Chapter 16 Chapter 15 The full linear tactical counterattack in the autumn of 1952 was successful

In the autumn of 1952, the Chinese People’s Volunteers and the Korean People’s Army went through a series of struggles in the spring and summer to consolidate their positions. The defense system with tunnels as the backbone was completed, the frontal front positions were further consolidated, and they gained experience in offensive and defensive operations relying on tunnel fortifications. Defensive positions were also strengthened.Thanks to the victory against the "Strangling War", transportation and supplies have been greatly improved.The special forces of the Volunteer Army, especially the artillery, have been further strengthened, and they can concentrate absolute superiority in artillery to support infantry operations in a certain period of time and space.At the same time, the number of soldiers has been greatly enriched, their morale is very high, and their enthusiasm for war is high.The combat conditions of the Volunteer Army and the People's Army are better than ever before, and their active position on the battlefield has been further enhanced. Not only can they successfully defend and defend, but they also have favorable conditions for attacking based on solid positions.

Although the enemy still maintains its superiority in technical equipment and has built a fairly strong support point defensive position, the weakness of insufficient troops is becoming more and more prominent, and the soldiers' war weariness continues to grow.Its superior aviation and artillery firepower has been greatly reduced in front of the solid tunnel positions of the Volunteer Army and the People's Army. The offensive operations have repeatedly suffered setbacks, and the defensive operations often lose both people and land.The enemy is already in an increasingly disadvantaged position along the entire front.

By May 2, 1952, the armistice negotiations had reached an agreement except for the arrangement of prisoners of war.Because the United States stubbornly insisted on detaining our captured personnel, the armistice negotiations came to a deadlock.As the campaign for the 34th President of the United States begins, enemy military activity is extremely active on the battlefield. On July 13, Collins, the chief of staff of the U.S. Army, inspected the North Korean front. In August, Clark, Commander of the U.S. Army that invaded North Korea, Van Fleet, Commander of the U.S. 8th Army, and South Korean President Rhee Seungman successively inspected its frontline defenses, and held a meeting of senior officers at the headquarters of the U.S. 7th Division.At the same time, the enemy troops on the central front line were mobilized and transported frequently, and various combat exercises were carried out.The 187th U.S. Airborne Regiment was transferred from Geoje Island to strengthen the defense of the U.S. 7th Division.During this period, U.S. Navy ships also frequently mobilized, and conducted amphibious landing exercises with the 1st U.S. Marine Division.The US aircraft carriers USS Unicorn, USS Sicily, and capital ship USS Iowa successively sailed to the west sea of ​​North Korea.In addition to continuing to bomb Pyongyang and other towns, the U.S. Air Force focused on bombing military targets such as the main frontline positions of the Volunteer Army and the People’s Army, and troop assembly points.The special agents stepped up their search for military intelligence in the Yan'an and Zichuan areas, saying that it "has the importance of influencing the current situation." In short, in order to meet its political and military needs, the US military authorities are actively planning and conducting new combat preparations. .

In order to cooperate with the armistice negotiations, smash the enemy's possible local attacks, and train the troops to gain experience, the Volunteer Army and the People's Army decided on September 14 to hold a full-line tactical counterattack to defend the enemy's squads, platoons, company support points, and individual battalions. The position is attacked. In mid-September, the Joint Command of the Chinese People's Volunteers and the Korean People's Army instructed the 39th, 12th, and 68th Armies of the Volunteer Army to prepare for the first line of defense. Each army selected 3 to 5 favorable combat targets and carried out tactical counterattacks against the enemy. , in order to annihilate a part of the enemy and kill a large number of enemies in repeated battles; in order to cooperate with the three armies to fight, the Volunteer Army and other armies (corps) of the People's Army also choose 1 to 2 targets to fight back.The time for the tactical counterattack is between September 20 and October 20. The specific counterattack time for each target is determined by each army, and the principle is to be ready.It is emphasized that the attack must be conquered and the attack must be wiped out, and strive to fight the annihilation battle before the position, that is, after capturing the enemy's position, we must prepare to resist the enemy's continuous counterattack and annihilate the enemy in repeated struggles with the enemy; Rapid evacuation should not be reckless.Therefore, on the basis of the original preparations for defending against the enemy's attack, the troops on the frontal front set off an upsurge of preparations.The commanders and fighters strengthened the construction of positions day and night, monitored the enemy's situation, selected targets, drew up plans, practiced tactics, built garrison caves, and quickly completed the preparations for the tactical counterattack.The full linear tactical counterattack operation began on September 18 and ended on October 31. It lasted 44 days and was divided into two stages.

After full preparations, the troops participating in the tactical counterattack launched offensives one after another unevenly from September 18 under the requirements of a unified policy.By October 5th, the Volunteer Army's 39th, 65th, 40th, 38th, 12th, and 68th Army, and the People's Army's 3rd and 1st Army Corps had successively counterattacked 18 targets of the "United Nations Army" 19 times, including There are 7 sites defended by the U.S. Army and 11 sites defended by the South Korean Army. On the evening of September 18, the 39th Army of the Volunteer Army successively attacked Shangpufang Dongshan and Gaoyangfaxishan, which were defended by a battalion of the 2nd US Division.These two highlands have relatively strong fortifications, with a total of more than 50 large and small bunkers.The 3rd Battalion of the 345th Regiment of the 115th Division of the army attacked Shangpufang Dongshan with two companies, broke through the enemy's defense in 3 minutes, fought fiercely for 23 minutes, and wiped out more than 250 defending enemies.The 8th company of the battalion, which served as a blocking aid, also repelled the enemy's reinforcements 5 counterattacks and wiped out more than 200 enemies.After the 2nd Battalion of the regiment took over the defense on the 19th, it repelled 19 counterattacks by the enemy's troops from 1 platoon to 2 battalions within 3 days with the support of aircraft, artillery and tanks. During the defense, more than 510 enemies were wiped out.Yang Baoming, the squad leader of the 6th company of the regiment, led his squad to repel 6 counterattacks by 1 enemy battalion, and carried out 5 counterattacks before the formation, annihilating more than 300 enemies in total, and won the special meritorious service.The 2nd Battalion of the 348th Regiment of the 116th Division of the army attacked Gaoyang Faxi Mountain. After 20 minutes of fierce fighting, more than 150 defending enemies were wiped out.After the 8th consecutive defense, the regiment fought back 13 counterattacks from one squad to one battalion of the enemy, killing and injuring more than 500 enemies and destroying 5 tanks.The 2nd Battalion of the regiment was rewarded by order, and the 8th Company won the third-class collective merit.

On September 28, the 34th Division of the 12th Army of the Volunteer Army with 7 squads, with the direct support of more than 60 artillery pieces and 6 tanks, sent about two companies to the 6th Division of South Korea on the unnamed highland west of Guanfali. attack by troops.At the same time, 3 platoons of the 101st Regiment and 5 squads of the 104th Regiment attacked the enemy on the northeast highland of 690.1 and the unnamed highland south of Zuoshoudong respectively.These detachments adopted the tactics of multi-way attack, key breakthrough, assault and blasting, and bravely attacked the enemy. They continuously blasted the enemy's firepower points that were not destroyed by the artillery fire, quickly cleared the obstacles, and captured the position.The South Korean 6th Division immediately counterattacked continuously.The 34th Division of the Volunteer Army held fast to the conquered positions, fought bravely with the support of deep artillery fire, defeated the enemy's counterattacks in succession, and wiped out more than 1,200 enemies within 3 days.In this battle, Huang Jiafu, the deputy platoon leader of the 2nd Company of the 100th Regiment, was brave and tenacious. He was not afraid of sacrifice. He completed 15 blasting missions and wiped out more than 200 enemies. Repelled the enemy's counterattack 7 times, injured 3 places on his body, and could not stick to the line of fire, which played an important role in the victory of the battle.The leading organ of the Volunteer Army gave him special merit and awarded him the title of first-class blasting hero.Wu Xianhua, the squad leader of the company, led the whole squad to blow up the enemy's 4 hidden firepower points in succession, and quickly occupied the position.When the assault troops were blocked by machine gun fire at the entrance of the enemy's tunnel and made progress difficult, he rushed into the enemy's tunnel with a 20-kilogram explosive pack in his arms, and died with more than 40 enemy people, opening the way for the troops to advance.After the war, the leadership of the Volunteer Army posthumously awarded him the title of first-class blasting hero.The Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea awarded him the title of "Hero of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea", the Gold Star Medal, and the First Class National Flag Medal.

The 68th Army of the Volunteer Army chose the Fangshan Mountain and the 572.4 Highland defended by the 3rd and 7th Divisions of South Korea as counterattack targets, and adopted a scattered and coordinated multi-point attack and focused competition. With the support of 85 artillery pieces, the troops counterattacked the enemy at 572.4 Heights.After the artillery attack, the infantry immediately launched an attack, quickly occupied the position, and repelled many counterattacks by the South Korean army.Then, with the support of more than 40 artillery pieces, another two companies counterattacked the enemy at Fangshan Mountain. They occupied the enemy's forward position in only 3 minutes, fought fiercely for 3 hours, completely wiped out the defending enemy, and captured the enemy's position.After the 68th Army of the Volunteer Army captured the two highlands of 572.4 and Fangfang Mountain, the South Korean Army mobilized 6 battalions within 4 days. With the cooperation of 88 aircraft sorties, 18 tanks and a large amount of artillery fire, they counterattacked 65 times in a row without success.The army repelled the enemy and counterattacked continuously, killed and wounded about 3,000 enemies, and firmly occupied the 572.4 highland.

In the first phase of the counterattack, both the Volunteer Army and the People's Army conquered the enemy's positions according to the predetermined combat plan, and repelled more than 160 counterattacks from one platoon to one regiment of the enemy.By the end of October 5th, 6 positions were consolidated and the rest were evacuated voluntarily. A total of more than 8,300 enemies were wiped out (including more than 2,000 US troops). After the Volunteer Army and the People's Army launched a full-line tactical counterattack, the "United Nations Army" was shocked, thinking that I would launch a full-scale offensive. On September 24, Clark flew to the front line, held a meeting with Van Fleet and the commanders of the various armies to discuss countermeasures, and transferred the 45th US Division of the reserve team to take over the defense of the 8th South Korean Division. Transferred to take over the defense of the US 3rd Division.

On October 3, the Volunteer Army and the People's Army decided to carry out the second phase of the counterattack operation as originally planned before the deployment of the "United Nations Army" has undergone major changes, and they will start operations on the 6th; Feint attacks should be carried out to cooperate in order to disperse the enemy's troops and firepower and strike more powerfully. On the evening of October 6, the 7 armies on the front line of the Volunteer Army organized a total of 1 regiment, 13 companies, 23 platoons and 35 squads (calculated according to the organizational unit). On the front of the Km, they simultaneously attacked 23 positions defended by the "United Nations Army".With the cooperation of artillery units and tank units, the assault troops quickly and bravely broke into the enemy's positions and occupied 21 positions successively.Among them, except for the enemies in two positions who fled first because they were afraid of being wiped out, all the defending enemies in 16 positions were wiped out, and most of the defending enemies in 3 positions were wiped out.On the evening of the same day, the assault troops of the 38th Army of the Volunteer Army, supported by heavy artillery fire, stormed the "White Horse Mountain" boasted by the South Korean Army as a "steel position", quickly broke through the enemy's forward position, and occupied the north of the main peak of the 394.8 highland Most of the 6 hills defending the enemy were wiped out.Since then, both the enemy and the enemy have successively invested their troops in a fierce battle on the highland and its nearby mountains, and have been fighting for 9 days and nights.From the war to the 14th, in order to avoid increasing casualties, our 38th Army withdrew from the battle and returned to its original position.In this counterattack, the army wiped out more than 9,600 enemies, but more than 6,700 of the troops died. From the 8th to the 21st, the 65th, 39th, 15th, 12th, and 68th armies successively attacked 11 enemy positions, of which 4 were unsuccessful, and the rest all achieved their intended goals.

On October 12, the 15th Army of the Volunteer Army counterattacked 391 Heights.This highland is located more than 10 kilometers northeast of Cheorwon. The mountain is dangerous and there is an enemy reinforcement company stationed there.Pulling it out will not only improve the defensive posture of the 15th Army of the Volunteer Army, but also pose a threat to the enemy.From the forward position of our army to the 391 highland, there is an open field 3000 meters wide in the middle.In order to shorten the impact distance and ensure the suddenness of the battle, more than 500 soldiers from the 29th Division of the shock force were lurking in the grass only 60 meters away from the enemy's position the night before the battle was launched.In the morning of the next day, four enemy planes flew in suddenly and dropped several incendiary bombs in our army's ambush area. The fire burned the camouflage of Qiu Shaoyun, a soldier of the 9th company, and the flames rose upwards.There is a ditch behind him, but for the victory of the battle and the safety of the lurking troops, Qiu Shaoyun endured great pain, strictly observed the lurking discipline, and still lay on the spot, not saying a word, motionless, until the heroic sacrifice, ensuring the smoothness of the battle with his life initiated.Inspired by Qiu Shaoyun's spirit of self-sacrifice for the sake of the whole and for victory, the counterattack troops captured the 391 Heights after 40 minutes of fierce fighting and wiped out one reinforced company of the enemy.Since then, the 87th Regiment, in cooperation with the 132nd Regiment of the 44th Division, fought repeatedly with the enemy on Height 391, repulsed multiple counterattacks by the enemy's 7 battalions, wiped out more than 2,700 enemies, and consolidated its position.Due to the excellent completion of the counterattack mission by the army, it was praised by the Volunteer Army Command after the war.The leading organ of the Volunteer Army awarded Qiu Shaoyun the title of first-class combat hero posthumously.The Party Committee of the 15th Army of the Volunteer Army ratified him as a member of the Communist Party of China.The Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea posthumously awarded him the title of "Hero of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea", the Gold Star Medal, and the First Class National Flag Medal.

According to the original plan, the Volunteer Army stopped counterattacking on October 22 and switched to normal defense. In view of the fact that the enemy had launched the so-called "Golden Offensive" in the Shangganling area on the 14th, and the battle was becoming increasingly fierce, in order to cooperate with the defensive operations in the Shangganling area , decided to continue the tactical counterattack until the end of October.In accordance with this instruction, after the 23rd, the 65th, 40th, 39th, 38th, 15th, and 12th armies successively attacked 14 targets, except for 3 targets that failed to attack and 1 target whose defenders fled. , the rest were conquered, and all the defending enemies were wiped out. On October 31, the Volunteer Army ended the second phase of the tactical counterattack. It counterattacked 48 targets 58 times, consolidated and occupied 11 enemy positions, and killed, wounded and captured more than 18,900 enemies.counterattack at this stage.Because it was organized and implemented in a unified plan and at the same time on a wide front, the enemy was in a hurry. The Chinese People's Volunteers fought a full-line tactical counterattack and achieved major victories.According to incomplete statistics, there were 77 attacks on 60 targets of enemy companies, platoon defensive positions and individual battalion defensive positions, and more than 480 counterattacks by repelling the enemy's platoon and above forces. After repeated struggles, 17 enemy positions were consolidated and occupied, and a total of More than 27,000 enemy people were injured and captured, 32 artillery pieces and 2,373 guns were captured, 57 artillery pieces, 67 tanks, and 74 vehicles were destroyed, 183 enemy planes were shot down, and 241 were damaged.The Volunteers paid the price of more than 10,000 casualties for this.The Korean people also launched a fierce attack on 3 enemy targets on the Eastern Front and won the victory of wiping out more than 1,700 enemies.Under the continuous and powerful counterattacks of the Volunteers across the board, the "United Nations Army" was very embarrassed. The eight divisions were frequently mobilized, exhausted, and more and more passively beaten.The Volunteer Army and the People's Army became stronger and stronger, and further grasped the initiative in the war. In the full-line tactical counterattack operations, the Volunteer Army and the People's Army implement the idea of ​​active defense and the principle of fighting small annihilation wars, concentrate superior forces and firepower on the offensive target, and take sudden actions to deal annihilation blows to the enemy; Then, according to the situation, those who can defend the positions that can be defended will stick to them, and those who cannot defend will voluntarily give up, so as to maintain the initiative.This kind of tactical counterattack based on the position had started individually as early as September 1951, but in this counterattack it was more organized and more linear. It could accumulate small victories into big victories, Achieve greater results with less cost. On October 24, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Military Commission highly praised this method of warfare in a congratulatory message to the Volunteers, pointing out; End the Korean War."