Chapter 6 4. The Volunteer Army changed its strategic policy

After Peng Dehuai arrived in Sinuiju, accompanied by Park Xianyong, he drove to Sufeng Power Station on October 20 and waited for the meeting place with Kim Il Sung.The situation on the Korean battlefield changed rapidly. When the volunteers entered North Korea, the situation in North Korea had changed dramatically.Peng Dehuai had to reconsider the volunteer army's next action plan. Before the volunteers entered the DPRK, the Central Military Commission and Mao Zedong had determined that the volunteers would only fight defensively in the first period of their operations. At that time, based on the strategic intentions of the Central Military Commission and Mao Zedong, Peng Dehuai decided that after the volunteers entered the DPRK, they would adopt active defense, combine positional warfare with mobile warfare, and use counterattacks, attacks, and ambushes to annihilate and consume the enemy's vital forces. First, in Turtle City—— Taichuan - Stadium - Dechuan - Ningyuan - Wulaoli front line uses favorable terrain to organize defense, control a certain area, stop the enemy's attack, and stabilize the situation.

The current situation in North Korea has undergone drastic changes.As the resistance of the Korean People's Army gradually weakened, the ground forces of the "United Nations Army", with the support of the sea and air force, aggressively advanced northward, approaching the border between China and North Korea. On October 19, the 1st US Cavalry Division, the 24th US Cavalry Division and the 1st South Korean Division occupied Pyongyang. On October 20, the 1st Marine Division and the 7th Infantry Division of the US 10th Army were shipped from Incheon and Busan to the waters of Wonsan Port, ready to land.The capital division of the 1st Army Corps of South Korea marched south and north from Hamhung and Hsing, occupying Beiqing and Hsinghing.On the same day, the 187th U.S. Airborne Regiment airborne in the Sucheon and Suncheon areas.As of the 20th, the 2nd South Korean Army Corps on the western front was only 90 to 130 kilometers away from the planned defense area of ​​the Volunteers;At this time, only five divisions of the Volunteer Army crossed the Yalu River and entered the area east of Yizhou and south of Shuozhou and Manpu. They were still 120 to 270 kilometers away from the scheduled defense area, and it was impossible for the enemy to reach the scheduled defense area first.

When the volunteers entered the DPRK, they adopted a series of strategic feints and camouflage measures.The mobilization, assembly, training and other preparations of the volunteer army were strictly kept secret, and when they entered the court, they carried out strict camouflage and took advantage of dusk and darkness to cross the river.Marching at night, camping before dawn, camouflaging after dawn, concealing air defense, avoiding premature contact with the enemy, and better concealing the actions and attempts of our army.In terms of politics and diplomacy, the Chinese government has repeatedly issued stern warnings, and openly and vigorously carried out activities nationwide to condemn the US aggressors and express solidarity with the Korean people.US authorities dismissed this as "bluffing".Since the "United Nations Army" has not yet discovered that the volunteers have entered the DPRK, their arrogance is still very arrogant, and they divide their troops without any scruples. It provided an excellent opportunity for the Volunteers to wipe out the enemy one by one during the campaign.

After the Volunteer Army entered North Korea, Mao Zedong has been paying close attention to the development of the situation in North Korea and the situation of the Volunteer Army.According to the changes in the situation in North Korea, Mao Zedong assessed the situation and made a decisive decision. He decided that the Volunteers should immediately adopt the policy of annihilating the enemy one by one during the campaign. At 2:30 am on October 21, Mao Zedong called Peng Dehuai, Deng Hua, Hong Xuezhi, Han Xianchu and Gao Gang: (1) The Puppet Capital Division marched from Hamhung to Changjin.It seems that the false 3rd Division will enter Xianxing.The Pseudo 6th Division changed from Poyi to the north, the first step of the destination was Dechuan, and the second step might be towards Xichuan.The puppet 7th and 8th divisions will head to Shunchuan, Junyu, and Anzhou in the first step, and may head to Taichuan and Guicheng in the second step.The final destination of the above five divisions is Jiangjie and Sinuiju.Up to now, the U.S. and the puppet have not expected that our volunteer army will participate in the war, so they dare to disperse into east and west, and advance boldly; (2) It is estimated that the puppet first and puppet 3rd and 2nd divisions will take about seven days to enter Changjin, and then turn to Jiangjie.If our army does not plan to fight the two divisions in the first battle, it is enough to use one division of the 42nd Army in the Changjin area to block the enemy. The main force of the 42nd Army should be placed in the area south of Mengshan (that is, where the Puppet 6th Division came from), so as to cut off the railway line between Wonsan and Pyongyang, and restrain the enemies in Yuan and Pingyang so that they cannot be aided by the north, so as to facilitate I concentrated the three main forces to annihilate the Puppet 6th, 7th, and 8th Divisions; (3) For example, the Puppet 6th Division (stronger) could have a Korean People's Army on the road from Poyi (on the railway line) to Dechuan If the Ministry of Defense makes a powerful blockade, the enemy may not be able to occupy Tokugawa until October 24 or 25. If our 40th Army (all) can rush to the Tokugawa and Yongbyon areas on the 23rd, they can go around to the pseudo-6 The rear of the division (circling from the east to the south near the railway line), let the front be used by other troops (38th Army or 39th Army), if it is too late, the enemy will occupy Tokugawa first.

Mao Zedong especially emphasized: This time is an excellent opportunity to annihilate three or several divisions of the puppet army and strive to go abroad for the first time, and start to change the situation of the battle. How to deploy, I hope Peng and Deng will carefully plan and implement it. ... This battle may take seven to ten days (including pursuit) to end. Does our army have dry rations?Hope to encourage the whole army to strive for complete victory at the expense of sacrifice and hardship. After the telegram was sent, Mao Zedong continued to consider the Korean War.An hour later, he sent another telegram, requesting the Volunteers to fight for fighter planes and quickly complete the deployment of the campaign. The telegram stated:

Have you advanced? I think the 13th Corps should immediately go to the place where Comrade Peng Dehuai lives to live with Peng and reorganize it into the Chinese People's Volunteer Army Command for deployment.Now it is a matter of fighting for fighter opportunities, of completing the deployment of campaigns within a few days so that operations can begin a few days later, not of deploying defenses for a period of time and then discussing attacks. According to the relevant instructions of the Central Military Commission and Mao Zedong and the situation on the battlefield, at noon on the 20th, Peng Dehuai, Deng Hua and others instructed the various armies of the Volunteer Army. Going north, and before it snows, go to the border between China and North Korea.According to this, before the enemy detects our army's actions, he will still advance northward. Therefore, it is fully possible for our army to use mobile warfare to annihilate the enemy.You should try your best to seize the good opportunity to annihilate the movement, so as to fight a few good battles at the beginning and knock down the enemy's arrogance.

In the afternoon, Peng Dehuai was notified by Kim Il Sung's headquarters, and accompanied by Chai Junwu, he went to Dadong near Dayudong in Changcheng County to have talks with Kim Il Sung. At 4:00 p.m. on the 21st, Peng Dehuai called Mao Zedong, Gao Gang, and Deng Hua: (1) At 9:00 a.m. this morning, he met Comrade Kim Il Sung at Dadong between Dongcang and Beizhen. The situation ahead was very chaotic.The troops retreating from Pyongyang have not communicated for three days.There are no friendly troops in the south of the Hamhung-Suncheon line. It is unclear whether the enemy in Hamhung will continue to advance northward; There are 4 divisions in North Highland, 46 divisions in Suchuan, and 17 divisions in Bochuan. All of the above are recruits. If the enemy continues to advance northward, it will be difficult to stop; It is extremely important to build fortifications to ensure the Xichuan hub and isolate the east and west enemies.Please try to concentrate part of the vehicles, transport one division quickly, and use two regiments to Miaoxiangshan in the south of Xichuan, and one regiment to Xingchuan—the five leading lines will be the first to build fortifications.