Van Vleet
1951 was a very important year for Van Vleet, and it was also a year he was hit hard.
This year, Van Fleet came to the Korean battlefield, and he took Li Qiwei's class. Li Qiwei had taken over Walker's class before, but in April 1951, after Li was promoted to replace MacArthur, Van Fleet became the commander-in-chief of the US Eighth Army.
Van Fleet was 59 years old. He missed his achievements in World War II, which led to a huge gap in position and reputation with Eisenhower and Bradley.
A 59-year-old man came to the battlefield. It can only show that he still wants to bloom more brilliance in the last period of his life, but the final gain is bitterness. Perhaps this is God's punishment for him.
1,
In fact, you can't deny that Van Fleet has military talent, especially for the control of armored forces and ammunition, he has his own unique set.
thinks that back then, if it wasn't for the five-star general Marshall who mistaken him for another drunk officer of the same name, Van Fleet would never have lived like this, he had missed the best opportunity for promotion. When landing in Normandy, Lao Fan was also a regiment leader. Even so, after Marshall knew the truth, he quickly promoted Van Fleet.
In 1947, Van Fleet had become the deputy commander of the First Army, and in the same year he was promoted to the deputy commander-in-chief of the US Command in Europe. In three years, from the regimental commander to the commander of the group army, the speed of promotion can only be described by "rocket".
Even so, Van Vleet’s chances of commanding large forces on the front line are still limited. After all, World War II will soon be won. Later, in the Greek Civil War in 1948, Van Vleet played extremely well when representing the United States in reinforcements, and was hailed as a "mountain warfare expert."
After the beginning of the Korean War, Van Fleet finally ushered in the opportunity to prove himself at an advanced age. One was that the Eighth Army was equipped with enough equipment, and the other was that the volunteers were strong enough to beat Walker full of teeth. Third, North Korea’s complex terrain is the best time to test his "mountain warfare expert." This kind of war is the best way to win fame, create magic, and win the respect of everyone. After
Van Fleet arrived on the Korean battlefield, it coincided with the start of the fifth battle. He advocated aggressively attacking during the day, increasing the firepower and not keeping it, and the land and air cooperate fully. In the evening, conduct strict defense, keep a distance from the volunteers, and maintain a distance of 20 kilometers, so as not to give the volunteers any chance of sneak attack.
Undoubtedly, Van Fleet sang the opening chapter and gave me the volunteer army and the Korean People's Army a disarm, and he was also recognized by all parties. At this time, everyone has no doubt that Van Fleet can perform miracles. The Americans are waiting to see Van Fleet bring a good show.
Soon, Van Fleet made the Americans see no hope.
2,
In July 1951, the Korean War negotiations began. The Americans were insincere. In more than a month, the last sentence of the negotiations was: "Let the aircraft and cannon negotiate!" Americans The arrogance is evident. At the end of this negotiation, the Americans launched a summer offensive under the auspices of Van Fleet.
This offensive is fierce. In addition to Van Vleet’s desire to achieve greater victory, there is also a feeling of vengeance that Van Vleet can’t express to the outside world. His son was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery when he bombed the Volunteer Army’s logistics units, and everyone was gone. . When Van Vleet hoped that China and North Korea would hand over his son during the negotiation, the representatives of China and North Korea negotiations were powerless. After all, people cannot come back to life, and the body is not a jigsaw puzzle.
Beginning on August 18, Van Fleet began a frenzied attack and frantic revenge. Within nine days, 360,000 shells were poured on the 983 Heights, which was five times the number specified by the US military. The huge number of shells was Called "Van Fleet ammunition". In the later period of
, Van Fleet was investigated by the U.S. Congress for a waste of taxpayers’ money. Has the nine-day action of
gotten huge gains? No. The troops on the 983 Heights were the Korean People's Army, which withstood the test in the face of Van Fleet's anger and huge amounts of ammunition. The blood of the soldiers on both sides almost stained the hilltop red, so American journalists later called it "Blood-stained Ridge."
Van Fleet was very fierce, but lost 2700After the rest, I was still helpless. He did not expect that the other party was so fierce and fearless that neither the Volunteer Army nor the Korean People's Army were weak. The
war did not achieve great success, and the grief caused by the loss of his son left Van Fleet out of breath. Everything was not as good as he had imagined, and waves of grief and loss hit him.
Van Fleet wants more victories.
3,
Li Qiwei
Van Fleet, like MacArthur, are war madmen, who want to expand the war. The more you lose, the more you want to win. This is a typical gambler psychology.
Out of this mentality, Van Fleet formulated a new plan called the "Raptor Claw Operation Plan", also called the "East Coast Landing Plan".
This plan is to make the United Nations headed by the United States land from Wonsan Port on the east back side of North Korea, which is equivalent to attacking the Chinese and North Korean coalition forces from behind.
In addition to landing, the main force of the United States fully attacked from the east and center lines, advancing the entire front to the Jinhua-Jincheng-Jingangshan-Changjian line. In this way, a two-sided attack will be formed, which may reproduce the scene of MacArthur’s landing at Incheon Port. The
plan is very bold. If the Chinese and North Korean coalition forces cannot predict in advance, they will deal a fatal blow. So, are there loopholes in this plan? Yes, once the Volunteer Army and People's Army deploys Yuanshan Port in advance, the landing army may be completely wiped out. If the landing fails, the frontal hard offensive effect will be greatly reduced.
However, as the so-called "exact wins", no military plan can be risk-free. However, the decision is not with Van Fleet, but with Li Qiwei.
Will Li Qiwei approve it?
After Li Qiwei saw Van Fleet's plan, he thought about it and immediately rejected it.
Obviously, Li Qiwei saw a huge risk. If he is not careful, not only will the United Nations military lose a lot, but the confidence will not be hit. At that time, it will be difficult to end the war without increasing its strength and expanding the war. However, the expansion of the war, once the Soviet Union and other countries are forced to be involved, this will move towards the Third War, and at this time, both the United States and the Soviet Union have nuclear bombs. The expansion of war is not what the President of the United States and the Department of Defense want to see, nor is it what Li Qiwei wants to see.
Van Fleet was very frustrated. His plan was ruthlessly rejected. Then the future war could only compete with the opponent on the existing strength and equipment. According to previous experience, the Volunteer Army is a terrible opponent. Van Fleet had no chance of winning the expansion of the war. After Van Vleet’s "East Coast Landing Plan" was rejected, Van Vleet was hit by
, but soldiers must obey orders as their bounden duty. The subsequent "tank into the war" did not seriously damage the volunteers. The battle is getting harder and harder, because the defense and logistics of the volunteers are getting stronger and stronger, and the confidence of the Americans is getting lower and lower.
and the negotiation is constantly going on. Van Fleet was not reconciled, and the plan to expand the war was made one after another, but was rejected again and again.
is not that the plan was bad, but Li Qiwei and later Clark both saw that it was too difficult to break through the defense line of the Chinese and North Korean coalition forces through conventional warfare. Even with the lives of a large number of soldiers, it may not be possible. The expansion of war, or even nuclear war, is not a small issue on the Korean Peninsula, but will affect the world.
In the autumn of 1952, Van Fleet formulated a "showdown plan", trying to use a small-scale concentrated battle to tear a gap in Shangganling, and then attempt a large-scale attack, but he failed.
Van Vleet’s intention to expand the war was inconsistent with the overall U.S. strategy. Van Vleet and General Clark, who succeeded Li Qiwei, also had conflicts frequently. So, in January 1953, Van Vleet retired. Leaving the Korean battlefield.
The Korean battlefield, for Van Vleet, is full of deep regret and deep sadness. He was helpless, because although the opponent he faced was not as equipped as the United Nations army, his will was absolutely powerful. The Korean battlefield taught him a lesson.
In 1992, Van Fleet passed away at the age of 100. Perhaps his military career has not been too brilliant, but his life journey is still perfect. Few people can reach a hundred years old.
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