After the founding of New China, there was a very proud achievement -
Victory in foreign wars!
Looking at the world, this is extremely rare, especially to resist the United States and aid Korea, we have the united states, the strongest in the world, but we still forced the other side back to the 38 line, which made all countries in the world unexpected.
The outcome of the war was good, but there were also failures, such as the 180th Division in the Fifth Campaign. The losses of the 180th Division were so severe that it was once rumored to be "completely destroyed", so much so that Chairman Mao sent telegrams to Shiji many times
"What about the 180th Division? I miss it."
So why was the 180th Division so badly damaged? Some answers may be found in the later personnel changes.
The 180th Division was formerly known as the 24th Brigade of the 8th Column of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Field Army, and its formation was not long, and there were many newly formed local units at the time of its formation, and most of the tasks received by the 180th Division in the Liberation War were strategic pursuit or suppression of bandits. It was rare to encounter complicated situations, and the division leaders had no experience in commanding alone, which laid the groundwork for subsequent tragedies.
On the afternoon of March 22, 1951, the 180th Division braved the indiscriminate bombardment of enemy aircraft to cross the Yalu River and embarked on a tragic and magnificent journey. Objectively speaking, the fifth battle was originally prepared in a hurry, because the battle line was too long, the logistics supply could not keep up, the volunteer army had no choice but to retreat, and the 180th Division was responsible for covering the main force, but under the rapid penetration of the US army, it was heavily encircled, and because of the wrong command, the personnel were extremely dazed, and finally forced to disperse and break through.
At the time of entering the DPRK, the 180th Division had 11,300 men, and when it was rebuilt after May 29, there were only nearly 4,000 people left, which was a very heavy loss. Although it is not to say that the entire army was destroyed, this is the first time for our army that the reorganized division has suffered such a heavy blow.
In the face of such a big defeat, the strength of the US military is one aspect, and the other aspect also has our own problems. The most direct embodiment is the response of the 180th Division.
After being surrounded, the choice of the 180th Division turned out to be
Smash the radio
，
This did ensure the information security of our army, but it also made the 180th Division completely lost contact and became a lone army.
Moreover, as to whether or not to break through and how to break through, the division commanders were very indecisive, missed several good opportunities, and finally chose to disperse the breakthrough, resulting in the dispersion of the troops.
At the same time, it also indirectly reflected the command problems of the superiors, the 180th Division belonged to the Sixty Corps of the Third Corps of the Volunteer Army, and the commander of the Third Corps, Chen Geng, was in the country for physical reasons, so it was actually commanded by the deputy commander Wang Jinshan.
Wang Jinshan was also a famous brave general of our army, but this battle was a bit "confused", and before the war, there was no reserve prepared, and the 179th Division of the 60th Army was transferred to fight in the direction of Dashuidong, and the 181st Division strengthened the attack force of the 12th Army in the direction of Mount Gary, so the 180th Division had no troops to help after the distress; and the 180th Division still did not understand the situation after it had actually become a lone army, and issued wrong orders to let it hold out.
It's a shame that these factors add up to the end result.
After this battle, Wang Jinshan, deputy commander of the Third Corps, was quickly recalled to Beijing for investigation, Wei Jie, commander of the 60th Army, entered the Nanjing Military Academy for further study, and Zheng Qigui, commander of the 180th Division, was first suspended for examination, and later appointed as the director of the Management Department of the Third Corps, directly demoted from the level of the main division to the level of the main regiment. All three senior commanders were punished.
The troops suffered such heavy losses, and from top to bottom they held their breath and longed for shame, so who should command the "mourning soldiers" of the 60th Army became a very important issue.
At the crucial moment, Chen Geng thought
Zhang Zuyi
。
Zhang Zuyu has a deep relationship with the 60th Army, and the predecessor of the 60th Army of the Volunteer Army can be traced back to the 8th Column of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Field Army, which was later reorganized into the 8th Column of the North China Field Army.
And Zhang Zuyu has served successively
Chief of Staff of the 8th Column of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Field Army, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the 8th Column of the North China Field Army, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the 60th Army, and later promoted to Commander.
It can be said that Zhang Zuyu, who grew up in the 60 Army, paid a lot of painstaking efforts.
Before going to Korea, because Zhang Zuyu was also the commander of the Western Sichuan Military Region and could not open his body on the heavy responsibilities of suppressing bandits, the commander of the 60th Army became Wei Jie.
Photo: Zhang Zuyi
After learning of the defeat of the 180th Division, Zhang Zuyu was more upset than anyone else, and when he heard that someone had proposed to abolish the 180th Division,he was eager to immediately run to North Korea to understand the situation.
In July 1952, when he finally waited for this opportunity, Zhang Zuyu went to Korea with a study group from the Southwest Military Region, where Chen Geng was waiting for him.
Chen Geng, as the old chief of Zhang Zuyu, did not have much greeting after the meeting, and directly talked about the situation in the Korean battlefield, and at the same time took out the "Circular on the Loss of the 180th Division" and handed it to Zhang Zuyu.
After Zhang Zuyu saw the words "underestimating the enemy, making mistakes in the use of tactics, and making a mistake in command," his eyes became moist, and he said to Chen Geng in a half-moment:
"Commander, the 180th Division is also my old unit, and I am saddened to suffer such a heavy loss in Korea. The loss is too great to recover, and I am also responsible, but I did not bring it well. ”
Chen Geng comforted him:
Don't be too upset, the team is strong, mainly in the leadership responsibility
。 Chen Geng then inquired about Zhang Zuyu's physical condition, and one of the reasons why Zhang Zuyu did not enter the DPRK was that he also suffered from a stomach disease for many years, and he was afraid that it would be difficult to adapt in North Korea.
At this time, Zhang Zuyu took the initiative to ask for help:
I want to return to the 60th Army and lead the 60th Army to fight a turnaround battle!
Chen Geng was very happy to hear these words, and the stone in his heart also fell to the ground.
When Zhang Zuyu returned to Chengdu, the appointment of the Central Military Commission arrived, and he resolutely decided to go to his post despite the suggestion that his wife Wang Hua and other comrades of the Western Sichuan Military Region persuade him to cure his illness and leave.
Before entering the DPRK, Chairman Mao also received him in Zhongnanhai, and after some encouragement, he saw that Zhang Zuyu had a tooth that had fallen out and had not been repaired, and said humorously:
You go a few days late, first go to the Union Hospital to fill your teeth, and when you get to North Korea, you will raise your voice and speak louder. Mobilize the troops to fight a turnaround battle!
Infected by the chairman, Zhang Zuyu went to North Korea with the idea of turning the 60th Army around. Shortly after taking up his post, a meeting was held to appoint them
Li Zhongxuan was the commander of the 180th Division, and Tang Mingchun was the political commissar of the 180th Division.
The new leadership team is assembled.
The 60th Army then defeated the Americans several times, washing away the shame, as did the 180th Division, which in the summer of 1953 counterattacked and conquered a battalion of enemy positions on Square Hill, followed by the 949.2 and 870 heights, annihilating more than 2,000 pseudo-Fifth Divisions and pushing the position forward by 30 square kilometers. During the Jincheng counterattack, it also captured the Black Cloud Tuling Ridge and the White Rock Mountain, and penetrated more than 10 kilometers deep into the enemy.
The performance of the 180th Division after that had nothing to do with the word "defeated army" at all.
This is also indicated on the side,
In addition to the reasons for the defeat of the 180th Division in the Fifth Campaign, our army has a certain responsibility from the corps to the 60th Army and then to the division headquarters of the division.
At the end of this article, I still want to say,
Although the 180th Division lost due to some problems, every soldier was a hero!
In order to cover the retreat of friendly troops, the 180th Division faced the elite Of the American Army alone, and still fought hard without food and ammunition, and braved the rain to reach Eagle Peak, only to receive friendly troops and was ambushed by the American army.
Some of the fighters were captured on the spot, others went to fight guerrillas, the guerrillas had no supplies and winter clothes, sacrificed about half, and a small number of them were captured one after another.
No one surrendered voluntarily! In the face of strong enemies, in the face of difficult tasks, they all fought to the last moment, they are all heroes!