In March 1951, Wang Jinshan, as the deputy commander of the Third Corps of the Volunteer Army, led the 12th Army, the 15th Army and the 60th Army of the Volunteer Army into the Korean War, catching up with the 5th Battle of the Korean Battlefield.
As we all know, in the 2nd stage of the 5th Campaign, when the Volunteer Army withdrew from the battlefield, it was counterattacked by the "United Nations Army" led by the US army and suffered losses.
The failure of the 180th Division of the 60th Army of the Volunteer Army to form a system was highly concerned by The Supreme Commander Chairman Mao.
Chairman Mao, while making tactical adjustments to how the battles on the Korean battlefield were fought, also investigated the question of the attribution of responsibility for the defeat.
Early summer 1951.
Two American jeeps sped north along a crater-like highway. In front of the car sat Wang Jinshan, deputy commander of the 3rd Corps of the Volunteer Army, He Guanghua, deputy chief of staff of the 12th Army, and Wu Ying, operational staff officer of the corps. Wang Jinshan's handsome square face was obviously tired after the war, and the heavy shadow after the defeat still hung over his heart.
At this time, Wang Jinshan hurriedly embarked on the road after receiving a call from Commander Peng Dehuai, who had summoned him back to China to learn about the situation of the Fifth Campaign. Everyone in the car knew very well that this was directly related to the damage to the 180th Division.
In the retreat of the second phase of the five campaigns that had just ended, the 180th Division of the 60th Army, which had remained north of the Han River as a cover mission, was surrounded by several enemy armies in the Yingfeng area, and the division failed to break through, losing nearly 8,000 people below the political department, and the news of the defeat of the 180th Division not only shocked the volunteer headquarters, but also alarmed the supreme commander in Beijing.
When the division was besieged, Chairman Mao personally sent a telegram asking General Peng: What was the situation of the 180th Division? Very much.
During the days and nights when the 180th Division was besieged, Wang Jinshan stayed up all night, and sent a telegram strictly ordering Wei Jie, commander of the 60th Army, to organize troops to receive the breakthrough of the 180th Division. However, the 60th Army's unit structure was disrupted twice in five battles, and Wei Jie had no troops at hand, which finally led to the 180th Division, which was exhausted of ammunition and food and was poor in manpower.
The news reached the front finger of the 3rd Corps, a 15-year-old red devil who joined the Red Army, a generation of famous generals who were known as "Zhukov of The Two Wilds" and "Wang Crazy". I couldn't help but cry. Although on the phone, Mr. Peng took over the responsibility and comforted him to regroup, Wang Jinshan, a general who had regarded fighting evil battles as a common thing all his life, was still a little uneasy when he was summoned by the Supreme Commander.
Wang Jinshan rested in Beijing for a day and first took Wu Ying to meet the old chief Xu Xiangqian. After waiting in Beijing for another week, the "Mao Office" finally called and informed Wang Jinshan to come to the zhongnanhai chairman's office at 12 o'clock at night and asked for a vehicle model, car number, and number of people. On this day, Wang Jinshan couldn't even take a nap and began to make mental preparations.
At 11:30 p.m., Wang Jinshan took Wu Ying out of the Beijing Hotel and drove to Zhongnanhai. After seeing Chairman Mao, the chairman did not make a greeting, but asked Wang Jinshan to report on the details of the fifth battle and the reasons for the damage of the 180th Division.
Wang Jinshan stuttered and reluctantly finished talking about the situation of the 180th Division, and after saying, "I bear the main responsibility for the losses of the 180th Division," he could not continue. For a moment, he said as if asking for help, "Chairman, where the report cannot be reported, do you ask Staff Officer Wu Ying to add it?" ”
Chairman Mao took care of himself and smoked, nodded his head silently, and listened to Wu Ying's eloquent speech.
“...... In the second phase of the campaign, there was an opportunity to surround 1 American formation regiment in the self-camp, but Deputy Commander Wang strongly advocated eating it, saying that the American legion and 1 French battalion should be eaten. ”
“...... In addition, those military commanders at the bottom also have some views on this kind of mobile warfare, the east and west coasts of the Korean Peninsula are so narrow, it is difficult for the large corps to detour to divide the enemy, and we have found out our offensive ability for 17 days, and after 7 days of offensive, the enemy will not attack me, and I will retreat.
In fact, the enemy's 'magnetic tactics' are nothing new, they are learning the chairman's "16-character order" in guerrilla warfare. The enemy's tactics have changed, we have not changed, or hard to penetrate the strong pass, you chase him for a day, climb over the mountains, the enemy will leave in an hour by car; On the contrary, our army retreated for a day, and the enemy could chase you in an hour, and the 180th Division ate this loss..."
Chairman Mao listened, his expression softened, and he said, "Wang Jinshan, your staff officer is more methodical than you, and he is defending the commander." Regarding the situation of the five battles and the 180th Division, did the leadership of the 60th Army also know this way? ”
Wang Jinshan replied: "The main unit of the 60th Army has different opinions on the command of the second phase of the campaign, mainly due to my mistakes in command..."
Chairman Mao unceremoniously interrupted him: "Now is the time for investigation and study, and it is not yet time to draw conclusions; after the investigation, it will be clear who bears any responsibility, and the responsibility cannot be pushed away, nor can it be pulled without responsibility."
Wang Jinshan's language was blocked.
Wu Ying, seeing some cold ground, boldly interjected: "Chairman, before coming to Beijing, Director Liu Youguang and I attended a summary meeting of cadres above the 60th Army, and Commander Wei Jie and Political Commissar Yuan Ziqin both believed that the Corps assigned the two divisions of the army to the 12th Army and the 15th Army, respectively, so they were unable to rescue the 180th Division in time. After receiving the order to rescue the corps, the 60th Army only sent two staff officers to two divisions to convey the news, and it missed the time because it was in the wrong direction. “
Chairman Mao shifted his gaze from Wu Ying to Wang Jinshan's face.
"Comrade Wang Jinshan, after listening to your report just now, it seems that there are different responsibilities at all levels, and who bears the main responsibility needs to be further investigated, and someone has written to me saying that it is because of your right-leaning tendency that the loss of the 180th Division cannot be reached immediately, and it seems that it is not possible to draw a proper conclusion at once.
Wang Jinshan said, "Yes."
Wu Ying added: "During the two phases of the campaign, I kept a diary of the battle, and the enemy's situation, the deployment of our army, and the time, place, and situation of the actual battle were all accurate."
Chairman Mao got up from the couch. "Well, show me this diary and talk about it here today, there are still people waiting to see me outside."
Wang Jinshan was relieved, saluted, and exited the room.
Wu Ying took a driver and a car from Ahn (Dan) East and rode back to the North Korean garrison in the starry night.
Five days later, Wu Ying returned to Beijing. He and the "Mao Ban"
I called and asked when I would send the diary. Two days later, "Mao Ban" called and asked Wu Ying to send the diary at 11 o'clock in the evening, and informed Wang Jinshan that he would not have to go again.
In the evening, Wu Ying went to Zhongnanhai on time, handed over to the officer on duty a diary, combat orders, and a summary of the enemy's situation and other documents and wanted to leave. Unexpectedly, the officer on duty informed him that Chairman Mao wanted him to go in and talk again. Wu Ying was dumbfounded, Commander Wang did not come, he was just a small staff officer. What to talk about with the Supreme Commander?
Wu Ying had no choice but to harden his scalp and walk into Chairman Mao's residence again.
Chairman Mao sat on the couch, holding a cigarette in one hand and flipping through the documents sent by Wu Ying in the other. Seeing Wu Ying come in, he did not leave his seat, nodded, and signaled him to sit down. Wu Ying sat down by the door, and Chairman Mao frowned, "You don't want to keep such a big distance from me, do we still have to use megaphones to talk?" ”
Wu Ying had to sit not far from him.
Wu Ying had no choice but to harden his scalp and walk into Chairman Mao's residence again.
Chairman Mao sat on the couch, holding a cigarette in one hand and flipping through the documents sent by Wu Ying in the other. Seeing Wu Ying come in, he did not leave his seat, nodded, and signaled him to sit down. Wu Ying sat down by the door, and Chairman Mao frowned. "Don't you keep such a big distance from me, do we have to use megaphones to talk?"
Wu Ying had to sit not far from him.
"Honestly, do you have any right-leaning feelings for Commander Wang?" Chairman Mao put down the material in his hand and stared at Wu Ying.
"Nothing." Wu Ying did not hesitate, "Deputy Commander Wang is nicknamed 'Wang Madman', and he often commands in the front line when fighting. In Korea, our army has no air superiority, and no one except Deputy Commander Wang dares to drive around during the day. When the chairman asked General Peng, Chief Liu Deng, and General Xu, they knew that they all knew Deputy Commander Wang very well, as well as the commanders of the army and divisions under the corps... Deputy Commander Wang had some contemptuous enemy thoughts, and he never took any enemy in his eyes..."
"Well," Chairman Mao smoked his cigarette and nodded, "I'll tell Wang Jinshan after reading these materials, and you'll tell him." Let him inform the three commanders of the 60th Army, the 12th Army, and the 15th Army to come to Beijing in stages, and I will talk to them, and one commander will come every week. They reported to me as soon as they arrived so that time could be scheduled. In addition, after the three military commanders came to Beijing, they did not want to see their families, and immediately returned to North Korea after talking. ”
Wu Ying returned to the Beijing Hotel and reported to Wang Jinshan. Wang Jinshan ordered: "According to the instructions of the chairman, directly call the commanders of the various armed forces, and in the order arranged by the chairman, first wei jie, then Zeng Shaoshan, and finally Qin Jiwei."
Among the three military commanders, Wei Jie arrived in Beijing first, and he stayed on the second floor of the Beijing Hotel. Wei Jie was originally the commander of the 61st Army and the commander of the Northern Sichuan Military Region, and he had a good partnership with Hu Yaobang, political commissar of the Northern Sichuan Military Region, and was vigorously carrying out the work of suppressing bandits and forming a 3 corps to enter the DPRK.
As soon as he arrived in Korea, he participated in five battles, and Wei Jie, who was not yet fully familiar with the troops, naturally had a hard time. Although he was not directly responsible for the defeat of the 180th Division, the guilt in his heart was still indescribable.
Chairman Mao's process of summoning Wei Jie was the most mysterious. After receiving the notice from the "Mao Office" to summon Wei Jie, Wu Ying, a staff officer of the corps, took the lead and arranged to send him in Wang Jinshan's car. Wang Jinshan's car went in and out of Zhongnanhai several times, and the procedures were much simpler.
When Wei Jie returned to the Beijing Hotel from Zhongnanhai, it was almost dawn, and Wu Ying, who had not slept all night, quickly greeted him and asked with concern: "Commander Wei, how was the conversation with the chairman?" The chairman didn't criticize you, did he? ”
Wu Ying was surprised to find that Wei Jie was excited, his eyes were shining, and his mood was particularly good. Since the defeat of the 180th Division, he has rarely done so.
In the face of Wu Ying's kind inquiry, Wei Jie seemed to have a lot to say, but he only said succinctly: "Well, there is no praise anyway."
Zeng Shaoshan, commander of the 12th Army, and Qin Jiwei, commander of the 15th Army, who came to Beijing after him, stayed at the Beijing Hotel for several days and had been waiting for a call, but their mood was naturally different from Wei Jie's. Later, perhaps Chairman Mao thought there was no need to talk one by one, and one night at 12 o'clock, he summoned Zeng Shaoshan and Qin Jiwei at the same time. They did follow the order and returned to North Korea after talking, without staying at home.
Wang Jinshan received a notice from the "Mao Office" that the chairman wanted to see him, but this time he was not in Zhongnanhai and was instead at the Xiangshan Villa.
Wang Jinshan took Wu Ying into the living room, which was very different from the previous scene, Chairman Mao smiled and invited them to sit down, and his wife Jiang Qing also came out to meet the guests. Jiang Qing took the apples and knives placed on the coffee table and cut the apples himself. No one could have imagined that this "first lady" had the skill of cutting apples, and her apple skin was continuously attached to the apple in a spiral shape and handed to the guest, which was both decent and hygienic.
Chairman Mao greeted him with a smile and said, "You are not welcome, you should talk while eating." ”
Chairman Mao casually picked up the diary presented by Wu Ying and handed it to Wang Jinshan. "I have read all this and still return it to you, the commander." Wang Jinshan, the problem of the losses suffered in the Fifth Campaign and the 180th Division has now all been ascertained, and the main responsibility is not on you, and I hope that you will lay down your burdens and continue to fight the future battles. I told both Peng Dehuai and Wei Jie that the commander of the 180th Division must be removed from his post, and he cannot be allowed to lead troops to fight in the future. You are a victorious general, I have known for a long time, but you cannot take the enemy lightly and be proud. Ah, you, the commander of the corps, can make some suggestions for the future course of operations. ”
The big stone that had been pressed heavily on Wang Jinshan's heart for months fell down, and Wang Jinshan was relaxed and couldn't help but say gratefully, "Or the chairman is wise and has distinguished right from wrong." I will certainly live up to the expectations of the Chairman, and the future battle will be fought well, Chairman, you will listen to the good news! ”
After taking a stand, Wang Jinshan's state was very different from that of the Supreme Commander the day before, and he became flexible in his thinking and sharp teeth.
"Chairman, I think that in Korea our army should take the position as a basis. In the war of annihilation of the local counterattack, if it is not fought, it will already be enough, and if it wants to fight, it will eat a piece of the enemy and firmly grasp the initiative in the war; the 'United Nations Army' will rely on Korea, so we will spend with him to see who can consume whom! ”
Chairman Mao narrowed his eyes in delight when he heard this.
"Well, we thought together. How to consolidate the position, have you ever thought about it? ”
Wang Jinshan took the opportunity to talk about the tactics of building cave fortifications and turning small victories into big victories.
Chairman Mao was overjoyed, and his face lit up. He rekindled a cigarette, got up from the couch, and paced indoors.
"Wang Jinshan, you really deserve to be an excellent military talent of our army, a veritable general, I have talked with the 3 commanders of the 3 Corps, and they have also made similar suggestions, but they are not as profound as you." Back in Korea, you should report to Comrade Peng Dehuai that I am considering changing the general policy of fighting against the US military. Talking about it today, I am waiting for your good news. ”
The generals of the 3rd Corps did not disappoint the Supreme Commander, and after returning to the Korean battlefield, they actively reorganized the army to fight again, especially the commander of the 60th Army, Wei Jie, put forward the slogan of turning the battle around in the 180th Division, and deployed cadres and replenishment of troops for the heavily damaged 180th Division to restore morale.
On May 27, 1953 (exactly two years after the 180th Division was besieged in the fifth battle of Ban), in the "Summer Offensive" on the eve of the Korean Armistice, the 60th Army unit took the 180th Division as the main attack, and after only 14 minutes of fighting in the "Square Mountain" and the 883-7 Highland Offensive, the square mountain was completely annihilated by more than 400 people of the 5th Division of the South Korean Army.
In the following six days of defensive battles, the enemy 5th Division successively threw in 58 attacks of more than two regiments of troops, killed and wounded more than 2,400 enemy troops, and consolidated its position, and then, on June 9, the unit moved the main attack force of 3,500 people to only 300 meters from the enemy's 883-7 highland forward.
After a daytime lurking, on the 10th: Under the cover of artillery fire, it broke through the enemy's area of about 10 square kilometers in one fell swoop in 13 ways, repelled more than 190 counterattacks of the enemy, and annihilated more than 8,000 enemy troops, so that our army was in a favorable position in the armistice negotiations. In a commendation order sent to the 60th Army, the "Joint Command" of the Volunteer Army and the Korean People's Army mentioned: "This battle of our army has set an example of annihilating most of the enemy's regiment and a regiment since our army's defensive counterattack, and is specially commended." It is hoped that we will continue to work hard, continue to fight steadily and fiercely, and strive for greater victories. ”
However, to the regret of Wang Jinshan and Wei Jie, at this time they had been transferred back to China separately, and they had not personally fulfilled their long-cherished wish to avenge the 180th Division's shame and report victory to the Supreme Commander.