Author: Meow Dooli
Statement: Soldiers say original, plagiarism will be investigated
"Wei Jie, you stand up!" More than a hundred senior volunteer generals sat in the shelter of the Empty Temple Dongzhi division and listened to General Peng roar, "Your 180th Division can break through, why do you say it is surrounded?" Why burn the password and smash the radio? ”
General Wei Jie looked up and said, "It would be unjust to hit the 180th Division with all the plates." General Vijay held this view until his death.
In 1987, before his death, General Wei Jie instructed his wife to write a letter to Deng Shijun, former chief of staff of the 60th Army, saying, "Comrade Wei Jie had an urgent wish in his later years, that is, to make an accurate review of the real reasons for the losses suffered by the 180th Division of the 60th Army in the Fifth Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. ”
The 180th Division, formerly known as the 24th Brigade of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region, was an anti-Japanese guerrilla force before 1947. He participated in the battles of Taiyuan, Yuncheng, and Linfen under Xu Qianqian, attacked Yan Xishan's personal trainers, captured the Japanese regimental commander Jia Gangyi alive, and then went west into Shaanxi and south into Sichuan. In May 1950, the 673rd Regiment of the 225th Division of the 95th Army of the Sichuan Army was incorporated. In December 1950, the 180th Division left Sichuan on orders from the Central Military Commission and was on standby in Cangzhou, Hebei Province, and was incorporated into the Volunteer Army in February 1951. On March 21, he went to the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
As soon as it entered Korea, the 180th Division was just in time for the start of the fifth campaign. In the first stage of the battle, the 180th Division, as a reserve, did not catch the battle, which upset the commanders and fighters of the 180th Division, and the commanders of the three regiments they belonged to wrote a blood letter to ask for battle. Commander Wei Jie saw the 180th Division's petition and said that when they had a mission, let them go up immediately.
It was not long before the 60th Army decided to make the 180th Division the main offensive task in the second phase of the Fifth Campaign. In fact, when the 180th Division was initially selected as the main offensive task, Wei Jie still had some other ideas; although the troops who entered the Korean War were all outstanding in battle at home, the 180th Division was only upgraded from a local guerrilla force to a field unit in 1947, and it has been fighting on the inside line, fighting Yuncheng, Linfen, and Taiyuan, all without worries. The conditions for the main offensive task this time are not as good as those in China, and the depth of insertion is too far, in case of unexpected circumstances, the consequences are unimaginable. At that time, Wei Jie wanted to give the main offensive task to the 181st Division. Like the "Linfen Brigade" of the 179th Division, the 181st Division is known as the "Leather Brigade", and the troops can attack and defend well, have strong tenacity, and cannot be defeated or dragged down. Perhaps this is also out of dependence on the old troops.
Just one day before the second phase of the battle's full-line offensive, the 3rd Corps sent a telegram to the 60th Army, the 179th Division, and the 181st Division as the mobile units of the Corps, and the 180th Division to hold the US army forward. Immediately afterward, the 3rd Corps sent a telegram to the 60th Army, the 181st Division to the 12th Army, and the 179th Division to the 15th Army, and immediately set off.
Then the problem comes: at this time, there are only 180 divisions left in the frontal combat area of the 60th Army of nearly 30 kilometers, this task is not light, Wei Jie has some opinions on this order, but as a professional soldier, he has developed the character of obeying orders as his duty for many years, and he has no second words.
Someone reminded Wei Jie that with his old relationship with Wang Jinshan when he was in the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region, he should give his opinion. Wang Yunrui, chief of staff of the 3rd Corps, told Wei Jie that it was useless to give advice, and Wang Jinshan himself was also a belly opinion. Because Zhisi took the 12th Army and put it under the command of the 9th Corps, at the joint meeting of Sha Jinhe, Wang Jinshan almost fought with Song Shi, the commander of the 9th Corps.
Wei Jie wanted to reflect his opinion to Shiji, but after thinking about it, he still felt inappropriate, and he felt that he could not let Shiji feel that the 60th Army did not dare to face difficulties. Subsequently, Wei Jie told the chief of staff, Deng Shijun, that the communication with the 180th Division should be kept open, and the situation of the 179th Division and the 181st Division should be taken into account.
On 16 May, artillery overshadowed the sunset by illuminating the sky, and the second phase of the Fifth Campaign began. After the 180th Division launched an attack, the American army quickly retreated, the 538th Regiment and the 539th Regiment controlled the first line of Hanzaki Andang and Yingu Mountain, and the next day the 540th Regiment entered the village of Zhancang, the 539th Regiment entered the Duwu Cave, and the 538th Regiment directly inserted into the new store.
On the 18th, the 3rd Corps sent a telegram that the 180th Division was directly under the command of the Corps, pinning down the US 1st Marine Division and the US 7th Division. By the afternoon of the 19th, the 538th Regiment and the 539th Regiment of the 180th Division had successively entered Yuanshuidong, Tungguli, and 336.8 heights west of Wancundong. On the 20th, the US army counterattacked frantically against the 538th Regiment and the 539th Regiment under the cover of aircraft artillery. At this moment, the U.S. army organized 3 divisions and 3 brigades to attack the volunteers, the U.S. 3rd division quickly blocked the gap in the campaign, and a Han division established a defense in depth in the Pyeongchang area. In view of the changes in the situation on the battlefield, the volunteer army could not receive food, grass and ammunition, and on May 21, Shiji announced that the fifth campaign was temporarily over.
On May 22, the corps of the Commander of zhi prepared to retreat on the evening of the 23rd, and the 3rd Corps ordered the 60th Army to cover the transfer of the main force of the corps on the evening of the 22nd. The main force of the 3rd Corps retreated a day in advance, which made Wei Jie very angry, first, when they received the order of the Corps, it was already the night of the 22nd, and second, the 15th Army withdrew on the evening of the 22nd according to the order of the Corps, making the situation of the 180th Division dangerous.
However, a command is a command. In the early morning of the 23rd, the 60th Army telegraphed the main force of the 180th Division to cover the transfer of the main force of the Corps south of the North Han River. On the same day, the 63rd Army moved according to the order, and the left and right flanks of the 180th Division were completely exposed. On May 24, the enemy found that the two wings of the 180th Division had fallen short, so that 2 regiments attacked the 180th Division head-on, the US 24th Division occupied Chenghuangtang, the Han 6th Division entered the village of Zhanjiang, and the US 7th Division advanced to Chuncheon, forming a circle against the 180th Division.
The thing people are most worried about is coming...