The Fifth Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was a counterattack campaign conducted by our army against the enemy, which lasted for more than a month, and this campaign was carried out immediately after the Fourth Campaign. In order to smash the enemy's attempt and regain the initiative on the battlefield, our army has prepared 13 armies to cooperate with friendly forces, and has made preparations; compared with the state in the first four battles, the morale of the officers and men of our army in the fifth campaign can be said to be unprecedentedly high.
Why is this happening? To answer this question, we first need to have a deep understanding of the strength of the warring sides. On the battlefield, the disparity in strength is a factor that cannot be ignored, and it often determines the outcome of a war. At this time, the difference in the strength of the two warring sides between us and the enemy reached an alarming level. Moreover, thanks to the proper use of our tactics in the first few battles, and our successive victories, our army was surging like a torrent of 1.3 million men. As for the enemy opposite us, their total strength is only 340,000, and they have just lost the battle, and their morale is low, and this disparity in numbers undoubtedly gives us a huge advantage. The upgrading of equipment is also remarkable, the strong support of the Soviet Union has given our army a new look, and the equipment of 37 whole divisions has been continuously delivered to us and quickly distributed to all combat units, which means that our combat effectiveness has been significantly improved, and our soldiers are holding more advanced than before**, confidently waiting for the battle horn. What is even more exciting is that our divisions have set up artillery regiments, antiaircraft artillery battalions and other heavy units, the establishment of these units, undoubtedly enhanced our firepower output and defense capabilities, in the previous four battles, our army's equipment is still backward have let the enemy taste the bitter fruit of defeat. And now, with the blessing of the Soviet Union's best equipment, the confidence of the officers and men of the whole army is even stronger. They are convinced that with such a strong military strength and equipment superiority, we will certainly be able to win a great victory this time, and there will be absolutely no problem in driving the enemy troops to the 38th and 37th parallels, and it is even possible to drive the enemy into the sea in one go, and a wave of optimism has spread throughout the army.
However, there are also some people who maintain objective and rational reasons for this, and they believe that because our army has just finished the fourth campaign, it is not wise to take the initiative to launch an attack at this time because it is a time when people are sleepy and the logistics supply has not kept up. The most important thing for our army now is to gain time to rest and recuperate, and at the same time ensure the smooth supply routes of materials, otherwise once the enemy forces use their air superiority to cut off the supply lines of our army, even if they have Soviet-style equipment in hand, it will be difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice, and everything will be in vain.
However, at this time, the battle plan had been decided, and the plan could not be easily changed, and the whole army was eager to try to defeat the enemy into the sea, so some people's worries were ignored.
Since ancient times, arrogant troops are bound to lose, and in the current war situation, our army seems to be somewhat overconfident, and does not pay enough attention to the enemy's strength and tactics. The enemy, on the contrary, in several encounters with our army, gradually summed up the lessons and lessons, carefully analyzed the weaknesses of our army, and found that our army lacked the support of the air force, so they decided to give full play to their advantages and use the tactics of motorized marching and roundabouts to separate our army and destroy it one by one. The supply of logistical materials has always been a major problem for our army, due to the instability of the transportation lines and the destruction of the enemy, our army is often faced with the dilemma of material shortage, the enemy obviously noticed this, they saw that the longest offensive of our army is not more than one week, that is, they say a week offensive, so they formulated a set of battle plans, gathered a large number of aircraft, ready at any time to carry out a devastating blow to our army's logistics supply lines. At the same time, they also used magnetic tactics, which allowed our troops to be unwittingly led into the enemy's encirclement and suffer heavy losses.
On April 22, 1951, the fighting between the two sides began, and our army launched a counterattack on all fronts. According to the original battle plan, the three corps under the command of Wang Jinshan, Song Shilun and Yang Dezhi coordinated the assault, and it went smoothly at the beginning, and they passed all the way, especially the officers and men of the 64th Army of Yang Dezhi's corps broke through the Imjin River After completing the preliminary task, the 64th Army quickly interspersed with the Yi**, in order to be able to quickly control this important strategic location. However, they did not expect to have stepped into a trap carefully set by the enemy. The enemy was extremely cunning, and they had already deployed in advance, deliberately allowing the 64th Army to cross the river smoothly and lure it deep behind enemy lines. The commander of our army ignored the enemy's deliberate release of water, which caused a miscalculation, and instead believed that the enemy army was vulnerable. After the 64th Army crossed the river, the enemy ordered the air troops and the ground troops to cooperate with each other to attack the officers and men of our army.
After crossing the river, the 64th Army found itself surrounded by enemy troops. The enemy troops around are in a dilemma, while behind them is the rough river. They seem to have been trapped in a desperate situation from which they cannot escape. At this moment, the 64th Army, like a prey trapped in a net, struggled, trying to find a way out, however, the road ahead was blocked by the enemy, and the retreat in the rear was also cut off. They are in an extremely dangerous situation, and life and death hang by a thread. At this critical juncture, the soldiers of the 64th Army did not give up. They knew very well that only by uniting and resisting vigorously could they break out of the encirclement, and with their tenacious will and excellent tactical skills, they launched a fierce battle with the enemy. The 64th Army fought to the death with the enemy, and they repelled enemy attacks again and again, holding their positions. Their bravery and tenacity cost the enemy dearly. However, war is brutal. The 64th Army made great efforts and sacrifices and still did not get out of danger, Yang Dezhi ordered other armies to give support to the 64th Army, and finally the 64th Army had a prominent encirclement, captured the high ground next to the meeting, and cut off the enemy's retreat, but they still failed to get out of the predicament, which directly led to our army becoming a lone army, and Wang Jinshan's corps, which was in a head-to-head confrontation with the enemy, also fell into a passive state, and the Western Front was frustrated.
In order to turn the tide of the war, our army showed excellent adaptability, quickly adjusted its tactics, and shifted the focus of the offensive from the western front to the eastern front. Since the enemy's main forces were concentrated on the Western Front, the defensive forces on the Eastern Front were relatively weak. In order to distract the enemy's attention, the 19th Corps of our army commanding the Western Front continued to carry out feints here, successfully pinning down the enemy's main forces. At the same time, our army launched a powerful offensive on the Eastern Front, sending more than a dozen corps to attack in one fell swoop. In the face of the fierce attack of our army, the enemy was caught off guard and could only organize a defense in a hurry, but it was no longer able to stop the powerful offensive of our army, and after a fierce battle, the enemy army was defeated and retreated, and finally had to choose to retreat.
The victory in the operation on the Eastern Front enabled our side to advance nearly 60 kilometers, which not only strengthened itself, but also further isolated the main force of the enemy on the Western Front. The enemy forces paid a huge price in this battle and ultimately failed to complete the intended strategic tasks. This victory fully demonstrated the flexibility and adaptability of our army and its superb tactical level, and at the same time laid a solid foundation for the final victory. On the Korean battlefield, our heroic army did not flinch in the face of a strong enemy and fought hard. They built an impregnable barrier with their flesh and blood, successfully keeping the enemy out of their positions. In this fierce battle, although our army paid a heavy price at the beginning due to carelessness and underestimation of the enemy, in the end it was still victorious by improvisation, and it was this indomitable spirit that made our army more and more courageous the more we fought. In this battle, our troops annihilated the enemy army 820,000 people, creating a miracle in the history of warfare. This brilliant result not only dealt a heavy blow to the enemy's arrogance, but also greatly boosted the morale of our army. We have proved our strength with practical actions and made the enemy deeply realize that the dream of building a new defense line in North Korea has been completely shattered. This battle reversed the previous passive situation and enabled our army to shift from strategic defense to strategic offensive. The enemy's original attempt to occupy more territory by rapid advance was successfully thwarted by our troops. Now they have to sit down and negotiate an armistice with our side.
The victory in this battle marked a fundamental change in the position of our army on the Korean battlefield. We have not only won a decisive victory on the battlefield, but also won respect and recognition in the international community, which is a historic turning point and has laid a solid foundation for the eventual realization of peace.