To resist US aggression and aid Korea, the Volunteer Army became famous in World War I and played a prestige in the world. How strong is the Volunteer Army? Let the opponents on the battlefield be more convincing.
Bai Shanye, who was once regarded as the "first general" in South Korea, not only has a lot of fame, but also has a lot of "fans".
When he heard that Bai Shanye would enter the battlefield, many locals shouted and cheered for him, wanting to see him.
However, the facts gave them a heavy blow, and Bai Shanye was even "slapped in the face".
On the battlefield of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, he met the People's Liberation Army on a narrow road, but suffered defeats one after another. The disgraced and disgraced he even said frankly: The volunteer army is very strong.
So what happened back then? Did the ROK's "No. 1 General" fail to live up to his name? And how did he have an unbearable defeat?
Yunshan encountered a strong enemy
Baek Sun-yeol, the commander of the 1st Division of the South Korean Army, fought bravely and had the glorious title of "First General". His unit is also one of the main forces of the South Korean army and has always performed well in the Korean battlefield. However, that was before the encounter with the Volunteers.
In October 1950, the "United Nations Army" composed of the United States, Britain and South Korea launched an attack on the Yalu River on the border between China and North Korea. Baek Sun-yeol's troops, together with the 24th Division of the U.S. Army and the 27th Brigade of the British Army, formed the 1st Army of the U.S. Army and fought on the Western Front.
After the battle order was issued, Baek Sun-yeol's troops marched from Pyongyang to the area of Shuozhou and Bitong.
In the previous battle, Baek Sun-yeol's 1st Division of the ROK Army had almost no defeat, and it was very smooth to conquer the city all the way.
Therefore, Bai Shanye is also determined to achieve the goal of hitting the Yalu River this time.
Of course, a large part of his confidence and confidence comes from the coordinated operations of the US-British coalition forces.
According to the established strategic deployment, Bai Shanye's 1st Division launched an attack on the Yunshan County area. Yunshan County has convenient highway transportation, surrounded by mountains and hills, and is a typical strategic place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.
In addition, there is an airport in the southeast of Yunshan Mountain, which can be used temporarily. If you can take this place, it will be a big help for the war.
Bai Shanye led the 1st Division of the ROK Army to move towards Yunshan, and the march did not encounter major obstacles along the way, and soon reached the vicinity of Yunshan.
Just when Bai Shanye thought that Yunshan was within reach, he got a report from the reconnaissance unit that there were volunteers in front of him who intercepted their way. This volunteer army is the 39th Army.
At this time, Bai Shanye ordered the 15th Regiment to attack the 349th Regiment of the 117th Division of the Volunteer Army on the opposite side, which was both artillery and tanks, but the attacks were repelled by the Volunteers.
On the other side, part of Bai Shanye's 12th Regiment launched an attack on the 351st Regiment of the 117th Division of the Volunteer Army, and another part of the troops launched an attack on the 116th Division of the Volunteer Army.
Bai Shanye was very surprised by the combat effectiveness of the Volunteer Army, he had never fought against the Volunteer Army before, and this battle made him feel amazing. However, the volunteers were on the defensive at that time, and it is difficult to say to what extent they could resist. The South Korean army is all equipped with American equipment, and his division is equipped with American artillery and tank units.
Bai Shanye looked at the smoke of the fire not far away, it was his troops launching a new round of attack.
But Bai Shanye never expected that the volunteers would attack the 12th Regiment that night. After fierce fighting, the Volunteer Army seized 6 strategic heights.
After that, the battle took a sharp turn, and Bai Shanye's troops could not continue to advance at all, but lost their positions one after another. To make matters worse, they were later surrounded on three sides by the 39th Army of the Volunteer Army, and retreat was the only option.
"I've met a strong enemy. Bai Shanye said with emotion.
The ace units of the US army were frustrated
The U.S. Army agreed to the withdrawal of the main force of the ROK 1st Division of the ROK Army and moved to the Yongbyon area, and sent the 1st US Cavalry Division into Unsan to take over the main force of the ROK 1st Division to carry out the northward advance plan. Bai Shanye left the 12th Regiment and the 15th Regiment to cooperate in the battle.
The cavalry unit of the U.S. Army is the strongest unit in mechanized combat, and the trump card is named after it.
As soon as this unit reached the vicinity of Yunshan, eight infantry regiments, two artillery regiments, and one antiaircraft artillery regiment of the Volunteers launched a major counteroffensive against the "United Nations Army."
The main strategy and tactics of the Volunteer Army were a combination of frontal attacks and flank raids: the 116th Division attacked frontally, the 117th Division attacked from the left, the 115th Division attacked from the right, and the 344th Regiment of the 115th Division was responsible for cutting off the US army's peripheral reinforcements.
The main force of the 8th Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division of the US Army was on the right side, so it was soon attacked by the 345th Regiment of the 115th Division of the Volunteer Army.
After the loss of 1 platoon, the main force of the 8th Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division was driven to the area of Zhuren Bridge by the 345th Regiment of the Volunteer Army.
Like a trapped beast, this unit, supported by the fire of aircraft and tanks, tried to break through many times, but without success.
Subsequently, the 345th Regiment of the Volunteer Army changed its tactics and adopted a separate route: a battalion and two companies were sent to encircle the main force of the 8th Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division in three ways, and annihilated them all in one fell swoop.
On the other side, the 343rd Regiment of the 115th Division of the Volunteer Army intercepted the 5th Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division of the US Army advancing in the area of Longtoudong, and the two sides engaged in a fierce battle.
This cavalry regiment showed up with all its "luxury" weapons, including airplanes, tanks, and howitzers, while the volunteers adopted flexible tactics to avoid their sharp edges and take them by surprise, and the effect was very good.
The battle lasted for two days and two nights, and the 343rd Regiment of the Volunteer Army finally drove the 5th Regiment of the US Cavalry to the area south of Yongdudong.
In front was Bai Shanye's 12th Regiment, so it was soon attacked by the 347th Regiment of the 116th Division of the Volunteer Army.
The 347th Regiment adopted the tactic of outflanking by battalions, and sent several battalions to encircle and annihilate nearly two companies of Bai Shanye's 12th Regiment from different directions. Later, it launched an attack on the retreating American troops, annihilating the American troops in the northeastern part of Yunshan in one fell swoop.
Bai Shanye's 15th Regiment on the left has always insisted on fighting head-on with the 117th Division of the Volunteer Army, but unexpectedly, the 117th Division of the Volunteer Army has already laid out the tactics of siege on three sides, and the 15th Regiment was scattered all of a sudden, and they fled one after another.
After that, the 117th Division of the Volunteer Army surrounded and intercepted all the way, and Bai Shanye's 15th Regiment was directly annihilated.
At this point, the battle of Yunshan was basically over, and the Volunteer Army, in the case of backward equipment, severely damaged the 1st Cavalry Division, an elite unit of the US army, annihilated a battalion of Bai Shanye's 12th Regiment and the main force of the 15th Regiment, killing and wounding more than 2,000 people.
More than 1,800 people were U.S. soldiers, and many U.S. weapons and equipment and strategic materials were seized.
This was the first battle in which the volunteers arrived on the Korean battlefield, which boosted morale and reassured the DPRK friendly forces, laying the foundation for the coordinated operation of the two armies in the back.
And the first general of the South Korean army, Bai Shanye, lost a lot of troops in this battle, but he didn't have the time and energy to grieve because he was fighting fiercely with another wave of volunteers.
The Battle of Yongbyon was lost again
Baek Sun-yeol led the 1st Division of the ROK Army to move in the direction of Yongbyon, and then stationed in the area of Sangjiu-dong and Gugu-dong.
Encamped here, scouts came to report on the other side, saying that a volunteer army was moving in this direction, and the number could not be determined for the time being.
Bai Shanye had just lost the battle, and he wanted to win back a game, so he gave an order to prepare for battle.
This volunteer army was the main force of the 40th Army, which launched an attack on Yongbyon from the eastern part of Yundong and engaged in an exchange of fire with the main force of Baek Sunye's troops at Guchengdong.
At the same time, the 38th Army of the Volunteer Army launched an attack from the area around Xinxingdong to the area around the stadium, and after occupying the stadium, there was an exchange of fire with two regiments of the 8th Division of the ROK Army. The two regiments of the South Korean army could not defeat them, and they began to flee westward.
On the other two sides, the 66th Army of the Volunteer Army advanced to the west of Guicheng in an attempt to block the 24th Division of the US Army. The 50th Division of the 150th Army of the Volunteer Army launched an attack on the 27th Brigade of the British Army in the area around Namse-dong.
At that time, the United Nations Army's offensive was frustrated, and it was continuously attacked by the Volunteers, and it was worried that the nearby transportation arteries around Yuanchuan and Sin'an would be occupied by the Volunteers, so they planned to retreat immediately.
Baek Sun-yeol's troops, the 6th and 7th divisions of the ROK Army, and the 2nd Division of the US Army were responsible for fire cover.
After receiving the order, Bai Shanye immediately adjusted his combat methods and switched to a conservative war with the purpose of holding back the volunteers and covering the retreat of the large army.
In the face of the enemy's desire to run back, the volunteers decisively adopted a new tactic: divide and outflank, and break each one.
The 38th Army rushed to the line of communication in Sinanju, cutting off the main communication route between the enemy and the rear. After cutting off the enemy's rear route, the volunteers of all walks of life launched an encirclement and interception of the target enemy.
Bai Shanye has been struggling to support here, and when he learned that the Volunteer Army had cut off the communication line in Sin'anju, the main force of the United Nations Army could not retreat in time, so he could only fight and retreat, and suddenly sighed: This battle is really wretched!
Under the pursuit of the volunteers, the US army folded a reinforced company, the British 27th Brigade folded a howitzer battalion, and the main force of the United Nations army retreated all the way to the south of the Qingchuan River.
As for Bai Shanye, this time he retreated in time, and when he received the retreat plan of the large army, he was ready to retreat at any time!
At this point, the fighting on the Western Front was basically over, and the plan of the US-British-South Korean coalition forces to fight on the Yalu River was frustrated, and they were impressed by the combat effectiveness of the newly joined volunteer army.
Especially Bai Shanye, he was amazed: this is a powerful team with a large number of people, paying attention to strategy and tactics, and strict discipline, although the weapons and supplies are backward, but the will to fight is super strong!
For Bai Shanye, since he met the volunteers on the battlefield, he has suffered defeats one after another, either running away or being rescued by the US army, and the filter of South Korea's "first general" has been shattered, and he has the helplessness of both Shengyu and He Shengliang.
After the war was fought, the volunteer army had become Bai Shanye's nightmare, this powerful army had repeatedly frustrated the US military on the battlefield, and the Americans' will to fight became less and less firm, and he was worried that the United States might throw away the South Korean mess at any time, and he left it alone.
In fact, his worries were not unreasonable, and in the end, the United States almost coerced and induced South Korean spokesman Syngman Rhee to accept the cease-fire talks, because the United States accepted the fact that it could not win the war against the volunteers.
epilogue
If it is said that the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea made the Volunteer Army famous, then the victory of the first battle of Yunshan and the entire first phase of the battle undoubtedly laid the foundation of belief for the Volunteer Army to win the war: the enemy army could not organize an effective offensive and defensive battle without aircraft and artillery, and the flexible tactics of the Volunteer Army were the magic weapon for victory.
Even today, in the process of launching a geopolitical encirclement against us, the US military has not ended much of its own except for conducting close reconnaissance and joint military exercises, but has instigated our neighboring countries to constantly provoke.
The reason for this is that it is not cost-effective to end up on the other side is only one aspect, and whether you can play well is the fundamental concern. After all, every time you fight with the People's Liberation Army, you have never won, and it is unlikely that there will be no shadow.
- Artist: 本草纲目
- Edit: The sound of the night rain is annoying
- Bibliography:
- 1. Li Ningjing, Zhu Yonghao.The battle essentials of the volunteer army in the battle of Yunshan[J].Century Bridge,2018,(08):23-24+45.
- 2. Zhang Debin.A rare encounter in the history of world wars——The First Battle to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea[J].Party History Bocai (I),2020,(08):35-40.