Before dawn, the vanguard of the 36th Army reached Changdo. 【Reading.com】

The vanguard of the 1st Army reached the South Cliff less than 1 meter northwest of Gaocheng after dawn.

The encirclement of the 7th Infantry Division of the US Army was completed, and the general attack began at 8:30 on the 27th.

It was not the ground combat forces that appeared first, but the air assault brigades of the 3 Airborne Corps. Although the 7th Infantry Division is nominally an "infantry division," like the rest of the U.S. Army, it is equipped with hundreds of transport helicopters and has extraordinary air mobility capabilities.

Before dawn, while the encirclement between the 1st Army and the 36th Army had not yet been completed, the US military used more than 100 helicopters to transfer more than 1,000 officers and men, mainly the wounded, to the south of the 38th parallel. Helicopters can only move people and light equipment, not heavy equipment. At the beginning of the general offensive, the 7th Infantry Division still had a good fighting force.

According to the deployment of the campaign, the 36th Army was the main attack.

As one of the three ace armies of the Republic Army, the 36th Army, the 38th Army and the 54th Army, the 36th Army is very "low-key", and many people are even unaware of the existence of the 36th Army. In terms of deployment, the 36th Army is also very unique. For decades, the 36th Army has been the garrison of the capital, with the 54th Army stationed in the Central Plains for a long time, and the 38th Army stationed in the Northeast, shouldering the important responsibility of defending the capital.

The special status determined the nature of the 36th Army.

In the 20199 Laos War and the Vietnam War, the 36th Army was not given the opportunity to participate in the war. If it weren't for the very large scale of the Peninsula War and the need for full mobilization of the Republic Army, I am afraid that the 36th Army would not have had a chance to participate in the war. According to the deployment of the General Staff, the 36th Army entered the battle as the "last reserve". It can be seen from this that if it were not for the fact that the scale of the second battle was much larger than planned, the 36th Army would still have to watch the excitement in the back.

In terms of establishment, the 36th Army is not much different from the 54th Army. In addition to the importance of armored forces, the 36th Army also attached great importance to mobility. In addition to the combat brigade, each army also has 2 to 3 functional brigades, for example, when needed, the independent air defense battalion can be expanded into an air defense brigade, and the independent long-range artillery battalion can be expanded into an artillery brigade, and the 3611th brigade is a standard heavy armored brigade, equipped with 30 tanks, C more than infantry fighting vehicles and more than 200 tracked self-propelled guns; The 362nd is a mechanized infantry brigade equipped with more than 200 tanks, more than 500 infantry fighting vehicles and more than 200 tracked self-propelled guns; The 363rd Brigade is an armored assault brigade with more than 200 tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and more than 300 wheeled combat vehicles, including wheeled self-propelled guns and anti-tank guns.

In order to enhance the combat effectiveness of the 36th Army. Before the outbreak of war. The Army strengthened the 36th Army.

The main thing is to strengthen the air defense and artillery support capabilities. Expansion of 2 air defense battalions into battalion air defense brigades. Reinforcement of long-range artillery battalions into long-range artillery brigades.

On combat effectiveness. The 36th Army was in no way below the 54th and 38th armies.

Because the main task of the first military is to prevent the US military from "escaping" by sea. Therefore, the main task of the first army and the ground is to hold the coastal defense line. Cut off the 7th Infantry Division from the U.S. fleet. For this. The 1st Army especially strengthened its air defense. In addition to the 2 air defense battalions directly under the ground. It was also supported by six anti-aircraft battalions from three other military sites.

The 36th Army did not attack Hwacheon-ri first. Instead, he attacked King Kong first.

King Kong is located about 20 kilometers west of Mount Kumgang. It is a town with an altitude of 1,000 meters and a population of less than 2,000. Because of the ground passage to Takajo Land from Huachuan-ri. So the strategic location of King Kong Land is very important.

After Duchway decided to let the 7th Infantry Division retreat towards Takashiro, Hecker sent 2 battalions of vanguard troops to occupy Kongo.

Before the 36th Army launched its general attack, more than 3,000 American troops arrived at King Kong, built a strong defensive position, and also set up artillery positions on the east level. With the defense capability of the 7th Infantry Division, as long as there is enough ammunition, it can block three times the enemy.

The problem is that there are no secrets about the deployment of the US military.

If the 36th Army were to attack from the front, it would certainly suffer extremely heavy losses. When deploying the campaign, Pei Chengyi asked the 1511 Brigade to concentrate all its forces and be sure to lay down the US defensive positions east of King Kong within 2 hours after the start of the general offensive and eliminate the US artillery that posed a mortal threat to the 36th Army.

The battle began at 8 o'clock, and the helicopter gunships of the low-altitude assault forces first seized air supremacy.

Because the ground air defense unit of the 7th Infantry Division was concentrated in Hwacheon-ri and was dealing with the attack of the 162nd Air Assault Brigade, it was unable to provide air defense cover for the defenders of King Kong.

Under the cover of helicopter gunships, more than 100 transport helicopters sent more than 1,000 infantry from three low-altitude assault battalions in batches.

At low altitudes, the combat capabilities of low-altitude assault units are not much worse than mountain infantry. Especially under the cover of helicopter gunships, the ability of low-altitude assault units to adapt to the terrain environment is very strong. Whether it is the U.S. military or the Indian army, the mountain troops are transforming into low-altitude assault forces. Only a very small number of mountain troops operating at high altitudes beyond the reach of helicopters can be considered "pure" mountain infantry.

In the face of a three-dimensional strike, the defensive deployment of the US military has become meaningless.

At 00:30, the 362nd Brigade reached about 8 kilometers west of King Kong.

At this time, the US artillery positions deployed on Mount Kumgang Mountain had been overrun

Collar.

Losing artillery cover and being hit by low-altitude fire, it was difficult for the US 7th Infantry Division to rely on its position to block the forcible attack of the infantry brigade, which was both offensive and defensive.

The positional battle began at 1C 55 and lasted until 17:30.

I have to admit that the quality of the 7th Infantry Division of the US Army is not bad. In more than one attack within six and a half hours, only a very small number of American officers and soldiers who were wounded and unable to retreat surrendered to the 36th officers and men who occupied the position, and the vast majority of American troops persisted until the end and surrendered without formation.

Not long after King Kong's ground battle broke out, the battle in Huachuanli also began.

Because Duchway planned to use helicopters and tilt-rotor planes to carry out the retreat mission, the 7th Infantry Division did not actively advance to the east of Takajo, but gathered at Hwacheon-ri, which was relatively easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Like King Kong, Hwascheon-ri is a small town with a population of only 2,000.

Taking advantage of the complex terrain around it, the 7th Infantry Division of the US Army not only built three lines of defense, but also built a helipad that can be used for multiple helicopters of 1C and tilt-rotor aircraft to take off and land at the same time. Before the start of the retreat, the heavy artillery of the 7th Infantry Division was concentrated in bunkers near the tarmac.

As in the assault on King Kong, it was the Air Assault Brigade that went into battle first.

The difference is that the 1611 Brigade of the Air Assault is in big trouble in Huachuan. The ground air defense battalion of the 7th Infantry Division, equipped with 12 medium- and short-range air defense systems on the chassis of Stryker armored vehicles, posed a mortal threat to the air assault forces. Because the Air Force was fighting with the US military for air supremacy and had to provide air support for the 773rd Armored Brigade, which was advancing towards Haizhou, the 161st Air Assault Brigade could not easily withdraw from the battle and had to provide support to the 3611th and 363rd Brigades.

During the first 2 hours of fighting, the 1611 Brigade lost almost 50 helicopters, of which 33 were armed helicopters.

At 13 o'clock, the Air Assault 162 went into battle to fight the US defensive offensive together with the Air Assault 1611 Brigade.

At 15:30, the air assault 172 arrived and joined the combat operation to attack Hwakawa-ri.

Pei Chengyi successively threw in an air assault brigade, making it clear that he wanted to break through the US defense line during the day and lay the foundation for the annihilation of the 7th Infantry Division.

The 3611th Brigade and the 363rd Brigade, which served as the main attackers, took turns to fight, and did not give the US troops time to breathe.

At 17:30, the 3611 Armored Brigade took the lead in breaking through the second line of defense of the US army.

At 17:35, Pei Chengyi issued an order to Lieutenant General Gengxin, commander of the 36th Army, asking the 36th Army to break through the third line of defense of the US army within one hour after dark, and strive to defeat Huachuanli in the first half of the night, forcing the 7th Infantry Division of the US Army to break through to the defense line of the first army.

At this point, it's less than half an hour before it gets dark!

It is certainly not an easy task to break through the third line of defense of the US military in one and a half hours.

Geng Xin did not let the troops stop, and the 3611th Brigade and the 363rd Brigade attacked from two directions at the same time, the 3611th Brigade was responsible for attracting American troops, and the 363rd Brigade was the main attack.

The battle lasted until 19:15, and at about a minute after dark, the 36th Army broke through the last line of defense of the American army.

The defensive line was lost, and the U.S. 7th Infantry Division did not hold out at Hwacheon-ri, and began to steadily retreat to Tongcheon in the northeast, preparing to break through along the coastal road in the direction of Goseong.

The Section, which was tasked with supporting the Section, was already ready for battle in Tongcheon.

Although the two brigades of the 36th Army did not immediately pursue the retreating American troops after capturing Hwacheon-ri, and the 362nd Army, which attacked Kongo, did not immediately move closer to Hwacheon-ri, Jidi, with its strong armored forces, still attacked the surging American forces.

At this point in the battle, the 7th Infantry Division had no way to go to the sky and no way to go to the ground.

Because the US carrier-based aviation has not been able to seize air supremacy, the 100 tilt-rotor planes sent to the six aircraft carrier battle groups have not been able to come to meet the 7th Infantry Division "as scheduled."

Under the circumstances, even if the 7th Infantry Division could defeat the 1st, it would not be able to reach Takajo.

Regardless of whether it was besieged in Hwacheon or besieged in Tongcheon, there was not much difference in the outcome of the 7th Infantry Division.

As long as the U.S. military is unable to regain air supremacy, no amount of helicopters and tilt-rotary-wing aircraft will be able to rescue the officers and men of the 7th Infantry Division.

At 8 p.m., before the 7th Infantry Division met the 1st Brigade, Duchway gave Heckel's final order.

As with the order he had left to Gate, surrender to the enemy if necessary, avoiding casualties.

Dudgway's order meant that the U.S. Army gave up hope of saving the 7th Infantry Division, as well as the entire Eastern Theater. As long as the 7th Infantry Division is finished, the 36th Army and the 1st Army of the Chinese Army will not only be able to easily capture Jiuyili, but also easily annihilate the 2nd Army of the ROK Army with the cooperation of the 37th Army, the 38th Army and the Airborne Army.

In Du Qiwei's view, if the Chinese army is willing, it can even break through the 38th parallel and invade South Korea.

No amount of effort can be spent to save the 7th Infantry Division, so there is no need to continue to waste precious forces. If the 1st Armored Division can be rescued, even if the 7th Infantry Division is completely destroyed, it will not be worthless.

The focus shifted to the western theater, and a vicious battle was about to break out