The movie "Chosin Lake", which is now being screened, shows the Battle of Chosin Lake in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. However, due to the limited space of the film, the overall narrative of the Battle of Chosin Lake is not very complete.
In fact, the Battle of Chosin Lake was finally a very successful victory, not only annihilating the "Polar Bear Regiment" in one fell swoop, as shown in the film, but also forcing the Ace Unit of the US Army, the "First Marine Division", to experience the "longest retreat" in history.
Battle of Chosin Lake
Ever since October 1950, when the U.S. military crossed the 38° north latitude line and sent bombers to invade China's airspace many times to bomb the Dandong region, New China was doomed to be unable to stand alone in this battle.
From October 1950 until the signing of the armistice in July 1953, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea lasted for two stages. The first phase lasted from October 25, 1950 to June 10, 1951.
During this phase, the Volunteers fought five consecutive campaigns. The Battle of Chosin Lake took place during the Second Campaign. During this period, the two sides fought simultaneously on the eastern and western fronts, the western front in the Cheongcheon River area, and the eastern front in the Chosin Lake area.
The U.S. army suffered defeats on both the eastern and western fronts, and could only abandon Pyongyang and Wonsan, and eventually retreated to the south of the 38th line. The movie "Chosin Lake" intercepts the battle situation of the Ninth Corps in the Battle of Chosin Lake on the Eastern Front.
The Battle of Chosin Lake was an important turning point in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and the Volunteer Army recovered a large area north of the 38th Line, and the US army had to retreat to the south of the 38th Line. The Battle of Chosin Lake reversed the situation in the Korean battlefield in one fell swoop, shattering the wild talk of the US military to end the war before Christmas.
At that time, the US soldiers attacked North Korea in two ways, and even said that they would hit the Yalu River before Christmas and go home for Christmas. Therefore, the volunteer army urgently dispatched the Ninth Corps from the Southern Military Region in the country to enter the DPRK and go to the Eastern Front to fight.
In the movie "Changjin Lake", we can see that when the protagonist Wu Qianli returned home, his hometown was at the water's edge, and his family also lived on the boat, which is a typical humanistic style of Jiangnan Water Town, and the instructor is also a polite Shanghainese.
Wu Qianli's unit is a interspersed company, and its tactical characteristics are to intercept and intersperse in the battlefield, circumvent and encircle, divide the enemy's large corps into scattered sections, and then annihilate them.
At that time, many of the soldiers of the Ninth Corps were urgently transferred from the southeast region to fight in Korea, so most of them were not equipped with enough winter clothes, and many of them did not have combat experience in the alpine regions.
However, the climatic conditions on the Korean Peninsula in winter were extremely harsh, and it was hit by a once-in-50-year cold, and the average daily temperature had dropped to minus 27 degrees. The lowest temperature in the Chosin Lake area even dropped to more than -40 degrees.
However, the vast number of soldiers of the Ninth Corps of the Volunteer Army had no hesitation, wearing thin clothes, enduring the unusual cold and hunger in the cold Chosin Lake area, and overcoming all kinds of dangers with amazing perseverance.
Then, through a wide range of interspersed tactics, day and night out, roundabout encirclement, point to hit the surface, lightning raid, successfully intercepted the elite unit of the US Army, the First Marine Division, into five sections, forming a favorable situation of encirclement and annihilation and blockade.
U.S. 1st Marine Division
The movie "Chosin Lake" is very interesting for the display of the so-called "United Nations Army", in the garrison corps, you can clearly see the teams of different countries, and they will praise each other when they rest. Among them, the most powerful is naturally the US Army's First Marine Division.
The First Marine Division is the elite ace unit of the US army, known as the "Permanent Victory Army", and its predecessor is the first company of the Marine Corps with the oldest history in the United States. The company was founded in 1775 and participated in almost all of the expansion wars in U.S. history.
During World War II, the U.S. Army reorganized this unit into the First Marine Division. It can be described as a great achievement in the history of the US military, and has won the title of first-class honorary combat unit many times, and is the elite of the elite of the US military.
In many battles in the Pacific, the First Marine Division was the hardest bone to gnaw, and in the battles of Okinawa and Guadalcanal, it was all the First Marine Division that took the lead. The members of its troops are far superior to ordinary U.S. troops in terms of tactical quality and individual ability.
The full strength of the 1st Marine Division is about 25,000 people, and the 1st Marine Division on the Korean battlefield is about 24,000 people, with three marine regiments under its jurisdiction, one division-affiliated artillery regiment, one tank regiment, as well as engineering battalions, supply battalions, communications companies, reconnaissance companies, and medical teams.
At the same time, the First Marine Division not only had hundreds of artillery of various types, but also hundreds of tanks, armored vehicles and cars. Generally speaking, the First Marine Division is a modern ground combat unit with full equipment and advanced equipment.
So, how did such an elite ace unit of the US army engage the Ninth Corps of volunteers, which endured severe cold and hunger and lurked in the ice and snow for a long time, in the Chosin Lake area? What was the final battle?
Ice Blood Chosin Lake
In the Battle of Chosin Lake, the volunteer army fought the battle with tenacious will. Because compared with the US military, which has very perfect logistical support and air superiority, the volunteer army does not have air superiority, and logistics and material support are not provided.
Wounded volunteers are difficult to treat, but the U.S. military can rely on aircraft to continuously transfer the wounded and sick. The strength of the two sides is really too different. However, it was in this situation that the Volunteers won the battle.
Chosin Lake, located in the northeastern region of North Korea's Gaima Plateau, is a perennial alpine region with an average altitude of about 1300 meters. The road is very narrow, the mountains are densely forested, and the population is sparsely populated, which can almost be said to be a no-man's land.
Not only is the climate harsh and cold, but the geographical environment is even more sinister. In such an area, Mo said that there was a war, that is, it was very difficult to garrison. In the relatively soothing garrisons of the US military, soldiers often complain about the harsh operating environment in North Korea.
Smith, commander of the U.S. First Marine Division, said with trepidation: "The Chosin Lake area is not suitable for military operations at all, and even Genghis Khan would not want to conquer it." However, the volunteer army listed the Chosin Lake area as an important battlefield for layout.
In November 1950, the 20th and 27th Corps of the Volunteer Army fought in the west and north of Chosin Lake. As mentioned earlier, the strategic focus of the second campaign is to lure the enemy to the predetermined battlefield and then launch a sudden counterattack against it.
The volunteer army chose the battlefield in the Chosin Lake area, which was also a plan that had to be considered in the face of a powerful enemy offensive. Because the US military at that time had strong force, financial resources, and support, the volunteer army did not have these.
The volunteers were short of supplies, with only barely cold clothing, and occasionally encountered patrols and bombing by American aircraft. So much so that for a long time, the volunteers launched counterattacks at night when American aircraft could not fly.
Although the climatic conditions in the Chosin Lake area are extremely harsh and the geographical environment is very harsh, it can also greatly reduce the offensive of the US army and create conditions for the interspersed interception tactics adopted by the volunteer army.
In the end, the Volunteers succeeded in dividing the U.S. forces into parts that could not be echoed by each other. Although the damage to oneself in this style of play is very large, in the face of the powerful US army, the weak volunteer army can only choose this tragic way of playing.
In fact, at that time, many American soldiers were also extremely dissatisfied with this cold weather. In the memoirs of many American soldiers, complaints of this extreme weather can be seen, and they say that their hands are too cold to grasp the carbine.
Although many American soldiers were dissatisfied, their logistics were quite rich at the time, and each soldier had an coat and a duck down bag. At the same time, there are thick military uniforms, cold hats, sweaters, woolen socks, leather boots and so on.
Moreover, the tents where the US military lived were also cotton, and the stoves in the tents were also constantly burning. The daily rations for individual soldiers include not only canned food and drinks, but also turkey ham, apple pie, and so on. Whether it is eating and wearing, or living and traveling, the conditions of the US military are excellent.
Compared with the US army, the volunteer army marched and ambushed in the cold weather, risking being discovered by the planes in the dense forest of wind and snow, the rations were only a few frozen potatoes, and many soldiers did not even have cotton clothes to protect themselves from the cold, but the soldiers did not complain in the slightest.
Finally, the Volunteers succeeded in dividing the U.S. Third Division, the U.S. Seventh Division, and the U.S. First Marine Division into five isolated sections, from north to south: Xinxingli, Liutanli, Hagaru-ri, Tuguri, and Makoto-ri.
After the Battle of Chosin Lake began, the First Marine Division could not take care of each other in the complicated terrain, and finally had to retreat in a panic, and the US White House was shaken up and down. From encirclement to ambush, volunteers and American troops fought to the death on the narrow Gaima Plateau.
The later stages of the Battle of Chosin Lake were very tragic, and many historical sources in China and the United States referred to Chosin Lake as "Ice blood Chosin Lake". At the same time, this is also the "longest retreat" in the history of the First Marine Division. However, under the layout of our army, the US army is not allowed to retreat at will.
At that time, in the Chosin Lake area, there was only a narrow machine ploughing road between north and south, and on the one hand, it was close to the steep slope and the cliff on the other, and our army had already arranged ambush points in the corresponding war zone. Therefore, when the First Marine Division retreated, it encountered layers of resistance from the volunteer army.
In three days, the First Marine Division only walked 22 kilometers and suffered more than 1,500 casualties. It is no exaggeration to say that if it were not for the limitations of the volunteer army in terms of materials and logistics, the First Marine Division would never have been able to go out of the Chosin Lake area.
The reason why the First Marine Division survived
First, the logistics of the volunteer army could not keep up, and the ordnance and equipment were inferior to those of the US army.
The Battle of Chosin Lake was a typical active attack, interspersed with encirclement and ambush. At the same time, in the Battle of Chosin Lake, the will of the volunteer soldiers was also very tenacious.
Overhead were American planes, surrounded by treacherous terrain, and the 100,000 soldiers of the Ninth Corps, enduring severe cold and hunger, risking their lives, tightly camouflaged, and lying day and night, were stunned to overcome all kinds of dangers. One moment it was silent, and the other it was like thunder.
In the end, the US troops were lured to the Chosin Lake area, and through continuous interspersed detours, the US troops were divided, forming a favorable situation of encirclement and annihilation. If it were not for the poor logistical support and ordnance equipment of the Volunteer Army, and the long battle line, the First Marine Division would not have been able to escape at all.
Second, the caution and caution of Smith, commander of the First Marine Division.
The commander of the First Marine Division, Smith, was a veteran commander who had experienced hundreds of battles, and he took advantage of the terrain and learned from the experience of the western front, so he did not panic and break through.
At the same time, Smith also asked the troops to stop and build strong fortifications every day after a certain distance of advance. Thanks to Smith's command, the Formation of the First Marine Division was tightly packed and could also carry out some effective defense.
And at Smith's insistence, the U.S. military built an airsized airfield in Hagaru. This small airfield ensured smooth air transport, so the 1st Marine Division had no problems with supplying at the Battle of Chosin Lake.
With this small airfield, the U.S. military even airlifted more than 4,000 wounded soldiers. Compared with the air superiority and supply lines of the US army, the volunteer army has no support in this regard, and many wounded soldiers have fallen in the ice and snow, and they cannot get treatment at all.
Third, the full support of the US military department.
After the U.S. army was surrounded at Chosin Lake, the U.S. White House shook and immediately launched various means of support, and the various departments of the U.S. army also responded quickly, providing various conveniences for the retreat of the First Marine Division.
The U.S. naval fleet stationed in Japan immediately mobilized hundreds of ships to the north, including aircraft carriers. The U.S. Army Aviation and Naval Aviation units built the most powerful air support over the retreat path of the First Marine Division.
In contrast, the poor and white-faced new China at that time did not even have an air force, let alone was able to seize air supremacy on the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, the air power of the US army provided a great guarantee for the withdrawal of the First Marine Division.
Fourth, the United States has strong industrial manufacturing capabilities.
At that time, the United States' military manufacturing capabilities were among the best in the world, and it became a major boost in the retreat of the First Marine Division. At that time, in order to prevent the retreat of the First Marine Division, the Volunteer Army blew up the only Pratunam Bridge in the southern passage.
However, the U.S. Air Force actually brought bridges and steel from Japan, and the American engineers did their best to build a steel bridge that could carry 50 tons and could be used by cars in just one day, repairing the road for the US military to retreat south.
Fifth, the impact of extreme climatic conditions.
The Battle of Chosin Lake was basically fought under extremely harsh climatic conditions from minus 30 degrees to minus 40 degrees, and the number of frostbite and frostbite far exceeded the casualties caused by the battle itself.
Although this extreme weather hindered the Reconnaissance and Air Raids of the American Army early in the campaign, allowing the Ninth Corps of the Volunteer Army to successfully perform a perfect tactical penetration, it also brought greater difficulties to the Volunteer Army in ambushing the enemy during the campaign.
On the road of the US military's southward retreat, many companies responsible for cutting off ambushes formed frostbite and froze to death in the severe cold. For example, the entire company was frozen into an ice sculpture of the "Ice Sculpture Company", and the sacrificed soldiers still maintained a fighting posture, and the muzzle of the gun was aimed in the direction of the enemy.
In the movie "Chosin Lake", the US troops who retreated all the way to this place were shocked by the "Ice Sculpture Company", and the commander paid tribute to the volunteer soldiers. But in fact, the US military retreated to this time, and many panicked US soldiers shot at the corpses of the soldiers of the "Ice Sculpture Company".
At the same time, due to the excessive length of the battle line and the harsh climatic conditions, the main force of the 26th Army of the Volunteer Army did not arrive at the battlefield in time, and they pursued all the way from Hagaru-ri to The Port of Xianxing and the Port of Xingnan. I ran out of food and exhausted along the way.
Moreover, the US military had strong naval and air support, so the volunteer army's blockade of the First Marine Division did not form a complete scale. Although the First Marine Division survived, there were still many chaotic situations in the retreat of the US army.
For example, some US troops really could not break through, and even drove cars and tanks to break through from the surface of Chosin Lake. But the ice on the surface of the lake obviously could not bear the weight of the tank. As a result, the ice collapsed, and all the American troops on the surface of the lake fell into the lake.
Colonel in the Operations Division of the First Marine Division
Alpha Bauser once said bluntly:
"Fortunately, Chinese did not have enough logistical support and communication equipment, otherwise we would never have been able to get out of Chosin Lake, and the First Marine Division would definitely be lucky to survive!"
Years later, some American veterans who participated in this battle often mentioned the Battle of Chosin Lake in their memoirs, and they sighed: I was shocked by those souls who were not afraid of death, why are Chinese soldiers not afraid of death?
The reason why these American soldiers are very strange about this problem is that the soldiers of a country that is trying to invade the outside world cannot understand the lofty convictions in the hearts of the volunteer soldiers!
However, in the battle of Chosin Lake, the volunteer army also fought very hard. Song Shilun, commander of the Ninth Corps, said it was more arduous than the Long March. The volunteers suffered heavy casualties, suffering more than 30,000 frostbite and more than 4,000 frostbite deaths, with frostbite attrition exceeding 30% of the total number of corps.
Casualties of the 1st Marine Division at the Battle of Chosin Lake
At the Battle of Chosin Lake, the U.S. Seventh Division was almost completely annihilated by the Volunteers. The Polar Bear Regiment, the 31st Regiment of the Seventh Division, was also completely annihilated, and even the regimental flag was captured by the volunteers.
However, the polar bear regiment's flag was not directly torn from the polar bear regiment commander's tent like in the movie "Chosin Lake". Instead, when cleaning the battlefield, it was taken by a signal soldier as a bag, and later given to the cooking class as a steamed steamed bun.
Later, the battalion commander of the battalion where the signal corps was located heard about this incident, and after checking it in the past, he found that it was the regimental flag of the Polar Bear Regiment. The flag was later handed over as a trophy and is now in the collection of the Chinese Revolutionary Military Museum.
Because the main force of the US Third Division is on the Western Front, there are not many casualty statistics on the Eastern Front. As for the casualty statistics of the First Marine Division, several versions have appeared.
Initially, the U.S. Propaganda First Marine Division lost 604 casualties, 114 were seriously wounded, 192 were missing, 3508 were wounded, the total number of combat casualties was 4418, and 7313 non-combat attritions were lost. But this data is clearly inconsistent with reality, and the Americans themselves do not believe it.
Later, under pressure, the U.S. army revised the casualty figures in the Battle of Chosin Lake, claiming that the First Marine Division suffered 7,338 casualties and the U.S. Seventh Division suffered 2,670 casualties. Together with other casualty data, the U.S. army suffered tens of thousands of casualties in the Battle of Chosin Lake.
There is also a report on the casualties of the First Marine Division on the Internet, saying that after the Battle of Chosin Lake, the First Marine Division lost more than 1,000 people, lost more than 4,800 people, wounded more than 4,500 people, and lost more than 7,300 people due to frostbite and other reasons.
If this is the figure, it means that the 25,000-strong First Marine Division has suffered more than 18,000 personnel at the Chosin Lake Campaign, or more than 70%, which is an unprecedented blow.
However, the authenticity of this data is still doubtful, because the 1st Marine Division returned to the Eastern Front after resting for half a month in Busan. In March 1952, the 1st Marine Division was again re-defended to the Western Front, responsible for the important front from Kaesong to Panmunjom.
Therefore, many people think that the casualties of the First Marine Division should not be so large. However, even if the reduction of the First Marine Division did not reach such a proportion as 70%, the reduction rate was definitely more than 40%.
It is worth mentioning that in the second stage of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the First Marine Division successively engaged the 63rd, 40th, and 46th Armies of the Volunteer Army. Because this article is about the Battle of Chosin Lake, the second phase of the battle will not be explained.
In short, no matter which unit of the Volunteer Army fought against the First Marine Division, it fiercely fought the First Marine Division several times. During this period, the records of the First Marine Division frequently appeared the words "despair", "deterioration of the situation", and "total annihilation of the army".
At the same time, the casualties of the volunteer army are also rarely recorded below that of the Us army. It seems that the First Marine Division has never taken any advantage from the volunteers on the Korean battlefield!
Hard-mouthed U.S. troops
As the commander of the First Marine Division, Smith also received a so-called honor because he took the First Marine Division away from the Chosin Lake area, and was praised by the Americans as a famous general in the world and became a hero in the hearts of the Americans.
And when the reporter interviewed Smith and asked him how he finally retreated in the face of the heavy siege of the volunteers, Smith replied very stiffly: We did not retreat, just attacked in a different direction.
However, the result of the Battle of Chosin Lake was that the volunteer army not only recovered the area north of the 38th Line, but also successfully reversed the situation of the entire battlefield. Therefore, Smith's absurd remarks can only deceive himself.
Since the First Marine Division survived the Battle of Chosin Lake, it has always been very tough, and every time they have boldly said that they will counterattack the volunteer army. But the results of each of their battles with the volunteers were very real.
Because the First Marine Division not only did not defeat any of the volunteers, but was pushed south by the volunteers every time. Until the armistice, the First Marine Division was still declaring that it was because of the armistice that they did not counterattack, otherwise they would have destroyed the volunteers.
epilogue
Whether in the Battle of Chosin Lake, or in the Battle of Songkufeng, or in the Battle of Tieyuan, or even in the Battle of Shangganling, the heroic volunteer soldiers made the arrogant And arrogant American Army suffer enough.
Later, when panmunjom signed an armistice agreement, the Chinese army also relied on this war to establish its status as a great power. Since then, no country in the world has dared to underestimate China.