On January 8, 1951, the third campaign of the Korean War was coming to an end. At this critical moment, the commander-in-chief of the Volunteer Army made a difficult but important decision: to stop the offensive and move to the defensive. Although the situation was very good at the time, the decision sparked a series of debates and challenges.
** He was an outstanding Chinese military strategist, and his performance in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation has long proven his command skills. On the Korean battlefield, the Volunteer Army won one victory after another under the leadership of ***, which caused a headache for the US military. However, when the Volunteer Army approached the 37th parallel in the third battle, ** made a sudden armistice order, which caused confusion and doubts inside and outside.
After the armistice order was issued, Soviet military adviser Stitchoff questioned ***, believing that this was a good opportunity to pursue. ** Insist that the Volunteer Army is fatigued, undersupplied, and has no air supremacy to sustain the offensive. The two sides disagreed on whether to continue the offensive, and even sparked a controversy over the command ability of ***.
The decision also caused dissatisfaction among the Koreans, and Kim Il Sung personally came to persuade the volunteers to continue their march south in order to achieve a greater victory. However, having a clear understanding of the risks and consequences of the offensive and sticking to a defensive position, he disagreed with Kim Il Sung.
Although the decision to armistice was questioned both inside and outside, in later developments, ***'s prudence was justified. As time passed, the U.S. military launched **, and the volunteers were in a difficult situation. In the fourth campaign, ** tried to attack again, but due to many difficulties, in the end it could only choose strategic defense and retreat the army to the 38th parallel.
In general, the calmness and prudence in the war preserved the strength of the volunteer army and ensured the stability of the subsequent battle. Although controversial at the time, this armistice decision ultimately laid a solid foundation for the performance of the volunteers on the Korean battlefield.