Chapter 25 3. Withdraw troops and wait for war

After the first stage of attack, the battlefield situation has undergone new changes.The U.S. 8th Army heavily deployed the 1st U.S. Cavalry Division, the 24th U.S. Cavalry Division, the 25th U.S. Division, the 3rd U.S. Division, the 28th Brigade of the United Kingdom, the 29th Brigade of the United Kingdom, the Turkish Brigade, and the 1st Division of South Korea. area. The eastern front of the "United Nations Army" is very prominent, and there are all South Korean troops.Peng Dehuai saw at a glance that the opportunity for the Volunteers to annihilate the enemy appeared on the Eastern Front, so he decided to transfer troops to the Eastern Front and launch the second phase of operations with the main goal of annihilating the South Korean Army. On May 6, the China-North Korea Joint Command issued an order to prepare for the second phase of the campaign, and decided to use the 9th Corps as the first force under the Eastern People's Army Front Command to annihilate the South Korean 3rd, 5th, and The 9th Division (later the 7th Division) annihilated the South Korean Capital Division and the 11th Division according to the situation; the 3rd Corps cut off the connection between the Southern Army and the US Army, and prevented the US 10th Army from being aided by the East.

In order to confuse Li Qiwei and achieve unexpected results, the Volunteer Army adopted the strategy of attacking east and west, using the three armies of the 19th Corps and the 1st Army Corps of the People's Army to feint in the north of Seoul to Seoul and the east and west areas of Seoul, attacking and annihilating troops below the enemy's barracks. Put on a posture of attacking Seoul for the second time to contain the U.S. troops in front of them; use the 39th Army to go to Chuncheon and Hwacheon to make up for it, and prepare for crossing the river on the west bank of the Soyang River between Gapyeong and Yongsoumang to cover the 3rd Army. , The main force of the 9th Corps secretly moved eastward.

Li Qiwei judged that the Volunteer Army and the People's Army will launch a new offensive in the central and western regions with five armies, targeting the lower reaches of the Han River; at the same time, three armies of the Volunteer Army and one corps of the People's Army will assist in the direction of Seoul.Regarding the eastern front, Li Qiwei's judgment is that the Volunteer Army and the People's Army may concentrate five armies on the Chuncheon-Hongcheon line to carry out a small-scale offensive. According to Li Qiwei's order, the U.S. Eighth Army adjusted its deployment, concentrating six divisions of the U.S. Army, one brigade of the British Army, one brigade of the Turkish Army, and three divisions of the South Korean Army. Six divisions of the South Korean Army were deployed from Belaori to the east coast, and they were also deployed as a front line; the 3rd US Division, the 187th US Airborne Regiment, and the 29th British Brigade were placed in Jinganli, Yeongdeungpo, and Gimpo areas on the western front, respectively. It is the reserve force of the US 8th Army.

The 19th Corps of the Volunteer Army and the 1st Corps of the People's Army actively feinted on the western front and successfully restrained the main combat group of the "United Nations Army" on the western front.The armies of the 3rd Corps and the 9th Corps were slightly reorganized, and began to move to the Eastern Front under the cover of the 39th Army on May 9. At 18:00 on May 16, 1951, the outstanding groups of the Volunteer Army and the People's Army on the Eastern Front launched a full-line offensive and began the second phase of the fifth battle. The 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army (belonging to the 26th Corps and attached to the 12th Corps), attached to the four artillery regiments, under the command of Song Shilun, and under the coordination of the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Corps of the Korean People’s Army commanded by Jin Xiong, adopted multiple routes Breakthrough, more roundabout and encircling tactics, launched an attack on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th Divisions of the South Korean Army in the county area.

Under the command of the commander and political commissar Zhang Yixiang, the 20th Army of the Volunteer Army broke through the defense of the 7th Division of the South Korean Army. After thirteen battles within an hour, they advanced 30 kilometers and seized Wumazhi, the key point of encirclement, in time.Mao Zhangmiao won the first-class meritorious service and was awarded the title of first-class combat hero.The 60th Division successfully captured the Houpingli and Meishanli areas on the morning of the 17th, cutting off the southward escape route of the 3rd and 9th Divisions of South Korea in the county area.The 5th Corps of the People's Army cut off the southeast escape route of the enemy in the county before noon on the 17th, and formed an encirclement with the 20th Corps of the Volunteer Army against the enemy.South Korea's 3rd and 9th divisions were compressed and surrounded in the county area.

Under the command of Commander Peng Deqing and Political Commissar Zeng Ruqing, the 27th Army attacked the junction of the 5th and 7th Divisions of the South Korean Army.The 81st Division, which was in charge of the roundabout task, penetrated deeply into the enemy.Sun Duanfu, the commander of the division, personally led the 2nd Battalion of the 242nd Regiment as the forerunner, bravely broke through multiple blocks by the South Korean Army, advanced 28 kilometers overnight, occupied the highlands on both sides of the Yandadong Highway, and the key points of Anqiao and Fangnei, cutting off the The enemy in the county fled southwest.Sun Duanfu won the second-class merit, and the 2nd Battalion of the 242nd Regiment was awarded the title of "Interspersed Model Battalion".The 81st Division and the 60th Division defeated the South Korean 5th and 7th Divisions in the Misan-ri and Sangnam-ri areas, and wiped out more than 3,000 people from five battalions.After the 12th Army broke through, it annihilated part of the 5th Division of South Korea, and fought fiercely with the 2nd US Division and the French Battalion on the north side of Ziyinli.

By the evening of the 17th, the Volunteer Army and the People's Army had cut off the enemy's retreat in the county area through interspersed divisions, forming an inner encirclement of the enemy.Facing the powerful offensive of the Volunteer Army and the People's Army, the South Korean Army retreated across the board and fled in all directions. In order to strive for greater victories, Peng Dehuai called Song Shilun and Jin Xiong: It is necessary to implement the combat idea of ​​bold detours and division and encirclement to achieve the complete annihilation of the enemy, and not to relax any opportunity of fighting during the day to strive for complete victory.According to this instruction, the 81st Division of the 27th Army quickly seized Cangcunli and Sanjuli, the 31st Division of the 12th Army continued to quickly attack Shushali and Xiazhenfuli, and the main force of the 2nd Army Corps continued to Xiazhenfuli. Go east.

On the morning of the 18th, the 3rd and 9th Divisions of South Korea began to break out in two directions to the south and southeast.The 20th Army and the 5th Army of the People's Army attacked from the east and west.On the 19th of the war, most of the two South Korean divisions were wiped out and all their heavy equipment was seized. The disastrous defeat of the South Korean Army made Li Qiwei, the commander-in-chief of the "United Nations Army", very angry. He revoked the establishment of the 3rd South Korean Army and relieved the commander of the 3rd South Korean Division from his post.Ridgway was also annoyed at the loss of a large number of weapons and equipment in South Korea. He lamented: "These weapons that have been discarded cannot be taken lightly. These weapons and equipment are enough to equip several entire divisions."

After the 15th Army of the 3rd Corps launched an attack under the command of army commander Qin Jiwei and political commissar Gu Jingsheng, the 45th Division captured Shawulangzhi and wiped out more than 200 people from the 2nd US Division; Most of the regiment headquarters of the 38th Regiment and the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 2nd Division of the United States camped were wiped out.As the U.S. 2nd Division and the 1st Marine Division continued to resist on the Hanxili-dushili line, the 15th Army's advance was blocked and it failed to further complete the task of splitting the battle.Under such circumstances, the 3rd Corps ordered the 179th Division of the 60th Army to maneuver to the east of Chuncheon to strengthen the assault force in the direction of the 15th Army.However, this attempt was not realized because the main force of the enemy had already moved closer.The 180th Division of the 60th Army actively attacked and occupied Fasuoli on the night of the 19th, pinning down the enemy's 7th Division of the US Army and preventing it from coming to the east.

While annihilating the enemy on the Eastern Front, the 19th Corps on the Western Front also launched an attack on the enemy in front of it, annihilating part of the enemy, and cooperated with the operations on the Eastern Front: Under the attack of the Volunteer Army and the People's Army's various assault groups, the South Korean Army on the Eastern Front retreated to Jiucheng Puli-Pongyan-ri-Habujin-ri-Tiejialing-Inqiuli and deployed defenses on the front line. The "United Nations Army" There is a gap in the defense line.Commander of the U.S. 8th Group Van Fleet urgently ordered the main force of the U.S. 10th Army to move eastward one by one to prevent the Volunteer Army and the People’s Army from developing attacks to the west; ordered the U.S. 3rd Division of the Army Reserve to quickly assist the east to plug the gap in the battle; ordered the South Korean Army to make strategic preparations The 8th Division of the team immediately went north from Daejeon to Pyeongchang and Jecheon to establish a deep line of defense.At the same time, three divisions and three brigades of the U.S. First Army were ordered to step up their offensive against the Volunteer Army's 19th Corps on the western front to reduce the pressure on the eastern front.By May 20, the "United Nations Army" had once again formed a complete line of defense linking east and west.

By this time, the Volunteer Army had conducted two consecutive battles within a month. The troops were quite tired, their food and ammunition were almost exhausted, and the rainy season was coming soon. The rivers, lakes and swamps were behind us. Difficult; this campaign failed to wipe out the US divisions and regiments, and the enemy may still invade the North. Annihilating the enemy is more active. On May 20, Song Shilun, commander of the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army, Tao Yong, deputy commander, and Wang Jinshan, deputy commander of the 3rd Corps, who were in charge of commanding the Eastern Front, called Peng Dehuai, Deng Hua, and Park Yiyu to report the situation they were facing and put forward Suggestion to retreat.Peng Dehuai agreed with the analysis and suggestions of the frontline commanders and reported the situation to Mao Zedong.Mao Zedong replied to Peng Dehuai on May 21: "According to the current situation, it is correct to withdraw troops to rest and prepare for another battle." On the 21st, the second phase of the fifth battle ended. The Volunteer Army and the People's Army annihilated most of the 3rd and 9th Divisions of the South Korean Army, severely damaged the 5th and 7th Divisions of the South Korean Army, and annihilated the 2nd Division of the United States and the 1st Land Division. One division each, annihilating a total of more than 23,000 South Korean troops and the "United Nations Army".