During this National Day festival, almost all people invariably mentioned a film "Chosin Lake" to resist US aggression and aid Korea. Co-directed by Chen Kaige, Xu Ke and Lin Chaoxian, starring Wu Jing and Yi Qianxi, starring Duan Yihong, and starring Zhu Yawen, Li Chen, Hu Jun, Han Dongjun and other stars, the film won more than 3 billion yuan at the box office.
At the same time, a large number of documentaries about the Battle of Chosin Lake, "Chosin Lake" and articles, pictures and video materials, are also circulating on the Internet.
Suddenly, the Battle of Chosin Lake became a hot spot for everyone.
So, who of the two warring sides (the 9th Volunteer Corps and the US 10th Army) won in this crucial battle?
From our side, it is natural that the volunteer army has won the victory.
On December 15, 1950, the Volunteer Army Command and the Political Department jointly sent a congratulatory telegram to all the commanders and fighters of the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army: "You have fought hard with the enemy for more than a month under the extremely difficult conditions of ice and snow and the transportation of grain and ammunition, and finally survived the difficulties, defeated the 1st Marine Division and the 7th Division of the US Invading Army, recovered many important towns, and won great victories. This strong will to fight and the spirit of fearlessness are worth learning from the whole army. ”
However, the United States also claimed victory.
The U.S. military refused to admit defeat at the Battle of Chosin Lake. After the Battle of Chosin Lake, Major General Oliver Preyns Smith, commander of the 1st Division of the U.S. Marine Corps, declared: "We are not retreating, but attacking in different directions." ”
Sgt. Lee Birch, a U.S. Army Marine Corps rifle platoon sergeant who participated in the Battle of Chosin Lake, said in an interview with magazine reporters: "The U.S. army has fought many bloody and brutal battles, but the Battle of Chosin is a classic example of a small but disciplined army defeating a stubborn enemy with overwhelming numerical superiority and harsh weather." The harsh weather and the fact that we repelled 6 Chinese divisions made the Battle of Chosin unique. ”
Why did both the U.S. and Volunteers claim victory at the Battle of Chosin Lake? Weren't hundreds of thousands of people in the same battle?
If analyzed in detail, the U.S. military refers to a tactical victory.
In the eyes of the U.S. military, they were far inferior in number to the volunteer army and belonged to the outnumbered enemy. After the Battle of Chosin Lake broke out, they were divided and surrounded by volunteer troops and were at a disadvantage. After more than ten days of fierce fighting, except for 1 polar bear regiment that was annihilated by the volunteer army, most of the remaining troops broke through the siege, experienced the "longest retreat" in history, and withdrew from Xingnan Port.
The casualty ratio on both sides also seems to support the US military's claim.
The data shows that in the Battle of Chosin Lake, the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army suffered 19,202 combat casualties, 28,954 frostbite, and more than 4,000 people froze to death, with a total casualty of more than 50,000 people. The U.S. military suffered more than 10,000 casualties and more than 7,000 frostbite casualties, with a total casualty toll of nearly 20,000. In terms of casualty ratio, the Volunteer Army surpassed the American Army.
Therefore, after the Battle of Chosin Lake, the U.S. military awarded a large number of medals to the combatants.
However, the Battle of Chosin Lake was a large-scale battle with far-reaching impact. The campaign directly serves and is subject to the overall situation of the war, and affects the overall situation of the war to varying degrees, and both sides must achieve certain strategic goals through the campaign.
In the Battle of Chosin Lake, the strategic goal of the US 10th Army was to advance rapidly on the Eastern Front, to attack the Chinese and North Korean forces with the Americans on the Western Front, and to drive the Chinese and North Korean troops to the Yalu River before Christmas (December 25). The offensive was called the "Christmas Offensive" by MacArthur, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Forces in the Far East.
The strategic goal of the Volunteer Corps 9th Corps was to stop the attack of the US 10th Army in the Chosin Lake area and destroy MacArthur's "Christmas Offensive".
For the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army, this was a difficult strategic objective. Not only because the US 10th Army is well-equipped and has a number of ace armies that have been experienced in the battlefield and have strong combat effectiveness, but also because the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army has poor weapons and lacks logistics. The two sides are not on the same starting line at all. Not only that, but the volunteers also needed to overcome the adverse effects of bad weather (the logistics of the US military were very good, and the adverse effects were less).
With an iron will and a heroic and fearless fighting spirit, the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army overcame the cold weather, successfully curbed the attack of the US 10th Army, and drove this invincible force out of the northeast battlefield. Not only did the U.S. 10th Army fail to achieve its strategic goals, but even MacArthur's "Christmas Offensive" came to naught.
In this sense, the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army achieved a complete victory.
Based on this, the Volunteer Army Headquarters and the Political Department said in a congratulatory message: "It is precisely because of the great victories on the eastern and western fronts that the situation in Korea has basically changed and it has rapidly turned to a counter-offensive against the enemy. ”
When the chairman called the volunteer headquarters on December 17, he said: "The Ninth Corps has completed a huge strategic task in this operation on the Eastern Front under extremely difficult conditions. ”