Chapter 32 4. Deng Hua asked for instructions to promote talks

Although the possibility of the Korean War stopping after the resumption of this negotiation is greater than in the past, the possibility of delay still exists.After Eisenhower came to power, he actively expanded the South Korean army and implemented the policy of Asians fighting Asians, which was actually a dragging measure.Once the war ceases, the U.S. military expansion plan will be relaxed, and economic panic will also occur.According to foreign reports, because the DPRK and China proposed to resume negotiations immediately, the U.S. stock market fell from the end of March to the beginning of April, and the stocks of companies engaged in the production of arms and war materials and other related companies fell day after day.Stock markets in the UK and Japan also suffered losses.In this way, the possibility of the war prolonging is still not small.Even if the United States has to stop due to the situation, there are still many specific issues to be resolved in the negotiations, and it will take a considerable amount of time to stop, during which there may still be complications.

In addition, the Syngman Rhee clique in South Korea has been unwilling to achieve an armistice, but is still trying to unify Korea by force.Syngman Rhee and his government's main officials have publicly stated on many occasions that "the most urgent issue at present is the northward unification" and that "the South Korean army can take the northward movement alone."According to Eisenhower's memoirs, on April 9, Syngman Rhee wrote to Eisenhower that: If a peace agreement is reached that allows the Chinese to stay in Korea, South Korea will consider it reasonable to demand that all but those who are willing to participate in the expulsion of the enemy All the allied powers were to leave the country beyond the country north of the Yalu River.If the U.S. armed forces are to stay, then they will have to follow the fighters in the forward positions, support them, and cover them with aircraft, long-range artillery, and naval guns on both sides of the Korean peninsula.Van Fleet, the retired commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, and some other U.S. militants are still actively advocating military victory in North Korea.

Therefore, after the resumption of negotiations, the Volunteer Army and the People's Army can only proceed smoothly if they cooperate with each other in effective combat. At this time, on the frontal battlefield, the "United Nations Army" can only parry, but has no power to fight back.The Volunteer Army and the People's Army have basically completed the preparations for the anti-landing operation, and the worries about the future have been relieved, and the frontal troops can fight boldly.In addition, since September 1952, most of the 7 armies and 1 division newly entered the DPRK have not been trained in actual combat in North Korea. Once the war ceases, this opportunity will be lost.

With the reply to Clark's letter and the proposal to resume negotiations, on March 31, Wang Jian'an, commander of the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army, called Deng Hua and Yang Dezhi and reported to the Military Commission. The battalion defends the most positions, and our army can attack the enemy's battalion positions with conditions and certainty.Therefore, it is suggested that if the enemy does not launch a landing attack in April, our frontal army should conduct a campaign counterattack in May with full organizational preparations and careful planning and deployment; Landing, I will carry out a tactical attack with the whole army in front of me to strike the enemy and cause panic inside.At that time, Deng Hua was concentrating on combat readiness on the west coast, and Yang Dezhi presided over the work of the Volunteer Army Headquarters.Yang Dezhi agreed to conduct a counterattack with the approval of the Military Commission. He believed that an army was sure to attack the enemy's position one company at a time, and there were not many battles in which an enemy battalion was wiped out at a time.Wang Jian'an's suggestion was forwarded to the Military Commission, and it was suggested that before the end of April, the anti-landing preparations should be the focus, and preparations for counterattack operations should be carried out in early May, and the counterattack should be launched in late May at the earliest. At that time, the volunteer army will hold a special meeting to study.After receiving the above suggestion, the Military Commission drafted a reply telegram by Peng Dehuai. After review by Mao Zedong, it was sent to Yang Dezhi and Wang Jianan on April 3, pointing out: According to the current situation, with sufficient preparations, a small-scale war of annihilation should be held. Annihilating one or two platoons to one or two companies each time is beneficial for our 9th Corps and other corps to gain new combat experience and promote armistice negotiations.If it is sure, the launch time can also be brought forward, and it is appropriate to wait for a combat counterattack in mid or late May.

On April 20, the two sides began to exchange sick and wounded prisoners of war.On the same day, Deng Hua, acting commander and acting political commissar of the Volunteer Army who presided over the work of the West Coast Command, called Yang Dezhi, Cui Yongjian (who succeeded Park Il-yu as the deputy commander of the China-North Korea Joint Command in February 1953), Xie Fang, and Li Zhimin and reported to the Military Commission. , after analyzing the possible development of the battlefield situation after the resumption of negotiations, he pointed out that "we must follow the guidelines instructed by the chairman: 'Strive for a stop, prepare to procrastinate, while the army should plan to procrastinate, just fight, don't talk, and don't relax. , everything is still proceeding according to the original plan." Therefore, we should still strengthen various preparations, not be paralyzed and slack, continue to complete the fortifications on the east and west coasts, and be able to crush any enemy landing and attack at any time. At the same time, we must adopt a "tit for tat" approach "Guidelines', use active actions to cooperate with the negotiations, and only victory can advance the negotiations... If the enemy delays blackmail and does not land in May, we should launch a combative counterattack like last autumn to give the enemy even more A serious blow. It can also exercise the troops, gain experience, and partially improve the position."In the telegram, he put forward a specific plan for promoting talks by fighting, and asked the Military Commission for instructions, and asked Yang, Cui, Xie, and Li to revise and supplement, send the leaders of each corps to study, put forward specific opinions, and then hold a meeting to decide.

After Mao Zedong saw Deng Hua's suggestion telegram, he forwarded it to Peng Dehuai on April 23, saying: "This message seems to be approved, so that they can prepare for an attack. As for the early truce, or not to fight to facilitate negotiations, or else A decision will be made at an appropriate time in May." After Deng Hua's proposal was approved, the Party Committee of the Volunteer Army held a meeting with the heads of various corps from April 30 to May 4, conducted a special study on the issue of the counterattack campaign, and issued supplementary instructions to the ministries on May 5. And reported to the Military Commission.Sure:

(1) The purpose of the campaign is mainly to destroy the enemy, train the troops, and learn experience to cooperate with the Panmunjom negotiations, and at the same time appropriately improve the existing positions.The basic spirit of campaign guidance is "strike steadily and relentlessly". "Strike hard" means that when the side and rear are ready and the front can cope with any attack by the enemy, the frontal counterattack can let go and hit the enemy hard. The focus of the attack is the US military and other "United Nations forces" . "Steady", one is to still grasp the long-term combat, not to rush for success, not to underestimate the enemy hastily, must have careful and meticulous preparation, must be sure before attacking; second, after the counterattack begins, prepare for the enemy to carry out two strikes on the whole front. To retaliate on the scale of the three "Shangganlings", the two levels of the military division must have a certain amount of reserve force and mobile artillery fire. The counterattack target should not exceed one battalion, preferably two companies. If you attack, you must conquer, and if you attack, you must conquer, and the rules must be strengthened."

(2) Selection of attack targets and different combat methods for different targets.Attacking the target is limited to no less than two platoons and no more than one battalion, which is not only conducive to our concealed contact with the enemy, but also facilitates the deployment of troops and the power of artillery fire.The starting point of the charge should be no more than 200 meters from the attack target, and the anti-gun holes should be dug, and the number should be able to accommodate more than 1/3 of the first echelon.If the enemy's position has strong fortifications, tunnels, and favorable terrain, I must firmly hold on after conquering it, and fight the enemy to the end until the enemy is powerless to attack or does not attack again; the enemy's fortifications are strong, but there are no tunnels or the terrain is not very favorable. After conquering, the fortifications should be rebuilt immediately, and the second and third echelons should be used to compete repeatedly with the enemy in a see-saw style until the enemy no longer comes to attack; That is to evacuate (the so-called "bite" method), and then choose another target to attack.For the first and second types of targets, each army chooses one, and for the third type of target, each army decides according to the situation; When there are two divisions, each corps only retains one key target for attacking. If the scale of the enemy's counterattack is larger, only two key targets are reserved for attacking on the entire line.

(3) Adjustment of troops.Except for the 65th Army who did not participate in the attack because it was near Panmunjom and the terrain was unfavorable, and the 1st Army did not have many first-step attack tasks and did not increase its troops, the rest from west to east were 46th, 23rd, 24th, and 4th. 67. The 60th Army each added 1 division from the second-line troops; the 19th, 9th, and 20th Corps each had 1 division as the Corps Reserve; the Volunteer Army Headquarters had 2 armies as the General Reserve.In addition to the original assigned tanks and artillery, the front-line regiments have strengthened 8 battalions of field artillery and howitzer artillery, 4 regiments of rocket artillery, 1 regiment of anti-tank artillery, and 1 regiment of anti-aircraft artillery. The division has 2 regiments and 6 battalions of engineers; the headquarters of the Volunteer Army has 1 regiment and 3 battalions of howitzers and 1 regiment of rocket artillery as maneuvers.

(4) Before the start of the campaign, the armies still actively carry out small-scale offensive operations to learn from experience, create conditions, and cover the campaign attempt.After the ministries select their targets, they will be reviewed by the Corps' Unified Reporting Department. The heads of each corps and the headquarters will have a solid grasp of the battle preparations, which is the key to victory in the campaign. All preparations will be completed before the end of May, and the counterattack is scheduled to start in early June and end in early July.The whole campaign is divided into two to three stages, with 10 days of fighting in each stage and 5 days of rest and preparation. In the first stage, the whole line moves in unison.

(5) At the beginning of the counterattack, organize the main commanders of the second-line troops to visit the front line; the rotation of senior commanders, those who entered the DPRK arrive at the troops in early May, and those who return to the country preside over the counterattack, and leave after the counterattack is over. The Volunteer Army Headquarters also made regulations on tactical issues, the use of artillery shells, and confidentiality issues. According to the policy and deployment determined by the Volunteer Army Party Committee, the front-line armies made serious preparations and selected a total of 56 positions defended by troops below the "United Nations Army" battalion as attack targets.Due to the early preparations of the 20th Corps, after approval by the Volunteer Army Headquarters, on the evening of May 13, it began to attack the positions defended by troops below the enemy company. On the evening of the 15th, the 9th Corps also began to attack. On May 16, the Central Military Commission approved the Volunteer Army’s telegram on May 5, agreeing to various active preparations for the summer campaign. The combat policy in North Korea is still to adhere to the "long-term, steady and steady" policy proposed in the past. In view of the difficulty in replenishing Soviet-made shells, although the Soviet Union has proposed the number of imports in May and June, there has been no reply so far. June and July , How much can be imported in August is still uncertain. Therefore, in order to avoid too large openings during counterattacks, prolonging the duration, making ammunition difficult, and falling into a passive position, it is best to divide the campaign counterattack into three steps. Each step is roughly Use one corps as a unit, choose a few points to attack the enemy in front of you, for 7 to 10 days, and then move again depending on the situation. If the enemy does not launch a major counterattack, use another corps to counterattack in another area. However, we will concentrate our superior forces to wipe out and consume a large number of them.This way of playing, we can be more active and more persistent.On the same day, the Volunteer Army Headquarters, in view of the ongoing negotiations in Panmunjom and the start of the first phase of the campaign, decided to change the planned start of the campaign to a non-unified start on June 1 in order to avoid international public opinion. Continue to fight, because the 19th Corps will not complete preparations until the 25th, so the first stage will be fought until the 24th. As of the 26th, at this stage, the Volunteers launched a total of 29 attacks on 20 positions defended by the enemy's troops below the company, and fought with the enemy to consolidate and occupy 2 positions. The enemy's rear gave up, and the rest "take a bite" and leave. A total of more than 4,000 enemies were wiped out. With the strong cooperation on the battlefield, and through the efforts of the representatives of the DPRK and China, the U.S. delegation accepted the proposal of the DPRK and China at the negotiation meeting on the 25th that the prisoners of war who would not be directly repatriated should be handed over to a neutral country for custody in North Korea. The proposals were then interpreted by the parties to which the POWs belonged. In fact, all decisions made by the United States on negotiations were made by the United States alone. After the decision was made, it was notified to Syngman Rhee of South Korea to force him to accept the decision of the United States.Therefore, in the U.S. delegation, the U.S. and South Korean representatives are on guard against each other. The U.S. is worried that some decisions about the negotiations will be leaked to South Korea prematurely and will be interfered by them, so it tries to keep them secret until the negotiations in Panmunjom. Tell them before it's announced at the meeting.South Korea is worried that the United States will betray their interests in order to cease the war as soon as possible, so they try to find ways to learn about the decision of the United States earlier. On May 25, Clarke informed Syngman Rhee of the U.S. decision to accept the proposal from the DPRK and China an hour before the Panmunjom negotiation meeting started that day.This made Li Chengman caught off guard and greatly annoyed. The Syngman Rhee Group originally opposed the armistice, so, on the one hand, in order to oppose the armistice, and on the other hand, it also protested against the United States, and ordered its representatives to withdraw from the negotiation meeting.Until the Korean armistice, South Korean representatives did not attend the negotiating meeting.Syngman Rhee and his government officials publicly stated that they cannot accept the new plan of the "United Nations Army", and that South Korea will firmly oppose any international agreement that does not stipulate national reunification. In fact, the Volunteer Army's fight to promote talks this time determined the key targets based on the different attitudes of the "United Nations Army" towards negotiations.Because the United States is the main opponent of the Volunteer Army in operations and negotiations, it was determined to focus on fighting the U.S. military from the very beginning.However, during the negotiations, the attitude of the United States was closer to the DPRK and China, and Syngman Rhee interfered and made trouble. Therefore, the key targets of the Volunteer Army were also adjusted accordingly. In view of this situation, Deng Hua and Yang Dezhi, in order to cooperate more effectively with the negotiations and fight more strategically, decided to focus on fighting the U.S. Army instead of the South Korean Army. On June 1, they instructed the first Front-line armies: "Current counterattacks mainly target Li's puppet army. They should be resolutely attacked to obtain a large number of casualties and annihilate their vital forces. They will not attack the British and other servants for the time being, nor will they make large-scale attacks on the U.S. military (only fight one company) The following), but the original combat preparations should still be carried out, so that we can fight again when necessary, regardless of any enemy, whoever attacks us, we should resolutely and completely crush them." After getting combat training, the deployment was also adjusted. Based on this, after the adjustment and preparation of the first-line troops, focusing on attacking the South Korean Army, they launched the second phase of the summer campaign, with more targets and a larger scale than the first phase.From May 27 to June 15, the 46th Army commanded by the 19th Corps, the 23rd and 24th Corps commanded by the 9th Corps, the 60th and 67th Corps commanded by the 20th Corps, and the 3rd and 67th Corps of the People's Army The 7th Corps, a total of 51 positions defended by troops below the enemy's regiment, attacked 65 times, expanded the area of ​​​​the position to 58 square kilometers, and wiped out more than 41,000 enemies.Among them, the 60th Army successively captured the positions of the two regiments of the 5th Division of the South Korean Army and wiped out more than 9,000 of them together with the counterattack. All 1 regiment was disabled; the 67th Army captured the position of 1 regiment of the 8th Division of the South Korean Army at one time, and wiped out more than 4,000 of them together with the counterattack.Both armies have set an example of attacking and annihilating one regiment of the enemy army at a time since positional warfare. The battle between the Volunteer Army and the People's Army has effectively promoted the negotiation struggle. On June 8, the chief representatives of the negotiating parties formally signed an agreement on the repatriation of prisoners of war.So far, all agenda items of the Korean Armistice Negotiations have been agreed upon.By June 15, according to the agreement on the military demarcation line reached by the two sides, the work of recalibrating the military demarcation line had been completed, and various preparations for the signing of the armistice agreement by the commanders of the two sides were basically ready.In order to maintain the political initiative and promote the realization of the armistice, at 18:00 on June 15, Peng Dehuai called Acting Commander Deng Hua and transferred it to the heads of the corps of the Korean People's Army and Volunteer Army and Li Kenong, saying: "Just take the call from my armistice negotiating delegation to say : Basically an agreement has been reached on the military demarcation line, as of 24:00 tonight (June 15th), the positions captured by the enemy and us before 24:00 this night are valid; after this time (from 0:00) ) is calculated as the 16th day, and the positions captured by the enemy and ourselves are all invalid. In order to promote the realization of the armistice, our volunteer army and the Korean People's Army should stick to their current positions and no longer actively attack from the 16th day of tomorrow, but they need to be more vigilant. Prepare to be ready, and resolutely deal annihilated strikes to any enemy who dares to invade our positions, and there must be no negligence." At 19:00 on the same day, the China-DPRK Joint Command issued the content of this telegram to the front-line departments.The ministries then stopped the second phase of attack operations.