In the first campaign to resist US aggression and aid Korea, the volunteer army took the ROK army as the main target of attack, so the US army did not suffer too much blow. The arrogant MacArthur, believing that the volunteer army was no more than 50,000 or 60,000 troops, was not his opponent at all, so he ordered Almond's Tenth Army and Walker's Eighth Army to march north boldly, and promised that the war would end before Christmas.
Peng Dehuai decided to take advantage of MacArthur's arrogance to lure the enemy deeper and concentrate the strength of 6 corps to besiege Walker's Eighth Army on the Western Front. But in this way, the Eastern Front was very empty, and if Almond's Tenth Army could not be stopped, the Western Front troops would not only be unable to complete the established campaign objectives, but also might fall into the disadvantage of being surrounded by the enemy.
Under these circumstances, the 9th Corps, as a reserve force of the volunteer army, was forced to enter Korea three months early and march to the Gaima Plateau. After the 9th Corps entered Korea, in order to achieve the suddenness of the campaign, the soldiers secretly traveled through the lofty mountains and mountains, and on November 27, 1950, they suddenly surrounded the US 7th Division and the US 1st Marine Division, and the famous Chosin Lake Campaign was launched.
The 20th Army surrounded the 5th and 7th regiments of the 1st Marine Division in Liutan, and the 27th Army surrounded the Polar Bear Regiment at Xinxingli. In order to completely annihilate the enemy in the encirclement, the 27th Army dispatched 5 regiments of troops to attack continuously, and after three days of bitter fighting, completely annihilated the Polar Bear Regiment, which was the only time that the Volunteer Army in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea completely annihilated a regiment of the US Army in an organized manner.
However, the 27th Army also paid a great price in this strong attack, with casualties and non-combat attrition of more than 10,000 people, and the frostbite of the whole army was as high as 22%. The destruction of the Polar Bear Regiment greatly shocked Smith, commander of the US First Marine Division, who hastily ordered the two regiments in Liutan to break through in the direction of Xiayuli.
Relying on absolute superiority in firepower and strong mobility, the 5th and 7th Regiments of the 1st Marine Division finally broke out of the encirclement of the 20th Army after paying a great price. At this time, the 20th Army and the 27th Army suffered serious attrition due to freezing and starvation and combat casualties, and the most serious situation was Xiao Jinghai's 79th Division. The division suffered 2,297 combat casualties and 2,157 frostbitten wounds, and division commander Xiao Jinghai was forced to reduce his forces to 5 infantry companies and two machine gun companies.
To make matters worse, under the bombardment of enemy planes day and night, the logistics supply of the volunteer army was insufficient, and the soldiers had to pursue the enemy hungry in the cold of more than thirty degrees below zero. Even under such difficult circumstances, the officers and men of the 20th and 27th Armies showed a high will to fight and tenacity, and all those who could move, including the lightly wounded, were thrown into pursuit.
The First Marine Division was often tossed around by many volunteer soldiers who were limping and carrying grenades, and after paying heavy casualties to break through the bloody road, they found that the blockers were only a few or even one or two Chinese soldiers who were about to freeze. As long as there is one more person, it will continue to fight. These are the brave and fearless volunteer soldiers.
The morale of the U.S. troops, like the weather at Chosin Lake, dropped to a freezing point, and the escape was described by them as a "purgatory-like experience." Carlo D. Zenduns, then commander of the artillery battalion, later recalled, "I felt strongly about the battle because I had lost too many comrades. We suffered heavy casualties. I've never seen a fight like this. I had encountered the last German counteroffensive in World War II, but it was not as fierce as the Battle of Chosin Lake. It was a scene that was hard to look back on. ”
In order to completely block the escape route of the US First Marine Division, Song Shilun ordered the 26th Army, which was serving as a reserve, to seize Hagaru-ri. Hagaru-ri is not only a necessary place for the First Marine Division to flee south, but also a material replenishment base for the US army, with a mountain of food, ammunition and various cold-proof items. If the volunteers could seize Hagaru-ri, they would not only be able to close the gate for the First Marine Division to flee south, but also obtain much-needed combat supplies, which would have a crucial impact on the war situation.
At that time, the vanguard of the 26th Army was Wu Dalin's 88th Division, and their superiors required them to insert themselves into the first line of Duxiu Peak within 24 hours, and then cooperate with the brother troops to seize xiayuli. At that time, the 88th Division was still more than 70 kilometers away from Duxiu Peak, and although the task was difficult, it was not impossible to complete. Also in this campaign, the 113th Division of the 38th Army took only 14 hours to force 72.5 kilometers, forcing the enemy to block the retreat of the American army.
Compared with the 113th Division, the 88th Division had more time, and if it set off immediately, it could reach Duxiu Peak on time. However, the division commander Wu Dalin thought that the snowy night march was easy to get lost, so it did not set off that night. After dawn, he asked the troops to make preparations, and the 88th Division did not set out until about 3 p.m., more than ten hours later than the time requested by the superiors.
In the rapidly changing battlefield, every minute and every second is precious, but it is really incomprehensible that Wu Dalin wasted more than ten hours in vain. Gong Jie, the political commissar who was also partnered with him, did not object to Wu Dalin's decision to delay the departure, resulting in the 88th Division seriously delaying the fighters.
What is even more distressing is that the 88th Division was discovered by enemy reconnaissance planes shortly after its departure, and then it was intensively bombed by enemy bombers, and the troops suffered heavy losses. Wu Dalin was also slightly injured in the bombardment and lost contact with the troops for a day. In the end, the 88th Division failed to reach Duxiu Peak on time, and the US First Marine Division also escaped from Hagaru-ri.
After the war, Wu Dalin, commander of the 88th Division, and Gong Jie, the political commissar, were both dismissed for seriously delaying the fighter, and Wu Dalin served as deputy commander of the 148th Division and commander of the Jinzhou Military Sub-district after returning to China, and was awarded the rank of colonel in 1955. After returning to China, Gong Jie served as deputy director of the Political Department of the 26th Army and the second political commissar of the Zhenjiang Military Subdistrict of the Jiangsu Provincial Military Region, and was also awarded the rank of colonel in 1955.
The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was a national war for our country, and this battle brought out military and national prestige, and made the whole world look at New China with astonishment. The famous writer Li Feng's "Decisive Battle of Korea" comprehensively unveils many historical truths behind the stages of the Korean War with detailed historical materials, such as the game contest between the top leadership of the Sino-US Soviet Union and the DPRK, the truth about the Korean People's Army's southern expedition, the truth about China's dispatch of troops to Korea, the true comparison of the combat strength of the Chinese and US troops, the inside story of the Soviet Union's military aid to China and the participation of the air force in the war, the real situation of the volunteer prisoners of war, the negotiation process of Panmunjom, and so on. It's a good book that can't be read without reading.
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