Internal mutiny is often the most effective means of conquering a fortress, and even a well-developed tactical plan can be undone if it is leaked. At a time when the two armies are at war, if there is an internal traitor, the consequences will be unimaginable. Looking back on the period of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, on the eve of the Battle of Baima Mountain in early 1952, Gu Zhongjiao, a company-level officer of the 38th Army of the Ace Army of the Volunteer Army, defected and leaked to the enemy the highly confidential plan of our army's surprise attack on the Baima Mountain position, which led to the enemy's reinforcement of the position and caused a setback in the military operation. Unexpectedly, before the world-famous Battle of Shangganling, a South Korean officer defected to the 15th Army of the Volunteer Army, revealing the enemy's imminent attack on Shangganling. However, despite the information he provided, he failed to get enough attention from the commanders, thus causing controversy and being accused of missing the opportunity. However, his superiors defended him, what was going on?On the night of October 5, 1952, on the position of the 45th Division of the 15th Army, the sentry was performing his post duties when he suddenly heard the sound of "rustling" footsteps in front of him, and the sound came from far and near. "Who is it?Stop!The other party did not respond, and the sentry pulled the bolt of the gun with a "whoosh". Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the sentry suddenly noticed that the other party had his hands raised.
The sentry immediately understood that the other party had come to surrender, and he gave up the idea of ** and escorted him to the company headquarters. At the company headquarters, through the translator, the person who came said something that shocked everyone: "I am Lee Jiqiu, the combat staff officer of the 2nd Battalion of the 32nd Regiment of the **2nd Division of Korea, please bring me to your military headquarters, I have important information to provide!."Soon, the surrendered Han ** officer Li Jiqiu was taken to the military headquarters of the 15th Army. In the military department, Li Jiqiu really revealed an important piece of information, but it did not attract enough attention, so some people thought that the army commander Qin Jiwei had missed a major opportunity. So, what kind of information did Li Jiqiu reveal, and why did he fail to attract the attention of the commander of the 15th Army?Let's travel back in time to the autumn of 1952 to find answers on this war-torn battlefield. At that time, the Korean War had come to an end, and large-scale campaigns during this period had basically stopped, and the Chinese and North Korean armies were mainly engaged in tactical counterattack operations. The battles that take place in this situation are all about playing a more favorable bargaining chip. Since the scale of the battle was not large, and there was no large-scale troop movement, neither side was able to find out the details of the other side and it was not clear which direction the other side would attack next. It would certainly be very advantageous if you could accurately predict the movements of the other party.
U.S. artillery positions play a vital role in the Korean theater. Both sides attach great importance to the secrecy of their operational plans, and it is difficult to gain insight into each other's operational deployments. Our army tested the reality of the opponent through small-scale battles and determined the next operational policy accordingly, which became the characteristic of the war at this stage. Beginning on 18 September, General Deng Hua, acting commander of the Chinese People's Volunteers, personally commanded eight field armies on the front line of the Chinese People's Volunteers, and on a front line more than 180 kilometers wide, small units were dispatched to carry out continuous tactical and exploratory counterattacks against several targets of the enemy forces in front of them. At the same time, the U.S. military is also thinking about picking valuable locations as targets for the next strike. Van Vliet is a veteran of the field, a graduate of West Point, and a living fossil of the U.S. Army. He advocated taking advantage of the US military's superiority in firepower to engage in long-range combat and achieve results by wanton and indiscriminate bombing. It is said that Van Vliet observed with a telescope for a full 5 minutes, then pointed to the two small plateaus in front of the Wusheng Mountain, and said to Jenkins, the major general of the US Ninth Army: "These two heights (9579 and 5377 Highland) looks like a bone stuck in the throat, right?”。Jenkins asked tentatively, "What does the general mean to clear them?."”。Van Vliet nodded: "Exactly!."”。
The veteran's decision was not impulsive, but deliberate. Van Vliet came to this place twice and urged the 7th Division of the US 9th Army stationed here to carry out capture and reconnaissance operations, find out the deployment of the volunteers, and formulate a battle plan to attack the above-mentioned high ground. In early September, the "showdown operation" plan of the 31st Regiment of the US 7th Division was submitted to the headquarters of the US 7th Division, according to which the US troops would fight alone, and the ROK army did not participate in it. American historian Jenkins suggested that the South Korean 2nd Division be included in the "Operation Showdown" plan to fight alongside the U.S. military. The centerpiece of the plan was to launch an offensive in early October against the two heights occupied by the Volunteers, with the American army attacking 5979 heights, the South Korean army was responsible for attacking 5377 Highlands North Mountain. Subsequently, the plan was submitted to Van Vliet, commander of the Eighth Army, for review, and was finally approved and endorsed by Commander Clarke. After the plan was finalized, the ROK army began to be notified of its readiness for battle. By October, the U.S. and South Korean forces were ready for a surprise attack. However, at this moment, there was a mutiny in the South Korean army. Lee Gil-gu, a staff officer of the 2nd Battalion of the 32nd Regiment of the 2nd South Korean Division, came to the position of the Volunteer Army with a battle plan. At the military headquarters of the 15th Army, Army Commander Qin Jiwei stared at the battle plan and fell into deep thought.
According to the plan, the 7th Division of the US Army and the 2nd Division of South Korea each sent a battalion to the 597th Division of the 15th Army of the Volunteer Army under the cover of 16 artillery battalions with 280 artillery pieces and 200 sorties of fighter-bombers9 Highlands and 5377 Heights launched a raid. The commanders of the 15th Army were also surprised when they saw the plan, and they all said that the enemy's plan was indeed vicious. However, unexpectedly, Qin Jiwei finally just smiled lightly and said to Li Jiqiu: "You have performed a good deception in this drama, but your acting skills are still a little worse." With that, Qin Jiwei put the battle plan aside. Sure enough, on October 14, the enemy launched an attack on the above-mentioned heights, and the Battle of Shangganling officially began. At the beginning of the campaign, the 15th Army did not focus on the two heights, they originally planned to participate in the tactical counterattack in the autumn of 1952, and it was not until the "joint **" launched an offensive that the 15th Army immediately changed its operational plan and concentrated its forces on defensive operations in the Shangganling area. Some people believe that if Qin Jiwei attaches importance to the intelligence of Li Jiqiu, the captain of the ROK army, it will be of great benefit to the preparation for the campaign.
After the war, Qin Jiwei reflected on his preparations for battle, saying: "There were indeed omissions in our preparations, we did not expect the enemy to attack the heights of Wusheng Mountain on such a scale, and we were not prepared for a protracted war." "The reason why Qin Jiwei failed to pay attention to the information provided by the enemy was because he believed that it was impossible for a battalion-level staff officer to grasp such a secret battle plan, and he believed that this person was carrying out a fraudulent surrender, while Van Vliet was diverting the target. In Qin Jiwei's view, the enemy's main offensive direction was in the Western Mountains, but the final result was unexpected. "Therefore, we began to be a little passive, the second echelon was rushed into action, and the artillery fire failed to support the battle on the first day," he said. If we anticipate the direction of the enemy's offensive, then the enemy will not be able to climb up on the first day, and the sustained force of the enemy's offensive will be underestimated, therefore, there will be a delusion in command. ”。At the post-war summary meeting of the 15th Army, Wang Jinshan, acting commander of the Third Corps, was also present, and after listening to some people's complaints about Qin Jiwei, he said something that surprised the people present: "You are an afterthought, and you can't get it right if you change it." ”。Why did Wang Jinshan say this?The first is that Van Vliet has adopted very sophisticated secrecy.
In the documents he reported to Clark, he referred only to the October operation, without a specific date. When conveyed to his subordinates, Van Vliet did not disclose a specific date for the action. In addition, Van Vliet made a big show in front of the Volunteer Army and deliberately carried out troop transfers in the West Mountain, the key point of our army's defense, creating the illusion of our army's commanders and fighters. Secondly, there are differences between the Battle of Shangganling and the Battle of Baima Mountain, and they cannot be simply compared. In the Battle of White Horse Mountain, the South Korean army only needed to concentrate on defending White Horse Mountain, and after receiving the information, they only needed to strengthen their vigilance and increase their troops. In this case, even if they received the false information of Yanaka Jiao's fraudulent surrender and provided false information to the South Korean army, they would not have caused significant losses if they strengthened their defenses. The 15th Army not only needs to defend the Western Mountain, but also the Wusheng Mountain, due to the limited strength, it cannot take care of the two, and it will inevitably lose the other. In addition, the U.S. military is highly mechanized and extremely mobile, and even if the 15th Army believes the enemy's intelligence and focuses on Wusheng Mountain, the U.S. and South Korean forces will turn to attack the Western Mountain. Qin Jiwei, commander of the 15th Army, later recalled: "At that time, I always felt that Van Vliet did not determine the target of the attack, but planned to improvise, with one eye on the Five Holy Mountains and the other on the Western Mountains.
It was only because we stood still in the Western Hills that Van Vliet changed his aim. ”。If this information is believed and the Western Mountain troops are used, due to the high degree of mechanization of the American army, Van Vliet is very likely to turn to the Western Mountain ......"So, why did Qin Jiwei finally choose to focus his defense on the Western Mountains?The Pingkang River valley under the western mountains is flat and open, which is very suitable for the US mechanized troops to carry out assaults. Once lost, the Volunteer Army will be in a passive position and will have to retreat strategically. In contrast, the mountain roads in Shangganling are rugged, and even if the enemy launches a main attack, it is difficult to deploy large-scale troops. In addition, our army can be reinforced in a timely manner. On the Korean battlefield, the US military firmly controls air supremacy, and reconnaissance planes are constantly monitoring the battlefield. Assuming that Qin Jiwei believed the information provided by Li Jiqiu, the transfer of troops from the Pingkang River Valley to Shangganling would inevitably lead to an empty force in the Pingkang River Valley area. This will most likely allow the US military to take advantage of the situation and attack the Pingkang River Valley. Once this happens, the 15th Army will not have time to defend even if it wants to. Therefore, when someone thought that Qin Jiwei should pay attention to the information provided by Li Jiqiu, Wang Jinshan immediately stopped it and pointed out: You are all hindsight.
Under the circumstances, if it were me, I would have chosen to guard the Western Mountain. After all, Li Jiqiu is a defector, not an intelligence officer of our army. Therefore, it can be said that Qin Jiwei's final choice was wise.