Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

One-third of the tanks in the tank battalion were destroyed.

Of course, the Chinese and North Korean troops knew the strength of the US Air Force. So after the artillery opened fire on the attacking US troops, they quickly began to hide. In order to hide these artillery positions, many holes were dug in the mountains.

In the past few months, every soldier has become an expert at digging holes.

By the time the US Air Force began bombing Chinese and North Korean positions, many artillery units had already moved, and some had gone into hiding. It should be said that the Korean War was asymmetrical from the start.

Wei Hongjun is familiar with this history and the US military.

But the US military was completely clueless about the Chinese Volunteer Army and knew nothing about it. That’s why Wei Hongjun was always able to stay ahead of the US military.

It's the same this time.

Ridgway thought he had made all preparations, but ended up running headfirst into the tunnel warfare between the Chinese and North Korean troops.

860 once again interspersed and surrounded

On April 1950, 4, General Ridgway launched the Spring Offensive.

Ridgway was very confident.

Because the UN forces were so well-equipped. During the spring offensive, the UN forces alone possessed approximately 2700 tanks of various types. Almost every division of Syngman Rhee's puppet army and Chiang Kai-shek's forces was equipped with to tanks.

And they are equipped with sufficient heavy artillery regiments.

Only a country with the industrial might of the United States could afford to equip its troops with such heavy firepower. And not only was there ample firepower, but there was no need to worry about ammunition. The United States' logistical capabilities meant it could provide as many rounds as you wanted.

With such powerful firepower, Ridgway was of course very confident.

The UN forces were also well-equipped with various vehicles. Most were Japanese-made. Japanese conglomerates and industries, nearly bankrupted by the Korean War, were now receiving numerous orders, all dedicated to the war effort.

Various types of vehicles continued to flow into North Korea and became the means of transportation for the United Nations forces.

The current UN forces really have everything they need.

Even if the Chinese army did receive Soviet weapons, their ammunition supply would certainly not be as good as that of the UN forces after the fighting began. The UN forces could use their ammunition at will and replenish it at any time.

But it is not so easy for the Chinese army to replenish its ammunition.

Ridgway wanted to carry out large-scale bombing from the Yalu River all the way to the transportation lines on the front line. Although Ridgway knew that the Soviet Air Force had already joined the war, he mobilized so many air force units this time just to suppress the Soviet Air Force.

What modern troops fear most is that logistics cannot keep up.

Ridgway believed that as long as the battle continued, the Chinese army would inevitably face logistical problems. The Chinese army's firepower was inferior to that of the UN forces, and they were short of ammunition, so this battle would be a sure thing.

Ridgway really thought of everything.

The only thing they didn't take into account was that the Chinese military currently had no shortage of ammunition. Over the past few months, the Chinese and North Korean armies had been replenishing their munitions, and frontline troops had stockpiled a large amount of ammunition. Although the large-scale deployment of the US Air Force had dealt a significant blow to logistics, the current stockpile of ammunition was sufficient to sustain a month of fighting.

The two sides fought back and forth on the battlefield for six days.

Nothing happened as Ridgway wanted.

This kind of positional warfare was a bloodbath, with daily casualties being extremely severe. Ridgway was completely unprepared and crashed headfirst into the Chinese and North Korean positions, leaving him bloodied and battered. The various advantages that Ridgway had previously prided himself on were not fully utilized.

The most important thing is that the Chinese army’s positions could never be captured.

This made Ridgway very angry.

After all, Ridgway had tried very hard, but the results were mediocre. Therefore, Ridgway began to transfer all the troops from the rear.

Originally, Ridgway considered whether the Chinese and North Korean forces would catch up if he retreated. Pulling them out and engaging them would be easier. However, the Chinese and North Korean forces ignored the American moves and simply held their positions. So, Ridgway had no choice but to press forward.

The Eighth Army has formed so many tank regiments and heavy artillery regiments in the past few months, and this time they were all deployed to the front line.

He doesn't believe that the Chinese army is indestructible.

After these days of fighting, Li Qiwei also figured out what the Chinese army was doing. In the past few months, the Chinese army had dug a lot of tunnels in the front-line positions.

When the US Air Force bombed and artillery shelled, the main force would hide in the tunnels. When the infantry attacked, they would come out of the tunnels. Ridgway tried to lure the Chinese troops out of the tunnels early.

But the Chinese army is really patient.

After studying the tunnels of the Chinese army, Ridgway began to use napalm bombs and even threw poison gas bombs. However, Wei Hongjun was prepared for everything Ridgway thought of and did.

When Wei Hongjun formulated the tunnel warfare plan, he proposed that the tunnels of each unit must strictly adhere to seven defenses, namely, air defense, artillery defense, rain defense, moisture defense, poison (epidemic) defense, fire defense, and flood defense.

In order to guard against the US military's napalm bombs and poison gas bombs, both the Volunteer Army Headquarters and the subordinate armies made very comprehensive tunnel plans.

The two sides were deadlocked on the battlefield.

Because the UN forces were pressing forward in large numbers, almost all of them had already crossed the Han River. Not to mention the UN forces at the forefront, the majority of the UN forces were only 20 to 30 kilometers away from the Volunteer Army.

"Old Deng, what do you think?"

Wei Hongjun looked at the map and asked Deng Guo.

Originally, the Wei Hongjun army was prepared to fight a war of attrition with the US military here, not just for a day or two, but for years, until the US realized that war could not resolve the Korean Peninsula issue. The Wei Hongjun army chose the area north of the Han River as its defensive position because it represented the logistical limit of the Volunteer Army. Especially since the Soviet Air Force never crossed the 38th parallel, their logistics would be completely unreliable once they crossed the Han River and advanced southward. By then, the troops' weapons would be useless as firewood.

Wei Hongjun is very cautious in this regard.

He brought so many troops into Korea, so he had to consider them. He couldn't just blindly advance south for the sake of victory, regardless of the casualties of the troops.

However, after a few days of fighting, the frontline troops sent a telegram to Wei Hongjun, saying that the current strategy and tactics were too conservative and did not suit the current battlefield situation. They believed that the current US military and its lackeys, as well as Syngman Rhee's puppet troops and Chiang Kai-shek's troops, although well-equipped, had only mediocre combat effectiveness.

Moreover, because the UN forces were too numerous and too diverse, there were major problems with coordination between the various forces.

Of course, there were also some troops slacking off on the battlefield.

Just like Chiang Kai-shek's troops, despite arriving at the front lines, they weren't particularly eager to fight. Not only were the soldiers weak in fighting spirit, but so were the officers. Their repeated attacks on the Korean People's Army positions seemed aggressive, but they were all just talk and no action. Whether a unit is truly ready for battle can be felt the moment the two sides come into contact. Chiang Kai-shek's troops arrived in unfamiliar Korea to fight, clearly unwilling to risk their lives.

Therefore, Zheng Weishan and Han Xianchu both sent telegrams to Wei Hongjun, requesting a change in the original defense plan.

The troops should attack boldly.

Destroy more enemies.

Although Zheng Weishan and Han Xianchu wanted to change the overall strategy and tactics of the Wei Hongjun Army, the Wei Hongjun Army was not the kind of leader who would not listen to opinions. Especially in battle, the opinions of the frontline generals were very important.

So he reconsidered the battle plan with Deng Guo.

"Comrade Zheng Weishan and Comrade Han Xianchu's proposal makes sense."

Deng Guo pointed to the map and said, "Originally, our plan was to focus on defense, using our comprehensive tunnel system to directly block the enemy forces and kill enough of them. This would make the Americans realize that they cannot break through our defenses and force them to sit down and negotiate with us. However, the enemy's combat effectiveness now appears to be much worse than we imagined, and there are many loopholes. Among the hundreds of thousands of enemy troops, the US military is clearly undermanned, so it is fighting in conjunction with Syngman Rhee's puppet troops on the eastern front. On the western front, the US military only has one newly formed 7th Division, and the rest are Chiang Kai-shek's troops and other US lackeys. The US military's strength is far less than we imagined, and the hastily formed US forces are also much less combat-effective. This gives us a good opportunity."

"Commander, I also think that new fighter planes have appeared now."

Chen Zhonghe spoke.

He said: "After these few days of fighting, we have a new understanding of the enemy. We previously overestimated the enemy's combat effectiveness, which is why we resorted to tunnel warfare. But in reality, the enemy currently has a large number of troops and is very powerful. But their troops are too mixed, with troops from more than a dozen countries mixed together. Not to mention commanding troops from different countries to fight, even commanding troops from different field armies requires a period of running-in. Commanding so many troops from different countries, just communicating with each other is a difficult task. Moreover, the combat effectiveness of each unit is different, and the combat style is also different. That will cause the enemy's defense to be insufficient in some places, and the enemy's troops will have obvious loopholes.

Wei Hongjun nodded.

Historically, the US military was the primary force among the United Nations forces.

Although the US military suffered heavy losses several times from the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, it maintained a combat force of over 100,000 to 200,000 troops on the Korean Peninsula. Furthermore, any casualties in the Korean battlefield were quickly replaced to maintain the US military's combat effectiveness.

Therefore, historically, the US military has always been the core of the United Nations forces in the Korean battlefield.

But it's different now.

In the first battle, the volunteer army completely annihilated the US troops.

As long as the troop structure remains, replenishing troops and restoring combat effectiveness is relatively simple. However, after the annihilation of a unit, rebuilding the unit is not a simple matter. Building combat effectiveness is even more difficult.

Because the US military itself was undermanned and lacked combat effectiveness, a variety of disorganized units were brought together. This is how the so-called United Nations Army truly became. However, although these units had much improved weaponry and equipment, their combat effectiveness was seriously insufficient.

This creates various loopholes in their ranks.

This spring offensive was completely different from what Wei Hongjun had imagined. Wei Hongjun had originally thought that the United States had suffered such a severe blow in the first battle that it might organize more than 20 army troops to enter North Korea in a short period of time. After all, after the general mobilization of the United States,

A significant number of veterans were re-enlisting. Truman had already mobilized the entire country, aiming to expand the army by a million troops. Sending 20 men to Korea shouldn't be a problem.

However, I didn't expect that the mobilization of the US military would be slower than expected.

A total of only five divisions of army troops were dispatched.

"It seems the army still needs to pick up its old business."

Zheng Weishan and Han Xianchu both suggested extracting elite troops and advancing through the enemy's weak areas. Wei Hongjun, looking at the map, said, "To penetrate the large encirclement, our forces must be adjusted."

Wei Hongjun was not worried about infiltration.

Because this is the Volunteer Army's specialty.

"Commander, look at the battlefields on both the eastern and western fronts. The loopholes on the eastern front are all on the side of Syngman Rhee's puppet army, especially Syngman Rhee's puppet Second Army, which was formed not long ago. Syngman Rhee's puppet First Army is mainly composed of the troops that escaped last time, and at least they have combat experience. But the three divisions under the puppet Second Army have never fought a battle. Even many of their officers have never fought a battle. Aside from their sophisticated weapons and equipment, this is a ragtag group with no combat experience at all."

Chen Zhonghe pointed at Syngman Rhee’s Second Puppet Army.

Syngman Rhee's army wasn't filled with so many officers. Even Paik Sun-yup, the most famous commander of the First Puppet Army, was just a low-ranking officer in the Manchukuo army. His time in the Manchukuo army was spent bullying civilians and suffering repeated defeats.

Not to mention the grassroots officers below.

Where is the experience of fighting?

But Syngman Rhee needed troops. So, he quickly expanded the army by over 100,000 men. But how many officers would be needed for so many troops? The Eighth Route Army had also undergone a massive expansion, but due to a shortage of cadres, they established numerous cadre schools. As a result, after the Eighth Route Army's early expansion, its combat effectiveness declined significantly. Even a well-organized and disciplined army like the Eighth Route Army suffered this fate, let alone Syngman Rhee's puppet troops.

The Second Puppet Army was a relatively new unit, formed only a few months earlier. While its weapons and equipment were impressive, they were nothing compared to the Volunteer Army. Therefore, Chen Zhonghe immediately pointed out the biggest flaw on the Eastern Front.

"We can break through the defenses of the Puppet 45th and 40th Divisions from the direction of Chongchon. To the east, we can encircle the Puppet 45th Division and the US th Division. The key targets on the eastern front will be the Puppet st Army and the th Division. As long as we can severely damage or annihilate Lee Seung-man's Puppet st Army and the US th Division, the enemy forces on the entire eastern front will surely collapse."

"Qingchuan will become very important then."

Deng Guo looked at the map and pointed at Qingchuan.

想要集中兵力歼灭李承晚伪一军和45师，必须要阻击其他方向过来的美军部队。在西线战场美军有美2师、美3师、40师、 45师四个师。

They certainly would not sit idly by and watch the 45th Division be annihilated.

At that time, the nearest route for them would be through Qingchuan area.

"What about the Western Front?"

"Commander, the Western Front is much better than the Eastern Front, but it also has many loopholes. Especially the American lackeys, there are many units with weak combat effectiveness. The combat effectiveness of the Chiang Kai-shek bandit army is still relatively good among these units. Therefore, while the Western Front is dealing with the enemy on the opposite side, other troops are needed to make a detour and encircle and annihilate the US 2nd Division in the Yeoncheon area."

"Ah."

In fact, after the troops advanced here, Wei Hongjun had always avoided fighting this kind of infiltration and encirclement battle.

Because once we start to penetrate and attack the enemy positions, we will lose the protection of the existing tunnel system. Now the US Air Force is so fierce, if a fight breaks out, who knows how many casualties will be.

But now the opportunity is so obvious.

It would be a shame not to make use of this.

"We sent a telegram to the 13th and 20th Corps headquarters, and the Zhisi accepted their opinions and changed the battle plan.

It turned out that they were just fighting blocking and positional battles.