Chapter 54 6. Initiate a summer counterattack in advance

After the armistice negotiations resumed, on May 7, the DPRK and China proposed a new solution to the problem of prisoners of war, that is, the prisoners who would not be repatriated directly would be handed over to the Neutral Nations Repatriation Committee to take care of them in North Korea.Not only did the US not accept this proposal, but on May 13 it proposed to "release" all Korean prisoners of war who were not directly repatriated, and it still attempted to forcibly detain the captured personnel of the Korean People's Army. According to the progress of the negotiations, the leaders of the Volunteer Army estimated that it is unlikely that the truce will be signed before June.In order to closely cooperate with the negotiation struggle, it was decided on May 11 that anyone who has completed preparations for the following objectives of the enemy company will start combat in advance without waiting for a unified time.Other attack targets still completed the offensive preparations before May 30 as originally planned, and launched the offensive on June 1.

On the evening of May 13, the 67th Army of the 20th Corps launched an attack on the enemy at Kehuli Nanshan according to the original plan.The summer counterattack campaign begins here. Kehuli Namsan is a main position at the front of the 8th Division of South Korea, covering an area of ​​1.9 square kilometers. There are four tunnels and five shelters on the position, with a total length of about 150 meters. There are bright and dark bunkers and firepower points, and they are connected by traffic ditches , the fortifications are relatively strong, defended by a company and another search platoon.

The 67th Army decided to use two companies and another platoon of the 201st Division to attack the position.Before the start of the battle, Zheng Weishan, the acting commander of the 20th Corps, Qiu Wei, the commander of the 67th Army, and other leaders visited the main offensive company to inspect the combat preparations, encouraged the troops to resolutely capture the position, and fired the first shot of the summer counterattack. On the evening of May 13, two companies and one platoon of the 67th Army, supported by more than 120 artillery pieces above 82mm mortars, launched an attack on Kehuli Nanshan.First of all, a rapid fire attack was carried out, firing more than 5,400 shells, which effectively suppressed the artillery fire of the South Korean Army, destroyed 30% to 40% of the fortifications, and opened the way for the infantry to attack.After the infantry charged, they occupied all the surface positions after 25 minutes of fierce fighting, and then launched a fierce tunnel battle.After six hours of fighting, all companies and platoons in the defensive positions of the 8th Division of South Korea were completely wiped out, and all positions were occupied.In this battle, more than 260 enemies were killed and captured.

In order to consolidate the position and counterattack the enemy, the 201st Division quickly adjusted its deployment. From the 14th to the 17th, the 8th Division of South Korea, with one platoon to two battalions, and with the support of more than 20 aircraft and a large amount of artillery fire, carried out 27 counterattacks in an attempt to regain the lost positions.The Volunteer Army used positional attacks, counterattacks and tunnel warfare. With the support of artillery, they bravely and tenaciously resisted the enemy's counterattack, wiped out more than 1,300 enemies, and finally firmly occupied Kehuli Nanshan.

In order to cooperate with the 201st Division's operations, the 199th Division counterattacked the enemy at Naoki-dong Nanshan twice in a row with two companies from the 13th to the 15th, completely annihilating 293 people from the two companies of the South Korean Capital Division. At the same time, the 60th Army successively used four companies, three platoons, and 21 squads, with the support of artillery firepower, to attack the seven frontline companies of the 5th and 20th Divisions in South Korea. The position was attacked.The 23rd and 24th armies under the command of the 9th Corps launched attacks on three targets defended by troops below three companies.

In view of the ongoing negotiations, the chief of the Volunteer Army has begun the first phase of the campaign. In order to win world opinion, on May 16, he decided to change the unified start of the campaign originally scheduled for June 1 to a non-unified start. The 20th Corps and the 9th Corps Points that the corps is ready to attack can continue to fight. On the evening of May 16, the 60th Army of the Volunteer Army, with a company of the 179th Division, supported by 44 artillery pieces above 82 mm mortars, attacked the 1089.6 southeast ridge defended by a reinforced company of the 20th Division of South Korea.After an hour of fighting, the position was captured, the enemy was completely wiped out, and more than 180 enemies were wiped out. After repelling the counterattacks of the 20th Division of South Korea, the position was firmly occupied.

By May 25, the first phase of offensive operations ended.After 14 days of fierce fighting, the Volunteers successively attacked 20 targets of the "United Nations Army" (including 5 companies, 12 platoons, and 3 squads) 29 times, and firmly occupied two positions. .The Volunteers killed, wounded and captured more than 4,100 enemies and 1,608 of their own casualties. Although the Volunteer Army's offensive operations were not large, it played a role in promoting the negotiations. On May 25, the United States gave up its original position and accepted the proposals of the DPRK and China's May 7 plan in major respects.The armistice negotiations have made considerable progress, and it is expected that a complete agreement will be reached soon.