In November 1950, MacArthur, the commander-in-chief of the Joint **, advocated the "Christmas Offensive" and proudly said: "Go home before Christmas." However, reality soon slapped him in the face.
MacArthur's dismissal and Bolden's lament were not accidental, and the course of the Battle of Tohein-ri was full of twists and turns. In the 4th battle of the first phase of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the US army tried to sneak attack, but the successful counterattack of the Volunteer Army in Hengcheng reversed the tide of the war.
If the Volunteers had won the Battle of Tohein-ri, then they would have completely established their superiority.
After the end of the Hengcheng counterattack, Mr. Peng and Deng Hua had been pre-deployed to prepare for the enemy's counterattack. They sent 6 regiments of the 40th and 42nd Armies to Toheong-ri, while the 39th and 115th Divisions of the 116th Army were responsible for intercepting and destroying the enemy as the main force.
Although the soldiers of the 40th Army and the 42nd Army had to face difficult tasks, Mr. Peng and others were deeply confident in their strength. The results of the first three confrontations to resist US aggression and aid Korea have proved that as long as the volunteers succeed in besieging the enemy army, they will fall into confusion and choose to flee.
As Mr. Peng and others expected, Bolden, an American veteran in the Topingli area, recalled afterwards that they had received the order to evacuate long before the arrival of the volunteers.
On the afternoon of 13 February, Bolden was about to lead a large force to evacuate, but received an urgent order from Freeman, asking them to hold out and wait for rescue in Topingli. Bolden was puzzled by this, and later learned that Freeman, after learning the news of the imminent arrival of the Volunteer Army, had applied to the division commander and corps commander for evacuation, and was approved.
However, on the day they were preparing to evacuate, they were unable to contact the command, causing the evacuation plan to be postponed until the evening. However, what they didn't expect was that Li Qiwei suddenly sent an order at night, asking them to resolutely hold Topingli and not evacuate.
Although Truman had not yet relieved MacArthur of his post as commander-in-chief, it was only a matter of time before the United Forces under his leadership were severely damaged by the Volunteers in the first three campaigns and their majesty was disgraced.
At the same time, Li Qiwei was in the limelight, and Freeman on the battlefield of Tohei-ri could only obey his orders, which made the Volunteer Army a nightmare for many American troops participating in the war. According to Bolden's recollection, when the volunteers arrived in the Toping-ri area, the U.S. 23rd Regiment had been deployed there for 10 days, and they built a large number of pillboxes in an attempt to thwart the volunteers' movements.
Bolden was one of the garrisons and was fortunate enough not to have to endure the biting cold outside, but he also managed to survive the brutal Battle of Tohei-ri.
When the battle had just begun, Bolden and the others panicked. Because they noticed that the volunteers were dressed in thin clothing, but when they charged, their figures remained steadfast, undaunted by their heavy artillery fire.
The bravery of the volunteers reminded them of the course of the first three battles, and the panicked American soldiers fell to the upper hand just after the battle. There were even recruits with weak psychological qualities, who made fatal mistakes in the course of the battle - they almost threw grenades into their own positions.
Compared with the Volunteer Army, the US army is more advanced, and they have a large number of heavy firepower guns, but this does not give them any advantage. With only a few light firepower mortars and grenades, the volunteers launched a stubborn attack on the position.
Bolden recalled that the volunteer soldiers were not afraid of death, and even if they fell, new fighters would be quickly replenished, and they pulled out one pillbox after another, getting closer and closer to Bolden.
Bolden was so terrified in the face of such a heroic opponent that he even trembled in his bunker and begged them to stay away, and he once roared hoarsely to vent his fear.
The battle lasted until dark, the artillery fire lit up the night sky, and the volunteers still did not stop the charge. On the battlefield, many American troops were already lying on the ground in fear, and Bolden, as an experienced veteran, although not so, his eyes were dull and his face was numb, so he could only continue to fight.
In that fierce confrontation, Bolden was knocked out, and his comrades dragged him back to the rear. The medical team arrived on the scene in time to provide Bolden with **.
In the end, he was lucky enough to survive, and when he opened his eyes again, his heart was filled with gratitude for his fate. He was glad that he was still alive and didn't have to fight on the battlefield anymore, and he was also glad that he could go home to recuperate from his injuries and no longer have to face those volunteers.
At the moment of leaving the battlefield, he shouted from the bottom of his heart, "The volunteers are too terrible, stop shooting at the Chinese, stop fighting them!" The story actually reflects that Bolden's sentiments are very normal, because in the eyes of soldiers in Western countries, being a soldier fighting a war is no different from getting an ordinary job.
They used to think, "I only do what I can, and if I can't beat me, I surrender." "However, in the battle with the volunteers, their concept of war was completely turned upside down. They recognize what an "army of faith" is.
Bolden and others were reluctant to fight the Volunteers anymore, and their symptoms were mild. And the Luxembourg soldiers, who were sparsely numbered, sent only one platoon of troops. They had hoped to take advantage of the victory, but when they faced the Volunteers on the battlefield, the Volunteers easily defeated most of their soldiers.
The remaining Luxembourg soldiers could only run around with their heads in their arms and became the laughing stock of others.
The absurd experience of the Turkish army in the Korean War is comparable to that of Luxembourg and is nothing short of a farce. At first, they mistakenly thought that they had met the Chinese volunteers, engaged in a fierce battle, and in the end, thinking that they had won the victory, they took hundreds of so-called volunteer prisoners to the headquarters to report.
As a result, when they arrived at the headquarters, they found that it was not the Chinese volunteers who were fighting them, but a South Korean unit, and they had beaten their own people. When the Turks actually encountered the 38th Army of the Volunteers, they tried to take revenge, but they were routed by the Volunteers before the official battle.
After being annihilated by three infantry battalions in a row by the Volunteers, the Turks finally recognized the reality and began to walk around the Volunteers, slowly withdrawing from the ranks of the United **.
The Netherlands responded positively when the United States was preparing to establish a joint **, sending not only an infantry battalion, but also a destroyer. However, the Dutch did not perform well in the Korean War, they mistook the volunteers for the South Korean army, and were completely annihilated by the volunteers, creating the history of the Korean War to end the battle the fastest.
Although the Dutch managed to escape, their performance called into question the Dutch loyalty in the war. And the main force of the United ** is still composed of the US military, with the most people, and the situation is also the largest, according to statistics, almost all of them are American**.
The war has brought deep pain to the Americans, and may even lead the United States to choose to withdraw its troops.
Although the heroic deeds of the volunteers are inferior in terms of equipment and logistical supply, there is one thing that the US military cannot match, that is, the high morale of the volunteers.
And why is the morale of the volunteers so high, and why is the morale of the US military so low? This is actually closely related to the heroic deeds of the volunteer soldiers. Take Huang Jiguang as an example, he is in Shangganling 597In the battle for the 9th heights, he blocked the enemy's frantic strafing machine guns with his chest, bought precious time for his companions, and finally died heroically.
Another example is Qiu Shaoyun, who was selected into the sleeper unit in the process of capturing the 391 heights west of Jinhua in 1952 and took on the task of removing obstacles after launching an attack.
However, just over 60 meters from the enemy's forward position, the enemy suddenly approached the lurking zone, and once discovered by the enemy, all fighters would be killed. These heroic deeds deeply inspired the soldiers of the Chinese People's Volunteers, stimulated their morale and fighting spirit, and greatly affected the morale of the US military.
In order to preserve the team, the volunteers immediately launched an attack on the enemy, and the enemy quickly dispatched planes to conduct reconnaissance and threw a large number of incendiary bombs outside the position. One of the incendiary bombs just landed next to Qiu Shaoyun, and the burning liquid was poured on him, and the flames instantly burned all over his body.
There happened to be a ditch next to him at the time, and if you rolled into it, you could save your life. However, this action may also expose others or even make them unable to complete their mission.
In order to protect the lurking troops, Qiu Shaoyun lay there stubbornly, always staying still, and did not even let out a shout until he died heroically. When the flames were extinguished, more than 500 warriors in the grass silently shed tears, but they did not say a word until the vigilance of the enemy was lowered and the time was ripe, and they jumped out ......Kong Qingsan, in 1950, in a battle, he received the task of leading the soldiers to use artillery to destroy the enemy's fire points.
In the fierce battle, Kong Qingsan used his body to support the artillery destroyed by artillery fire, and then resolutely ignited it, destroying the enemy's fire point. Although the huge recoil caused him to fall backwards by three or four meters, his heroic actions earned the respect of all.
However, in the counterattack battle of Guandaili, although the demolition team suffered a serious **, he still bravely rushed to the enemy's fire point, and rushed into the sea of fire with a bundle of explosives weighing 10 kilograms, successfully creating an opportunity for the frontal attack troops.
These two valiant warriors, with their lives and actions, have shown us true valor and loyalty.
The enemy tried to shoot him with a machine gun, but although he was shot and fell, he stubbornly moved towards the enemy's point of fire. Before he could be discovered by the enemy, he ignited the fuse and rushed into the enemy's tunnel with all his might.
In the end, he not only killed more than 40 enemies, but also succeeded in destroying the enemy's firepower points, clearing the way for the victory of the counterattack in Guandaili. In the Volunteer Army, there are many, many more heroic soldiers and heroic deeds like this.
And this kind of fearless spirit is precisely beyond the reach of the US military and the militaries of other countries. In the Battle of Changjin Lake, rows of volunteer soldiers dressed in thin clothes lay prone on the position of minus 40, not moving, quietly waiting for the arrival of the US troops.
They watched intently ahead, and none of them flinched, and they persevered until the last moment, becoming the most tragic "ice sculpture company" in the history of the people's army.
In the face of this situation, the US commander could not help but pay a noble military salute to the heroic and fearless "Ice Sculpture Company"! As they say, "we have done the battle we deserve so that our descendants can be saved from the suffering of war".
70 years ago, those "loveliest people" created today's prosperity for us with their lives and blood, and today, 70 years later, the mountains and rivers are still magnificent, and the people are still happy.
However, we will not forget their perseverance and courage, and we will inherit their will and continue to move forward!