Battle of Danshan
The Battle of Danshan (7 November 1954 - 14 November 1954) was one of the major and crucial engagements during the Battle of Lake Mungsan. The battle pitted the smaller Taoyuanese Free Corps led by General Song Li-jen against Army Group Xi under Marshal Meng Lingxin.
The battle was part of a Selucid counteroffensive to force off Allied positions near Lake Mungsan and regain the initiative. Marshal Meng thought that attacking the north would allow his forces to overrun the Allies northern flank. Although not many planners were aware of it, the Allies northern flank was the weakest. The smaller Taoyuanese force under General Song guarded the northern flank while the rest of the Allies forces carried out major attacks on the Selucid flanks. General Song was surprised at the Selucid attack on his forces, prompting him to give ground by about 5 kms just near the village of Danshan. Here, Song positioned his troops near the marshlands where the Taoyuanese took advantage of the swampy nature of the marsh. The Taoyuanese carried out a mix of coordinated attacks and guerilla warfare. By 10 November, the advance of Marshal Meng's forces stalled, prompting Song to send in his reserves to counterattack and force the Selucids out of the Danshan flank. By 13 November, Song had retaken much of the ground he lost just 6 days earlier. Resistance continued until the following day, when Marshal Meng ordered a general retreat from Danshan.
General Song's ability to hold the northern flank prompted the Allies to launch a large offensive codenamed Mission Macabee, in which the Allies were able to dislodge the Selucids from their positions, thus, forcing the Selucids to retreat from Lake Mungsan.
Background
In the early months of the Battle of Lake Mungsan, the Allies had largely prevailed against Selucid Imperial forces, taking key and strategic areas around the lake, including the Nicephorus Mound. Although, in the mid-months of the battle, a stalemate had occurred as the Selucids and the Allies engaged in an inconclusive battle at Baruungaljuut. Although the Allies had inflicted casualties, the Selucids decided to launch Operation Sidetes, which was the Selucid attempt to regain the initiative and retake key Allied positions around Lake Mungsan. The offensive had taken the allies by surprise and immediately attempted to contain the offensive but to no avail, Allied commanders decided to put up a staunch defenses at key strategic areas in order to buy time for the rest of the Allies forces to retreat and regroup.
Following the tenacious Allied defences at Second Battle of the Nicephorus Mound and Khasengel, the Selucids had put up strong offensives against the Allied forces that forced them off critical and strategic places around Lake Mungsan. By the first week of November, Operation Sidetes had soundly become a Selucid success. Although the Allies had temporarily stalled the Selucids for a while following Khasengel, the Selucids conducted several blitzkrieg offensives in an attempt to push the Allies back into Joyonghea. However, the Winter Rains arrived, softening the ground. The weather conditions had made the ground soft, slowing the Selucid advance.
The only town where the Selucids still had not taken as part of Operation Sidetes was at Danshan, just a few miles away from the Selucid's objective in Sidetes. At Danshan, the town and its outskirts were occupied by the Taoyuanese Free Corps under General Song Li-jen. The Taoyuanese were assigned to check the Allied retreat if in case the Selucids had caught up. Although, due to prevailing conditions, the marshlands and swamps near Danshan became too muddy and impassable for vehicles. This prompted key Selucid planners to delay their offensive to attack Danshan. However, General Song used this delay to strengthen his defenses. He shifted from defending Danshan into committing an offensive-style defence, in which several key points of Selucid advance were checked by a handful of Taoyuanese troops. In the swamps and marshlands near Danshan, the Taoyuanese assigned pockets of resistance in order to wage guerilla warfare and slow the advance. Although several key Allied planners were skeptical, General Okita Hanamura had ordered the elements of the Third Rubrumian Army and the Archadian National Corps to swing to the North in an attempt to relieve Danshan. But the relief would be delayed due to Selucid forces attempting to encircle Danshan.
The Battle
The battle began on the 7th of November. By that time, the ground had solidified everywhere, except in the swamps and in the marshlands. The Taoyuanese forces slowly gave ground to the Selucids in order to lure them into the marshlands and swamps. Although Danshan could have been flanked around, it would take the Selucid forces to engage the Southern Allied forces in order to take Danshan from the rear. The only logical route to Danshan was the marshlands and swamps. General Song had received orders to retreat but refused, thinking that Danshan and its terrain could be used to delay and hold the Selucids long enough for the Allies to counterattack. Taoyuanese forces began to retreat to the marshlands by the night of the 7th. Thinking that the Taoyuanese were weakening, Marshal Meng ordered a full advance to give chase to the retreating Taoyuanese. On the following day, Taoyuanese forces in the marshlands and swamps began to conduct guerilla warfare on several advancing columns. The Taoyuanese launched small-scale counteroffensives in order to ward off the Selucids.
On the following day, Marshal Meng had managed to take nearly 3/5ths of the marshlands. Although, his strategy of marching deeper into the marshlands was to be a part of Song's strategy. Several Taoyuanese ambush groups used the thick forestry to their advantage, harassing and ambushing Selucid columns and convoys. This greatly caused Marshal Meng disappointment and dismay. By the following day, the Taoyuanese had already inflicted heavy casualties on the Selucids since the start of the battle. By the evening, Marshal Meng's advance had completely stalled.
This enabled General Jiang Tsu-cheng to swing his troops south in order to force the Selucids trying to encircle Danshan out of Song's southern flank. Elements of the 4th Taoyuanese Division engaged with the Selucid elements of the 21st Panzergrenadier Division and of the 7th SS Panzer Division. Although outnumbered, the Taoyuanese forces overcame the Selucid counterattacks by conducting guerilla warfare and small scale counteroffensives to push the Selucids out of Southern Danshan.
In 12 November, Song called in the reserves under the command of General Zhang Dong-yan to commence a counterattack to force off the Selucids from the area around the marshlands and in Danshan. Unexpecting that the Taoyuanese would throw such a counteroffensive, Marshal Meng attempted to counter the attack by putting his forces on defence. However, some Selucid forces were still reeling from the impact caused by the guerilla warfare tactics of the Taoyuanese. Not only that, the Taoyuanese advance had cut off scattered Selucid forces still in the marshlands. The attempt to establish defensive lines failed as the Taoyuanese launched counteroffensives on all flanks, not giving the Selucids any chance of establishing defences. Being unable to mount any form of defence, Marshal Meng's southern and northern flank had retreated while the Central flank still had fallen.
By the following day, the Taoyuanese had retaken its lost ground it lost just 6 days earlier. General Song ordered the southern and northern flanks to attempt to surround the central flank. Unable to accept encirclement, Marshal Meng immediately ordered a general retreat of all Selucid forces from Danshan and in the areas near the marshlands. Only 2/3rds of the Selucid forces in the central flank were able to escape. The remainder were taken in as prisoners. By the following day, elements of the Third Rubrumian Army had arrived to reinforce Danshan while the Archadian National Corps were able to reinforce the southern flank. At the same day, Allied reinforcements poured into Danshan as the Allies prepared its counteroffensive codenamed Mission Macabee.
Aftermath
The Taoyuanese suffered 5,594 killed or wounded. In contrast, the Imperial Selucids suffered 15,147 killed or wounded and 18,520 captured as a result of the encirclement and surrendering pockets of resistance in the swamps and marshlands. The Selucids could have won over the Taoyuanese. However, most historians had argued that Selucid planners had allowed General Song to choose his battlefield out of the reason to eliminate any pockets of resistance in and around Lake Mungsan. Rather than give a grand chase, Selucid High Command were wary of Allied troops setting up pockets of resistance. In addition, the delay caused by the November Rains gave Song the time to organise a proper defence with the use of the environment around him.
General Song's defensive tactic by means of coordinated attacks through guerilla warfare and small-scale counteroffensives rather than holding Danshan itself and allowing it to be besieged fitted Danshan's terrain. It had also prevented Selucid columns and convoys from making their way to the frontlines. Despite being small, the Taoyuanese used the advantage of the terrain in order to reduce its casualties while inflicting heavy losses on the enemy.
Following the retreat at Danshan, the Selucids moved to a defence again. Although, the Allies had already recuperated enough to mount a massive counteroffensive codenamed Mission Macabee, in which Allied forces on all sides attacked and pushed the Selucid forces out of the areas in Lake Mungsan.