer army. On the road of retreat of the volunteer army, although the enemy troops on the left road are very large, they are not a threat to the volunteer army, while the enemy troops on the middle road, conservatively estimated, can also retreat while fighting, and there is a certain room for turning, but the volunteer army on the right road is the weakest defense and is even more threatened.
The right road is the northwest of Seoul, mostly plains, where the mechanized troops of the US military can exert their greatest advantages, and one of the keys to controlling the plain is The Iron Plain, which is located in the central region of the Korean Peninsula, and together with Binh Kang and Kim Hoa form a strategically important iron triangle. Unlike the plains northwest of Seoul, the mountains are continuous and are the most important defensive bases to block the U.S. military.
At the same time, there are three railway interchanges here, which is the most favorable transportation hub for our army to transfer materials and hoard troops, and it is precisely because of its unique geographical environment that it has also been highly valued by the volunteer army and has become the core logistics base of our army, and Ridgway certainly understands the importance of this base. If we attack tieyuan in one fell swoop, we will not only be able to cut off the front-line supply of the volunteer army, but also cut off the connection between the east and west lines of our army, directly encircle from the right wing, and affect the transfer of the entire army of the volunteer army. Therefore, the crisis of life and death of our army on the Korean battlefield has arrived.
Ridgway took the lead in the layout on the right flank, gathering 4.7 million United Nations troops, wanting to occupy Tieyuan before the mainland retreated north, at this time it was the Nineteenth Corps that had already entered the Korean War, and it was Yang Dezhi who led the corps, on the twenty-eighth day, under the order of General Manager Peng, decided to hand over the defense of the Tieyuan front to the Nineteenth Corps, Yang Dezhi ordered, and immediately ordered the Sixty-fifth Army under his command to block the enemy army for fifteen to twenty days in the Area of Qingpingchuan, to ensure the safety of the entire Tieyuan, and to protect the action of the retreating troops in the rear, but the American army was too fierce. After only four days, the volunteer army could not resist, Yang Dezhi was an ant on the hot pot at this time, anxious to turn around, he understood that Peng Zong was deploying the entire defense line to prevent the counterattack of the US army, of which the Iron Plains he guarded was the most important, once it was broken, the consequences were unimaginable, at this time, he thought of a name, Fu Chongbi, his Sixty-third Army is extremely capable of fighting.
Fu Chongbi was ordered to be in danger, and it was also destined that after this battle, he would become a famous general for thousands of years, and at this time, Fu Chongbi was not yet thirty-five years old, and when he was sixteen years old, he joined the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, climbing snowy mountains, crossing meadows, turning mud, and drilling the blockade line of the pillbox of the War of Resistance, and his combat experience was very rich. At present, the Sixty-third Army led by him has been fighting in Korea for more than two months, with 2.4 million people left, and the number is still relatively optimistic, but it should be clear that after the Battle of Linjinjiang, the weapons and equipment of the Sixty-third Army have been seriously insufficient, the combat and non-combat attrition are serious, and they have not been replenished in time, many soldiers cannot eat, the wounded have no way to change medicine, and the wounds are infected and inflamed.
And he faced the enemy with twice as many troops, superior weapons and equipment, and the blessing of air mounts, it was almost more difficult than ascending to the heavens to defend this defensive line of about twenty-five kilometers wide, nevertheless, Fu Chongbi organized the entire army to retreat at the first time he was ordered, and reached the designated area, everyone insisted on fighting during the day and transferring at night, and no one cried bitterly. Of course, from the moment he received the order, Fu Chongbi was already ready for the total annihilation of the army, and the tragic and majestic Tieyuan Blockade Battle also began.
On May 27, the Sixty-third Army reached the vicinity of Tieyuan and organized a defense at a frontal twenty-five kilometers and a depth of twenty kilometers between Lianchuan and Tieyuan, and less than fifty kilometers west of Tieyuan was the general headquarters of the Volunteer Army, where Peng Zong was located, and Fu Chongbi understood that he did not retreat, even if he wiped out the people of the Sixty-third Army, he would hold on to Tieyuan for fifteen to twenty days, which was the last line of defense of the volunteer army, and this battle was only allowed to win and not be defeated.
And this blockade battle seems to have been doomed from the beginning, because from any point of view, the Sixty-third Army has no advantage, first of all, in terms of numbers, the enemy troops who are facing them have gathered a total of five divisions, nearly 4.7 million people, an average of more than 700 people per kilometer, plus they have suffered losses before, they have used all the troops of South Korea as second-line garrisons, get rid of these oil bottles, their efficiency is obviously faster and better, compared to the volunteer army is only more than 2.4 million people, about 370 people per kilometer And has experienced two months of hard work, mental state is extremely tired, on the verge of collapse.
Secondly, in terms of weapons, the United Nations army has more than 1,600 artillery pieces of various types, more than 300 tanks, and there is also strong air support, on the contrary, the volunteer army, even if the mortar is included, there are only more than 240 guns, and the air power is even less, whether it is strength or firepower, it is at a disadvantage. Fortunately, Yang Dezhi also understood Fu Chongbi's difficulties, so he once again transferred five hundred people from the already overstretched troops directly under the corps to support the Sixty-third Army, and also assigned the 194th Division, the First Artillery Division, and the Rocket Artillery Regiment of the Sixty-third Army to Fu Chongbi's command, and also ordered the remaining troops of the Sixty-third Army to block the enemy on the flank and reduce the pressure on the front.
On the twenty-eighth day, Fu Chongbi personally went to the front line to investigate the situation, Yang Dezhi went to the command post many times and could not find his trace, and finally heard his report at the forward position, the next day, Fu Chongbi suddenly fell ill, the stool was bleeding, and many times they could only lie on a stretcher to deploy troops, and finally they established the final battle plan.
In the deployment of troops, the method of deep echelons, less swings and more hoarding was adopted, and multiple combat teams were dispatched to fight with the enemy at close range, so that they could not quickly approach the main position, and some hills used tunnels to resist the artillery offensive of the US army, and when the enemy approached, they would carry out assassinations, and give full play to the power of various artillery and short weapons in the fire attack. As for tactical application, three divisions of the whole army were deployed in a glyph, of which the 189th Division and the 187th Division were responsible for the two wings, the former defending the left wing, mainly from Lianchuan to the Tieyuan Highway and the area west of Hanchuan, the latter was responsible for the defense of the right wing area, and the 188th Division was in the rear as a reserve and assembled and standby west of Tieyuan. Tactically, it was a combination of frontal confrontation and flanking counterattacks, and sent small units to harass the enemy in the middle of the night.
On May 30, with a loud noise, the Tieyuan Blockade Battle officially began, the US army first aimed the spearhead of the attack at the defensive position of the 187th Division, in an attempt to seize the favorable terrain on both sides of the Lianchuan River, and then broke through from the middle and directly took The Iron Plains, and the first to clash with the US Ace Cavalry Division was the third battalion of the 561st Regiment of the Volunteer Army, who desperately resisted several times their own US troops, held their positions for four days and three nights, broke more than ten fierce charges of the US army, killed and injured more than 1,300 enemy troops, and all the soldiers were honored with collective second-class merit. He was also awarded the title of Shou Ru Taishan.
At the same time as the 187th Division fought bloodily, the 189th Division also experienced a large-scale artillery attack, and on June 1, the United Nations Army invested six divisions, one brigade and one regiment, under the cover of aircraft artillery, launched a fierce attack on the 189th Division, and the commander of the United Nations Army, it was Van Vleet, who was known for his lack of ammunition in the Battle of Shangganling, who commanded the American army and fired about 4,500 tons of ammunition at the volunteer positions, and the intensity of the artillery fire was fierce. It was more than five times the allowable limit of the U.S. military's operational regulations, and this record-breaking record was also recorded in the world's military history, which was later called the "Van Vliet Ammunition Quantity."
In the face of such fierce enemy artillery fire, division commander Cai Changyuan created a nail tactic, dividing the 189th Division into two hundred small units and holding more than two hundred positions, this tactic is like casting nails everywhere in the position, as long as the enemy enters it, it will immediately be attacked by nails from all directions, this tactic is obvious compared to Van Vliet's concentrated attack, the effect is obvious, effectively dispersing the opponent's firepower and slowing down their attack speed.
At the same time, Cai Changyuan also discovered a major shortcoming of the US military, that is, it was not suitable for dealing with the targets in the movement, so he organized the troops to constantly change and reorganize, re-modify the structure of the troops, shrink the regiment and battalion, shrink the battalion, shrink the company, shrink the platoon, change the platoon, and so on.
On June 2, the United Nations army launched a series of attacks on the high ground and the position of Seed Mountain held by the 189th Division, temporarily captured Seed Mountain, Wufeng Temple and the positions south of it, and soon recaptured by our army, and by the evening of the third day, the 189th Division only had one regiment and two battalions of troops, about 4,500 people, and suffered as many as two-thirds of the casualties, and in this battle, not only was the enemy army equipped with strong equipment, but the arrival of natural disasters also made the victory out of reach, and the sudden rainstorm washed away all the anti-slope hidden units built by the 189th Division. A large number of casualties and equipment losses were inflicted, and after some tossing and turning, only one regiment remained, about 2,800 people, who could fight. At this time, the 188th Division, as a reserve, took up its post and took over the position of the 189th Division, and the Tieyuan Blockade Battle entered the second stage.
The 188th Division had a unique way of fighting, they had a very rich experience in tunnel combat, and after the division commander Zhang Yinghui arrived at the position overnight, he established a new defense network with deep ravines according to the original trenches and artillery holes, and the soldiers hid under the trenches to block the enemy's multiple rounds of aircraft artillery attacks.
At the same time, he also used anti-armor weapons to destroy hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles. In the battle, a company commander named Guo Enzhi performed prominently, combined with the combat methods of the two sides, created a tactic called three flowers, first using mortars to fire one cannon at the front and rear of the enemy army, chasing the enemy army to the middle zone, and then using heavy machine guns to fiercely fire on the gathered enemy troops, or dispersing the troops to the two sides, and finally our two platoons took the initiative to attack from left and right, inserted themselves into the rear of the enemy army, and jointly attacked a platoon of frontal attacks, giving the enemy a dumpling and blowing up a plum blossom.
His tactical effect was very remarkable, and the company repelled fifteen enemy attacks at the cost of only sixteen casualties, killing and wounding more than 800 American troops, and after the war, all the soldiers were awarded the title of Eighth Company of Steel. On June 10, the Americans broke through the left flank of the Sixty-third Army, and the eastern part of the Iron Plains was completely exposed, and the Iron Plains Blockade Entered the Third Phase.
The 564th Regiment of the 188th Division, under the orders of Fu Chongbi, attacked again, blowing up the reservoir on the south side of the Tieyuan, making the road muddy and blocking the enemy's attack, while the battalions of the whole army organized assault squads and seized the opportunity to counterattack the enemy.
At this time, Zhang Yinghui's 188th Division was basically gone, at this time the iron plains perimeter had been turned into a sea of fire by the US army's napalm, and at this time, the 187th Division, which was originally the main force of the right wing defense, had become the core of the entire battlefield, but the actual strength of the division was only one regiment, because before with the continuous escalation of the 188th and 189th Divisions, they were also transferred a large number of troops to the rescue, and this seemed to become an unsolvable problem, after all, in the face of absolute strength, His own troops, weapons and equipment were insufficient, and any tactics became fragile, but at this time, Xu Xin, the commander of the 187th Division, made a bold decision, and he ordered his subordinates to concentrate all their firepower to make a move to make a fox and a false tiger to deter the American army and make it retreat.
In the face of Xu Xin's crazy idea, Fu Chongbi expressed his support, after all, there is no feasible strategy now, in order to improve the completion of the plan, Fu Chongbi handed over all kinds of artillery and rocket artillery to Xu Xin, on the night of June 10, the volunteer artillery was equipped with mortars on the first line, katyusha rockets on the second line, and under the cover of infantry and night, all personnel and equipment quietly entered the position opposite the US army.
At this time, the US army was also waiting in a strict position, dealing with the volunteer army for such a long time, and also understood that the other side had a great advantage in night raids, so it had already arranged a large number of tanks and armored vehicles on the periphery, which is the so-called turtle shell formation. However, it is well known that the weapons and equipment of the volunteer army are very scarce, coupled with the fact that the volunteer army has not carried out a large-scale and concentrated artillery attack for a long time, the old United States mistakenly believes that our side has not enough artillery strength, so it only prevents the infantry night attack, and this fluke psychology is just as the volunteer army intends.
Soon, a yellow phosphorus incendiary bomb took off, illuminating the dark night for hundreds of miles, the artillery of the volunteer army fired dozens of artillery pieces at the same time, for more than twenty minutes, hundreds of artillery shells poured several shells at the enemy, and the hundreds of tanks used by the US army to defend instantly became a sea of fire, at this time the US army still wanted to fight back, but in a chaotic environment, they could not tell which side was the artillery position of the volunteer army, and when the RESERVE ammunition of the US army was also in this dance of fire, it was ignited by rockets. The battle of the burning Iron Plains was also pushed to a climax, when the Commandos of the 187th Division launched a surprise attack on the American positions while the Americans were shocked by the explosion, severely damaging the Americans and capturing some of the spoils.
At this time, the American troops had been completely blinded, but the feeling of fear had always haunted their hearts, and they couldn't figure out what kind of terrifying strength the Sixty-third Army of the Nightblade had. How exactly did you use the tactics that were fascinating? Only in this situation of doomed defeat can we turn the tide, and even send out the feeling that the sun is ours and the moon is Chinese.
In the end, the American army was shocked by the terrifying strength of the volunteer army, and instead of immediately launching a counterattack, it took a step back, and the 187th Division successfully held its position.
On June 11, the main force of the Volunteer Army completed the task of retreating, and laid out a complete defensive front in the rear, Ridgway was greatly disappointed by this, and had to order his soldiers to stop attacking, on the twelfth day, the remaining remnants of the Sixty-third Army withdrew from the position in accordance with the instructions of the commander, and the twelve-day Tieyuan Blockade Battle came to an end, which won precious time for the overall war situation, protected the right wing of the Volunteer Army, and saved it from the fate of being surrounded and annihilated by the United Nations army, and at the end of the battle, the Sixty-third Army suffered more than 20,000 casualties. Killing and wounding more than 20,000 UN troops, including 150,000 US troops, this twelve-day battle also really let the world see the tactics of Chinese soldiers, but also shattered the DREAM OF US troops to land on the west coast of North Korea, and directly contributed to the Panmunjom negotiations a month later, which was a landmark campaign that forced the Pentagon to make an armistice agreement.
After the war, Mr. Peng also personally crossed the 100-mile theater to comfort the participants in the war, which was a unique honor on the Korean battlefield.
And today's Tieyuan is still divided into North Korea and South Korea, every morning, you can hear the sound of military training horns, everyone always maintains a high state of alert, and on the small hill next to the 38th Line in South Korea, countless tourists come here to visit, look down from the observation deck here, each hill tells the fierce battle, and above these ruins, it also records the will of a nation stronger than steel!
Well, that's the end of today's video! What do you think about the Tieyuan Blockade Battle? You can leave your opinion in the comment area, like the editor of the video friends, do not forget to like and pay attention will not miss more wonderful content after the, thank you for watching, we will not see the next issue.