Chen Guoqiang's costume photo.
The reporter interviewed Chen Guoqiang.
Veteran Chen Guoqiang.
In the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the number of various types of combat aircraft put into the battlefield by the so-called "joint forces" led by the United States reached more than 2,400 at its peak, and more than 990,000 sorties were made during the entire war. In addition to the air force and antiaircraft artillery, the main forces of the Chinese People's Volunteers' air combat were the searchlight units of the Chinese People's Volunteers, which also made immortal contributions in striking at enemy planes.
In 1952, 22-year-old Chen Guoqiang went to the Korean battlefield as an anti-aircraft artilleryman, and five years later, he returned to his homeland with the army. Talking about his experience on the battlefield, he unconsciously seemed to return to that war-torn time.
They traveled all the way north from Guangzhou.
In 1951, Chen Guoqiang was a soldier in the 44th Army of the Fourth Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, when a large army was stationed at a port in Guangzhou and carried out sea-crossing combat training. At that time, the People's Navy had just been formed, and after the outbreak of the Korean War, the troops entered the Korean War, and the plan to cross the sea was shelved. At that time, many soldiers of the 44 th Army were northerners, and everyone was landlubbers who could not swim, and the troops Xi learned to swim at the beach in addition to their daily military training. In December 1951, the unit received an order from the higher authorities to all personnel to go north. At the sound of the order, the troops immediately moved out. After the military train arrived in Wuhan, the soldiers changed into cotton jackets and pants and continued north to Shenyang. In Shenyang, the troops waited for a day, and the order from the higher authorities came down and went south from Shenyang to Fushun and Dandong. The troops were stationed on the banks of the Yalu River on the border between China and North Korea.
I remember one day there was a light snowfall, and on the second day after the snowfall, the troops received an order to prepare to cross the Yalu River. Chen Guoqiang recalled that the situation at that time was very tense, and the large army had to cross the Yalu River, but the US planes were hovering overhead all the time, and it was difficult to find a breakthrough. In the end, the troops figured out the pattern of US reconnaissance, and hundreds of thousands of troops trotted across the river before dawn.
In Chen Guoqiang's memory, he remembers very clearly that he entered North Korea in January 1952. At that time, there were two bridges on the Yalu River in Dandong, and at the beginning of the war, the north side of the bridge was guarded by the Northeast Frontier Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the south side was guarded by the Korean People's Army. In February 1951, due to the continuous bombing of the rear lines of communication of the Volunteers, the bridge on the North Korean side of the Yalu River was blown up. By the time Chen Guoqiang's unit crossed the river, only one of the two bridges remained.
Mounted anti-aircraft guns with "eyes".
The artillery of the Chinese People's Volunteers was one of the first arms to enter the Korean War. In the early days of the operation, most of the artillery pieces of the Chinese Volunteers were captured in the War of Liberation, and not only were they small in number, but also had old guns, many models, short firing range, and low power. At the stage of the movement war, there was a great threat from the enemy's air due to the absence of anti-aircraft firearms cover. The artillery of the Volunteer Army mostly marched at night, often unable to keep up with the infantry, although there were also good fighting examples, but most of the time they failed to play the maximum role. "At that time, we were all 'mule and horse artillerymen', carrying cannons on mules and horses. Chen Guoqiang said that this way of marching has a large target and a slow marching speed, and it is easy to be bombed by US planes. So, they went to the beach, changed all their armament, and used cars to pull all kinds of artillery. After waiting for two or three months on the beach, a train of ** ammunition from the USSR was delivered and several divisions were equipped, and the troops began to train.
At that time, the Volunteers purchased a lot of artillery from the Soviet Union and needed to be transferred from China to the Korean battlefield, but US planes frequently bombed our logistical supply lines. Artillery units could not march during the day and could only march at night with cars pulling artillery. With the increase in the number of troops entering the DPRK, it is inevitable to march during the day, what should be done? At that time, the young volunteer air force did not yet possess the capability of night operations, and the antiaircraft artillery units were equipped with optical instruments, so they could not see enemy planes at night, and their ability to counter air raids at night was weak. In order to change this passive situation, the Volunteer Army decided to equip the anti-aircraft guns with "eyes", so the Volunteer Searchlight Unit came into being.
The searchlight is to use a strong beam of light to illuminate the night sky, so that the troops can timely discover and aim at night air targets such as aircraft and airborne troops, and create favorable conditions for air defense such as fighters and anti-aircraft guns. As a device for night operations, it began at the end of World War I and was widely used in World War II. At the end of World War II, the introduction of radar equipment gave searchlights "eyes", which increased the distance of finding targets and the accuracy of tracking air targets.
On the top of the mountain, a searchlight is set up, and when the enemy plane flies over, we use the searchlight to shine on the plane all the time, and we will follow you wherever you fly. Chen Guoqiang said that he was responsible for doing the work. In 1953, the searchlight unit of the Volunteer Army explored a special tactic, and they suddenly irradiated the enemy pilot when they were flying at low altitude, causing the enemy pilot to be blinded for a short time. If there were anti-aircraft guns pointed at the US plane** at this time, the US pilots would inevitably make a mistake in their operation in a hurry, and then the plane would crash.
After the searchlight unit of the Volunteer Army participated in the war, it assisted the Volunteer Air Force and anti-aircraft fire to shoot down American planes many times. The most impressive achievement of the searchlight unit was to use the searchlight to directly "shoot down" the enemy plane, and after the low-flying enemy plane was illuminated by the strong light of the searchlight, the pilot could not see clearly ahead and crashed directly into the mountain.
On the battlefield of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, most of the antiaircraft guns used by the volunteers were 85-mm guns and 37-mm guns, and the gunsight radar and command instruments of these two guns were not fully equipped, so the searchlight became a good partner of the antiaircraft artillery unit and the "eyes" of the antiaircraft artillery in the night battle.
The volunteers and the Korean people are one family.
The Battle of Jincheng was the third phase of the counterattack in the summer of 1953 of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, in which the Chinese People's Volunteers annihilated the enemyMore than 30,000 troops, inflicted heavy losses on four divisions of the South Korean Army, regained more than 160 square kilometers of positions, and effectively cooperated with the armistice negotiations. After that, our troops retreated to the vicinity of the 38th parallel to continue training in case the enemy counterattacked. Chen Guoqiang recalled that during the war, he and his comrades-in-arms also captured many American prisoners.
After the armistice agreement was signed, Chen Guoqiang's antiaircraft artillery unit continued to stay in North Korea to ensure the post-war reconstruction of Korea. During the DPRK, Chen Guoqiang and his comrades-in-arms would help the local people build houses and roads, and were welcomed by the local people. Despite the hardships of the Korean people's own lives, they were always able to distribute their food to the volunteer soldiers with the greatest enthusiasm and kindness.
At the beginning of 1958, Chen Guoqiang returned to China with a large army, and before leaving, his unit left all the first-class ammunition to the Korean People's Army and taught them how to use it. At the time of departure, the North Korean people sang and danced on the copper basins, conveying their joy and sincere wishes for friendship. These precious moments became spiritual nourishment for the warriors, bringing them long-lost joy and relaxation.
After returning to China, Chen Guoqiang first went to a farm in Liaoning, and then supported the northwest to work in Lanzhou. Today, 94-year-old Chen Guoqiang is still in good health, and he still remembers those burning years in his old age.
Character profile. Chen Guoqiang, born in October 1930, is from Jilin Province. He joined the army in October 1947 and joined the DPRK in January 1952. In 1986, he retired from the state-owned Xinlan Instrument Factory.
Reporter Hua Xiaojing and Li Qing of Lanzhou.