On February 24, 1951, a meeting was held here in Jurentang, Zhongnanhai, Beijing, and the meeting mainly discussed the materials of the Volunteer Army.
At the meeting, Mr. Peng issued a "thunderous rage" and "firepower", which shocked the participants.
Mr. Peng was on the Korean battlefield.
After three battles, the Chinese People's Volunteers are serious, and two major problems need to be solved urgently.
First, the soldiers could not be replenished for a while, and second, there were many logistical difficulties.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Peng took the lead in speaking with a solemn face, and he introduced the serious difficulties faced by the volunteers in the front line of Korea in terms of materials, livelihood, and soldiers.
Mr. Peng earnestly expressed his hope that all sides, from the army to the localities, would use their brains and find ways to fully support the frontline operations.
However, when the meeting discussed how to implement specific problems, some cadres stressed the difficulties in the country, and many problems were still difficult to solve for the time being.
Mr. Peng was in a very bad mood at this time, the volunteer soldiers on the Korean front lacked medical care and medicine, and even military rations and winter clothes were very scarce, which made him worried and full of worries.
Before the meeting, Mr. Peng learned another unpleasant news, "Big Brother" originally promised to provide the air force and antiaircraft artillery units to cover the communication lines of the volunteers, but at this time he suddenly changed his hexagram.
Old** Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
At this time, this situation occurred again at the meeting, and Mr. Peng finally couldn't bear it anymore and lost his temper.
Mr. Peng slapped the table, and Ju Rentang suddenly fell silent, only Mr. Peng's voice echoed:
This is also difficult, that is also difficult, you are patriotic, don't volunteer soldiers know patriotism? ”
Go to the front and see what the fighters eat and wear! So many young dolls are freezing and starving, in addition to dying on the battlefield, there are also starving and freezing to death! ”
For whom did they die? For whom is blood shedding? Isn't it possible to overcome the difficulties at home? ”
Mr. Peng's words made the atmosphere at the venue extremely tense and solemn.
Mr. Peng later said that because of anxiety and because of the concern for the soldiers who sacrificed their lives and forgot to die on the battlefield and fought bloodily, that day, his emotions were indeed out of control.
So, what is the logistics situation of the Volunteer Army, and why is the battle-hardened Mr. Peng so emotional and angry?
Here, let's first take a look at the logistics of the US military.
Although far from the mainland, the US military's logistical support line is far longer than that of the volunteers, but with modern equipment and strong national strength, the US military's supply support greatly exceeds that of the volunteers in terms of both quantity and abundance.
Old** American GIs on the Korean battlefield.
The first is ammunition.
The U.S. military is a typical "firepower only wins" theory, and they have always relied on heavy firepower to reduce their own losses as much as possible.
Because of the strong logistical support, the US military can "spend a lot of ammunition", for example, in the summer offensive of August 1951, the US army consumed 360,000 rounds of artillery shells on a single high ground.
The second is medical care.
Generally, minor injuries are bandaged by medical personnel on the spot, and those with serious injuries are sent to a field medical station or to a ship's hospital moored on the sea.
For more serious injuries, the U.S. military will airlift the wounded to rear hospitals, or even to bases in Japan for medical treatment.
The U.S. military's field meals are even more unimaginable.
Let's talk about the US military's Class C field rations, which can be carried around and eaten without heating.
In addition to meat and vegetables such as turkey, this type of field ration also includes instant drinks such as powdered sugar and coffee, as well as beer, chewing gum, chocolate, matches, cigarettes and other accessories.
On holidays, U.S. soldiers also receive additional festive meals.
The U.S. military individual uniforms are also quite well-equipped, and the general soldiers are issued with wool underwear, sweaters, woolen pants, as well as warm clothing with hats and eiderdown sleeping bags.
Old** Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
Let's go back and look at the Volunteer Army.
Even as the supreme commander of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, Mr. Peng's material conditions were very poor.
At the beginning of the dynasty, Mr. Peng's headquarters was set up in a big cave, which was left over from the mining years, barely able to live in, but it was very humid.
Therefore, the volunteer soldiers built a wooden shed at the entrance of the cave, and a wooden board on the two ammunition boxes became Mr. Peng's desk.
The roof of the small slab shed drips all year round, flowing to the four walls, and it is wet and cold.
The Korean People's Army sent an engineer company to renovate the shack.
However, Mr. Peng only asked the engineer company to repair the quarters of the communications personnel and the guard platoon.
Later, the North Korean comrades gave Mr. Peng an electric stove, so that Mr. Peng's headquarters was finally no longer so cold.
Mr. Peng slept late at night, and after the guards living in the cave went to sleep, Mr. Peng would quietly turn the air outlet of the electric stove and let the heating blow to the soldiers' bunks.
When the guards found out, they reversed it again, but the next day, when they got up, the air outlet of the electric stove turned back.
This was a hard and warm time in the headquarters of the Volunteer Army.
Old** Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
Before entering the Korean war, most people believed that China was close to North Korea, and the US military was far away from the ocean, so the volunteers would have an advantage over the US military in terms of logistical support.
However, the truth is very cruel.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, "there was no food, no clothing, and their own enemies sent forward; There are no guns, no cannons, the enemy makes them for us".
However, in the Korean battlefield, even if the volunteers captured a large amount of materials on the battlefield, the US military would quickly dispatch a large number of planes to blow up the equipment and materials left on the battlefield.
For example, in the second battle, the 38th Army of the Volunteer Army and other units captured thousands of cars and a large number of ** equipment, but before they had time to deal with it, they were bombed by US aircraft.
Secondly, it is difficult for the volunteers to obtain the support of the people, and all the materials such as clothing and food must be made by the country.
Because the logistical support could not keep up, and the food, ammunition, and even cotton clothes could not be used, the non-combat attrition of the volunteer army was very serious, and it was not forced to stop the offensive at one time.
Even if there is food, and because the US military has air supremacy, it is constantly conducting aerial reconnaissance and wanton and indiscriminate bombing, and it is difficult for the troops to make fires and cook, and sometimes they have to devour raw rice.
A veteran soldier of the Volunteer Army later recalled: The officers and men of the Volunteer Army were not afraid of hardship or death, but they had "three fears" -- fear of starvation, fear of running out of ammunition, and fear of running out of medicine after being wounded.
Just after Mr. Peng made a big "thunderous fury" in Jurentang, ** held several meetings one after another, and made a series of important decisions on strengthening the front-line troops and the rear of the Volunteer Army.
Old** Fried noodles for all.
First, it was decided to send domestic troops to Korea for "rotational warfare"; first, to replace the front-line troops so that the front-line troops could rest and recuperate, and second, to train the troops during the war and improve the modern combat command capability of the whole army;
second, to mobilize the young air force and anti-aircraft artillery units of our army to cover the rear lines of communication;
Third, the first-class equipment of dozens of divisions was again purchased and sent to the Korean battlefield;
Fourth, call on all walks of life in the country to increase production and economy, encourage people to donate money and materials, and buy aircraft and cannons.
Fifth, mobilize various domestic materials to vigorously support front-line operations, including one of the contents: making fried noodles and canned food for the volunteers;
As a result, in Beijing, Shanghai, and all parts of the country, the vast numbers of urban and rural cadres and masses took action one after another, working day and night to make fried noodles for the volunteers.
This craze even reached the "Gongdelin War Criminals Management Center", and the Kuomintang war criminals imprisoned there also signed up one after another, asking to participate in the production of fried noodles.
As a result, "a handful of fried noodles and a handful of snow", the problem of "eating" by the volunteers has improved slightly.
Since then, with the continuous improvement of conditions, domestic support has become more and more intensive, and the logistical support work has gradually been put on the right track.
In the impression of many people, Mr. Peng is usually not smiling, and many people think that he is very strict.
However, everyone around Mr. Peng knows that Mr. Peng is indeed very strict with cadres, but when it comes to soldiers, he is more like an elder who is "cold on the outside and hot on the inside".
In addition to caring about the "people's livelihood" of volunteer officers and soldiers, Mr. Peng naturally pays more attention to the sustainability of war.
In June 1951, the rear service department of the Volunteer Army was established, and Hong Xuezhi, deputy commander of the Volunteer Army, concurrently served as the logistics commander.
Thanks to the unremitting efforts of Commander Hong Xuezhi, a few months later, the number of troops under the Logistics Department of the Chinese People's Volunteers had reached 220,000.
Commander Hong Xuezhi's "solution" has several main points:
The first is to strengthen the construction of military stations, the second is to build a railway artery that is constantly bombed, and the third is to make road transport mobile and flexible, and to compete with US planes with wits and courage.
In this way, after arduous work, the Volunteer Army has a complete relay transportation system, and the logistical support situation of the whole army has been greatly improved.
Since March 1954, the quality of life of many volunteer units has been greatly improved, and commanders and fighters can even eat fritters and drink soy milk for breakfast.
A handful of fried noodles and a handful of snow" has also fulfilled its mission and become a piece of history that can go down in history.
In the early winter, in Panmunjom, when the US negotiators saw that the volunteers had put on new cotton clothes, they could not help but be surprised.
A US military officer said: "The air force and navy of the 'coalition' have done everything they can, but they still can't stop the squadron, which is unbelievable......”
Mr. Peng signed the armistice agreement.
To fight a war is to fight logistics", a war has proved that this statement is not exaggerated at all.
It was precisely the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea that enabled our army to fully understand the important role of logistical support in the war.
In the eulogy of the founding father of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Peng, there is the following text:
He was not afraid of difficulties, bravely shouldered heavy burdens, and was diligent and extremely responsible for revolutionary work. ”
He is brave in battle, upright and upright, honest and honest, strict with himself, concerned about the masses, and never considers personal gains and losses. ”
This is the most authoritative evaluation of Mr. Peng.
Who dares to cross the knife immediately, only I am General Peng! ”