On February 21, 1972, US President Nixon stepped onto the Beijing Capital Airport and began a world-renowned visit to China, and Sino-US relations also thawed.

On February 21, 1972, US President Nixon stepped on Beijing Capital Airport and began a world-renowned visit to China, and Sino-US relations also thawed. Just during Nixon's visit to China, he suddenly made a request: "I want to visit the 39th Army..."

Nixon's straightforward request shocked everyone present, and even Zhou Enlai, who had a lot of diplomatic experience, could not understand it. When Chairman Mao learned of Nixon's request, he just smiled and said: "He is still not convinced!"

So what's going on? Why did Nixon visit the 39th Army? What does Chairman Mao mean by "he is not convinced"?

Nixon requested a visit to the 39th Army, Chairman Mao: He is still not convinced

On July 9, 1971, Kissinger visited China secretly and held many talks with Premier Zhou Enlai. Later, with the approval of Chairman Mao, an announcement that both sides will announce at the same time:

"Prime Minister Zhou Enlai and President Nixon's assistant to national security Dr. Kissinger held talks in Beijing from July 9 to 11, 1971. Previously, President Nixon expressed his hope to visit China. Premier Zhou Enlai invited President Nixon to visit China before May 1972 on behalf of the Chinese government. President Nixon accepted the invitation. The leaders of China and the United States met to seek normalization of relations between the two countries and exchange views on issues of concern to both sides..."

In early 1972, Chairman Mao was not in good health. On January 13, Chairman Mao's sudden high fever caused severe hypoxia, which also caused him to suddenly fall into shock. After emergency rescue from the doctor, the Chairman gradually woke up. One afternoon shortly after this shock, Chairman Mao was in shock again. Later, after a full body examination, it was found that Chairman Mao had serious diseases in his heart and lungs.

On February 21, 1972, Nixon arrived in Beijing. At this time, Chairman Mao's body had not fully recovered, so it was received by Premier Zhou Enlai. As soon as Zhou Enlai saw Nixon, he said: "Your hand stretched out your hand across the vast ocean in the world to shake hands with me."

Zhou Enlai changed the topic and said: "Chairman Mao's body has not recovered yet. He specifically told me to receive you." Nixon nodded, expressing his understanding. At the same time, he was also very worried inside. He was worried that Chairman Mao would not be able to see him due to physical reasons.

But surprisingly, on the afternoon of Nixon's arrival in Beijing, Zhou Enlai found Kissinger and said: "The Chairman's health is much better. He wants to meet the President of the United States as soon as possible. Please arrange who will go with the United States."

In the afternoon, Nixon took a car and slowly drove into Zhongnanhai , and later accompanied by Zhou Enlai, walked into Chairman Mao's study room in the swimming pool. Seeing Nixon and others walking in, Chairman Mao stood up calmly and stared at each other. Nixon immediately stretched out his hand to walk towards Chairman Mao, and Chairman Mao also stretched out his hand, and the hands of the two leaders of the great powers were tightly held together.

The two shook hands and sat down, and Chairman Mao's relaxed and casual conversation also made Nixon's nervousness disappear without a trace in an instant. Nixon believed that the conversation with Chairman Mao was like an old friend I hadn't seen for many years. Although he was a little unfamiliar, he was particularly harmonious when talking.

Nixon later recalled: "He was still very weak at that time, but I could see a sharp look in his eyes."

Chairman Mao did not forget to take care of the staff around him when he was chatting with Nixon. When he saw Kissinger beside Nixon, he smiled and said, "So you are the famous doctor Kissinger!"

Chairman Mao talked to Nixon casually. Although he was having difficulty speaking at this time, his thoughts were very agile. Chairman Mao originally planned to meet for a while before it ended, but he talked with Nixon and others for 75 minutes.

When Nixon pulled the topic to the Taiwan issue, Vietnam issue, etc., Chairman Mao immediately made a stop gesture and said, "I am not interested in these issues!" Then he pointed to Zhou Enlai and said, "This is what you and Enlai need to talk about..."

During Nixon's visit to China, he made a request that no one expected, that is, to visit the 39th Army. has many leaders who visited China, but Nixon was the first to propose to visit the specific troops. This not only shocked the staff present, but even Zhou Enlai, who has rich diplomatic experience, didn't know what was going on.

Nixon's request was not too much, but for safety reasons, Zhou Enlai reported this matter to Chairman Mao: "Chairman, Nixon proposed to visit the 39th Army. It is logical that it is OK, but I don't understand why he did this."

Chairman Mao smiled and said: "Do you still remember Nixon had experience in serving in the US Navy?" Zhou Enlai immediately said: "Chairman, you have a good memory, yes, he has this experience."

Chairman Mao nodded and continued: " During the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, Nixon was Eisenhower's confidant. When the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea was about to end, Nixon became the vice president of the United States. It can be said that he participated in the entire War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea."

Zhou Enlai and Chairman Mao have been together for many years, so he naturally understands what the chairman means, but Qiao Guanhua on the side still couldn't figure it out. He asked: "Chairman, what does what you said have to do with him wanting to visit the 39th Army?"

Chairman Mao glanced at Qiao Guanhua and said: "The reason is very simple. Those who are from military personnel all have a spirit of not giving in. The reason why Nixon wanted to visit the 39th Army was nothing more than to see what the Chinese army that defeated their US military was like. I think he was still not convinced!"

So what is the magical thing about the 39th Army that actually made Nixon worry for so long?

won the battles of Liaoshen, Pingjin and other battles

The predecessor of the 39th Army was the 2nd Column of the Northeast, and the deputy commander was the famous Wu Xinquan . On May 13, in order to open up the connection between South Manchuria and North Manchuria and fundamentally reverse the situation on the battlefield in the Northeast, Northeast Democratic Alliance Army decided to launch the summer offensive . Wu Xinquan assisted the leaders in command of the battle and attacked Huaide on the 14th. After three days and three nights of fierce fighting, our army wiped out more than 5,400 people and won a great victory.

htmlOn May 18, Wu Xinquan led his troops to fight side by side with the First Column in Daheilinzi, and then encircled and annihilated the 71st Army headquarters and two divisions of the Kuomintang.

On May 29, our army surrounded Changtu City, and the enemy troops guarding the city were struggling dyingly, but no matter how they resisted, it would be useless. After three days of fighting, our army wiped out more than 4,200 enemy troops guarding Changtu City. In order to consolidate this battle result, our army built a defense line north of Changtu to block the enemy troops supported by the northern aid.

On July 1, the summer offensive officially ended, but the battle is not over yet. In order to liberate the entire Northeast, the Northeast Democratic Alliance launched a winter offensive on December 15. From December 23 to 28, the superiors ordered Wu Xinquan to lead the Second Column and the Seventh Column to attack Zhangwu .

Before the battle began, Wu Xinquan and the column leaders came to the front line to reconnaise the terrain, and then formulated a plan to effectively and quickly annihilate the enemy. Finally, after a fierce battle, our army successfully annihilated tens of thousands of people from the 79th Division of the 49th Army of the Kuomintang and won the battle.

On January 3, 1948, the Second Column moved south from Zhangwu, and then, together with the brothers, attacked the two divisions of the newly formed 5th Army of the Kuomintang Army besieged in Princess Tun . On the morning of January 6, with the support of the 7th Column, the Second Column smashed the enemy's counterattack many times. At dusk, the commander of the enemy's New Fifth Army, with the remaining soldiers, fled in a hurry and came to the front house to hide.

Wu Xinquan and the column leaders learned about this matter immediately discussed the response plan and finally decided to let the 5th Division be the main attacker; the 4th Division and the 6th Division blocked the enemy from the northeast direction of the former Wenjiatai to escape from here. On January 7, the Second Column launched a fierce attack on the Kuomintang army. After an hour of fighting, our army wiped out more than 20,000 Kuomintang troops and seized a lot of guns and ammunition.

At this point, the Kuomintang army was squeezed into big cities such as Changchun and Shenyang, and was strategically passive. Their fate of failure was already doomed.

With the frequent victory of the People's Liberation Army on the battlefield, the Party Central Committee decided to launch the Liaoshen Campaign on September 12, 1948. Northeast Field Army immediately ordered the main force of the 2nd Column to arrive in the Montenegro area, and then with other columns, they were responsible for the task of surveillance and restraining the Kuomintang.

Before the battle began, Wu Xinquan and the column leaders inspected the terrain together, and then decided to let the 4th and 6th Divisions clear the strongholds on the northwest of the city, let the 5th Division and other troops make breakthroughs, and then attack the enemy's depths.

0 From September 9 to 13, the soldiers of the Second Column rushed towards the enemy group with the support of artillery fire. After a while, the outer strongholds were occupied by our army. On the 15th, the battle of Jinzhou Campaign officially ended. The second column wiped out a total of 15,200 people, and seized countless guns and ammunition. After the liberation of Jinzhou , Wu Xinquan assisted the leader of the column to command the Liaoxi battle , encircling and annihilation of thousands of Liao Yaoxiang's corps. In order to completely annihilate the Kuomintang army in the Northeast, the Central Military Commission ordered the soldiers of the Second Column to advance quickly towards Shenyang and then join forces with other troops to encircle Shenyang.

On October 31, Wu Xinquan ordered the 15th Regiment to launch an attack on the enemy. Since the morale of the enemy troops defending the city had long been disintegrated, he surrendered without making any resistance. Wu Xinquan immediately commanded the 4th and 6th divisions to invade Shenyang.

Not long after the Liaoshen Campaign ended, the Northeast Field Army received the order from the Military Commission again, asking them to cooperate with the North China Field Army to jointly launch the Pingjin Campaign .

1949 New Year's Day, the Second Column accepted the important task of attacking Tianjin. Wu Xinquan and the leaders of the corps clarified the main deployment and playing style. In order to successfully complete the tasks assigned by the organization, Wu Xinquan organized the soldiers to practice bridge building and climbing the city before the battle began.

After everything was ready, the second column launched an external battle on January 7. After the first echelon quickly entered the city, Wu Xinquan also followed the troops into the city and directed the second echelon to attack deep. htmlOn the afternoon of November 15, the Battle of Pingjin ended with the establishment of our army, and our army wiped out a total of 28,000 defending enemies.

On March 11, the Northeast Field Army was renamed the Fourth Field Army, and the Second Column was changed to the 39th Army of the People's Liberation Army...

Battle of Yunshan, the first battle won

1950, with the outbreak of Korean War , the war once burned to our borders. Under this circumstance, Chairman Mao and the Central Committee made the decision to "resist U.S. aggression, aid Korea, and defend the country." Not long after, Wu Xinquan was ordered to enter North Korea to fight and was appointed as the commander of the 39th Army of the People's Volunteer Army.

On the evening of October 19th, that is, the day when the US military occupied Pingyang , Wu Xinquan led the soldiers to divide into three groups from Anton to secretly cross Yalu River , and then headed towards the predetermined combat zone. After entering the combat area, Wu Xinquan asked the 117th Division to arrest two US sentries west of Ningbian to interrogate the situation. After some interrogation, Wu Xinquan learned that the 24th Division of the US Army had arrived in Ningbian and Bochuan areas. He immediately reported this information to the Volunteer Army Headquarters and deployed troops to prepare for combat.

On the morning of October 26, the Volunteer Army Command sent a telegram to Wu Xinquan, asking him to lead the 39th Army to surround the enemy troops guarding Yunshan. After discussing with other leaders in the army, Wu Xinquan decided on the specific plan to surround Yunshan.

At the same time, in order to stabilize the position, the US front-line commander and the commander of the Eighth Army, was forced to drop the 8th Regiment of the First Division of the US Cavalry Division on the second line, and then headed towards Yunshan to replace the task of the First Division of the Lee Seung-wan Army.

US Cavalry Division is the ace force of the US military. It was an ever-winning division in both world wars and is said to have never been defeated in 160 years. The most important thing about is that the equipment of the US Cavalry Division is very modern and is the best among all US troops. The one who went to Yunshan this time was the main force of the US Cavalry Division, and its capabilities should not be underestimated.

On November 1, Wu Xinquan received a telegram from Peng Dehuai, commander of the Volunteer Army: "0 Army cleared the troops of Li Chengwan from Wenjing and Chushan before dawn today, and assisted you to encircle and annihilate the enemy troops in Yunshan tonight."

Wu Xinquan was very excited after receiving Peng Dehuai's instructions and immediately summoned the cadres in the army to deploy the combat plan. He pointed to Yunshan on the map and said:

"Although Yunshan is a small city, the highways and railways here are complex and are very important transportation hubs and military important places. Now the elite US military troops are guarding here are the 8th Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division and the 12th Regiment of the 1st Pseudo-1st Division. We have frequently fought with them these days, and I believe everyone knows their situation. Just now, President Peng sent me a telegram asking us to resolutely annihilate this force. We must fight this battle well and fight the prestige of our volunteer army!"

After Wu Xinquan finished speaking, he began to deploy the next battle:

"The 351st Regiment of the 117th Division arrived at the Yunshan-field road before dawn on November 2 to block the enemy troops who were preparing to escape from the east; the 343rd Regiment of the 115th Division blocked the 5th Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, which was reinforced by Yunshan, and cut off the road for the enemy troops to escape south; the 345th Regiment launched an attack from the southwest of Yunshan; the 344th Regiment continued to stay in the north of Taichuan, preparing to smash the attempt of the 24th Division to encircle the volunteer army's retreat!"

After Wu Xinquan was deployed, he said to everyone: "We will launch a general attack on the enemy at 7:30 pm on time!" However, just 4 hours before launching the general attack, the soldiers who were reconnaissance on the front line suddenly discovered that the enemy troops near Yunshan began to move frequently and had the idea of ​​retreating.

The scout quickly reported this information to Wu Xinquan. After hearing this, Wu Xinquan sneered and said, "I want to run away? It's not that easy!" In this way, the general attack started in advance.

After Wu Xinquan's order, the soldiers implemented the plan according to the original plan. The US military had never encountered such a rapid pounce, and they all rushed to escape along the highway. At this moment, the 345th Regiment of the 115th Division of the Volunteer Army cut off the enemy's retreat and successfully surrounded more than 200 US troops led by Ormond, the battalion commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 8th Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division.

On the evening of November 2, these more than 200 US troops fought desperately with the support of aircraft and tank , but no matter how hard they struggled, they could not escape the encirclement of our army. After several hours of fierce fighting, volunteer soldiers successfully shot Ormond to death, killing more than 200 US troops.

At the same time, Wu Xinquan ordered the 116th Division and the 117th Division to pursue the escaped enemies south until they chased to the south bank of Qingchuan River and stopped chasing after receiving the order from the Volunteer Army Command.

On November 4, the Yunshan battle was completely over. Our army completed the tasks assigned by the Volunteer Army Command two days in advance, annihilated more than 2,000 enemy troops, and destroyed and seized countless artillery , tanks and other weapons.

Not long after, the Volunteer Army Command held a post-war summary meeting. Peng Dehuai spoke at the meeting:

"This is the first battle of our Volunteer Army entering North Korea, and finally won the victory. In this battle, we annihilated more than 15,800 enemy troops. We not only defeated Rhee's army, but also defeated the American Ace Army. You must know that this ace army was established when Washington was founded. It has never suffered a defeat before, but this time it was defeated by our 39th Army!"

won the "first" many times

On November 16, 1950, the Volunteer Army Command sent a telegram to Wu Xinquan, asking him to lead his troops to retreat northward and stop counterattacking the attacking enemy. At the same time, Wu Xinquan, in accordance with Peng Dehuai's instructions, ordered the more than 100 wounded U.S. military personnel who were inconvenient to escort from each division were cured and released. Our army's move not only shocked the US military, but also shattered the rumors that the US military slandered our army's cruel killing of prisoners.

Wu Xinquan told the soldiers: "We are not afraid of retreating now, but we want to lure the enemy and close the door and fight the dog. Only in this way can we eliminate the enemy at the fastest speed and retain ourselves!" Then Wu Xinquan commanded the soldiers to take a series of combat mistakes, such as organizing troops to dig trenches for cover, digging air raid shelters on the inner incline, etc.

In order to consume the enemy's energy and make their marching slower and slower, Wu Xinquan asked the troops on the front line to send a small amount of troops to maintain contact with the enemy, and then find the right time to aim at them and take the opportunity to annihilate one of them.

On the evening of November 25, Wu Xinquan led the 39th Army to launch an attack on the 25th Division of the US Army south of Yunshan. On the 26th, our army divided the 25th US Division into three sections. After a fierce battle overnight, the enemy suffered heavy casualties.

At the same time, the 347th Regiment accidentally encountered the third company of the 24th Regiment of the United States, the third company of the Blacks, the Engineer Company, and the Artillery Squad, and then the two sides started a fierce battle. In the end, our army forced the enemy into the valley. The enemy was surrounded by three sides and was forced to raise the white flag to surrender...
After Wu Xinquan led his troops to severely damage the 25th Division of the US, he led the soldiers of the 39th Army to attack Ningbian. At this time, under the attack of our east and west lines, " United Nations Army " was forced to abandon the defense line built in Pyongyang, Gushan and other places, and began to retreat to " 38th Line ".

When Wu Xinquan learned about it, he immediately followed Peng Dehuai's instructions to make the 116th Division serve as the vanguard division of the Central Army, and then formed a division of the West and South vanguard divisions with his brothers to attack Pyongyang.

On the evening of December 4, the soldiers of the 116th Division marched rapidly in the cold, regardless of the bombing and strafing of planes in the sky, and quickly passed through the scorched earth divine pit. They arrived in Pyongyang on the morning of the 6th, and recovered the capital of the People's Democratic Republic of Korea, which was entrenched by the US and puppet troops for 47 days. It is worth mentioning that the 39th Army also became the first unit of the Volunteer Army to enter Pyongyang.

At the end of 1950, the headquarters of the Volunteer Army was informed that the US military was about to evacuate Seoul . Peng Dehuai immediately sent a telegram to Wu Xinquan: "Attack Seoul immediately." Wu Xinquan was still hesitant after receiving Peng Dehuai's telegram, because he didn't know whether to continue to move south or seize Seoul under the order of the headquarters.

If they continue to move south, the first difficulty they encounter is Linjinjiang . After repeated thinking, Wu Xinquan decided to let the 116th Division, which is good at fighting the tough battle, take on the main attack mission. The 117th Division joined the battle from the breakthrough of the 116th Division at the left wing, cutting off the enemy's retreat.

In order to solve the problems of the main force hiding and breaking through the Linjin River, Wu Xinquan went deep into the grassroots to mobilize the soldiers' brains, and then collected many good ideas, such as wearing straw sandals to prevent slipping on the ice; sewing socks not only waterproof but also cold; discarded iron cans from the US military can be used as concealed toilets, etc.

Under Wu Xinquan's careful arrangement, nearly 10,000 volunteer soldiers quietly hid in front of the enemy's position for a day and night, and even Walker personally took a plane to conduct a low-altitude reconnaissance.

On the afternoon of December 31, the battle to break through Linjin River officially began. With the sound of artillery fire, our army destroyed all the enemy's bunkers and fortifications on the other side of the strait. Twenty minutes later, the infantry rushed forward with slogans, while the soldiers jumped out of the cover trenches, rushed to the other side with weapons in their hands, and then broke through to the depth of the enemy's position.

Our army only took less than 5 minutes to break through the Linjin River defense line, which boasted South Korea as a solid wall. The US and South Korean troops were shocked when they saw this. They didn't care about fighting with our army and hurriedly fled. A truck from the 1st Division of the South Korean Army, which was hit hard by our army at that time, accidentally collided with the jeep that Walker was riding in a mess. The car Walker was riding overturned on the spot, and Walker was killed because of this. He became the highest-level general who died in the Korean battlefield.

In the early morning of January 3, the 116th Division took the lead in launching an attack on Seoul. Not long after, the 374th Regiment came to Shangli, Bugu, and fought with the enemy troops guarding in Seoul. In the end, our army annihilated the forces of two enemy companies and seized more than 40 tanks and cars.

From October 1950, Wu Xinquan led the 39th Army to fight in North Korea, and returned to China triumphantly in May 1953. He fought bloodyly in North Korea for nearly three years. He used his wisdom and courage to write a shining pen in his military career, not only showing military prestige, but also showing national prestige. But Wu Xinquan did not take all the credit on himself, but attributed it to all the soldiers of the 39th Army...