Chapter 67 The Secret to Winning Battles: Decisions That Are Unconventional and Commonsense

In the first battle of entering North Korea, China and the United States fought for the first time. The Volunteer Army fought well, but the United Nations Army fought poorly. First, it was about to hit the Yalu River, and almost all of North Korea was about to fall, but the United Nations Army was beaten back a hundred kilometers.The west line (western part of North Korea), retreated from the Yalu River all the way to the Qingchuan River; the east line (mountainous area in eastern North Korea), was blocked south of Changjin Lake. The Volunteer Army fought a large piece of territory of its own in one battle. According to the evaluation of the Central Military Commission, it "preliminarily stabilized the situation in the Korean War."

Second, in this battle (called the first battle in China), more than 15,000 people were killed, wounded, and captured by the United Nations Army, including 3,518 American soldiers, and 650 vehicles were lost. , 529 artillery pieces, and a large number of military supplies; and more than 10,700 volunteers were killed, injured, or missing, of which frostbite accounted for a large proportion and belonged to non-combat injuries. In the first battle, in terms of numbers, the Volunteer Army lost 30% less than the United Nations Army. Moreover, the United Nations army was still in shock and was still running south.If you continue to fight, the Volunteers can completely occupy some more territory and destroy some enemies.

Peng Dehuai, the commander of the Volunteer Army, has another feeling about such a result.Peng Dehuai's judgment was: Although more than 15,000 enemies were wiped out, not many were wiped out, especially the effective forces of the United Nations Army were not systematically wiped out.That is to say, they only scratched their face and skin, but they haven't broken their bones yet. They are fully capable of making a comeback. The real contest is yet to come, and it is uncertain who will win.Moreover, this battle is the first time that China and the United States have fought each other. Some volunteer troops did not fight well and let the enemy go. They still need to sum up and temper themselves.

At this time, Commander Peng Dehuai judged that in the face of the Volunteer Army's surprise attack, the United Nations Army was shocked and retreated quickly, but from the information, it seemed that they did not know how much the Volunteer Army had.From the present point of view, we should continue to pursue; but from the point of view of the next move, we need to make another plan. In the war room of the cave, under the dim candlelight, Peng Dehuai's big eyes stared blankly at the map, motionless.He told Deng Hua and Hong Xuezhi his views and got their approval. Soon, the order to stop the pursuit was issued to the entire army; the telegram to prepare for the second battle was placed on Mao Zedong's desk.

Almost without thinking, Mao Zedong swiped his pen to approve Peng Dehuai's decision, and greatly appreciated Peng Dehuai's plan.