The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea demonstrated many valuable spirits of Chinese soldiers: the patriotic spirit of fighting hard at the expense of oneself, the spirit of revolutionary heroes who sacrificed their lives and forgot their deaths, and so on. The Chinese volunteer army experienced many battles on the Korean battlefield, of which the "Battle of Chosin Lake" was particularly famous. In the battle with the US army, which crushed our army in both numbers and weapons, the Chinese volunteer army still won a complete victory in the end, and the victory of this war was inseparable from the precise command of commander Song Shilun.
In 1950, the Western powers led by the United States intervened in the Korean Civil War, and the war between Korea and the United States broke out in full swing. The United States-led coalition army attacked from the Yalu River, and the North Korean army was gradually defeated. At that time, the Chosin Lake area was located behind the volunteer side of the Western Front, and once the United Nations crossed this line, the territorial security of the mainland would be threatened. In order to prevent this from happening, Chairman Mao decided to send 260,000 troops into the DPRK to fight in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
On November 25 of the same year, the second campaign to resist US aggression and aid Korea broke out, which was divided into two fronts: east and west. General Peng led the 38th, 39th, 40th, 50th, and 60th Armies stationed on the Western Front, mainly responsible for the active attack on the U.S. troops located along the Cheongcheon River; on the Eastern Front, only a regiment of 30,000 soldiers in the 42nd Army attacked and defended the Ace Unit of the United Nations Army, the First Marine Division, which belonged to the U.S. 10th Army, with a number of 100,000. It can be seen that at that time, the enemy was outnumbered, and in order to win the battle, the 9th Army led by Song Shilun entered the DPRK as a top priority, and at the same time it was the key to winning the battle.
The military order is like a mountain, and if you are notified, the army will immediately set off. However, due to the urgency of the time, the 9th Corps, which was fighting in the south at that time, had not yet had time to equip cotton clothes in extremely cold areas, so it went to Korea in a thin military uniform. After arriving at the destination, it was even more due to the continuous bombardment of the war and the blockade of the enemy, and some equipment such as military food and cotton clothes needed by the soldiers could hardly be transported to the front line.
By this time, the 9th Corps, led by General Song Shilun, had quietly infiltrated the Korean strip. In the end, the 150,000 troops chose to be stationed in the Changling Lake area. In areas such as Snow Cold Ridge, Barren Mountain Ridge, and Dead Eagle Ridge, we are full of thinly dressed warriors. Because the weather was so cold, their sweat had already formed into a bundle of ice!
Since entering North Korea, the Song dynasty has been worried about the climate here. Every day, he watched the mercury column in the thermometer in his hand decrease day by day, and his heart became more and more worried. Sure enough, in less than a few days, the night temperature of Chosin Lake had dropped to minus 20 degrees. Song Shilun, who was experienced in marching, felt bad in his heart.
The enemy has tanks, and our soldiers can only rely on two legs to hurry. In the face of hunger and cold, our soldiers also had to carry their own guns and ammunition and a week's worth of food, which added up to 40 kilograms, and in order to prevent a surprise attack by the enemy, some volunteer soldiers also had to carry two mortar shells! Throughout the march, the soldiers had little place to stay, because everywhere they went there was snow and ice, which only made the body colder. Sometimes afraid of being spotted by U.S. military planes during the day, they rest during the day and march at night. An overnight walk is 30 km away.
Due to hunger, cold, and exhaustion, our soldiers were so tired that they vomited blood, and sometimes as they walked, they would find that their companions suddenly fell down and could no longer wake up... Even if they are sad in their hearts, they still do not stop their pace, because if there is a slight mistake, the whole army is involved.
Song Shilun was aware of the situation of his army, and at this time, the war between the East and the West was about to break out again, and Song Shilun was extremely anxious in his heart. After learning about the enemy's intelligence, Song Shilun found that the enemy was not familiar with the area of Chosin Lake, and even many old Japanese maps did not mark the reservoir.
Suddenly, Song Shilun made an important decision - to postpone the attack. He urgently telegraphed General Peng and asked him to delay the attack, and the reason he gave was that the soldiers of the 9th Corps were too tired to fight. General Peng, believing that the east-west line to attack at different times had the effect of disturbing the enemy's line of sight, agreed.
In this way, the launch of our offensive was postponed by two days. In these two days, the 9th Corps has received a good rest, physical strength has been replenished, and cotton clothes can be put on. General Peng ordered the 9th Corps to attack the enemy on 27 November.
On the evening of November 25, the second campaign to resist US aggression and aid Korea broke out in full swing, and the troops of our army on the western front launched a fierce attack on the enemy, and the United Nations troops were caught off guard and retreated in a hurry. Because the American army on the western front was the main force of the war, once it retreated, the US 10th Army on the eastern front also intended to retreat at any time. At this time, our 9th Corps had long been ambushed there, and on the evening of the 27th, the Battle of Chosin Lake officially broke out, and the 31st Regiment of the US 1st Marine Division and the 7th Division were beaten by our army, and the US army had no way to escape.
However, if it were not for the Song Dynasty, which postponed the war for two days, we would probably have fought very hard. If an attack is launched on the evening of the 25th according to the original plan, our army will certainly continue to attack the US 10th Army Division. Under the circumstance that the military strength of the enemy and us is really disparity, it is very likely that our army's offensive battle will end in failure. And the US military gave up its defense and chose to retreat, which can just catch our army off guard.
The victory at the Battle of Chosin Lake was due to General Song Shilun. The world admired Song's military talent, but General Song Shilun himself believed that the victory of the battle was inseparable from all the volunteers who were not afraid of life and death. Until his old age, he still missed his companions who had been born and died with him.