The movie "The Bloody Battle of Changjin Lake" vividly reflects the bravery and tenacity of the our volunteer army soldiers, their perseverance in defending their home and country.
Every time I see the movie that truly recreates the scene of volunteer soldiers fighting tenaciously in the ice and snow, and finally being frozen to death, I can't help but burst into tears.
It is clear at a glance who is the cutest person and who is the most worthy of your remembrance and memory.
On the contrary, they are also Chinese. When the Volunteer Army fought a bloody battle at Changjin Lake in 1950, Chiang Kai-shek ’s actions were quite disgusting.
What is so frustrating is that our volunteer soldiers are fighting against the American army, but Chiang Kai-shek is like a traitor, arguing with the commander-in-chief of the United Nations Army, MacArthur, and even intends to help the Americans fight against the Chinese!
In 1950, when the volunteer soldiers fought a bloody battle at Changjin Lake, what did Chiang Kai-shek do to betray the country and seek glory, so that even today, half a century later, he is still nailed to the pillar of shame by national justice?
Chairman Mao: Fight!
The War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea began on October 26, 1950, when the Chinese People’s Volunteers officially assembled and crossed the Yalu River, and ended on July 27, 1953.
In the arduous battle that lasted for two years and nine months, the volunteers experienced several major battles, bloody battles, bitter battles and fierce battles. Some of the victories were not easy. During the war, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed alone.
In addition to the number of casualties, the number of non-combat attrition was far greater than the number of casualties.
The reason why non-combat attrition far exceeds the number of casualties is because the volunteer soldiers experienced various severe tests in the battle in North Korea. The severe cold weather of more than ten degrees below zero, the lack of food and clothing, and the lack of logistical support will all pose serious threats to the lives of the soldiers.
The victory in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea was great and not easy. On the other hand, in fact, at the beginning of the war, when they set foot on the unrestricted war home court, and even when they decided whether to launch this transnational war of resistance, it was not easy for our country's leaders to make this decision.
Although the final decision to send troops to North Korea was made by Chairman Mao, Chairman Mao's decision was also very difficult.
Let’s turn the time back to the summer of 1950.
On June 25, 1950, the civil war between North and South Korea broke out on the Korean Peninsula. When the news reached Beijing, it was a hot summer in Beijing city.
Our country, which heard the news about the civil war between North and South Korea, is also very concerned about this.
The nearest border between North Korea and our country is only separated by a river. If North Korea is destroyed by war, it will definitely not be good news for China, which was less than a year after its founding.
Because objectively speaking, North Korea and our country share a history of suffering. Both were invaded by Japanese invaders and both made arduous efforts to drive the enemy invaders out of the country.
Therefore, it is easier to sympathize with each other, both in a political sense and in terms of the feelings of the two peoples. Because of their geographical proximity, the two countries usually maintain friendly relations.
Even to put it ugly, the existence of North Korea is equivalent to our country having a political barrier on the northeastern coastal border. No matter which neighboring country wants to initiate a war, it must have some scruples.
Furthermore, at that time, North Korea had just experienced the Anti-Japanese War, while South Korea had been in a state of peace. South Korea's combat power was not even slightly worse than that of North Korea. However, South Korea actually took the initiative to provoke North Korea and turned it into a civil war. We have every reason to suspect that South Korea must have something to rely on.
This must be a conspiracy launched by the imperialist countries led by the United States against our country.
However, even though we know it is a conspiracy, we cannot ignore the distress call sent by the Korean People's Army. The relationship between the two countries is only a thin layer of water. If North Korea is merged by South Korea, it will be equivalent to the United States behind South Korea, which can directly extend its hands to our border.
At that time, without the political barrier of North Korea, how could our country, which had just been established a year ago, whose domestic people's livelihood was in decline, and whose national defense strength was two or three levels worse than that of the United States, resist the aggression of the United States?
Sending troops to North Korea seems imminent.
However, even if we have reached a situation where if we do not send troops, we will be in danger of destruction, Chairman Mao, the leaders of the party and the country, and the representatives of the military are still undecided.
In fact, considering the actual situation of our country at that time, the concerns of Chairman Mao and others are completely understandable.
It turns out that our country at that time was experiencing real internal and external troubles, and a lot of big and small things.
First of all, it was less than a year after the founding of New China, and the war of liberation seemed to have come to an end. In fact, there were still many places that had not been fully liberated, such as Taiwan where Chiang Kai-shek was entrenched, and the Tibetan issue that had not yet been peacefully resolved, which could become factors that constrained the stability of our rear.
Let’s talk about the Tibet issue first.
At that time, although we only had determination to liberate Taiwan but no actual results, the Tibet issue could be solved with certainty. However, if a large number of elite troops were sent to North Korea and the United States fell into a stalemate or even lost, it would not be good news for our domestic situation.
By then, the Tibetan issue, which was already within our grasp, may become turbulent again.
There is also the Taiwan issue. At that time, our country made preliminary preparations for the liberation of Taiwan. For example, we first liberated Hainan Island, and then started bombarding Kinmen to remove Chiang Kai-shek's artillery emplacement at our door. Then we liberated several other islands in an effort to eliminate Chiang Kai-shek's minions.
Peaceful solution to the Tibet issue
However, even so, we had no hope of liberating Taiwan at that time. First, our army did not have the equipment for landing operations, and it was difficult to achieve effective troop projection. At that time, there were hundreds of thousands of Kuomintang remnants in Taiwan. If we did not have enough landing forces, then the soldiers would die during the landing operations.
Secondly, after Chiang Kai-shek was defeated in Taiwan, his power shrank so much that he could only place a lot of chips on the Americans.
In order to appease the puppet Chiang Kai-shek, the United States also gave him a lot of weapons and equipment, as well as so-called "defense guarantees." For example, it dispatched the Pacific Fleet to enter and exit the Taiwan Strait. On the one hand, it demonstrated the presence of U.S. imperialism, provoking my country by the way, and on the other hand, it protected Chiang Kai-shek.
To liberate Taiwan, we must not only fight against Chiang Kai-shek, but also fight against the American Empire.
Under such a situation, if we send troops to North Korea, we may fall into a situation of "unable to block it in one place and unable to block it everywhere".
Furthermore, compared with these political concerns, the leaders of the Military Commission will consider whether they can defeat the United States from the perspective of the combat power ratio between the two sides.
No one dares to draw conclusions on this issue before actually trying it out.
Is our will stronger, or is the American steel gun stronger?
Chiang Kai-shek's Rebellion
However, after thinking about it in the end, Chairman Mao still decided to send troops.
Just like a line in the movie "The Battle of Changjin Lake" said, " We have fought the battles that need to be fought, so that the next generation will not have to fight. Chairman Mao's meaning is similar. Taking advantage of the strong morale of our troops, it is better to leave the problems to this generation than to leave the worries to future generations.
Under Chairman Mao's order, CEO Peng Dehuai arrived from the Central and South Military Region in advance to the Northeast Military Region. When the Military Commission made up its mind to participate in the war to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, it was when CEO Peng led the troops.
Compared with our national leaders, when they carefully considered, hesitated, and worked hard on whether to send troops to North Korea, Chiang Kai-shek, who was a fellow Chinese but stabbed us in the back, had much more selfish ideas.
Before the Korean War had even begun to enter the actual stage, Chiang Kai-shek could not wait to take his side.
As soon as we sent troops, Chiang Kai-shek and MacArthur were already arm in arm, appearing high-profile on the same page of the same newspaper. In the photo, Chiang Kai-shek was smiling brightly, and MacArthur was also smiling like a fox.
The two of them have reason to be happy.
Because MacArthur obtained Chiang Kai-shek's promise from Chiang Kai-shek that he would send troops to Korea to support the United Nations forces in operations.
As for Chiang Kai-shek, he was in a better mood, and could even be said to be elated. In one of Chiang Kai-shek's diaries that year, he once wrote, " God gave us the Korean War, and we should most thank God... for making the United States fight righteously against the Communists and not give up the Far East to divert the entire situation. Potential! "
It can be seen that Chiang Kai-shek has never given up his ambition to "return to the mainland". Although he is huddled in a corner of Taiwan Island and can only passively defend against the People's Liberation Army, if the People's Liberation Army enters Korea to fight, Chiang Kai-shek feels that he will not have no chance.
This is Chiang Kai-shek’s straightforward idea.
On June 25, 1950, the day when the Korean Civil War began, Chiang Kai-shek did not wait for South Korea to ask for help, but "generously" said: If Syngman Rhee asked for help from Taiwan, he would do his best to help.
This is the "Third World War" that Chiang Kai-shek has been waiting for for a long time.
Chiang Kai-shek’s retrograde thoughts and practices are unforgivable, both at the time and in later generations.
On November 20, 1950, Chiang Kai-shek received a telegram from MacArthur, formally inviting Chiang Kai-shek to send Taiwanese troops to fight in Korea.
This day was exactly one week before the Battle of Changjin Lake, which was launched on November 27, 1950.
Chiang Kai-shek planned to strike behind our army.
The Battle of Changjin Lake lasted 28 days. Our army invested a total of 150,000 troops including the 20th Army, 26th Army, and 27th Army of the 9th Corps.
The participating troops of the US military are the 10th Army (1st Marine Division), which has three divisions: the 1st Marine Division, , the 3rd Infantry Division, and the 7th Infantry Division, with a strength of more than 100,000 people.
The reason why the First Marine Division, the ace unit of the US military, was assigned the task of the Changjin Lake Battle was because at this time, MacArthur had already been stunned by the Chinese People's Volunteers.
MacArthur has a nickname, "Five-Star Emperor". This nickname fully demonstrates MacArthur's arrogance and arrogance.
When our army crossed the Yalu River and the campaign to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea was about to launch, MacArthur said that we would be able to go home for the holidays "before Christmas."
It means that before Christmas, his American troops will be able to end the war and return home.
But reality slapped MacArthur in the face. From October 25, when our army launched the first wave of offensive, to the end of the first offensive on November 5, our army not only drove the enemy troops from the Yalu River to the south of Qingchuan River , but also killed and captured more than 15,000 enemy troops.
Not only that, let alone Christmas, in the next more than half a year of offensive and defensive rhythm, our army suppressed MacArthur's troops, especially the Battle of Changjin Lake on November 27, which lasted 28 days and completely reversed the situation of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
After the initial contest, MacArthur had to admit that the combat effectiveness of the Volunteer Army was very strong. In order to avoid defeat, MacArthur found Chiang Kai-shek on November 20, 1950, and asked Chiang Kai-shek to send troops together.
Whether it was to drive away wolves or to preserve their strength, MacArthur and Chiang Kai-shek were not polite and asked Chiang Kai-shek to send elite troops to deal with the volunteers.
After receiving the news from MacArthur, Chiang Kai-shek was immediately excited. He believed that this was a great opportunity to show his face in front of the Allied Americans and let MacArthur admit his love.
So Chiang Kai-shek immediately ordered the most elite 52nd Army to prepare for war and support the Americans at any time!
Not only that, before the army set off, he sent a "senior counselor" to Hancheng in advance to discuss joint operations with MacArthur.
November 30, the fourth day of the Battle of Changjin Lake, was the most brutal battle in the entire 28-day battle. The main force of the 9th Corps fought tenaciously with the US military in the ice and snow, determined not to take a step back.
After the war, when the combat attrition was counted, the 9th Corps lost 19,202 people due to combat casualties. In addition, as many as 28,954 people were lost due to frostbite. More than 4,000 volunteer soldiers froze to death directly on the battlefield!
General Chi Haotian, who was later promoted to the rank of general in 1988, was a battalion-level instructor of the 27th Army during the Battle of Changjin Lake. Later, when he recalled this battle, he once said sadly with tears, "I was the only one in the whole battalion who did not suffer from frostbite. "
The victory in the Battle of Changjin Lake is valuable, but the price is also terrible. In this way, Chiang Kai-shek, who attempted to aid the tyranny and backstab the volunteers in this battle, and his actions and words are even more disgusting.
Fortunately, Chiang Kai-shek's plan did not succeed in the end. It turned out that although MacArthur found Chiang Kai-shek and hoped for joint operations, Chiang Kai-shek also agreed. However, the then US President Truman was worried that the United States' move would bring about new international disputes, so he rejected MacArthur's proposal.
Although Chiang Kai-shek expressed "loyalty" to Truman several times in the next one or two years and said good things, hoping to "icing on the cake" for the US military's operations in Korea, Truman did not appreciate it and was not even willing to leave an excuse.
Later, after MacArthur lost consecutive battles and was replaced by another American general Clark , Chiang Kai-shek's idea of "helping the US military" became ridiculous wishful thinking.
