After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, MacArthur, commander-in-chief of the United Nations Army, repeatedly proposed to blow up the Yalu River Bridge, but the US president resolutely disagreed.
The first battle
With the volunteer army into the Dprk to launch the first campaign, the United States knew that China had participated in the war, and at this time, although MacArthur was still blind, thinking that the Chinese army was not only extremely backward in weapons and equipment, but also the combat effectiveness must not be strong, but many years of military career made him realize that this would bring great threats to himself, and he had long regarded the Yalu River Bridge as an obstacle, because as long as the bridge existed for one day, then he had to often send reconnaissance planes to monitor it every day. Now that China has entered the war, he finally has reason to apply to the top.
Yalu River Bridge
Impatient, after the first defeat of the US military, he submitted a report to the US government, demanding that the Yalu River Bridge, an important passage for our army to enter Korea and transport materials, be blown up, and to this end, he also assured President Truman that as long as he allowed himself to blow up the bridge, he was still confident that he could defeat the remaining Korean People's Army and the volunteer army that entered the DPRK in a short period of time, quickly end the war in Korea, and completely drive communism out of the Korean Peninsula. In order to get the consent of the top brass, it also blamed the failure of the first battle on the previous U.S. government's refusal to bomb the Yalu River, while the UN army was dragged back by the government.
Inchon landing
And U.S. President Harry Truman was also under pressure at this time, because since MacArthur successfully landed at Inchon, he quickly reversed the unfavorable situation of the Korean War and rapidly expanded the results of the war, so that the final victory can be said to be in front of him, in this case, his prestige in the army and even the country is extremely high, even the U.S. Congress is difficult to restrain it, so at that time only an emergency meeting could be held to discuss the matter, and finally unanimously decided to reject MacArthur's proposal. Because although they knew that the volunteer army was not a so-called Chinese civilian armed force, but a regular unit of the formation.
Yalu river
But China's use of volunteers as a name for sending troops means that it does not want to completely tear its face, although the United States is powerful, but also only wants to carry out a limited war, and now because MacArthur said that the Yalu River is not an obstacle, coupled with its bombing of China's Dandong region, it has directly led to China's participation in the war, making the war further expanded, if it is not restrained at this time, it is likely to make the Korean War expand into World War III, when the United States will become the culprit, And they felt that the volunteers would not turn the tide of the war.
U.S. Government
MacArthur was also very angry when he learned that his report was rejected, and immediately began to rebuke the US government for being a bit of a sack of wine and rice, ignoring the lives of front-line soldiers, and although Truman was angry at MacArthur's indiscriminate accusations that he did not understand politics, the people did not care about these, so they could only continue to appease, and as the Volunteer Army launched the second campaign, the UN army suffered another fiasco, and MacArthur immediately proposed a bombing plan to the government again. Truman made a difficult decision to meet MacArthur's demands to cut off the Volunteers' transportation routes while avoiding the expansion of the war.
U.S. bombing
That is, the US military can only bomb the yalu River Bridge that connects the half of North Korea, and although MacArthur is still dissatisfied with such a result, he also knows that this is already a concession made by the top level, and in order to prevent the president from temporarily repenting, he immediately sent more than a hundred B29 bombers to bomb the bridge, but because the order is only half blown, who dares to cross the line will have to accept military law, so the US bomber formation in order to prevent mistakes, can only find the right time to drop the bomb and quickly turn back, although because of the shackles, many shells are disappointed. However, the US military did not hesitate to dispatch hundreds of bombers to this end, so the hit bomb still broke the bridge, causing the steel beam on the North Korean side to fall into the water.
B29 bomber
Although this bombing was successful, but the US military paid a lot of losses, countless shells were wasted because they could not be hit, which made the US pilots complain, MacArthur also proposed to lift the shackles and carry out a comprehensive bombing of the Yalu River Bridge, but Truman was unusually tough this time, because he felt that this could not only achieve the strategic goals of the US military, but also maintain the scale of the Korean War without expanding, which can be described as the best of both worlds, and with MacArthur's continuous soft and hard bubbles, Truman even said that even if he agreed to his request, the chances of the US bombing success would not be great.
Truman
It has organized a group of military experts to conduct analysis, and found that the probability of successful bombing is not large, then everyone here is very curious, after all, the United States is very advanced in weapons, but also holds the air superiority of North Korea, to destroy a section of the bridge can be said to be easy, then why do they say that the probability of success of the US bombing is not large? To understand the reasons for this, we must first know the efforts made by the mainland to resist the United States and aid Korea and defend the country; after the outbreak of the Korean Civil War, the mainland was keenly aware that the United States could not sit idly by, so it was very concerned about the war situation at that time.
Korean Civil War
Even if the Korean People's Army was in a state of dismay and fought the ROK army and the US army to retreat to the corner of Busan, our side still constantly reminded the DPRK and the Soviet side to be prepared for a large-scale landing of US troops, but because the DPRK was eager to win, our reminder did not receive corresponding attention, and the fact is that just as the mainland expected, the United States quickly formed the UN army to participate in the war after manipulating the UN to pass the resolution to aid the ROK, and then relied on its powerful navy to complete the landing at Inchon and successfully broke through the korean people's army defense line. A two-sided attack with the U.S. forces in Busan quickly reversed the situation on the battlefield.
United Nations Army
Although the DPRK side not only withheld information from our side before launching the war, but also did not attach importance to our suggestions after the outbreak of the war, but once the DPRK failed, then China would face the threat from the United States, which would bring a huge threat to the mainland, so at that time warned the United States several times, if the US military dared to cross the 38th Line to invade Korea, then China would not sit idly by, but at that time, China's national strength was weak and weak, and it was a warning that Was taken as diplomatic blackmail by Truman. It didn't get the attention it deserved.
U.S. troops crossed the 38th Parallel
And MacArthur was also full of confidence in himself because of the previous victories, not only assured Truman that he could quickly end the war, but also arrogantly said that as long as he sat in China, he would not dare to send troops to the war, and even if China went to war, he also had the confidence to fight it back to the Stone Age, so the US army brazenly crossed the 38th line, and because of the mainland's foresight, so as early as the United States had not yet entered the war, it had secretly assembled a large number of troops and equipment to the border according to Chairman Mao's instructions, and then sent artillery units to the border Because the mainland's air force was just getting started at the time, artillery was the only weapon that could contain American warplanes.
Chairman Mao
And the facts have also proved Chairman Mao's farsightedness, the US military has a very high degree of mobility, from crossing the 38th line to advance to the Yalu River took only ten days, and the mainland because the transport capacity is still very weak, so the transportation of soldiers and equipment is relatively slow, if the war situation really deteriorates, then it is difficult for our side to form a corresponding force to counterattack in time, but because our side has long begun to prepare, so soon after it crossed the 38th line, the army has already made preparations for war, and the United States has just decided to send reconnaissance planes to monitor the movement of our army at this time Therefore, we did not find out about the movement of troops, which made MacArthur even more conceited.
Korean People's Army
At this time, because the mainland had not yet made the decision to participate in the war, so the army was not triggered, and our party top brass also knew that compared with the US military, the mainland not only seriously lacked air force, but also had certain problems in supply, so at that time there were many discussions, according to the experience of the Korean People's Army, it was known that the army transport supplies could only be transported by truck at night, this problem was difficult to avoid, so at that time immediately went to the Soviet Union to discuss the issue of air force assistance, and although Stalin also wanted to assist at this time, However, he was afraid of causing a backlash from the United States, so he only agreed to assist weapons at that time, and the air force problem was suspended.
Korean
Although the mainland did not receive satisfactory support, the situation on the Korean battlefield at this time was already very bad, the Korean People's Army had no possibility of victory, and it was only a matter of time before it was completely overthrown under the continuous attack of the US army, and Chairman Mao, after thinking about it, although he knew that this battle would be very difficult, but in order to protect the country's security, he still made the decision to resist the United States and aid Korea, and then in order to restrain the United States, he also deliberately strengthened the artillery, so that each army was equipped with corresponding heavy artillery, and also began to form a rocket artillery division and an anti-aircraft artillery regiment. Attacks on American bombers.
artillery
And with the secret entry of the volunteer army into the DPRK, after the first victory in the Korean battlefield, the United States has realized that the Chinese army is not comparable to the Korean People's Army, and with its follow-up reconnaissance, it is found that the mainland in order to prevent the bombing of the US army, has long placed a lot of artillery on the side of the bridge, although most of them are relatively backward, but it is intertwined into a firepower network can not be easily broken, and although the bomber can fly very high, but the shells at that time can not have a guidance system, so it is impossible to maintain accuracy when it is high. And the low can not guarantee the safety of the fighter, in the end it is likely to lose the lady and fold the soldiers.
USSR
But even if the US military is rich in bombers, it is also very precious, so it is impossible to use them casually, and although the Soviet Union is unwilling to intervene, it will certainly vigorously support weapons, and it will certainly not watch the defeat of Korea, and although the United States is very tough, it has repeatedly warned the Soviet Union not to intervene, otherwise the United States will drop atomic bombs on its European continent, but it is only very strong, because although the United States was stronger than the Soviet Union at that time, but the strength was also very limited. Moreover, the Soviet Union also had atomic bombs and imitation B29 bombers, although in numbers less than the United States, but still has a strong deterrent, so if the United States does not want to cause World War III, it must maintain a certain bottom line.
MacArthur
After all, although the Soviet Union is unwilling to participate in the war because it wants to restore the country, it does not mean that it will not participate in the war, as the leader of the socialist countries, it will definitely make some moves, and the United Nations army out of the United States is still strong, the rest of the countries are seriously damaged because of World War II, the country's economy is still recovering, if at this time because of the US military's trade movement, leading these countries to fall into war again, it does not need the Soviet Union to stop, these countries will jump out of opposition at the first time, so at that time specially instructed MacArthur, It did not have the power to fight against the Soviet Union and China, and had to seek instructions from the government if it exceeded the scope.
Shipping supplies
Although MacArthur, as the commander of the US Far Eastern Army, has a very high reputation in the army, he still has to listen to President Truman's words, and after discovering that China's combat effectiveness is very strong, he wants to destroy the important supply road of our army, so he lists many of the advantages of bombing the bridge to the top level, and at this time MacArthur also feels that he is right, and will definitely get the consent of the high level, after all, the Inchon landing has confirmed its strategic vision, but the US government must consider the war situation on the one hand, and consider the political impact on the other hand. So at the time rhetorically rejected his request.
Repair
But with the defeat of the U.S. army again and MacArthur's public accusations, Truman could only take a compromise approach, blowing up the bridge on the Korean side to prevent the volunteers from transporting supplies from above, but this did not save the DEFEAT of the UN army, because the weather was already very cold, even if the bridge was impassable for a short time because of the bombing, but at this time the Yalu River had become thick with ice, and the volunteers could not only pass directly from the ice, but also transport supplies, so the army on the front line at that time was not much affected. Moreover, our logistics units also began to carry out emergency repairs, and after only a few days they resumed traffic, which also allowed the American warplanes who came out during the day to investigate.
Bridge
The defeat of the US military and the ineffectiveness of the bombing made MacArthur angry, so he applied to the US government again, asking for a comprehensive bombing of the bridge, so that the volunteer army could not repair it again, but this is bound to cause a strong backlash from China, so the US top level can not agree, and MacArthur can only temporarily give up after realizing that the full bombing will bring great losses to the US military, and the US government at this time also through the United Nations, asking the Chinese and North Korean troops to cease fire first, then negotiate, and secretly recruit troops at home. And constantly increase the intensity of military production wants to make a comeback.
Capture of Seoul
But this kind of small trick could not hide from our side at all, and then the volunteer army launched the third campaign, the United Nations army was forced to retreat on all fronts, and our army also successfully broke through the 38th line, not only pushed the front line to the vicinity of the 37th line, but also occupied the South Korean capital Seoul, which brought a huge impact to the world, resulting in the unstable position of the United States among allies, some of the generals who originally opposed also began to change their opinions, Truman, after analyzing the situation on the battlefield, could only agree to MacArthur's comprehensive bombing of the Yalu River Bridge. And the fact is also as Truman thought, although the US military has a powerful bomber, but the bombing process is not smooth, the volunteer army on the shore uses all the weapons in their hands to resolutely resist it.
U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft
In order to protect the bridge as if death were home, the US bombers could only continuously increase their altitude in order to avoid being destroyed by artillery, and this also directly led to a rapid decline in the hit rate of the shells, a large number of shells were thrown on the ice, unable to cause damage to the bridge, and this also made the US military anxious, but in order to achieve their own purposes, they could only continuously send bombers to come, in the final ton of ton shells poured down, although as long as part of the hit the bridge, but also brought huge damage, not only the iron frame on it was all broken, Moreover, even the bridge piers were broken, and after this scene was discovered by the US reconnaissance plane, the pilots on it excitedly reported to their superiors, and then the US Air Force was also ordered to begin to retreat.
Laying of railroad tracks
Then the United States also immediately organized forces, taking advantage of the shortage of supplies of the volunteer army launched the fourth campaign, want to regain the initiative of the battlefield in one fell swoop, and the volunteer army also knew that the US army will inevitably counterattack quickly, so at that time took the initiative to retreat for rest and defense, and in the subsequent battle, the US army also found that our supply was not greatly affected, so it sent reconnaissance planes to observe again, wanting to find out our supply route, but when it flew to the Yalu River Bridge, it found that the original blown up bridge had been repaired. The original blown-up piers were rebuilt with sandbags, and the rails on them were also intact, although the repairs were very simple, but they could be seen to the naked eye that there were still people constantly repairing, so it did not affect the transportation of materials at all.
Repair in ice water
After learning the news, the US military also sent bombers to bomb again, and our army braved the enemy's artillery fire to repair the destroyed bridge deck and race against the enemy for seconds, while the US bombers could only continuously raise the height under the counterattack of our army, so the accuracy of the bomb was not up, and the soldiers responsible for maintenance on our side were not afraid of danger, using the cover of the iron frame to continuously repair, and because the enemy's bombing became more and more frequent, the bridge was difficult to repair, and the volunteer army jumped in the cold river water and used its own simple tools to build a pontoon bridge on the river surface. In this way, the US military bombed our army to repair, and this transport route has not been truly destroyed.
Stalin
With the victory of the volunteer army, Stalin finally secretly sent the Soviet Air Force to participate in the war, the new Chinese Air Force and the Soviet Air Force disguised as a volunteer army, together with the Constant Blocking of incoming US fighters on the Border between China and North Korea, which made it necessary to escort many F86 fighters every time it dispatched bombers, but these fighters suffered very serious losses under the counterattack of miG-15 and continental artillery, and the newborn Chinese Air Force, although it had little combat experience, but with the help of the Soviet Air Force, its strength was getting stronger and stronger. Although the US military recruited a lot of World War II pilots from China, it still failed to gain the advantage in the end.
Chinese Civil Volunteer Air Force
In the case of more and more Chinese and Soviet air forces, the famous MiG corridor was formed between the Cheongcheon River and the Yalu River, threatening all the US air forces that entered it, and the US army had to order the air force not to approach this place at will because of the increasing losses, and put the target back on the ground battlefield, hoping to let the newly appointed Ridgway save the defeat, and Ridgway, although tactically astute, found that the volunteer army could only last for seven days because of the difficulty of supply, so after passing through magnetic tactics, Using their mobility to continuously deplete our army, the volunteer army, although the battle became more difficult, still achieved considerable results, and then launched the fifth campaign to regain the initiative on the battlefield.
The Qingcheng Bridge that was blown up
At the same time, the front was stabilized near the 38th Line, and the offensive of the Volunteer Army also made the US army realize that with the efforts of Chinese soldiers, it was impossible to simply blow up the Yalu River Bridge to destroy the logistics of the Volunteer Army, so it gradually abandoned the bombing plan, and then the US top level also realized that because of the large amount of manpower and material resources invested in the Korean War, the US global strategic plan centered on Europe was seriously affected, and at this time more and more American generals also realized. It is simply whimsical to stop the volunteers by blowing up a bridge, after all, although the Yalu River is an obstacle to transportation, the volunteer army does not have only one Yalu River Bridge, there is a similar iron bridge next to it, and there are more bridges in other places, and even if there is no bridge, the volunteer army can be built in a short time.
A wooden railway bridge that was blown up
Although the US military has sent the air force to continuously blow up the Qingcheng Bridge and the wooden railway bridge, but there are many such passages, the volunteer army can also continue to repair, even if the number of US fighters is huge, shells can be used at will, but want to rely on this to completely cut off the passage between China and north Korea can only be said to be a fool's dream, so in the subsequent fight and talks, the US military in order to gain an advantage in the negotiations, successively launched the summer and autumn offensive, in August 1951 began to re-implement aerial strangulation warfare against the volunteers. In order to cooperate with the ground forces to regain the advantage, but the volunteers were not frightened, but immediately launched an anti-hanging struggle, and finally broke the air blockade of the US army and ensured the smooth flow of transportation routes.
Armistice negotiations
The US military, which knew that our reconstruction ability was extremely strong, could only abandon this plan, and then in order to cooperate with the armistice negotiations, the Volunteer Army, together with the Korean People's Army, carried out a tactical counterattack against the UN Army, constantly attacked and ambushed the UN Army, seized many forward positions, forced it to recognize the agreement to use the actual line of contact as the military demarcation line, and the US Military never launched large-scale air sabotage activities after this, and finally in order to regain the negotiating advantage, it could only change its target and launch a Jinhua offensive based on local offensive battles. You want to rely on your own powerful firepower to regain some advantages on the ground battlefield.
Eisenhower took office
However, under the organized and planned tactical counterattack of the Chinese and North Korean armies, the unincorporated offensive did not make progress, and with the beginning of the Battle of Shangganling, the amount of VanVleet ammunition caused by the US army still failed under the tunnel tactics of the volunteer army, not only did not gain any benefits, but also made the United States more unpopular in the hearts of its allies and people, at this time the US military can be said to be in a dilemma, the ineffectiveness of air raids and the disadvantages of the ground battlefield made the situation more and more unfavorable, and with the rise of Eisenhower, The United States also put the end of the war first, so although it later wanted to repeat the Inchon landing because it was unwilling, under the anti-landing preparations of the Volunteer Army, the United States was forced to abandon the military adventure plan and then take the initiative to resume armistice negotiations.
Yalu River Broken Bridge
In order to promote the realization of the truce, the Chinese and North Korean armies launched several attacks at that time, forcing them to make constant compromises in negotiations, and finally on July 27, 1953, the armistice agreement was formally signed, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was also declared over, and now the Yalu River Broken Bridge has become a scenic spot in Dandong, although it has been simply repaired, but the steel beams of the remaining bridge are still densely covered with bullet marks, and the soldiers at that time relied on their flesh and blood to support the Yalu River Bridge, so that it could stand firmly. It has become an unbreakable lifeline for the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.