We read all the lead to present a different history.
On September 18, 1931, the Japanese army invading China launched the "918 Incident" to invade and occupy the northeast, and since then China has begun a difficult fourteen-year War of Resistance. At that time, China's industry had not yet matured, its national strength was weakened, and its equipment and materials were extremely scarce. In contrast, since the "Meiji Restoration", Japan's national strength has been improved by leaps and bounds, and guns and ammunition, as well as guns and guns, can be described as everything. It was under such a huge gap that the Chinese army relied on its tenacious will to drive the Japanese invaders out of Chinese land with "millet plus rifles" .
▲Old photos of the Japanese army invading China
In the past fourteen years, in order to resist the invasion of Japan, the Chinese military and people have invented and used many "soil equipment" and "soil methods", and these "soil equipment" and "soil methods" have played a role that cannot be underestimated in the war, enabling the Chinese army to win a comprehensive victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan. Due to the limitations of actual conditions, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, there was a shortage of means of transportation such as war horses and automobiles, and the soldiers basically relied on walking, which undoubtedly tested the physical fitness of soldiers and the ability to walk long distances. In view of this situation, soldiers are tightly wrapped in ropes or cloth strips on their calves, and this is the so-called "leggings", and we can now see the existence of leggings in film and television works on the theme of the War of Resistance.
▲ The Eighth Route Army leggings in the museum
During this period, the combat area of the Eighth Route Army officers was basically mountainous, with complex terrain, rough roads and closed traffic, such a geographical environment determined that the soldiers could only march on foot, and horses, cars and other means of transportation could not be used here. As warriors walk long distances, their legs will inevitably become red and hot, which will cause blood circulation to be affected, which can lead to acute illness. Some readers may say that this is also the case for people who now regularly participate in sports, as long as they take appropriate rest.
▲Old photos of soldiers of the Eighth Route Army
However, in that era, the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army were busy fighting and transferring, and there was no time to rest, and once they suffered from acute illness, their lives and safety would be greatly threatened. In contrast, after the lower leg is wrapped in a cloth strip, the speed of blood flow slows down, it is not easy to have regional blood stasis, and it will not cause severe pain in the leg due to varicose veins in the lower limbs. In the event of an enemy attack, soldiers in a state of rest can also quickly get up and prepare for battle, and will not sit still because of leg pain. Therefore, leggings began to be widely circulated within the Eighth Route Army, and slowly became the "standard" for the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army.
▲ Painting of the war scene of the "War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea"
Although our army has also begun to use modern means of transportation such as automobiles, because the enemy will carry out bombing attacks at any time, the target of the car is too large, and it is easy to encounter attacks, so compared with the traditional way of walking, the car march will increase many unnecessary casualties. Therefore, volunteer soldiers still have to walk long distances, so it is common sense that leggings are needed to relieve leg pain and avoid sudden illness. However, over time, the fighters slowly discovered that the large number of petrol bombs and incendiary bombs thrown during the bombing process of the US army were easy to cause fires, and the water and sand were difficult to extinguish quickly.
▲ Volunteer soldier combat photos
If unfortunately it gets on the body, the warriors can only quickly take off their clothes to avoid being burned by the fire, but it takes too long to take off the leggings, and the warriors often have been seriously burned by the fire before the clothes are taken off, and even pay the price of their lives. With these bloody lessons, in order to reduce casualties and save their lives at a critical moment, the volunteers of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea preferred to rely on tenacious willpower and conviction to overcome their illness rather than use leggings. This is why leggings were the standard of the Eighth Route Army during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, but were not used during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
Resources:
"War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea", "The United States in the War: The Korean War"