On November 27, 1950, the Battle of Chosin Lake began. More than 100,000 soldiers of the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army braved the bitter cold to launch a brave attack on the enemy, and soon cut off the 1st Marine Division and the 7th Infantry Division of the United States into several sections. After more than 20 days of bitter fighting, our army severely damaged the US First Marine Division and completely annihilated the Polar Bear Regiment, creating a record of completely annihilating a whole regiment of the US Army in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. At the same time, the 9 Corps itself also paid a heavy price, reducing its personnel by nearly 48,000 people, including 28,954 frostbite.
Frostbite is more common than combat casualties, why is this happening? Some say it was because the logistics department did not distribute enough cotton clothes to the 9 Corps. In fact, this statement is not accurate, according to the book "Selected Materials for summarizing the logistical experience of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea: Military Quartermasters", the logistics department of the 9 Corps before and after entering the DPRK issued 141413 cotton clothes, 234,000 gloves, 172331 pairs of various cotton shoes, 185319 cotton hats, 185876 cotton vests, and 50,000 pairs of flannel pants.
At that time, the 9 Corps had a total of 3 corps and 12 divisions, with a total strength of about 150,000 people. In addition to more than 8,000 pieces of cotton clothes, cotton shoes, gloves, cotton hats and cotton vests were all over-distributed. So the question is, since the logistics department has given the 9th Corps enough warm clothing, why did the 9 Corps still suffer frostbite of nearly 29,000 people in the Battle of Chosin Lake? There are three main reasons.
The first reason is that these huge amounts of warm clothing were not distributed to the 9 Corps at the first time. When the 9th Corps moved from the south, the task was already very urgent, and there was no time to stop in Shenyang to change winter clothes. Only the troops crossed the river first, and the warm clothes were then sent to the front by the logistics department. At that time, the logistics department of the Volunteer Army had a total of 735 cars, and more than half of them were blown up 20 days after entering the DPRK. The remaining hundreds of cars were transporting both food and ammunition and winter clothes, and they were simply too busy to carry them.
Therefore, although the logistics department issued a large number of warm clothing to the 9 Corps, due to the limitation of transportation capacity, many of them stayed on the books. For example, the 38th Army complained in its December 21 report that "most of the things distributed by telegram in the Donghou and its divisions are limited to empty talk on paper, and now they do not know where they will be, let alone when they will arrive." Logistics issued enough warm clothing, but due to the limitation of transport capacity, the 9th Corps did not receive all of them, so the front-line troops suffered frostbite.
The second reason is extremely cold weather. Winters in North Korea were already very cold, but in the winter of 1950 they were hit by the Siberian cold snap, and the lowest temperature once reached minus 40 degrees Celsius. The 9th Corps had been stationed in the south for a long time and could not adapt to such a cold weather. In the Battle of Chosin Lake, in order to achieve the suddenness of the campaign, many units of the 9th Corps lurked in the cold for a long time, eating frozen potatoes, so there was a large area of frostbite. Looking at the opponent of the 9th Corps, the US First Marine Division, the division was equipped with the top cold clothing, ate high-calorie food, but still frostbitten more than 7,000 people, which is enough to show how bad the climate was at that time, which is also the main reason why the 9 Corps suffered frostbite of nearly 29,000 people.
The third reason is that many soldiers in the army lack common sense of antifreeze. At the end of the Chosin Lake Campaign, the 26th Army, as a reserve, undertook the heavy responsibility of pursuing the US First Marine Division. However, the army suffered severe attrition due to frostbite, which eventually led to the escape of the U.S. Marine Division of the Turtle in the Urn. The 26th Army once had this passage in its post-war summary: "The troops lack common sense of antifreeze, such as Comrade Li Jie (political commissar of the 331st Regiment), who called for hot water to burn his feet for frostbite." Many troops emphasize light clothing in combat, save the quilt, neglect to keep warm, and roast the fire after frostbite, so the troops have a large number of serious frostbite. ”
The severe attrition due to a lack of common sense of antifreeze is particularly distressing. For example, the 1st Battalion Machine Gun Company of the 231st Regiment of the 77th Division of the 26th Army, which has two heavy machine guns, 8 mortars and multiple bazookas, is the most dependent firearms detachment of the whole battalion, shouldering the heavy responsibility of providing fire support and fire suppression in battle. After the pursuit was launched, the company forced its troops for several days, and the soldiers were exhausted and lay down as soon as they arrived at the camp. Many people soon frostbitten, and when they woke up, some people lit a fire, and many people put their frostbitten hands and feet to the fire to roast, and they burned their hands and feet at that time. When they set out again, the warriors were half lying on the ground, unable to walk. The machine gun company, fully loaded with 204 men, only 12 could march, and the whole company lost its combat effectiveness.
It was for the above three reasons that the 9th Corps suffered frostbite and attrition of nearly 29,000 people in the Battle of Chosin Lake. But even under such difficult circumstances, the brave and fearless volunteers still inflicted heavy damage on the enemy armed to the teeth, and their bravery left a deep impression on the enemy.
Bauser, then chief of operations of the FIRST Marine Division, said in his memoirs: "I believe that the icy and snowy land of Chosin Lake and the fierce attack of the Chinese army in spite of casualties are a nightmare that will never go away in the hearts of every Marine." ”
The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was a national war on the mainland, and this battle brought out military and national prestige, which made the whole world look at New China with astonishment. Written by the famous writer Li Feng
"Decisive Battle of Korea" comprehensively unveils many historical truths in front of and behind the stage 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 real comparison of the combat strength of China and the US army, the inside story of the Soviet Union's military assistance to China and the air force's participation in the war, the real situation of the prisoners of war of the volunteer army, the negotiation process of Panmunjom, and so on.
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