Chapter 157: The proprietor comes forward

In the early hours of the morning, the fourth battle began. 【Reading.com】

Although it was still a war of movement, it was very different from the offensive operations on the eastern battlefield of the Third Campaign.

First of all, the 38th Army launched a frontal attack, assuming the posture of encircling the defenders of Yeongju, forcing the ROK 6th Army stationed in Andong to send troops north to support. The 54th Army then advanced south along the coastal road, forcing the ROK 6th Army to move eastward and cutting off the 54th Army's southward route. After successfully luring the ROK 6th Army, the 77th Army moved south from Chungju and attacked Gimcheon, which was defended by only one infantry division, with the support of the 1511th Air Assault Brigade.

The capture of Gimcheon became the first important turning point in the Fourth Campaign.

As the junction between the 6th Army and the 5th Army, the small town of Jinquan, which has only a few tens of thousands of inhabitants, became a strategic location.

If it weren't for the Republican Air Force's air supremacy, which forced the ROK troops everywhere not to dare to act rashly, otherwise the ROK Army would not have deployed only 1 infantry division in Gimcheon, and it was a temporary infantry division!

After taking Gimcheon, the left flank defense line of the 8th Army of the ROK Army was exposed in front of the 77th Army.

According to Bae Cheng's battle plan, the 77th Army will go around behind the ROK Army's 6th Army along the route of Gimcheon-Seonsan-Sangjan-dong-Junwei-Unsan-dong and cut off the retreat of the 6th Army. After letting the low-altitude assault troops guard the various important places, the 77th Army moved south from Unsan-dong, passed through Uiseong, Tari-dong, Hwamu-dong, Sinnyeong, and Yongcheon, and went straight to Gyeongju between Ulsan and Pohang, occupying this extremely important small city.

The entire march of the offensive operation exceeded 600 thousand, for which the 77 Army had to bring power supply equipment.

The mileage of the army is still a secondary issue, with the capabilities of the 77th Army, as long as there is power supply equipment, it is not a problem to run 000 kilometers. The key is that the 77th Army must run 600 meters within 24~hours!

After the capture of Gyeongju by the 77th Army. The 54th Army got rid of the South Korean army and went south to attack Pohang at full speed.

In order to ensure that the 77 Army would be able to capture the state in time. Pei Chengyi sent 3 airborne brigades to assist the 77th Army.

That's it. Pei Chengyi invested 2 military and local forces to launch a large-depth assault.

Anyone who understands the military understands it. This round of attacks will decide the fate of South Korea.

As long as the 77th Army captures Gyeongju and the 54th Army captures Pohang, the Korean Army Group will become an ornament. Nearly 2 million South Korean troops can only "watch the battle". Although the 38th Army was tasked with diversion, it was unable to participate in the offensive operations against Ulsan and Busan. But Bae Seung-yi had already asked the 54th Army and the 77th Army to assemble to the north of Ulsan. Plus 5 air assault brigades and 3 ** artillery brigades following the 54th Army. Able to put into service 9 combat brigades and 5 artillery brigades. A total of more than 60,000 troops attacked Ulsan and Busan. Not to mention that there are only 15 ROK infantry divisions defending Ulsan, and no more than 20 ROK divisions guarding Busan. Even if Ulsan and Busan are the second Seoul. It can't stop the attack of 60,000 troops!

The key is whether the 77th Army Ground Assault Operation can be successful.

No one doubted the final result, because all the favorable conditions were in the hands of the Army of the Republic.

According to the information disclosed to the outside world by the US Department of Defense, the squadron concentrated 2,000~ combat aircraft and helicopter gunships, more than 12 transport helicopters, and 3 engineering battalions to support the 77th Army to the south. Although the 77th Army left the range of long-range artillery support after arriving at Jinquan, the Republic Army has a short-range tactical missile unit of considerable size, which can provide "artillery support" for the 77th Army with tactical ballistic missiles and land-launched cruise missiles if necessary. Even without artillery support, with the support of such a powerful air force, the ROK army could not stop the 77th Army.

After dawn, when the army was still on its way to Jinquan, Wang Yuanqing met with the prime minister of the provisional government of the DPRK in Beijing.

With the capture of Ulsan and Busan by the Army of the Republic a foregone conclusion, arranging for the Korean National Defense Forces to participate in the war has become a major issue that the Government of the Republic urgently needs to solve.

In terms of size, the strength of the DPRK Defense Forces is not weak.

After the establishment of the Provisional Government of Korea, the Republic of Korea reorganized the Korean People's Army (KPA) entering the territory of the Republic and the northern part of the DPRK in accordance with its commitments, and gradually transferred command to the General Staff of the Korean National Defense Forces.

The reorganization has two meanings, one is to establish a new command system, and the other is to provide weapons and equipment.

The establishment of a command system is a relatively simple task, because the General Staff Headquarters is busy with directing combat operations and personnel reorganization, which is undertaken by the Ministry of National Defense, and Zong Yingren is personally responsible for the relevant work.

The more troublesome thing is to provide the necessary weapons and equipment for the DPRK Defense Forces.

This problem would not have been obvious if the war on the peninsula had broken out two years earlier, when the Republic Army had a large number of obsolete equipment. However, when the Peninsular War broke out, most of the second-hand equipment was sold by the "Zhongzhong Heavy Goods Company" to third world countries, or given to these "poor relatives" in Laos for free. It's not that they can't provide new equipment, it's just that the poor quality of the DPRK soldiers shows that they can correctly operate the new weapons and equipment.

As a last resort, the Republic Army had no choice but to arm the North Korean army with the collected North Korean military equipment.

According to incomplete statistics, the Republic Army collected a total of 1.5 million rifles, 20,000 machine guns, more than 50,000 rocket launchers, 12,000~ mortars, and a large number of guns and shells before and after entering the war. It's just that a lot of these weapons and ammunition don't work properly

For example, among the seized rifles, there are 250,000 AK series assault rifles from the 20th and 60s, although some of them can still fire normally, but most of them have been seriously corroded: even if the bullet hits, it misses the target. The problem of ammunition was even more serious, and of the 12 bullets surrendered, 8 had passed their expiration date or were about to expire; About 10,000 of the 1.2 million rockets have passed their expiration date, and the same number cannot be used normally or pose a safety hazard because they have not been properly kept; Of the 150,000 mortar shells, almost half were badly corroded, and about a quarter of them did not have a fuse!

Not to mention heavy equipment.

The 654 tanks, 877 infantry fighting vehicles, and 673 armored vehicles seized by the Army of the Republic were all manufactured before the 80s of the 20th century. Not to mention refurbishment, even normal maintenance is difficult to guarantee. In the words of the officers and men of the logistics troops, if no one wants these tanks and combat vehicles, they can only be disposed of as scrap steel. Because the losses of the Republic Army were also quite heavy, and the newly ordered heavy equipment had to be supplied to the combat units, the army logistics department tried its best to even invite retired employees of the military industrial complex to repair some of the heavy equipment of the DPRK army.

Due to equipment limitations, the Republic adopted a two-pronged policy in rebuilding the DPRK's armed forces.

Some of the DPRK servicemen with relatively high quality have been incorporated into the "Sino-DPRK Joint Operations Force" to carry out logistical support work in the rear. By the beginning of the Fourth Campaign, there were about 25,000 Korean officers and soldiers serving the Republican Army, including 550 car drivers and more than 12,000~ vehicle maintenance personnel.

According to a statistical report by the DPRK Provisional Government, these DPRK officers and men, without exception, are all active elements in the DPRK's three-year reform and opening up, and many of them work in Chinese-funded enterprises, and a few have the experience of studying in the Republic.

the poorer ones were incorporated into the warhead; , trained in the rear.

Initially, the Ministry of Defense sent officers from non-combatant units of the Republic Army to train the DPRK army. After the second campaign, the training of the North Korean army was carried out directly by units that did not have combat missions on the front line. Because most of the officers and men of the DPRK have served in the army, and most of them are former soldiers of the Korean People's Army and have basic combat skills, the main purpose of the training is to improve the morale of the DPRK army, restore military discipline, enable the officers of the DPRK army to master the use and operation methods of certain advanced equipment, and clarify the purpose and value of the existence of the DPRK army.

These trained troops are the main force of the DPRK.

At the beginning of the fourth campaign, the Korean Defense Forces had 5 armored divisions and 55 infantry divisions, with a total strength of more than 700,000.

Families with more than 700,000 troops in the world can be counted on one finger.

In modern warfare, force is not the first element of combat.

In his report to the State Council, Jong Young-in clearly mentioned that the combat effectiveness of the North Korean army is very low, it will not be much stronger than the South Korean army, and more training is needed.

It's just that there is no time for the North Korean army to continue to stay in the camp.

At a meeting with the North Korean leader, Wang Wonkyung proposed that the Korean Defense Forces must enter the war before the end of the fourth campaign and launch an offensive against the ROK 5th Army stationed in Daejeon. The North Korean leader did not refuse, but only proposed that the Republic should provide war materials and fire support, and sent military instructors to direct the North Korean army in battle.

Wang Yuanqing readily agreed to all the demands of the DPRK.

When the North Korean army enters the war, the republican ** team can withdraw, what is it to provide some supplies? Besides, even if the Korean army does not participate in the war and stays in the barracks to eat, drink and Lazar, it will have to consume a lot of supplies. Until North Korea returned to normalcy, even the supplies needed for the daily life of the people were provided by the republic. Fire support is not a problem, but also combat materials. Even if the DPRK did not take the initiative to send instructors from the Republic to command the North Korean army, Wang Yuanqing would have proposed it. Even if Wang Yuanqing didn't think about the life and death of the Korean army, the republic also made a contribution, so the materials invested could not be wasted.

On top of that, the North Korean army will move south on foot.

The Republic wants the war to end as soon as possible, and the North Korean government also wants to end the war as soon as possible, because the war is going on on the Korean Peninsula, and whatever it looks like, it destroys the homeland of the DPRK. The sooner the war ends, the sooner North Korea can return to normalcy and the North Korean people will be able to live a stable life.

In order to alleviate the pressure on transportation, the North Korean government promised to solve the problem of the southward movement of troops on its own.

Fortunately, the main force of the Korean army was infantry, not armor. No matter how much the infantry consumes on the march, it is also three meals a day. If it is an armored soldier, a day of burning fuel is enough for a headache for the logistics troops.

After arranging these matters for the Korean army to participate in the war, Wang Yuanqing very tactfully put forward diplomatic requirements.

The North Korean leader understood this, and without asking Wang Wonkyeong to bother with words, he said that the North Korean government would issue a diplomatic statement announcing the entry of the Korean Defense Forces into the war at an appropriate time. To be precise, it was the Korean Defense Forces that went to the southern part of the peninsula to carry out combat operations to clear the rebels and bandits.

At this point, it became a matter of time before the Korean Defense Forces entered the war.