The heavens start from Changjin Lake

Chapter 862 MacArthur’s Dream

"The best and fastest way is to change from centralization to decentralization, let the troops collect food in various places, arrange translation work, concentrate logistics forces, and go down to each unit to participate in food preparation."

Director Wu came up with a good idea for Zhang Zhongping.

For the past two days, Zhang Zhongping's worries were revealed by Director Zhang. He clapped his hands and said excitedly: "What a great idea, let's do it like this!"

Therefore, the military logistics uniformly issued food raising certificates and issued some Korean coins, and each unit organized the borrowing of food, and organized logistics comrades to go to the units and units to help the troops raise food. In this way, the remaining insufficient food problem was solved. , that’s it.

At this time, the main force of the 38th Army had already assembled towards the front lines of Moshadong, Matsushita-ri, and Cheokjangdong.

At this moment, the troops that have received the food, oil and salt distributed by the military logistics are generally making dry food. These food cannot be eaten immediately and need to be made into dry food so that they can have a bite anytime and anywhere.

They used stones to grind corn into flour and then baked it into cakes.

This method is the most common way for the army to make dry food. It is also the simplest and time-saving. Moreover, such dry food is easy to fill, easy to store, and easier to carry.

Li Zhongxin, deputy division commander of the 112th Division, heard that a train of white noodles had been brought from the motherland for the troops to collect. He was very happy. He had not improved the lives of the troops for a long time. He told the regiments that anyone who wanted to eat white noodles could be sent People can carry it without issuing a receipt. They can carry as much as they can. Otherwise, when the troops retreat in the future, these noodles will be thrown to the enemy.

Although there is rust on the iron sheet and it will burn quickly when you put it on, it will eventually cook the cake. This kind of cake is dirty and ugly. Not many people eat it now, but when it comes to fighting the Americans, they will eat the dry food they have. When it's done, you can take out the cake and chew it in your mouth.

One late night in the heavy snow, Comrade Liu and Comrade Liu of the Military Administration accompanied Comrade Han, the deputy director of Zhisi, to inspect the 335th Regiment of Miaoxiang Mountain. In the deep valley of Jingu Deshan, they inspected the combat readiness of the troops.

In addition, the food supplied to the rear was insufficient, and many companies relied on corn, soybeans, sweet potatoes and potatoes borrowed from local people to satisfy their hunger. Even the leading comrades of the 38th Army could not eat biscuits and cans shipped from the motherland.

Everyone who has always been frugal has experienced the hard days after the last battle, when they were hungry, eating grass roots and holding stones. How could they watch this food go to waste? Even if they risked their lives, they had to make it into something that could be used. Food to eat.

Two soldiers discovered a large piece of iron sheet in a mine. This made them extremely happy. With this iron sheet, they could bake pancakes prepared by several people at a time, which was much more efficient than using a shovel to pan pancakes. too much.

A few days ago, the division cadres came to the military headquarters to report on the preparations for the campaign. Comrade Liang grabbed a handful of fried soybeans from his pocket and said to everyone: "I have nothing to entertain you today. I can only eat some soybeans. Don't look at the taste of this stuff." It’s hard, but chewy. I’ll eat this for dinner, put it in my mouth, and chew it while thinking about work.”

Before the 38th Army prepared to launch a general attack on the enemy, each unit finally made dry food from the white flour shipped from the motherland and the corn and soybeans borrowed from the Korean people.

"With such a lovely warrior, why can't we defeat the enemy?"

This is an alpine mountainous area with sparsely populated areas. All combat troops of the 38th Army camped out in forest canyons, relying on bonfires to keep out the cold.

The enemy also knew that there were volunteers in this valley, but the smoke from cooking smoke gathered in the sky above the valley. It was difficult to find the source and could only hover in the sky.

The noodles were brought, but the troops were transferred to Miaoxiang Mountain. There were not many families nearby. They could neither eat dumplings nor steam buns. The dry food had to be made, otherwise it would be wasted.

Some companies couldn't borrow a pot, so they used the shovel used to dig trenches as a pot. Some picked up thin stone slabs as axes, dug a smokeless stove and started frying pancakes.

They also saw soldiers sleeping in the forest at night, huddled in their mats from the cold. They were moved by the soldiers' hard-working spirit.

However, the progress is still quite slow, which is due to the anxious people.

Therefore, the regiment logistics mobilized everyone to offer ideas and suggestions, and finally came up with many good methods.

There are too many people cooking pancakes, and the smokeless stoves are not completely without a trace of smoke. There is always some smoke gathering and floating over the mountains and fields. The blind US Air Force may not notice it when they encounter it, but there are those who can be pilots. A few eyes are bad.

When the enemy plane flew over the sky buzzing with smoke, the soldiers put the cooked pancakes aside, then shoveled earth with shovels to cover the fire. When the plane left, they lit the fire again and continued to bake pancakes. Just play hide and seek with the enemy.

Today, Comrade Liu and Comrade Han see soldiers frying corn cakes on shovels or bluestones, frying soybeans and popcorn in fried sand, or roasting potatoes.

"If you don't defeat the Yankees, you won't get out of the line of fire until you die!"

When Fan Tianen, the leader of the 335th Regiment, heard this, he immediately called on the comrades in the regiment's logistics to carry the flour.

The cold wind blew in from the mountains and swirled back and forth between the valleys. The soldiers' hands and feet hurt from the cold, but the scene of rushing to make dry food was very moving.

As night falls, sporadic snowflakes are floating in the sky.

Comrade Han and Comrade Liu followed Captain Fan to inspect the Third Company position. They met Xia Yuan, who had shocked the military headquarters before. Seeing such a young face, the two sighed with emotion.

At the same time, I am also very happy that talented people have emerged from generation to generation. I really hope that there will be more and more such talents, and the combat effectiveness of their troops will become stronger and stronger.

The two did not stay in the third company position for too long. Time was limited and they wanted to check out other positions.

The second battle will break out soon, and they want to see what these front-line troops look like.

Zhi Siwei's tactics of showing weakness and arrogance to lure the enemy deeper have achieved very successful results.

The U.S. military and Li Puppet Army followed the path drawn by the high command and almost completely understood the enemy.

Our Volunteer Army led the "Niubi" and led the US Ninth Army, the US First Army and the puppet army, a total of 7 divisions and 2 brigades, across the Qingchuan River and the Datong River.

The U.S. and puppet troops gathered in a wide area from Ningyuan and Dechuan in the east to Yunshan, Taichuan, and Naqingting in the west, which greatly dispersed the enemy's forces and created favorable conditions for annihilating a large number of enemies.

In front of the Thirty-Eighth Army in the Tokugawa area are the Puppet Seventh Division, the Second Regiment of the Puppet Sixth Division, and the First Puppet Eighth Division, with a total of about 12 battalions, preparing to launch a general attack on the Thirty-eighth Army's positions.

Looking at the entire Korean battlefield, the enemy has begun to march towards the Yalu River. The front-line troops are particularly prominent, and the distance from the rear is constantly widening, like several protruding leads, waiting for the volunteers to ignite. At this time, MacArthur was intoxicated with the "victorious advance". His dream of occupying North Korea became more and more serious. He received a telegram from the front line that the enemy was still retreating to the rear. Their troops had already occupied Tokugawa, Unsan, etc. Land, you can continue to attack the Yalu River.

MacArthur was quite happy. On the morning of November 24, he proudly issued a special communiqué, announcing that he would soon launch a general offensive on the Korean battlefield to end the Korean War.

Then he led Lieutenant General Stratmeyer, Commander of the Fifth Air Force, Brigadier General Wright, Chief of Operations, Major General Willoughby, Secretary of Intelligence, and Major General Whitney, Director of Civil Affairs, and arrived at the U.S. Eighth Route Army on a plane together with Western journalists in Tokyo. Group front army.

Accompanied by Lieutenant General Walker, he inspected the US military troops and ordered a "general offensive to end the Korean War" to be launched at 10 o'clock.

He asserted: "The Chinese will not be involved in this war on a large scale. This war will definitely end within two weeks."

Two weeks later, it was Christmas, which is why this attack was called the 'Christmas Return Offensive'.

The American News Agency triumphantly reported: "The Chinese and North Korean people's armed forces were no longer able to fight. Pursued by United Nations tanks, they fled into the snowy forest in panic."

How rampant it is now, how embarrassing it will be later.

Looking back now, these self-deceptions are ridiculous and stupid.

During the Korean War, many children of U.S. military officers also came to the Korean battlefield. Therefore, when MacArthur was talking to a group of U.S. military officers, he proudly announced that the Korean War could be ended before Christmas. A military commander asked him: "If this action If successful, we can hopefully send the child home."

MacArthur had no doubt about his victory. He told the officers with certainty: "I can tell you responsibly that they can go home for Christmas!"

After he issued the order to attack, he flew back to Tokyo to wait for news. However, he did not fly to Tokyo immediately after boarding the plane, but flew to the Yalu River.

MacArthur recorded in his memoirs: "I boarded my plane and instructed the pilot, Major Tony Story, to fly over the Yalu River."

Both sides of the Yalu River were covered with snow, and everything was so peaceful. On the plane, he told the reporters accompanying the army: "I ordered the Eighth Army to advance towards the Yalu River. There is no force that can stop this attack now! I want to defeat the tiger in the short term." Something like a head clamp is closing in here!"

In the evening of that day, he flew back to Tokyo and immediately reported to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the general offensive had begun. He also issued a "Twilight Communiqué" in Tokyo, brazenly declaring:
"The new offensive of the coalition forces on the Korean border is progressing as planned. Our losses are extremely slight. The morale of the officers and soldiers is high. The general offensive is expected to be completed quickly."

"If successful, this would effectively end the war."

Reuters reporter Bates actually believed MacArthur's boasts. He believed in a report: "The troops of the United States, Britain and South Korea are expected to be encouraged by General MacArthur's personal visit to the front line and his promise to return home before Christmas. Break through the main line of defense of the Communist Army within 24 hours!”

The U.S. Ninth Army greeted MacArthur and his party after the morning. The whole army felt optimistic about the prospects of the offensive, and the morale of the officers and soldiers was high. Starting at 10 o'clock in the morning, they began to march with overwhelming momentum, as if the Yalu River was right in front of them.

Just when MacArthur was dazzled by 'victory', Shiji had completed the campaign deployment of the Chinese People's Volunteers:
The main forces of the 50th, 60th, 39th, 40th, 42nd and Xia Yuan's 38th Army on the Western Front have been transferred to northwest Dingzhou, Turtle City, Taichuan, and Yunnan respectively. Mountains, north of Tokugawa and the northeastern region of Ningyuan!

On the eastern front, all three armies of the 9th Corps entered North Korea and secretly completed the battle assembly without being noticed by the enemy. The enemy exclaimed that this battle was "a miracle in modern war history"!
After the volunteers lured the enemy to the predetermined area, Shiji decided to concentrate the forces of 9 corps and 30 divisions to launch a second campaign on MacArthur's east-west vise on the east and west battlefields, focusing on the western front. Six armies and 6 divisions were mobilized to participate in the battle.

The 42nd Army and the 38th Army, commanded by Comrade Shiji's Deputy Chief Han, first annihilated the Tokugawa, Ningyuan, and Mengshan puppet 6th, 7th, and 8th divisions respectively.

The Forty Army moved eastward to the area north of Xindongli and Sumindong, with one division taking over the defense of Xia Yuan's 112th Division. The main force of the Forty Army thrust into the west of Tokugawa to prevent the U.S. military from aiding eastward.

Other armies also moved eastward one by one, waiting to annihilate one enemy unit.

The offensive time on the western front is set at dusk on the 25th, and on the eastern front at dusk on the 26th.

The Thirty-eighth Army had completed preparations for the attack on November 11 in accordance with Shiji's request. The military command had been moved from the Heshou Rock on the east and west of the stadium to the Jiangsendong in the northeast of Tokugawa. Comrade Han also followed the Thirty-Eighth Army. The military commander came here.

On the morning of November 11, Comrade Han presided over a pre-war combat meeting here. According to the operational thinking of the rear area, the first step was to attack the puppet army and ordered a division of the 23th Army and the nd Army to attack Tokugawa. enemy.

Comrade Liang and Comrade Liu both held back their energy and firmly believed that the soldiers of the 38th Army could win this battle. They were even sure that they could complete the task of attacking Tokugawa alone without distracting the 42nd Army. troops to cooperate with the 38th Army.

Last time, they suffered a loss in Tokugawa and missed the best opportunity to let go of Tokugawa's enemies. Therefore, this battle can be said to be the time to avenge the 38th Army's previous humiliation.

Comrade Liang said boldly: "We've taken care of Dadechuan!"

Comrade Han also wanted to provoke this guy and said: "Last time you let go of the Tokugawa enemies. This time I specially asked a division of the 42nd Army to come over to cooperate with you, so that you can save the time and let go of the Tokugawa enemies. !”

Comrade Liang was really anxious and stared, "Absolutely impossible! This time I vow to take down the Tokugawa enemies! I promise!"

Comrade Han looked at Comrade Liang with a smile.

At 11:24 on November 10, Comrade Han further revised the combat plan. He said: The Puppet Seventh Division is likely to be attracted by our th Army to the Tokchuan and Ningyuan areas. It may also open up the connection from Ningyuan to Xianxing, and then move northward. .

He decided to insert the Forty Army to the south of Sumindong, Duriling and Jiuzhengli to cut off the connection between the US military and the Puppet Seventh and Eighth Divisions. The purpose is for the 42nd Army to encircle and annihilate the enemy's Eighth Puppet Division in Ningyuan.

Tokugawa is backed by the Datong River and is located in a transportation hub area. Five highways converge here, leading to Ningyuan and Hamhing in the east. It is the support point of MacArthur's east-west vise, and its geographical location is extremely important.

Once the volunteers captured Tokugawa, they could not only restrain the American forces on the Western Front from behind, but also cut off the connection between the enemies on the Eastern Front and the enemies on the Western Front.

Once MacArthur's vise lost its support point, the vise extending forward fell apart, making it easier for the volunteers to annihilate them one by one.

Therefore, the first battle against Tokugawa was the key battle of the campaign. By defeating the enemies of Tokugawa, the enemy could turn from passive to active. It can be said to be the battle that determines the outcome of the second battle.

(End of this chapter)