On the battlefield of the Battle of Chosin Lake, on December 1, 1950, the U.S. army at Chosin Lake began to break through. First, the U.S. 1st Marine Division at Liutanli airlifted all 4,468 wounded to the rear in five days through a small field airfield. At the same time, the US transport plane also sent a large number of ammunition, medicines, equipment, and other materials to the 1st Marine Division and other units.
The U.S. military has stockpiled 1.3 bases of ammunition and 8 bases of food and fuel, and preparations for the breakout have been completed. On December 3, the U.S. 10th Army officially issued an order for the 1st Marine Division to retreat to the Hamhung area on December 6.
In order to get enough energy in the ice and snow breakout, the 1st Marine Division also distributed $13,500 worth of chocolates and candy from the commissary. These chocolates and candies add calories and taste much better than frozen field rations.
Throughout the retreat, the U.S. army dispatched 2 battle groups to open the way, responsible for suppressing fire at 700 meters on both sides of the road. At a depth of 700 meters, it was suppressed by American howitzers, attack aircraft and mortars. During the day, ensure that at least 24 U.S. warplanes provide air cover at all times, and at night, there are also night fighters that provide uninterrupted air cover.
U.S. aircraft are responsible for conducting air strikes at a depth of 5 kilometers on both sides of the road, while U.S. aircraft carriers and the Far East Air Force have 500 aircraft on standby. Under extremely difficult circumstances, the various units of the 20th Army of the Volunteer Army launched one fierce attack after another on the retreating American troops.
The American soldiers described the battle at that time as follows: "Chinese soldiers flocked to the battlefield, stubbornly attacking again and again, and the night sky was illuminated by flares to a terrible light, and the figure of the Chinese soldier charging was exposed in the light." In front of the Marines' tanks, cannons and machine guns, they launched a brave charge that looked like death, which made the Marines stand in awe.
Even, the U.S. Air-Ground Liaison Group guided F-4U Viking fighters at night, dropping 1,000-pound heavy napalm and rockets at volunteers just 30 meters on both sides of the road.
Because the volunteers continued to launch uninterrupted attacks from both sides, the U.S. army only had an 11-kilometer journey from Gutuli to Xinxingli, taking 42 hours, and the average one-hour advance was only 142 meters.
At this time, the survival of the 1st Landing Division was the Watergate Bridge, a huge reinforced concrete bridge 5.6 kilometers south of Gutuli. Of course, we are also very aware of the significance of this bridge. On 1 December, volunteer commandos blew up the Pratunam Bridge. The main forces of the Volunteer Army on both sides then advanced rapidly, preparing to completely encircle and annihilate the entire US 1st Marine Division at the Watergate Bridge.
However, the 1st Marine Corps Engineer Battalion quickly repaired the bridge, and on December 4, volunteer commandos again forced their way to the Watergate Bridge to blow it up. The 73rd Engineer Battalion of the U.S. Army's 10th Army has once again repaired the Watergate Bridge.
On December 6, after reconnaissance of the location and terrain of the Watergate Bridge, the U.S. Military called for a rapid airdrop of the bridge. Two large parachutes were required to airdrop 1.1 tons of bridge components. At 9 o'clock on December 7, 8 US C-119 transport aircraft parachuted 8 sets of M2 bridges to Guxingli.
Of the 8 large parts, 6 fell into U.S. positions, 1 was damaged, and the last 2 fell into volunteer positions. On the morning of December 9, the U.S. Marine Corps began to repair the bridge, but finally found that it was 1.5 meters shorter, and the sappers filled the vacancy with materials such as railway sleepers near the unemployment, and by the afternoon the Watergate Bridge could be opened to traffic again.
In fact, the volunteer army has blown up the foundation of the Watergate Bridge three times, but it did not occur to the US military that it could airdrop two sets of bridges. This was beyond our understanding at the time, and we couldn't imagine that this kind of thing would happen. Otherwise, the U.S. 1st Marine Division would have been wiped out long ago.
At the same time, the 1st Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment of the U.S. Army occupied the 1081st Heights and the heights near the Watergate Bridge. Cover the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Pratunam Bridge to the Xingnan coastal area. By December 10, the 58th and 60th Divisions of the Volunteer Army, which were still pursuing, only a few hundred people could still fight, were still fiercely pursuing the American troops, intercepting 8 tanks covered by the American rearguard at a distance of 2 kilometers from the Watergate Bridge, blowing up several American tanks, showing a fearless heroism.
In the end, only a few dozen volunteers chased the American troops into Xingnan Port, and they saw 7 American aircraft carriers lined up on the sea. There are four fleet carriers, including the "LÄRT", "Furigu", "Philippine Sea", and "Princeton", as well as three light aircraft carriers.