Zhou Degao is an admirable hero of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. He was born in Changshou County, Sichuan Province in 1923, participated in the revolution in 1945, and participated in the Korean battlefield in 1950. Although he served as a deputy squad leader in the 1st Company of the 119th Regiment of the 353rd Division of the 40th Army of the Volunteer Army, he was known for his excellent marksmanship and courageous actions. On November 26, 1950, Zhou Degao's unit was transferred to the Sinungdong Railway Station north of the Cheongchon River in North Korea to conduct covert operations. During the day, enemy planes bombarded the air indiscriminately, while our troops held their positions in camouflage and remained silent.
The sky is getting dark, the north wind is howling, and the surface of the Qingchuan River has formed a thick layer of ice. When night fell, Zhou Degao's company formed a sharp knife group, and he served as the team leader. In the bitterly cold weather of more than minus 20 degrees Celsius, they braved the enemy's fierce firepower, forcibly crossed the river, and raided the enemy's division headquarters, smashing the enemy's heart. Zhou Degao ordered, two comrades-in-arms put on thick gloves, rushed to the enemy together, and the three of them grabbed the steel rails and crawled along the rails to the opposite bank. The US troops on the other side of the river bombed indiscriminately during the day, but after nightfall, they ate, drank, and slept lightly against the enemy.
They took advantage of the enemy's sentry on the south bank to sleep, killed the sentry, and then continued to advance, smashing the 1st Battalion of the 9th Regiment of the 2nd US Division. The terrain of the US military garrison is indeed very dangerous, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing rivers on one side. In this fierce battle, the enemy relied on a firepower network composed of more than 30 tanks, long-range guns, and heavy machine guns, and thought that they were as formidable as a wall. However, the sharp knife squad led by Zhou Degao, a Chinese People's Volunteer Army, had a different plan. Zhou Degao ordered the soldiers to rush into the US tent, and he and one soldier were armed with submachine guns and fired fiercely, and the screams in the tent were endless. The enemy troops in another tent also found out about the situation and rushed out.
Zhou Degao quickly turned around**, and the enemy troops were at a loss in the confusion and fled in all directions. Zhou Degao held his submachine gun aloft and knocked down six American soldiers with a shuttle of bullets, and the remaining enemy troops panicked and collapsed. In order to further expand the results of the battle, Zhou Degao ordered two wounded comrades to hold the enemy's command post, while he himself led his troops to attack the mountain. Early the next morning, several enemies took refuge in a house, stuck their guns out of the cracks in the bricks, and fired at Zhou Degao. Zhou Degao remained calm and shot back to kill one person.
However, the situation became more and more critical, and the prolonged battle had left Zhou Degao with a serious shortage of ammunition, leaving only the last cartridge of ammunition, while the enemy was overwhelmed. He thought to himself, "I'm going to kill them with this last bullet!".When the enemy was only a dozen meters away from him, he did not hesitate to pull the trigger on the enemy group, and the enemy fell again with a few ......Just as Zhou Degao was preparing for the last fight, reinforcements arrived in time, and the enemy was defeated again and fled. The battle of Yulongpu was a complete victory, and the 1st Battalion of the 9th Regiment of the 2nd Division of the US Army, known as the "World Ace Army," was completely wiped out, and more than 70 people were captured.
The sharp knife squad led by Zhou Degao captured the 320 heights controlled by the US army, laying a solid foundation for the victory of the entire Yulongpu battle. He single-handedly occupied three houses and two tents of the US troops, killed and wounded more than 30 US soldiers, and can be called a well-deserved lone hero.