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During the period of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, the logistics of our army was always a big problem, especially in winter, when the soldiers had to fight in a cold and hungry environment.
The soldiers finally captured 3,000 high-quality woolen blankets of the American army, but political commissar Wang Zhi suddenly ordered all the woolen blankets to be cut into pieces.
Unexpectedly, this move saved the volunteers of the whole division and prevented thousands of soldiers from suffering frostbite.
Why did Wang Zhi cut the good woolen blanket to pieces, and why did his actions save the volunteers?
Click to pay attention and walk into the story of political commissar Wang Zhi ordering the shearing of woolen blankets.
The plight of the volunteers
After the mainland decided to resist US aggression and aid Korea, the volunteers crossed the Yalu River with great courage, and even though we were facing a strong enemy on the side of the US army, the volunteers were still not afraid.
Speaking of the disadvantages of the Volunteer Army in the war, in addition to weapons and equipment, our logistics and supply are completely inferior to the US army.
During the period of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, it was only a year after the founding of New China, and the whole country was in ruins, and the country really did not have the economic ability to provide better treatment for the volunteers, and at that time, there were still a large number of people in the country who could not even guarantee food and clothing.
Although we decided to mobilize the strength of the whole country to support the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and also prepared supplies for the soldiers, the mainland was faced with another problem, that is, how to transport the materials to the front-line soldiers.
On the battlefield of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, the transportation of materials has always been a major problem faced by the volunteers. Our army does not have the strong national strength of the US military, and it can directly deliver supplies to the army by helicopter.
We had limited roads to transport supplies, only a small number of railways, and the lack of capacity in China at that time, even if we were not affected by the outside world, we could barely supply the soldiers on the front line at that time.
But the U.S. military is still trying to suppress us logistically, thinking that we will "surrender" if we push the volunteers to the point where they run out of ammunition and food?
Since China did not have air supremacy at that time, the US military sent their bombers to drop bombs on the road that the volunteers had to pass to transport supplies, blowing up the few transportation routes of our headquarters.
Looking at the bombed-up roads, we also can't impose reciprocal sanctions on the United States, we can only repair the roads as soon as possible. However, the U.S. military would still send bombers to check on it from time to time, and once they found that the roads had been repaired, or saw our troops transporting supplies to the front line, the U.S. bombers would drop bombs again.
Under the obstruction of the US military, it is difficult for domestic supplies to be delivered to the front-line soldiers, especially in winter, the severe cold ice and snow make the roads extremely difficult, and the roads for transporting materials are often damaged by US bombers, and the difficulty of transporting materials is even worse.
Therefore, when the volunteers are fighting on the front line, they often face the dilemma of lack of food and clothing. Especially in the cold winter, the volunteers had to endure the invasion of the severe cold, and there was not enough warm clothing, which made the soldiers face great pressure to survive.
Despite the strong conviction and tenacious will of the soldiers, their combat effectiveness will undoubtedly be seriously affected in an environment of hunger and cold.
When the Chinese Volunteers entered Korea, the arrogant US military did not take us seriously at all, and a group of UN officers represented by MacArthur believed that China's military was backward in equipment and its combat effectiveness was naturally similar to that of the North Korean People's Army, and that they could easily defeat the North Korean army, and the Chinese army should not be afraid.
However, MacArthur proved to completely underestimate the Chinese army, and also overestimated the American army.
After the end of the first battle, the volunteer soldiers defeated the invincible United Nations army and dealt a head-on blow to the American army, they did not expect that the Chinese army would have such a previous combat effectiveness.
However, arrogant Americans would not admit that they were "inferior in skill", for example, MacArthur would attribute the first defeat to the underestimation of the enemy, and China caught them by surprise.
Or the first battle is not considered a victory over the US army, after all, the first battle we focused on the puppet army in South Korea, and there were not many frontal battles with US troops.
Moreover, a group of UN officers also believe that the Chinese military is likely to "bluff" and give a warning to other countries by making such a fierce move, but with the passage of time and the elongation of the battle line, this "one-shot" method is no longer applicable.
At that time, the conceited MacArthur did not realize the seriousness of the problem, insisting that the US army would win the next battle, so he decided to go to the front line in person, deployed the next phase of the battle plan of the United Nations forces, and confidently told everyone that the war could be ended before Christmas, and everyone could go back to spend Christmas with their families.
After our victory in the first battle, whether it was Peng Dehuai in the Korean battlefield, Chairman Mao and members of the Central Military Commission in China, everyone was waiting for the next reaction of the US military and formulating the next battle plan according to the reaction of the US military.
Seeing that the U.S. military showed no signs of retreating. We simply made the decision to further expand the results of the war, and in layman's terms, that is, to continue the fight with the Americans.
The Battle of Changjin Lake
In order to expand the war situation, the mainland decided to urgently transfer the Ninth Corps, which was stationed in the southeastern coastal area, to the Korean battlefield.
This Ninth Corps is not simple, he was the main force of Sanye, experienced the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, the soldiers in the army are tempered by war, have rich combat experience, and are not timid in the face of foreign armies.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, this unit has been pinned on high hopes by the mainland and has been conducting combat readiness training in the southeastern coastal areas, and this unit is also one of our reserve forces preparing to liberate Taiwan.
Although the Ninth Corps was strong in combat, they also had a shortcoming, due to their long-term training in the southern coastal areas, they had little combat experience in alpine areas. And it was winter when they went to North Korea, and the cold and long winter was a bit difficult for them.
As for the second campaign, the Continental Plan was set for late November 1950. In other words, the Ninth Corps had to rush to the Korean battlefield before that, and only in this way could it be ready for battle before the plan.
The war was urgent, the soldiers of the Ninth Corps did not have time to train, they were pulled on the train to North Korea, the weather in the south was warm, everyone set off in single clothes, but as the train continued to move north, the soldiers gradually realized that the temperature was dropping, and the single clothes on their bodies could not resist the cold of the north at all.
When the train stopped for a short time in the Shenyang Military Region, He Jinnian, commander of the Northeast Military Region, who was in charge of the reception, saw that the soldiers were still wearing single clothes, and was full of worry, and bluntly said that they would freeze to death if they entered the DPRK like this, but the Ninth Corps did not have time to repair at all.
Seeing this, He Jinnian hurriedly sent people to the warehouse of the Shenyang Military Region to take out a large number of military coats and cotton shoes, in fact, Wang Zhi also hoped that they could repair in Shenyang for one day, and one day was enough time to transfer enough materials from the nearby military region to solve the dilemma everyone was facing.
It's a pity that the military order is like a mountain, and no one dares to delay.
He Jinnian has tried his best, but he still has not been able to fill the gap in the cotton clothes of the Ninth Corps, a military coat often needs to be shared by several people, and the rest of the cotton clothes, cotton shoes, cotton pants, cotton hats These things are not enough, some people only have cotton shoes, and some only have cotton pants.
Looking at such a scene, Wang Zhi kept applying to the division commander for only one day, and finally the division commander gritted his teeth, after all, the soldiers were likely to freeze to death if they entered the court like this, let alone fight.
Hearing this, Wang Zhi hurriedly ordered the soldiers to remove the cotton from the quilt and fill it in the key positions of the body, trying to protect the parts that were prone to frostbite as much as possible.
In one night, the soldiers rushed to make a lot of gloves, hats, earmuffs and other things, and finally made up for some gaps. As the soldiers still have a great demand for cotton clothes, it is also a little better than when they wore single clothes before.
Early in the morning of the second day, the volunteers continued to set off, and after they entered the court, they hurried to the Changjin Lake battlefield.
Changjin Lake is located in the most bitter cold area in the north of North Korea, with an altitude of more than 1,000 meters, and in winter, the temperature here will drop to more than minus 20 degrees, and even reach minus 30 degrees at night, and the ice thickness of the lake can reach more than one meter deep, which can be said to be a cold place.
When the Ninth Corps arrived here, it was just in time for the cold winter that North Korea had not seen in 50 years, and the soldiers of the Volunteer Army could only wear thin cotton clothes, eat potatoes that were frozen like stones, and sometimes could not even eat a full meal for several days, and struggled to move forward in the cold wind.
Due to the low temperature, the soldiers' ears, hands and feet were frostbitten, and some even suffered severe frostbite on their toes and fingers, and lost consciousness. However, even in such a difficult environment, the soldiers of the Ninth Corps still did not complain, they were well aware of the heavy responsibility on their shoulders, and they were willing to pay any price for the victory of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and the honor of the motherland.
On the evening of November 27, the main force of the 9th Corps acted as planned, daring to ambush around Changjin Lake before the enemy arrived here.
The 20th Army was on the west side, and the 27th Army was located in the north, and the 1st Marine Division, one of the ace units of the US Army, was about to meet them, and a war between the two sides was about to break out.
Seeing that the US troops continued to approach us, the soldiers who were ambushed in the shadows only held the guns in their hands, and on the night of the 27th, when the US soldiers were preparing to rest, our troops had already approached the US military station with a mission.
The U.S. military believed that it was impossible for the Chinese army to conduct large-scale marches and operations in such a harsh environment, so it did not take much precautions against the Ninth Corps. However, the Ninth Corps gave the US military a resounding slap in the face with practical actions.
Wang Zhi wants to shear the wool blanket?
At the sound of an order, artillery fire was fired at the US military base from all directions, and troops from all sides also rushed towards the enemy under the cover of artillery fire. Our army used the tactics of interspersing to cut off the retreat of the US troops and cut the 1st Marine Division apart, greatly weakening their combat effectiveness.
However, the artillery fire of the US army was indeed fierce, and the bombers and heavy tanks they sent did make it difficult for the volunteers to parry.
The ice and snow accumulation behind Changjin Lake was blown apart, and the snow-capped peaks instantly turned into a sea of fire, and even so, the warriors responsible for blocking the enemy's attack would rather die until the last man fought.
On the battlefield, the volunteers pressed forward step by step, biting the large units of the 1st and 7th Marine Divisions, maneuvering with them through various tactics, fortifying and blocking them at every level, and launching attacks on them again and again.
In the first battle of Changjin Lake, the volunteers not only overcame the severe cold and hunger, but also took advantage of factors such as terrain and weather to carry out a surprise attack on the US army.
In this battle, we successfully annihilated 24,000 U.S. troops, and for the first time, we had a reorganized regiment annihilated by us.
To the delight of the soldiers, we also captured a large amount of supplies, the enemy's weapons and baggage were a very good supplement for us, in addition, the volunteers unexpectedly captured 3,000 high-quality woolen blankets of the American army.
This is undoubtedly a great wealth for the volunteers. Not only do these fleece blankets provide excellent warmth, but they are also of high quality enough to provide enough warmth for the fighters.
However, just when everyone was rejoicing at these woolen blankets, political commissar Wang Zhi made an unexpected decision: to cut all these woolen blankets into pieces. This decision left everyone baffled, after all, these woolen blankets are so precious, isn't it too "tyrannical" to shear?
Moreover, according to the regulations, the materials captured on the battlefield need to be handed over, but Wang Zhi directly ordered them to be used, which is somewhat "unruly". Wang Zhi said: "Although the wool blanket is precious, it is not as good as the lives of the soldiers. Next, he firmly said that he was the political commissar of the 89th Division, and if there was a problem, he would bear it.
It turned out that Wang Zhi considered that although these wool blankets were precious, they were limited in quantity, and if they were used in their entirety, it would be difficult to ensure that each soldier could get enough warmth, and the warmth effect was not good.
He thought that when our army was marching and fighting, when the conditions were difficult and it was impossible to provide enough cold equipment, the common method used by everyone was to dismantle the quilt, remove the cotton inside, and make it into socks, ear protection and other warm items, so as to ensure the warmth of the soldiers with the greatest effectiveness.
So he ordered the soldiers to cut the woolen blankets into warm supplies such as gloves and socks, so that the whole division could use them, and it was also the most efficient use of these woolen blankets, so as to avoid the loss of troops due to frostbite like other troops.
So, the fighters took action, and although the process was very hard, everyone did not complain, because they knew that it was the commissar who was trying to protect them.
Facts have proved that the decision of Political Commissar Wang Zhi is very wise. By shearing the woolen blankets, the volunteers were given more warmth, which allowed them to better keep warm during the harsh winters, preventing thousands of fighters from losing their combat effectiveness due to frostbite. This measure not only saved the lives of the volunteers, but also provided a strong guarantee for their victory on the battlefield.
Political Commissar Wang Zhi's wise policy decision once again proved that wisdom and force are indispensable in war.
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