The "Battle of Chosin Lake" in the winter of 1950 can be said to be one of the most brutal battles in the entire War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
According to official data released in 1988, the number of combat casualties of the Ninth Corps in the Battle of Chosin Lake was more than 21,000, of which 7,304 were killed and 30,732 were frostbitten. Combined, the number of casualties in battle is not as high as the frostbite wounded! The total attrition reached more than 52,000 people.
However, this data is not necessarily the most accurate, because in some later books and historical materials, there is still a certain deviation in the data.
For example, in the book "The First Contest: Historical Review and Reflection of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea" by Professor Xu Yan of the National Defense University, it is recorded that in the Battle of Chosin Lake alone, more than 40,000 volunteer soldiers froze to death, 11,000 people were killed in battle, and a total of more than 56,000 people were reduced.
Of course, the situation in the US military is not much better!
According to the information released by the US military after the war, from October 26 to December 15, the number of casualties of the First Marine Division was 604, 114 were seriously wounded and died, 192 were missing, 3508 were wounded, the total number of combat casualties was 4418, and there were 7313 non-combat attrition, mainly due to frostbite and indigestion.
If you add the Seventh Marine Division and the South Korean Army, the overall casualties and attritions are about 14,000.
In fact, in the Battle of Chosin Lake at that time, our Ninth Corps had 150,000 men, and it was entirely possible that more than 20,000 people of the US First Marine Division would be completely annihilated.
However, due to the fact that the weather conditions at that time were too bad, coupled with the serious lack of cold facilities and sufficient logistical supplies for our volunteer troops, the predetermined goal of the First Division of Total Annihilation Of The Army was not achieved.
However, this battle shattered the dream of US imperialism to drink the Yalu River and turned the tide of the Korean War in one fell swoop.
So on the whole, our army has won an overall victory!
But it is such a classic battle, except for the current hit "Chosin Lake", which is rarely mentioned in many movies about the theme of the "War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea".
For example, the "Heroes and Children", "Shangganling", "Surprise Attack" and so on that we are familiar with have not involved "Chosin Lake".
In fact, not only China, but even the United States rarely mentioned the cruel "battle of purgatory" in those years.
For China, it can be said to be a victor in terms of overall strategy, but from the specific tactical level, there are too many places to review and learn lessons.
For the United States, they can naturally call themselves "miracles", that is, in the face of an enemy several times their own, they are almost "completely retreating" and retaining the greatest combat effectiveness.
However, in the war history of the US First Marine Division, there has never been a "history of humiliation" of continuous retreat of more than one hundred kilometers, and the grand plan of the entire US army to drink the Yalu River before Christmas has also been torn to pieces by our people's army.
Therefore, for a long time, both China and the United States rarely mentioned "Chosin Lake" much.
However, more than a decade ago, there was news that Hollywood in the United States was ready to invest 130 million US dollars to direct the famous director who won the Academy Award for Best Special Effects in 1990 with the film "Total Memory" - "Eric Bleweg", and also invited a number of international big-name movie stars to appear on camera to shoot a 3D blockbuster - "17th Cold".
Not only that, at that time, the South Korean side also promised to provide various equipment, weapons and shooting scenes for the film, and its army would also give all-round assistance.
The film is said to have been filmed in 2010 and released in 2013, but so far, the film has not been heard at all. According to the Internet, it is said that the shooting stopped halfway through!
So why did the film suddenly stop shooting?
The author believes that there are two main reasons:
First, the difficulty of filming this battle is too great;
This can be reflected in many aspects, such as the laying of war scenes, the quality of actors, the selection and arrangement of weapons and equipment, the authenticity of historical plots, and so on.
In fact, this point, look at the recent hit "Chosin Lake" to know! Whether it is war scenes, special effects, etc., it is very spectacular, and its shooting is very difficult.
Second, due to the consideration of national environmental factors at that time;
After all, the Americans were so humiliated in this battle!
The First Marine Division, as a "heroic unit" in the US army that has not tasted defeat since its founding, was actually repelled by our volunteer army by more than 100 kilometers in the Battle of Chosin Lake.
Therefore, not to continue filming may also be out of this consideration. Of course, these are only the author's speculations, not the exact answers!
In fact, not only the United States, but also some people on the Internet think that China does not need to film the "Battle of Chosin Lake", and the main reason is that in this war, we did not take advantage of anything; in addition, some people also have various voices about the entire Korean War.
But I always believe that we can't look at the events of more than 60 years ago with the current eyes, after all, at that time, few people knew the future direction of the country.
Moreover, "all history is contemporary history", we can not look at history only from the perspective of the present, but must be combined with the real situation of history at that time, otherwise the conclusions drawn are inaccurate and even wrong.
The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea is an unquestionable war for the founding of the country.
In the Chosin Lake Campaign, although our army occupied the geographical and numerical superiority, it failed to completely annihilate the US First Marine Division and allowed the enemy to retreat in a planned and responsive manner, but facts have proved that the officers and men of our volunteer army, in the extreme cold and hunger, with the help of "millet plus rifles," have played a military and national prestige, and have even more played a heroic spirit that has attracted the attention of all the world.
So much so that after the war, major general Smith, commander of the US military and commander of the First Marine Division, once lamented: "The Battle of Chosin Lake was fought by the Steel Force against the Iron Man!" ”