From April to June 1951, the People's Volunteers and the Korean People's Army launched the Fifth Campaign, and after nearly two months of hard fighting, the Chinese and Korean People's Army won victory, but it also paid a terrible price, and the volunteers suffered more than 75,000 casualties.
Wu Chengde is a native of Xinjie County, Shanxi, in the early years, he used to teach in his hometown school, saw that the land of China was invaded by the Japanese invaders, he resolutely abandoned his pen and signed up for the army from Rong, becoming an Eighth Route Army, during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, the original teacher grew into an excellent commander, but also an excellent political worker, and made great contributions to the founding of New China.
Not long after the founding of New China, the Korean Civil War broke out, and the US-led "United Nations Army" pressed step by step, burning the flames of war to the frontiers of the motherland; in order to defend the motherland, Chairman Mao ordered the formation of the People's Volunteers Army to assist the Korean War.
After the first four battles, the volunteers and the Korean army achieved major successes, advancing the front to the vicinity of the 38th parallel, and in 1951, the 180th Division of the 60th Army of the 3rd Corps to which Wu Chengde belonged arrived at the front.
In May, due to insufficient logistical supplies, the situation changed unfavorably, and in this situation, Mr. Peng decisively ordered to return to the north of the 38th parallel for rest, and the task of the 180th Division was to cover the retreat of the main forces.
Unexpectedly, the enemy broke through very quickly and formed a situation of encirclement of the 180th Division, and after an emergency meeting, the division headquarters decided to disperse and break through, in fact, this is also a last resort, because if you do not disperse the breakthrough, it is very likely to face the end of the capture of the entire division, and if you disperse and break through, there may be a glimmer of life.
In the process of breaking through the siege, Wu Chengde, director of the Political Department of the 180th Division, encountered a wounded force of about 300 people, seeing the expectant eyes of the soldiers, Wu Chengde actually killed the war horse he was riding, and chose to advance and retreat with the soldiers, with the enemy's attack and the narrowing of the encirclement, Wu Chengde had fewer and fewer soldiers around him, in this case, Wu Chengde still did not give up, but hid in the deep mountains to fight guerrilla, and even held out for 14 months, and finally, there were only three people left around Wu Chengde and were captured by the American army's mountain search team.
After coming to the Busan War Criminals Prison, Wu Chengde's identity was exposed, and the enemy coerced and lured him, but Wu Chengde never gave in, and later, with the change of the war situation, Wu Chengde's fate ushered in a turning point.
In 1953, the two sides signed an armistice agreement, the war ended temporarily, and then the exchange of prisoners of war began, and Wu Chengde, as the highest-ranking general to be captured, was the last to be repatriated.
Unexpectedly, Wu Chengde was greeted by a horizontal eye and a cold pair, in that era, the identity of prisoners of war was almost equated with "special agents" and "internal traitors", and subsequently, Wu Chengde was examined, and in 1955, Wu Chengde was expelled from the party and the military, and was assigned to Dawa Farm in Panjin, Liaoning Province as a deputy director.
Although he was treated unfairly, Wu Chengde did not fall from then on, he still did his job, his income was thin, he also privately did some poverty alleviation, helping those children who could not afford to go to school, of course, Wu Chengde cared most about his own personal problems, as a soldier, the name is above all, for this reason, Wu Chengde wrote to the organization more than a dozen times, hoping to give himself a just conclusion, this day, he waited for 27 years.
In 1982, after the re-examination of the organization, Wu Chengde was restored to the party and honor, enjoying the treatment of a military-level cadre, when he heard the news, Wu Chengde could not help but burst into tears, he could finally let go, in 1996, Wu Chengde died at the age of 84.