Nixon is the first US president to actively visit China in modern times. After the leaders of both sides contacted, he took the initiative to propose that he wanted to take a look at the 39th Army.
Our country had many war zones and countless military-level troops at that time. As the president of the world's largest country, why did Nixon have to see this army with his own eyes?
, especially Nixon himself is not very interested in military affairs, but why can he keep the number of the 39th Army in mind?
Hearing this request, Chairman Mao said that he was still dissatisfied.
Chairman Mao
Nixon took the initiative to click the 39th Army
1972, Nixon took the initiative to visit China. The international situation at that time was very complicated. The War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea made the relationship between China and the United States not good, and there was no cooperation and exchange in many industries and aspects.
Nixon's trip was to reconcile with China.
We naturally accepted the ambiguous signals sent by Nixon. We warmly welcomed the president of this superpower and arranged many itineraries for him. But what everyone did not expect was that the president took the initiative to ask to watch the 39th Army parade.
Nixon saw that everyone was very confused and explained to everyone, "I have heard that in the Korean battlefield, this army fought hard for the country and made countless contributions. Your country would not give a chance without giving it to you, right?"
Nixon
In fact, in Resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, , not only the 39th Army did this, but many other troops defeated the US military step by step and made great contributions. Faced with Nixon's special request, Premier Zhou thought that this was not an important matter, and even if he showed it to the other party, he would not disclose military secrets.
However, considering the special relationship with the other party, Premier Zhou still asked Chairman Mao about his opinion. Chairman Mao asked, "This Nixon, I remember correctly. I have served in the US military, have you?"
Premier Zhou was stunned for a moment, not sure about this question, and the secretary next to him replied, "You said it well, Nixon is indeed a major position."
In his heart, Premier Zhou admired Chairman Mao's care. Chairman Mao suddenly understood what the other party was thinking, and couldn't help but smile and said, "Nixon is still not convinced."
Nixon and Premier Zhou
After listening to Chairman Mao's explanation, everyone also understood the purpose of this President's "pointing to generals" the 39th Army. Everyone smiled when they thought of the 39th Army that killed all sides on the Korean Peninsula many years ago.
It turns out that Nixon was also a passionate young man when he was young. He volunteered to serve in the Navy. He did not leave the army until he retired in 1946 and entered the political arena to open up the political path.
When the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea broke out, Nixon had already taken the position of vice president. Nixon himself personally experienced the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea and was responsible for participating in the command of the troops.
As a former soldier and later a conductor, he naturally was unwilling to admit defeat.
Resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea
Nixon believes that his troops are equipped with the most advanced equipment in the world, and his opponent is a poor and just found troops from many developed countries in the world as reinforcements. How could Nixon fail with the difference in strength like
? But in fact, in that vast mountain range, the US military suffered a heavy blow under the 39th Army.
Even Li Qiwei, the highest military commander of the United Nations Army, believes that China's army is the strongest army he has ever seen, and the 39th Army is one of the very terrifying troops.
It is precisely because of this reason that the president wants to see the style of the 39th Army.
Li Qiwei
39 Army has an extraordinary origin
People's Liberation Army's 39th Army is famous all over the world for its very powerful combat capabilities. This unit is adapted from the 39th Army of the Volunteer Army. The 39th Army of the Volunteer Army was a brave and good fighter.
Although there were many troops sweating on the Korean Peninsula back then, the 39th Army was still the best among them.
This army was first formed in Red 15th Legion during the Jinggangshan period. During the Red Army's expedition to , this unit was at the forefront.
Although in most battles, high-intensity strengthened city defense will be encountered, the soldiers of the Red 15th Legion formed a blasting team, and everyone jointly provided cover for this team. Hundreds of soldiers rushed under the city wall to detonate explosives, which could form a breakthrough.
Commander Lin Biao will sigh when he sees this scene through a telescope, "I am worthy of being my soldier!"
Lin Biao
However, the survival rate of members of this group is very touching. It is this spirit of not being afraid of hardship and death that has not only frequently removed the enemy's concrete bunkers, greatly reducing our casualties, but also blowing out holes in the enemy's city walls to open up the way for the troops behind to rush up and attack the city.
In many battles of Eastern Expeditions , the Red 15th Legion made great contributions and was very good at fighting tough battles. Even Chairman Mao praised this unit as a "troop that can chew hard bones."
After Japan launched the war of aggression, this force was reorganized as part of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army.
The well-known Pingxingguan battle is the victory that the unit won for the main force. When the Japanese army was defeated, the army ignored its life and death and tried its best to block the largest number of Japanese troops, causing the other side to suffer heavy damage.
This army can not only fight bravely at home, but also be as brave as going abroad.
Japanese army
The 39th Army in the 1950s
In the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, this army was particularly eye-catching.
In 1950, this army advanced into Yunshan and encountered the enemy army before it was moved. Shortly after the two sides fought, the 39th Army directly drove a Korean division away.
At this time, the South Korean army was in a state of change of defense, and the 39th Army seized the opportunity and gave the other side a severe blow. When the other side fled, the 39th Army pursued them relentlessly. In the end, the 39th Army discovered an military base as the other party fled, which stored a large amount of supplies such as United Nations army food and ammunition.
39 Army immediately defeated the defenders of the base and successfully seized a large amount of supplies, which boosted morale. Before the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, when most developed countries heard about the Chinese army, they would think that this was a force that could only rely on brute force and had no equipment.
Resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea
However, in Yunshan, the 39th Army only used rifles and grenades and weapons to blow up three enemy tanks , two of which blew up the tracks, and one was completely scrapped, and the other's tank soldiers were also captured.
The weapons gap between the two sides is very big, but the 39th Army was able to make a big fortune with small gains, which allowed the whole world to see what Chinese power is.
In the later review, we found that the defeated unit was one of the outstanding capabilities of the United Nations army. It has not been defeated with advanced weapons and equipment for more than ten years in its establishment, but it has now been completely captured by the 39th Army.
Of course, this also has a component of luck for the 39th Army. After all, the 39th Army encountered an opponent as soon as it entered Yunshan, and it was not too late to figure out who the other party was, so it started fighting. If the 39th Army had known from the beginning that the other party was powerful, they might have been afraid of fighting.
Resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea
What's more, the time when the two sides met was exactly the time when the enemy changed defense, which gave the 39th Army hope for victory.
This battle was just the initial victory. Many officers of the United Nations forces believed that the reason why the 39th Army was able to win was closely related to the sudden encounter and did not pay enough attention to the 39th Army.
However, in later battle reports, the shadow of the 39th Army appeared in most major battles in which the US military was defeated. Gradually, Nixon, who had seen too much, naturally remembered the number of the 39th Army and became curious enough about this unit.
On the Korean Peninsula, the 39th Army exerted extraordinary strength and wrote an immortal myth on this land.
In the second battle, the 39th Army also made great contributions.
Nixon
According to the deployment, our army intends to induce an enemy force to penetrate deep into our position, and then use small groups of troops to disperse the enemy into small areas, and then attack one of the nets.
But what we didn’t expect was that there were too many US troops pursuing this time, and it was not just a single unit that took the bait.
Moreover, these US troops carry heavy firepower weapons, and it is very difficult to insert them in cooperation with each other.
Soon, our commander discovered this and realized that if we rely solely on the previous arrangement, we would give the other party a head for nothing. So we immediately ordered the surrounding troops to assemble and a large-scale battle was organized.
US military
Our commander quickly deployed the battle situation again.
According to the latest plan, the dispatching troops pretended to be unable to defeat the enemy in the front and retreated while fighting. At the same time, a force was sent to go back and forth to the base occupied by the opponent.
The opponent's elite forces came out, and then the old camp behind them would naturally be in deficit. At this time, attacking the opponent's base can surround the enemy between you and the opponent's base. To our surprise, the local base camp was not completely deficit, and the American gods unconsciously mobilized a large army of 10,000 people to reinforce the city.
The one who received the task of circumventing the back was the 39th Army. The soldiers of the 39th Army fought separately and forcibly opened the city wall under the obstruction of more than 10,000 people through blasting and other methods, rushed into the city and occupied the city, and the defenders in the city evacuated one after another.
Resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea
When the US military was fighting head-on, they realized that they would be in a dilemma if they did not retreat, so they withdrew their troops one after another. We also gained a city in this battle and captured thousands of enemy troops.
The North Korean senior officials believe that the reason why this time has gained a lot is not only related to the clever strategy of our commander, but also closely related to the courage of the 39th Army to fight head-on.
If you change another army, you will think that you can't fight when you see more than 10,000 people in the opposite city, which will make you fall into the opponent's double-team, resulting in a defeat in the battle. The 39th Army is a hero.
Resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea
Seeing the 39th Army, Nixon left with satisfaction
According to statistics, the 39th Army killed more than 3,000 enemies in the entire Korean Peninsula and captured more than 2,000 enemies. This record made Peng Dehuai very happy. As soon as the record came out, the United States was also very shocked.
Of course, Nixon knew that this kind of achievement was not a false report. He also saw the 39th Army through the battle report, so he wanted to meet the 39th Army as soon as he came to China.
Since Nixon made this "strange" request, our staff agreed to Nixon to arrange military exercises with the permission of Chairman Mao.
However, the 39th Army was stationed in a remote place in the Shenyang Military Region at that time. If Nixon was arranged to go to the northeast, he was worried that it would make the other party bumpy all the way, so he called the commander of the 39th Army and asked him to personally select an elite team from the army to come to Beijing to show the style of our Chinese army.
Nixon
The commander at that time was General Zhu Hengxing, a character who was decisive in his work.
In less than three hours, the general had personally ordered more than 300 soldiers and personally led the 300 people on the way to Beijing.
This army has grown up in constant wars, and there is no doubt about the majesty in the army. Every soldier seems to have the spirit of a dragon and a tiger.
Premier Zhou and Nixon came to the Tiananmen Gate Tower together. Nixon stood on a high place and couldn't help but sigh how grand and vast Tiananmen Square is. According to the order, General Zhu Hengxing came to the Tiananmen Gate Tower to pay homage to Nixon. Nixon couldn't help but sigh again when he saw the general with a bravery spirit.
Under the arrangement of General Zhu Hengxing, Nixon watched the performance of the 39th Army in the square.The soldiers of the 39th Army were full of energy, giving people the feeling of an iron army, as if this army could break through all obstacles in the world. Amid the military orders, Nixon seemed to see the heroes who fought bravely in the Korean War in .
Nixon
Although those soldiers were old and could no longer step onto the battlefield in person, the stories they left behind will be widely circulated from generation to generation, and the spirit they left behind will be passed on.
From today's 39th Army, we can still see that spirit of perseverance. If we don't fight the enemy away for a day, we will fight for one day.
In later memories, Nixon said that he had been confused for countless years why the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea failed. That day, when he saw the commander and soldiers of the 39th, the doubts in his heart suddenly disappeared. In his opinion, although the 39th Army does have very high military qualities, what really defeated the US military is what is behind it.
The thing behind this is precisely more important than military literacy, that is, the loyalty of combatants to the supreme leader. If a unit fights only for its own personal interests and ignores the strategic arrangements made by the commander for the overall situation of the entire nation, what combat effectiveness can this unit have?
Resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea
Nixon believes that a force was temporarily ordered to come hundreds of kilometers away just to perform a military parade for the enemy president. This kind of thing would be considered an incredible thing in the US military, and the commander may even refuse this request.
But in General Zhu Hengxing and the many soldiers, all Nixon saw was unconditional obedience to the orders. "I feel unfair to be defeated by such an army."
Because the entire 39th Army was too large, Nixon only saw part of the 39th Army.
However, this part of the warriors also opened the eyes of the President. Only after seeing this unconvincing President will understand where he lost. This time, Nixon was convinced.
Reference
Thirty-ninth Army Baidu Encyclopedia
A brief history of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Army
Nixon's visit to China
