As the highest-ranking captive of the Volunteer Army, the experience of Wu Chengde, director of the Political Department of the 180th Division and acting political commissar, was impressive. In the mountains of North Korea, he persisted in fighting guerrilla warfare for 14 months. With no supplies, no mass base, and even the possibility of being betrayed at any time (and finally betrayed by the workers of Korea), what sustained Wu Chengde's persistence behind enemy lines for so long? In addition to his strong will and faith, he always had a glimmer of hope in his heart:
The Volunteers launched the sixth campaign.
Wu Chengde and his wife
How the sixth battle will be fought is probably now known to few people. However, this battle plan certainly exists. At the beginning of the Kaesong peace talks, Peng Dehuai, in accordance with the instructions of the Central Military Commission, was ready to launch another offensive against the enemy. It can be said that as long as Shiji launches the sixth campaign, regardless of the outcome, it is great news for people like Wu Chengde who are fighting guerrillas behind enemy lines: they are likely to return to their own troops again.
We should know that in the Third and Fifth Campaigns, the farthest troops of the Volunteers crossed the 37th Line. Although the US military had a planned retreat, it was an indisputable fact that the existing positions were lost. Taking advantage of this time lag, volunteers or the Korean People's Army who were hiding in the mountains to fight guerrillas had the opportunity to find their own troops.
After the U.S. landing at Inchon, many Korean People's Army units did not return to the north of the 38th Line and were forced to go up the mountain to fight a guerrilla war. As the third campaign began, American troops withdrew from Seoul, and the "guerrillas" stranded in the south were able to return. Among them, the Second and Fifth Armies of the Korean People's Army were established in this way.
When Zheng Qigui held the last division party committee, Liu Yaohu, the commander of the 540 regiment, took the initiative to serve the rear of the division headquarters, and he said:
The division headquarters went first, and we really couldn't break through, so we went up to the mountain to fight guerrilla warfare, and when the sixth battle began, we went to join the large troops...
Like Liu Yaohu's idea, when Wu Chengde found that there was no hope of breaking through, he also made such a choice.
For an "old Red Army" like Wu Chengde, the last thing to worry about is to endure hardships: can suffering be compared to the Long March? Over the years, his combat career has allowed him to hone his perseverance. So we saw that he could persist in guerrilla warfare for 14 months, and we saw his heroic and indomitable performance in the prisoner of war camp, even if the weight changed from 130 pounds to 90 pounds.
In his later years, Wu Chengde
If faith is the spiritual pillar, then the Sixth Campaign can be seen, touched, and truly exists. After entering the DPRK, the volunteer army launched a total of five campaigns in half a year. At least in Wu Chengde's view, maybe two months, three months, even after half a year, the sixth battle will probably start, which is also a major reason why he can persist.
For the cadres of the volunteer army at and above the division level, fighting guerrilla warfare has never been unfamiliar, and Wu Chengde is not the first person to have such an idea.
In the fourth campaign, after the 38th Army completed the task of blocking the south bank of the Han River, a battalion of the 338th Regiment led by Liu Haiqing, deputy commander of the 113th Division, and a battalion of the 341st Regiment led by Song Wenhong, deputy commander of the 114th Division, jointly covered the main force of the army to cross the river. When the main force crossed the river smoothly, the Han River began to melt, and the American army had already pursued it, and the soldiers of the two battalions were likely not able to return to the north bank of the Han River smoothly.
After analyzing the situation on the battlefield, the two deputy division commanders decided to lead their troops up the mountain to fight a guerrilla attack.
Of course, because Ridgway was worried that the volunteers might be luring the enemy deeper, and did not continue to pursue the soldiers of the two battalions of the 38th Army, Liu Haiqing and Song Wenhong and others also returned safely to the north bank before the Han River was completely thawed.
The first one on the right in the front row is Liu Haiqing
The sixth battle was not carried out in the end, and Wu Chengde and others could no longer join the large troops. However, it is conceivable that during the 14 months of "waiting", Wu Chengde must have lived in hope every day and never gave up, which is also the most admirable place for the volunteer army. In the words of General Liang Yulin, a surviving veteran of the 180th Division: "Prisoners of war are also heroes, and they are equally great. ”