On June 9, 1951, the Battle of Tetsuhara entered its later stages. After 8 days of continuous fighting, the 63rd Army suffered heavy casualties. Both the 188th and 189th Divisions were largely defenseless. The only thing that could be expected was the 187th Division, which had only 1 regiment left. In comparison, the U.S. Army has a full 4 divisions.
Although the strength of the two armies was so disparity, the volunteers did not give up. In order to cover the large troops, they bravely and fearlessly engaged in fierce confrontations with the American troops. Under the leadership of division commander Xu Xin, the volunteer army fought a beautiful counterattack and blew up the American positions.
So why can the volunteers win more with less?
Before the fifth campaign, the U.S. army was carefully deployed
In 1951, after four battles, the Volunteers posed a serious threat to the U.S. army. But he himself also paid a terrible price, a total of 53,000 killed, and reinforcements were urgently needed. In view of this, our army decided to order Yang Dezhi's 19th Corps and Chen Geng's 3rd Corps to join the DPRK for support and join the 9th Corps of song Shilun, which had already completed its rest. Prepare to launch a large-scale counterattack in the northern and southern areas of the 38th Line, that is, the fifth battle.
At the same time, the U.S. military has also learned from previous battles. In order to win the fifth battle, the US military made careful arrangements.
First of all, strictly guard against death
。 In view of the previous us army in the face of our army's attack after the desert and fled. In this campaign, the US military intends to implement the strategy of "circular defense", ordering each infantry unit to form a circle with the command post and mortar as the center, and arrange the machine guns in the front, and the other infantry are scattered in the circle, there is no space between the various infantry, and the flanks are safe, so as to facilitate the response to the attack of our army from all directions.
Second, increase firepower
。 In response to the previous successive defeats, the US military blamed it on its own lack of firepower. Apparently, this is the large Versailles scene. However, the US military has indeed further enhanced its firepower with its strong military industrial strength. It contains more than 1,300 artillery pieces, 180 tanks, and countless fighter jets. Although our army also received the support of the Soviet Union, it was really insignificant compared to this.
Besides
The U.S. military also ordered veterans of World War II who had combat experience to participate in the battle
。 With the support of the above-mentioned preparations, this battle of our army is doomed to not go smoothly.
The rear was undersupplied, and our army withdrew urgently
At dusk on April 22, the Fifth Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea broke out.
At first, in the face of the powerful firepower of the US army, the volunteer army was brave and tenacious, full of vigor, and smoothly crossed the Rinjin River and the North Han River, and directly approached Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
However, the good times did not last long. With the deepening of the campaign, the firepower superiority of the US military has become more and more obvious.
After the continuous combat, the volunteer army's physical strength and energy dropped significantly, coupled with the insufficient supply of logistics materials for our army, and it did not take long to run out of ammunition.
At the critical moment, General Peng issued an order to the volunteers to withdraw from the front line quickly, so as to avoid unnecessary attrition.
But The commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Army," Ridgway, will not give up. Taking advantage of the victory to pursue, he wanted to take this opportunity to launch a full-scale counterattack against the volunteers, so as to completely annihilate the main force of the volunteer army south of the 38th Line.
Looking at the map of North Korea, he saw Chewon as the main direction of attack. General Peng ordered the 63rd Army of the Volunteer Army to defend here.
The Battle of Tieyuan broke out, and the 63rd Army collapsed
June 1,
The U.S. 1st Army launched a fierce attack on the 63rd Army with the strength of 4 divisions, firing the first shot of the Iron Plains Blockade.
After that, in the face of the repeated battles of the 4 divisions of the US Army, the 63rd Army always stuck to the defensive position and did not let the US army take a step. However, the armament superiority of the US army was really prominent, and the 63rd Army guarding here was gradually unable to do so.
As of June 9, although the 63rd Army had not been able to get the American troops to cross the thunder pool one step, after eight days of fighting, it had long been defeated. Both the 188th and 189th Divisions were crippled. In the face of the tight pace of the US army, the 63rd Army only had one unit of the 187th Division left to meet the battle. However, since friendly forces could not withstand American artillery fire, most of the troops of the 187th Division were transferred away from reinforcements, leaving only 1 regiment of strength.
That is to say, the Volunteer Army needed to use 1 regiment against 4 divisions of the US Army
。 Sounds like a pipe dream. The outcome of this battle seems to be a foregone conclusion. Just when the U.S. army was enjoying it, Xu Xin, commander of the 187th Division, turned the situation around.
Unwilling to be defeated, Xu Xin decided to counterattack the US army
Xu Xin joined the army in 1937 and is a veritable veteran general. With his good command ability and tenacious will, he made outstanding contributions to the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation. However, "it is difficult for a smart woman to cook without rice", there are not enough troops, and no matter how brave and good at war, it is useless.
To this end, Xu Xin asked Fu Chongbi, the commander of the 63rd Army, to give more support to troops, even cooks and miscellaneous servants. But Fu Chongbi regretted that all the troops of the army had been sent by themselves to support the front line, and it was really not helpful. He also said, "At this time, there are not enough manpower on every battlefield, even if you Commander Xu have all kinds of good reasons, I can't help it." ”
Xu Xin, who was rejected, was very disappointed. Seeing the American soldiers approaching the city, he was helpless. If we continue to delay, the Tieyuan position may not be guaranteed, and the consequences will be unimaginable. At the moment of life and death, he thought: "Soldiers can not be humiliated, rather than sitting still, it is better to fight to the death." So, he drove
Looking for an opportunity to counterattack the U.S. army.
The US soldiers approached the city, and Xu Xin found the right time
At this time,
The U.S. army had gradually entered the range of the volunteer artillery
。 Xu Xin saw this and thought that this was a good opportunity for a counter-offensive. In order to suppress the approaching American troops, he again asked Fu Chongbi to send artillery to assist in the battle.
At first, considering that the artillery and ammunition were already very limited, the US Air Force was also keeping an eye on our army. If the counter-offensive is successful, it will be fine, but once it fails, it will be doomed, and our army will no longer have artillery to use. Therefore, Fu Chongbi believed that rushing to send troops was extremely unfavorable to our army, and once again rejected Xu Xin.
But he thought about it for a moment and found that there seemed to be no other way to turn the situation around except Xu Xin's method. So he agreed to send troops, and handed over all the artillery of the 63rd Army to Xu Xin.
Xu Xin held the fire in his hand, and the US position was lost
Soon, on the night of June 10, Xu Xin, who was armed with firepower, quietly ambushed the American positions with his troops and formally launched a counterattack. With the ammunition and artillery in his hand, he carried out fire attacks on the American troops. In an instant, thousands of shells were fired at the U.S. army. For the U.S. military, these shells were not much.
Since the American artillery camp was nearby, and a large number of shells and guns were stockpiled. Therefore, as soon as these shells landed, they caused the American positions to explode.
What's more worth mentioning is that these shells also brought a series of chain reactions. As the positions were destroyed, countless U.S. artillerymen were buried in the sea of fire, and hundreds of tanks and artillery also exploded, turning into smoking iron blocks, some black and some red. It can be said that the personnel and equipment have suffered heavy losses and can only wait for the rear to be replenished.
The U.S. military temporarily suspended the war and waited for supplies to arrive
On 11 June, Ridgway issued an order to temporarily halt the engagement with our army in an attempt to counterattack after supplies had been delivered. Unfortunately,
Before the Americans could get supplies, the 63rd Army of the Volunteer Army had all withdrawn from The Iron Plains.
The next day, the mistreated Americans, after their supplies had been delivered, prepared to attack Tetsuhara again. What he did not expect was that the volunteer reinforcements had been waiting here for a long time.
The unsuspecting U.S. troops were once again beaten to the ground and fled in a hurry
。
At this point, the Tieyuan Blockade Battle ended with the surrender of the US troops. Under the leadership of Xu Xin, the 63rd Army interpreted the immortal legend of winning more with less.
The 63rd Army won more with less, for three reasons
First, Ridgway's self-righteousness
。 After many battles with our army, he designed a combat plan that he thought was very thorough in view of the interspersed and roundabout tactics and supply disadvantages that our army made good use. In short, he tried to build on his strengths and use his air and artillery superiority to drag the volunteers down on the way out. But he never expected that this advantage would become the key to Xu Xin's victory over the US army.
Second, the tenacious will of the volunteers
。 In this war, the strength of the two sides in all aspects is very different. Not only is it equipped with weapons, but even the supplies are far away. American soldiers drank wine and ate meat, and the volunteers could only eat snow and gnaw on the bark. But even so, the volunteers gritted their teeth and persevered, relying on their tenacious will to defeat the pampered American soldiers. If you want to ask what gives them strength, it must be the party and the people. That's their only faith. They are the loveliest people. The spirit of the volunteer army left behind is worth learning from each and every one of us in the future generations!
In the end, Xu Xin's danger was not afraid
。 It was also the decisive factor in the victory of this war. At the moment of the great enemy, he immediately made a decision, taking the opportunity of the US army approaching the artillery range of our army, leading the troops to counterattack in a jedi, which caught the US army by surprise. It can be said that without Xu Xin's wise leadership, there would be no great victory for the 63rd Army.
The victory in this war crushed the American ambition to destroy the volunteer rear bases and lines of communication, thereby occupying the entire Iron Plains. Break the myth of the indestructible U.S. military. It also warned the United States that the bones of the volunteers were not easy to gnaw.
In this war, the volunteers were not afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice, and they were willing to starve and freeze. They are the loveliest people. The spirit of the volunteer army left behind is worth learning from each and every one of us in the future generations!