The last battle of the 38th Army in Korea

Mondo Sports Updated on 2024-01-19

Liang Xingchu, the commander of the 38th Army, not only played the name of "Long Live Army" because of his excellent command in the second and fourth battles, but also promoted himself to the deputy commander-in-chief of the West Coast (because Deng Hua was also the commander-in-chief, Liang Xingchu was actually fully responsible). Jiang Yonghui, the former deputy army commander, took over as the commander of the 38th Army.

After the Fifth Battle, the 63rd Army's outstanding performance in Cheorwon successfully stopped the enemy's advance, giving our army enough time to gain a foothold in the Cheorwon triangle.

The three most important strategic points in the Cheorwon area are Mt. Whitehorse, Mt. Seoseong, and Mount Gosung. These three strategic points were firmly in the hands of our army, so that they did not dare to make great strides by taking Cheorwon on their backs along the plains. In a sense, Hakuba Mountain also reduces the pressure on Cheorwon. But the United ** has never forgotten this strategic point. Under the autumn offensive of 1951, the "United **" carried out more than 13,000 bombardments in the Baima Mountain area in four hours. Under the fierce attack of the enemy, the 42nd Army, which had been fighting hard for several days, was helplessly defeated.

After holding the enemy to attack for a period of time, General Peng ordered each of the seven armies on the front line to choose a strategic or tactical point to counterattack, so as to completely annihilate the enemy forces that were defended. On September 6 and 7, all the armies on the front launched a counterattack against the specified enemy, and all of them were victorious, except for the 42nd Army, which counterattacked 2835 Highland Defeats.

Since the main task of the 42nd Army was to take over the 63rd Army's garrison in Tieyuan, due to the level of equipment, the chances of winning a tough battle in the face of the enemy's superior forces were small, so Baima Mountain came to an end.

A turnaround appeared. In the autumn of 1952, the 38th Army was ordered to take over the defense of the 42nd Army.

As we all know, the 38th Army completed a shocking move after the Han River blockade. However, his own losses were also large, and he was forced to retreat to the rear to rest, so that he missed the fifth battle.

The rested 38th Army was not only replenished, but also equipped with Soviet-style equipment, and even nearly 20 tanks. At the same time, the former army commander was promoted, and the deputy army commander Jiang Yonghui took over, which can be described as a strong army. And the purpose of Shiji's transfer of the 38th Army this time is also obvious, to take White Horse Mountain to solve the worries of the western flank of Cheorwon.

As soon as Jiang Yonghui took office, he received an arduous task, and the soldiers of the 38th Army were also gearing up, hoping to help the 42nd Army avenge their revenge. Because of the previous defeat of the 42nd Army, the 38th Army did not dare to be careless, simulated day and night, and conducted multi-party investigations. even gathered the strongest firepower at that time, and was ready to prepare for a disgrace at any time.

The storm has changed dramatically. Just before the battle began, one of the commandos of the 340th Regiment of the main assault regiment mutinied. caused Jiang Huiyong to hesitate and consider. It is necessary to find out the enemy's intentions and actions. But when I received the 3rd Corps Headquarters**: Kill chickens with knives, and still tremble?At the same time, the commander of the 340th Regiment also fought ** to ask for battle. Jiang Yonghui then made up his mind not to hesitate anymore. In order to prevent mistakes, Jiang Yonghui assembled 180 artillery pieces of various calibers, 59 antiaircraft guns for anti-aircraft combat, 17 advanced tanks, and 122 antiaircraft machine guns. It can be said that it was the most luxurious configuration of our volunteer army at that time, although there is still a lot of gap between the overall firepower and the enemy, but it is close to the ratio of 1 to 3, which can be regarded as a rich battle.

However, after a year of painstaking operation, the enemy's fortifications were extremely strong, and at the same time, because of traitors, the enemy knew the firepower of our army, and not only escaped the bombardment of our army. On the contrary, they knew the direction of our 340th regiment's attack, but it was our assault troops, and before the general attack, they were accurately suppressed by the enemy's firepower.

The 114th Division was the main attack (2 regiments), and at the same time the 334th Regiment of the 112th Division and the 339th Regiment of the 113th Division were transferred at the same time. The offensive began on 6 October, and on the morning of the 8th, the 334th Regiment took over the attack and occupied the hilltop position in the afternoon of the same day. Due to the large number of **, the 442nd regiment took over the garrison. In order to recapture the top of the hill, the enemy quickly changed the top of the hill under the heavy attack of aircraft and artillery. On the 14th, the enemy's reinforcements continued to gather, and the US 3rd Division also participated in the battle at any time, and all 4 regiments of our army participated in the situation, and in the absence of reinforcements, Jiang Yonghui judged the situation and ordered a retreat, so far our army counted **6700, and the enemy was 9800Hancom statistics**3400More than 14,300 enemies were annihilated. The US military reported that the volunteers had suffered more than 4,000 wounded and more than 5,000 killed.

Review Summary. First of all, let's look at the South Korean side's exaggerated results, our army did suffer relatively large losses at Baima Mountain. After the war, Jiang Yonghui took the initiative to take responsibility for this defeat, which was much more objective than putting the cause of the defeat on a little-known traitor now. The appearance of traitors will have a certain impact on our army, but it is still very limited, and there is no need to make traitors take the blame in a large way.

Jiang Yonghui. Because although the 38th Army suffered heavy losses in the attack, it had captured the main position on the top of Baima Mountain in two days. It proved that the 38th Army had done its homework in the simulation exercise. However, judging from the episodes of the battle, the middle and lower-level commanders of the 38th Army were still inferior to those in the defense of the Han River. First of all, the 339th Regiment immediately reported that it had won the next peak when it captured a mountain, but the actual situation was no, although it was clarified later, but this mistake was very fatal. The capture of the sub-peak will inevitably share the enemy's firepower on the main peak. However, front-line commanders can also be mistaken. Moreover, even after the 334th Regiment took the main peak, the 342nd Regiment was quickly lost, although it changed hands repeatedly, but compared to the last ten days on the south bank of the Han River of the 38th Army, the remnants withstood five times their own (and the division was dominated by the American ace division) to cover the retreat of the 50th Army, and finally the battalion and company commanders were almost wiped out. I always feel that something is missing, and at this time, the Soviet-style equipment is much stronger than that of the Han River.

From the overall point of view, the White Horse Mountain cannot be defended, but it is surprising to pull on the main peak. The will of the ROK army is extraordinary, and there are also continuous reinforcements, and the US 3rd Division can also participate in the battle at any time. However, our army has only four regiments, and its firepower is less than one-third, and there is no advantage in troops, and it is on the attacking side from the back, so defeat is inevitable. But the meaning of taking the initiative to retreat after fighting down and retreating without fighting down is different, and it is even more different for the 38th Army.

As far as Jiang Yonghui is concerned, I think it is enough for him to be able to withdraw the troops in time, and he will be cool-headed. In hindsight, in fact, the enemy also hoarded a lot of strength to prepare for something, and before the Battle of Baima Mountain was over, the United States and South Korea launched the Battle of Wusheng Mountain, which is the famous Shangganling, so our army did not have an advantage in the local part of Baima Mountain before it was launched. Of course, the defeat at White Horse Mountain also had a positive side, which sounded the alarm for the 15th Army, and also woke up the Corps, and finally replenished the 12th Army in time.

In Jiang Yonghui's eyes, no matter how the enemy is annihilated, Baima Mountain is not a victory, and the South Korean army has a future chief of general staff of the three armed forces because of this time. If the results of the battle were not ideal, it was indeed affected by the Han River blockade. The role of company and battalion commanders on the battlefield is irreplaceable. At this point, the 38th Army has completed the Korean combat mission and returned to the old army commander to serve as a guard on the west coast

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