The Korean War in the eyes of Americans: The battle that took place at Changjin Lake was destined to become the most famous battle

When Chinese troops secretly entered Korea, Truman flew to Wake Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on October 15 to meet with MacArthur. Although the atmosphere of the meeting appeared to be very warm, after the meeting, the two leaders began to dislike each other in their hearts. MacArthur saw the whole affair as Truman's show for the Democrats ahead of the November congressional election. Truman, for his part, was very disgusted by MacArthur's apparent arrogance. Truman may have had the election in mind in mind when planning the meeting, but he also wanted to get assurances from MacArthur that an invasion of North Korea would not lead to Chinese interference. MacArthur's answer to this was that the chances of it happening were "very small" and that even if China did decide to cross the Yalu River, the US Air Force would "slaughter" them.

As soon as the United Nations troops entered North Korean territory, they were given a clear order that they were forbidden to approach the northernmost provinces of Korea bordering China or the Soviet Union, and that only the troops of the Korean Republican Army were allowed to boldly pursue the enemy north, in order to avoid a direct clash between the American army and the forces of the communist powers in the north. However, MacArthur, seeing victory within reach, once again decided to act beyond his authority. On 24 October, without consulting the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he ordered the commanders of the United Nations forces to "make full use of all conditions to advance northward at full speed." The Joint Chiefs of Staff were caught off guard by this order, but once again they failed to stop MacArthur's actions. In the summer, U.S. soldiers fighting in South Korea endured relentless heat. Now, the Americans fighting in North Korea are again suffering from the bitter cold of winter. Many of them had not yet received winter clothes to protect them from the cold, and the soldiers were eager to return to the United States or Japan to stay in warm, dry, and comfortable barracks. Nevertheless, the Korean People's Army is fleeing north in front of them, and the Americans believe that the most difficult period is about to pass. After all, General MacArthur had already announced that the troops would "go home at Christmas." James Cardina, a soldier of the 5th Cavalry Regiment, wrote a letter to his parents after participating in the battle to capture Pyongyang, in which he said: "There is a rumor that the 1st Cavalry Division will soon return to Japan, and now the war is coming to an end. I do hope so. I'm tired of this country and this war. "Some soldiers were so convinced of this rumor that they even discarded their heavy steel helmets, convinced that they would never see any more fighting.

But it soon became clear that this self-confidence was a complete mistake. The war is far from over. The first contact between the advancing UN forces and the CCP forces took place on October 26. A battalion of the Korean Republican Army was about 40 miles south of the Yalu River when it was attacked by Chinese forces and almost completely annihilated. Over the next week, other units of the Korean Republican Army also suffered heavy blows. Despite the capture of some Chinese soldiers during the battle, MacArthur at first refused to believe that the Chinese army had entered the war. Later, he was convinced that there were Chinese troops in North Korea, but he believed that Communist China had sent only a symbolic force of less than 20,000 troops.

The first attack by Chinese forces on U.S. forces took place on November 1. Chinese soldiers attacked the 8th Regiment of the 1st U.S. Cavalry Division stationed in the North Korean town of Unsan. The attack came as a complete surprise to the Americans. The Chinese army cut off the retreat of the Americans, and inflicted heavy casualties on the American troops in brave close combat. Chinese soldiers rushed to the defensive positions of the US troops amid the sound of loud military trumpets. The 5th Cavalry Regiment, in a vain attempt to break through the lines of the Chinese army to rescue the encircled 8th Regiment, was similarly dealt a heavy blow. Captain Norman Allen of the 5th Regiment wrote home shortly after the Battle of Yunshan: "Whoever dares to say that it is not Chinese must be crazy!" The next day, the Marines near Changjin Lake encountered Chinese troops, but their luck was better than that of the Eighth Army. The marines repelled the attack of the Chinese troops and continued to advance forward.

In another ominous sign, in early November, the Chinese army's MiG-15 fighter jets began challenging the United Nations army's air supremacy over the area south of the Yalu River. On November 8, the first American plane was shot down by a MiG. U.S. pilots struck an area south of the Yalu River known as the "MiG Corridor," but their superiors forbade them to continue the pursuit as Chinese fighters flew across the Yalu River into Chinese territory, and were frustrated. However, the United Nations, the leading member of the United Nations forces nominally responsible for directing the war, insisted on opposing an urgent pursuit. They are afraid of anything that could lead to full-scale Chinese intervention, and Washington agrees with it. The Chinese side is also careful to avoid direct attacks on the ground forces of the UN forces from the air.

MacArthur eventually believed that China had entered the war, and he ordered the bombing of all the bridges on the Yalu River connecting China and North Korea. When Truman heard about it, he was worried about the accidental bombing of Chinese territory, and his first reaction was to revoke the order. But MacArthur warned that if the bridges were not blown up, "there would be a great deal of casualties," Truman hesitated. But none of this is moot. Because the bombers did not have the ability to blow up all the bridges, and since mid-November, the water in the Yalu River has frozen, and the army and logistics can be transported from the ice, and there is no need for bridges at all.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff became increasingly suspicious of MacArthur's plan for victory. They are considering whether the United States should change its strategy, stop its military offensive and seek a political solution to this conflict. MacArthur responded on November 9 by insisting that he could wipe out Chinese forces that were ready to go into battle. He is now planning an offensive at the end of November to achieve a "complete victory" in the war. After a harsh lesson to the UN forces, the Chinese forces abruptly halted their attacks on 7 November and withdrew to their original hiding locations. MacArthur at this time still underestimated the number of Chinese troops in Korea, and once again fell into excessive self-confidence. The Eighth Army, having retreated to more defensible positions after the first attack by the Chinese army, resumed its offensive in the second week of November.

November 23 was Thanksgiving Day, and the United Nations troops in North Korea enjoyed a special turkey meal. Turkeys are transported to the front by plane and truck. Arthur Cohen, a soldier in the Army's 2nd Division, wrote in his diary: "It was the best meal we had in Korea. "Some soldiers on the front lines even enjoyed the luxury of taking hot showers and changing clothes. The next day, 24 November, the UN forces continued their offensive in preparation to win the war and return home for Christmas. A small unit of the 7th Division of the U.S. Army has reached a place called Huishan on the banks of the Yalu River. Paul Martin, a soldier of the 1st Marine Division, recalled, "Once again, the air was filled with the sweet smell of victory. However, it was at this moment that disaster struck. Army historian Roy Epman would later write that in the month after Thanksgiving Day in 1950, "a series of great disasters befell the United States Armed Forces, never before experienced in American history." "

The second wave of the offensive of the Chinese army is coming. The Chinese lacked tanks, air support and heavy artillery, and instead, they used sudden surprise attacks to defeat the Americans. The commanders of the Chinese army showed remarkable ability to make large numbers of troops march through difficult terrain at night without the slightest enemy detection. The Chinese army is a master of the art of camouflage, and during the day they are able to hide without a trace. The official U.S. Marine Corps account of the war: "The Chinese soldiers in patched cotton uniforms were superior to the soldiers of any nation on earth in this matter, and it was unbelievable that they were able to penetrate enemy positions in the utmost secrecy under the cover of night." While American newspapers are full of exaggerated reports about China's "human waves" attack, the fact of being on the front lines is a different story entirely. Historians of the Marine Corps write that "Chinese rarely attacked with more than one regiment at a time...... The Chinese military is formidable, not because of their numbers, but because of their adept use of deception tactics and the suddenness of their attacks. Despite their lack of food and clothing, and with no other material comforts, the Chinese military proved to be hard-working, disciplined fighters, not so-called "laundry workers," as MacArthur derided.

The gathering storm finally broke out on the night of November 25, and the Eighth Army was attacked by a "human wave". It was a horrific experience for American soldiers. Many detachments were crushed. Lieutenant Elson Wynn of the 9th Infantry Regiment and his troops held back the overwhelming numerical superiority of the enemy. After running out of all his ammunition, he began to smash the enemy with stones and dispensed cans of food, until he was wounded by a grenade. (Wynn miraculously survived the battlefield and was later awarded a Cross of Merit for his bravery.) The entire line of defense of the Eighth Army was torn apart and thrown into disarray. The 2nd Division, the 25th Division, and the 1st Cavalry Division suffered heavy losses in the Chinese attack, and the three South Korean Divisions and the Turkish Brigade suffered the same fate. MacArthur finally acknowledged the great danger to his forces, sending a telegram to the Pentagon on November 28 saying that "we are facing a whole new war." MacArthur's telegram was a stark departure from the confident assurances he had given on Wake Island six weeks earlier, and it shocked officials in Washington.

The Eighth Army was forced to retreat. General Walker had intended to hold Pyongyang and stop the advance of the Chinese army, but soon he decided to abandon all of North Korea. When U.S. troops withdrew from Pyongyang on December 5, some huge supply depots were burned and hundreds of vehicles of all kinds were abandoned here by the Americans. On 13 December, the Eighth Army established a new line of defense south of the 38th parallel. They were back where they had been when they set off in October.

No matter how chaotic and frustrating the retreat of the Eighth Army was, it could not be compared with the plight faced by the Marines and the soldiers of the Tenth Army to the east. For a month, General Amond had been urging his ground commanders to advance as fast as they could, hoping to get to the Yalu River faster than the Eighth Army. On 27 November, two days after the Chinese army launched a large-scale offensive against the Eighth Army, Amund ordered the Marines west of Changjin Lake and the troops of the Army's Seventh Division to the east of the lake to resume the offensive. Many officers, especially the battle-hardened Marine General Oliver Brown, were in charge of the battle. P. Smith, neither of them was willing to move forward without being able to figure out the disposition of the Chinese army. The supply lines of the marines starting from the port of Hungnam were already stretched out and were vulnerable to enemy attacks in many locations. To the west of Changjin Lake, the farther the troops advance, the greater the danger of being cut off by the enemy.

Chinese troops launched an attack on the 10th Army on the night of 27 November. Chinese troops, numbering more than 100,000 men, occupied hills on both sides of the road to Hungnam, the lifeline of the Tenth Army. To the east of Changjin Lake, Task Force McLean (Commander Alan M. Brown) D. McLean) of 3200 soldiers found themselves cut off by the Chinese from all retreats. For the next four days, they desperately attacked in an attempt to break through the Chinese barrier. McLean was wounded and taken prisoner, and died a few days later in a prisoner of war camp. His successor, Lieutenant Colonel Don Feith, was killed in battle and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The column of trucks used by the task force to transport the wounded was accidentally blown up by US military aircraft with napalm. In the end, only about 1,000 of the 3,200 members of the contingent escaped death and capture, and only about 350 of them were not completely incapacitated. The wretched remnants of the task force struggled across Changjin Lake from the frozen ice to the U.S. camp at the southern end of the lake.

The same fate threatened 10,000 Marines and about 2,000 Army Soldiers of the 1st Marine Division, west of Changjin Lake, as well as a small detachment of the British Royal Navy Commandos. In this epic and heroic battle, which began on December 1, the soldiers fought their way through the encirclement of the Chinese army and returned to the coast. The battle that took place at Changjin Lake was destined to become the most famous battle of the Korean War.

The Marines and a number of other units were able to withdraw safely, thanks in large part to their commander, Oliver Brown. General P. Smith's foresight and correct decision. Before the Chinese army attacked, he ordered his troops to advance cautiously and carefully store supplies along the way from Hungnam. When he began to retreat, he insisted on refusing to accept some people's suggestions to abandon the vehicle and take a plane back from Xiajieyu. Smith fully considered that even if some of his men could be withdrawn by plane, the Chinese would soon be able to crush the American forces guarding the runway. In the end, only 4,000 wounded were able to be evacuated by plane from Xiajieyu, while the others had to be evacuated from the ground to the sea. During the retreat, Smith and his soldiers suffered from a biting cold. His views can be attributed to a famous quote he uttered on December 4, when he responded to a question from a war correspondent about the "retreat" of the Marines, he said: "We are not retreating. We're just pushing in the other direction. "

On December 4, all the surviving U.S. soldiers had returned to Xiajieyu. Marine Corps soldier Doug McWard later recalled:

On the whole journey from Liutanli to Xiajieyu, "there are still 5 miles, guys, warm lodging, hot food." Brethren, it's only 5 miles. "...... To hell with it, I thought, will the war end in the lower corners? No one can doubt that the situation there will be even worse.

On December 6, U.S. forces began to withdraw from the lower corner, fighting their way out of the highlands and following a long mountain road into the valley leading to Hungnam. On 7 December, all UN soldiers had withdrawn from Xiajieyu, and the rearguard forces blew up the bridge over the Changjin River south of the city to halt the Chinese pursuit. But the road ahead is full of dangers, and the U.S. military faces difficulties at every step of the way. On narrow, icy and curvy roads, trucks and tanks often lose control, slide off the road and crash into the rocks beneath the roadbed. The Chinese controlled the surrounding mountain packs and seemed to have set up ambushes at every bend. Somehow, what force was holding them up, the exhausted Americans continued to move forward. Air support from the United Nations forces helped them repel the attacking enemy, and in addition, the planes were constantly dropping supplies into the convoy and crowd. But nothing could help them withstand the biting cold. At night, the temperature dropped to minus 20 degrees. If the weapon is frozen, the soldier may pay with his life for it, so the Marines have to sleep with their rifles held close to their bodies. Canned field food and fresh water must be thawed over an open flame before consumption. Soldiers with a little more luck can take turns to defrost their food in a "warming tent" heated by a small stove before returning to the foxhole or continuing their trek. Some wounded soldiers lost their lives because doctors were unable to give them blood transfusions, and the plasma would freeze in bottles and hoses. Frostbite constantly threatens the hands and feet of the soldiers. With his feet frozen out, Marine Jack Wright obeyed his commander's orders and got into a truck. In the truck, an elderly soldier told him to take off his boots.

When I took my socks off, a layer of skin was also ripped off. The veteran unbuttoned his fur coat and cotton jacket and warmed my feet by pressing my feet against his abdomen. This is what it is like for the Marines to take care of each other......

Chinese soldiers also suffered from the bitter cold. Marine Sergeant Lee Boji captured several "exhausted Chinese" in thin galoshes, whose feet had been swollen from the cold and swollen "as big as footballs." "Some of them," he recalled, "we had to break their fingers to get the rifles out of their frozen hands." "

In an attempt to cut off the Americans' retreat, Chinese forces blew a bridge through a gap about 16 feet in the road at a place called the Huangcaoling Pass. The surrounding mountains were so steep that there was no way for American trucks and tanks to get around the bridge. But the engineers of the American army successfully connected the bridge with airborne heavy steel beams. On December 11, when the last American had crossed the bridge, engineers blew it up. On the same day, all the exhausted Marines arrived at the U.S. military defense zone around Hungnam and moved to safety. Sergeant Major Thomas Brett of the Army's 3rd Division was a member of the task force that set out for Hungnam to meet the Marines, and he later described the situation:

I still shudder when I think back to seeing the Marines, who themselves were frozen all over, but still carefully cared for the wounded and brought back the bodies of their comrades. The Marines, despite their heavy losses, still look able to fight. It reminds me of images I've seen before depicting General Washington's frozen troops in the Valley of Fordy.

In the week leading up to Christmas, 22,000 Marines, 80,000 other troops, and 90,000 refugees were evacuated by sea from the port of Hungnam, which was then destroyed by U.S. Navy naval fire. During the retreat from Changjin Lake, more than 700 Marines were killed, 200 were missing, and 3,500 were wounded. Thousands of soldiers were frostbitten or contracted dysentery.

In the rear of the war, the Americans soon learned about the situation at Changjin Lake, and they cheered for the successful withdrawal of the Marines to Hungnam through hard work. But other than that, there is nothing to cheer about from the news from the DPRK. Just before Christmas 1950, North Korea experienced another reversal of the fortunes of both sides of the war, and this was the third time since North Korea launched its offensive in June. The Eighth Army and the Tenth Army had already abandoned North Korea. The month of bad news culminated in the death of the commander of the Eighth Army, General Walton Walker, in an unexpected car accident on December 23. The jeep in which he was travelling suddenly swerved to avoid colliding with a South Korean military vehicle transporting weapons and fell into a deep ditch on the side of the road.

Translated by Maurice Aizeman by Chen Yushu