At the end of December 1950, just as the second campaign was drawing to a close, the 178th Regiment of the 60th Division of the 20th Volunteer Army surrounded a force of American troops on the shores of Chosin Lake by interspersing detours.
The weather was unusually cold, sometimes as low as minus twenty degrees during the day, not to mention at night. The soldiers of the 178th Regiment fought against the enemy in the ice and snow continuously, and their clothes were very thin, plus they only had potatoes and fried noodles to feed themselves, so they were cold and hungry, and they were extremely tired.
As we all know, the biggest problem that the volunteer troops have to face after they enter the Korean war is that logistics are very difficult. Coupled with the unusually cold winter weather in the country, and the hasty entry of the volunteer army into North Korea, there was a serious lack of warm clothing.
Under such circumstances, the volunteers had to often change into captured American military clothing to protect themselves from the cold. After all, the US army not only has far more advanced weapons than the volunteer army, but the clothing is also very good, and it will be much warmer after putting it on.
Fortunately, in the previous battle, some American troops were annihilated and a batch of uniforms were captured from them. The soldiers of the 1st Battalion Machine Gun Company of the 178th Regiment had to change into American uniforms when the cold was unbearable, and then continued to stand by on the ground.
Suddenly, the roar of aircraft came from the air, and the soldiers knew from the sound that this was a REconnaissance plane of the US army, and the soldiers quickly hid it. However, they forgot that there was also an American flag in the group of American soldiers, and because they were anxious to hide, they forgot to pack it up and landed on the position.
Unexpectedly, this small negligence after the change of clothes led to a strange thing and brought a windfall to the volunteer soldiers.
The American reconnaissance plane circled a few times over the position of the machine gun company before leaving. But not long after, three more U.S. planes flew into the air. What is this for? Could it be that they found out that this was the position of the volunteer army and were ready to carry out indiscriminate bombing?
It is conceivable that once the enemy planes begin to bomb, they will be endless, and they will never give up until they blow up the volunteer positions beyond recognition or even turn their heads, which will pose a huge threat to the entire troops!
Just when the soldiers were extremely anxious in their hearts, there was a scene that surprised them all, and even surprised them -- after the US planes flew over the position, they not only did not drop bombs, nor did they strafe or take any other offensive action, but continuously dropped boxes of items on the ground!
What's going on? The U.S. military is ready to turn the gang into a jade veil to express goodwill and love? The volunteer officers and men all said that they could not understand, but at this time, there was nothing that could be done, and they could only wait for the enemy planes to finish their airdrops.
Zhang Qinshou, the instructor of the machine artillery company, a grassroots cadre who participated in the Liberation War, said happily after seeing this scene: "Haha comrades, if I am not mistaken, this is a happy fall from the sky!" ”
"Joy from heaven? Instructor how do you know? The warriors said in amazement.
Zhang Qinshou replied: "Although I have never seen a US military plane do this, I also encountered a similar incident during the Battle of Huaihai, when Chiang Kai-shek's planes mistook the wrong target and parachuted supplies into our troops. ”
He looked at the position and suddenly realized: "Maybe the US plane saw the American flag that everyone forgot on the position from the air..."
"Haha, it seems that the US military plane also thought that we were our own people, and also sent us supplies!" The warriors all closed their mouths happily.
"I hope that we are really blessed by misfortune this time, and now we will see whether the US military will give us food or use things." Zhang Qinshou said.
When the enemy plane flew away, Zhang Qinshou asked the soldiers to unpack the boxes dropped by the US military one by one, and they couldn't help but be overjoyed -- it turned out that the boxes airdropped by the US military planes were full of food that the volunteers urgently needed!
Each large box is generally filled with 9 small cartons, and the contents are all of the same type and number. Each small cardboard box contains 3 large cans of beef, pork or rice biscuits, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a small box of matches, and small items such as canned screwdrivers and toothpicks.
The director of the department weighed a large can in his hand and said with a smile: "This can weighs two pounds, which should be a day's ration for a soldier in the US army." ”
In addition to this, there were boxes with heavier cans filled with some red soup. Most of the warriors had never seen it before, and they didn't know what it was.
Fortunately, a volunteer soldier who was liberated from Chiang Kai-shek before entering the DPRK was no stranger to this kind of can, telling everyone: "This is canned tomato soup, the taste is sweet and sour, and Americans like this taste the most." ”
Although this was something that the US military "sent to the door", Zhang Qinshou and company commander Zhu Xinshi believed that these cans should also be regarded as all captured and returned to the public. Even if the soldiers are hungry at this moment, they must strictly abide by the rules of the troops and report to their superiors for instructions before dealing with them.
Next, Zhang Qinshou and Zhu Xinshi led the warriors to gather all the boxes and store them in the houses of the nearby people, demanding that no one open them privately.
Although the warriors did not eat a good meal for many days, none of them violated discipline to eat these delicacies without permission.
The deputy company commander was appointed by Zhang Qinshou, and when he arrived at the battalion headquarters, he reflected the situation, and the leaders of the battalion and regiment were very happy, because it was the most difficult time for the troops to supply, and they did not expect that the US army would actually "send charcoal in the snow."
After studying the chiefs, the chiefs decided to leave some of the cans in the machine gun company, and the rest was sent to the battalion headquarters to be distributed to other companies.
Only then did the soldiers of the machine gun company receive a portion of food sent by the U.S. army under the assignment of the chief of the division. A small oversight caused them to be blessed by misfortune, and the warriors were overjoyed.
In a few days, it will be 1951, and the soldiers, while enjoying the delicious food, said happily: "The American devils are really good this time, and they have sent us New Year's gifts." However, when we have eaten and drunk enough, we must clean them up when we come back! ”