In the course of our army's War of Resistance, in addition to having outstanding generals and revolutionary fighters, we also possessed many respectable opponents. Although these people are the culprits who led to the death of their comrades-in-arms, if the hostile relationship is put aside, they are all respectable soldiers, and their military qualities and combat ability are superior. The general we want to talk about today is one of the number one enemies of the Volunteer Army during the Period of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea -- Van Vleet.
Van Vleet joined the U.S. Army very early, graduated from the famous U.S. Military Academy at West Point, participated in World War I and World War II, has a very rich combat experience, and has a very sharp combat style. Moreover, he was different from other generals in the US army, there was not much lust and embarrassment, and it could be said that he was a pure soldier.
In 1951, he was appointed commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, succeeding Ridgway and others in the Korean theater. Van Vleet was very brave in combat, and poured shells and explosives like bullets at will, resulting in heavy losses in our positions, and many soldiers were killed under his artillery fire.
His tactics of warfare against artillery have also been called "Van Vliet's ammunition quantity" by the Americans, but his extravagant use of this extravagant use is a waste of taxpayers' money in the eyes of the American top brass, and there is nothing more sad for these interest-takers than the rapid loss of money. But Van Vleet was very tough, directly saying that if the American high level was dissatisfied, they would let them direct the battle. And it was true that FanVleet's style of play at that time suppressed the offensive strategy of our volunteer army, causing huge casualties.
Just as the so-called tiger father has no dogs, when Van Vleet killed four parties on the battlefield, his son Van Vleet Jr. did not eat dry food in the rear, but flew a bomber to carry out the task of bombing our position many times, causing many casualties and material losses of the volunteer army.
Van Vleet can rest easy in the rear, but the little Van Vleet who fights on the front line is not so safe. During a daily battle, he was violently bombarded by the fire of the anti-aircraft artillery position of our volunteer army, and eight shells hit a plane of little Van Vleet, and the plane fell rapidly, and the life and death of little Van Vleet were uncertain.
Van Vleet was distraught when he learned of the news, and the two sides had begun preliminary negotiations, hoping to ask the Chinese volunteers through the American representatives to help find out the whereabouts of his son. Our volunteer army has always adhered to the strategy of having no eyes on the battlefield and treating each other with courtesy on the battlefield, expressing its willingness to help find the whereabouts of little Van Vliet, and will be sent back to the US camp as soon as possible.
However, after many judgments, the little Van Vleet should have been crushed to pieces with the fighter, after all, the soldiers of the Volunteer Anti-Aircraft Artillery Unit had personally seen the eight shells hit the enemy aircraft, and there was no chance of parachuting at all. Stunned, Van Vleet accepted this reality, and although sad, he thanked the volunteers for their willingness to help.
Of course, this is only a small episode on the battlefield, and the fighting between the two sides continues. After the new president of the United States came to power, Van Vleet decided to present the president with a beautiful battle, but also to shame his only son. This time, he was very cautious and did not choose to fight with the main force of the volunteer army, but chose a platoon position that had just been changed to garrison. In order to be able to record the victory in an all-round way, Van Vleet also invited many reporters accompanying the army to watch the battle together, hoping that after the victory, these reporters could write more glorified articles and suppress the anti-war sentiment in the United States.
However, what he never expected was that he had not been able to achieve victory after repeatedly bombing the volunteer platoon-level positions with planes and tanks. The American side lost nearly a hundred people in this battle, while the volunteer positions only lost a dozen people. The battle completely nailed Van Vleet and the U.S. military to the pillar of shame, and after these reporters returned to China to report, the anti-war sentiment in the country was even higher, and after consultation with the military department, Van Vleet became the scapegoat, was dismissed from his post, and left the Korean battlefield in disgrace.