This unit, which had stayed overnight on Nanjing Road, later went to the battlefield of Chosin Lake

At the southernmost end of the Chosin Lake Battlefield, the 178th Regiment and the 179th Regiment of the 60th Division of the 20th Army of the Ninth Corps of the Volunteer Army ambushed the Dresdale Detachment that had come to reinforce Hagaru-ri, an elite force of about 1,000 men with 29 tanks that eventually reached Hagaru-ri with only 400 men, and 237 of whom became prisoners of the Volunteer Army, the largest number of Captured American troops in the Battle of Chosin Lake.

Few people know that the first battalion of the 178th Regiment is a unit with deep ties to Shanghai. When Shanghai was liberated in May 1949, three-quarters of the company-level cadres, from qu Jun, then battalion commander, Zheng Mengzhi, deputy battalion commander, and Ju Tao, deputy instructor, to company-level cadres, were Shanghainese. Of the 700 soldiers in the battalion, two-thirds were Shanghainese. From the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression to the War of Liberation to the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, although the number of troops has changed several times, the people will not forget the immortal deeds they have established on the battlefield.

- Editor

With the popularity of the film "Chosin Lake" on the theme of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, people have an intuitive understanding of the fierce battle on the cold ice field 71 years ago, and the audience is deeply infected by the volunteer army that braves the cold of the wind and snow sword, wears a thin military uniform, and nibbles hard and cold frozen potatoes but still insists on fighting a bloody and bitter battle.

In the volunteer army unit of Changjin Lake, which defeated the strong enemy, there was actually a unit mainly composed of Shanghai disciples: the 178th Regiment of the 60th Division. This unit went all the way from the New Fourth Army during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the East China Field Army during the War of Liberation to the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.

Sleeping on Nanjing Road, their image of Wang Shi who "does not enter the people's house" has become an eternal classic

As for the origin of this unit, we must also start from the time of the War of Resistance.

In the spring of 1940, Tan Zhenlin, then deputy commander of the three detachments of the New Fourth Army, led his troops into southern Jiangsu and established the "Jiangnan Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army East Road Headquarters", which is the famous "Jiangkang East Road". Tan Zhenlin, as commander and political commissar, sent people into Shanghai to secretly expand the army. Zhang Feng, director of the Political Department of the Second Column of the Jiangsu Resistance Brigade, accepted this task, and he organized three expansion groups, but they did not cross each other, and only contacted Zhang Feng on a single line, and the recruited personnel were secretly transported to the "Jiang Kang" through the underground communication line. In less than a year, the "Jiang Kang" army expanded by more than 2,000 people under the eyes of the Japanese and puppets. These Shanghainese soldiers have a high level of education and extensive knowledge, and after education and training, they quickly grow into the backbone of the army.

However, these Shanghainese fighters did not concentrate on forming troops, but dispersed to various units of the New Fourth Army. The predecessor of the 178th Regiment was He Kexi and Tan Qilong in 1942. After the establishment of the Zhejiang East Base Area, through the Shanghai Underground Party, more than 1,000 progressive young people were organized to join the Zhejiang East Army of the New Fourth Army, including workers, staff, teachers, students, and other personnel from all walks of life. These Shanghai disciples were mainly concentrated in the third detachment of the Eastern Zhejiang Army and the Songhu detachment.

In January 1945, the Zhejiang East Column of the New Fourth Army was reorganized into the Second Column of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Military Region, and in July it was reorganized into the 1st Brigade of the Zhejiang East Column, and in November the Zhejiang East Army withdrew north to northern Jiangsu and was reorganized into the 3rd Brigade of the First Column of the Jinpu Front Field Army of the New Fourth Army. In January 1946, it was renamed the 3rd Brigade of the First Column of the Shandong Field Army. In 1947, it was reorganized into the 3rd Brigade of the First Column of the East China Field Army. In February 1949, according to the order of the unified number of the whole army, the 3rd Brigade of the First Column was reorganized into the 60th Division of the 20th Army of the People's Liberation Army, and the original third detachment of Zhejiang East became the 178th Regiment of the 60th Division, so that the 60th Division became the division-level unit with the largest number of Shanghai disciples in the Plaster, and in the 60th Division, the Shanghainese with the 178th Regiment had the largest number of Shanghainese, and there were as many as 107 Shanghainese cadres above the platoon level alone, and the 1st Battalion of the 178th Regiment became the most concentrated unit in the whole army.

When Shanghai was liberated in May 1949, three-quarters of the entire 1st Battalion of the 178th Regiment, from qu Jun, then battalion commander, Zheng Mengzhi, deputy battalion commander, and Ju Tao, deputy instructor, to company-level cadres, were Shanghainese. Of the 700 soldiers in the battalion, two-thirds were Shanghainese. On the night of the victory, they camped on the main road from the intersection of Nanjing Road in the east to the intersection of Zhejiang Road in the west to the intersection of Xizang Road for more than 500 meters. The officers and men of the Victorious Division of the People's Liberation Army slept with their guns in their clothes on the main road of Nanjing Road, and this scene was filmed by Lu Rensheng, head of the photography group of the Front Line Branch of the Xinhua News Agency's East China Field Army and head of the Photography and Art Section of the Political Department of the East China Military Region, who accompanied the 60th Division. Although the exact unit in the photo is still controversial, this famous "Overnight on the Street" freezes this historical moment and vividly shows the image of Wang Shi, who strictly abides by urban discipline and does not enter the people's houses. Seeing this scene, the famous national capitalist Rong Yiren said with emotion: "Chiang Kai-shek cannot come back." The report of life magazine in the United States is also very sharp: "[Liberation of Shanghai], this action declares that the Kuomintang era is over..."

Bloody battle at Chosin Lake, they used their flesh and blood to block the tank cannons

In October 1950, the 20th Army was incorporated into the Chinese Volunteer Army along with the Ninth Corps, and in November crossed the Yalu River into the Korean War, the first battle was Chosin Lake. Qu Jun, the battalion commander at the time of the liberation of Shanghai, who was then deputy chief of staff of the 178th Regiment of the 60th Division, recalled that in September 1950, the 60th Division of the 20th Army (under the jurisdiction of the 178th, 179th, and 180th Regiments) secretly drove from the northern suburbs of Shanghai to Zou County, Shandong Province, to make preliminary preparations for the battle in Korea. In early November, the troops were preparing to take a car to the northeast to change their uniforms, but as soon as the military column arrived in Shenyang, the news came that the situation in the Korean War had intensified. An urgent order came from the corps headquarters: "The 20th Army immediately entered the DPRK and joined the war." So the troops got off the train and drove directly to Tonghua, Jilin Province, the border area between China and North Korea.

The main task of the 20th Army in the Battle of Chosin Lake was to attack Hagaru-ri, and in order to ensure the capture of Hagaru-ri, the 20th Army also launched an attack on the Dedong Pass north of Hagaru-ri and Theo-ri in the south. The 60th Division was responsible for attacking Gutuli and cutting off the link between Gutuli and Shimogaru-ri. Among them, the 178th and 179th regiments were mainly opposed to the Dresdale detachment from Guturi Chi to the aid of the Lower Yuri. This was also the southernmost unit of the Ninth Corps of the Volunteer Army at the beginning of the battle, which also meant that the 60th Division was at the forefront of the entire Ninth Corps attack line.

Hagaru-ri, located south of Lake Chosin, the only highway in the Chosin Lake area passes through this small town and splits a branch road to the west, forming a hub for highway traffic. Moreover, at that time, it was the headquarters of the 1st Marine Division of the US Army, and after the US army entered the station, it also built an airstrip and stored a large number of supplies, so it was also a supply base for the US army. Although there were more than 3,900 U.S. troops in Hagaru, the combat unit had less than 400 men in 2 companies, and the rest were rear crews. It can be said that the US military is the most critical and weakest node in the Chosin Lake area.

With strong artillery fire and air support, the American army withstood the first night of the volunteer onslaught. Smith, commander of the 1st Marine Division, immediately organized a detachment from Gutori, with the G Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment, the B Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 31st Regiment of the 7th Division, the Tank Platoon of the Anti-Tank Company of the 5th Marine Regiment, the 2 tank platoons of the B Company of the 1st Tank Battalion, and the 41st Marine Corps Task Force of the British Marine Corps, a total of about 1,000 people and 29 tanks to form a detachment, under the unified command of Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Dreisdale, the leader of the 41st Task Force of the British Marine Corps, called the Dreisdale Detachment, and rushed to the aid of Hagaruri.

The volunteers knew that this support army was of great significance to the ability to capture Hagaru-ri, so Zhang Yixiang, commander of the 20th Army, personally commanded the 178th regiment and the 179th regiment of the 60th Division to set up an ambush between Gutuli and Hagaru-ri, and Zhang Yixiang's carefully selected location was very suitable for ambush, and the west side of the road was next to a not very deep ditch, and then a 300-meter-wide paddy field, and west of the paddy field was the Chosin River. On the east side of the road is a deep ditch, although there is no water, it is very deep, becoming a natural barrier to the blocking position, and to the east of the deep ditch is an open land with a width of 150 meters, which is the ideal place to exert firepower... This nightmarish road was later dubbed the "Hellfire Canyon" by the U.S. military.

In the article "178 Regiment of the 60th Division of the Volunteer Army That Can Attack and Defend Well", Qu Minfang, the son of Qu Jun, described the battle at that time as follows: In the early morning of the 28th of November, the US army found that the Chosin Highway had been cut off and immediately organized a counterattack. With the cooperation of more than 20 aircraft and 8 tanks, nearly a thousand American troops violently attacked the position of the 178th Regiment of the 60th Division, and the battle was fought until dusk. At this time, the US army had been divided into Liutanli, Xinxingli, Xiajieli, and Gutushui by our Ninth Corps. On the afternoon of the 29th, the enemy reinforcements from Baohouzhuang and Zhenxingli, in coordination with a part of the 1st Marine Division of the US Army stationed in Gutushui, concentrated the tank battalion, artillery regiment, and communication battalion, part of the 32nd Regiment of the US 7th Division, and the British Assault Brigade, and took more than 100 tanks and cars, under the cover of aircraft, to reinforce Hagaru-ri. Under the combined efforts of our 178th and 179th regiments, the enemy was repulsed.

After resisting the enemy's attack, the volunteers on the terraces on the east side of the road and on the mountain, under the cover of mortars and heavy machine guns, shouted and rushed to the road, cutting the American and British troops stranded on the road into several sections, and the American and British soldiers relied on vehicles, ditches on the side of the road, and the road of the abandoned railway to resist in groups of three or five. As the battle progressed, a few small groups of American soldiers were gradually wiped out by the volunteers, and the rest of the soldiers gathered into four larger groups to resist. From north to south were approximately 130 men commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Chaijjsda and Assistant Operational Staff Officer of the 10th Army Command and Liaison Officer of the 10th Marine Division (with the 10th Army), Major John McLaughlin, 2 platoons of Company B of the 31st Regiment of the Army and a small number of Marines of about 40 men, 16 commanded by Captain Capraro and more than 10 men commanded by Major Hanni Healy.

Zhang Jilun, the commander of the Volunteer 179th Regiment, sent an envoy led by a captured black sergeant to demand the immediate surrender of the American and British troops, and McLaughlin tried to use the negotiation to delay the time and drag it until dawn to break through under air cover. An hour later, the volunteers saw through McLaughlin's tricks and began to attack, at which point McLaughlin's men had almost all of their grenades and few bullets left, and McLaughlin saw that the situation was gone and had to surrender. McLaughlin and his men were all captured, along with a total of 237 captured sporadically, including 182 Americans and British and 53 Koreans, which was also the most captured Americans in the Battle of Chosin Lake.

Under the ambush of the 178th and 179th Regiments, only 400 men of the Dresdale detachment, totaling about 1,000 men, reached Hagaru-ri, 200 men returned to Guturi, and 400 were killed or captured, due to the lack of anti-tank weapons of the Volunteer Army, it was indeed difficult to stop the onslaught of American tanks (17 at the front of the queue, 12 at the end), but it was still a heavy blow to the Dreisdale detachment.

But in the face of a harsh environment and a strong enemy, our army has also paid a very high price. Qu Jun once recalled: After more than ten days of fierce fighting, there were many commanders and fighters in our army who were killed, wounded and frostbitten, and only 5 companies of the 178th Regiment were able to fight. The troops lack ammunition, food, cotton and medicine, and logistical replenishment is extremely difficult. The biscuits, fried rice and fried soybeans brought by the commanders and fighters had been eaten, and they could only nibble potatoes and eat ice and snow as shown in "Chosin Lake".

To this day, Shen Zheng, another Shanghainese veteran of the 20th Army, mentioned the Battle of Changjin Lake and still had a feeling of escaping death. "At Chosin Lake, my comrades and comrades in the army were spotted in the oil field by four American planes. In order to avoid the strafing of the aircraft, in a hurry, he rolled down the roadside valley until he rolled to the small ditch at the foot of the mountain. Elder Shen said that he was still lucky, if it snowed that night, he was likely to be frozen to death, "because the march for several days was very tired, I fell asleep in the small ditch, and when I woke up the next day, my feet were frozen in the ditch, and I quickly called the people on the highway to come down, and the sapper shovel smashed the ice cubes, which was out of trouble, but my feet were already frostbitten." ”

(Author: Zhou Ming, military commentator)

Source: Wen Wei Po