Dramatic changes in the movies and TV shows

Chapter 1183 Support Battle

The U.S. Air Force suffered heavy losses in this battle and did not conduct large-scale sorties for several days afterward.

Or they would only dare to send out a few fighter jets to probe and gather intelligence on the J-5 fighter jet.

They either sent reconnaissance planes in an attempt to enter domestic airspace to gather intelligence on the air force, but these were either intercepted by ground fire or by Chinese People's Volunteer Army pilots, and they did not obtain any useful information.

Near Chosin Reservoir, American journalists were filming the 1st Marine Division advancing north. Harrison Taylor hoped to be the first journalist to capture the scene of American horses drinking water at the riverbank.

In this way, he might be able to win the next most difficult Pulitzer Prize, which is the highest award that all journalists aspire to.

"Shit, this damn weather, this damn place!" Just as Harrison was taking pictures, he heard Sergeant Eric, who was responsible for protecting him, angrily cursing from behind.

Turning around, he saw Eric sitting in the jeep, trying to open a can of peas. Wearing heavy gloves made it difficult, so he had to take them off.

As a result, he couldn't help but curse as soon as his hand touched the cold pull tab of the can. The cold can made his fingers hurt the moment he touched it.

“Just bear with it a little longer, Eric. We’ll be at the Yalu River in a few days, and then you can say goodbye to this damn place and this damn weather,” reporter Harrison advised.

Jumping out of the jeep, Eric said, "Harrison, do you think we can reach the Yalu River in a few days at our current speed?"

Our dear Smith was terrified of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. Like a mouse before a cat, he kept asking us to slow down, even though our speed was terribly slow.

"Oh, damn it, where would we find any Volunteer Army troops in this weather? I heard they're just a bunch of farmers with guns, who can't even afford cotton-padded coats. Fighting in this weather, they'll probably freeze to death more often than we do."

There were many rumors about the Chinese army in the 17 branches of government, and Harrison had heard quite a few.

Many American newspapers are saying that the Chinese army is like butter, and our advanced weapons are like a red-hot pan that can melt the enemy with a single touch, citing past examples to prove it.

However, some newspapers said that the Chinese army was very brutal, just like the Japanese army of the past. Once captured, they would be tortured and subjected to cruel abuse every day. This was the first impression many ordinary Americans had of the Chinese army.

However, at the same time, most American soldiers believed that the Chinese army was just peasants with guns, as vulnerable as the People's Army.

Because the officers in the army have been instilling this concept in the soldiers in order to reduce their fear of the Chinese army.

There were even American military officers who had been to China who told their subordinates how poor China was, saying that Chinese people didn't even have pants to wear or blankets.

In such cold weather, the Chinese army dared not leave their houses, fearing they would freeze to death, let alone fight, so there was nothing to worry about.

As a journalist, Harrison knew more than ordinary U.S. soldiers, and the intelligence he obtained from the U.S. Army's 7th Division, which had previously fought against the Chinese army, was completely different.

They all say that the Chinese army has a strong fighting spirit and its weapons are just as advanced as theirs. No, to be precise, they have the same weapons at all.

For example, the rifles are all the same: the M1 Rand rifle, the same Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), the same M1919 series machine guns, and the same M2 heavy machine guns.

就特么连坦克和飞机都是一样的，M24霞飞轻型坦克、M26潘兴中型坦克、M4A3E8谢尔曼中型坦克、M46巴顿中型坦克，P51野马战斗机。

The key is that their tactical level is very high, their blocking positions are very cleverly arranged, and their skill level is even higher than theirs.

The only good news was that the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's jet fighters were completely different from those of the United States.

The bad news was that the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's jet fighters were far more advanced than theirs, but Harrison couldn't tell the sergeant in front of him because it would be too demoralizing.

"I heard that Armand went to the front lines in person a couple of days ago and criticized Smith, but the guy is still making slow progress."

"Damn it, this slow progress is making us suffer in this freezing weather," Eric continued to complain.

“Hey Eric, I think General Smith is a very responsible officer. Regardless of whether there are Chinese troops ahead, you shouldn’t insult your superior anymore. At least he didn’t send you to your death, did he?”

“Alright, where are we?” Harrison asked, seeing a huge lake ahead.

Eric took out the map from the Jeep, glanced at it, and said:
"Wow, we're not far from the Yalu River. Ahead is a man-made reservoir built by the locals, called Changjin Lake. It's a very large man-made reservoir."

"Such a backward place, yet they've built an artificial reservoir! I really need to check it out!" Frank said, taking pictures with his camera while muttering a complaint:

"Changjin Lake, what a tongue-twisting and strange name."

After getting into the jeep, Harrison and Eric caught up with the main force of the 1st Marine Division, and they did not encounter any attacks along the way.

Therefore, the 1st Marine Division seemed to have a relatively easy time during their march, but the extremely cold weather made them feel very uncomfortable.

They soon arrived at the Changjin Lake area, an artificial lake in the mountains. Harrison even took a picture of the lake surface covered by a thick layer of ice.

They then received orders from Division Commander Smith to halt their advance and wait for air reinforcements in the Chosin Reservoir area.

Upon receiving this order, the entire 1st Marine Division was filled with groans of despair. All they wanted now was to get to the Yalu River as quickly as possible, complete their mission, and leave this freezing northern region.

Unaware of the situation, Harrison drove his jeep to ask the colonel, commander of the 1st Marine Infantry Regiment, why they had stopped.

As far as he knew, the straight-line distance from here to Yalujiang was only 100 li. Even if the roads were difficult and the weather was cold, the mechanized corps could reach Yalujiang within a day. Why stop at Changjin Lake?

Colonel Lewis replied with a dark expression:

"This is General Smith's order. We haven't found any trace of Chinese troops yet. Our flanks are unprotected, and our skies are unprotected!"

"If we advance rashly, we could easily be ambushed by the enemy, so Commander Smith thinks we should stop and conduct a thorough reconnaissance."

Well, even he thought that Commander Smith was being too cautious, delaying his chance to win the Pulitzer Prize.

Harrison had no choice; he couldn't possibly rush to the Yalu River alone, so he had to return to his tent.

When he returned to the tent, he saw Eric and the soldiers building a campfire and roasting a chicken they had gotten from some village. The chicken was terribly thin, practically a skeleton. Fortunately, there was canned food and bread nearby, making it seem like they were preparing for a winter picnic on the snowy plains.

They complained as they warmed themselves by the fire:

"I have never seen a general as cowardly as Division Commander Smith. He actually ordered us to build fortifications in this freezing weather and warned us to be careful of an attack by the Chinese army!"

"God, has anyone seen the Chinese army? I haven't seen a single person except us. And building fortifications in this weather, damn it, what are they thinking? All they get when they dig with their shovels is ice."

"Yeah, we were almost at the Yalu River when he made us stop and camp in this freezing snowfield. If he were in front of me, I would definitely kick his ass!"

Then came a burst of laughter. Clearly, everyone was very dissatisfied with Smith's cautiousness. From the superiors to the soldiers at the grassroots level, no one believed that the Chinese army could fight them in such weather.

Harrison, who was standing nearby, did not participate in their conversation, but he raised his camera, wanting to take some photos of this place called Changjin Lake, especially the many uneven "peaks" on both sides.

When he pressed the shutter, he noticed that the "mountain" being photographed seemed to move slightly.

When he came to his senses after his initial confusion, he asked Eric beside him:

"Eric, I just saw the mountain next to us move. Could it be a wild animal?!"

"A beast?" Eric looked in the direction Harrison was pointing and saw a small creature flying towards them from the nearby mountain peak. He paused for a moment, then said, "It doesn't look like one!"

Just as they were talking, several fighter jets flew overhead in the sky above the "mountain".

Eric pointed to the J-5 fighter jet and said with a sigh of relief, "Oh, Mr. Harrison, these should be our fighter jets coming to provide support."

"I heard it's the most advanced F86 Sabre jet fighter. I wish I could fly one of those," Eric said enviously.

"Damn it, get down! This isn't a saber, it's a Chinese fighter jet!" Harrison, a reporter familiar with his country's aircraft, knew immediately upon seeing the fighter jet that it wasn't one used by his country.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang~ Boom!" A burst of 20mm shells blasted the moving tank to pieces. Then Lin Hao drove off.

The snow on the "mountain" that Harrison had just photographed suddenly collapsed, revealing Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers wearing white trench coats.

The volunteer soldiers lifted the white holsters, gripped the triggers of their M2 heavy machine guns that they had already aimed at, and fired without hesitation at the soldiers who were building fortifications.

"Boom boom boom boom boom, boom boom boom boom boom, boom boom boom boom boom!" The classic five-shot burst was directed at the American soldiers below.

"Boom!" A 105mm howitzer shell landed directly on the unfinished fortifications, instantly turning the enemy's afternoon of effort into nothing.

At the same time, the J-5 fighter jets in the sky circled back and fired a series of machine gun shots at the anti-aircraft guns that were aiming at them.

The pilot of this fighter jet was Lin Hao, who immediately moved to Changjin Lake after the air battle in the south.

This was the site of that famous battle, so Lin Hao naturally wouldn't miss it. He led the Blue Army trainees and applied to fly fighter jets to support the army brothers who were lying in ambush here.

The US Air Force, which was supposed to provide support, did not arrive as scheduled, but was intercepted by the flight division to which Wang Wuhai belonged.

That's right. The battle in the south had just ended, and when Lin Hao returned to the airport to resupply, the interception battle in the north was still ongoing.

However, after learning that they had gained the upper hand, Lin Hao decided to send Wang Wuhai and his team to support the interception, while he would lead the Blue Army trainees to support the Army's ambush and minimize their casualties.

The Battle of Chosin Reservoir did not end quickly due to Lin Hao's reinforcements, but it did significantly reduce the casualties of the army and severely damaged the morale of the US military.

The air support lasted until near dusk, during which Lin Hao returned to the base three times to resupply.

Although winter evenings come earlier, the sky gradually darkens by this time, and air support won't last long.

But the battle had to be completed today, otherwise they would receive reinforcements every day. After Lin Hao had used up all his machine gun ammunition, he only had one 50-kilogram bomb left in the belly of his aircraft.

As for who to give it to, Lin Hao had not yet found a suitable target. However, while flying at low altitude, Lin Hao suddenly had an idea, so he deliberately flew towards a lieutenant colonel in the United States.

Then Lin Hao used his mental lock to locate a US military officer, searched his memories, and immediately learned the location of the officer's division headquarters.

So Lin Hao flew over the target and dropped a 50-kilogram aerial bomb at the concealed Smith Division headquarters.

A 50-kilogram aerial bomb actually contains about 25 kilograms of TNT, while a 155mm howitzer shell contains only about 7 kilograms of TNT.

In other words, the explosive power of a 50-kilogram aerial bomb is equivalent to 3-4 155mm artillery shells or 1.1 203mm heavy howitzer shells, but the actual explosive power of a 50-kilogram aerial bomb is even greater.

This 50-kilogram bomb was dropped directly on Smith's division headquarters, instantly killing the cautious officer.

After dropping the bombs, Lin Hao turned and left, leaving the US military, now without command, in complete chaos.

Exhausted, the American troops finally raised the white flag and surrendered to the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

In fact, it wasn't just this battle; the entire northern region was thrown into chaos within just a few days as the Chinese People's Volunteer Army launched a full-scale offensive.

The United States, which had been making relatively smooth progress, had its plans disrupted in just a few days, and not only in the Chosin Reservoir area.

On the western front, the 1st and 25th Cavalry Divisions, along with parts of the South Korean 7th and 8th Divisions, were also attacked by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army along the Chonggang River line and were divided and surrounded.

After more than 1,300 people were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, continuing to resist would only increase casualties.

So, in the early hours of that day, the U.S. military sent a telegram in plain text surrendering unconditionally, only requesting that the Chinese army abide by the prisoner-of-war treaty.

Not long after the telegram was sent in plain text, the 9th Army Corps of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army replied, saying that as long as the American troops surrendered, they were willing to treat them in accordance with the prisoner-of-war treaty.