Chapter 45 6. Elite soldiers and strong generals spread the net

After the struggle to consolidate the positions in the spring and summer of 1952, the tactical counterattack in the autumn of 1952 and the Battle of Shangganling, the frontal battlefields of the Volunteer Army and the People’s Army have been consolidated. The "United Nations Army" has nothing to do with the frontal battlefield.Therefore, the general principle of the Volunteer Army’s anti-landing operations to prepare for battlefield deployment is to focus on strengthening the defense forces on the east and west coasts while ensuring frontal combat power, and coastal defense is focused on the west coast; coastal defense deployment and frontal forces are changed at the same time. The four armies newly transferred from the country will be used as the second-line troops for coastal defense first. After familiarizing themselves with the situation, the three armies that have been rotated into North Korea in the first phase will be transferred to the front line to undergo combat training. The more experienced troops were transferred from the front line to strengthen the defense of the east and west coasts.

According to the above principles and the deployment determined by the Volunteer Army Party Committee Meeting and Volunteer Army Cadre Meeting in December 1952, the adjustment of battlefield deployment began at the end of December, and was basically completed in late January 1953, and then some adjustments were made until mid-April All adjustments and deployments have been completed. After the adjustment, there are ten corps of the Volunteer Army, 14 regiments and 28 battalions of ground artillery, 24 battalions of anti-aircraft artillery, four regiments of tanks, and three regiments and two brigades of the People's Army.The first line starts from Lichengjiangkou in the west and ends at Wendengli in the east of the North Han River, followed by the 65th, 46th, and 1st armies (otherwise 63rd and 64th) commanded by the 19th Corps (commander Han Xianchu, deputy political commissar Chen Xianrui) The corps is the second echelon of the corps, and is responsible for the defense of the west coast south of the Datong River with the two brigades of the People's Army); the 23rd and 24th armies commanded by the 9th corps (commander and political commissar Wang Jian'an); The 67th and 60th armies under the command of commander Zheng Weishan and political commissar Zhang Nansheng (the 68th army is the second echelon of the corps).From the east of Wendengli to the east coast are the 3rd and 7th Corps of the People's Army (the 1st Corps is the second echelon).

Under the command of Xihaizhi, the troops responsible for the defense of the west coast are six armies of the Volunteer Army, fourteen regiments and nine battalions of the ground artillery, two regiments and thirteen battalions of the anti-aircraft artillery, six regiments of tanks, and one regiment of the People's Army. Another trip.The first line deployed two volunteer armies (the 38th and 50th armies) and one division, and the People's Army had a corps and a brigade.The second line deployed four volunteer armies (the 39th, 16th, 40th, and 54th armies). Defensive deployment on the east coast: The troops responsible for the defense of the east coast are two volunteer armies (12th and 15th armies) and one division, two ground artillery regiments and three battalions, five anti-aircraft artillery battalions, and one tank regiment; People's Army two corps and two brigades.

The battlefield reserve is the 47th Army of the Volunteer Army (located in the Gushan area) and the other two battalions of the four ground artillery regiments (located in the Chengchuan area).A division of the 21st Army, responsible for road construction and fortification tasks, is also a battlefield reserve. After adjustments and deployments, the coastal defense force has become stronger, its strength and firepower density have been greatly increased, and its defense force has been greatly enhanced.Especially on the west coast, the average density of guns above the pursuit guns per kilometer on the front line is 7.6, anti-tank guns are 5.8, and anti-aircraft guns average one gun per 18.5 square kilometers.Another total of 219 tanks.

At this time, the strength of the Volunteer Army on the battlefield reached its peak, with a total of 20 armies, together with various special forces units, railway corps and rear service units, reaching 1.35 million people. The Volunteer Air Force and Navy also participated in anti-landing operations preparations. On January 3, Peng Dehuai convened a meeting of Wu Faxian, deputy political commissar of the Air Force of the Military Commission, Chang Qiankun, and Wang Bingzhang, deputy commanders, to study the preparations for the Air Force's anti-landing operations.Make requirements on ideological preparation, pilot and aircraft preparation, tactical technical training, etc.In the same month, after listening to the report of the Air Force Commander of the Military Commission Liu Yalou on the combat situation of the Volunteer Air Force, Mao Zedong instructed to intensify combat training, intensify preparations for anti-landing operations, train more pilots with combat experience, and pay attention to preserving the combat strength of troops with combat experience.

Accordingly, the Air Force has deployed and prepared to participate in anti-landing operations.From January to April 1953, the Volunteer Army Air Force kept five divisions fighting on the front line. According to the request of the Volunteer Army Command, on January 15, Wang Bingzhang, Deputy Commander of the Air Force of the Military Commission, and the Soviet Air Force Advisor went to Anton to communicate with the Volunteer Army. Wang Zhengzhu, chief of staff of the West Coast Command, jointly drafted the joint land-air combat plan. The navy dispatched a speedboat base survey team, water obstacle setup team, and coastal defense gun setup survey team to Andong and the west coast of North Korea for surveys.A Navy mine-laying team laid four minefields in the West Korean Gulf channel, and sent two coastal artillery companies into the west coast position, as well as a torpedo boat brigade and a maritime patrol brigade, participating in anti-landing operations preparations.

The completion of the deployment and adjustment of the entire battlefield has enabled the Volunteer Army and the People's Army to have sufficient combat power no matter whether they are defending against enemy landings on the east or west coast or defending on the frontal front. After the deployment and adjustments were basically ready in late January, on January 30, the Volunteer Army Command issued instructions on the anti-landing combat training, requiring each unit to use the gaps in the construction of fortifications according to their different tasks, and focus on training cadres in a planned manner. Focus on training.Accordingly, the troops responsible for the defense of the east and west coasts focused on the basic tactics of anti-landing (attacking warships, defending island fortresses, and coastal defense), anti-airborne, and anti-tank tactics, as well as coordinated tactics of infantry, artillery, and tanks, during the interval between building fortifications. train.The west coast also conducted land and air coordinated tactical training.The frontal troops have carried out training centered on blocking positions, defending tunnels, continuous counterattacks, anti-airborne, and small unit activities, and running through the coordinated operations of infantry, artillery, and tanks.As of April 20, the armies on the west coast organized a total of 64 tactical training sessions for cadres and 10 training sessions in the use of firearms, with more than 18,900 cadres above the rotation training class.By the end of April, the Volunteer Army had trained more than 54,500 cadres at or above the platoon level in batches in batches. The cadres at or above the platoon level had been trained in rotation once. More than 19,500 main weapon shooters had been trained, and more than 98,200 recruits had been trained in two batches.According to the predetermined combat plan, each unit conducted a real-soldier tactical exercise.The Volunteer Army Command has also specially organized staff business learning for the command of contract combat organizations.After training, the cadres have improved their ability to organize and command, and their military literacy has been significantly improved, laying a good foundation for subsequent operations.