In the fifth campaign of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, there was a team, the 60th Army of the Chinese Volunteer Army, of which the 180th Division suffered a crushing defeat. Since then, both at home and abroad, the 180th Division has been crowned with a shameful hat, especially at home, the 180th Division is famous in the army, and this "fame" is its defeat.
As a result of this defeat, the glorious achievements of the 180th Division, its indomitable spirit, including its resolute re-emergence after setbacks, did not resolve the shame of this defeat, and the shame covered up everything about it.
But the root cause of its defeat is that people who have not experienced it do not know much at all, and it is also something that we ordinary people do not pay close attention to. As a result, when the 180th Division was mentioned for decades, people still heard of the humiliating defeat.
The earliest time was in 1950, the 180th Division responded to the call of Committee member Hu Yaobang, calmed down the army, took root in Sichuan, and carried out local peace construction, because soon the international situation underwent severe changes, that is, on June 25, 1950, the Korean War began to break out, the war situation spread rapidly, and the war in Korea was soon close to the edge of the Yalu River. In order to stabilize the international situation, China decided to resist us and aid Korea and defend its homeland, so hundreds of thousands of Chinese people formed a volunteer army and resolutely chose to cross the Yalu River.
The defeat of the 180th Division was in the second phase of the Fifth Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, when the 180th Division was surrounded by enemy forces in the Eagle Peak area.
Among the initial orders issued by the 180th, the 180th Division did not have a combat mission, but only stood by and prepared to support, and then the fact of the war was tight, there was no troop to support the 180th Division, and the supply of the 180th Division at that time was insufficient, but the superior issued an order and ordered the 180th Division to forcibly break through on its own.
At that time, the situation of the 180th Division was already very grim, so Zheng Qigui, commander of the 180th Division, and Wu Chengde, acting political commissar, had to hold an emergency meeting with a solemn look to solicit everyone's opinions on the breakthrough.
Everyone in the meeting was very solemn, everyone knew that such a dilemma was difficult to have almost no life, did not die in battle, and may also starve to death, but everyone did not give up, and finally, some people stood up and said that only by dispersing the breakthrough would they not be defeated by one blow and could reserve seeds for the 180th Division. This proposal was adopted by everyone at that time, and it did leave vitality and seeds for the 180th Division.
Therefore, at 180 o'clock, the soldiers divided into two roads and began to break through.
By July 1952, there were only 3 people left around the acting political commissar Wu Chengde, who had been guerrilla for 14 months with their indomitable will, and had been hiding in a cave on the mountain, but hunger was a problem that they were difficult to solve, because they were too hungry, they had to go down the mountain, in order to find food, but it was really a bad fate, encountered the American troops, and finally unfortunately was captured. He thus became the supreme general of the Volunteer Army who was captured.
At this point, in fact, the 180th Division totaled 7644 people, broke through 4000 people, and lost 3644 people, although the loss of soldiers will be nearly half, but it can not be said that the whole army was destroyed, there is no factor of shame, the truth is heart-wrenching, it can be seen that the rumors are three or two words, and the rumors are broken.
Returning to Wu Chengde's captured side, he was escorted directly to a prisoner of war concentration camp set up by the US military. Under the intimidation and fear of the enemy, Wu Chengde never confessed his identity, but the enemy still confirmed his identity through other channels, and after finding out his identity, the enemy realized that Wu Chengde was likely to have a lot of intelligence about our country, so he used many methods to persuade him to surrender, but Wu Chengde preferred to bend like a pine cypress.
Even with all efforts, such casualties were undoubtedly quite heavy for the 180th Division, and it was the only heavy defeat of our army on the Korean battlefield. But pertinently, the 180th Division's defeat in this battle was not their responsibility.
Although the first two stages of the Fifth Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea achieved very good results and even changed the US military's view of the Chinese soldiers, there was a very real problem, because the logistics of the volunteer army had been unable to keep up, there was little ammunition left, and there was almost no grain and grass.
By July 1953, the U.S. army finally signed an armistice with the Volunteers, and the war ended. When the two sides exchanged prisoners of war, many volunteers returned to their homeland. However, Wu Chengde's identity was known, because of his position, he was regarded by the enemy as the highest level of prisoners of war, and the highest level of prisoners of war was the last to return to the motherland.
However, after returning to China, Wu Chengde was treated unfairly because of his experience as a prisoner, and he was expelled from the party and the military and sent to a farm as deputy director.
Fortunately, in March 1982, Wu Chengde resumed his party membership and enjoyed the treatment of veteran Red Army and military-level cadres. In his later years, Wu Chengde returned to his hometown in Shanxi and spent his last days at the Yuncheng Dry Rest House.
In 1996, this veteran who fought in the bloody battle in the midst of war left us. After Wu Chengde's death, his family discovered while sorting out his belongings that the old man had saved money and donated his life savings to the Hope Project after returning to China.
Whether it was the belief in surviving with comrades-in-arms in the war, or the attitude of never betraying the motherland after being captured, or the incomprehensible misunderstanding of future generations after returning to China, he never defended.
Xiaobian only wants to praise one sentence here: the good is harmless, and the great love has no boundaries!