In the history of warfare, there are many classic battles that will be compared, such as the same tunnel warfare"The Battle of Iwo Jima".with"Battle of Shangganling".
However, the U.S. military, which is known for its elite, had completely different performances in these two battles, and it could defeat Iwo Jima but not Shangganling, and it could defeat the Japanese army but not the Volunteer Army.
What's going on?
The Battle of Iwo Jima was fought during the Pacific War of World War II.
In August 1944, the U.S. forces regained ** and basically wiped out the main Japanese naval force in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Therefore, the U.S. military wanted to seize Iwo Jima and directly attack Okinawa and the Japanese mainland.
And in order to take down the island of 2More than 30,000 Japanese troops, more than 400 US planes, and nearly 110,000 fighters were dispatched.
was originally in charge of the commandHolland SmithandNimitzThe others were ready to take Iwo Jima in 5 days.
But what they didn't expect was that due to a series of reasons, this battle was fought for more than a month, so that both Japan and the United States paid a heavy price.
On February 19, 1945, the U.S. troops, under the command of Lieutenant General Holland Smith, began a beach-rushing landing.
However, just as the U.S. military was preparing to go deep into Iwo Jima, many Japanese troops suddenly appeared in the tunnels in the Oriba Mountain area.
They used light and heavy machine guns and mortars to form a dense network of firepower, inflicting heavy losses on the vanguard of the US army.
After that, although the U.S. military successfully eliminated the Japanese troops in the tunnel with flamethrowers, they also made a breakthrough on the frontal battlefield.
But the brutality of the battle was far beyond their imagination.
Isolated and helpless, the Japanese Tadamichi Kuribayashi was ultimately unable to hold Iwo Jima, and he led hundreds of Japanese troops in a "suicidal" attack.
It was not until March 6, 1945, when the Japanese saw that the general situation of Iwo Jima was gone, that they ordered all submarines operating in the waters of Iwo Jima to withdraw.
On March 16, 1945, U.S. forces announced that Iwo Jima had been occupied. The Battle of Iwo Jima is a complete end.
In this battle, although the number of American troops reached 5 times that of the Japanese army, the ratio was not good, the United States lost about 7,000 people and wounded more than 20,000 people, a total of **2About 80,000 people.
The Japanese were killed 2More than 20,000 people, more than 1,000 surrendered.
It was precisely because of the stubborn resistance on Iwo Jima that when the US military wanted to attack the Japanese mainland, it finally chose to drop the atomic bomb because it was worried about the "jade shattering" plan.
This largely accelerated the pace of the end of the war.
As one of only two battles in the Pacific War that took place on the Japanese mainland, the Battle of Iwo Jima was less tragic than the Battle of Okinawa.
Even Nimitz sighed heartily after the war"The Americans who participated in this operation were extraordinary and brave. ”
The opposite of the American army was the Japanese army, and although they were defeated by the American army this time, they felt that the American army was "invincible".
It is precisely because of this that the Japanese army is more and more unable to understand why the US army, which has superior equipment and numbers, cannot take Shangganling
The Battle of Shangganling broke out during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
At that time, the U.S. military put the long-planned showdown operation on the battlefield, preparing to capture our Ganling battlefield on Wusheng Mountain within five days.
To this end, the US military did not hesitate to dispatch more than 3,000 planes to carry out large-scale bombing with various types of artillery, and nearly 5,000 bombs were dropped in the air alone.
Some people even say that the intensity of artillery fire on the battlefield of Shangganling has even exceeded that of World War II, which shows how fierce the firepower of the US military is.
In stark contrast to the U.S. military, it is the volunteer army responsible for holding the Shangganling position.
At that time, there were 24 rocket artillery and 292 mortars in our position, but even so, the volunteer soldiers still held their positions with tenacious perseverance.
At four o'clock on October 14, 1952, the U.S. military began to output fire on the 30-kilometer defensive front of the 15th Army, and the fire density was as high as six rounds per second.
On the first day of the duel, more than 2,000 U.S. troops were annihilated by the volunteers, which made Van Vliet, the famous U.S. general in charge, unbelievable.
The same was true for the next few days of fighting, until the ** 7,000 men or so, Van Vliet realized that in the face of the dense tunnels of the volunteers, it was difficult for them to win by storming.
As a result, Van Vliet quickly changed his battle plan, trying to trap the volunteer soldiers in the position by blocking the exit, forcibly blasting, and cutting off water and food.
But what he didn't expect was that even in this extremely difficult situation, the volunteer soldiers did not flinch at all, and they survived for 23 days, so that the enemy could not advance an inch.
However, behind the brilliant results, the volunteer soldiers also made great sacrifices.
Some companies fought until the last moment, and some companies had only one or two people left, and they couldn't stand up, and they had to support each other to defend against the enemy.
In the total of 43 days of fighting, the volunteer soldiers fought for positions with the enemy 59 times, repelled more than 900 enemy charges, and finally won the victory in the Battle of Shangganling.
and 25,498 "united", with a rate of more than 40%. Such a rate and daily average number are extremely frightening numbers for Americans.
Because the United States believes that the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific War has the highest rate, it is only 326%。
The United States also included the Battle of Shangganling in the US military's military textbooks, which shows what kind of shock this battle brought to them.
At this time, many friends may wonder why the U.S. army, which is also well-equipped and powerful, has a completely different performance in the two tunnel battles of Iwo Jima and Shangganling
In fact, this should be a combination of many elements, in contrast.
First of all, although the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Shangganling were both tunnel battles, the tunnels dug by the Japanese army and the volunteers were actually very different.
The Japanese were not so much digging tunnels as they were "improving" the terrain of Iwo Jima.
The advantage of this view is that it saves time and effort, and the disadvantage is obvious, that is, it is only suitable for cover, and cannot deal with the threat of flamethrowers and all kinds of shells.
As for the tunnels dug by the volunteer soldiers, it is a perfect fit for the combat methods of the volunteers, and the thickness of the top of the tunnel can reach an astonishing 35 meters, which is not at all something that the US military can blow up.
And it is intricately intertwined, like an "underground Great Wall", which is an important reason why the volunteers were able to achieve victory.
Secondly, although the Volunteer Army was difficult in the Battle of Shangganling, it was supported by backup, but the Japanese army was different in the Battle of Iwo Jima and was in an isolated situation.
After the outbreak of the Battle of Shangganling, the 15th Army urgently purchased more than 30,000 catties of apples in order to provide logistical support for the soldiers who held their positions.
However, due to the firepower limitations of the US military, only one apple was finally sent into the tunnel, which is also the origin of the story of "one apple".
However, despite this, the logistics department of the 15th Army never gave up, but creatively adopted relay transportation and crawling transportation and other methods to send a lot of materials into the tunnel.
In the process of transportation alone, the number of volunteers is as high as 1,700 people, which is 14% of the number of volunteers in the entire Shangganling Station.
It can be seen from this that the volunteer soldiers who hold their positions are never alone.
As for the Japanese troops in the Battle of Iwo Jima, there was no such thing as logistical supplies at all.
Because the U.S. military had gained air and sea supremacy before the battle began, Iwo Jima was just an isolated island, and the defeat of the Japanese army was inevitable.
Moreover, the combat methods of the volunteer soldiers were much more efficient than those of the Japanese army.
During the war years, although the Japanese army admired the spirit of bushido and had the determination to break the jade, in fact, many people were forced to fight by their commanders and lacked subjective initiative.
This directly led to them being beaten passively, and it was not easy to organize a counterattack or a suicide attack, and the final effect was naturally very small.
On the other hand, the volunteers are different, they not only have courage but also wisdom, during the day the enemy artillery fire is fierce, the volunteer soldiers stick to the tunnel and do not come out, and at night they arrive at their home field.
Using the method of group operations, the volunteer soldiers launched a night attack on the US army, and the success rate was very high.
In late October alone, 149 of the 158 attacks were successful, which shows how efficient the volunteer army was in operation.
Finally, the tenacious will and high morale of the volunteer soldiers are also an important factor in their victory in the confrontation with the US army.
The tenacity of the volunteer army is unimaginable to the US army and even other armies in the United **, after all, generally speaking, after the victory rate of the army reaches 50%, it will be scattered with a bang.
However, the Volunteer Army is different, not only are many troops still fighting bravely when the battle loss rate reaches more than 80%, but even many troops are still holding their positions until the last man.
This will has made the US military increasingly hopeless of victory.
Another point is that the volunteers have always taken the initiative, for example, in the first three battles to resist US aggression and aid Korea, we all won victories, which greatly boosted the morale of the volunteers.
Compared with the volunteer soldiers in the Battle of Shangganling, the Japanese troops in the Battle of Iwo Jima were much worse, and many Japanese troops had fallen into collapse when they fought behind.
If not, they will not blindly follow orders and carry out suicide attacks.
And at the beginning of the Battle of Iwo Jima, the Japanese army had already realized that they would eventually lose, which was another heavy blow to the morale of the Japanese army defending the island.
Looking at the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Shangganling, it is not difficult for us to find that they actually have another thing in common, that is, "the righteous side has won".
In the Battle of Iwo Jima, the U.S. military was part of the anti-fascist coalition, so there was no doubt that it was on the side of justice when fighting the Japanese.
But when it came to the Battle of Shangganling, it was different, and the joint ** led by the US military stirred up the situation on the Korean Peninsula and was the unjust party, so they finally suffered a defeat.
Many friends may still think that this is a coincidence, and think that it is the equipment and the number of people that affect the outcome of the war.
Is this really the case?
No, "justice or not" has a significant impact on whether an army can achieve victory, especially in battles that are evenly matched and known for their brutality.
For example, the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942.
At that time, the Nazis dispatched 150,000 troops and more than 500 tanks in order to occupy Stalingrad.
The battle lasted for five months, and the Nazi army, which had previously had the upper hand, was gradually overturned by the Soviet army in the later period, and finally had to surrender in 1943.
Take the Battle of the Ardennes, for example.
In 1944, as the Allies marched through the dense Belgian forests, the Axis powers suddenly launched a strong **, and when the Nazi army slaughtered all sides with Tiger tanks, the Allies had to retreat.
However, the Nazi army was an unrighteous army, and their success was only temporary, and the Allied army, with its tenacious perseverance, quickly withstood the offensive of the Nazi army, and successfully recaptured the Ardennes stronghold and launched **.
Another example is the Battle of Okinawa.
The battle is known as the largest amphibious landing operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II, and it is also known as the bloodiest battle in the Pacific Theater.
When the U.S. military began to attack, the Japanese army directly counterattacked with devastating air attacks, and one after another Japanese fighters rushed to the U.S. warships, which once brought great trouble to the U.S. military.
However, although the process was difficult, the result was good, and the American army finally won the battle and eliminated at least 100,000 Japanese troops.
The three battles cited above are all recognized as one of the "five most tragic battles in the world", in contrast to the Normandy landings and the Leningrad campaign, in which the "righteous" side won in the end.
Why did "justice" have such an impact on these tragic battles?
In fact, the reason is very simple, because the soldiers who engage in just wars can often burst out stronger, they are tenacious, brave, and determined, and in this point, the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Shangganling may be the best proof of this.