In June 1951, during the Fifth Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the Volunteer Army suffered a defeat with the greatest losses.
A main division, with more than 5,000 people captured, suffered heavy losses that were unprecedented and heartbreaking.
** It is called the two major defeats of our army after the founding of New China.
After the war, both the army commander and the division commander were dismissed!
This division is the 60th Division of the 180th Army of the Volunteer Army.
The post-war summary meeting of the officers and men of the Volunteer Army.
The predecessor of the 60th Army was the 8th Column of the 1st Corps of the North China Army, which was developed from the troops of the Taihang Military Region and the Taiyue Military Region.
Under the leadership of the first command, it has become the main force, and is famous for its ability to fight vicious battles, tough battles, and big battles.
In the Linfen Campaign, the Jinzhong Campaign, the Taiyuan Campaign, the Fumei Campaign, the Liberation of the Southwest and other battles, the performance was outstanding, and the combat effectiveness was so strong that the enemy was terrified.
**The training ability is the best in the whole army, Xu Shuai single-handedly led a local army into a trump card army, and he is the soul of the 8th column.
The two commanders of the 60th Army, Wang Xinting (founding general) and Zhang Zuliang (founding lieutenant general), are both fierce generals in the army who have experienced a hundred battles and made great achievements.
In March 1951, under the leadership of army commander Wei Jie (founding lieutenant general) and political commissar Yuan Ziqin (founding lieutenant general), the 60th Army entered the DPRK and participated in the fifth campaign.
In the first stage of the campaign, the 60th Army completed the first assault mission, penetrating directly into the north bank of the Han River, destroying countless enemies.
In the second phase of the campaign, the U.S. army launched a counterattack, and the volunteers retreated on all fronts.
The 60th and 63rd armies were responsible for sniping American troops and covering the transfer of large armies.
At the critical moment of the battle, Zheng Qigui, the commander of the 180th Division, who was fighting fiercely with the US 7th Division and the 1st Marine Division, received an order from the army commander Wei Jie to cover the transfer of the 3rd Corps to the direction of Tieyuan.
Zheng Qigui, the founding colonel of the People's Republic of China, could have been awarded the rank of major general based on his military exploits and qualifications, but he was only awarded a colonel in 1955 and promoted to colonel in 1963.
Soon, the main force of the Volunteer Army completed the transfer, and the 60th Army and the 63rd Army also began to prepare for retreat.
Because of poor communication, the 180th Division had serious problems with friendly forces.
In order to cover the retreat of the wounded of the corps, the 180th Division sniped on the spot, did not advance but retreated, lost contact with friendly forces, and became a lone army.
Soon, the 180th Division was heavily surrounded by 10 times the size of the American army, ran out of ammunition and food, and fell into a desperate situation.
At the moment of life and death, Zheng Qigui made a fatal mistake - smashing the radio station and dispersing to break through!
In the end, the whole division of 10,000 people, only less than 1 3 managed to break through, losing more than 7 thousand people.
This was the biggest defeat of the Volunteers since they entered the Korean War.
The commander of the Volunteer Army*** was furious, scolded loudly, and threatened to shoot Zheng Qigui.
Army Commander Wei Jie immediately requested punishment.
Lieutenant General Wei Jie, commander of the 60th Army of the Volunteer Army.
After the war, the 60th Army withdrew to the rear for a major reorganization, Wei Jie and Zheng Qigui were dismissed, and some people even proposed to revoke the number of the 180th Division.
Soldiers regard glory as life, and the revocation of the number due to defeat is the biggest negation of an army.
The 60th Army was inexplicably sad and indignant, but they couldn't raise their heads, and they had bitter words.
When the veteran army commander Zhang Zuliang heard the news, he hurriedly pleaded with his superiors and went to North Korea to learn about the war situation.
After returning to China, Zhang Zuliang once again served as the commander of the 60th Army, and he vowed to be ashamed.
Before leaving, ** personally encouraged him to mobilize the troops to fight a turnaround battle.
After arriving at the front line, Zhang Zuliang went deep into the grassroots units to sum up experience, strengthen rectification, and step up training.
Zhang Zuliang, commander of the 60th Army of the Volunteer Army, observed the battle situation on the front line.
In October 1952, the opportunity came.
The 60th Army took over the defense combat mission of the 68th Army in the area north of the Han River.
Zhang Zuliang commanded the troops, carried out 26 counterattacks, and annihilated more than 1,000 enemies.
After this battle, the 60th Army regained confidence.
Zhang Zuliang is not satisfied, the 60th Army is going to turn over, this victory is nothing, and another big battle must be fought!
In June 1953, in the summer counterattack, Zhang Zuliang and Deputy Army Commander Wang Chenghan boldly adopted the strategy of hiding in front of the enemy, and lurked for 17 hours only 3 kilometers away from the enemy's position.
When the time was ripe, the 60th Army took advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and launched a thunderous blow, successfully conquered the position, and completed the task of destroying the enemy.
In this battle, the 60th Army annihilated more than 10,000 enemies, creating a record of the largest scale and the largest number of enemies destroyed by the Volunteer Army, and achieving a great victory that caused a sensation in the whole army.
The 60th Army fought a beautiful turnaround.
After the battle, Yang Yong, Xu Shiyou, Wang Ping and others came to the 60th Army tunnel to congratulate.
Xu Shiyou, commander of the 3rd Corps, praised: This battle was fought beautifully, the tradition of the 60 th Army was displayed, and the majestic style was displayed, and the fraternal troops should be impressed.
Xu Shiyou, commander of the 3rd Corps of the Volunteer Army (Du Yide (first from right, commander of the 2nd Army from the right in the front row), Zeng Shaoshan (third from right), commander of the 12th Army and deputy commander of the corps).
After that, the 60th Army made persistent efforts, bravely killed the enemy, and repeatedly achieved good results.
In the entire War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the 60th Army ranked second in the number of enemies destroyed by the whole army, second only to the 38th Army of the Banzai Army.
From encountering a humiliating World War to becoming the ace of the Volunteer Army, the 60th Army has completed an incredible transformation!
Failure is not terrible, what is terrible is the fear of failure.
A real warrior is brave after shame, grows in failure, and gets up from ** when he falls.
All the officers and men of the 60th Army are such warriors and heroes!
It is precisely because of the selfless dedication and great sacrifice of these heroes, who were not arrogant in victory or discouraged in defeat, who fought bravely to kill the enemy, and who dared to fight tough battles, that they were able to defeat the most powerful enemy and win the battle for the founding of the country under extremely harsh conditions, laying a peaceful environment for the development and construction of the motherland in one fell swoop, and laying the foundation for the prosperity of future generations.
Salute, thanksgiving!