Regarding the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Western countries commented as follows: "The significance of this war is like an independent victory over the United States for China, and it is a real battle for the founding of the country!"
On June 25, 1950, the Korean War broke out, and due to the accession of the United States and the former Soviet Union, the internal dispute on the Korean Peninsula turned into a local war of an international nature.
On October 1, 1950, the U.S. military burned the flames of war to the Yalu River.
On October 8, 1950, the North Korean government requested Chinese military assistance.
At the request of the DPRK Government, China made the decision to "resist US aggression and aid Korea and defend the homeland and defend the country" and quickly formed a Chinese People's Volunteer Army to enter the Korean War.
A vigorous War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea officially kicked off.
Old photos of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea
That year, the first anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were all kinds of wastes waiting to be rebuilt, and all kinds of industries were waiting to be lifted, but our opponent was the coalition of capitalist powers led by the United States.
In the beginning, our counterattack was seen by the West as an egg hitting a stone, with no chance of victory.
In fact, in those days, it was not surprising that Western countries despised the strength of the mainland.
In modern times, the Chinese nation has been faced with the ravages of foreign invaders and the situation of domestic turmoil.
Old photos of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea
Before participating in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the mainland's economy was in an extremely sluggish state, with a shortage of materials and often a financial shackle to make ends meet.
The economic difficulties are quite serious, and about half of the already underdeveloped railway traffic is paralyzed.
In 1949, the output of major industrial and agricultural products was far below the highest level in history.
For example, the output of steel, grain and cotton was 158,000 tons, 216.2 billion jin and 8.89 million quintals respectively, which was only equivalent to 17.1% (more than 920,000 tons), 77.9% (277.4 billion catties) and 52.3% (16.98 million quintals) of the historical high before the founding of New China.
However, the military strength necessary for war can be described as quite backward, the military industry has just started, and its strength is weak, and it cannot meet the needs of the country's war, and in addition to the army, the navy and air force are in their infancy.
After the US troops landed at Incheon, Stalin overestimated the combat effectiveness of the US troops and underestimated the combat strength of our volunteers, and was unwilling to directly engage in a hot war with the US troops, so the former Soviet Union's plan to send air forces to assist the DPRK was suspended.
When the first batch of troops of the Chinese Volunteers crossed the Yalu River to resist US aggression and aid Korea, our air force could not be dispatched immediately because it was receiving planes, organizing troops, and refitting and training at this time, and the Soviet Union did not send planes to cover it.
Our adversary, the United States, relied on its strong industrial strength and advanced military thinking in World War II to become the world's largest air power and the world's largest naval power.
Putting aside its strong military strength, the United States has an overwhelming absolute superiority just by looking at its economic strength.
The first is that its total industrial output accounts for more than half of the total industrial output of the entire capitalist world.
In 1950, the United States produced 87.827 million tons of steel, and its GDP was $284.8 billion, or $1,877 per capita.
In 1949, the value of gold reserves in the United States was $24.563 billion, accounting for 70% of the total gold reserves of the entire capitalist world.
There is a huge disparity between China and the United States, both in terms of comprehensive national strength and military strength.
When the first shot was fired in this seemingly unwinnable war, MacArthur, a five-star American general, said to Major General Church, commander of the 24th Division, while inspecting the various units of the US Eighth Army, "I have made a guarantee to the wives and mothers of the boys of the 24th Division, and the boys will return home at Christmas, but don't let me be a liar." Rush to the Yalu River, and I'll let you go. ”
MacArthur
But what he didn't know was that the opponent who he thought had only "30,000 regular troops and 30,000 volunteers" had beaten the "United Nations Army" who wanted to see the Yalu River from the car.
Suffering heavy losses on both the eastern and western fronts, MacArthur had to order his troops to carry out a general retreat to the "38th Parallel" on 3 December.
The Volunteers took advantage of the victory to pursue and recover Pyongyang and other important towns. On 16 December, all the "United Nations forces" withdrew to the south of the "38th parallel."
MacArthur's "Christmas Offensive" did not realize the offensive, but was attacked by the Volunteer Army so that no one could go home for Christmas, and the "United Nations Army" was in a panic on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Captured by the U.S. military
In this war, which was not favored by the world, the Chinese volunteers played a national dignity and let the world re-understand China.
So, what is the image of the Chinese Volunteers in the hearts of American officers and soldiers?
Everything seems so pale and powerless in war, and the cruelty of war is something that we in a peaceful environment can never imagine.
In recent years, a large number of works focusing on resisting US aggression and aiding Korea have been released, but we rarely see how the history of the US military talks about this war from the perspective of the enemy.
David Haberstam, a well-known communicator and historian, writes that for Americans and others who fought in Korea, many people keep this tragic experience deep in their hearts, they don't like to mention it to their families and old friends, and when they return home, they don't want to hear everything about the Korean fighting, they just want to spend the rest of their lives in peace.
According to the "History of the U.S. Army's War," the U.S. Marine Corps has never experienced such tragic hardships and hardships in its history, and it was simply a trip to hell and the greatest failure in the history of the U.S. Army.
In fact, the heroes we know such as Huang Jiguang, Qiu Shaoyun, Yang Gensi, etc. are not individual cases at all, and the volunteer soldiers who sacrificed their lives and forgot their lives like this can be said to be countless, and everyone has heard the story of the ice sculpture company in the Korean War, but do you know? The ice sculpture company is not a company, but only two people in three companies, and the ice sculpture company completely shocked the generals of the US army, and the US commander even made a move to take off his hat and salute.
A US general also said, "What kind of opponent are we facing?" US Colonel Alpha Bowser was deeply touched by this, saying: "Fortunately, China does not have enough logistical support and communications equipment, otherwise we would never have been able to get out of Changjin Lake, and the 1st Marine Division survived by luck." ”
When American Private Bolden, who was seriously wounded on the Korean battlefield in 1951, returned to China to recuperate, a friend who came to visit ridiculed him: "How can you, a veteran who has participated in many large-scale battles, deal with a mere Chinese so embarrassed?"
Hearing this, Bolden's face turned pale, and he said, "You don't know that the group of Chinese is too terrible, they rush forward like they don't want to die, and the god of death is nothing more than that." ”
Bolden recounted his last battle before returning home from injury.
"When a soldier of the Volunteer Army attacked an enemy fire point, he was hit in the chest and abdomen, and his intestines flowed down his stomach, but the guy didn't care, he still crawled forward with his intestines, and finally blew up one of his own and ours bunkers with a grenade. ”
"At that moment, I saw my comrades-in-arms with bloody faces, dull eyes, stiff hands and feet, as if they were about to go crazy, and the Chinese on the opposite side were really crazy, at the same time as the explosion, a large group of Chinese rushed up without a fatality, the person running in front was hit by a machine gun and fell, the person behind immediately picked up his weapon and continued to rush, after he fell, the people behind came forward again, round after round, one after another, as if it could never be eliminated. ”
Ice sculpture company
"I have no doubt at all, if we don't have a firepower advantage, we will definitely be crushed into powder by this group of Chinese, it is too desperate, we are simply in hell, these Chinese with blood on their faces, dragging their stumps and still refusing to fall, are more terrible than death." ”
"I don't understand why many Chinese soldiers are still participating in the charge when they are obviously wounded? I can't help but shout at Don't rush, don't come again, stop, let's all stop, don't come here to die, and leave us a way to live, but the people on the other side turned a deaf ear and still insisted on sending them to death. ”
"Of course, they also insisted on bringing death to us, and after about a quarter of an hour, death really came, and a soldier rushed over with a bag of explosives, and I didn't dare to look at his face, there was an indescribable determination in his eyes, and at the same time as he was shot, he threw the bag of dynamite into our trench with all his last strength, and I jumped desperately, although I saved my life, but my hands and buttocks were also seriously injured. ”
In 1962, after the outbreak of the Sino-Indian conflict, General Hill of France, a former member of the United Nations Army, said: "Where is the Indian army the opponent of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which is the largest army in the world? Judging from the many foreign operations since the founding of the People's Republic of China, I believe that the quality of individual soldiers of the Chinese army surpasses that of the German army and is the first in the world. ”
Before the Chinese army entered the DPRK, MacArthur once threatened: "If the Chinese army arrives, then we will use planes and tanks to turn the battlefield into a slaughterhouse." ”
But when he recalled the Korean War in his later years, he said, "Whoever wants to fight with the Chinese Army must have a sick brain." ”
Army General Ridgway recalled in his book The Korean War: "When the Chinese army came, our disaster befell us." ”
He was deeply impressed by the extremely strong concealment ability of the volunteers.
Not to mention the US troops fighting on the front line, I don't know how the volunteer soldiers approached the position, and even he himself can't figure out why the place where it is clear that the enemy cannot appear, why the trumpet of the charge was suddenly blown, and the sound of artillery fire and shouts of killing shook the sky.
He said, "The volunteers are not only fierce to the enemy, but also fierce to themselves, and they can complete all kinds of incredible tasks on time." ”
During the evacuation of Seoul, Ridgway left a message on the wall of his headquarters: "I salute the commander of the Chinese army." ”
Obviously, the volunteers won the respect of their opponents, especially the treatment of prisoners by the volunteers, which left a deep impression on Ridgway.
"The Chinese were willing to give their limited food to the captives and treated them calmly. ”
On the battlefield of life and death, this kind of spiritual quality is completely unimaginable to Li Qiwei, empathy, if you are on the side of the volunteers, do you have the courage to take care of the prisoners?
Maybe not embarrassing the captives or leaving them to fend for themselves is the maximum he can do.
Li Qiwei sighed from the bottom of his heart that the volunteer army was the most ferocious and civilized enemy he had ever encountered.
The first U.S. infantry task force arrived in Pusan on July 1, 1950.
On 3 July, the unit's division commander, Major General Dean, assumed the post of commander-in-chief of the U.S. Marine Forces in South Korea, the highest-ranking prisoner of war to be captured on the Korean battlefield.
As a captive, he was kindly cared for and spent three years in peace.
After the armistice, in an interview with French journalists, he frankly said that "the sooner you leave this place, the better, the conquest of Korea is a task that has no hope of being completed, there is no hope of reaching the goal." ”
Later, the most common remark between Dean and our representative in charge of repatriation was "May the United States, North Korea, and China never fight again"
When the Chinese volunteers launched the charge, all the commanders were determined to die, and they had already put life and death aside, just so that the next generation would no longer suffer from war, and all the commanders and fighters were determined to exchange the sacrifices of their own generation for the peace and well-being of the next generation.
The Volunteers' Charge Cry sounded passionate to us, but in the ears of American GIs, it was the note of urgency.
American soldiers who fought in the Korean War were almost afraid to hear the clarion call.
Trumpet Warriors
After the end of the Korean War, many veterans said something like this: "On the battlefield, if you hear the Chinese start blowing the trumpet, if you don't want to die, run away." ”
Former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew once said in his memoirs: "After the Korean War, when I was an Asian in Britain, my waist straightened up, before the Korean War, I traveled in Europe, and people generally had a discriminatory attitude towards the Chinese, but after China sent troops to Korea and won one after another, the customs officers in Western Europe were in awe when they saw the Chinese, and since then I have also begun to study Chinese seriously." ”
Japan was also shocked.
On the one hand, less than five years after the end of World War II, the Chinese army became an army that could wrestle with the US military, which Japan did not expect.
On the other hand, the fact that the Chinese were able to defeat the United States on the battlefield stimulated Japan's identification with the East Asian race to a certain extent.
Almost overnight, the contemptuous name for China in the mouth of the Japanese public disappeared, and many years later, when Chinese and Japanese scholars visited and exchanged, a Japanese scholar once told the truth: "In 1949, you said that the Chinese stood up from then on, and almost no one in Japan believed it, but then you dared to send troops to Korea, which frightened me, and then you actually beat the Americans from the north to the south of the peninsula, and I felt that you Chinese are really different from the past, and it seems that you have really stood up." ”
And the United States, as a defeated country, after experiencing the Korean War, had to admit the fact that "in the land field, the Chinese have incredibly powerful combat effectiveness, and it is a foolish decision to confront China head-on."
Since then, the United States has begun to pay attention to China's voice in international affairs.
When the Vietnam War broke out in the 60s of the last century, China issued a serious warning to the United States: it must not cross the 17th parallel, otherwise, China will consider sending troops to Vietnam.
The United States, which had suffered a defeat on the Korean battlefield once, immediately strictly controlled the scope of operations south of the 17th parallel.
Qiao Liang, a well-known military strategy expert and professor at the National Defense University, said: "The Korean War was a war that left a deep historical memory on the Americans, and it was precisely this war that made it impossible for China and the United States to fight each other in the next half century." ”