He once blew up 32 tanks and 3 jeeps of the US army by himself, creating an astonishing record, and was hailed as a "reconnaissance hero".
Chen Dezhong, the heroic reconnaissance staff officer of the Volunteer Army, from Linqu County, Shandong Province, participated in the Eighth Route Army in 1944, entered the Korean War in 1950, and served in the 229th Regiment of the 77th Division of the 26th Army of the Volunteer Army, which was praised for his outstanding reconnaissance ability.
In March 1951, a strange phenomenon occurred in the 25th Division of the U.S. Army: whether it was a company platoon unit or an independent mission, it would be pinned down by a volunteer squad, and they would be ambushed no matter how they went.
This mysterious team is led by Chen Dezhong. They adopted unique tactics of harassment and formed a strong deterrent to the 25th Division of the US Army. At that time, the 25th Division of the US Army was attacking north, claiming to clear all obstacles.
The 229th Regiment of the 77th Division of the Volunteer Army was ordered to attack and harass it, and this heavy responsibility fell on Chen Dezhong. He led a small reconnaissance squad deep into the enemy-occupied area on the north bank of the Han River, and attacked and harassed the enemy army while reconnoitring.
They attacked the enemy 56 times, killing 147 enemy soldiers and capturing 11 enemy soldiers, making the US troops defenseless. In order to solve this problem, the 25th Division of the US Army set up a special detachment, but the result was that they could not even find the shadow of Chen Dezhong.
Due to the existence of Chen Dezhong, the US military division headquarters specially ordered that no one should act alone! Chen Dezhong's heroic deeds are undoubtedly the best interpretation of the spirit of the Chinese People's Volunteers, and his name will forever be engraved in the pages of history.
On April 7, 1951, Chen Dezhong received important information: an enemy tank regiment was resting in Xitouchuan, and planned to reinforce the unnamed heights of Rencangli in five days to launch a final assault on our blocking position.
Chen Dezhong knew very well that destroying the enemy's tanks and preventing them from reinforcing them was the most urgent task at present. So, on the night of April 10, he set out with 20 scouts.
Upon arriving at his destination, Chen Dezhong found that the enemy was overhauling the tanks, 32 tanks side by side in the valley, each with four or five soldiers around them. The enemy's strength is strong, and launching a strong attack at this moment may have little effect.
Therefore, Chen Dezhong decided to stay dormant for the time being, looking for a suitable opportunity. However, until the afternoon of the 11th, the ideal situation still did not appear. At this critical moment, Chen Dezhong made a decision: select 5 elite soldiers, attack the enemy from the northwest corner of the valley, inflict wounds on himself, retreat while fighting, divert most of the enemy, and then lead people to blow up the tanks himself.
The battle began quickly, and the enemy, thinking that our attackers were only 5 people, shouted: "They are few people, take them alive!" "Seeing that the enemy was moving away, there were less than 40 people left next to the tank.
Chen Dezhong decisively gave the order, and was the first to rush down the mountain and begin to attack the tanks.
Chen Dezhong made a detailed plan before the battle, including the target of the attack and the arrangement of reinforcements. Due to the defenselessness of the enemy, our troops managed to annihilate 32 enemies in less than 20 minutes, blow up 32 tanks and 3 jeeps, and achieved a complete victory.
After the war, Chen Dezhong was promoted to the commander of the reconnaissance company for his heroic performance. He excelled in the battles of Sheting Mountain and Guling Mountain, and each battle became an example of a Scout attack.
His combat experience and reports were also often learned by the scouts of the division. However, such an outstanding scout was killed by a stray bullet from the enemy on June 12, 1951, at the age of 27.
In order to commemorate his heroic deeds, the Volunteer Army posthumously recognized him as a special meritorious hero and awarded him the honorary title of "First-Class Hero". Today, Chen Dezhong lies peacefully in the cemetery of the martyrs of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in Dandong, Liaoning, and he is one of the only two "first-class heroes" in this cemetery.
Every year on the Qingming Festival, many people will spontaneously come to pay tribute to him. He is a hero of history and a hero in the hearts of the people.