Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Chapter 155 The strongest defense force on earth!
Faced with the enemy's frenzied counterattack, at the beginning of the fourth battle, our army fell into an extremely passive situation.

Faced with such a critical situation, the general finally decided to use a small number of troops on the western front of the Han River to rely on the Han River line to resist the attack of the main force of the enemy.

At the same time, we concentrated our superior forces to launch a large-scale counterattack against the enemy salient on the Eastern Front, striving to defeat the enemy on the Eastern Front.

As long as we successfully defeat the enemy on the Eastern Front and expose their flanks, they will be unable to continue the attack and our army will be able to regain the initiative and win the battle.

In the previous third battle, the 50th Army performed bravely and was unstoppable all the way, advancing directly to the th parallel and becoming the unit that attacked the farthest.

At this moment, the main force of the 38th Army and part of the th Army were defending the Han River line.

Under the unified command of the Zhisi, the main force of the 50th Army, with the cooperation of the 38th Army and other units, launched a tenacious resistance against the main force of the enemy on the south bank of the Han River.

The Han River blocking battle broke out!
Faced with the fierce bombardment of enemy planes and artillery, and the frenzied attacks of enemies that were several times larger than their own, the brave volunteer soldiers, relying on their tenacious will, repelled the enemy's frenzied attacks time and time again, and held their positions on the south bank of the Han River.

The battle was extremely brutal. The brave soldiers held their positions in the smoke and fire, repelling the enemy's attacks time and time again, and beating the attacking enemies to a bloody pulp.

The enemy really couldn't understand why there were still volunteers resisting on the positions burned by petrol bombs and plowed by artillery shells.

Each time they thought that with such powerful firepower, it was impossible for anyone to survive on the position.

But when they rushed forward, a group of volunteer soldiers suddenly appeared and miraculously knocked down a large number of their charging troops.

The soldiers of the 50th and 38th Armies built an insurmountable line of defense with their lives, holding the main force of the enemy to the Han River.

It was precisely because of the outstanding performance of the 50th Army in this battle that it was later called the strongest defensive force on the earth.

It was these soldiers who were not afraid of sacrifice who used their lives and blood to buy enough time for the main force.

While the main force of the enemy was being dragged along the Han River, under the unified command of the Zhisi, the main force quickly moved to the eastern front and launched a counterattack against the enemy on the eastern front.

Just when the counterattack was about to begin, the top leaders of Zhisi had a disagreement over where to attack first.

Chipyong-ni is the junction of the enemy forces on the eastern and western fronts, and its location is very important.

There are a large number of enemy troops in Hengcheng. Attacking Hengcheng can annihilate a large number of enemy troops and achieve greater results.

Chipyong-ni is located between Hoengseong and Seoul, almost at the navel of the entire peninsula. Although it is only a small place, if it is captured, the right wing of the enemy's main force on the western front and the left wing of the enemy army in Wonju further east will be completely exposed.

Of course, being able to capture both places at the same time would undoubtedly be the best option.

But on this front, there were five US Army regiments, three puppet Army divisions, and a long line of "Allied Forces" attached troops.

Given the Volunteer Army's situation at the time, they could only defeat the enemy one by one, either attacking Hengcheng first and then Chipyong-ni, or attacking Chipyong-ni first and then Hengcheng.

Who to hit first?
You can only choose one of the two.

The boss also hesitated at that time.

Deputy Commander Han, who was in charge of the eastern front, believed that they should attack Chipyong-ni first, taking advantage of the fact that there were not many defenders in Chipyong-ni. Taking Chipyong-ni would mean taking the key to the overall situation of the battle. This reason was very sufficient.

However, Deputy Commander Deng, who was in charge of the eastern front command, believed that Hengcheng should be attacked first, because there were a large number of enemy troops in Hengcheng. By concentrating troops to capture Hengcheng, the enemy's vitality could be wiped out on a large scale.

If we attack Chipyong-ni first, the enemy will wake up and retreat on all fronts. The Volunteer Army will then not be able to catch up and annihilate the enemy on a large scale, and the strategic goal will not be achieved. The reasons are quite sufficient.

Faced with such a situation, the boss was also hesitant, and it was ultimately because of insufficient military forces.

If the logistical support was sufficient, the front line was replenished in a timely manner, and the troops were sufficient, we would not face such a difficult choice.

The top brass debated this for a long time, but with the war imminent, there was no time to hesitate.

In the end, the general believed that Deputy Commander Deng was on the eastern front and should be more familiar with the situation there, so he gave the final decision to Deputy Commander Deng and fully analyzed the pros and cons of the two options.

Finally, Deputy Commander Deng called back and suggested attacking Hengcheng first. The general had no choice but to agree and report it to his superiors, who also agreed to the plan.

Finally, under the order of the Volunteer Army Headquarters, the Volunteer Army concentrated its main forces to launch a large-scale counterattack in Hengcheng, and the Hengcheng Counterattack War broke out. The battle went very smoothly, and the Volunteer Army was unstoppable all the way.

The three divisions of the puppet army were the first to be defeated by the volunteers. The defeat of the South Korean puppet army also implicated the US military and caused heavy losses.

In this battle, the Volunteer Army successfully captured Hengcheng and annihilated 20,000 enemies, including more than 10,000 prisoners.

But most of them are puppet troops with no combat effectiveness.

After receiving the news, Ridgway once again scolded the South Korean army for being vulnerable and causing their defeat.

However, Ridgway did not retreat this time. After the fall of Hengcheng, Ridgway also realized the intention of the Volunteer Army and knew that the main force of the Volunteer Army had moved eastward.

And this guy who is dressed like a big thing in his crotch has a pretty good brain.

He realized the importance of Chipyong-ni in time, and directly dispatched the 23rd Regiment of the US Army to station in Chipyong-ni, and issued a death order to defend Chipyong-ni at all costs.

Chipyong-ni was just a small village, less than two square kilometers in area, and was originally garrisoned by only one French battalion, about 1,200 men.

With the arrival of the US 23rd Regiment, about enemy main forces gathered in a place called Chipyong-ni.

Moreover, the enemy is equipped with a large number of tanks and artillery, and its firepower is quite fierce.

Six thousand enemy troops were crammed into an area of ​​less than two square kilometers. Such troop density also set a record for the enemy.

After taking Hoengseong, the Volunteer Army immediately mobilized its main forces to attack Chipyong-ni. About eight regiments of troops arrived at Chipyong-ni one after another and launched a fierce attack.

However, the surrounded enemy had no way to escape and could only fight desperately. The enemy's firepower was fierce and they had the advantage of terrain. Here, the volunteers suffered the most stubborn resistance since entering North Korea.

In order to save Chipyong-ni, Lieutenant General Ridgway also made every effort to support Chipyong-ni and dispatched a large number of aircraft to provide air support. The nearby troops were also constantly approaching Chipyong-ni to tie down the volunteer army troops and support the enemy forces in Chipyong-ni.

The enemy launched counterattacks under the cover of aircraft during the day and held their positions at night.

The Volunteer Army could only launch attacks at night, but the terrain was limited and no matter how many main forces of the Volunteer Army there were, they could not deploy them at all.

Six thousand enemies were crowded into such a small place, yet their strength seemed unusually sufficient.

As a result, the attack was hindered and the attacking forces suffered heavy losses.

Commander Xu, who was in charge of the frontline, was so angry that he yelled, "If I had enough cannons and shells, I would have flattened this pigpen-sized place to the ground long ago."

However, the Volunteer Army was seriously short of heavy firepower at the time, and under the enemy's heavy bombardment, even fewer heavy artillery could be transported to the front line.

Lacking heavy siege firepower, even though the soldiers fought extremely bravely, they were helpless against this small city of Chipyong-ri.

After several days of fierce fighting, they were still unable to capture Chipyong-ni.

At this time, Ridgway seized the opportunity, mobilized troops, and gradually advanced to the vicinity of Chipyong-ni.

If we continue to fight, the main force of our army may be surrounded by the enemy.

Moreover, after a series of battles, the Volunteer Army's front-line troops had consumed too much ammunition and food and were almost running out of ammunition and food.

If we continue to fight, the situation will only become more unfavorable.

So, Zhisi had no choice but to order the entire army to retreat.

The troops on the Eastern Front began to retreat.

The 50th Army and the 38th Army on the western front also retreated from the Han River.

Ridgway seized this opportunity and took the opportunity to command his troops to launch a full-scale counterattack.

(End of this chapter)