"We tried our best, we were able to raise our heads in front of the brother troops!"
Zeng Zesheng, commander of the 50th Army, was full of tears and held Peng Zong's hand tightly. Recall that three months ago, the volunteer army that had just entered the DPRK launched its first battle, and Liang Xingchu, commander of the 38th Army, was publicly scolded by General Peng for delaying the fighter, but the 50th Army, which also made mistakes, unexpectedly received Peng Zong's comfort: The US army is well equipped, the gap between the enemy and us is large, and it does not matter if the 50th Army cannot fight well.
These few words of relief were like thorns inserted in Zeng Zesheng's heart, who had always boasted of being confused about his life, and the zeng military commander who fought the confused battle had never blushed with shame like at this moment.
Zeng Zesheng stills
The 50th Army rushed to Korea
The 50th Army was an insurrectionary force in the northeast battlefield, formerly known as the 60th Army of the Nationalist Army, and in the eyes of Jiang Ren, it was a miscellaneous army with seriously insufficient combat effectiveness, and the Nationalist army even gave it the nickname "60 Bear". After the formation of the uprising, it was reorganized into the 50th Army, which went south into Sichuan to participate in the liberation operation.
After the outbreak of the Korean War, the 50th Army, which was building a levee on the Han River, was ordered to enter Korea and annihilated an enemy heavy tank battalion in the third battle. However, such a record was not enough to satisfy Zeng Zesheng, and he still needed a more important battle of justification than his brother troops.
In January 1951, Ridgway, commander of the Eighth Army who succeeded Walker, discovered the logistical Achilles heel of the Volunteer Army, and he used Seoul as bait to launch the fourth campaign of the Korean Battlefield.
Ridgway
The 50th Army was in danger
Ridgway's offensive was swift and fierce, with 230,000 combined U.S. and South Korean forces attacking simultaneously from both the eastern and western fronts. Due to a severe shortage of ammunition, the volunteers, who were entering a period of recuperation, had to re-enter the battlefield. However, the pressure of the two-front operation was too great, especially in the western front facing the powerful American troops, and it was impossible to replicate the glory of the second battle, so Shiji developed a strategy to defend the American army and surround the South Korean army.
However, the first three battles not only caused a serious shortage of ammunition to the volunteer army, but also suffered considerable casualties in personnel, and the Ninth Corps of song Shilun who rushed to the battlefield of the Eastern Front lost as much as a quarter of its strength in the Battle of Changjin Lake, and Yang Dezhi's Nineteenth Corps had not yet all arrived at the battlefield, only Deng Hua's Thirteenth Corps was struggling to support.
The encirclement and annihilation of the South Korean Army on the Eastern Front urgently needed the Tiger Army of the Thirteenth Corps, and once the 38th Army, the 39th Army and the 40th Army had two armies left, it would inevitably bankrupt the encirclement and annihilation plan on the Eastern Front. Therefore, the heavy responsibility of remaining on the south bank of the Han River was entrusted to the 50th Army.
Choosing the 50th Army was more like a last resort, and at this time, there were no generals available in Peng Zong's hands. However, he was still full of confidence in the 50th Army, although the 50th Army was called the "60 Bear" in the northeast battlefield, but in the anti-Japanese battlefield, it was mighty, typical of the foreign war insiders, especially in the Battle of Taierzhuang, and fought bloody battles with the elite Itagaki Division of the Japanese Army, accumulating sufficient battlefield experience.
More importantly, the 50th Army is a unit that is good at building fortifications and is extremely good at defending, staying on the south bank of the Han River, and being able to play its specialty, and in order to make up for the lack of strength of the 50th Army, Peng Zong deliberately put the 112th Division of the 38th Army on the Western Front.
Hero Baiyun Mountain Regiment
However, the dilemma faced by Zeng Zesheng was extremely difficult, with two US divisions on the Western Front, the Turkish Brigade and a regiment in South Korea with a total strength of 40,000 men, more than 3,000 tanks, more than 2,000 artillery pieces, and countless ammunition. Zeng Zesheng's 50th Army only had 16 mountain guns and 55 mortars.
The U.S. army and the reserve of a division in South Korea, but the 50th Army's back was bare, and there was nothing left after the battle. However, what really affects the commanders and fighters of the 50th Army is not the external problem of weapons and equipment, but the psychological struggle.
Zeng Zesheng laid out two lines of defense within 40 kilometers from Nomaori to Anqingchuan, and each division and regiment of the 50th Army had to withstand a large amount of artillery cover every day, and then faced a joint attack by the US aviation and ground assault forces.
American artillery fire was fierce
At Repair Mountain, after the soldier Wang Ying was killed in most of the company, he ran out of bullets in his hand, ran to the enemy group with explosives packs in his arms, and died heroically. Commander Zeng Zesheng came to the front line and angrily scolded: "There are so many shells from the Americans." However, in such a strong wind and iron rain, they insisted on repairing the main position of the mountain for seven days, beating the US 25th Division to the head and bleeding.
At Baiyun Mountain, the 447th Regiment attacked Suwon at night, ambushed Brother Peak, and fought a beautiful small annihilation war, and also launched a fierce battle for positions with the US army. However, the thorn in the hearts of the generals of the 50th Army was always at work, and Zhao Heting, commander of the 149th Division, made several phone calls to Zhu Guangyun, commander of the 447th Regiment: "Bullets are saved and hit, don't think like that when you were in the nationalist army." ”
When the position was lost, a constant rush of calls came from the division headquarters: "Hurry up and take it back." ”
When the 447th Regiment achieved a proud record and won the title of "Baiyun Mountain Hero Regiment", Xu Wenlie, political commissar of the 50th Army, hurriedly suggested that the word hero be removed and only the "Baiyun Mountain Regiment" retained.
Although it had become a brother force two years ago, the 50th Army was always cautious and could not let go of the stone in its heart: we had revolted.
The commanders and fighters of the 50th Army were under great psychological pressure
The 50th Army was justified in World War I
The 50th Army held out on the Han River for 50 days, winning time for the victory on the Eastern Front, but it also paid a great price, with all 138 squads being wiped out, leaving only 4 battalions and 4 companies in the formed units, with a reduction of more than 20,000 personnel.
Back north of the Han River, Zeng Zesheng, who was covered in smoke, went to Zhisi to resume his life, and Peng Zong held his hand tightly, praised the 50th Army for fighting well, and promised that after the Soviet-style weapons came, they would give priority to the 50th Army to change their clothes.
A few simple greetings gave Zeng Zesheng great encouragement. The 50th Army was originally a Yunnan soldier, fighting bloody battles in the anti-Japanese battlefield and winning countless glories, but when it came to the liberation battlefield, it became the object of internal turmoil in the Nationalist army, and it was delusional to change the equipment and replenish the troops.
Zeng Zesheng, whose eyes were wet, could not be calm for a long time, and the "confusion" of the past two years disappeared at this moment, and the 50 army used an extremely fierce defensive battle to justify itself, which also made Zeng Zesheng say the sad words that had been buried in his heart for many years:
"We tried our best, and we were able to look up in front of the fraternal troops."
This is the heartfelt words of the commander of the northeast battlefield into a formed rebel unit, but in Peng Zong's view, he has really thought about it over the years.
Zeng Zesheng untied the knot
"What are these words?" Just because your Fifty Army was reorganized by the Nationalist Army? Like you, I also came from the old army, I never regarded you as a stepmother, you are the best commanders and fighters, you go back and tell the officers of the 50th Army, I bow to them. ”
After Mr. Peng finished speaking, he bowed deeply to Zeng Zesheng. This is the broad mind of a commander-in-chief, and it is precisely such a commander-in-chief who can win the respect and awe of everyone.