Ice and snow, I will not yield to you, even if I freeze to death, I will proudly hold my position. In the winter of 1950, the shore of Changjin Lake was full of snow white, the cold wind was howling, and the ice slag was flying with the wind, which was biting cold.
I saw a beautiful ** team appear in a white snowfield. “hold！”
The army commander was presented with a shocking sight, he immediately paused the advance of the group, took the binoculars, and found that a group of volunteers in front of him had been frozen into ice sculptures, which became admirable sculptures in the snow.
Seeing this scene, the commander was a little stunned, but he quickly regained his composure and decided to collect his belongings and move on. It didn't take long for the commander to spot a similar scene again, but the difference was that this time only a few were frozen into ice sculptures, and the rest still stubbornly charged forward, and despite their stiff bodies, they were as scrappy as if they had been beaten with blood.
Eventually, the U.S. forces were forced to retreat, and the volunteers who remained behind began to struggle in the snow again after a short rest. Despite the difficulties ahead, they are determined to move towards their goal, and even if they get lost in the thick snow, they will do their best to find a way out.
In the Battle of Changjin Lake, 4,000 soldiers died heroically, and 30,732 soldiers were frostbitten, which is undoubtedly a heart-wrenching data. However, among the twelve divisions of the Ninth Corps, the 20th Division of the 89th Army had the least number of frostbite, with only 400 frostbitten people.
Want to know how this is done? Perhaps the answer can be found in the story of one person, he is Wang Zhi. Wang Zhi, born in Shanghang County, Fujian Province in 1916, became a young man with progressive ideas after joining the Communist Party of China.
In the Battle of Changjin Lake, he was the political commissar of the 20th Division of the 89th Army, and his "foresight" made his unit the least frostbitten. So, how did he do it?
Under the leadership of Wang Zhi, the troops made preparations in advance, formulated a detailed plan for keeping warm, and strictly implemented it. They prepared enough warm supplies in advance, including down jackets, gloves, hats, etc., and let the fighters put them on during the battle.
At the same time, Wang Zhi also personally checked the warmth of each fighter to ensure that each fighter was able to survive the cold nights warmly. Through Wang Zhi's leadership and preparations, the 20th Division of the 89th Army successfully prevented a large number of soldiers from freezing to death from frostbite and made an important contribution to the victory of the entire campaign.
This shows that good leadership and adequate preparation are the keys to avoiding frostbite and freezing to death. If we can learn from Wang Zhi's experience, we may be able to reduce the number of frostbite and frostbite deaths in the Battle of Changjin Lake.
Wang Zhi accumulated rich experience in revolutionary activities, and his outstanding performance made him the political commissar of the 89th Division of the 20th Army of New China. However, although the country has not yet stabilized, Wang Zhi has a long way to go.
In 1950, when the Korean War broke out, Wang Zhi and Yu Guangmao, the commander of the 89th Division, led the soldiers to take the train north. However, when the train stopped in Jinzhou, Wang Zhi began to worry about the general fear of cold among the soldiers.
He began to think about how to solve this problem.
Worrying was always with Wang Zhi, making him unable to rest and eat well during the rest of the trip. However, the wheels kept rolling forward, and bad news followed.
On November 6, when everyone closed their eyes in the car, a series of screeching sounds broke the silence. When the voice subsided, a sonorous voice gave the latest order.
The first battle of the Korean battlefield had begun, and after all the members of the 89th Division arrived at the Shenyang station, they directly accepted the people's and Korean combat orders from the General Staff of the Central Military Commission. The tense atmosphere gradually spread, and Wang Zhi temporarily put aside his worries about the "cold" and cheered on the soldiers to boost their morale.
In the uneasiness, the vehicle gradually approaches its destination. On November 8, the train of the 89th Division stopped at Shenyang Station. Shortly after the train stopped, while the soldiers were still resting, the sound of "Please come down from the supreme leader of the train" came from the loudspeaker.
Political Commissar Wang Zhi frowned, looked at the surrounding environment, and was worried. Suddenly, news came from the temporary command room that the 89th Division would arrive at the Yalu River on November 9 and cross the river that night to participate in the Battle of Changjin Lake.
Yu Guangmao returned to the carriage and told Wang Zhi the news, and the two immediately realized the severe cold problem faced by the soldiers. Wang Zhi said firmly: "We must solve this problem and raise some cotton clothes and shoes for the soldiers." ”
Yu Guangmao deeply felt the importance and urgency of the problem, the task was urgent, and the autumn clothes on the soldiers could not withstand the cold at all. They decided to ask their superiors for instructions to raise supplies as soon as possible to provide warmth for the soldiers.
After careful consideration, Yu Guangmao finally chose to agree, he knew that this was not child's play. He hurried back to the temporary headquarters and reported to his superiors the decision of him and the political commissar Wang Zhi.
When the superiors heard the news, they immediately agreed and asked them to find He Jinnian, deputy commander of the Northeast Military Region, to solve the problem together. With the assistance of He Jinnian, they were provided with cotton clothes and quilts to protect them from the cold, but due to time constraints, cotton pants, cotton hats and cotton gloves were not equipped.
Despite the lack of supplies, they had to move on. On the train, Wang Zhi was very distressed in his heart, he couldn't imagine the cold on the battlefield, but he knew that he couldn't risk the lives of his soldiers.
So, he racked his brains and finally came up with a solution: "The cotton in the quilt is sufficient, so it is better to take out some of the cotton in it and make it into simple hats and gloves." ”
Determined to act, he informed Yu Guangmao of his idea, and immediately mobilized the soldiers to disassemble the quilt and take out the cotton to make simple hats, gloves, etc.
With the joint efforts of everyone, the cold protection materials were quickly put in place, and every soldier was able to keep warm. Looking at this scene, the worry in Wang Zhi's heart was temporarily alleviated. However, when he arrives on the battlefield in Korea, the cold reality makes him anxious again.
For the smooth progress of the mission, Yu Guangmao, after discussing with Wang Zhi, decided to assign a team to contact other troops and assemble on standby. On November 27, the second battle began, and Yu Guangmao led the 89th Division to advance to Shecangli.
The plan went smoothly, and on the 28th, Shecangli was successfully taken by the 89th Division. Yu Guangmao and others quickly divided it into several groups to build fortifications in this place. While the 89th Division was urgently building fortifications, they received a new task, which was to annihilate the 3rd Division of the American Army.
However, due to the severe cold weather, poor signal of communication stations, and poor coordination efforts, the operation was not a complete success. In desperation, they had no choice but to change their strategy from offense to defense.
At the same time, the military headquarters issued new directives to prevent the enemy from supporting Liutan-ri from the north. Although the camps are different, the goal is the same. Soon after, the 89th Regiment of the 267th Division had a face-to-face battle with the 7th Transport Team of the 1st Marine Division of the US Army.
In this confrontation, the US transport unit suffered a crushing defeat because of its own mistakes and was completely annihilated by the 267th Regiment of the 89th Division of our army. Although it was a small victory, the joy was palpable, especially with the capture of the 3,000 blankets that we desperately needed.
Seeing that the supplies have been replenished, people's hearts are full of excitement, because in Changjin Lake, we have seen too many comrades-in-arms freeze to death. Compared with the joy of the soldiers, the division commander and political commissar Wang Zhi appeared more rational.
They believe that although it is a good thing to get blankets, there are tens of thousands of soldiers in the 89th Division, so what can 3,000 blankets do? In addition, the distribution of blankets is also a problem.
Although these blankets were bought by the soldiers of the 267th Regiment at the cost of their lives, they should be used by themselves to protect their lives. However, according to the regulations of the troops, the items captured on the battlefield cannot be kept for their own use, but need to be handed over to their superiors for unified distribution.
In the cold winter, not only the soldiers of the 267th regiment lacked cold materials, but also the soldiers of other teams also faced this problem. Political Commissar Wang Zhi stood up again in the predicament, and he proposed to cut the blankets into small squares and distribute them to each company, which could not only solve the glove problem, but also reduce the frostbite of the soldiers on the battlefield.
Although some people objected to this practice and thought it was a bit wasteful, Wang Zhi knew the importance of gloves and cotton cloth to cover his feet. After obtaining Yu Guangmao's consent, he decided to "go his own way" to cut the blanket into pieces.
Despite the discontent it caused, the decision was accepted. These "unpleasant episodes" eventually made the 89th Division the division with the fewest frostbite personnel, and became a team that continued to pursue the American troops.
On 27 November, the fighters launched an assault on Sinsen-ri. Due to the low temperatures, both guns and grenades lost their effectiveness. However, the warriors did not flinch, they saw themselves as the ** of battle, braving the bitter cold to kill the enemy.
Although their equipment is rudimentary, their flesh and blood have become the most effective ammunition, knocking down one enemy after another. After three days and three nights of hard fighting, they succeeded in eliminating the Polar Bear Regiment, despite the fact that 10,000 soldiers of the army had lost their strength in non-combat and the frostbite rate of the whole army reached 22%.
03 PossibilityOn December 24, the second battle was declared over. At the post-war summary meeting, Liao Zhengguo recalled the losses in this battle, and thought of so many soldiers who were frozen to death in the ice and snow for the sake of the country and the people, and his heart was full of pain and regret.
At the meeting, Liao Zhengguo pointed out bitterly: "There was a political commissar in the 89th Division, who asked the soldiers to make ear covers and gloves from the materials on cotton clothes, but only 400 people were injured.
Why didn't anyone else think of that? This statement deeply saddened everyone, but it was more thought-provoking than the frostbitten and frozen fighters.
Political Commissar Wang Zhi's decision can be said to have saved many lives, recalling this incident, the veteran at the time said: "If it weren't for the foresight of the division commander and the political commissar, things might have been a different outcome." ”
Yes, things could have been even more regrettable without their decision-making. So, if, according to Liao Zhengguo, this strategy was applied in every battalion at that time, would it have decreased, and would the result have changed?
Actually, this is not certain.
In the original Battle of Changjin Lake, the war preparation materials were not complete, and the cotton clothing could not fully cover every soldier. In this extreme weather with temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees, even if each company is given a small blanket to cover the feet, it will not solve the problem of keeping warm.
In order to reduce unnecessary **, the fighters had to brave the bitter cold to fight.
Whenever we think of the soldiers who died bravely in the Battle of Changjin Lake, we will feel admiration and sorrow. In the extremely harsh environment, they can only survive by drinking snow water, eating frozen potatoes, and even cooking on fires, and can only use cotton clothing to protect their hands, feet and ears.
Despite the difficulties, they persisted in fighting to protect the dignity and honor of the motherland. Their dedication and sacrifice make us always remember the truth that if we fall behind, we will be beaten, and also let us cherish our current life even more.
Although the living conditions of those years were difficult, we must not forget the warmth and resilience of that history, they were the heroes of our country, and we should always remember them.
Although the warriors' hands were frozen and even slept in the snow, their hearts and flowing blood were always hot. Let us remember these heroic martyrs and remember this history.