Speaking of the United States' First Marine Division , military enthusiasts must be familiar with it. This is the oldest and largest division-level unit in the United States Marine Corps.
The 1st Marine Division has experienced the Battle of Guadalcanal , the Battle of Peleliu Island, and the Battle of Okinawa . It was fearless in the battle against Japanese fascism and annihilated tens of thousands of Japanese troops. Made an indelible contribution to the anti-fascist war .
The First Marine Division also performed well in the later Vietnam War and the Gulf War . After experiencing several wars, the 1st Marine Division returned home and is now stationed in California on the west coast of the United States.
It can be said that the First Marine Division, a meritorious unit, has experienced almost all military operations of the US military in recent decades. This elite force, with a total strength of more than 18,000 people, is not only a vanguard in the anti-fascist war, but also an accomplice of American hegemony.
However, , this powerful combat force, was almost completely wiped out by our army in a war that the United States did not want to mention. Why exactly does this happen? Peng Dehuai revealed the mystery in one sentence.
Picture 1 Marshal Peng Dehuai
The First Marine Division fought bravely against the enemy in the Pacific War
On December 7, 1941, a high-explosive bomb from the Japanese "Zero" fighter fell on the US military at Pearl Harbor In the Pacific Fleet base, a huge explosion woke up the sleeping United States.
The next day, Roosevelt announced that the United States officially joined the anti-fascist camp. From then on, the four-year-long Pacific War officially began.
The Pearl Harbor incident was like a child throwing a stone at a sleeping adult. Although the prank can bring temporary excitement, when the adult is woken up, he will definitely catch the child and violently beat.
After experiencing the Battle of Midway in 1942, the balance of victory completely tilted towards the US military. The Japanese army retreated steadily in the Pacific battlefield . In the brutal island grabbing and landing battle, the US Army at that time had not yet developed.
This kind of dirty work with huge casualties naturally fell on the head of Marine Corps .
On July 31, 1942, the 1st Marine Division, led by the division commander Major General Vandergriff, set off from Fiji and headed for Guadalcanal in the South Pacific (later known as Guadalcanal). .
Figure 2 The 1st Marine Division landed on Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal has an extremely important geographical location. If you connect the scattered small islands in Southeast Asia, you will find that it looks like a corner, and Guadalcanal is this corner. The tip of the corner.
If the Japanese army occupied this island, they could advance to support New Guinea Island and retreat to cut off the route between Australia and the United States. This place can be said to be a battleground for military strategists.
htmlOn August 7, the 1st Marine Division, with the support of naval guns, took the lead in landing on Guadalcanal and easily occupied the airport on Guadalcanal.Because everything went well in the early stage, the US military relaxed its vigilance. As a result, the Japanese army repeatedly used its special skill of "sneak attack". The Eighth Fleet of the Japanese Combined Fleet launched a night attack on the U.S. Navy supporting the landing on the island. Leading to the defeat of the U.S. Navy.
Later, the culprit of the July 7th Incident, Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki, led an advance team of more than 900 people to the island. Because in the early days of the Philippines, and other places, the American troops they encountered were basically defeated at first touch, which made Colonel Ichiki very confident. It was thought that the US military could be driven into the sea by relying on the "Banzai Charge" that the Japanese army was best at.
Unexpectedly, in the face of the machine guns and barbed wire fences that the US military had already set up, the Japanese army fell in large numbers. The Japanese army lost as many as 500 people just in front of the two groups who charged.
The Japanese army lost face, so they sent a large force to the island to prepare for a decisive battle with the US military over the ownership of Guadalcanal. Although the 1st Marine Division had some advantages in the first battle, the heroic and "fearless" spirit of the Japanese army really frightened them.
In the later period of
, the Japanese army successively sent more troops to Guadalcanal. Since the telegraph code had already been cracked by the US military, the Japanese navy and air force were beaten to a pulp by the US military.After losing the support of the navy and air force, the Japanese army on the island had to face the problem of starvation.
Finally, under the leadership of commander Baiwu Qingyoshi, he moved into the tropical jungle to fight guerrilla warfare with the US military. As a result, Guadalcanal has undoubtedly become a meat grinder, and the jungle is full of Japanese bunkers and mines.
However, there are more than 20,000 Japanese troops in the jungle. If they are not eliminated, there is no point in occupying Guadalcanal. From then on, this kind of day of devoting one's life to detecting fire points lasted for about 180 days.
In the end, the US military occupied Guadalcanal, taking an important step towards victory in the Pacific War. However, the 1st Marine Division suffered 1,592 casualties and 4,892 wounded.
is based on the outstanding performance of the First Marine Division in Guadalcanal Battle . Since then, the 1st Marine Division, under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Nimitz , has participated in the Battle of Gloucester Gap, the Battle of Peleliu, and the Battle of Okinawa, each of which was crucial.
Especially in the Battle of Peleliu, the Japanese army relied on solid underground fortifications to stubbornly resist the US landing. In the first week alone, 3,946 men in the 1st Marine Division were injured or killed. The 1st Marine Division also received another commendation from the President after this battle.
is recognized as the ace unit of the US military and a veritable vanguard in the Pacific War. It can be seen that the First Marine Division is a force that has experienced the baptism of World War II and is a force that can fight tough battles.
The 1st Marine Division was armed to the teeth in the Korean battlefield.
In fact, the 1st Marine Division still has a "fate" with China. In the 1900 Eight-Power Allied Forces invasion of China, , the unit that invaded China was the 1st Marine Division. The predecessor of the division is .
Picture 3 Today's 1st Marine Division is still the elite of the US military's overseas operations.
landed in Qingdao and Peiping in 1945. It was this division that helped the Kuomintang to seize territory. In 1946, it also clashed with the Eighth Route Army, provoking the "Anping Incident".
After the Korean War, he was also brought to North Korea by MacArthur, and fought against our army again. It can be said that "enemies will never get together".
As the ace unit of the US military, the elite of the elite, the equipment of this division must not be too shabby, otherwise how can it live up to the heroic and fearless tradition of the First Marine Division since ancient times. In terms of heavy equipment, the division is equipped with 54 105mm howitzers, 18 155mm howitzers, plus 85 tanks . In addition, each battalion is equipped with 12 107mm mortars. The firepower is so strong that it even exceeds the volunteer army .
Figure 4 During the Korean War, the US military's 105mm howitzer
Let's talk about light equipment. Ordinary soldiers were equipped with the M1 Garand , which was the best semi-automatic rifle at the time. Each squad is equipped with Browning light machine gun and Thompson submachine gun.
In terms of logistics, wool underwear, sweaters and trousers, jackets, and rainproof mountaineering clothing are all available. Even the reconnaissance unit is equipped with the recently developed bulletproof vest .
In addition, each battalion unit of the 1st Marine Division is equipped with Air Force liaison officers, who can call for air support from more than 150 aircraft of the First Air Wing at any time. It is also worth mentioning that all the First Marine Division are volunteers , while most of our army are compulsory soldiers. What does this mean?
Volunteers are actually veterans who have experienced World War II and voluntarily return to the army to serve the country. The conscripts were recruited from local areas without systematic training. Some conscripts had never even touched a gun before coming to North Korea.
MacArthur's Incheon landing was not smooth sailing at the beginning. When faced with the Korean People's Army's human wave tactics, he was repeatedly frustrated. The First Marine Division was ordered to act as a "firefighting team" in the face of danger. At any key node, there will always be The figure of the 1st Marine Division.
The First Marine Division has also become a sharp sword in MacArthur's hand. Whenever he encounters a difficult node, MacArthur will always ask: "Where is the First Marine Division now?"
Figure 5 The early days of the Korean War Commander-in-Chief - MacArthur
was defeated at Changjin Lake
At the beginning of this year, Wu Jing's movie " Changjin Lake: Shuimen Bridge" became a hit. In the movie, the opponent of the Volunteer Army was the 1st Marine Division, and they finally fled in embarrassment to Hamhung City .
This scene is in sharp contrast to the heroic performance during World War II. What happened to make the once invincible 1st Marine Division so embarrassed?
At the beginning of the Korean War, MacArthur faced the dilapidated volunteer army and once threatened to end the battle before Christmas. Let the soldiers spend Christmas happily. The reason why
came up with this wild talk about is nothing more than seeing the equipment of the Volunteer Army. Most of the soldiers are still using the and 38-type rifles that were used by the Japanese army, as well as the official rifles of the Kuomintang army. Even so, there is no guarantee that everyone will have one.
Heavy weapons are even rarer, the large-caliber artillery is almost useless, and the tanks are also light tanks captured from the Japanese Kwantung Army that year, and the number is extremely small.
Moreover, the soldiers were wearing single clothes and eating fried noodles. At that time, no one in the US military thought that this group of people could survive the cold winter in Korea.
" As long as winter comes, these soldiers will die of cold and hunger, and we don't even need to take action ." " Hold on until winter, and we will spend Christmas on the frozen corpses of the enemy. " Similar remarks are in the US military Word spread.
On November 26, 1950, under the leadership of Song Shilun, more than 80,000 people of the Ninth Corps overcame cold and hunger and marched towards Changjin Lake.
At this time, the U.S. Tenth Army also set up its position, with the 1st Marine Division as the main offensive. It first occupied Wupying-ri, 90 kilometers west of Yudam-ri, and then continued to advance towards the Jiangjie direction.
Figure 6 The commander of the Ninth Corps - Song Shilun
The 7th Infantry Division served as an assist, covering the east side of the 1st Marine Division and advancing towards Yudam-ri along the east bank of Changjin Lake.
Syngman Rhee 's South Korean 3rd Infantry Division is responsible for left wing security and protection of rear transportation lines.
Before the attack of the Ninth Corps, regarding the intelligence work, it was not perfect. The sources of information such as the enemy's number, equipment, and history are still war history materials from long ago. Even many senior leaders did not know the full name of the commander of the 1st Marine Division, H.M. Smith H.M.3, let alone their firepower equipment.
Figure 7 Former commander of the 1st Marine Division - Smith
Of the three divisions in the Changjin Lake area, there is no doubt that the 1st Marine Division is the absolute core and the hardest bone to crack. Whether they can be defeated is an important factor affecting the battle of Changjin Lake .
On the night of November 27, 1950, the 20th Army and the 27th Army of the Ninth Corps of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army passed through the dark night in a perfect way, dividing and surrounding the two regiments of the 1st Marine Division and the 31st Regiment of the US 7th Division.
However, the mobile warfare advantages of light infantry did not translate into victory. Even if the US military is surrounded, it can still stabilize its position with its firepower advantage. The volunteers wore single clothes and fought in the severe cold of minus 30 degrees. Sometimes the artillery shells failed to explode and the gun bolts were frozen.
Even though there were many difficulties, the volunteers still charged without flinching and launched many attacks at night. During the battle in xingli, they completely wiped out the elite American unit " Polar Bear Regiment ".
Figure 8 The flag of the Polar Bear Regiment captured by our army
With many years of battlefield experience, Commander Smith, who has experienced many battles, predicted that the "Polar Bear Regiment" would be annihilated and his two regiments would be alone. In order to preserve the effective strength, the entire line was ordered to retreat.
During the retreat, the 1st Marine Division encountered layers of resistance from the Volunteer Army. It was only 20 kilometers from Liutanli to Hajieyuli. The two regiments of the 1st Marine Division walked for three days and nights. They did not deal with the Volunteer Army on the way. To block it is to forcefully attack the enemy and open a breakthrough.
In the battle of Xixingli, the First Marine Division launched a fierce attack in order to break out of the encirclement. The 2nd Battalion and 5th Company of the 177th Regiment of the 59th Division of the 20th Army of the Volunteer Army resisted tenaciously and repelled 28 US attacks, causing more than 400 casualties to the US military. After the brutal resistance, only 40 people were left in the 5th Company.
A surviving veteran of the 1st Marine Division recalled:
"The weather at that time was extremely bad. What frightened us most was not the weather, but the sound of the Chinese army's charge . We were often awakened in our sleep, with thoughts in our minds What I think about is not how long it will take to break through, but whether I can survive until tomorrow . "
Although the volunteers were extremely heroic in combat, they were still unable to completely prevent the US military from escaping in the extremely cold environment. When intercepted the First Marine Division, more than 300 volunteer soldiers froze to death.
Picture 9 Volunteer Army’s Ice Sculpture Company
A US corporal said; "Some corpses were hugged together in groups. They wanted to use the body temperature of their comrades to maintain their lives. They did not have cotton coats and were all wearing single clothes. If it were not for this cold With the help of the weather, it may be us lying here."
Later, with the help of other units of the "United Nations Army", the remnants of the 1st Marine Division managed to escape.
Although this battle did not completely annihilate the 1st Marine Division, this battle allowed the 1st Marine Division, which was given high hopes as the "proud son of heaven", to see the tenacious fighting spirit of the Chinese soldiers, their powerful combat effectiveness, and their courage to regard death as home. It deeply shocked Americans.
Colonel Bowser of the Operations Office of the 1st Marine Division was quite emotional after the war:
" If the Chinese soldiers had sufficient logistical support and communication equipment, we would never be able to get out of Changjin Lake, and the 1st Marine Division would never be able to Lucky to survive . "
American war correspondent Higgins once described the First Marine Division after a lucky escape;
" The soldiers' clothes were in tatters, their faces were swollen by the biting cold wind, and they were bleeding. The gloves were torn, the threads were torn, the hats were lost, and the ears were turned purple. Some feet were frostbitten and they couldn't put on their shoes, so they walked into the doctor's tent barefoot. The lieutenant colonel seemed to have lost his soul. Compared with when he commanded the 5th Regiment to successfully land in Incheon, he was completely different. Looking at the soldiers who successfully escaped, there was no joy in surviving the disaster. On the contrary, everyone seemed to be frightened, their eyes were dull, listless, and their morale dropped to the lowest level. The once arrogant ace unit finally lowered its proud head after this defeat.
When Peng Dehuai, the commander-in-chief of the Volunteer Army, learned of the defeat of the 1st Marine Division, he shouted happily: "Arrogant soldiers will be defeated! Arrogant soldiers will be defeated!"
After this battle, 718 of the 1st Marine Division were killed. 192 people were missing, 3508 people were injured, and 7313 people suffered frostbite. The attrition rate was as high as 65.2%.
However, the volunteers paid a huge price for this. 7,304 people were killed and 30,732 suffered frostbite, resulting in a total loss of more than 52,000 people.
Why the First Marine Division suffered a disastrous defeat
Historians have different opinions on the reasons for the disastrous defeat of the First Marine Division, and it is also a topic that people talk about after dinner. I think the main reason is as follows.
1. Underestimating the enemy. Since the First Marine Division entered the Korean battlefield, it has been successful. Facing the tattered equipment and supplies of the volunteers, they did not face the enemy in front of them.
Therefore, we relaxed our vigilance and were divided and surrounded by the volunteer army. MacArthur once announced in a high-profile manner that the battle would end before Christmas so that the soldiers would have a happy Christmas.
It must be mentioned here that on December 24, all the "United Nations forces" on the Northeast Front of North Korea evacuated the Xingnan area and evacuated to the south of the 38th line via the sea. Before leaving, the US military engineering troops used 400 tons of High explosives destroyed materials and equipment that could not be taken away, and destroyed Xingnan Port. The next day, the 9th Corps of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army entered Xingnan, and the Battle of Changjin Lake ended .
The day when the "United Nations Army" withdrew to the 38th Parallel happened to be Christmas Eve. The soldiers of the "United Nations Army" did have a very happy Christmas.
2 was outnumbered. In this battle, the 1st Marine Division overestimated the advantages that the equipment could bring to them. With only more than 20,000 soldiers, they actually underestimated the enemy's advance in the face of 160,000 volunteers. In the end, they were overwhelmed by the sea of volunteers.
3. The volunteers have a tenacious fighting will and flexible tactics. The 1st Marine Division experienced World War II and was accustomed to the Japanese army's rigid and unchanging style of play. I thought that the volunteers would be like the Japanese army, who would press their bayonets at every turn and charge collectively towards the machine gun positions.
As everyone knows, the Volunteer Army is known as the pinnacle of light infantry mobile warfare. The interleaving tactic is perfect. In addition, the passion to protect the homeland and the country is far more tangible than the spirit of bushido .
The fighting will of the volunteer soldiers far exceeds the US military's understanding of Chinese soldiers.
On July 27, 1953, China, North Korea and the United States signed an armistice agreement in Panmunjom , and the Korean War officially ended. In this war, the US military suffered more than 50,000 casualties, and the volunteers also paid a heavy price of more than 300,000 people.
Figure 10 The two sides signed an armistice agreement
However, this war caused the United States, the world's leader, to lose face, and China's international status was greatly improved. After this war, China ushered in a valuable period of economic development.
The first five-year plan began and China embarked on the road of industrialization.
I am Shi Hai Phantom , follow me and like history.
