In the promotional photos of the movie "Chosin Lake", there is a group photo of all the soldiers of the "Iron Seven Company" standing in front of the famous Pratunam Bridge. Following this film, the film "Watergate Bridge" was released, the Volunteer Army three bombing of the Watergate Bridge exists in real history, and the 7th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 240th Regiment of the 80th Division of the 27th Army is one of the troops carrying out this task.
The U.S. troops were defeated in the Battle of Chosin Lake and fled into the wilderness, and the U.S. troops withdrawn from the Chosin Lake battlefield were ordered to retreat to Hingnam Port to return to the United States. In order to block the retreat of the American army, the volunteer army did its best to blow up the Watergate Bridge three times. Due to the lack of ammunition of the volunteers, even if they tried their best, they only blew out a hole in the Watergate Bridge.
The U.S. army quickly transferred the equipment to repair the bridge, and in less than 1 hour, it repaired the broken bridge that the volunteer army blew up in three days. After the watergate bridge was repaired, the US 1st Marine Division successfully withdrew.
Photo | after the watergate bridge was bombed
"Watergate Bridge" movie also has this plot, can't help but make people feel unwilling, the soldiers desperately blew up the Watergate Bridge, but still let the US troops escape. If the Volunteer Army's three bombings of the Watergate Bridge are completely successful, can they finally annihilate all the US troops?
During the National Day in 2021, the movie "Chosin Lake" was released, and the plot in it mainly depicted part of the plot of the Korean War, presenting the scenes of war more than 70 years ago in front of the eyes of the world and stimulating the patriotic feelings of the people of the whole country. We saw only half of the "Chosin Lake" movie, and the full "Chosin Lake" had 6 hours.
The next episode of "Chosin Lake", "Watergate Bridge", was released in the Spring Festival file of 2022, 7 connected to the emergency mission to support the brother troops to blow up the Watergate Bridge, Wu Qianli died heroically in the process of blowing up the bridge, and his younger brother Wu Wanli also became an excellent warrior.
The Pratunam Bridge is only about 60 kilometers away from the rear base of the US military, Xingnan Port, and the northern part of North Korea is full of mountains and complex terrain. There is only one road from Chosin Lake to Xingnan Port, and that is the Pratunam Bridge. At least 1,400 U.S. vehicles and dozens of tanks need to pass, and the U.N. Army, led by the U.S. 1st Marine Division, also has about 30,000 men.
In 1950, North Korea suffered a once-in-a-century winter, especially in November and December, when the lowest temperature in the area around Chosin Lake had reached minus 40 degrees Celsius. Historically, the Battle of Shuimen Bridge was part of the Battle of Chosin Lake, and the volunteer army stationed here was originally three armies in Jiangnan.
The task of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea was urgent, so many soldiers got on the train and knew that they were going to fight in Korea. When the volunteers passed through the northeast, most of the soldiers were still wearing the thin winter clothes of the original troops who spent the winter in the south, and due to the limited cotton clothes in the northeast, only a small number of troops changed their clothes here.
Therefore, when they first entered the DPRK, there were many soldiers with frostbite, and the number of troops decreased every day due to frostbite, sometimes more than the number of personnel lost because of combat wounds. This shows how serious the extremely cold weather in North Korea has caused to our army.
Let's look at the Battle of Chosin Lake again, and how big the gap in weapons and equipment between the enemy and us is. The U.S. 1st Marine Division, 139 tanks, 432 howitzers, and 3,800 vehicles. The U.S. military has absolute airspace, with hundreds of reconnaissance planes and fighter jets in the air. The U.S. army was well fed and clothed, with endless cans and chicken thighs.
Pictured| A U.S. fighter jet
What is the 9th Corps of the Chinese Volunteer Army? There are no tanks or aircraft, 12 mountain guns and 45 cars. In addition, there were only rifles and grenades, and the most powerful firepower of the volunteers was grenades. The soldiers wore thin cotton coats, which could not withstand the cold of minus 30-40 degrees Celsius. The warriors' food was only potatoes, but they said, "Eating one potato can fight three battles!" ”
The 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army launched a fierce attack on the world's most elite troops, and the 31st Regiment of the US Army, known as the "Polar Bear Regiment", was completely destroyed under the siege of the Volunteer Army. Colonel McLean, the 31st regimental commander, was killed in battle, and Lieutenant Colonel Feith, who had come to take over the command, was also shot.
Division Commander Smith knew that the 1st Marine Division was the glory of the US army and the platoon of the US army, and it could not be destroyed in the hands of the Chinese, otherwise it would not only become a joke for the countries of the United Nations army, but also make the countries of the world look down on it.
Commander-in-Chief MacArthur finally decided that instead of fighting back against all those killed, it would be better to retreat, and it was not a big deal to lose decently. The U.S. army has already destroyed one regiment and cannot lose another division.
Before the battle of Chosin Lake, all the officers and men of the Volunteer Army were wary and overestimated the combat strength of the World's number one big brother, the United States, after all, the national strength of the opponent was there. We cannot yet use the experience of the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation to deal with the US army, and in the face of absolute equipment superiority, every soldier of the volunteer army is more and more frustrated and courageous.
The Chinese volunteers were engaged in the battle with the United Nations army, and even if they used 5 times the strength of the troops, it would be difficult to eliminate a regiment of The US army, and it would pay a heavy price. On November 25, 1950, the second battle of the Korean War broke out, and the second battle was postponed for 2 days due to the very bad weather.
The U.S. Army's 1st Marine Division was not a soft persimmon, and if song shilun's tactics were placed in the liberation battlefield and the counterattack against Vietnam, the enemy would definitely have been beaten to no avail.
The Chinese Volunteers faced an extraordinary enemy this time, and this unit of the US Army (1st Marine Division) has a history of 160 years. This unit was the elite of the U.S. military elite, they were experienced in combat, and most of the officers were generals during World War II. They possess the most advanced weapons in the world and are a headache-inducing adversary.
Pictured| Song Dynasty wheel
After the 1st Marine Division entered Korea, its results were also very good, and their combat effectiveness was the strongest in the US army. The U.S. 1st Marine Division was the first to enter Seoul and the first to rush to Inchon.
Through war, China sees the differences in the world and learns war in war. Under the condition of backward weapons and equipment, China's fighters have used "qi" to make up for the lack of "steel" and have aroused China's momentum in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and we ourselves have paid a heavy price.
The U.S. 1st Marine Division did not give up the counterattack even when surrounded by our army, and they even tried to penetrate the western front of Chosin Lake to counterattack. The volunteers fought desperately and finally resisted the counterattack of the 1st Marine Division. The strategy of the 1st Marine Division was not realized, and if their counterattack was successful, the history of North Korea would be rewritten.
On November 27, our army was fully prepared to launch a surprise attack on the U.S. army in the Chosin Lake area, with a total of more than 100,000 volunteer troops and about 30,000 enemy troops. The Americans were unprepared for the raid, and the battle was divided into 5 sections by the volunteers at the beginning of the campaign.
The commander-in-chief of the United Nations Army, MacArthur, did not realize the crisis until the early morning of the second day, when the American troops were already surrounded by our army and were broken. The United Nations army had fallen into the trap of the volunteers, and it was obviously impossible for them to complete the tasks they had planned.
MacArthur eventually decided to withdraw from Chosin Lake and withdraw as much of his main forces from the battlefield as possible. MacArthur ordered the naval and air forces that they must do their best to save the 1st Marine Division, and concentrate their firepower to cover the retreat of the 1st Marine Division. At the same time, the 1st and 7th Marine Divisions, which were deeply surrounded by volunteers, received orders to retreat and quickly formulated a retreat plan.
First, under the cover of the air force, he led the main army to withdraw from the Chosin Lake battlefield, assembled at the airstrip in Hagaru-ri, and then returned to the rear from Kotoori through the Pratunam Bridge, where the U.S. army was safe, and finally left in advance on the prepared aircraft carrier and fled to southern Korea.
Among them, the only passage from Gutuli to Xingnan Port is the Watergate Bridge, which is very critical. The total length of the Watergate Bridge is less than 10 meters and the width is less than 5 meters, but it is very strong. This bridge was the only way for the American army to retreat, and the importance of this bridge was well known to the commander of the Ninth Corps, Song Shilun, and the enemy.
The Watergate Bridge is very important to the U.S. army, if it cannot be defended, the United Nations army led by the 1st Marine Division will be captured, and a large amount of weapons and equipment is likely to fall into the hands of our army. The Watergate Bridge is like an escape door for the enemy, and there is only one.
Pictured| Pratunam Bridge
The Watergate Bridge is the last retreat for the U.S. military, and if our army can block the U.S. army here. It only takes 3 days for the follow-up support forces to rush over and annihilate the enemy. If this battle is won, it will drive the entire course of the Korean War.
Before the battle of Chosin Lake began, Song Shilun had already anticipated all the movements of the US army and was ready for ambush on the only way for the US army to retreat.
The weather in North Korea was very cold, the number of casualties of the volunteers was large, frostbite led to the loss of combat personnel, and the 9th Corps had limited troops in the second phase. The volunteer soldiers who came to support did not catch up because of their slow speed, but the volunteers detoured back to the designated area and did not choose to take the nearest road or road.
They were to avoid the US aircraft to bypass the road, take the mountain road, take more detours, in order to avoid the US military blockade in the air, so the pursuit speed of the volunteer army has been slower than the US army.
The U.S. army was defeated in the Battle of Chosin Lake, and changed from the initial "breakthrough to the north" to "rout to the south." The "Christmas Offensive" has been completely defeated, and their most urgent problem is not how to win the war, but how to withdraw from the battlefield with dignity.
MacArthur used hundreds of bombers to cover the retreat of the main force of the 1st Marine Division, and the bombers bombed our positions in the air, and the enemy's artillery fire was very strong, blowing up a path for the 1st Marine Division, and it was difficult to advance in the resistance of the Volunteers.
The US aircraft carriers and ships were already waiting in the port of Xingnan, and the US troops wanted to withdraw from the battlefield with dignity, and Song Shilun, commander of the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army, did not want to let them go and ordered the US troops to intercept them layer by layer.
Since the US military has absolute air supremacy, our army has no advantage in fighting during the day, and at night it has become the best time for the volunteer army to attack. Many of our battles in Korea were like this, and the positions lost during the day were taken back by the volunteers at night.
In the process of blocking the enemy army, the volunteer army was bombarded by AMERICAN tanks and artillery, and because the enemy's fire was too fierce, our army suffered heavy casualties, and it was difficult to intercept the "crazy" US troops.
On November 29, U.S. aircraft artillery had opened the passage between Hagaru-ri and Koto-ri. The US military is concentrating its firepower to continue to advance, and the ground and air cooperate with each other to carry out a three-dimensional attack on our army. The enemy's planes opened the way in the air, and Yang Gensi, commander of the 3rd Company of the 172nd Regiment of the 58th Division of the 20th Army, received the order to intercept the enemy at the 1031 heights outside the xiajieyu-ri.
Yang Gensi was well aware of the arduous task, and he raised the spirit of twelve points to defend the high ground with the soldiers and coexist with the position. Yang Gensi led the fighters to repel the enemy 8 times, and the firepower of the two sides was very different, and only Yang Gensi and two seriously wounded soldiers were left in the end.
Yang Gensi defended the position he held with his life and truly coexisted with the position. 6 kilometers from Yang Gensi's position is the Watergate Bridge, which is the only straw for the US military. The US military crossed the bridge of escape, and if it did not cross the past, it was the Naihe Bridge on their Huangquan Road.
If the 1st Marine Division wanted to escape the fate of being annihilated, it had to cross the Watergate Bridge and go directly to the port of Xingnan, when the volunteer support troops could not catch up with the 1st Marine Division even if they drove the fastest car. Both Song and Smith noticed the important strategic location of the Watergate Bridge, and a battle for the bridge was about to begin.
In order to protect the Watergate Bridge, Smith sent a battalion of troops and 40 tanks to guard this life passage.
One unit of the Volunteer Army (battalion-level reconnaissance detachment) arrived at the Watergate Bridge ahead of schedule, and the situation was urgent, and they did not carry much explosives. That night, they bombed the bridge in strict accordance with the instructions of their superiors. It took only one night to blow up the bridge deck in front of tank artillery.
The extent of the damage to the Watergate Bridge, the Volunteers estimated would have to be repaired in at least a week to reach the point where it could be opened to traffic. The next morning, the U.S. army's engineer battalion drove in some special machines and repaired the damaged bridge in just one morning.
After the repaired bridge, not only is there no problem for people to walk, but even the trucks passing back and forth on it are very strong. The soldiers of the reconnaissance detachment were in a hurry, and the enemy repaired the bridge in half a day. The task of opening the bridge to traffic is not completed, and they must blow up the bridge again.
On the evening of December 4, volunteer soldiers took advantage of the terrain to cleverly conceal themselves and successfully reached the bottom of the bridge. After installing the explosives, the second blow up of the bridge was successful. One side of the bridge was blown out of an opening, and it would take at least a week to repair it.
Just when the volunteer soldiers thought the mission was complete, another American army rushed over during the day. They brought in steel and heavy wood by plane, and quickly filled the gap in the bridge.
The bridge looked stronger than before, and the fighters watched as dozens of tanks passed smoothly. In order to be foolproof, the American army strengthened the guard against the bridge, 40 tanks, 10 artillery, and a reinforced battalion.
The enemy showed the volunteer soldiers their attitude of swearing to guard the bridge to the death, and the volunteers had to ask for help from their superiors, because it was impossible to sneak in again, and the enemy was more guarded this time, and the only way to complete the task was to fight with their lives.
Hundreds of volunteer soldiers carried explosives packs to the Watergate Bridge overnight, and the 7th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 240th Regiment of the 80th Division was one of the supporting troops. Company commander Jiang Qingyun led his men to arrive and immediately took action after formulating a strict plan. The fighters endured hunger and cold and advanced under American artillery fire.
Jiang Qingyun and his comrades paid the price of their lives, broke through the fire blockade of the US army, and successfully blew up the bridge, and it seemed impossible to repair it.
Jiang Qingyun and the warriors cooperated tacitly, using a move to attack the east and west to attract the attention of the enemy, some of the fighters resisted head-on, and the other part sneaked into the bridge from the side. In the end, they successfully blew up the bridge with their lives.
Pictured| Old Man Jiang Qingyun
Hagaru-ri is only 18 kilometers from Kotoori, and the Americans lost an average of 34 people per kilometer on this escape route. The U.S. army was surrounded and intercepted by the volunteers, and it took a full 38 hours to complete the 18 kilometers.
The main force of the volunteer army was still on its way, and it only took three days to wipe out the US 1st Marine Division. MacArthur repeatedly appealed to Truman to request the use of atomic bombs against New China.
Chairman Mao played soot at the meeting and said: "The atomic bomb is nothing more than a paper tiger used by imperialism to frighten people, they have atomic bombs, and if they want to use them, they cannot pass the United Nations." Our grenades, however, are unlimited. ”
The huge gap in the Watergate Bridge is not difficult to repair in a few months, and it only takes 3 days for our army to rush over and wipe out the US army. Everyone thought that the task of blowing up the bridge had been successfully completed, but the backwardness limited our imagination.
Smith looked at the broken bridge and was also anxious, if they could not in three days, the American troops in the ancient soil would have no way to retreat, and eventually ushered in the fate of being wiped out.
This time, it was not their God and the Pentagon that came to save the U.S. 1st Marine Division, but Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. To help the United States respond to the crisis, Japan gathered thousands of people to make M-2 steel beams overnight. South Korean U.S. aircraft airlifted the steel beam to The Watergate Bridge.
Originally, only 4 sets of bridge structures were needed, but just in case, the Japanese doubled it. Sure enough, 2 sets of bridge structures were accidentally damaged when they landed, and one set accidentally fell on our army position, and the rest was just enough to build a bridge.
It took only one day for the U.S. engineering battalion to repair the bridge that the volunteers had spent 6 days blowing up with their lives. The U.S. military finally built their life passage at the last time and built a bridge out of thin air. When the commander of the 58th Division of the Volunteer Army heard that the enemy could pass smoothly through the bridge, he was out of breath, and he thought that the regimental commander did not complete the task and let go of the American troops.
The regimental commander with red eyes asked the division commander to go to the battlefield to see for himself, only to see that almost all the soldiers of the 7 companies were killed, and all 129 soldiers of the 6 companies froze to death in the position. This is the famous ice sculpture company on the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. The division commander looked at the Watergate Bridge again, there were traces of being blown up, and under the steel bridge structure was a broken stone bridge, which could be seen what it had experienced before.
Picture | Ice Sculpture Company (stills)
The division commander did not speak again, and the tears flowed unceasingly. The volunteers found a note in the pocket of a small soldier in the ice sculpture company, which read his last words: "I love my motherland and family, I love the honor of the soldiers even more, when I come to the Korean battlefield, I am a glorious volunteer soldier, even if I freeze to death, I will defend my position with my life." ”
The Battle of Chosin Lake ended in regret, and the American troops escaped smoothly. Some people say that at that time, the bridge was only broken, and the bridge was not completely destroyed. If the volunteers blow up the bridge, will the U.S. army still be able to pass smoothly?
The answer is that the U.S. military can still pass smoothly. I have to say that backwardness really limits our imagination, the Watergate Bridge was not long in the first place, and the total length was less than 10 meters. The volunteer soldiers had tried their best, and if the U.S. army and the Japanese state were a little behind, then the U.S. 1st Marine Division would have been annihilated in the Korean battlefield.
More than a decade later, the US military still can't forget the thrilling battle of that year, and they are still unwilling to admit that it was the longest retreat in the history of the Korean War, but only said that the direction of the attack was changed. For this battle, the U.S. military still has a lingering feeling: "Thanks to the gap between industrial civilizations in the middle." ”
The chief of operations of the U.S. Army once said: "If the volunteers have our weapons, there are plenty of supplies." This will be a massacre for the UN forces. The Korean War was a war of great disparity in strength, and we won with weapons but lost to the belief of Chinese soldiers. ”
Picture | the ice sculpture company warrior's masterpiece
If it were not for the distance, the United States would have been able to produce the same large bridge steel structure as Japan. At that time, the gap between the United States and China was very large. More than 70 years ago, China and the United States had a GDP of 1:15; steel production was 1:146; and air force construction was 1:3.6.
New China has no naval construction, and the ratio of our navy to the United States is 0:100; the ratio of mechanized construction in all aspects of the troops is 1:1000; the food eaten by the volunteer soldiers is potatoes, while the US army eats chicken, eggs, and milk.
At that time, the gap between us and the current strong army was far more than one dimension, and it was not on the same starting line at all. If it were not for the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, we would not have known how important industry is for a country. Since then, we have developed industry while fighting, studied with an open mind, and built our own tank artillery in China.
Only by seeing and acknowledging the strength of the enemy can we be ashamed and courageous, and strive to be strong. By the time of the Battle of Jincheng, our country already had 1,400 tanks and 3,000 aircraft of various types.
The 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army suffered 52,000 casualties in the battle, and nearly 30,000 people were killed by freezing and starving, including more than 4,000 frozen soldiers.
The 9th Corps had to withdraw from the Korean battlefield to recuperate, and in the Battle of Chosin Lake, the volunteers lured the enemy to a dangerous area, so that the modern mechanic division of the US army was contained, and their heavy weapons superiority could not be used.
Picture | The Yalu River Broken Bridge
This battle completely turned the tide of the Korean War and drove uncommitted troops to the area south of the 38th Parallel. Two years later, Song Shilun, commander of the 9th Corps, came to the Yalu River and looked affectionately in the direction of Chosin Lake. His warriors had suffered heavy casualties there, leaving behind blood and tears. He took off his military hat and paid tribute to the hero who had been buried in Lake Chosin.
We are now in a time of peace because our forefathers have fought the battles of later generations. Forgetting the war will be dangerous, and keeping in mind that if you are backward, you will be beaten. There are "bullets" that are not used and there are no "bullets" available, which are completely different, and backwardness can only be dealt by the enemy's dimensionality reduction.