Chapter 8 4. The combat goal of the Volunteers is to achieve a truce and withdrawal of troops with the 38th parallel as the boundary

It goes without saying that "resisting U.S. aggression, aiding Korea, and defending the country" is the political goal of the Chinese People's Volunteers participating in the war.But after the Chinese People's Volunteers entered the DPRK, to what extent can they fight militarily, and what will happen?This is an issue that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Military Commission cannot but consider.In this regard, Chinese leaders such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai made several estimates when they made the strategic decision to form the Chinese People's Volunteers to resist the United States and aid Korea and defend the country.

Before the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting to discuss the decision to send troops, Mao Zedong drafted a telegram to Stalin on October 2 but did not send it out: “We believe that since we have decided to send Chinese troops to North Korea to fight against the Americans, first, we must It can solve the problem, that is, we must prepare to annihilate and expel the aggressor forces of the United States and other countries in North Korea; second, since the Chinese army is fighting with the American army in North Korea (although we use the name of the Volunteer Army), we must prepare for the United States to declare To enter a state of war with China, it is necessary to prepare that the United States may at least use its air force to bomb many of China's major cities and industrial bases, and use its navy to attack coastal areas." "Of these two issues, the first is whether China's military can Annihilation of the U.S. Army in North Korea is an effective solution to the North Korean issue. As long as our army can annihilate the U.S. Army in North Korea, the main thing is to annihilate its Eighth Army (a combat-capable veteran of the U.S.), the second problem (the U.S. and China Although the seriousness of declaring war) still existed, the situation at that time became favorable to both the Revolutionary Front and China. That is to say, the Korean issue ended in fact (in form (The world may not be over yet, and the United States may not recognize North Korea’s victory for a long period of time), so even if the United States has openly fought China, the scale of this war may not be very large, and the time will not last very long. We believe that the most unfavorable situation is that the Chinese army cannot wipe out a large number of American troops in North Korea. The bourgeoisie and other sections of the people are dissatisfied with us (they are afraid of war)."

On the same day, Mao Zedong forwarded another telegram to Stalin through the Soviet ambassador to China, Luo Shen, also pointed out: "It is difficult to solve the North Korean problem with a few divisions (our army is extremely poorly equipped, and there is no guarantee of victory against the US military), the enemy will force We retreat. Most likely, this will lead to an open confrontation between the United States and China... If we send out a few divisions, and then be driven back by the enemy, and this leads to an open conflict between the United States and China, then our entire peace building The plan will be completely disrupted, and many people in the country will be dissatisfied with us."

After the Volunteers entered the DPRK, on ​​October 23, Mao Zedong pointed out another possibility in a telegram to Peng Dehuai and Gao Gang.He pointed out: In the absence of air supremacy, "if I can use night marches to achieve a very proficient level, even though the enemy has a large number of aircraft, they still can't give me too much damage and hindrance, then our army can continue to conduct field battles and strikes." Many isolated strongholds, that is to say, except for Pyongyang, Wonsan, Seoul, Daegu, Busan and other big cities and their nearby areas, which I cannot attack without aircraft, the enemies in other places may be wiped out by us. Even if the United States adds a few more If the divisions come, I may also annihilate them one by one. In this way, it is possible to force the United States to engage in diplomatic negotiations with me.”Later, after the Volunteer Army’s second battle dealt a heavy blow to the U.S. Army, on December 3, when Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Liu Shaoqi discussed the situation in the Korean War with Kim Il Sung in Beijing, Mao Zedong further pointed out: “The enemy may demand an armistice. It is believed that the withdrawal from North Korea must be admitted, and the withdrawal to the south of the 38th parallel can be negotiated for an armistice.”

Zhou Enlai made it more clear. On October 24, he made a report at the 18th Standing Committee of the First National Political Consultative Conference: "U.S. imperialism uses force to oppress the people of other countries. We want to make it impossible to suppress it. Give it setbacks, let it back down, and then solve the problem. We are restrained. If the enemy backs down, we can negotiate to solve the problem inside or outside the United Nations, because we want peace and not war The Korean people must solve their own problems, and foreign troops must withdraw from North Korea. If it is solved well, the US imperialism will suffer setbacks, and the situation in the Taiwan Strait and the situation in the East can also be changed. We strive for this possibility." "Also Another possibility is that the enemy will become more jealous and invade the mainland, and the war will expand. The possibility of the enemy's all-or-nothing exists, because the US imperialism has a crazy faction, and we should make preparations for this. We do not want the war to expand. If it wants to expand, there is no way. We should strive for the former, and strive for peace. But we should also be prepared to deal with the latter possibility, to deal with world war." At the same time, he also pointed out: "The enemy may come to bomb, or use Chiang Kai-shek's air force to bomb , or landing raids, we should strengthen our defenses." "Chairman Mao often said that everything should be planned from the bad side, so as not to suffer losses, so as not to fall into a passive position. If the US imperialists really attack our mainland, it will not It is only a matter of war in China alone. We have signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance with the Soviet Union. Once a fight starts, it will be a full-scale fight. In fact, the United States is not ready yet." In November, Zhou Enlai talked about these possibilities many times on different occasions.

When Chen Yun and Peng Dehuai talked about this issue at the time, they also expressed opinions similar to the above. In short, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi and other leaders analyzed and believed that after the volunteers joined the war, there were three possibilities for changes in the situation of the war. First, to annihilate and expel the aggressive troops of the United States and other countries in Korea.This is the most ideal result.But the emergence of this situation was based on the fact that the Soviet Union provided weapons and equipment for the Chinese People's Volunteers and dispatched the Air Force to directly support the Volunteers in their operations.When the Central Military Commission established the Northeast Frontier Army in July, Stalin informed the Soviet ambassador to China to tell Zhou Enlai that when the U.S. troops crossed the 38th parallel, China’s Northeast Frontier Army would fight in the name of volunteers, and the Soviet Union “will try its best to provide air cover for these troops.” .

Second, although the Chinese military is fighting in the name of unofficial volunteers, the United States may still openly declare war on China, or at least use its air force to bomb many of China's large cities and industrial bases, and its navy to attack China's coastal areas. With backward weapons and equipment, not only will they not be able to wipe out a large number of U.S. troops, but they may even lead to a stalemate or even be forced to withdraw. Not only will they fail to solve the North Korean problem, but they will also affect China's entire recovery and construction plan, causing dissatisfaction among many people in the country.This is the most unfavorable outcome.

Third, in the Soviet Union, the air force could not be dispatched to directly support operations. The Volunteers relied on ground forces to fight, implemented flexible combat command, gave full play to the advantages of their troops, and gave full play to their tactical expertise in combat without air supremacy. If North Korea insists on fighting, if it can annihilate the small units of the South Korean Army and the U.S. Army, and can attack other areas except large and medium-sized cities, then it is possible to force the United States to resolve the issue through negotiations, but the condition is that the U.S. troops must withdraw from North Korea. Withdraw to the south of the 38th parallel.

Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi and other Chinese leaders have an attitude towards these three possibilities: strive for the first possibility, try to avoid the second possibility, and accept the third possibility.In other words, the lowest goal of the Volunteers fighting in North Korea is the third possibility, and the highest goal is the first possibility.We must also consider and prepare for the possibility of the second situation.What kind of ending will happen can only be determined after a period of war practice.