In June 1950, the Korean War broke out. However, the original north-south war gradually became fierce, and more and more forces joined in.
With the help of the United States and other forces, North Korea was gradually defeated and finally approached by the other side on the border between China and North Korea. In order to defend the homeland and resist the United States and aid Korea, the Chinese Volunteer Army crossed the Yalu River and came to the Korean battlefield.
The first battle was won
In the Battle of Unsan, the 39th Army of the Chinese Volunteer Army annihilated for the first time with inferior equipment most of the 8th Regiment of the 1st US Cavalry Division with modern equipment, as well as the 12th Regiment of the 1st Division of the 1st South Korean Division, and dealt a fierce blow to the arrogance of the 1st Us Cavalry Division, known as the "Ace Army".
At 18:00 on 2 November, the 38th Army captured the courtyard area and threatened the enemy's flank. On this day, because the 40th Army was blocked in the line of Shangjiudong, Guchengdong, and Heishidong, it failed to encircle the enemy in Yongbyon. At the same time, the 66th Army also failed to capture the US 24th Division because it failed to spot the enemy's retreat in time, and failed to insert the main force behind the enemy to cut off the enemy's retreat.
At 19:00 on November 2, Chairman Mao sent a telegram to General Manager Peng according to the development of the campaign:
"Pay attention to the use of the entire army of the 38th Army to control Anju, Junyu-ri, and the stadium part, build strong fortifications, focus on Junyu-ri, completely divide the enemy in the north and south of the Cheongcheon River, take the northern reinforcements of the US 2nd Division (from Pyongyang) and the remnants of the pseudo-6th, 7th, and 8th Divisions, and extend as far south as possible to the vicinity of Pyongyang." As long as this is successful, it is a strategic victory. ”
Chairman Mao
At 21:00 on November 2, Chairman Mao sent a third telegram on the same day:
"The key to the overall situation of this campaign lies in the fact that our 38th Army has taken over the areas of Junyuli, Gacheon, Anzhou, and Xin'anzhou with a fierce speed, and cut off the enemy's connection between the north and the south.
Just as Chairman Mao and Mr. Peng and others were stepping up their planning and gathering the main force of the enemy army, General Walker, commander of the US 8th Army, found that the US 1st Cavalry Division had been severely damaged and its flanks were seriously threatened. He was deeply afraid that the price of Sichuan and Xin'anzhou would be controlled by us again, and the retreat route would be cut off by our army, so that all his units north of the Cheongcheon River would be divided and surrounded by our army, and each would be annihilated.
In order to get rid of the very unfavorable situation, since the early morning of the 3rd, the enemy, under the cover of a large number of air forces, artillery, and tanks, at the same time, with the pseudo-1st Division in the northeast of Yongbyon, the US 2nd Division, the South Korean 7th Division, and the 6th Division took cover in the areas of Gacheon and Junyu-ri, delaying our army's attack and carrying out a full-line retreat.
The enemy retreats and advances
After receiving the information that the enemy had begun to retreat, Mr. Peng was very anxious, and immediately on the morning of November 3, he discussed and studied countermeasures with Deng Hua, Hong Xuezhi, and others.
Decided to order his troops to "immediately use all action plans to encircle the enemy as soon as possible and prevent the enemy from retreating!" He also emphatically pointed out: "As long as the enemy is captured and divided, victory can be won." At the same time, the 38th Army was ordered: "Quickly attack and advance towards Junyuli, Anzhou, and Xin'anzhou, and cut off the enemy's connection from Xin'anzhou to the rear of Suchuan." ”
However, since we were marching on foot, the enemy was marching mechanized and marching much faster than we were. By dusk on the 3rd, the enemy on the western front, with the exception of a part of the remaining troops to hold the beachhead positions on the north bank of the Cheongcheon River and prevent our army from attacking, had all of its elite forces retreated south of the Cheongcheon River and occupied strategic points along the river from Xin'anzhou to The Valley.
As the commander of the 38th Army, Liang Xingchu's heart was really very hot.
On the evening of the 28th, the 338th Regiment had entered the outskirts of Xichuan, encountered the enemy, killed 1 enemy and taken 1 prisoner; the 337th Regiment also encountered the enemy at GuandaiDong in the northwest of Xichuan, killing and wounding 17 enemy prisoners. At this time, both regiments asked the division headquarters for instructions, could they launch an attack on Xichuan?
The 113th Division on the other side also asked for instructions to the military headquarters again, but the 112th Division had not yet arrived in the east of Xichuan for a designated deployment, so Liang Xingchu did not risk ordering the 113th Division to march into Xichuan.
When the 112th Division arrived on the 29th, our army launched an attack on Xichuan at dusk, and soon the troops rushed into Xichuan, but the result was only to capture some scattered prisoners and capture some supplies. The Pseudo-8th Division had left Xichuan in the early morning of the 29th!
At this time, the Volunteer Command issued a new order. The combat staff officer handed liang xingchu the order that had just been sent, and Liang Xingchu read the telegram with the small lamp in the wooden shed.
Liang Xingchu
Shiji ordered the 38th Army to immediately pursue the enemy fleeing south of the Xichuan River, directly attack the field, and march towards the military corner, blocking the possibility of the enemy's southward escape from the Cheongcheon River, and assisting the frontal 39th Army and the 40th Army in battle.
Liang Xingchu stared at the battle map, and he studied the battle plan together with Liu Xiyuan, political commissar, and deputy commander Jiang Yonghui.
On the small map, the situation is so clear: the 39th Army has surrounded 1 part of the 1st Cavalry Division and 1 unit of the Pseudo-1st Division at Yunshan, the attack has begun, and the 40th Army has also surrounded several battalions of the puppet army. If the 38th Army could not immediately capture the stadium and the military corner, then a large number of retreating enemies would flee from here to the south of the Cheongcheon River, and the 38th Army would return empty-handed.
"The situation in our army is so bad that maybe we can't eat meat or gnaw on bones!" Liang Xingchu angrily struck at the map, "Split into two ways and go south." The first target of the 113th Division was Xinxing Cave, the second target was the stadium, marching into the courtyard and Junyu-ri, and the 112th Division's target was Sumin-dong and Feihu Mountain, in preparation for the occupation of Junyu-ri! ”
The phone rang, and the staff officer reported that it was the phone of Yang Dayi, commander of the 112th Division.
When Liang Xingchu listened, he silently grabbed the phone, and Yang Dayi's voice came out of the microphone:
"Commander, I sent your men to send you the spoils of war, right?" We are taking care of the aftermath..."
"You Yang Dayi are so bold!" Liang Xingchu shouted angrily, "Why did the 112th Division arrive at Xichuan on the 29th?" Do you know that waiting for you to come has wasted more than a day! ”
"Commander, don't be angry, I Yang Dayi are responsible, but the reason is not all us." Yang Dayi complained bitterly, "You imagine, Commander, when you receive an order to detour east of Xichuan, the 334th Regiment is in the distance, the rails are not feasible, and the troops will rush to Xichuan on foot;
The 335th Regiment crossed the Yalu River, relying on a small train that the regimental commander Fan Tianen had found so hard to find, and also had to operate secretly. Do you want that to be fast?
Moreover, when they reached the vicinity of Maekawa, the railroad tracks could not be left, so the troops had to walk and rush to Xichuan overnight..."
"Count it out!" Liang Xingchu impatiently interrupted Yang Dayi's words, "Don't say it again, I tell you, the 38th Army has never been so humiliated on the battlefield!"
Let your soldiers attack Sumindong now, giving you two days; then march towards Flying Tiger Mountain.
Tell Fan Tianen to let his regiment be the main force! Can't take down Flying Tiger Mountain, be careful of his Fan Tianen's head! Military orders are childless! His 335th regiment finally arrived at Xichuan, cleaning up the booty is only a tail, you tell him, I want him to make up for it! Hear that? ”
"Yes!" Yang Dayi replied, his voice muffled: "Immediately capture Su MinDong and advance into Feihu Mountain!" ”
The two armies clashed
A chilling message came from the icy ridge to Walker's command station: the 7th Regiment of the South Korean 6th Division had turned around and retreated south after being hit by an overwhelmingly superior Chinese force. This army from China, as if it had come out of the soil, launched a very fierce melee battle, which almost wiped out the regiment.
Immediately afterwards, the 5th Regiment of the U.S. 8th Cavalry, which was holding Unsan, reinforced Unsan and was also repulsed, so the British 27th Brigade and the U.S. 24th Division, which were advancing in the direction of Sinuiju, were threatened.
Fearing that Sinuiju, Junyu-ri, and Gacheon would be controlled, Walker cut off their retreat routes, and urgently ordered the South Korean 1st Division to block the attack in the northeastern region of Yongbyon, and the remnants of the US 2nd Division and the South Korean 7th Division to cover in the Junyu-ri and Gacheon areas.
Therefore, the remnants of the US 2nd Division and the 7th Division, which had gone to delay our army's attack, and our 38th Army, which was responsible for capturing Junyuli and Chuanli and cutting off the enemy's retreat to the south, launched a fierce battle on the front line of the stadium, courtyard, and junyuli, especially the Flying Tiger Mountain east of Junyuli.
When Fan Tianen, the commander of the 335th Regiment, braved the freezing rain and stood on the main peak of the Flying Tiger Mountain that had just been conquered, he did not quickly realize that the US army had gathered a large number of reinforcements in the military corner.
Fan Tian'en sent 1 battalion to march into Junyuli, encountered an enemy far superior to our army, and was beaten back; then he sent 3 battalions with 1 battalion to take Junyuli, but it was too late. Shiji's order was conveyed to him to turn offense into defense.
Immediately, in order to ensure the withdrawal of our army's large troops after completing a battle, Fan Tianen led his troops to hold out at Feihu Mountain for five days and five nights. With no food and no water, they survived the repeated attacks of enemy planes, tanks and artillery. Thousands of enemy corpses were left on the position, but the position was not lost.
Suddenly, Fan Tian'en received an order from the division: withdraw from Flying Tiger Mountain and retreat 30 miles while fighting. Fan Tian'en couldn't figure it out: "Occupying the Flying Tiger Mountain, you can threaten the military corner at any time, how many soldiers have been sacrificed in five days and five nights, why should you withdraw?" He didn't know why, and even The military commander Liang Xingchu didn't understand why.
And the answer lies in Mr. Peng's chest—a campaign plan to turn the tide of the Korean War was formed in his chest.
When Fan Tian'en and his warriors bid farewell to the scorched earth of Feihu Mountain that had been loosened by artillery shells, they silently shed tears: "In five days and five nights, no one can remember how many enemy attacks were repelled, how many enemy shells were fired on the positions, and the lives and blood of countless comrades-in-arms kept these positions unless lost, and now they are going to withdraw..."
"We're going to fight back!" Fan Tianen told his warriors this.
Recently
MacArthur, who was far away in Tokyo, was still immersed in the joy of Incheon's victory and had a relaxed and happy life. The fact that the President of the United States personally flew to Wake Island to meet him showed that MacArthur played a pivotal role in American politics.
The eyes of the world were on the situation in Korea, and he General MacArthur was naturally the focus of public opinion, and the photo of Truman shaking hands with him on Wake Island was published in newspapers in the United States and around the world, which gave his self-esteem a lot of satisfaction.
MacArthur
Although he did not look down on the Democratic Party, who had succeeded the dead Roosevelt as president by luck and drilling, he was the president of the United States after all.
Of course, Truman's coming to meet MacArthur was not that Truman gave MacArthur the honor, but that MacArthur put a huge garland of Victory in Inchon on Truman's feet. To say thanks, it should be Truman and the United States to thank five-star General MacArthur, not the other way around.
Truman
With the rapid advance of the 8th Army and the 10th Army toward the northern border of Korea, victory will be the final and most enthusiastic scene. By that time, the Korean Peninsula would be unified under the flag of the Republic of Korea, and macArthur was once again present at the grand handover ceremony, handing over the entire Korean Peninsula to Syngman Rhee, not just the southern half.
MacArthur lived in this kind of hesitant and ambitious mentality, and life was really comfortable.
However, the good times were short-lived.
After the 8th Army took Pyongyang on October 19, news of the arrival of Chinese troops on the Korean battlefield repeatedly reached his coalition headquarters in Tokyo.
Until early November, Walker of the 8th Army and Almond of the 10th Army reported to him that the troops were encountering resistance from the regular armies of the organized Chinese revolutionary organization as they advanced toward the northern border of Korea. The Coalition began to suffer casualties due to its constant supply and a small number of troops on the front line.
At this time, MacArthur still did not believe that China dared to risk an all-out war with the United States and intervene in the Korean War with weakened national strength.
Unexpectedly, on November 5, MacArthur received urgent telegrams from the front.
Walker reported that the 8th Army under his command had encountered a surprise attack by our army north of the Cheongcheon River, and that the 6th Division of the South Korean 2nd Army was surrounded and almost completely annihilated east of Unjeong and south of Chusan: the 8th Regiment of the US 1st Cavalry Division and the 12th Regiment of the 1st South Korean 1st Division were surrounded at Unsan, most of which were annihilated, and the 5th Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, which was reinforcing Unsan, was also defeated by our troops.
At the same time, the South Korean 8th and 7th Divisions were fiercely attacked by our troops on the heecheon, stadium, and junyu-ri fronts, and the troops of the US 24th Division and the British 27th Brigade in the direction of Denseong and Sinuiju were blocked by the squadron.
In view of this critical situation, in order to protect the troops from casualties, Walker had ordered the withdrawal of his troops south of the Cheongcheon River.
Almond reported that the 1st Marine Division and the South Korean 1st Army had encountered fierce resistance from our troops in the rugged mountains south of Chosin Lake and The Lake to Battle, and that there had been no progress in the fierce fighting for several days, and that the troops suffered heavy casualties and were difficult to detour across the river as planned to join the 8th Army.
How? Could it be that macArthur's offensive plan was just over? Can the Chinese military really block the attack of the "United Nations Army"? Is it possible that our army, which relies only on infantry weapons and does not have the cooperation of the air force and armored units, will not hesitate to suffer large-scale damage?
MacArthur immediately decided to bomb the Yalu River Bridge, prevent more of our troops from entering the DPRK, and cut off the supply lines of our troops who had already entered the DPRK. On the evening of the 5th, he gave an order to stratmeyer, commander of the Far East Air Force, ordering his troops to immediately carry out operations against our troops.
A few hours later, 90 B-29 bombers took off. Soon, Navy aircraft also joined the bomber group, so that the various crossings on the long Yalu River, along with nearby cities and villages, and the various transportation lines from the Yalu River to Korea, were repeatedly encountered by the American bomber group, and the large-scale bombing that followed.
The flying forces followed MacArthur's strong orders: "The combat crews will continue to fly as long as they survive, destroying all enemy transportation and all facilities, factories, cities and villages." "This has submerged the north of North Korea in a sea of smoke and fire."
In particular, Sinuiju was the most severely damaged, with hundreds of planes lining up to carpet bomb Sinuizhou, from south to north, from west to east, over and over again, and the city was reduced to ruins and rubble. After the bombing, the fire burned in Sinuiju for three days and three nights.
When MacArthur learned of the beginning of the retreat of Chinese troops on both the Western and Eastern Fronts, he had no doubt that it was the result of the hard work of his Air Force and saw nothing to worry about. A large number of Chinese troops have been blocked on the north bank of the Yalu River, and the few Chinese troops in Korea south of the Yalu River, and have been massively killed and wounded by his air force, have not begun to rout?
MacArthur was full of ambition and planned his next attack.
Connecting link
This battle was the first battle fought by the Chinese Volunteer Army after entering the DPRK. This campaign was launched under the circumstance that the Korean war situation was extremely serious and our army was hastily entering the DPRK, and it was an encounter between our army and the enemy army.
Under the meticulous leadership of Chairman Mao, the Higher Military Commission, and Commander Peng, the Volunteer Army, due to the suddenness of strategic campaigns and the flexibility of command, coupled with the brave and tenacious fighting style and the specialty of close combat night combat, the Volunteer Army gave the South Korean 6th Division a devastating blow and severely damaged the South Korean 1st and 8th Divisions and the 1st Cavalry Division of the United States.
In this campaign, more than 15,000 enemy troops were annihilated and more than 1,000 were captured, and the frenzied american and Lee armies were beaten from the Yalu River to the south of the Cheongcheon River, crushing the enemy's plan to occupy all of Korea before "Thanksgiving", winning the initial victory in the initial battle, and initially stabilizing the situation in Korea.
In order to boost the morale of the volunteer army, but also for the next hard battle and big battle, on November 13, 1950, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army held the first enlarged meeting of the Organizational Committee since the invasion of the Korean War in Dayudong. The Volunteer Army Organization Committee decided to establish it on October 25, with Mr. Peng as secretary and Deng Hua as deputy secretary.
Mr. Peng
According to the instructions of the organizational superiors on the same day, the headquarters and political department of the 13th Corps were reorganized into the Volunteer Army Headquarters and the Political Department, forming the Headquarters of the Volunteer Army. At that time, the headquarters did not have a logistics organ, and all rear supply was guaranteed by the Logistics Department of the Northeast Military Region.
Those who participated in the enlarged meeting of the Volunteer Army Organization Committee, in addition to the members of the Organization Committee, also included the generals of various armies. Everyone unanimously held that the victory in the first battle of the Korean War is of great significance.
At the same time, the meeting pointed out that the victory won in this campaign was enormous, but the damage inflicted by the enemy army was no greater than previously estimated, mainly because the political mobilization of some troops was not universal and deep enough, their assumptions were too high for the US army, they had more concerns, and they did not dare to boldly insert themselves into the enemy's flank and cut off the enemy's retreat, thus losing their fighter planes.
The main purpose of this meeting was to sum up lessons learned and to strengthen the military's might and make it easier to fight again. Many generals of our army rushed one after another, and Liang Xingchu, commander of the 38th Army, also rushed to the war room of the Volunteer Army Headquarters; but I don't know why, as soon as Liang Xingchu walked into the war room, his heart was difficult to calm down.
When Liang Xingchu was preparing to salute the general not far from Mr. Peng, he found that Mr. Peng looked at him with a trace of indifference in his eyes and did not seem to see him. At this time, Mr. Peng held out his hand to greet him, but instead of shaking hands with him, the commander of the 38th Army, he shook hands with Wu Quan, the commander of the 39th Army, and Wen Yucheng, the commander of the 40th Army.
Liang Xing junior
Liang Xingchu sat in a corner of the conference table and smoked a cigarette silently.
At present, all the generals of the Volunteer Army are gathered in the war room of the Volunteer Army Headquarters, and Mr. Peng has personally summoned the commanders and political commissars of the various armies to sum up the lessons and lessons of the first campaign and arrange the second campaign.
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