Chapter 38: Liberation of Seoul
Sorry to be delayed by someone who has been insulting me all the time, I suppose everyone has seen it, and I'm speechless. There's another chapter, hope you guys will vote for me.
On the morning of January 3, the Independent Division, led by Gao Quan, sat in cars along the highway to pursue the US 24th Division. Although they had made two preparations, one was to rely on the puppet army's air defense identification flags and signal identification shells, but if they were identified by enemy aircraft, they could only rely on the car's speed and the anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft guns installed on top of the tank cars to prepare to drive away the enemy planes. If that didn't work, they could only abandon their cars and walk through the mountains. Perhaps the enemy planes did not discover them because they were supporting the intense battle at the front line, or perhaps the enemy air force thought it was impossible for our army to drive on the highway in broad daylight.
At this time, at the headquarters of the Cheongmu, the intelligence staff officer who rushed into the command center reported to the old general about the intercepted wireless telegram from the US military in Hancheng. The US military had already prepared to withdraw from Hancheng. The old general, who had long guessed that the US military would not fight to the death in Hancheng, quickly ordered the 39th and 50th Armies of the Right Wing, the People's Army Corps, and the Independent First Division to rapidly advance towards Hancheng. (Occupying the capital of South Korea was bound to be a major political event, and it had to involve the participation of the Korean People's Army.) At this time, Li Qiming, who had come to Korea with great confidence, ready to show off his skills, could not help but swallow the bitter fruit left by his predecessor. He prepared to withdraw from Hancheng and ordered the US 25th Division and the British 29th Brigade, which had just been withdrawn from the front line, to set up a reception area on the outskirts of Hancheng. They were preparing to receive and cover the retreating US-Korean military personnel and escort the main force across the river. The US 1st and 9th Armies retreated to Suwon and Yangping lines for defense, while the US 10th Army and the Korean 2nd Army defended from Yangping to Hongcheon lines. Other troops formed another complete defensive circle along the Hongcheon coast.
At this time, the assault company led by Qi Mu had already appeared in the suburbs of Seoul and exchanged fire with the troops of the US 25th Division. The US-South Korean military and residents in Seoul felt extremely panicked. As a result, more than 500,000 Seoul residents who were deceived by Lee Seung-man's propaganda and those puppet generals and high-ranking officials began to retreat. In order not to hinder the withdrawal of the US military, General Ridgway ordered that before 3 pm, civilian supplies and personnel could withdraw through the military bridge, and afterwards only military personnel and military supplies could withdraw from the Seoul Bridge.
Tens of thousands of refugees from Hanzhong carried their luggage, supporting the elderly and holding children, rushing to the banks of the Han River in a state of panic. The narrow bridges were packed with people, and those who were terrified and lost followed the crowd forward, occasionally letting out mournful wails. As they watched, people were constantly being squeezed off the pontoon bridge and falling into the icy waters of the Han River. Those who had already experienced too much joy and sorrow simply stared numbly at the scene, walking towards an unknown destination in the increasingly close artillery fire, hungry and cold. After 3 pm, as refugees continued to squeeze onto the Hanjiang Bridge, the US military's M1916 Browning machine guns began firing at the refugees, and then the bodies of the refugees were thrown off the bridge. When General Ridgway's jeep passed through the area where the blood had already frozen, he didn't say anything, just patted the shoulder of the officer in charge of traffic control.
As the tanks and infantry of Owen's unit broke through Gimpo International Airport, South Korea's largest airport, piles of 500,000 gallons of aviation fuel and 30,000 gallons of napalm sat on the apron, not to mention the various weapons, ammunition, and supplies brought in during Operation Homecoming. Colonel Stilwell, head of logistics for the Eighth Army, stared blankly at the approaching tanks and infantry, having just complained that "the front line only held out for a smoke break, what would 500,000 gallons of burning fuel look like? Hell!" He now had to admire General Ridgway's decision to send so many troops and tanks to help them destroy the supplies. As Owen's machine gunners trained their heavy machine guns on the Americans, US logistics personnel raised their hands in surrender. Perhaps these Chinese lunatics weren't afraid of igniting the fuel, but they were terrified of being burned alive, especially with 30,000 gallons of napalm and thousands of artillery shells and billions of rounds of ammunition stored nearby, supplies that had been meant to last until the end of the Korean War but were now in enemy hands. Meanwhile, on the banks of the Han River, US, UN, and South Korean tanks were ordered to wait by the riverbank as trucks carrying troops passed through, not to mention artillery tractors towing cannons, despite the constant grumbling and cursing from enemy tank crews and artillerymen. Ridgway's orders had sealed their fate.
The weak defense line of the US 25th Division and British 29th Brigade was quickly broken through by the Independent First Division with tank cover. General Li Qiwu, who received the news, sat in his chair, shaking hands as he read the telegram again and again: "The enemy has broken through our containment area under the cover of tanks (the military heart and morale have been affected, even new recruits are inevitably influenced, and they are not willing to fight, and once they encounter the enemy, they quickly retreat. The British 29th Brigade, which lost more than a regiment and a heavy tank battalion, has no fighting power). The enemy is really rushing towards Hancheng, losing its momentum before attacking the Hanjiang Bridge, trying to cut off our rear route." General Li Qiwu sent out an order to inform the tank troops and artillery units along the Hanjiang River of the situation. However, after entering Hancheng, more than 700 people from the Enclosure Strike Regiment disguised as fake soldiers, led by Liu Lei and Liu Zheng's two heavy tank companies and several thousand active overseas Chinese in Hancheng, quickly launched a surprise attack on the Hanjiang Bridge. The US-UN-fake military tank artillery units were shocked to see these troops rushing towards the Hanjiang Bridge. General Palmer, who was responsible for transportation, immediately sent out jeep messengers to inform this army of the rules. However, Liu Lei, driving his big-headed tank, crushed the small jeep into an iron pancake. The soldiers on the side had mixed feelings: some were happy that someone had done what they wanted to do but didn't dare to do; others regretted that these people who were eager to escape would be put on trial and shot by a military court. General Palmer was shocked as he watched this convoy rush across the bridge, his angry curses unheard by anyone nearby.
Inspired tankers and gunners launched a tank car to teach the people who had just opened up, Palmer ordered the soldiers next to him to expose a large pile of explosives on the truck next to him, declaring to those restless soldiers that anyone who dared to come over would blow up the bridge. Whoever doesn't want to go, if they follow the order, can cross the bridge.
But then a dull loud noise came from the big bridge behind, and after the noise, the steel frame of the bridge creaked and collapsed. The bridge was blown up!
