A courtyard house; Li Yunlong, a subordinate of the deputy director of Harbin Military Engineering I

In July 1952, the Kimhwa front in North Korea was shrouded in smoke and the mountains were charred black.

The seemingly crumbling 38th parallel central line conceals a massive, year-long plan, a desperate maneuver waged on the blood and flesh of hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Third Army Corps, and supported by the entire nation.

It all began in August 1951.

From the moment the Korean War entered a strategic stalemate, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army Command suppressed all its sharpness and launched a top-secret plan that would subvert the rules of land warfare worldwide—the reverse slope tunnel system for luring and annihilating the enemy.

From August 1951 to July 1952, a full eleven months, more than three hundred days and nights.

On the central front, at Wusheng Mountain, Shangganling, Hill 597.9, and Beishan at 537.7, there was no day without fighting and bloodshed.

The General Headquarters adopted the tactics of the three-corps, completely abandoning the advantages of mobile warfare and turning to the most brutal and grueling positional stalemate.

What we want is not a temporary victory or defeat, but to lull Ridgway into a false sense of security, to inflict a crushing defeat on Van Fleet, and to make the world's coalition forces believe that the Chinese People's Volunteer Army is exhausted, can only defend to the death, is completely worn out, and is incapable of fighting again.

To put on a spectacular show, the Third Army Corps spared no effort.

The 12th Army, the 15th Army, the 38th Army, the 42nd Army, Li Yunlong's Independent Army, and the All-Army Engineer Command, along with hundreds of other combat units, took turns fighting, engaging in bloody battles, and refining their tactics.

Every hilltop, every trench, every ridge and position was contested hundreds of times throughout the year.

During the day, the US military bombarded the land and occupied the mountains; at night, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army launched a bloody counterattack to reclaim the land.

A single position changes hands several times a day; an inch of land is soaked in countless drops of blood.

Everyone knows—

This is a place of certain death, a meat grinder, a battlefield of carnage where there is no return.

Yet not one retreated, not one feared battle.

The 15th Army guarded the main peak and withstood the fiercest artillery fire;

The 12th Army guarded the pass and launched the fiercest counterattack;

The 38th and 42nd Armies engaged in a seesaw-and-run tactic, honing their splitting and dividing strategies.

Li Yunlong's Independent Army was fearless and repeatedly confronted the vanguard of the US Army. They deliberately provoked and ran headlong into gunfire. By using the banner of annihilating the 25th Division, they locked all the hatred of the Allied forces onto the Third Army Corps, perfectly completing the strategic mission of "filling the enemy's hatred and luring the enemy to underestimate them".

The engineering command worked day and night, chiseling through mountains and excavating tunnels, training troops through combat and paving the way with blood.

A year of bloody battles, a year of tempering.

Numerous meritorious individuals and heroes emerged from all armies.

There were ordinary soldiers who held their ground in the tunnels for three days without food, grassroots commanders who led hundreds of counterattacks, and heroic engineers who dismantled unexploded bombs and retrieved explosives from the US military.

The Third Army Corps suffered 20,000 casualties throughout the year, exchanging the most tragic sacrifices for two most precious things:

First, the entire army is thoroughly familiar with the complete set of reverse slope tunnel warfare tactics;

Secondly, they completely deceived Van Fleet, Ridgway, and the entire UN forces.

To coordinate with the overall strategy of luring the enemy in the central line, the 9th Army Corps on the eastern front and the 19th Army Corps on the western front simultaneously undertook the task of fierce containment.

Under pressure, bleeding, and enduring all difficulties, they held back the Allied forces' mobile forces, preventing the enemy from discovering their astonishing central deployment.

That year, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army fought a frustrating, oppressive, and heart-wrenching battle that gripped the entire nation.

But everyone is waiting—

Once the tunnels are completed, the firepower is in place, the fighter jets are ready, and Zhang Renfeng gives the order, we will unleash a year's worth of killing intent and launch a stunning and earth-shattering comeback!

For this final battle, the entire nation has poured its resources into it.

Starting in June 1952, Zhang Renfeng took over the position of Second Deputy Commander of the Corps Command from Brigade Commander Chen. Corps Commander Chen returned to China and mobilized the entire nation and the entire army to carry out the extreme feat of transporting ammunition by one person with one ammunition, carrying it on their backs and shoulders.

Regardless of rank, branch of service, or day and night, hundreds of thousands of volunteers braved artillery fire, crossed treacherous mountains, and broke through blockades to transport and secretly store 110,000 107mm rockets entirely by manpower in the underground tunnels of Wusheng Mountain and Shangganling!

Meanwhile, elite artillery units were deployed domestically to quietly establish a complete Katyusha long-range rocket artillery position deep within the mountains, where it was laid in wait and ready to be deployed.

Combined with the comprehensive, three-dimensional killing and defense system personally refined by Zhang Renfeng:

High-explosive modified shells, extended-range shells, delayed-action mortar shells, and homemade napalm bombs;

Pressure-activated anti-tank mines, tripwire-activated anti-personnel mines, bounding mines, release-activated booby traps, cast iron/stone mines, and wooden-cased decoy mines;

Cluster explosive charges, tunnel blockade explosives, and layered anti-enemy munitions.

The forward three-layered anti-personnel minefield blocked the assault slope;

Anti-tank minefields in the valley passage locked down armored advances;

The tunnel is surrounded by booby traps, designed to prevent enemy infiltration and sneak attacks.

Far away, Katyusha rockets are covering the rear; in the middle, 107 rockets are sweeping across the entire area; and nearby, landmines are being used to intercept layer by layer.

An unprecedented three-dimensional attack and defense system for the underground Great Wall has been fully formed.

The so-called underground Great Wall is not simply a collection of caves and trenches.

It is a giant underground military ecosystem built entirely on the reverse slope of the Wusheng Mountain granite mountain range.

Despite the enemy's massive artillery barrage, the rock strata, tens of meters thick, remained completely unmoved by aerial bombs and heavy artillery shells.

The surface fortifications were deliberately damaged, exposed, and dilapidated.

The real 100,000 troops, billions of ammunition, command system, medical supplies, and mobile routes are all hidden inside the mountain, ensuring absolute safety.

Avoid the enemy's direct artillery fire, wait for the enemy to penetrate deep into their territory, then launch an underground attack to divide and annihilate them.

This is Zhang Renfeng's trump card tactic.

In July 1952, the crucial moment for the general offensive to lure the enemy arrived precisely on time.

Zhang Renfeng ordered: The lieutenant colonel of the Third Army Corps to shrink the forward positions, show weakness step by step, and take the initiative to abandon them.

The 15th Army was ordered to withstand the pressure, open up the surface forward positions, and after a bloody battle, feign a rout and retreat.

US reconnaissance aircraft repeatedly conducted low-altitude reconnaissance, artillery observation aircraft conducted multiple verifications, and ground reconnaissance troops conducted close-range reconnaissance.

Domestic intelligence agencies spread rumors that the morale of our army was collapsing, creating a one-sided outcry within the country.

All intelligence has been compiled, word for word:

The Chinese People's Volunteer Army's defenses collapsed, its ammunition was exhausted, it was extremely fatigued, and it completely lost its ability to resist.

After a year of patiently waiting, the play was finally completed, played out realistically, and played out so well that the enemy army believed it without a doubt.

Van Fleet was overjoyed, and the humiliation he had suppressed for a year finally erupted.

Since taking office in the Eighth Army Group, he has been repeatedly thwarted, suffered losses, and lost face at the hands of the Third Army Group.

Even the 25th Division under his newly appointed army group was completely annihilated, marking a major setback in his career.

A 60-year-old veteran soldier, who had fought his way from Normandy to the Pacific, had never suffered such humiliation.

He immediately made up his mind to fight to the death:

The coalition's strongest ace, the US military's recognized number one combat force—the US 7th Infantry Division (Drip Division)—was deployed!

This elite reorganized division, which had been through the baptism of World War II, was equipped with top-of-the-line equipment, had a distinguished combat record, and was known as the strongest assault ace of the Eighth Group Army, was ordered to take over the core high ground of Wusheng Mountain.

Following closely behind, the South Korean 6th Division, the South Korean 8th Division, and the multinational coalition's auxiliary forces advanced rapidly, surging into the pre-arranged death zones of Shangganling and Wusheng Mountain.

Van Fleet was bursting with confidence, relying on his terrifying firepower, and boasted that he would completely crush the Third Army Corps, flatten the 38th Parallel, and break through the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's defenses.

Millions of large-caliber artillery shells and aerial bombs rained down on the mountains.

The surface soil and rock of the entire main peak of Wusheng Mountain and Shangganling Highland were forcibly leveled by several meters.

The vegetation was burned, the rocks were blasted apart, and scorched earth filled the sky. Within sight on the ground, there were no fortifications, no shelters, no defenders, and no signs of life.

Looking at the empty, dilapidated mountaintop, Li Qiwei, sitting in the command post, looked slightly relieved.

He remained wary of the mysterious commander of the Third Army Corps and of this strange Eastern defensive tactic.

But he needs a respectable victory, he needs to stabilize domestic public opinion, and he needs to suppress the anti-war wave.

The arrogant VanVleet had already been completely blinded by victory.

He firmly believed that only firepower could prevail:

Under the bombardment, all resistance is futile.

Tens of thousands of allied troops, fully organized and unprepared, stepped into the trap meticulously planned and patiently laid out by Zhang Renfeng for a year.

Valleys, slopes, platforms, and passes were all filled with the main force of the US 7th Division, the ROK 6th Division, the ROK 8th Division, and foreign coalition forces.

The enemy is in a deadly trap!

Seal the jar tightly!

The decisive moment has finally arrived!

Command Center of the Main Underground Tunnel of Wusheng Mountain.

Zhang Renfeng, dressed in military uniform, had a cold, icy gaze, and the pent-up murderous aura he had suppressed for a whole year burst forth.

He gazed at the densely packed enemy markings on the sand table, and said in a deep voice, word by word:

"Fire the shells like raindrops!"

At a single command, the entire network of the Baili Tunnel was activated!

The underground hell, dormant for a year, suddenly erupted!

The Katyusha fire from the rear positions was instantly concentrated!

110,000 Type 107 rockets were simultaneously unlocked and detonated across the entire area!

This is a hellish scene that American soldiers will never forget!

No gun barrel, no gun mount, no fixed position, no need for precise data!

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Third Army Corps, each holding a rocket, fired from earthen pits, supported by stones, prone, or with their hands raised for rapid firing.

Three seconds to aim, instant firing, change positions immediately after firing, and fire again after changing positions!

A rocket that's completely unreasonable!!

Tens of thousands of individual firing positions across the mountains and fields simultaneously erupted in crimson flames!

Billions of flames soared into the sky, and an impenetrable, all-encompassing steel fire net instantly enveloped the entire war zone!

Explosions upon explosions, shockwaves upon shockwaves, fragments upon fragments.

The densely packed US 7th Division and two South Korean divisions were instantly engulfed by the entire sea of ​​fire!

The U.S. military, having fought throughout World War II and for half its life, had never seen such terrifying infantry artillery fire!

Everyone is an artilleryman, everywhere is firepower, and destruction can be achieved with a mere wave of the hand!

The so-called armored superiority, artillery superiority, and air-ground coordination superiority of a modern elite division are instantly rendered useless!

The fighter jets dared not dive—the ground below was filled with their own troops!

The artillery was unable to retaliate—the position was instantly leveled!

The infantry could not deploy their formations—the valley was completely locked down!

While the sea of ​​fire was being suppressed, the surrounding mountain rocks and cliffs—you would never imagine—had thousands of exits opening simultaneously!

After lying dormant for a whole year, hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the 12th Army, 15th Army, 38th Army, 42nd Army, Li Yunlong's Independent Army, and the Engineer Command surged out from the ground like a tidal wave breaking through the dam!

A year of forbearance, a year of bloody battles, and a year of pent-up murderous intent have finally erupted!

The tactics were flawless, and the teamwork was superb.

The 15th Army undertook the heaviest task, with the entire army pressing down on the outer defense line, blocking all enemy retreat routes, and preventing enemy reinforcements and breakouts!

The 38th and 42nd Armies swiftly penetrated from both flanks, instantly cutting and severing the Allied forces.

The 12th Army crushed and wiped out the remaining enemy forces from the front.

Li Yunlong's Independent Army bravely advanced, targeting enemy command centers, armored formations, and scattered remnants;

The engineering corps detonated all pre-buried explosives and minefields along the entire line, completely sealing off all escape routes!

The South Korean 6th Division was known for its speed and ability to escape. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, they scattered and broke through the encirclement at the first opportunity.

However, Zhang Renfeng had anticipated this and left a weak blockade on the outer side, allowing most of them to escape and suffer only heavy damage.

The supposedly invincible U.S. 7th Elite Infantry Division had nowhere to escape, nowhere to retreat, and was completely trapped in a dead end.

From artillery barrage, formation splitting, infiltration and encirclement, landmine blockade, and complete eradication, the entire process was swift, decisive, and thunderous!

Even more critically, news of the enemy's defeat spread, prompting the Chinese People's Volunteer Army on both the eastern and western fronts to launch a full-scale offensive, expanding their gains...

After a year of patient endurance, it all came crashing down!

A year of bloodshed, a single sword strike to seal the throat!

[Final Precision Battle Results Statistics]

Total enemy casualties on the central front (over 40000)

The entire US 7th Infantry Division (the strongest elite unit of the coalition forces, a fully-strength and complete main force) was annihilated.

They killed over 16200 people and captured over 2800, completely annihilating their entire unit. Not a single unit managed to break through the encirclement, thus utterly crippling Van Fleet's top ace force.

Severely damage to the South Korean 8th Division

More than 12700 people were killed, wounded, or captured, and the main force was completely crippled and rendered incapable of fighting again.

Severely damage to the South Korean 6th Division

Because the division was adept at escaping and reacted extremely quickly, most of them broke through the encirclement, killing, wounding, and capturing more than 6100 people, suffering devastating damage.

The Independent Army's Liangshan Special Operations Battalion annihilated more than 4200 foreign coalition auxiliary troops from Colombia and Ethiopia, including nearly 1,000 Japanese soldiers. The scene was bloody, with no intact bodies left, as the excited soldiers wielded their knives.

Casualties of our troops

Total casualties throughout the year: over 41000.

(Including casualties and injuries among the various armies of the Third Army Corps during rotational battles, and the heavy cost of hundreds of repeated battles for positions, including casualties from the Eastern and Western Army Corps' containment operations.)

The casualties in this decisive battle in July were 1360.

This battle resulted in a terrifying single-battle casualty ratio of 29:1.

Van Fleet leveled the mountaintops, while Zhang Renfeng pierced through the heavens and earth!

The Allied forces possessed a million artillery shells, yet they could not breach the underground Great Wall of the Chinese soldiers!

Despite possessing the most powerful firepower on Earth, the US military could not win against a year-long, meticulously planned strategy!

After this battle, the reputation of the Third Army Corps was completely shattered throughout the Western military community.

The rules of world land warfare were completely rewritten by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army and the Third Army Corps!

......

Inside the 3rd Army Corps headquarters, there were the captured flags of the US 7th Division and the regimental flags of their three main regiments...

Political Department Director Zhao Gang, Chief of Staff, and Lao Wei, who was in charge of logistics, were all sobbing uncontrollably... No one could understand the immense pressure the entire corps command had endured over the past year...

Finally, everyone's attention focused on the map. Zhao Gang glanced at it, his brow furrowing. "Where's Commander Zhang? Guards...?"

A short while later, a guard rushed in to report, "Director Zhao... Commander... Commander Pei has taken Secretary Pei to Hill 597.7..."

Zhao Gang immediately became anxious, "Nonsense! Why didn't you stop him? If anything happened to him, I'd kill you!"

"Hurry up! What are you standing there for? Now! Immediately! Go and notify Qin Jiwei at the front lines to protect the commander!!!!"

......

On the high ground, Zhang Renfeng knelt, tears streaming down his face, murmuring to himself, "Grandpa, even though this is just a parallel world, at least... this was a great victory..."

In his previous life, Zhang Renfeng's grandfather was a platoon leader in the 15th Army who sacrificed his life here, and only six men from his company survived. Therefore, whether studying at the National University of Defense Technology, later serving in the army, or capturing Man Guangzhi alive at Zhurihe, he was intimately familiar with this period of history!

They were also very familiar with the US military, its commanders during that period, and the situation in the other country.

Of course, Zhang Renfeng doesn't think he's much better than his predecessors. It's just that he had a god's-eye view from the very beginning of the battle. In his previous life, he was a senior commander of a heavy combined arms brigade. Here, he pays tribute to his deceased predecessors!

May this prosperous era be as you wished!