Chapter 32 fourth quarter

In Qin Jiwei's military career, the most glorious was undoubtedly the battle of Shangganling directly commanded in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.This war further stabilized the situation in the Korean War, making it impossible for the U.S. military to attack northern North Korea, and allowing people all over the world to see the combat effectiveness of Chinese soldiers. It can be said that Qin Jiwei's name was made on Shangganling. After the outbreak of the Korean War, Qin Jiwei and the 15th Army led by him were still in the southwestern border of the country.Qin Jiwei fought many times before he was able to lead the 15th Army to North Korea to participate in the war. In March 1952, the 15th Army was stationed in the Ping, Jin, and Huai areas, and was responsible for the defense of the Five Sacred Mountains and the Western Mountains.

The Five Sacred Mountains are more than 1,000 meters above sea level and are the connecting point from the east coast to the west coast of North Korea.Controlling the triangle area of ​​Jinhua, Pingkang, and Cheorwon, it is a strategic location on the central front and a natural barrier for the central plain of North Korea. It overlooks the depth of the enemy's defense line.If the volunteers hold the Five Sacred Mountains, they can stabilize the front line on the 38th parallel. If the enemy captures the Five Sacred Mountains, they can break through the defense line of the Volunteers from the central part and enter the Pingkang Plain, endangering the entire defense line of North Korea.

Peng Dehuai once said: "If you lose the Five Sacred Mountains, there will be no danger for the next 200 miles." There is a small mountain village named Shangganling in the south of Wusheng Mountain, and a small village named Xiaganling in the north of Shangganling. The distance between the two mountains is 1,000 meters.Before the fifth battle, Xiaganling used to be the headquarters of the Volunteer Army, and the U.S. troops who invaded the north had entered only a few dozen miles away from Xiaganling.After Chairman Mao Zedong learned of the news, he personally ordered the Volunteer Army headquarters to be withdrawn by 100 kilometers.

On both sides of Shangganling, there are two small hills, the 597.9 highland on the right and the 537.7 highland on the left. The two hills add up to only 3.7 square kilometers.The frontage is only 2.5 kilometers wide.But they are the horns of each other, backed by the Five Sacred Mountains, and are important support points for the front of the Five Sacred Mountains. The Battle of Shangganling was mainly fought on these two hills. Before the battle started, neither China nor the United States expected that a world-renowned battle would break out on these two hills. The battle turned into a battle, and even affected the direction of the entire Korean War.

The U.S. military was very confident in capturing the two small hills of Shangganling at first. Clark, the commander of the "United Nations Army", said lightly: "This operation will create an unusually good opportunity to take some positions without paying big sacrifices. If everything goes according to plan, the two battalions can Complete this task!" He even "accurately" calculated the number of US military casualties, saying that the operation lasted only 5 days, and the US military suffered 200 casualties. The facts later were: the U.S. military invested a total of 60,000 troops, fired more than 1.9 million shells, and caused more than 25,000 casualties. It took nearly two months and only occupied the positions of the two squads of the Volunteer Army on Shangganling (later still recaptured by the Volunteers).

The Shangganling battle was rare in the history of Chinese and foreign wars in terms of the density of troops, the density of artillery fire, and the casualty rate. Before the battle started, Qin Jiwei only placed 2 companies on the two highlands in Shangganling. Changes in warfare are sometimes unpredictable.Qin Jiwei, including the Volunteer Army Headquarters, did not expect that Shangganling would become a battle of 100,000 people before the battle started.However, when Qin Jiwei organized the defense of his troops, he fully considered the cruelty of the battle.It is determined to lead the 15th Army to build an impenetrable line of defense on the front line of the Five Sacred Mountains.

Qin Jiwei said: If a country establishes a line of defense at the beginning of a war, and the enemy country has prepared for many years and launches a large-scale attack, it is likely to be broken through, so military strategists say that "there is no line of defense that cannot be broken in the world."However, five battles have been fought in the Korean War, and there has been a confrontation on the battlefield. In this case, it is not only possible but also necessary to establish an impenetrable line of defense. At that time, the right wing of the 15th Army was the 12th Army, and the 12th Army had experience in tunnel warfare; the left wing was the 38th Army.

Qin Jiwei said quite humorously: They are the "Long Live Army", and our 15th Army will fight for "Nine Thousand Years"! Call "nine thousand years old"!It has become a resounding slogan for all commanders and fighters of the 15th Army to defeat powerful enemies. In 1952, the commander-in-chief of the so-called "United Nations Army" was an American named Mark Clark. Mark Clark was a hero of the U.S. military on the Italian battlefield in World War II. He was famous among the U.S. military for his skill in fighting.He was the commander of the so-called "United Nations Army" after Li Qiwei left.

Clark was born in a military family. He is a graduate of the West Point Military Academy and is a classmate of Ridgway.During World War II, Clark successively served as the commander of the 5th Army of the US Army and the commander of the 15th Front Army. He was appreciated by Army Chief of Staff Marshall for his outstanding military exploits. Before serving on the Korean battlefield, Clark had visited North Korea and had a long talk with Li Qiwei, then commander of the 8th Army.His anti-communist and belligerent stance was well appreciated in Washington. As the commander of the "United Nations Army" of the New Thousand, Yelak has been thinking hard about how to break through the defense lines of the Chinese and North Korean troops in ground combat.He knows that the two sides are already in a state of confrontation, and it is difficult to open a hole in the stable defense line of the Chinese and North Korean troops.According to the characteristics of the terrain, only the "Iron Triangle" Pingkang area in the center and the Kaesong area in the west are convenient for mechanized troops to move.

Kaesong is the place where the two sides negotiate, and it is inconvenient to fight.Then, only the "iron triangle" in the middle is the ideal battlefield. Clark wanted to fight but was afraid of losing. He hadn't fought a big battle since he took office, and the victory or defeat of the first big battle would directly affect his reputation.In order to be more sure of winning, he decided to inspect the front line himself. In a Japanese-style white building on the outskirts of Seoul, Van Fleet, commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, reported the "Showdown" plan to Clark and others in detail.At this time, Van Fleet commanded all the US and South Korean troops and servants in North Korea, with a total force of 550,000 troops, including 250,000 American troops. He was actually the most powerful person in South Korea.

Van Fleet pointed to the combat map and said to Clark: "According to intelligence and reconnaissance, the 15th Army, an elite unit of the Chinese Communist Army, is fortified in the Iron Triangle-belt. The commander is Qin Jiwei. He is a veteran commander of the Communist Army. The west wing of the army is the 38th Army, which is called the "Long Live Army" by the Communist Army. This shows that the enemy attaches great importance to the defense of the line from the Iron Triangle to Pingkang. The 45th Division of the 15th Army is fortified at the Five Sacred Mountains .” Clark asked: "What about the coalition forces that are facing the enemy?" Van Fleet replied: "The coalition troops in the Five Sacred Mountains area are the 32nd Regiment of the 7th Division of the US Army and the 32nd Regiment of the 2nd Division of the Korean Army, both under the command of Major General Jenkins of the 9th Army." He went on to say: "According to the combat plan, the US 7th Division is responsible for capturing the triangular highlands, and the Korean 2nd Division is responsible for attacking the ridgeline. If the attack goes well, our 8th Army General Reserve will go into battle and control the entire Iron Triangle. If possible, we will The army can attack the east coast and cut off the retreat of the communist army in the east of the peninsula.” After hearing Van Fleet's report, Clark rushed to the front line to inspect. He first convened a meeting of the commanders of the U.S. 9th, 7th, and 10th U.S. Army Corps at the headquarters of the 8th Army, and then rushed to the front line of Jinhua to listen to reports from Major General Smith, commander of the U.S. 7th Division, and Ding Yiquan, commander of the Korean 2nd Division. After inspection, Clark believed that Van Fleet's "Showdown" plan had been carefully considered, and he left with a satisfied smile.Before boarding the plane, he said to Van Fleet: "Hurry up and complete the battle preparations!" At 3 a.m. on October 14, 1952, Van Fleet announced to the world through the Associated Press reporter in Seoul: "The Jinhua offensive has begun! This is the most violent attack launched by the coalition forces against the main defense line of the Chinese army in a year." Just half an hour after Van Fleet announced the news at the Eighth Army Headquarters, 300 cannons, 40 aircraft, and 120 tanks from the 16 artillery battalions belonging to the U.S. Ninth Army were all dispatched to the front of the Five Sacred Mountains in the Shangganling area. The 597 highlands and 537 highlands carried out the most violent fire attack since the Korean War. Subsequently, the 31st Regiment of the US 7th Division and the 32nd Regiment of the Korean 2nd Division launched an offensive. In the direction of Triangle Mountain, Smith, the commander of the US 7th Division, confidently waited for the good news of victory in the command post.But the good news did not come, but the news of mourning: only half an hour after the U.S. military launched the attack, the commanders and platoon leaders of the two assault companies that attacked Heights 597 were all killed.The troops were suppressed by the volunteers under the bunker, unable to lift their heads, and desperately asked for artillery support through the telephone. The head of the 31st regiment personally supervised the battle.Commanded the two battalions to attack continuously until dusk, before barely occupying the surface position. The US 7th Division's attack on the first day suffered setbacks, and the Korean 2nd Division's attack was even worse.After the battle started, the 3rd Battalion of the 32nd Regiment of the 2nd Division of the Korean Army dispatched two companies. The 9th company attacked the "rock ridge" of the 537 highland, and the 10th company attacked the "sniper ridge" of the highland.In order to strengthen the firepower of the Korean army, a US tank company and an air-to-air shooting team strengthened the Korean army and suppressed and fired on volunteer targets. However, when the 9th line of the Korean army approached the forward position of "Sniper Ridge", it was met with fierce counterattacks from various firearms from the 45th Division of the 15th Army. The two sides fought fiercely for more than an hour. The commando was isolated and had to retreat. The 10th Company of the Korean Army, which launched an attack on the left, was also blocked by the tenacious defense of the Volunteers.The Korean army had no choice but to turn to the US military for fire support.A formation of U.S. planes came to assist in the battle, and heavy artillery also suppressed and fired on the volunteer positions, but the volunteer positions were still as firm as a rock. The Han army had no choice but to invest in a reserve force of two companies in an attempt to open a gap in the middle.But fighting until the afternoon, it was still impossible to break through the volunteers' positions. Liu Geunchang, head of the 32nd Regiment of the Korean Army, saw that the 3rd Battalion was unable to seize the position, so he had to transfer the 1st Battalion up and use the firepower of the whole regiment to support the charge. Ridge" positions.Liu Genchang was overjoyed and hurriedly reported this "good news" to Ding Yiquan, commander of the 2nd Division of the Korean Army. He was happy a little early.After only 20 minutes, the Volunteers counterattacked, and an hour later, all the positions were recaptured by the Volunteers. On the first day of the attack, the 7th Division of the US and the 2nd Division of the Korean Army both lost, and the news quickly spread among the US and South Korean troops.The smug Van Fleet did not expect that his carefully planned "showdown" plan had just begun, and he was hit by Qin Jiwei's subordinate Yongtu! In the ranks of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, some world-famous heroes have emerged, such as Dong Cunrui, Huang Jiguang, Qiu Shaoyun, Luo Shengjiao... Among them, Huang Jiguang and Qiu Shaoyun came from the 15th Army when Qin Jiwei was the commander. These two heroes both wrote a heroic song with their lives in the Battle of Shangganling. Qiu Shaoyun died a few days earlier than Huang Jiguang. His unit was originally the 29th Division of the 10th Army. At the end of 1950, this division was incorporated into the 15th Army. Qiu Shaoyun is a soldier of the 3rd Battalion and 9th Company of the 87th Regiment. On October 11, 1952, he and his comrades were ordered to enter the 391 Heights and wait for the enemy to be eliminated. The 391 highland is narrow and isolated, with two peaks facing each other in the north and south, surrounded by many cliffs, surrounded by hundreds of meters of weeds, and the height is more than 1 meter.This highland is defended by a reinforced company of the Korean Army. It has a circular defensive position combining bunkers, hidden firepower points, and traffic trenches. There are 6 barbed wire fences around the position and a large number of landmines on the periphery. The 3rd Battalion of the 87th Regiment of the 15th Army was ordered to seize the high ground. At 17:00 on the 11th, the commando unit of the 3rd Battalion took a secret and swift action, marched for more than 20 kilometers, and arrived at the latent area at 22:00. After 6 hours, the sky gradually became brighter, and the enemy's positions began to appear clearly in front of them.Barbed wire fences, densely packed bunkers, criss-cross traffic trenches, and black perforations all unfold before our eyes. Seeing all this, 26-year-old Qiu Shaoyun was excited and anxious. The enemy was right in front of him, and he could attack with a single charge.However, according to the battle plan, the commando had to continue to lurk. They could neither sleep nor move. They could only keep their eyes open and watch the enemy. It was really uncomfortable. Latent discipline is very strict, Qiu Shaoyun lay on the ground without moving.When it was almost noon, 5 enemies suddenly jumped out of the traffic trench on the 391 Heights and walked down the mountain. This sudden appearance made the atmosphere in the entire incubation area suddenly tense, and more than 500 pairs of eyes in the grass were staring at these enemies. The enemy came down the mountain to check the barbed wire.An enemy walking in the front suddenly slipped and staggered, and found the volunteer army ambushing in the grass.He was so frightened that his legs went numb and he didn't dare to move.It took a long time to wake up from the panic, and I didn't know how to shout, so I turned around and ran up the mountain. The enemy soldiers following him couldn't figure out what was going on. Seeing how frightened his accomplice was, they also retreated and fired into the sky. The 9th company commander immediately signaled the soldiers around him to destroy these enemies.The soldiers shot and killed the enemy soldiers running at the front, and the remaining four saw it badly and shouted: "There is the Communist Army! There is the Communist Army!" The soldiers of the 9th company knocked down two more, and the remaining two ran faster. Seeing that the two enemy soldiers were about to run back to the enemy's position.Suddenly, the artillery of the 15th Army opened fire, forming a tight wall of fire, and the two enemy soldiers were blown up without a trace. The commander in the enemy's position may have noticed something unusual and hurriedly reported it to his superiors.After a while, a US reconnaissance plane flew over and circled over the hidden area for reconnaissance. The lurking troops of our army did not move at all. The enemy planes circled for a while, but did not see anything tricky, so they blindly fired at the lurking area. There was a sea of ​​flames inside and outside the area. The stones and soil from the explosion fell on the lurking fighters one after another, but the lurking fighters didn't move at all, and none of them panicked. It was those incendiary bombs that caused the trouble, burning the grass, and the fire gradually expanded and rolled towards the hidden area. Burning liquid was splashed on Qiu Shaoyun's body, and the sparks from the bomb explosion ignited the camouflage net on his leg.A strong burning pain made Qiu Shaoyun twitch instinctively. Behind Qiu Shaoyun was a small ditch flowing with clear water. If he rolled it lightly, he might have put out the fire, but he didn't do it.He knew that if he did so, he might be discovered by the enemy, which would lead to unimaginable consequences. Qiu Shaoyun understands that the biggest difficulty in counterattacking Height 391 is to pass through the open land about 3000 meters in front of him. If we launch an attack directly from our army's position, not only the physical strength of the commanders and fighters will not be able to reach it, but also the long-distance movement under the enemy's firepower will cause the troops to pay a lot. casualties.Therefore, approaching and lurking is an effective way to win, and it is related to the success or failure of the battle.If the entire operation is exposed because of him, the lives of more than 500 comrades in arms may be lost. Qiu Shaoyun lay there calmly, letting the fire burn him. The blazing fire gradually extinguished, and an ordinary soldier gave his young life for the victory of the battle and the survival of his comrades. When the time for the scheduled attack arrived, the artillery of the 15th Army bombarded the enemy's formation continuously with great anger towards the enemy.The soldiers in the latent area jumped up, shouting the slogan "Revenge for Qiu Shaoyun" and rushed to the enemy's position. They broke into the enemy's position in only 4 minutes and completely wiped out the 391 Heights defending the enemy. After the war, the Party Committee of the 15th Army recognized Qiu Shaoyun as a member of the Communist Party of China.The Volunteer Army Command recorded him special merit and posthumously awarded him the title of "First Class Hero".The Democratic People's Republic of Korea posthumously awarded him the title of "Hero of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea", and awarded him the Gold Star Medal and the First Class National Flag Medal. Huang Jiguang was from Zhongjiang County, Sichuan. He died heroically when he counterattacked the 597.9 Heights. After the battle of Shangganling started, starting from October 15th, the enemy used 2 regiments and 4 battalions to attack the two hills of Shangganling in turn for several days. The 45th Division of the 15th Army competed with the enemy with tenacious blocking and active counterattacks. During the day, the enemy took the position; at night, our army regained the position.Repeatedly seesaw, repeatedly fight. On the 18th, the garrison troops of the 45th Division in the two highlands of Shangganling retreated into the tunnel again. At dusk on the 19th, our army counterattacked the enemy occupying the surface position on the high ground with the strength of 5 companies. On the afternoon of the 19th, Huang Jiguang, the correspondent of the 2nd Battalion of the 135th Regiment, followed the battalion chief of staff Zhang Guangsheng to the 6th Company, preparing to participate in the 6th Company's counterattack. After the battle started, the soldiers on the six sides rushed towards the 597 Heights like little tigers.Huang Jiguang followed closely behind Zhang Guangsheng, observing the progress of the battle. Soon, signal flares of victory rose over positions No. 6, No. 5, and No. 4, and the battle progressed to position No. 0.Position No. 0 is located between positions No. 3, No. 4, and No. 10. The enemy organized a stubborn resistance with more than a dozen machine guns and made a desperate struggle. From dusk to late night, the 6th company launched 5 consecutive attacks, but failed to destroy the enemy's main firepower point, and the troops were blocked in front of the mountain ridge and could not advance. The battalion staff officer Zhang Guangsheng convened company commanders and instructors for research, and decided to organize 9 soldiers into 3 groups to blast the enemy's firepower points.However, after the three groups went up, they were all beaten down by the enemy's fierce firepower.At this time, it was less than an hour before dawn. If the enemy's firepower points cannot be hit before dawn, the enemy's air force and artillery firepower will take advantage of coordinated operations after dawn, and our army's offensive operations will be more difficult. The anger in Huang Jiguang's heart was burning.He understood that if Height Zero was not taken down, the combat mission would not be completed as planned, and he would have to take it to pieces.He stood in front of Zhang Guangsheng with a big stride, and firmly demanded: "Please entrust me with the task of destroying the enemy's firepower! As long as I have breath, I will definitely complete the task!" The company correspondents Wu Sanyang and Xiao Dengliang who had been flying around on the battlefield also understood the current situation. With Huang Jiguang taking the lead, they were even more unwilling to be left behind, and they stepped forward together and said, "Please allow us to complete this task together, sir." Bar!" Zhang Guangsheng, chief of staff of the battalion, knew the young and passionate fighters in front of him, especially Huang Jiguang. He nodded in confidence and said, "Comrade Jiguang, this task is entrusted to you! I will support you with all my firepower!" In this smoky battlefield, in this mountainous area shrouded in gunfire, a special blasting team composed of three correspondents set off.They carried submachine guns on their backs, and each carried 2 grenades and 8 grenades. They jumped out of the fortifications and crawled towards the enemy's firepower point. As soon as they climbed to the middle of the mountain ridge, the enemy discovered it. Dozens of flares immediately hung in the sky, and machine guns yelled frantically.Huang Jiguang was quick to use his wits, and pushed the enemy's stiff corpses with both hands to make a movable bunker, advancing step by step.Wu Sanyang and Xiao Dengliang also advanced in the same way. After crawling like this for a while, Huang Jiguang suddenly threw the enemy's corpse down the hillside with force. The enemy's bullets shot after the rolling corpse. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the enemy's firepower shifting, Huang Jiguang quickly jumped a few steps and jumped into a bomb crater.Wu Sanyang and Xiao Dengliang also jumped into the crater at the same time.The three finally crossed the mountain ridge blocked by the enemy's intensive firepower and rolled into a traffic trench. Zhang Guangsheng and the soldiers of the 6th company, who were closely watching the actions of Huang Jiguang and the three of them on our position, couldn't help shouting in unison! The three of Huang Jiguang were only 30 meters away from the enemy's firepower point.Huang Jiguang made up his mind decisively: covered by Wu Sanyang with a submachine gun, he and Xiao Dengliang climbed to the side of the two firepower points of the enemy, one on the left and one on the right, and stuffed the grenade into the hole of the gun. With two loud noises, the two firepower points fell apart.Immediately afterwards, Wu Sanyang rushed forward and threw a grenade at the firepower point in the middle. After another loud noise, the firepower point was also wiped out. Suddenly, another string of bullets came from the front. Huang Jiguang looked up and saw that behind a stone ridge about 30 meters away from him, there was a black protrusion spitting out flames. This was the enemy's central firepower point. On the way to the enemy's central firepower point, Wu Sanyang died, Xiao Dengliang was also injured, and Huang Jiguang continued to advance alone.The enemy's firepower was pressing on him at once, and the bullets flew around his body, and when he was approaching the center of the firepower, he was also injured. However, he didn't seem to feel it, and still crawled forward.It's just that the movements are getting slower and slower, 10 meters, 9 meters, 8 meters... step by step is getting more and more difficult. On our army's position, all eyes were on Huang Jiguang's actions. The soldiers saw that under the fierce shooting of the enemy, Huang Jiguang raised a grenade and threw it at the enemy's fort... With a loud noise, the enemy's big bunker was blown up collapsed. But this bunker is too big, the grenade can only blow up half of it, and an enemy machine gun is still shooting out from the remaining hole. Huang Jiguang, who fell in front of the enemy's firepower point, was still tenaciously crawling towards the enemy's bunker! 3 meters, 2 meters, 1 meter... Suddenly, a majestic heroic act appeared in front of everyone: Huang Jiguang jumped up suddenly with the last bit of strength, opened his arms, straightened his strong chest, and threw himself on the muzzle of the gun that was spitting out flames... … The enemy's machine gun suddenly went dumb! The hero Huang Jiguang opened the road to victory with his young life. The sound of charging and killing sounded instantly, and the soldiers chanted slogans and rushed towards the enemy. In the early morning of the 20th, all the enemies on the top of the mountain were wiped out, and the red flag was planted at position zero. In order to commend Huang Jiguang's great dedication, the Volunteer Army Headquarters made a decision: to give Huang Jiguang special merit and the title of "Super Hero".The Democratic People's Republic of Korea posthumously awarded Huang Jiguang the title of "Hero of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea", and awarded the Gold Star Medal and the First Class National Flag Medal. Huang Jiguang's name quickly spread throughout the mountains and rivers of North Korea and across the north and south of China.It is extremely regrettable that such a world-famous hero as Huang Jiguang did not leave a photo in his life, and even his name was only clarified after a long period of investigation. Huang Jiguang's original name was Huang Jiguang, but when he reported his heroic deeds to the people of the whole country, it was written as Huang Jiguang.This was not the reporter's carelessness, but the fierceness and tension of the battle at that time, which made it impossible for the reporter to verify the accuracy for a while. Most of Huang Jiguang's comrades-in-arms in the company died, and most of the surviving people lived in the hospital due to injuries; Huang Jiguang did not leave anything with his name written on it. When the reporter went to the army to interview at that time, the soldiers who provided information had different dialects, some were from Guangxi, some were from Fujian, and their Mandarin was very substandard, so the reporter wrote Huang Jiguang as Huang Jiguang. A person's name is just a symbol, what matters is his thought, character and spirit. A person's life may be short, but his deeds dedicated to mankind can last forever. Huang Jiguang's name is already a monument, a model, and his name will always be a force that inspires future generations to move forward. After the Battle of Shangganling started, the enemy and the enemy engaged in an unprecedented fierce competition in the form of a seesaw.During the day, the enemy relied on the advantages of aircraft, tanks, and artillery firepower to capture our surface positions; at night, our army, with the cooperation of tunnel troops, cooperated from inside to outside to wipe out the enemies occupying the surface positions. On October 21, the Battle of Shangganling had been going on for 7 days, and our army had wiped out more than 8,000 enemies. The 45th Division also suffered heavy casualties, and some companies were basically wiped out.The rocks on the two highlands in Shangganling were crushed into powder, and it was no longer possible to build solid fortifications on the position. The 597.9 highland fell into the hands of the opponent again after 90 repeated fights.Our combat unit of the 134th regiment was almost exhausted, and the head of the regiment, Liu Zhanhua, could no longer pull out a capable unit.How could this bloody man covered in scars tolerate his position being stepped on by the enemy?He gathered the health workers, buglemen, cooks, correspondents and the remaining assistants of the staff officers of the regiment headquarters to form a special death squad. Ball? As long as there is one person in the 134 regiment who is still breathing, he will hit me on the 597.7 plateau!" When the news reached the military headquarters, Qin Jiwei was moved.Liu Zhanhua is one of his favorite generals, who has fought to the death in the hail of bullets many times and made great military exploits.Although Qin Jiwei was heartbroken when he changed hands, his heart still trembled when he really went to wipe out one of his regiments for this position. He asked the combat staff officer to call Liu Zhanhua, and ordered the remnants of the 134th regiment to suspend the attack, and then figure out a good strategy after adjusting the strength of the troops. Unexpectedly, Liu Zhanhua's eyes were red-eyed, and he immediately rejected the order: "I lost the position. If I don't take it back, I will smash my head on the position!" The combat staff had no choice but to truthfully report to Qin Jiwei. Qin Jiwei personally called Liu Zhanhua: "Liu Zhanhua, I order you to stop immediately!" Liu Zhanhua, who was in a rage, almost lost his mind: "Commander, this is the second time I have disobeyed your order. I must take down the 597.9 highland in Gou Ri!" Qin Jiwei said: "Liu Zhanhua, you have lost your head, and I will settle accounts with you after I get down!" Liu Zhanhua shouted: "Commander, if I take down the position, you can kill me. If I can't take it down, I don't need the commander to say anything, I will kill myself!" Qin Jiwei was in a hurry, and cursed, "You bastard!" But his heart was hot: Liu Zhanhua, you have the guts!I won't stop you, I'll treat you to dog meat and soju when you fight! Sure enough, Liu Zhanhua didn't break his promise, and led his "death squad" with a burst of blood, and once again regained the 597.9 highland. How can the battle go on like this?Is it to continue to take day and night instead?Or use another method? On October 21, Deng Hua, acting commander of the Volunteer Army, called and asked Qin Jiwei about his plans for the next battle. Qin Jiwei was about to report his idea to his superiors, so he said: "The current see-saw battle has been going on for 7 days. The surface position has been lost and regained, and has changed hands many times. Our army has bought time for the counterattack. My opinion is: suspend To counterattack, the frontline troops turn into the tunnels, use small unit activities to deal with the enemy, hold him by the nose, and at the same time adjust deployment, replenish troops, study tactics, and seize the time to prepare for a decisive counterattack." Deng Hua said: "Your opinion is correct, and I agree. At present, the enemy is attacking our army's positions in groups and camps. This is a mistake in the enemy's use of troops. It is a good time for us to wipe out the enemy. We must seize this opportunity , wiped out the enemy in large numbers." After getting the commander's consent, Qin Jiwei immediately made a decision: order the troops to turn to the tunnel struggle. In view of the serious casualties of the 15th Army, Wang Jinshan, the acting commander of the Corps, called Qin Jiwei: "Old Qin, the 15th Army has reached its limit. Now there are two ways, one is to fight on; It’s a step back, it’s up to you to choose!” In the original Second Field Army, almost no one knew that Wang Jinshan was a brave general who dared to fight tough battles. The Tie General of Crazy Wang also hesitated a little. Qin Shiwei's face became gloomy when he answered the phone: "Commander Wang, can't you trust the 15th Army? Why didn't you fight? Judging from the situation in the past 10 days, Van Fleet's confidence is no more than that. My opinion is to fight resolutely!" Wang Jinshan's eyes were wet, and he said, "I know you, and I personally advocate continuing the fight, but we must consider the mood of the troops. We must find a way to fight, and we can't fight recklessly. You can hold a meeting to study it. Move some more troops in the direction of Shangganling. I will quickly adjust here and send troops to you." On October 25, Qin Jiwei held a combat meeting at the army command post. In addition to several army leaders, division commanders and political commissars attended the meeting. Because the vicious battle still has to be fought, some comrades have suggested that the current reduction of personnel is relatively large, and the number of troops is limited, while the enemy is still dispatching troops and generals, and its momentum is booming. Whether it is possible to temporarily avoid the front and make a strategic retreat. Qin Jiwei categorically stated his point of view.He said that the entire North Korean battle is now concentrated in Shangganling, which is the glory of the 15th Army. If the 15th Army fights harder, the brother troops will take longer to rest. The 15th Army has already played a very tough style, gritted its teeth and stood up again, the enemy couldn't match this toughness.The victory at Shangganling can knock down the morale of the American army by a large margin. This is often the case on the battlefield. When we are in the most difficult time, the enemy may be even more difficult. At this time, we must compete with courage and will.Qin Jiwei finally proposed that the Shangganling battle must be fought resolutely, that is, to be more vicious than the Americans. The Battle of Shangganling lasted 43 days.The first 23 days of combat were completed by the 15th Army alone. Later, the 12th Army and other troops joined the battle. The two armies cooperated and finally won the battle. Since November 20th, due to heavy casualties and insufficient troops, the "United Nations Army" can only carry out small-scale counterattacks with troops below the company level, and use its air and artillery firepower to launch retaliatory attacks on the Volunteers. On November 26, the 15th Army Command issued a bulletin on the results of the Shangganling campaign, marking the end of the Shangganling campaign. During the 43-day battle, our army repelled more than 900 enemy platoon and above attacks, and fought 29 large-scale battles with the enemy. At the cost of 11,529 casualties, 25,498 enemies were killed, wounded, or captured.Among them, all 1 battalion, 18 companies, and 218 platoons of the enemy were wiped out, 300 enemy planes were shot down, 40 tanks were destroyed, and 61 large-caliber artillery pieces were destroyed. The enemy's so-called "biggest offensive in a year" failed completely And ended up. By their own admission, the Americans suffered a serious defeat.The Associated Press reported this way: "The number of people sacrificed and the ammunition consumed by the coalition forces have shocked the commanders of the coalition forces. The losses in this battle are second only to the losses suffered by the Eighth Army in North Korea in 1950. " Shangganling was a beautiful place before the war, but it suffered unprecedented damage during the war.The two highlands were cut off by 2 meters by artillery fire. Strictly speaking, there were no "597.9" and "537.7" highlands in Shangganling when the map was redrawn. For a long time after the war, people walked on this land, and when they stepped in, the powder could flood their calves.Randomly grabbed a handful of soil, half of which was shrapnel and shell casings. The Battle of Shangganling not only created another example for the Volunteers in traditional tactics such as night combat and melee combat, but more importantly, the Battle of Shangganling was recorded in the annals of world wars for its outstanding features in many aspects of positional warfare. The battle of Shangganling was rare in the history of Chinese and foreign wars in terms of the density of troops, the density of artillery fire, and the casualty rate. In terms of the density of troops, the two sides invested a total of 100,000 troops on the two small hills, which is unprecedented in the history of modern warfare. Judging from the first to five battles of the Korean War, the density of troops in the Battle of Shangganling was higher than any of them. Big. In terms of artillery fire density, the two sides concentrated 438 cannons (cannons with a caliber below 75 mm are not counted), and the US and South Korean troops used 3,000 sorties of aircraft and 170 tanks.And the consumption of ammunition has reached astronomical figures—— The "United Nations Army" poured 1.9 million shells and 5,000 bombs on the two hills of Shangganling. The maximum number of shells per day was as high as 300,000, with an average of 6 shells per second.Each square meter has to bear 76 rounds.The Volunteer Army also fired 400,000 rounds of shells successively, setting its own record in terms of unit firepower density. Associated with the two densities are casualties.In the Shangganling battle, the two sides suffered about 40,000 casualties, with an average of about 1,000 casualties per day.Especially for the U.S. military, the casualty rate is a terrible figure. The U.S. military once believed that their highest casualty rate in the war was the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. At that time, their casualty rate was 32.6%. The casualty rate reached 40%. Just from these simple statistics, we can know that the Shangganling battle was a rare fierce battle in the history of world wars. Cruel wars also create tenacious heroes.In the Battle of Shangganling, 44 volunteers won the title of "Battle Hero".In the Korean War, Kim Il Sung awarded the title of hero to 12 Chinese soldiers in the name of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Four of them participated in the Shangganling battle. They are: Huang Jiguang, Qiu Shaoyun, Hu Xiudao, and Sun Zhanyuan. Shangganling is no longer a simple place name concept, it has become a spirit, a pursuit, and a symbol. As a soldier, being able to participate in a battle like Shangganling is enough to be proud for life. As the chief commander of the victorious side of the Shangganling Battle, Qin Jiwei's name will go down in history.