Across the Yalu River 跨过鸭绿江 Episode 29

The North Korean combat headquarters were all calling for the 180th division. The 60th Army ordered them to leave cover and retreat. But for some reason, they stayed for a day and failed to retreat in time. Surrounded by enemies five times their own, the rescued troops could not be contacted. The radio station was also unable to determine its specific location. The life and death of the soldiers of a whole division is uncertain, and Peng Dehuai bluntly said that he would shoot the commander if he made a mistake in his command. Due to the untimely retreat, all the soldiers of the 180 Division who had made mistakes in command were encircled and suppressed, but they insisted on the true nature of the soldiers to face the American artillery fire and face life and death without fear. There are only four thousand people left in one division, which also includes the number of the other regiment that went to support.

Mao Zedong and President Peng have discovered Li Qiwei's strategy. Cheorwon is his ultimate goal. Van Fleet has assembled his troops to launch a general offensive. Li Qiwei has even called him to personally go to North Korea to celebrate him after his victory. There are no troops near Cheorwon that can reinforce Cheorwon in time, and Cheorwon is of great strategic significance. President Peng is angry that he must defend even if he is connected with a guard. Through multiple contacts, Deng Hua finally contacted the 63rd Army of the 19th Corps for emergency reinforcements, but the 63rd Army was the first to go to the front line in the fifth battle. Now it is a tired division, but the battle situation is urgent and can no longer be critical. President Peng immediately ordered that they must guard Cheorwon for 15 days.

Fu Chongbi, commander of the Sixty-third Army, understood that after a month of war, their ammunition and food were about to run out, and political commissar Long Daoquan comforted him that his situation would improve when he arrived in Cheorwon. At this time, President Peng sent a telegram, and Fu Chongbi hurriedly ordered the entire army to march quickly and arrange the deployment of divisions for strategic defense. Van Fleet demanded that all the artillery shells be assembled for intensive bombing for a whole night. The 189th Division of the 63rd Army was divided into parts by companies. The 9,000 people were like sesame seeds and more than 200 small groups were deployed. Position, the first line of defense they must hold for five days.

Throughout the night, the U.S. Army fired a total of 44,000 artillery shells on the Volunteer’s positions. The 187th Division used dozens of small positions to delay the advancement of the U.S. Army. The soldiers digging trenches and fortifications in the artillery fire. Behind the third battalion of the 187th Division and the 563th Regiment is the deep unit of the 63rd Army. They must defend this line of defense no matter what. The U.S. military continued to advance under the cover of the aircraft. While avoiding the bombing, the soldiers of the three battalions launched a fierce counterattack, resolutely withstanding the repeated impact of the U.S. military. However, the indiscriminate bombing by the US planes eventually caused heavy damage to the third battalion. Watching the enemy rushing up, the seriously injured deputy commander pulled up the grenade and died with the enemy. The 563 regiment resisted the enemy's repeated attacks more than ten times. After they emptied the ammunition, they engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the rushing U.S. troops. Thousands of enemies were killed and successfully completed the first-line blockade mission. The frustrated enemy turned to 189. Division position.

President Peng admired the strategy of breaking the 189th Division into parts, but the casualties were also very heavy. In just a few days, more than two hundred positions had already lost more than half. Deng Hua proposed to prepare for the defensive line. Li Qiwei urged that Cheorwon must be occupied as soon as possible, and Van Fleet promised to complete the task tomorrow. Seeing the U.S. troops rushing up from the mountain, the volunteers of the 189th Division rushed down without fear to fight them with bayonets. At this time, the division commander ordered them to hold on for another day.

At night, the US army searched for its casualties. The division commander gathered the remaining uninjured soldiers together. He ordered them to recapture the Seed Mountain tonight, or he would lead his troops to battle. Before leaving, the soldiers wanted to have one last bite of fried noodles. The teacher told him to come back alive and give them stew himself. The U.S. military, which was resting in the trenches, was hit by a sudden bomb and fled, and the soldiers successfully regained the Seed Mountain. But after dawn, the members of the death squad could not last long. The division commander ordered the soldiers who could charge to be organized into the second batch of death squads. This was the last charge of the 189th Division. No one could fall. He would personally lead the team to the front.

The fighters of the death squad would kill the enemy with stones and with both hands when they emptied the bullets, killing one more enemy at the last moment of their lives. The U.S. military can only use aircraft bombing and artillery shells to strike. The U.S. military captured Gaotai Mountain. Li Qiwei learned that the main force was already gathering in Cheorwon, and he decided to go to North Korea again.

The U.S. Army drove tanks on the hills full of volunteer corpses. Volunteer soldiers had to fight the U.S. Army even if they had the last breath. They fought the U.S. Army with bombs and barrels to the end. President Peng called the 63rd Army to withdraw from the front line for rest. With the 13 days they held on, Cheorwon’s defensive deployment has been completed. He praised the 63rd Army’s defense as strong and great. There were only two rows of scarred soldiers left in the 189th Division. They decided to stay for a long time. They finally received the order to retreat. The commander went up to the hillside and wept bitterly to face the burial site of thousands of soldiers. I want to take another look at this seed mountain piled with flesh and blood.