Because of "Iron Is Burning", people think that the Battle of Seed Mountain in the Cheorwon Block is the first confrontation between the Canadian army and the volunteers. In fact, in Gapyeong more than a month ago, the Canadian army fought against the volunteers. This was the Gapyeong battle at the end of the first stage of the Fifth Battle to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
1. Create a world record for infantry assault advance
In the first stage of the fifth battle, the Volunteer Army’s Forty Army’s mission was to defeat the Korean 6th Division and block the 1st US Marine Division on the east and the US 8th on the south. The reinforcements of the 1st Division of the US Cavalry of the Army Reserve and the 27th British Brigade were to cut off the horizontal connection between the East and West of the US Eighth Army. The task of
needs to destroy a division of the Korean army, penetrate into the enemy's depth of 50 or 60 kilometers, and block the enemy's massive reinforcements. It should be said to be quite arduous.
As a result, under World War I, the Korean Sixth Division was directly frightened by the offensive of the Forty Army, but defeating the Sixth Division of the Korean Army was the process of completing the mission of the Forty Army, not the result to be achieved. From the battle of
to April 22, although the 6th Division of the Korean Army had collapsed across the board, Wen Yucheng ordered all divisions to strike bravely and not to fight. One is to intervene in Gapyeong to complete the tasks set by President Peng. The second is to prevent the 1st Marine Division of the US Army from taking the opportunity to assault and threaten the flank of the Forty Army westward.
Then, the world record of attack speed in the history of infantry warfare was born. This world record is not actually interspersed with the three institutes; not to mention that the U.S. army ran forward in an armored vehicle in Iraq, and immediately stopped advancing after encountering the "Medina" division and immediately retreated, waiting for the plane to board first. It was the attack of the 354th Regiment of the 118th Division, which fired the first shot to resist US aid to North Korea. On the morning of April 23, the 118th Division had already captured the Huayue Mountain and Yingfeng. In the evening, Liu Yuzhu, the chief of staff of the 354th regiment, led the 3rd battalion of the regiment with sharp knives and attacked in the direction of Gapyeong. The attack progressed at a speed of 7.5 kilometers. Along the way, the 6th Division of the Korean Army and the 24th Division of the US Army were defeated for 5 times. By 24:00 that night, the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment had followed the 6th Division of the Korean Army to Mudongli in the northeast of Gapyeong.
At this time, the 3rd Battalion "catch up" with a large group of enemy forces, and the fierce battle began again.
2. Suddenly encountered a strong enemy
But this time, instead of catching up with the enemy, we encountered a strong enemy. The unit encountered by the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment was the British 27th Brigade, but it was not the 25th Canadian Brigade as described in the history of our military.
This is the 2nd Battalion of the Canadian Princess Patricia Light Infantry Regiment under the British 27th Brigade, the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, the Middlesex Battalion, and the US 72nd Tank Battalion A Company and the 213th Artillery Battalion 1 Company , 1 heavy mortar company, chemical mortar 2nd battalion, New Zealand 16th Artillery Regiment. The two British battalions in the British 27th Brigade were already ready to return home, and the 28th British Brigade came to replace them. However, as the South Korean 6th Division was defeated by the Volunteer Corps within a day, Major General Hodge, the commander of the U.S. Ninth Corps, urgently ordered the British 27th Brigade to go north to block the Volunteers’ offensive north of Gapyeong. The Argyll Battalion had arrived in Busan and was preparing to board the ship back home, so the British 27th Brigade had three infantry battalions participating in the battle.
Among them, the 2nd Battalion of the Canadian Princess Patricia Light Infantry Regiment and the 3rd Battalion of the Australian Regiment are the elites of the Canadian and Australian armies respectively. The Princess Patricia Light Infantry Regiment is the first unit in Canada to participate in World War I. At that time, the troops were basically World War II veterans, and now I remember this regiment was changed to special forces. The Australian battalion is basically all volunteers, and they are also veterans of World War II who fought bloody battles with the Japanese.
When the 3rd Battalion of the 354 Regiment ran for 60 kilometers to reach Mudongli, the British 27th Brigade had been armed. Its formation is as follows: Canadian Battalion occupies Highland 677 on the west side, Australian Battalion occupies Highland 504 on the east side, Middlesex Battalion is the reserve team, the brigade is about 3 kilometers behind the two front battalions, and the US tanks Most were assigned to the Australian battalion, and a few protected the brigade.
But the darkness is not midwinter. The Volunteers did not know that the enemy had become the 27th British Brigade. So a spectacle appeared in the history of war. Approximately 5,000 South Korean soldiers were chased by 500 people from the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment. They passed through the British positions like the wind and fled to Gapyeong without looking back. I really don’t know what people are saying. With 5000 South Korean troops and 6000 members of the British 27th Brigade, the troop strength is already the 354th Regiment 3 pursued.The battalion is more than 20 times, and the firepower is more than 30 times. Even if the 118th Division of the Volunteer Army is added, the British and Korean forces still have an absolute advantage, but the Korean army does not have the courage to turn around.
The rapid flight of the Korean army gave the 3rd Battalion of the 354th regiment a good opportunity. A considerable number of troops followed the fleeing Korean army and rushed through the defense line of the British 27th Brigade. In the dark, although the British 27th Brigade put the American Sherman tank (note: not the Centurion tank recorded by our army, this must be a mistake by our army) on the front to form a steel barrier, but it still has no roof. Live the impact of the volunteers. But it is worth noting that the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment consumed a lot of power in order to break through these steel barriers, especially anti-tank rockets.
But in the early morning, the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment broke through the front of the British 27th Brigade and dashed into the enemy 1,500 meters in depth. It was discovered that the surrounding enemy troops were white. It turned out that they were not overtaking the 6th Division of the Korean Army. It was encountered by the British army. By the way, during the battle on the evening of the 23rd, the Australian battalion was so frightened that Company A commander Bernard Odudd used the radio to ask for help from the 1st Marine Division. The 1st Marine Division of the U.S. Marines was in a state of chaos. It actually thought Bernard Odudd was an enemy agent because they had received news that the British 27th Brigade had been eaten by the volunteers.
This time there was once again a rare battle in the history of war. Theoretically speaking, the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment with only light equipment could not break through the steel defensive positions of the British 27th Brigade. However, the officers and soldiers of the 3rd Battalion followed the Korean army to launch an attack. Secondly, the volunteers did not know that they had encountered strong support from the enemy. , Mistakenly thought that they were still attacking the Korean army, and the attack momentum was extremely shocking. The British 27th Brigade's defense line was easily penetrated by the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment. If at this time the main force of the 118th Division followed up and went into battle, the British 27th Brigade would be devastated. However, the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment ran too fast, advancing 60 kilometers in an 8-hour attack, even if it was as strong as the volunteers, no troops could keep up with this speed.
I would like to say one more thing here. Originally, the number of volunteers in a battalion of the Volunteer Army is far more than 500 people. However, the Forty Army has participated in five consecutive battles and has not rested. The Forty Army only participated in the fifth battle. There are 27,531 people. The 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment advanced 60 kilometers in an 8-hour attack and fought five battles along the way. 500 men chased 5,000 Korean troops around the world. The sixth battle actually broke through the steel line of the British 27th Brigade. This is the Iron Army.
III. Survival in despair
Let’s take a look at the current battlefield situation. Although the 3rd Battalion of the Volunteer Corps 354 broke through the front, the Canadian Battalion occupied the west side of Highland 677, and the Australian Battalion occupied the east side of the 504 Highland because the Australian battalion was fighting. In the middle of a loss, a company of the British reserve Middlesex Battalion has come up; although the hardest company of the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment has reached the command post of the British 27th Brigade, it has penetrated the British defense line. Instead, the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment fell into the encirclement of the British 27th Brigade. The actual enemy force facing the
3 battalion is 11 infantry companies (the Canadian battalion and the Australian battalion are 4 companies), plus the supporting artillery regiments, battalions and companies, and tanks. The force is 10 times that of the 3 battalion, and the firepower is more than 30 times that of the 3 battalion. What made
even worse was the unfavorable terrain. It was trapped in the valley between the British defense positions and was completely passively beaten. At this time, the most favorable terrain they could rely on was the 794 Heights about 2.5 kilometers to the northwest. This situation is troublesome for
, which is a standard dead place among soldiers.
This situation is also rare in sudden encounters. The enemy's situation is unknown, and the first battle is won, but the enemy is surrounded. When the
3 battalion found that it was surrounded by white people, it immediately understood that it had encountered enemy reinforcements going north to rescue. Their mission is not only to pursue the 6th Division of the Korean Army, but also to prevent enemy reinforcements from going north. But in this desperate situation, carrying out the mission means the entire army is wiped out. However, the People's Liberation Army is different from the armed forces of other countries: it first considers the overall situation and resolutely completes its tasks, rather than first considering how to save its lives. After discussing with battalion commander Li Dezhang and instructor Ma Zhongji, Liu Yuzhu decided to stop the British 27th Brigade from going north and west to rescue. But all three of them were very aware of the sinister situation, so they burned their files and notebooks, and took up the carbine to join the frontline operations.
from our hindsightSaid that the 3 battalion was wrong in its judgment on the current situation. The British 27th Brigade did indeed go for reinforcements, but they went north to Mudong to form a new line of defense to block the volunteers. However, it was impossible for the volunteers to know at the time. I also learned this after looking through the history of enemy wars. The 3rd Battalion was able to judge that it was a living god.
However, it needs to be pointed out that although the 3rd Battalion did not know this, the disposal was extremely correct. If they retreat northward, it is actually very dangerous. First, they retreated under the attack of British firepower. Secondly, they are mechanized troops, which immediately follow and pursue them, and only get beaten along the way. This can easily lead to a defeat of the troops. If the troops that follow behind are charged, the situation will be serious. The
3 battalion was determined to use undulating ground, ridges and houses to defend itself, but this was not a close match. The British 27th Brigade went to Mudongli first and had already occupied favorable terrain. Although it suffered a small loss from the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment at night, the 3rd Battalion had already rushed into the depths of the British army after dawn and was surrounded in turn. The British army occupied favorable terrain and launched a fierce attack on the volunteers mainly with firepower. In fact, the battalion was in an open valley again and was extremely threatened by British firepower. So I think Liu Yuzhu and the others still choose to fight dead, knowing that the situation is extremely unfavorable. This kind of courage is really admirable.
Sure enough, the actual situation was more serious than Liu Yuzhu and others had imagined. The reason was that the 27th Brigade of the British Army received super fire support. Everyone had a little bit of it, how many guns, too many. Under the wild fire of the British army, the casualties of the 3 battalion were increasing. And the Sherman tanks kept attacking, trying to divide the volunteer army. The 3rd Battalion had not many anti-tank rockets. The night battle was basically over, and the tanks strengthened by the US army had no way. The 3rd Battalion, 354th Regiment of the
Volunteer Army made a mistake in its judgment of the British army's attempt. In fact, the British 27th Brigade also made a mistake in judgment. They believed that it was the volunteers of the 1 division that attacked them, and the 3rd battalion was just the vanguard. The follow-up troops did not keep up because it was dawn. Therefore, the most urgent task is to destroy the volunteer army that has penetrated into its depths to restore its defensive position.
Here, the 40th Army would like to thank the 39th Army. The battalion that Australia participated in the war was a very brave unit of the US Eighth Army. In the Pacific battlefield, there were bloody battles with the Japanese, island by island, and the hard anti-Japanese army even had the upper hand. As early as the Battle of Bo Chuan in the first battle, the Australian battalion rushed to the position of the 39th Army and took the initiative to fight with the volunteers. This is the first enemy army that dared to take the initiative to fight the bayonet with the volunteers. But the 39th Army was known as the first in the four fields. That battle defeated the Australian battalion. After the war, the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Floyd Walsh, was directly removed from his post and replaced by Bruce Ferguson. However, in the Battle of Bo Chuan, the Thirty-Nine Army defeated the Australians. In the first battle of Gapyeong, the Australian battalion met with volunteers, and they were much more honest. This group of people are all veterans. After experiencing the fierceness of the volunteers, they don't want to work hard anymore. Therefore, despite the fierce firepower of the British army, ground combat mainly relied on US Sherman tanks, and the infantrymen hid behind and shot cold shots, unwilling to charge upwards.
The picture shows the Canadian army in the Korean War
The elite Canadians are more at ease than the Australians. The battle on the evening of the 23rd was mainly because the Australian camp was attacked by volunteers. There was only a small-scale battle before the Canadian camp. So the Canadian infantry stayed in the trenches with peace of mind and continued to "defend" the "offensive" of the volunteers, only to suppress the besieged 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment with firepower.
And the infantry of the Middlesex Battalion is even more immobile, in the name of defending the brigade command post. It's no wonder that they were going to return to China, but they were suddenly brought back to fight, and no one wanted to die.
So I said that the 40th Army would like to thank the 39th Army. The 39th Army would be afraid of the Australians. Otherwise, in this battle of Gapyeong, the condescending British army only needs to attack on three sides, and the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment cannot withstand it. . In one morning, the whole army was destroyed. If the volunteers use such strength and firepower to encircle any country's army, at most 20 minutes, the storm will resolve the battle.
Fourth, the enemy is currently, the chief of staff, battalion commander, and instructor are quarreling.
Although the infantry of the 27th brigade of the British army flinches, but such fierce fire coverage, the volunteers still cannot bear it. In addition to the artillery fire, the Sherman tanks of the US army rammed, and the 3rd Battalion had no anti-tank firepower, and there was nothing to do. But no matter how fierce the artillery is, no matter how fierce the tank is, it can only be horizontal.Vertically split the links between the various ministries of the volunteer army. If you want to annihilate the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment, you must rely on infantry to occupy the position.
But the British infantry is like a bear, Li Dezhang, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment, did not know. He only knew that such fierce firepower was the only thing he had seen in his life. The enemy reinforcements he encountered were far beyond his previous imagination. If he was beaten so passively, the entire army would be wiped out. You should focus on finding favorable terrain and then stop. However, at this critical moment of the enemy, the 354th Regiment Chief of Staff Liu Yuzhu, the 3rd Battalion’s Battalion Commander Li Dezhang, and the instructor Ma Zhongji quarreled, and the three even lost their temper and almost started fighting. What is the situation of
? Is it possible that the enemy is still fighting?
It turned out that they planned to lead a small force to the east to attract British firepower, and the other two to lead a large force to break through the west. There was a quarrel over who was going to attract British firepower, and all three of them rushed to perform cover tasks. This is the volunteer army, rushing to sacrifice themselves and cover others. In the end, battalion commander Li Dezhang won, and he led more than 20 people to move eastward to attract British troops, while Liu Yuzhu and Ma Zhongji led a large force to break through the west.
However, the British 27th Brigade was strong and firepower, and this plan did not succeed. Li Dezhang led his team failed to cross the road and was violently fired by Sherman tank fire, almost all casualties, Li Dezhang fell to the ground, life and death uncertain. The actions of Liu Yuzhu and others on the other side of
also failed, and Liu Yuzhu and Ma Zhongji died. Under the guidance of tanks, the British infantry split the position of the 3rd Battalion. By the afternoon of the battle, almost all the cadres of the 3rd Battalion had been injured or killed. The troops were divided into small pieces by the enemy's armored units, and units such as platoons, squads, and groups were fighting. .
The picture shows the Australian army
fighting in the Korean War. This is the last moment for a unit. In theory, the British 27th Brigade only needs to sweep the tail to end the battle. However, another spectacle in the history of war appeared in this encounter. The Australian battalion withdrew, yes, you are not mistaken, the Australians withdrew, they withdrew from the battle, and ran behind the Middlesex camp. The reason is very simple. They have played against the volunteers a long time ago, and they understand the tactics of the volunteers. The Australians believe that the besieged volunteers are fighting hard to attract them. At night, the volunteers will begin to attack. For this, the Australians thought they knew very well, so it was dusk. The Australians wisely hid behind Camp Middlesex. They decided that they would not run anymore and wait until the night was too late. In the history of the Pacific War, the bravery of the Australian army has been ostentatiously boasted, but I said that these are not counted. The level of the enemy's army can only be seen by fighting the volunteers. The fact is that Australians, known for their bravery, are extremely timid in front of the volunteers. The sudden retreat of the Australian battalion
gave the 3rd Battalion, 354th Volunteer Army a chance. But the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment did not understand this situation.
At this time, Li Dezhang, who was seriously injured and fell to the ground, was found and awakened. Although he was injured, his mind was still awake, so he decided to use the dark to fight south, while fighting to contain the troops, and then turning back north. Along the way, Li Dezhang contained a company of men and horses (mostly wounded), and then broke through to the north. Although the British 27th Brigade found that the volunteers had broken through, they did not dare to fight at night and only pursued them with firepower. Because of the retreat of the Australian battalion, a huge loophole appeared in the barrel-like British front. The Volunteer Breakthrough troops just turned back from this loophole and were almost unscathed all the way. In the end, even the 8th company and 7th squad that were responsible for the breakup were all Withdrawn easily. Although the
3 battalion suffered huge casualties, it completed the task and reached the designated block and aid location in the shortest time. Moreover, a fierce battle that should have been annihilated by the entire army has survived, and the dominant British 27th Brigade actually lost 134 men. There were even 3 Australian soldiers brought back by the 3rd Battalion. It is a miracle. Finally, the 3 battalion of the 354 regiment received the first-class collective merit, the 7th company, the 8th company, and the machine gun company all achieved the collective first-class merit, and the 9th company achieved the collective second-class merit. Collective first-class merit is not easy to establish. Not long ago, I introduced to you the battle of Nanshan in Caoxiali. Xu Henglu, commander of the 5th company of the 38th Army 336th Regiment, was awarded the title of second-level combat hero, but the company was just a collective. Third-class merit. In the first battle of Gapyeong, the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment from the battalion to the company all performed meritorious service, and even four collective first-class merits, which is unprecedented in the history of the PLA.
Of course, Australians and Canadians boast that they have resisted the willAn offensive by a division of the Volunteers killed more than 1,000 volunteers. This is not the point. The point is that the Australians and Canadians boasted that their heroic battles reversed the overall battle on the battlefield and saved Seoul hundreds of kilometers away. I really can’t figure it out. Seoul is a defense zone of the US First Army. What does it have to do with the 27th Brigade of the British Army?
These big noses, their faces are not red and heartbeat.
Compared to Australians, Canadians are still on the battlefield and they have no experience. When the Australian battalion retreated, Lieutenant Colonel Stone, the commander of the Canadian battalion, ordered B Company to turn to the defensive right flank to prevent the Volunteers from using the positions abandoned by the Australians. On the 24th night, shortly after the 3rd Battalion of the 354th Regiment had withdrawn from the encirclement, the Canadian Battalion was attacked on a small scale by the follow-up troops of the Volunteers. At this time, the Canadians suddenly understood why the Australians had to retreat. Finally, after dawn, the Canadian battalion quickly withdrew from the fighting.
On April 25th, the main force of the 118th Division arrived, repelling the 7th Regiment of the US Cavalry and the 27th Brigade of the British Army, and continued to attack. On the evening of April 27th, the 118th Division captured Gapyeong and the southwestern region and completed the task assigned by Shisi.
About the author: Wang Zhengxing, former officer of a certain field army of the People's Liberation Army, has served in infantry units, headquarters, logistics department and other units. He is committed to war history and tactics research, and has a unique understanding of military tactics and non-war operations. His book "This Is War" was recommended in two installments in the "Eight Minutes" section of Phoenix TV in May and June 2014. His public name is also "This is the war". Welcome to the fifth battle of
. The little tiger in Lin Biao's "Three Tigers" is the most humiliating and defeated king card
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