The heavens start from Changjin Lake

Chapter 896: Ceasefire First, Negotiation Later

The Joint Chiefs of Staff responded quickly, calling back early the next morning.

MacArthur had no time to sleep and waited all night.

"We have carefully considered the retaliatory measures you proposed and will continue to review them. As for policy changes or other changes that increase our investment in North Korea, the possibility is very small!"

"Even if it is feasible to blockade the Chinese coast, it must wait until our military presence in North Korea is consolidated or withdrawn from North Korea."

"And blocking China's coast will affect Britain's trade with China via Hong Kong, so we must negotiate with the British side."

"As for other options, only if the Chinese military attacks the US military outside North Korea can the navy and air force be authorized to attack military targets within China, so this decision must be made after such an incident occurs."

"As for Chiang's army, we had a brief discussion and did not agree to receive reinforcements from Chiang's army. This is because they are unlikely to have a decisive impact on the outcome of the Korean War and may even have a negative impact."

"In view of the above, after fully considering all relevant factors, you should implement a series of defensive positions in accordance with the requirements of the Joint Chiefs of Staff message to inflict the greatest damage to the enemy forces in North Korea, while giving primary consideration to the safety of the troops and the fundamental task of defending Japan."

"If you judge that it is necessary to withdraw in order to avoid heavy casualties and material losses, you may lead your troops to withdraw from Korea to Japan."

After waiting for a whole night and getting this reply, MacArthur angrily slammed the telegram on the table.

"Foolish fellows, they will pay the price for their hesitation!"

MacArthur immediately called back, asking them to explain this self-evident fact: Under the current arrangement, my troops are insufficient to allow us to hold our ground in Korea while protecting Japan from foreign attack. I suggest that an overriding policy be adopted to make the various American interests in the Far East interdependent, and then formulate a strategic layout on this basis.

MacArthur was not an arrogant person, and his military vision was quite sharp.

With the combined strength of the Eighth and Tenth Armies, it was unlikely to both hold on to Korea and defend against Japan.

With the existing forces, it is impossible to hold a beachhead line within a limited time without losses. Whether such losses are considered "serious" depends, to some extent, on how the word "serious" is defined.

In MacArthur's view, any price was worth it to take over North Korea.

He was not sure how Washington viewed the term "serious" losses, as there was no standard for measuring them.

After a long and arduous battle, the soldiers' courage and fighting qualities were exhausted physically and mentally by the shameful propaganda. If a political basis calling on them to exchange their lives for time is not provided as soon as possible, all soldiers will fully understand and be inspired by it, so that they will gladly accept the hardships of combat.

Judging from the current situation, the morale of all soldiers in the Eighth Army and the Tenth Army is low, and their combat efficiency will be seriously threatened.

Even if he went to the front line in person to express his condolences, he might not be able to restore the lost morale.

Damn Washington, their indecision made MacArthur very angry, and their restrictions made MacArthur feel ashamed.

Ultimately, the dispute is about whether the United States intends to withdraw from North Korea, a decision that involves crucial domestic and international implications that go far beyond the capabilities of commanders in the field.

Because once the US military withdraws from North Korea, the victorious army established by the US military during the Pacific War will completely collapse, the title of the United States as the world's largest military power will no longer exist, and its prestige will be seriously threatened.

Everything will vanish into thin air.

Just because they were defeated by a newly established country.

As the second battle came to an end, the great victory of the Volunteer Army in the second battle caused a sense of defeat and extreme chaos within the enemy camp.

The American media called this failure a "nightmare" and a "tragedy", and it was the "worst military defeat of the United States since the Pearl Harbor incident."

The U.S. ruling group also believed that it had lost control of the military situation in North Korea and could no longer hope to hold any line of defense across the Korean Peninsula. They attacked each other to determine the responsibility for their failure. Some accused MacArthur of misjudgment and clumsy command and demanded that MacArthur be removed from his post. Some put the blame on the policies of the Washington authorities. Some congressmen demanded the removal of Secretary of State Acheson, and some suggested removing President Truman after a meeting.

In order to safeguard their own interests, the United States' major allies, such as Britain and France, generally hope that the US government will ensure that the North Korean incident will not drag the world into a war. Europe, which had just experienced World War II, suffered economic setbacks and severe population losses. They do not want to see a third world war at this critical juncture.

Once the Third World War breaks out, Europe's position may be lost.

In order to find a way to reverse the defeat, the US government held a series of emergency meetings and consultations, believing that the Korean War had now entered a new stage and that they were fighting a brand new war with a completely new superpower with a strong military.

Political decisions and strategic plans that are feasible and sufficient to deal with relevant real-world issues must be re-formulated.

There were many different opinions at the time, and no consensus was reached. Some advocated abandoning North Korea and concentrating strength in Europe. The Soviet Union had not yet joined the Korean War, so they still had a chance. Once the Soviet Union intervened in the Korean War, it would be impossible for them to abandon North Korea.

By then, Europe and North Korea will need to make progress on both ends, which will be a huge burden for them.

Some advocated attacking Manchurian airports, blockading the Chinese coastline and using the Chinese in Formosa to deal with New China. This was proposed by MacArthur. He was eager for the United States to increase its stakes in the Korean War. He wanted to win the Korean War to increase his reputation in the United States and his prestige in the next election.

Some people advocate that the war should stop at the 38th parallel. These are conservatives in the United States. They believe that the current situation is already quite good and should be restored to the situation before the Korean War.

But this seems impossible. Syngman Rhee would not agree, and Kim Il-sung would not agree either.

Both of them longed for a unified Korea.

However, the US government decided to maintain its position in Europe based on its own global strategy and did not intend to give up its mission in North Korea. Truman also publicly stated his intention to use atomic bombs in North Korea when answering reporters' questions. Such remarks did not scare the Chinese and North Korean people, but frightened his partners.

Hundreds of British Labour Party members jointly wrote a letter to British Prime Minister Attlee to express their protest, and Attlee had to rush to Washington to meet with Truman.

During the talks, they acknowledged the defeat in the Korean War, but were unwilling to withdraw from North Korea. They reiterated their commitment to the Korean War and attempted to play a peace conspiracy to gain their own way.

On December 1950, 12, the United States manipulated the United Nations voting machine to pass a resolution to establish the "Korean Armistice Three-Person Committee" and advocated "ceasefire first, then negotiation" in an attempt to paralyze the Chinese and Korean people's awareness of a decisive battle in order to buy some breathing time.

To put it bluntly, the Americans knew that the Chinese and North Korean people were eager for a ceasefire, so they took advantage of their ideas and falsely created an opportunity for peace talks.

He also stated that a ceasefire should be reached first, followed by negotiations. In this way, the UN forces and Syngman Rhee's army, which were retreating frantically and unable to hold their ground, could be given a chance to catch their breath.

After the Eighth Army Commander Walker died in a car accident, Ridgway took over as the commander of the Eighth Army and deployed the "iron position" according to the intention of the United States. That is, a line of defense that can never be broken.

On the front line stretching 250 kilometers from the mouth of the Imjin River in the west to the coast in the east, three lines of defense, A, B, and C, were deployed in a depth of more than 60 kilometers from north to south.

A is the main defense zone, B is the second defense zone, and C is the mobile defense area.

Eight puppet army divisions and four American and British divisions were gathered to set up frontal defenses.

In addition to using the old permanent buildings, namely cement and steel bunkers, they also generally built bunker communication trenches. The communication trenches and bunkers were connected in series, crisscrossed, and barbed wire and mines were set up, creating numerous obstacles for the advance of the Chinese and Korean People's Army.

On the sea surface of Incheon Port 20 nautical miles west of Seoul, ships from the United States and its vassal states including Britain, France, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Thailand, and New Zealand were concentrated to protect the western wing of the UN forces, putting most of the area to the south and west of the UN forces within the range of the naval artillery.

The enemy also called the 38th parallel the lifeline, attempting to hold on to it and wait for reinforcements, then regroup and attack the north again.

The enemy's conspiracy of "ceasefire first, then negotiate" while preparing for war was long seen through by the Chinese and Korean people.

A call came from northern Beijing: The United States and Britain are taking advantage of the old impression of the 38th parallel among the people to carry out their political propaganda and try to induce us to cease fire. Therefore, it is necessary for our army to cross the 38th parallel at this time, fight another battle, and then rest.

During this period, our country sent representatives to attend the United Nations General Assembly at the invitation and delivered speeches at the Security Council, accusing the United States of its criminal acts of invading Chinese territory and Taiwan. At that time, the Chinese seat in the United Nations was occupied by representatives of the Chiang Kai-shek Party, and the United Nations had not yet recognized the legal status of the representatives of New China.

The representatives sent by our country, on the one hand, severely condemned the U.S. crimes of aggression, and on the other hand, severely condemned the expulsion of Chiang Kai-shek's party from the United Nations. To do this, they needed not only moral support, but more importantly, to show the failure of New China.

In the second battle, the Volunteer Army broke the myth of the invincibility of the U.S. military, which shocked countries around the world. If we could defeat the U.S. military, international public opinion would be more favorable to us.

However, after two consecutive battles, the army had to fight almost every day, sleeping in the mountains and forests, without oil, salt or vegetables, and could only chew oysters dry. The personal hygiene conditions were extremely poor. Not only could they not take a bath, they rarely even had the conditions to wash their faces.

Almost everyone had lice on their bodies. For the past two months, they had been fighting without taking off their saddles or armor. They were in urgent need of sufficient rest, reorganization and replenishment of troops.

Therefore, some comrades had the idea of ​​changing shifts, believing that the second-line troops should come up to fight a battle, but in fact the additional troops sent from the country were still far inside the country and could not reach the front line for a while.

Comparing the strength between the enemy and us, our army does not have an absolute advantage in terms of troops on the front line. It is not unreasonable to postpone the time of the third battle, but from the overall perspective, we should not give the enemy any breathing time and prevent their delaying tactic of ceasefire first and then negotiation from succeeding. At this time, we can break through the 38th parallel and deal a new blow to Li's puppet army and the United Nations forces, which will be extremely beneficial to us politically.

And the enemy will become increasingly divided.

Therefore, all the troops responded to the call from the rear to "strike while the iron is hot" and actively prepared for another battle.

After the second battle, the 38th Army took a short rest, then summed up its experience, commended meritorious units and individuals, streamlined the office and miscellaneous staff, and supplemented the combat companies.

Xia Yuan and others who were resting in the prisoner-of-war camp also participated in the commendation meeting. At the meeting, Xia Yuan was awarded the third-class merit once, the second-class merit three times, and the collective special merit once.

Afterwards, the superiors replenished the combat troops of the Third Company. During the Songgufeng battle, the Third Company's structure was basically destroyed, all the cadres were killed, and only Platoon Leader Xia Yuansi survived.

Therefore, he will be tasked with serving as the company commander of the third company.

At the same time, he also received a telegram from the commander of the 112th Division, which mentioned the call to "strike while the iron is hot."

Xia Yuan was amazed. After the first battle, the front-line troops had basically no rest, and then they launched the second battle. It seemed that the second battle had just ended not long ago, and the call to strike while the iron is hot came. The front-line troops had to continue attacking southwards and cross the 38th parallel.

Since the supply of troops from the rear was not large and only three platoons of combat units were added, Xia Yuan was still satisfied.

Xia Yuan organized the three platoons plus a cooking squad, and each platoon leader took charge. After receiving the telegram from the division headquarters, they also started their journey to catch up with the 335th Regiment.

On the basis of propaganda of victory in the army, we thoroughly publicized the call of the Volunteer Army and the Army Party Committee to create heroic troops and individuals, and emphasized the education of "strike while the iron is hot". We pointed out that after this attack, the enemy was in great chaos and panic, and this was a good opportunity to annihilate the enemy in large numbers. We should take advantage of the enemy's unstable foothold to fight another big battle.

In response to the enemy's ceasefire conspiracy, we focused on exposing the enemy's deceptiveness of "ceasefire first, then negotiate" in our propaganda.

The day after the United States manipulated the United Nations to pass the "Korean Armistice Three-Person Committee", US President Truman declared a state of emergency in the United States, claiming that the Korean War had expanded the US military from 145.6 million to 250 million. From 1951, the United States entered partial mobilization in an attempt to continue to escalate the war.

Send more American youths to North Korea as cannon fodder.

Our army, through a series of current political education, has stimulated the awareness of the troops to continue fighting. All the soldiers have expressed:
“To endure hardship is glory, to overcome difficulties is victory!”

(End of this chapter)