In the Korean War of 1950, there was such a magical force. Armed with some kind of secret Soviet weapon, they were haunted on the battlefield, and the well-equipped combined army was gradually defeated, and several times they defeated a total of 100,000 United Nations troops. At the mention of this unit, the United Nations forces that participated in the war at that time felt a moment of fear, and even those who did not participate in the war were also far away from this force.
What kind of army is this? What is so great about them? How did you defeat the 100,000 combined troops in the difficult Korean War?
A Katyusha rocket launched
This unit was the Katyusha Rocket Artillery: the 21st Division.
So, how was this force that frightened the United Nations army?
The camera goes back to 1950, when the great powers provoked the Korean War. The mainland government immediately ordered the formation of an army to support Korea, and soon the volunteer army was successfully assembled and rushed to the scene with great strength.
Due to the large difference in equipment level between the two sides, our military basically cannot take advantage of anything. At that time, the Volunteer Army only had 9 reserve artillery regiments, and there were only 284 artillery pieces, and these artillery pieces were still relatively backward, basically some mountain artillery infantry guns, which were extremely mobile and not easy to use.
Although after several encounters, our army repelled a large number of United Nations troops, but its own losses were not small. In this case, if you want to win the war, you need heavy weaponry support. To this end, our army found the Soviet side, and after discussion, reached an agreement: the formation of Katyusha rocket artillery!
Our army is out of personnel, and the Soviet Union is out of equipment. After much deliberation, this great task fell to the 143rd Division of the 48th Army. It was this unit, after obtaining a large amount of Soviet equipment, that fought all the way through thorns and thorns, and the combined army was gradually defeated.
In March 1950, the 143rd Division moved north from Qujiang, Guangdong, and after arriving in Liaoning, it was renamed the 21st Rocket Artillery Division. The division's original 3 artillery regiments were also expanded into 5 artillery regiments, each divided into 2 battalions and 6 companies.
Wartime marching
After the reorganization, the Soviet Union sent the BM-13 rocket launcher. On February 14, 1951, the whole division was successfully equipped with these Katyusha rockets.
Speaking of this Katyusha rocket, its source is not simple. It was the world's first successful Army rocket launcher at the time, it used heavy trucks as the chassis, and the gun body could hang 16 M-13 solid fuel rockets. It is equipped with 8 rail-type launch structures and has a combat range of up to 8500 meters. It can be fired for 7 to 10 seconds at a time, and it takes only a few minutes to reload the ammunition again.
Since 1939, the Soviet Union's Ronezh factory has begun to develop the first Generation Katyusha rockets, and the gun body at that time could only hang two solid rockets. Later, after continuous improvement, there was a Katyusha rocket with excellent results. Soviet test results at the time showed that the rocket launcher was particularly suitable for field fortifications and cluster tank artillery.
In order to keep the results of this research secret, the Soviet Union did not disclose the official version of the rocket launcher, but only engraved the letter "K" on the gun mount, so the Soviet soldiers called it Katyusha.
In fact, before the volunteers equipped the Katyusha rockets, its prestige was passed on.
On July 10, 1941, as soon as the Germans occupied Orsha in the Soviet Union, they were attacked by Katyusha rockets. The supplies of a large German train, less than 10 seconds after being shot, directly turned into a sea of fire.
A wartime corner
The Germans wondered, what weapon could fire so much gunpowder in a short period of time? In order to understand the Soviet trick, the Germans captured a rocket launcher, so that Katyusha's secrets were completely exposed to the Germans.
After the secret was revealed, the Soviets suffered heavy losses. So the Soviet side immediately changed its plan and began to improve the Katyusha rocket launcher. Although the accuracy of the rocket launchers needed to be improved, the katyusha manufacturing cost was low, and soon the Soviet army returned to the battlefield with the new katyusha.
In the Battle of Stalingrad, Katyusha rockets bombarded the Germans; in the Far East Campaign, the Soviets used Katyusha rockets to deal a heavy blow to the Japanese. In 1950, katyusha rockets began to cooperate with the 143rd Division of the Volunteer Army.
After the 143rd Division received the rocket launchers, it fought three consecutive battles and won the victory. Soon, however, the artillery regiment had a problem. The first three battles were all sports battles, and they could completely cope with it, but in the fourth war, the American army changed its strategy and wanted to fight with the artillery regiment.
This overwhelmed the artillery regiment, which meant a long battle, and to maintain a long battle, it required sufficient equipment and firepower, and the artillery regiment at that time did not have these conditions.
The U.S. army in the Korean War was strong, with more than 950 artillery pieces in one division and a total of 520 guns in a volunteer corps, not to mention the artillery regiments that branched out.
Now, how should the artillery regiment respond to the enemy?
2. Katyusha rockets are famous
In 1939, the Soviet Union developed the Katyusha rocket, which in 1951 cooperated with the Chinese Volunteers. The newly equipped volunteer army was reorganized into the 21st Katyusha Rocket Artillery Division. After that, it shined on the battlefield, directly repelling 100,000 Un troops.
Fire on the real scene
When they found that the disparity between the enemy and us was very different, the volunteers soon imported artillery into the Soviet Union on a large scale. At that time, the economic situation of the Chinese side was not particularly ideal, and after importing new guns, Mr. Peng personally sent a message:
Which unit you are equipped with your rockets and where you fight must be approved by me. A shell 6 two gold, gold is very expensive, well protected, used well.
On September 1, 1951, the 203rd Artillery Regiment, with its rockets, began to counterattack the Americans in the back hole.
After importing weapons, the artillery regiment had sufficient firepower and fired more than 380 rockets directly at the US troops. Under the cover of fire, the artillery regiment was ready to launch a general attack, but after reaching the American position, they found that the rocket artillery was far more powerful than they imagined. After the bombing, there were almost no living mouths left in the U.S. military garrison.
With this victory, the 203rd Regiment had the courage to continue to fight in conjunction with the 202nd Regiment, directly annihilating more than 1,200 enemy troops. This bad news reached the ears of the US military, and they shouted one after another:
The other side used atomic cannons!
The battle in the back hole can be said to be the most beautiful battle in the first battle of the artillery regiment. The Battle of Shangganling in 1952 once again gave katyusha rockets a divine brilliance.
Battle of Shangganling
In the Battle of Shangganling, there were many enemy tanks, and in order to give full play to this advantage, they prepared to divide the battlefield, tear apart our army's deployment from the middle, and enter the Pingyuan operation.
And one of the key points to tear our army apart is to win victory on the highlands of the Five Holy Mountains. The terrain here is steep and the area is small, making it quite difficult to fight. Of course, not only the enemy covets, but if our army occupies this place, it can also bring a decisive advantage to the war.
Therefore, the more the enemy wanted to occupy Shangganling, the more our army wanted to hold it. On November 5, 1952, the Battle of Shangganling began its second round of operations.
The artillery regiment no longer kept a low profile and directly increased the 209th regiment to join the battle. Katyusha rockets have advantages and disadvantages, the advantage is that they are fired more and faster, and the disadvantages are that the accuracy is not very good. If you are fighting in a small place, then you don't have to worry about anything, just fight, anyway, the enemy is gathered together, how to fight is hit.
Therefore, the Shangganling landform is tailor-made for the Katyusha rocket. Fighting rocket artillery fire, the U.S. army is not as good as Katyusha, their advantage is that there are more tanks, but as far as the local topography is concerned, it is completely unsuitable for tank travel.
In this way, the artillery regiment continued to fire rockets at the American positions. The U.S. military is densely packed, and it is called a stubbornness, and it can only be beaten in vain. Some infantry rushed forward, but were stopped by the artillery regiment.
The Shangganling War lasted 43 days and ended in the victory of our army.
Signs on The Ganling Road
Soon, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was coming to an end. In fact, as early as 1951, nine months after the sino-US war, the armistice negotiations began, but because many matters were not negotiated, the war continued.
War is bloody politics, and politics is a bloodless war.
Finally, on June 8, 1953, an agreement was reached on the prisoner of war issue, and by this time, the North Korean negotiations were completely negotiated. Just as the two sides were about to sign their signatures, the Syngman Rhee clique in South Korea began to engage in moths.
In the name of "release on the spot," the group forcibly detained 27,000 prisoners of war, including 50 captured volunteers. This is not the end of it, the other side also claimed that South Korea vowed not to stop the war and to continue fighting.
When the armistice was imminent, the group caused such an incident, and General Manager Peng immediately made a decision:
Be sure to give South Korea a blow!
The Chairman then gave instructions:
The signing of the armistice must be postponed. It is extremely necessary to strike another blow at South Korea.
In this way, the artillery regiment dispatched again, they targeted the South Korean army south of Jincheng, and after figuring out the location of the opposing fire point and the defense group, the artillery regiment launched a general attack.
Three Perfect ending battles
After the battle, there is no stopping, and you obviously have to continue to fight when your strength is not good? This is what a group in South Korea is doing. After the Korean War, the morale of the volunteers was greatly boosted. South Korea, on the other hand, wanted to detain our prisoners of war, and it seemed that he did not know the power of Katyusha's rockets without giving the other side some color.
Katyusha rocket artillery panorama
On the frontal battlefield of Jincheng, our side sent 1,100 artillery pieces, 20 tanks, and 2,000 cars. In order to achieve a quick victory, our army took the lead in attacking, using Katyusha rockets to directly bombard the South Korean army.
In addition, another team of men and horses was sent to grab supplies overnight, and in this way, South Korea was injured on both sides. In desperation, the South Korean army had to counterattack, and before he could fight back, he was bombarded by 1900 tons of shells.
In just 15 days, the volunteer army crippled 4 divisions of the South Korean Army, annihilated a total of 53,000 enemy troops, and paid more than 160 square kilometers of positions.
This was the last battle in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and it was also the only battle in which the strength of the Volunteer Army surpassed that of the enemy army. After the Battle of Kimseong, South Korea no longer dared to speak, and the Korean armistice agreement was successfully signed.
The victory in the Battle of Jincheng was inseparable from the artillery regiment and the help of katyusha rockets.
Where is the Katyusha rocket that even the US military fears?
First of all, the Katyusha is a vehicle-mounted rocket launcher, which is widely applicable and suitable for fighting in narrow areas.
In the entire campaign to resist US aggression and aid Korea, a total of 240 Katyusha rockets were used. Although the US military is well equipped with advanced equipment and has many tanks, it does not have a gun that can be compared with the Katyusha rocket artillery, and the tanks are also limited in their movement, which leads to a war, and the US military suffers a lot.
As soon as they wanted to advance, the volunteers used Katyusha rockets to bombard indiscriminately, and in the face of tons of artillery fire, the American army could not resist at all. Let's send out tanks, the terrain is not conducive to combat. So the whole campaign, especially in the later stages, the US army was very depressed.
Rocket launcher construction
Second, because the Katyusha rocket is a vehicle-mounted vehicle, it is agile and can run when it is finished.
In combat, once the cannon is fired, it is easy to be judged by the other side to determine the position, followed by the other side's bombing greeting. However, the Katyusha rocket is different, it has been improved layer by layer, the mobility is strong, after firing more than a dozen rocket launchers, before the enemy takes aim, immediately change the position, so that the enemy army can not find the north at all.
Third, katyusha rockets are extremely effective. It fires 16 rockets at a time, which is powerful and fierce.
At that time, the U.S. army was still equipped with howitzers, which could only be fired 1 at a time, and needed to be slowly filled after firing. The Katyusha rocket launches 16 at a time, and the power of one is equivalent to 16 howitzers, which can be said to be stronger than 16.
When the US army slowly filled the shells, the Katyusha rocket launcher began to fire continuously, directly blowing up the US team and collapsing. If you want to destroy this Katyusha rocket, you can't find its location, you can only be tricked.
However, if you want to win the victory under the United Army, Katyushana alone will not be able to do it. This is also inseparable from the strategy of the 21st Division.
A corner of the battlefield
In the early days of the Korean War, it was obvious that the combined forces had the advantage, whether it was artillery firepower or air supremacy, from a general point of view, the volunteers were not dominant. Because under the dual advantage of "artillery and air", the enemy's fighting style was flexible, and without the addition of Katyusha rockets at that time, it was difficult for the volunteer army to win.
In the beginning, in order to adapt to the battlefield, the volunteer army cooperated with the joint army, and basically adopted a flexible combat method, but it was obvious that this kind of combat plan was not suitable for a small number of volunteers.
Later, the volunteer army took a different approach, changed its strategy, and adopted the form of frontal combat, but this style of play was in urgent need of fire support, so it was coordinated by the 21st Division of the Volunteer Army and katyusha rockets.
At that time, the combat strategy of the 21st Division was perfect, and the battles fought were also beautiful, when the deputy commander-in-chief of the Volunteer Army said:
In this campaign, the 21st Artillery Division of the Katyusha Rocket Artillery Unit of our army participated in the battle. At 9:00 p.m., the 21st Artillery Division fired on time, and the artillery fire formed countless streams of fire, flying toward the enemy position like a whining wind, covering half of the sky, covering several square kilometers of enemy positions, and the enemy positions quickly burned up.
This is a description of the Battle of Jincheng, and it is not difficult to see from the words the power of katyusha rockets.
During the two-year campaign, the 21st Volunteer Division was also outstanding. From charging with rifles, to charging on the Korean battlefield with Katyusha rockets, to annihilating 100,000 enemy troops, the losses were much smaller than those of the combined forces.
The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was victorious
At that time, some people praised them as the king of artillery, and now it seems that the name of king of artillery, the 21st Division of the Volunteer Army, is well-deserved!