Chairman Mao had two difficult choices in his life. One is whether he could go to full war with Chiang Kai-shek after the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan; the other is whether the volunteer army will fight against Korea in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.
Decision on selecting commanders for resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea
Resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea is to defend the country. This principle can be understood. However, at that time, Chairman Mao and the Party Central Committee were facing the United States with the strongest comprehensive strength in the world. War was a contest of a country's comprehensive strength, and all aspects of the consideration must be cautious.
whom to be the head commander of the Volunteer Army is a key link in the strategic decision of the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea. Since the outbreak of the Korean War, Chairman Mao has prepared for the future and formed the Northeast Frontier Defense Force, allowing Su Yu to serve as the commander of the Northeast Frontier Defense Force. From this decision, it shows that Su Yu is the first person to be the ideal leader of Chairman Mao.
Su Yu was able to take on this major task mainly due to his excellent performance in the War of Liberation. Unfortunately, Su Yu's health was very poor at that time. High blood pressure, gastrointestinal diseases, and Meniere's syndrome often torture him, and it did not improve significantly under the treatment of several months.
As the situation on the Korean battlefield changes, Su Yu still cannot take charge of the battle. Chairman Mao decided to choose another person. The former commander of the fourth field, Mr. Lin, was the second choice. Like Su Yu, General Lin is both senior generals who are good at commanding the large corps. Moreover, the main force of the Northeast Frontier Defense Forces was the original fourth field. General Lin was more skilled in commanding and was easier to carry out his work.
But why did Mr. Lin not take charge in the end? First, Mr. Lin's health is not very good, just like Su Yu. Second, Mr. Lin feels that the weapon gap between the enemy and us is too big. If we send troops rashly, it may cause trouble and the consequences will be unimaginable.
As the US military landed on in Incheon, the situation of the Korean People's Army was very unoptimistic. Kim Il-sung and Stalin jointly wrote a letter to Chairman Mao, requesting help, and eagerly hope that our army can directly dispatch assistance. At a time when the situation is very critical, choosing who to be the head coach of the Volunteer Army has once again become a difficult question. At the conference, many people opposed sending troops, and the reasons were quite sufficient. When Chairman Mao asked General Peng to talk about his views, General Peng said: After repeated consideration, I agree with your decision to send troops to aid Korea. Chairman Mao was very pleased with President Peng's attitude. Finally, after the organization's decision, he appointed Peng Dehuai as the commander and political commissar of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.
President Peng’s concerns
President Peng has rich combat experience, is good at fighting fierce battles and dangerous battles, and can command operations under very difficult conditions. Although General Peng always supports sending troops to fight against the United States and aid Korea, he also has considerable concerns in his heart, mainly the problems of weapons and equipment and air supremacy .
At first, when Chairman Mao solicited General Peng's opinions, General Peng said: The Soviet Union completely washed his hands, and our equipment was far inferior, which made North Korea fall into ruin.
In order to get the Soviet Union to provide assistance, Premier Zhou and General Lin rushed to the Soviet Union for consultation. In the end, the Soviet Union agreed to provide support for guns, ammunitions and guns at a 50% discount on the factory price, but would not dispatch aircraft.
After learning of this situation, Chairman Mao asked Peng Dehuai again: The Soviet Union did not wash his hands completely, can he fight?
President Peng thought about it and said: This is a semi-washing hand in the Soviet Union, and you can also fight.
After receiving Peng Dehuai's affirmative answer, Chairman Mao said: Even if he can't beat it, he always owe us some debts. If he fights again in the future, there will be no reason. Chairman Mao's words strengthened General Peng's determination to resist the United States and aid Korea, and his concerns were eliminated.
Soldiers are major issues of the country. Wars are related to the rise and fall of a country, especially a war like the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. Once a war fails, the consequences will be unimaginable. Whether it is Chairman Mao, General Peng or other decision makers, they must consider it clearly and make a choice by weighing the pros and cons.
In the context at that time, General Peng felt that it was difficult to fight if the Soviet Union completely "washed hands", and could fight if the hands were half "washed". This is also a conclusion drawn based on the actual problems.
In order to provide more help to the Soviet Union, Chairman Mao was very concerned about the "Air Force Issues" during his talks with the Soviet ambassador to China Luoshen .
On October 9, 1950, General Peng held a meeting of volunteer military and above cadres in Shenyang, and announced the decision to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea at the conference. During the conference, the issue of air supremacy was the most discussed. After the meeting ended, General Peng called Chairman Mao to inquire: "When our army goes abroad to fight, how many fighters can the Air Force send to and bombers cover? When can it be dispatched and who will be responsible for commanding? On the other side, Premier Zhou asked Stalin for the air force to cover in the Soviet Union, and Stalin said he could Provide help, but only air force can be sent to China to station and is not allowed to enter North Korea for combat.
In view of Stalin's agreement to provide corresponding assistance, the time for the volunteer army to enter North Korea was set on October 19. In the evening of that day, General Peng took a jeep, crossing the Yalu River, , and arrived in North Korea in a jeep, commanding the war to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea that made famous both at home and abroad.
