In a certain battle, the volunteer army won more with less, annihilated countless enemy troops, and the corpses were everywhere on the battlefield.
Ridgway couldn't forget it for a long time, and said, "I don't want to talk about it again in my life." ”
What was this battle and what happened during that that made Ridgway react so much?
When a counterattack is in progress
After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, MacArthur, the first commander of the US army, led the United Nations troops to land at Incheon, which caught the Korean People's Army by surprise.
The Korean People's Army was defeated and retreated, and Kim Il Sung hurried to the mainland and the Soviet Union for help.
Chairman Mao considered that if the US military captured Korea, it would inevitably pose a threat to the mainland border.
So he ordered troops to be sent, and Mr. Peng would lead the volunteers into North Korea.
MacArthur did not take it seriously, and after that, he suffered losses one after another, and the rear of the American army became suspicious of MacArthur's command.
In order to prove his ability, MacArthur adopted the method of wanton and indiscriminate bombing, inflicting huge losses on our army. Major battles such as the Battle of Shangganling and the Battle of Changjin Lake made MacArthur thoroughly understand the determination of the Volunteers.
The successive defeats of the American army made Truman blame MacArthur for everything, and finally MacArthur was removed.
Before leaving, MacArthur looked at the newly appointed commander Li Qiwei and reminded him a few words "kindly", telling Li Qiwei to be careful of the volunteers and not to be careless.
Obviously, Li Qiwei listened, but he really understood this sentence in the later stage.
As soon as Li Qiwei took office, he wanted to give our army a dismount. Shells rained down on the positions of the volunteers, and our troops were at a disadvantage due to the slow supply and lack of ammunition.
Mr. Peng understood that the other party's commander had changed, and the previous tactics could not be used.
In 1951, the Volunteer Army launched its third campaign to attack the northern region. But before the volunteers could enjoy the joy of victory, the United Nations forces continued to increase their troops to the north, and our army was defeated and could only retreat in a hurry.
Mr. Peng frowned when he learned the news, but when he saw the route of each unit, Mr. Peng had a bold idea in his heart.
The 38th and 50th armies of the Volunteers were advancing northward, and the corps led by Deng Yue was advancing towards Hengcheng and Topingli.
But there are two choices in front of Mr. Peng, which place to counterattack first.
To this end, Mr. Peng made a detailed analysis of the deployment of US troops in the two places. There were many enemy troops in the Toping-ri area, and many battalions of the American and French troops were stationed here. If you can't quickly annihilate the enemy army, it is likely to turn into a war of attrition.
Compared to the deployment of the enemy forces in Toheiri, the deployment of Yokojo was relatively weak. The U.S. military focused on Topyeong-ri, while Hoengseong was mostly the South Korean army, and the others had only one division of the U.S. army.
In order to frustrate the morale of the US army, Mr. Peng was determined to fight back in Hengcheng.
It was also this battle that made Li Qiwei really feel the horror of the volunteers, and he didn't even dare to mention it for a long time, what happened in the Battle of Hengcheng?
The counterattack begins
In February, under the orders of Mr. Peng, Deng Yue's 40th Army rushed to the positions of South Korea, while other regiments were also attacking the defensive positions of the 8th Division of South Korea.
In order to break through the defense, Deng Yue led his troops to attack from three directions: the left flank, the right flank, and behind the enemy.
Our army is in full swing. The left flank was counterattacked by two companies of the South Korean Army, and one of their regiments was strong enough to resist, but the strength of these two companies made it more difficult for the left flank to attack.
A regiment on the right flank was facing a reinforced company of South Korea, and the attack went relatively smoothly, and it took only half an hour for our troops to annihilate it.
The other volunteer units did not sit idle, but chose to attack behind enemy lines.
At this time, Li Qiwei did not know the plan of our army, only knew that he hurriedly responded to the attack on the left and right flanks, but he did not know that our army had quietly come to their rear.
The 124th Division quickly broke through the enemy's defenses, occupied the commanding heights, and captured several American positions. And the 117th Division went around the rear of the enemy army and saw the "little starlight" on the high ground.
At this time, the volunteers who came to the rear did not act rashly, but carefully reconnoitred.
The scouts found that on the high ground was an armored company of the American army, and it was the best-equipped company in the entire battle of Hengcheng.
If this company is taken, it will definitely deal a major blow to the enemy.
The American soldiers on the high ground did not perceive the danger at all, and were still munching on the meat, and after eating, they rested in their tents.
When the sound of the US military position is temporarily stopped, it is a good time for our army to attack.
The sound of artillery fire woke up the American troops in the tent and hurriedly picked up their guns to counterattack, but the 117th Division did not give them a chance at all and quickly annihilated the American soldiers in the armored company.
Our troops obtained a large amount of supplies without much effort, and this attack completely cut off the rear route of the 8th Division of the South Korean Army. They no longer have people to rescue.
On the frontal battlefield, the 40th Army approached step by step, flanking from the left and right, and successfully disrupted the South Korean army. Perhaps the commander of the South Korean Army did not know how he failed until he died.
In just a few days, the 8th Division of the South Korean Army completely disappeared.
But it was not over, the 40th Army passed through the positions of South Korea and went straight to Ridgway's 21st Regiment. At this time, the 21st regiment was still in a panic, and it was too late to respond, so it came to an end.
When Li Qiwei learned the news, he was so angry that he scolded, but he was unable to deal with the strong volunteer army at all.
In the battle of Hengcheng, the Volunteer Army won the victory, Li Qiwei scolded and scolded, why didn't he dare to recall?
The taste of failure
The counterattack took nearly a day, and the U.S. troops suffered heavy losses. The specific situation can be described as "corpses all over the field".
The unfortunate 8th South Korean Division is the main attack of our army. In this battle, 3 regiments, plus the reinforced company and the artillery battalion were annihilated, and it can be said that there was not much left of the 8th Division.
In addition, the 3rd and 5th South Korean Divisions stationed in Hengseong also suffered some blows.
However, Li Qiwei did not feel sorry for them, he felt sorry for his own army. The armored company of the American army was gone, the 21st Regiment also became cannon fodder, and the battlefield was full of corpses of United Nations troops.
According to post-war statistics, our army annihilated more than 10,000 enemy troops (U.S. and South Korean troops) and captured artillery, guns, rocket launchers, etc.
And our army suffered very few losses, and at the beginning of the battle, our army was actually at a disadvantage.
In other words, the Volunteer Army defeated more with less, and also beat the American army to the ground, which is definitely an important deed that can be written into the history of the revolution.
After Chairman Mao learned of the victory of the Hengcheng counterattack, he sent a telegram to commend Mr. Peng, praising Mr. Peng's good plan this time and praising the bravery of the 40th Army.
There was cheering on the positions of the volunteers, while morale was low on the positions of the American troops.
This time the actions of the volunteers completely made them defenseless, because they had no idea when and where the volunteers would emerge.
And as their commander, Ridgway was no better. He had a great deal of responsibility for the failure of this campaign, and if he hadn't made a mistake in command, he would not have given the volunteers a chance.
This is the case not only for American soldiers, but also for the South Korean military.
Li Qiwei is also trying to improve the morale of the soldiers, but it is clear that they have identified the volunteer army as a "heavenly soldier and general", believing that the volunteer army is invincible.
During this time, the counterattack of the American positions was much weaker, and even made people wonder if they were about to surrender.
After the war, someone asked Li Qiwei what he thought about this battle, only to see Li Qiwei sigh and say: "I don't want to mention it again in my life!"
It can be seen that Li Qiwei still has lingering fears about the Hengcheng counterattack.
Doomed defeat
After the Battle of Hoengseong, the fighting on the Korean battlefield continued unabated. The battle of Tohei-ri was not as easy as the battle of Hoengseong.
Because the American troops were scared, it can be said that in the subsequent battles, they were armed to the teeth. The U.S. forces learned the lessons of the Battle of Hengcheng, equipped themselves with more powerful weapons, and strengthened their defenses.
Ridgway struggled to restore the morale of his soldiers through this battle.
Due to the lack of sufficient weapons and supplies for the Volunteer Army, while the US Army was able to obtain sufficient ammunition supply, it was difficult for our army to move an inch in the Battle of Topingli.
In order to overcome this difficulty, the Volunteer Army invested a lot of troops. All sides focused their attention on the battle of Tohei-ri.
On the battlefield, the volunteer soldiers fell one by one in the rain of bullets. From beginning to end, the artillery fire of the American offensive did not stop. And our army does not have sophisticated equipment, nor does it have powerful weapons, and it is on the verge of defeat.
Mr. Peng thought that no senseless sacrifice should be made at this time, so he ordered the volunteers to retreat. Although the battle was not successful, the battle of Tohei-ri must be fought.
Later, in the battle with the Volunteer Army, Li Qiwei discovered the weakness of our army's logistical supply. He ordered the wanton bombardment of our supply lines, resulting in heavy losses for our troops.
But with the entry of Hong Xuezhi and others into the DPRK, they quickly repaired the logistics supply line and found a safe way to transport supplies, which made Li Qiwei's plan bankrupt again.
After going on for so many days, Ridgway really realized the power of the volunteers, and also really understood the "power" in MacArthur's mouth.
With the arrival of the generals, the position of the volunteers was impregnable, and the US army could not conquer it at all, and if it continued like this, it would be the US soldiers who were consumed in the end.
In the end, the two sides reached a stalemate, and the US military chose to sign an armistice agreement with our army.
At that moment, the invincible US commander finally lowered his arrogant head and had to accept this cruel reality.
Li Qiwei always recalled the duel on the Korean battlefield, and all sighed at the strength of the volunteers, and understood that defeat was doomed!
When he first came to North Korea, Li Qiwei actually had the arrogance of the U.S. military, but this arrogance was completely crushed by the volunteers in the subsequent duel.
Maybe he was also glad that the battle ended with the signing of an armistice, otherwise there might have been some outcome!