Reading guide:On December 23, 1950, a car accident occurred on the Korean battlefield, which directly changed the course of the entire war, because in this car accident, Walton Walker, then the commander of the US Eighth Army, was tragically killed.
In order to reverse the defeat, the United States sent another famous World War II general, Ridgway, to replace Walker as commander of the Eighth Army.
Compared with Walker, a fierce general known as the "bulldog", Ridgway is more like a scheming fox on the battlefield, cunning and **.
After taking office, the first thing Li Qiwei had to do was to reinvigorate the morale of the military. After the first and second battles, the U.S. Army and the United ** have long been beaten into frightened birds by the volunteers who can fight well and fight tenaciously, and now the whole line has retreated to the south of the 38th parallel, holding on to their positions and having no fighting spirit.
But as an opponent, General Peng, the commander-in-chief of the Volunteer Army, has experienced a hundred battles and is good at seizing fighter planes, and he will never give Li Qiwei a chance to revive the morale of the army. After learning of Walker's death and Ridgway's new arrival, Mr. Peng decided to immediately launch a third campaign, aiming at Seoul.
On December 31, 1950, only five days after Li Qiwei took office, the six armies of the Volunteer Army launched the third campaign under the command of General Peng.
As soon as the battle began, the Volunteers first concentrated more than 100 artillery pieces and bombed the positions of the South Korean Army stationed on the front line for a long time. In the first two battles, the South Korean army, which was destroyed and frightened by the formation of the Volunteer Army, had already become a frightened bird, and when it saw that the situation was not good, it immediately abandoned the US army and the United **, smeared oil under the soles of their feet and ran away.
According to Li Qiwei's deployment, the South Korean Army was stationed in the first line of defense to protect the right flank of the US Army and the United **, while the main forces were concentrated in Seoul and its surrounding communication arteries, so that they could attack and retreat.
Now the South Korean Army is about to collapse at the touch of a button, disrupting Li Qiwei's deployment, exposing the right flank of the US army to the guns of the volunteers, and it is very likely that they will be surrounded by the volunteers who are good at interspersed combat and fall into a desperate situation.
Li Qiwei, who had taken up his post as a new officer, did not know much about the South Korean Army, and when he heard that he had retreated without permission, he immediately got into a jeep and went to stop it. As the saying goes, "defeat is like a mountain", and in the face of the South Korean army that lost its ** and fled frantically for its life, Li Qiwei's obstruction and reprimand were of no effect at all. His own jeep was almost run over by a rampaging South Korean tank, but the guards around him were alert and pulled him aside to save his life.
However, after all, Li Qiwei is a famous World War II general in the US military, and he understands that this is not the time to hold South Korea accountable for its defeat, and the top priority at the moment is to withdraw the US troops and the United States to a safe place, and only by preserving the vital forces can they have a chance to recover the defeat. After returning to the army, he immediately ordered the US army and the United ** to retreat on all fronts, so as not to fall into the encirclement of the volunteers.
Unlike the South Korean Army, the US Army and the United ** were not defeated, but retreated to the south in an orderly manner. Watching the army withdraw from Seoul, Li Qiwei was quite unwilling. A few months ago, when the U.S. military occupied Seoul, it made a bold promise, but now it is lost in its own hands.
But Li Qiwei did not think that this was his responsibility, he had just been in office for 5 days, and he had not yet completely taken over the troops, so he was not convinced by the volunteers and his opponent Mr. Peng. In order to tell the volunteers that the American army was not defeated but retreated on its own initiative, before leaving Seoul, Li Qiwei deliberately nailed his pajamas to the wall and wrote:"Li Qiwei, commander of the Eighth Army of the US Army, salutes the commander of the squadron! ”
Looking at the Volunteer Army's side, after cleaning up the South Korean Army, the 39th Army and the 50th Army, which were the vanguard, became more and more courageous and took Seoul in one go. When the fighters stormed Ridgway's headquarters, they quickly found the pajamas he had left behind and the words on the side. The soldiers did not dare to slack off, and immediately reported the discovery layer by layer, and finally passed it to Mr. Peng.
During this period, the 50th Army and other troops pursued the enemy all the way, had already crossed the Han River, and occupied a vast area south of the 38th parallel.
After seeing the pajamas and words left by Li Qiwei, Mr. Peng realized a hint of danger. The fact that a "defeated" general can leave a gift to his opponent so calmly shows that he is confident and does not regard this battle as a defeat. And the sentence left behind is more of a provocation, with the meaning of "let's wait and see".
After pondering for a while, Mr. Peng suddenly gave an order: the whole army stopped the pursuit and immediately began to build fortifications to prevent the enemy from counterattacking. None of the generals of the Volunteer Army objected to General Peng's order, but the Korean People's Army was greatly puzzled, and even sent people to inquire why they did not continue to pursue?
In this regard, Mr. Peng responded unceremoniously: "Now the logistics supply of the Volunteer Army is very difficult, there are problems with ammunition, food and grass, and the whole army is in a state of fatigue and urgently needs to rest and recuperate after continuous fighting." And the enemy seems to be defeated, but in fact it is only a strategic retreat. They have strong air support and logistics, and if we take the lead in pursuit, it will be a devastating blow that awaits us. ”
Mr. Peng deserves to be the "god of the army", he was not carried away by the victory, discovered the shortcomings of the volunteer army in time, and avoided a terrible defeat.
The actual situation is indeed as Mr. Peng expected, although Li Qiwei ordered the troops to retreat, but he has formulated a new plan, that is, in the area south of Seoul, relying on tanks, artillery and other advanced **, quickly build a steel defense line, wait for work, annihilate the pursuing troops of the Volunteer Army in one fell swoop, and then take advantage of the situation ** to recapture Seoul.
Li Qiwei was very confident in his plan, and also thought of a domineering name - "Butcher Project", intending to deal a devastating blow to the volunteers.
It's a pity that his opponent is Mr. Peng, so he can only end in failure.