Chapter 24 2. Breaking through obstacles and approaching layer by layer

On the evening of April 22, the outstanding groups of the Volunteer Army and the People's Army launched a full-line counterattack against the "United Nations Army" according to the plan. After the start of the campaign, the Volunteer Army's 40th Army, under the command of Commander Wen Yucheng and Political Commissar Yuan Shengping, acted swiftly and disrupted the deployment of the South Korean 6th Division to the east of Baiyun Mountain overnight, occupying the enemy's main front-line position.Then, they split into two groups and plunged deeply into the enemy.Liu Yuzhu, Chief of Staff of the 354th Regiment of the 118th Division, led the 3rd Battalion, defeated five enemy attacks along the way, advanced more than 30 kilometers, and arrived at Mudongli, northeast of Gapyeong, ahead of schedule at noon on the 23rd.In order to win the overall situation, they waged fierce battles with the US and British troops, which were several times their own, and prevented the enemy's western aid.By the 25th, the 40th Army had wiped out more than 2,200 enemies, successfully completing the task of splitting the "United Nations Army".

After a fierce battle, the 39th Army blocked the 1st Division of the US Marine War in the area east of the North Han River, preventing it from aiding the west. The left-wing Song Shilun 9th Corps developed relatively smoothly after the breakthrough, annihilating one part each of the 25th and 24th Divisions of the United States and the 6th Division of South Korea. On the 25th, the main force entered the east and northeast of Pocheon. Right-wing Yang Dezhi's 19th Corps broke through the Linjin River in the early morning of the 23rd after clearing the enemy on the west bank of the Linjin River.The 64th Army, which was in charge of the detour to Uijung government, was blocked after the breakthrough and failed to complete the detour to cut off the enemy's back route.However, the advance detachment composed of the reconnaissance detachment of the 190th division of the army and the 3rd battalion of the 569th regiment broke through seven enemy interceptions within 20 hours, penetrated 25 kilometers deep into the enemy, and occupied Dobong Mountain southwest of Uijeongbu on the afternoon of the 24th. And stick to the position for three days and four nights, becoming a sharp knife in the heart of the enemy.

The 187th and 188th Divisions of the 63rd Army of the Volunteer Army braved the enemy's artillery fire and crossed the Linjin River in spite of the bitter cold of the river. With the cooperation of a division of the 65th Army, they quickly captured the first-line defensive positions of the British 29th Brigade and repelled them. The enemy counterattacked many times.The two squads of the 7th Company of the 564th Regiment of the 188th Division stubbornly held on to a high ground, and finally only soldier Chen San was left.He fought tenaciously alone, repelled three counterattacks by more than 200 people, killed and wounded more than 80 enemies, and held his position.After Fu Chongbi led the army forward to the command post and crossed the river with the 187th Division, he ordered the 189th Division to enter the battle from the breakthrough of the 187th Division and develop in depth. He cooperated with the 187th Division to annihilate the 29th British Brigade, and then attacked in the direction of the government. The retreat of the US 3rd Division.

The 561st Regiment of the 187th Division of the 63rd Army bravely interspersed, crossed the 15-kilometer rugged mountain road, smashed the enemy's obstruction several times, and seized the first commanding height of the enemy's depth on the south bank of the Linjin River, which is also the key point of the enemy's defense in the Xuemali area - Ganyue Mountain , Cut off the connection between the British 29th Brigade and the US 3rd Division.After occupying Ganyue Mountain, the 187th Division adjusted its deployment and increased its interspersed troops.Division commander Xu Xin led a capable command group to act with the 561st regiment.

The 1st Battalion of the 561st Regiment infiltrated in the direction of Shaqimu in the southwest of Ganyue Mountain, cutting off the enemy's retreat in the North Xuemali area of ​​Ganyue Mountain.When Liu Guangzi, the combat team leader of the 6th Squad of the 2nd Company of the battalion, was searching and advancing on the Shaqimu Mountain Ridge, he found that many enemies were crowded in the ravine.Full of courage, Liu Guangzi walked around behind the enemy alone, took advantage of the cover of the rock head, suddenly fired with a submachine gun, and threw out a grenade.Shocked by the sudden sound of bullets and shouts, the enemy became dizzy with fright, obediently handed in their guns and surrendered.Later, when the platoon leader sent someone to escort the prisoners to the rear, they were bombed by a U.S. plane. Some of the prisoners were killed or wounded and escaped. At the end of the count, there were 63 people left.Liu Guangzi created the miracle of capturing sixty-three British soldiers by one person, won the first-class meritorious service, and was awarded the title of second-class lonely hero.Liang Li, Lu He, and Quan Botao of the Art Work Team of the 187th Division will create the drum "Lonely Hero Liu Guangzi" based on Liu Guangzi's deeds.

At 15:00 on April 23, the 560th Regiment, the second echelon of the 187th Division, was ordered to join the battle. With the cooperation of the 559th Regiment and the 561st Regiment, they attacked and annihilated the British 29th Brigade Gloss, which was surrounded in the North Xuemali area of ​​Mount Ganyue. special camp. The besieged Gloucester Battalion of the 29th British Brigade and the attached 70th Royal Artillery Company, C Platoon of the 170th Mortar Company and some tank units totaled more than 1,000 people.The battalion is the ace unit of the British army with a history of 150 years.In the colonial war of the British Expedition to Egypt in 1801, it was specially awarded the "Royal Army" cap badge by the emperor for turning defeat into victory.

At dawn on the 24th, the encirclement and annihilation battle in Xuemali started.The 187th Division attacked back and forth with the main force of the 560th Regiment and captured the high ground north of Xuemali.The besieged British army abandoned heavy equipment. With the support of deep artillery fire, they broke through to the south in the morning fog. When they encountered interception by the 1st Battalion of the 560th Regiment, the British army was forced to retreat to Xuemali and 235 Heights.The Volunteers further narrowed the encirclement. Li Qiwei, commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Army", hurriedly flew to the front line of North Korea to organize rescue.The British 29th Brigade sent a Filipino reinforcement battalion, and the US 3rd Division sent two battalions and reinforced a tank battalion and the first artillery battalion. With the support of aviation, they rescued from east to west respectively; Under the guidance of a heavy tank company, the rescue from west to east was stubbornly blocked by the 561st and 559th Regiments of the 187th Division and the 566th Regiment of the 189th Division of the Volunteer Army.

At 8 o'clock on the 25th, the 560th regiment, which was responsible for the main offensive task, launched a final attack to wipe out the besieged enemies. In the siege and annihilation battle in Xuemali, the 187th Division of the Volunteer Army completely wiped out the Gloucester Battalion of the 29th Brigade of the British Army and its affiliated troops. More than 580 people were killed, wounded and captured, and 18 tanks, 26 artillery pieces, and 48 vehicles were seized.The annihilation of the British battalion caused a huge shock in the British military and political authorities, and increased the contradictions between the United States and Britain.

After the 3rd Corps commanded by Wang Jinshan in the middle road broke through, it was resisted by the 3rd US Division and the Turkish Brigade in the area around Lianchuan.The 60th Army broke through the Turkish brigade and defense line in one fell swoop, cutting off its connection with the US 25th Division.The 15th Army and the 12th Army each wiped out one part of the enemy after the breakthrough.By the night of the 25th, the troops of the 3rd Corps had seized the Shaochengli, Zhongxuanshan and Baozangshan areas south of Lianchuan. Under the strong counterattack of the Volunteer Army and the People's Army, the ground troops of the "United Nations Army" relied on air cover and modern transportation equipment to retreat quickly, attempting to continue to resist at the second-line position.The Volunteer Army and the People's Army continued to develop their offensive, and on the 26th captured the enemy's second-line position on the Jinping Mountain-county-Gapyeong line.

On April 29, the Volunteer Army and the People's Army approached Seoul, and one part went out to Beiyue Mountain in the suburbs of Seoul.According to the order of the China-North Korea Joint Command, the troops stopped attacking and the first phase of the operation ended.In this phase of the battle, more than 23,000 enemies were wiped out, and the "United Nations Army" and the South Korean Army were driven from the 38th parallel to the east-west line of Seoul, regaining the initiative on the battlefield.