Chapter 87 The 9th Corps went to the freezing Korean battlefield wearing autumn clothes

The 9th Corps, also known as the Song Shilun Corps, is a strong force of the Third Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, under the jurisdiction of the 20th, 26th, and 27th armies. The commander, Song Shilun, and the deputy commander, Tao Yong, are both experienced and brave generals. Song Shilun (1907-1991), born in Liling County, Hunan Province, entered Whampoa Military Academy in 1925, with the rank of general. There is some information: "During the war, General Song Shilun liked to have a bald head and protruding blue veins; he liked to open his arms and have puffy chest muscles; he liked to wear a box gun on his waist and tassels on the handle of the gun. He was afraid of him, and his superiors were also afraid of him. Those who met him for the first time would not believe that he was a genuine Whampoa Military Academy student." It is said that when Tao Yong first received the order from the Central Military Commission to appoint him as the deputy commander of the 9th Corps, he resolutely refused to accept it. Said: "Song Shilun has a big temper, and I also have a big temper. How can two hot tempers get along well!"

There are many stories about General Song Shilun.He lost his mother when he was young and was raised by his older sister.Once, Song Shilun, who was very young, sent his sister back to her natal home. After returning home drunk, she strayed into a cave because of darkness and fell asleep with her clothes on.After waking up, it was already daylight, and he suddenly found an animal licking his mouth. He opened his eyes and saw: My God!It turned out that there were four tiger cubs surrounding him, playing with him!Song Shilun jumped up in fright and ran away. In the Battle of Huaihai, General Song Shilun commanded three columns of the People's Liberation Army to block the attack of the two corps of Qiu Qingquan and Li Mi in Xuzhou.The enemy attacked desperately with the support of tanks and planes. His command post calmly responded to the battle, held its position, and stood still for ten days and nights.After coming down, there was a rumor in the Kuomintang army: "If the artillery doesn't move, it must be the ten verticals."

During the "Cultural Revolution", the rebels criticized General Song Shilun and accused him of "drinking too much" and "drinking too much".General Song Shilun stood on the stage without saying a word.After returning home, he took a drink and said to himself: "Is it a crime for me to drink alcohol?" When the rebels criticized General Song Shilun as the "Three Antis", General Song Shilun glared at him and said, "Yes! I am the Three Antis. I am against imperialism, feudalism, and Chiang Kai-shek of the Kuomintang. Is my opposition wrong?!" The rebels were speechless.

In the summer of 1976, Chairman Mao Zedong was seriously ill, and Deng Xiaoping was defeated.General Song Shilun worried about the country and the people, and his heart was burning.He secretly discussed the situation with the generals of the army, and when he got excited, he raised his arms and shouted: "As a last resort, we must carry out military advice!" In 1991, Song Shilun died of illness.Zhang Aiping, the former Minister of National Defense, missed this old comrade-in-arms very much, and wrote a poem to mourn: On the battlefield, the power of the gods is displayed in all battles, and thousands of peaches and plums are blooming.

Laughter often sprinkles true feelings, and you will return drunk with the spring breeze. Look! "You come back drunk with the spring breeze", the poem describes a wine fairy! The 9th Corps, originally the main force for the liberation of Taiwan by the People's Liberation Army, was oversubscribed. Each regiment was a four-four or even five-five reinforced battalion. The strength of the three armies reached 150,000. The North Korean military situation is on fire, Mr. Peng is eager for reinforcements. After receiving instructions from the Central Military Commission, the 9th Corps put down its maritime training and hurried northward.The troops were originally scheduled to change their winter clothes in Liaoyang and Shenyang, but due to the tense battle, it was too late.The military order was like a mountain, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers had to wear summer and autumn single clothes, hurried across the Yalu River, and entered the icy Korean battlefield.

When the military column was temporarily parked in Liaoning, He Jinnian, the deputy commander and chief of staff of the Northeast Military Region, was stunned to see the thin clothing of the 9th Corps. For the 9th Corps, cadres and soldiers were also mobilized to take off their coats and hats and give them to the soldiers of the 9th Corps.Even these clothes and hats, most of them did not have time to be sent to the military ranks. In fact, due to long-term combat in the southern region, most of the troops were southerners. The 9th Corps did not have any experience and mental preparation for the combat environment in the alpine region. Many people saw snow for the first time.

On November 7, 12, and 19, 150,000 troops quietly crossed the Yalu River and entered the Korean Eastern Front where the natural conditions were extremely harsh. This is a pain for the 9th Corps; This is difficult for the 9th Corps. On the first day of entering the DPRK, more than 700 people in the entire army suffered from frostbite. Since then, it has increased day by day. When entering North Korea, more than 10 people in a squad of the 9th Corps were equipped with only one or two quilts.However, the night in northern North Korea was too cold and the freezing was unbearable. The soldiers had to spread out one or two quilts on the snow, and more than 10 people squeezed on the quilts to hug each other to keep warm, so as to resist the severe cold of -45°C.

Another typical hug to keep warm. By the morning roll call, many soldiers were frostbitten, and some soldiers could not stand up anymore—frozen to death... It's too painful to kill with a slow knife!On this narrow battlefield on the Eastern Front, there is only one mountain road that can barely drive, but the sky is full of reconnaissance American aircraft. More than 40 trucks loaded with supplies from the 27th Army have not entered the designated area before they were spotted by American aircraft. A blast of napalm burned it up.In this way, the cars of the 9th Corps, which were scarce, were blown up.

The heavy equipment could not be transported, so all the heavy equipment had to be left behind, and the troops marched forward with light weapons.In this way, even the cold potatoes and fried noodles to satisfy the hunger can hardly be provided basically. In terms of weapons and equipment, the gap between the volunteer army and the US military is even more unimaginable.Due to the mountain road, the only equipment and supplies could not be supplied, and the hand grenades became the heavy weapons of the volunteers.Can this army, which is almost in the era of cold weapons, succeed in fighting against the highly mechanized US military with air planes and heavy firepower on the ground?

The battle is about to start, and there is still no way to deliver the supplies. How can we fight without food and drink!Song Shilun and Tao Yong had to make an impromptu decision: keep the 26th Army in the rear, and advance two armies first. With such a big hard bone, even if all three armies go up, it may not be possible to fight a battle of annihilation, let alone two armies!But at that time, the conditions were not met and there was no way. It is conceivable that if the Volunteer Army's equipment is slightly better, the supply can be basically satisfied, and the three main forces all go up, what kind of bear will the U.S. army have to be beaten!

On November 21, the 20th Army and the 27th Army all arrived at the scheduled battlefield. The 20th Army went covertly to the southwest of Liutangli, and the 27th Army sneaked to the north of Liutangli and Xinxingli.The 26th Army, as a reserve force, approached Changjin Lake from the Houchang area. At that time, the U.S. military sent a large number of reconnaissance planes to conduct 24-hour uninterrupted aerial reconnaissance along this winding snow-covered mountain road every day.That's it, a huge force of 150,000 troops lurked to the scheduled battlefield around Changjin Lake, but the U.S. military didn't even notice it. This is a miracle in the military history of the world.