"Truth is within the range of a cannon" – Otto Edward Leopold von Bismarck
Syngman Rhee
Sudden change
By June 1953, fighting on the Korean battlefield was no longer stalemate, and the Chinese Volunteers had reached an armistice agreement with the United Nations forces led by the United States, and the two sides agreed on the proper disposal of prisoners of war. The Korean War, which has lasted for three years, seems to have finally seen the hope of an armistice.
However, South Korean President Syngman Rhee, who was not willing to accept defeat, jumped out again.
On June 17, 1953, Syngman Rhee declared in a tough tone in a telegram to US President Dwight Eisenhower that "I do not accept the armistice!" In the name of on-the-spot release, he began forcibly detaining Korean People's Army prisoners of war, numbering more than 25,000 people, in the name of local release.
Although Rhee, as President of South Korea, seems to have been an often overlooked figure in the Korean War, the United States has long agreed with General Clarke's assessment that "he is a very dangerous figure, often elusive, and occasionally has the reckless effects of hysterical actions."
Syngman Rhee (right)
When Syngman Rhee saw that the armistice negotiations between the two sides were progressing rapidly and that his dream of "reunifying the peninsula" was about to be shattered, he became restless. Once unarmed, he will face alone the Korean People's Army, which once chased him to the sea.
He became delirious, believing that he had not taken the United States in the slightest consideration of his proposal to continue fighting, that he felt neglected, that he was going to continue to fight, and that he would have to pull the United States along to fight.
Eisenhower was stunned by Rhee's reckless actions, denouncing his "deviant behavior" in a telegram and warning that "if there were any more such acts, the UN forces would have another arrangement for ending the war."
Obviously, Syngman Rhee does not carry much weight to the United States, but his actions will anger China. Once China stops negotiations, not only will more Americans die on the Korean battlefield, but it is also difficult to guarantee that the United Nations army led by the United States will retreat.
The Korean Peninsula, which has just dawned on peace, is once again shrouded in the shadow of war.
Korean Battlefield
Respond
In the face of Rhee's provocative behavior, on June 20, as soon as Pyong Tak-wha, commander and political commissar of the Volunteer Army, arrived in Pyongyang, he immediately telephoned Chairman Mao, proposing to postpone the signing of the armistice and to teach the RoK army a harsh lesson.
Mao Zedong instructed that "the signature must be postponed, and when it is appropriate to postpone it depends on the specific development situation." It is extremely necessary to deal another heavy blow to the South Korean army and to annihilate more than 10,000 puppet troops." To put it simply and clearly, if he does not obey, we will subdue him!
At this time, the Volunteer Army had greatly improved its logistics, air defense and firepower. After receiving the instructions, trains and cars full of materials quickly rushed to the front, and commanders and fighters at all levels also made specific analysis and arranged corresponding combat plans according to the specific conditions.
Yang Yong, commander of the 20th Corps of the People's Volunteer Army, took on the main offensive task of this operation.
After receiving the order, he immediately invested nearly 200,000 troops of 5 armies for combat deployment, not only built a large number of fortifications and barracks in the main battlefield, but also strengthened communication support, and replaced old firearms, almost achieving a set of Soviet-style equipment, and truly achieving "shotgun for gun".
Peng Dehuai was on the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea
Yang Yong carefully studied the situation between the two sides, and he looked at the "38th Line" formed by the repeated tug-of-war of five successive battles.
In particular, the 20th Corps south of Jincheng and west of the North Han River bulged out of the frontal position, considering that the enemy's positions were densely packed with bunkers, mines, trenches, and barbed wire, and there was a crossfire network composed of American equipment, it was decided to strike with heavy artillery and hit the ROK army hard.
Yang Yong asked the general headquarters for instructions: "This may be the last battle on the Korean battlefield, such a big battle, the four hundred guns in my hand may not be enough." ”
"Then add it to you!" Let's fight a rich battle too! "Under the mobilization of the General Command, more than 1500 artillery pieces, more than 20 tanks, 1.5 tons of various materials were distributed to the front.
Syngman Rhee never imagined that his obstinate behavior would bring him a nightmare that he could not get rid of for the rest of his life.
Yang Yong
Thunderclap
On the night of July 13, more than 1,000 artillery pieces that were silent in the darkness suddenly roared, and tens of thousands of shells instantly poured onto the positions of the Korean puppet army troops. The Battle of Jincheng, which had the largest number of artillery pieces and the strongest firepower since the People's Volunteers entered the DPRK, was officially launched.
In just over half an hour, the volunteers smashed more than 1,900 tons of ammunition into enemy positions, and an average of 300 shells per hectare of land were almost turned over.
Half of the surface fortifications on the enemy's position were destroyed, paving the way for the follow-up troops of our army to advance.
As early as the Battle of Shangganling, the smoke of the UnAffiliated army's indiscriminate bombardment of our army's positions had not yet dissipated, and today our army is still treating its body with color and the way of a human being, and this is the result of their self-inflicted blame.
Battle of Shangganling
Associated Press reporter Edwards recorded the tragic situation of the South Korean army in his memoirs:
The volunteer infantry rushed out of countless small valleys, and the South Korean troops were severely damaged by the ferocious attack of the volunteers. Throughout the night, wounded people poured back from the battered front line and into the medical tents that had been hastily erected. ”
After the artillery attack of our gunners, the 20th Army was divided into three combat groups in the east, middle and west, and with the cooperation of the 24th Division of the 9th Corps, it launched an attack on the enemy troops in front of Jincheng, and it took only one hour to break through the front-line defensive positions of the 4 divisions of the Korean puppet army.
The troops of the Korean puppet army, who were confused by the volunteer army, scattered and fled in an instant.
A Brief History of the U.S. Eighth Army chronicles the battle as follows: "An incredible amount of artillery fire whizzed overhead, and in the roar they followed and attacked the defenses of the area." Now the Chinese army can fight in a local area, no less than the artillery density of the US army."
Volunteers
In less than a day, the rapid and fierce offensive of the volunteers leveled the enemy's salient parts south of Jincheng and flattened the 38th line.
The expected results were achieved in advance on the frontal battlefield, and the troops fighting on the flanks also began to advance in an all-round way, and in front of them was the "White Tiger Regiment", which was known as the ace regiment of the Korean puppet army.
The White Tiger Regiment, the first regiment of the Capital Guard Division of the Korean puppet army, repeatedly held its position in the Korean War and became the backbone of the Korean puppet army unit that was about to collapse, and van Vleet, commander of the US 8th Army, also praised the regiment's achievements, and President Rhee personally awarded the regimental flag "White Tiger Flag", known as the "Ace Regiment".
On the night of July 12, Zhao Renhu of the 68th Army of our volunteer army led a regiment of more than 500 people to intersperse the detours and touched the eyelids of the White Tiger Regiment's position, hiding in the grass.
On 13 July, when the artillery fire of our army sounded, Zhao Renhu and his troops took the opportunity to take down the enemy's artillery positions, and ordered Yang Yucai to lead a reconnaissance platoon to disguise themselves and attack the White Tiger Regiment headquarters.
Yang Yucai
With the Destruction of the White Tiger Regiment in one fell swoop, the White Tiger Regiment was suddenly in disarray. The "White Tiger Regiment Flag" was surrendered, a regimental commander and two battalion commanders were killed, the deputy commander of the "Capital Division" was captured, and overnight, the White Tiger Regiment was completely annihilated, and the more than 10 kilometers wide defensive line responsible for holding it was lost.
In just one day, the West Road Group Army completely destroyed the defense system of the Capital Division, forcing the Han puppet army to shrink its defenses, creating favorable conditions for the success of the overall operation, and the West Route Army and the Middle Route Army simultaneously attacked in an all-round way, seizing most of the enemy's positions.
The Korean puppet army was defeated and retreated, dropped a large amount of supplies and weapons, began to flee in the direction of Seoul, and then began to ask the American army for help.
Although the US military is very dissatisfied with Rhee, it is a strategic partner after all.
On 16 July, under Clark's redeployment, the U.S. 3rd Division and the 3rd, 5th, and 6th Divisions of the Korean Puppet Army re-attacked the front in a vain attempt to retake their positions.
Syngman Rhee
As early as July 14, the telegram sent to the front by Peng Dehuai, Deng Hua and other commanders clearly instructed that "in three to five days, the enemy will certainly counterattack on a large scale." It is estimated that the scale and extent of the enemy counterattack will exceed the Battle of Shangganling last autumn. ”
This must be a head-to-head showdown.
With the help of the US army, the artillery and aircraft of the Korean puppet army also began to carpet bomb our army's positions, coupled with the muddy roads in the torrential rain for several days, the bridge over the KimSeong River was blown up by the US army, and the volunteer soldiers repelled the enemy's counterattack many times without logistics.
In the battle of the first-line positions of Heiyun Tuling and Baiyan Mountain, the enemy gathered hundreds of fighters and hundreds of artillery pieces to bomb in turn, and the strength of six regiments launched an all-out attack on the positions of our volunteer army under the cover of tanks.
Deng Hua
The soldiers of the 6th Company of the 540th Regiment, who were responsible for holding on to Baiyan Mountain, did not drink water for two days and two nights, and the soldiers repelled more than thirty enemy attacks with their strong fighting spirit, and at the last moment, only 10 people who could persist in continuing the battle were injured to varying degrees.
The two high ground on the north hill of the Juli Room were strongly counterattacked by the enemy, and at the pre-war mobilization meeting, many soldiers joined the party in the line of fire and vowed to coexist and die with the position.
Enemy planes dropped bombshells, and the dirt that blew up almost buried people. The fierce fighting continued into the evening, repelling a total of 16 enemy attacks, but also at great cost.
The company commander rushed into the enemy and fired a grenade, and the instructor, who was seriously wounded, continued to shoot and finally fell into the firing position. The warriors fell down one by one, and as long as there was one more person, they could persevere to the end!
Volunteers
By the time the corps reserve arrived at the position, there were only 4 people left in the position, of which the platoon leader Wang Zhanshan was seriously wounded in 4 places, leaving 38 bullet holes, and still insisted on fighting with the enemy with bayonets.
It was under such difficult circumstances that the tenacious volunteer soldiers fought against the enemy several times their own, held their positions for more than ten days, and waited for the arrival of support to organize a counterattack again.
The inability to conquer for many days has made the US-ROK coalition army demoralized, and the volunteer army began to control the entire war situation, eventually forcing the United States to come to the negotiating table again.
Volunteers
Towards peace
In the Battle of Jincheng, the volunteer army annihilated almost all the main forces of the Korean puppet army, killing and wounding more than 53,000 enemy prisoners, shooting down and wounding 85 enemy aircraft, capturing 34 tanks and 231 vehicles, as well as more than 200 artillery pieces of various types and a large amount of materials.
The Battle of Jincheng dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance of the United States and the ROK, effectively cooperated with the armistice negotiations, deepened the contradictions between the United States and the ROK authorities, and played an important role in maintaining the stability of the situation after the armistice.
On the morning of July 27, 1953, witnessed by more than 200 journalists from all over the world, the chief representative of the Korean and Chinese delegations, General Nam Il, and the chief representative of the United Nations Army, Harrison, signed nine armistice agreements.
At the signing ceremony, Harrison changed the arrogance and arrogance of the US representatives in the past, calmly accepted the questions of the Chinese and North Korean sides and answered them one by one.
The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea
The Chinese side asked, "If Rhee still sabotages the armistice and attacks us, we will inevitably take the necessary actions against Syngman Rhee in order to ensure the armistice, then what will the UN forces do?" ”
After a brief pause, Harrison replied that "the truce is the result of public expectations, and if the South Korean government starts another war, the United Nations army will abide by the armistice agreement and guarantee the armistice."
It's not that Harrison's personality has changed drastically, but that we've beaten him out of his temper.
Chairman Mao once said, "If you punch one punch, you won't get a hundred punches." We in the Chinese nation do not advocate force, we advocate peace, we love peace, but if someone imposes war on us, we will never be soft, nor will we be soft.
bibliography
A Brief History of the U.S. Eighth Army
Encyclopedia of China and Military: Encyclopedia of China Publishing House
Memorial Hall of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea: The Battle of Jincheng