In the battle of Changjin Lake, why did the 89th Division suffer the least frostbite? The veteran recalled that the political commissar had foresight.

/kloc-in the winter of 0/950, there was snow everywhere on the shore of Lake Changjin, and the cold wind roared, and the ice slag blew with the wind, which made my face ache.

I saw a group of people in the snow. The bearer was none other than an American soldier.

"Hold it!"

The army commander found something different ahead and stopped the team. When the telescope was handed to him, he clearly saw that the strange front turned out to be volunteers frozen into ice sculptures.

Looking at this scene, the commander also lost his mind for an instant, but he still accepted the goods and chose to move on.

Not long after, the commander of the army encountered the same scene again. The difference is that only a few people turned into ice sculptures this time.

Although most people are stiff, at this time they are fighting like chicken blood, and even many people are dragging their frozen and unconscious legs forward.

In the end, the American army fled, and the remaining volunteers continued to carry heavy loads in the snow after a little trimming.

However, on the way forward, they may be accidentally buried in thick snow.

According to statistics, during World War I in Lake Changjin, 4,000 soldiers froze to death and 30,732 suffered from frostbite.

This is undoubtedly heartbreaking.

It is worth mentioning that among the twelve divisions of the Ninth Corps, the 89th Division of the 20th Army suffered the least frostbite, with only 400 people suffering from frostbite.

So, how is this done? If we can learn from it, will the number of soldiers who died of frostbite and freezing in World War I in Lake Changjin be greatly reduced?

If you want to know the answer to this question, you have to mention one person-Wang Zhi.

On July 6th, a baby boy was born in a small town in Shanghang County, Fujian Province. His parents named him Wang Zhi.

When he grew up, Wang Zhi lived up to his parents' expectations and became a progressive young man. 1934 to join the China * * * production party.

Since then, Wang Zhi has participated in various revolutionary activities and accumulated a lot of experience.

Because of Wang Zhi's outstanding performance, after the founding of New China, he became the political commissar of the 89th Division of the 20th Army.

At that time, the country was still unstable, and Wang Zhi still had a long way to go.

1950, when the Korean War broke out, the 89th Division of Wang Zhi's 20th Army received the task: 10, 14, and assembled in Zouxian County, Shandong Province to prepare for training.

After the completion of this task, after simple preparation, I led the soldiers to the north by train with Yu, the commander of the 89 th Division.

165438+1October 5, the train stopped in Jinzhou and the door opened. The influx of cold wind made many soldiers who were resting unconsciously tighten their clothes, and it was this kind of thing that worried Wang Zhi.

"Most of these soldiers are people in northern Jiangsu, and they are generally afraid of the cold. What should I do? "

With such worries, Wang Zhi couldn't eat well and sleep well in the later journey. However, when the car continued to drive, the bad news came again.

165438+1October 6th, when everyone was in the car with their eyes closed to recharge their batteries, there was a loud voice.

When the "ho ho" voice stopped, only the powerful voice issued the latest command.

The first battle on the Korean battlefield has started. After the 89th Division arrived at Shenyang Station, the General Staff of the Military Commission directly issued an order to fight against the DPRK.

As the situation became tense, Wang Zhi ignored his concern about the "cold" and began to cheer for the soldiers to inspire the fighting morale of the volunteers.

Nervously, the car gradually moved to the vicinity of the destination.

165438+1On October 8th, the 89th Division train stopped at Shenyang Station.

Shortly after the train stopped, when the soldiers were still resting, the voice of "please get off the roof" came from the loudspeaker.

Hearing this, the political commissar quickly stood up and urged Yu to go to the temporary operation room while observing the surrounding environment.

Feeling the cold in Shenyang, Wang Zhi's repressed worries unconsciously rose.

At the same time, in the temporary headquarters, I also knew the task of the 89th Division-165438+arrived in Yalu River on10.9, and crossed the river to fight in Lake Changjin that night.

Soon after, he returned to the carriage, found it and told him about it.

Hearing the news, Wang Zhi frowned unconsciously and said, "The soldiers can't stand such cold weather, so this problem must be solved."

I also know the importance of this matter, and because of the urgent task, the clothes on the soldiers are still autumn clothes, which can't resist the cold at all.

The task is imminent, but what should I do?

In the silence, he said, "now we still have a day off." Why don't we ask our superiors for some cotton-padded clothes and shoes? "

In this regard, I finally chose to agree. After all, this is no joke.

So, he rushed back to the temporary headquarters and expressed his thoughts to his superiors and political commissar Wang Zhi.

After learning the news, the superior immediately agreed to let them find He Jinnian, deputy commander of the Northeast Military Region, to solve the matter together.

With the help of He Jinnian, they got cotton-padded clothes and quilts that can keep out the cold, but because of the short time, cotton trousers, cotton caps and cotton gloves were not equipped.

Wang Zhi, they have no time. Even if they are short of materials, they must continue to set foot on the train.

In the car, Wang Sikao was very upset about the current situation.

He doesn't know how cold it is on the battlefield, but he knows he can't gamble the lives of soldiers.

In order to solve this problem, he racked his brains. Suddenly, he thought, "There is enough cotton in the quilt. It is better to take advantage of this advantage and take out a little cotton inside to make simple hats and gloves. "

Do as you say. After thinking about the pros and cons, he told Yu what he thought.

After obtaining Yu's consent, he immediately mobilized the soldiers to open the quilt, take out the cotton and make it into simple hats, gloves and so on.

With the concerted efforts of Qi Xin's Qi Xin, it was soon completed, and every soldier had cold-proof materials. See this kind of situation, Wang Zhi also temporarily put down their concerns.

However, this concern rose again after reaching the Korean battlefield.

When the 89th Division arrived in North Korea, it was covered with snow, accompanied by deep-rooted cold wind and difficult terrain to survey.

Fortunately, the soldiers have simple cold-proof materials and will not be stumped by heavy snow. But such a bad environment still has a great influence on the present situation.

In order to carry out the task smoothly, after consultation with, it was decided to send a small team to contact other troops and assemble for standby.

165438+1October 27th, the second battle started, and the 89th Division led by Yu marched into Shecang.

The plan went well. On the 28th, the Shecang was captured by the 89th Division, and Yu et al. split up and quickly built fortifications here.

While the 89th Division was urgently building a defense line, it received a new order: to annihilate the 3rd Division of the US Army.

However, due to the cold weather, poor communication radio signals and poor coordination, this operation failed to achieve a complete success.

Helpless, I missed the best opportunity and had to turn from attack to defense. At the same time, the military department issued new instructions.

Defend the enemy in the north and help Liutanli.

Although the two sides have different camps, they have similar purposes.

Soon, the 267th Regiment of the 89th Division confronted the 7th Transport Team of the US Marine Corps 1 Division.

On the way to this confrontation, due to its own problems, the US transport troops were completely defeated and were wiped out by the 267th Regiment of the 89th Division.

For this small-scale victory, everyone's joy is beyond words. Not only that, they also seized what they needed most-3,000 blankets.

People are excited to see the supplies replenished. After all, they have seen many comrades freeze to death in Lake Changjin.

Compared with the joy of the soldiers, Wang Zhi, the teacher and political commissar, is very rational.

In their view, getting blankets is a good thing, but there are tens of thousands of soldiers in the 89th Division. What can we do with only 3000 blankets?

Not only that, but the distribution of blankets is also a difficult problem.

It stands to reason that these 3,000 blankets were exchanged with the lives of the soldiers of the 89th Division and the 267th Regiment. They should be protected from the cold and their lives should be "overweight".

However, according to the regulations of the army, all the items seized on the battlefield cannot be kept for their own use, and they must be handed over to the superior for unified distribution.

Moreover, it is not only the 267th regiment that lacks warm materials, but also the soldiers of other teams.

In this dilemma, political commissar Wang Zhi was silent again, but this silence did not last long. Soon after, he stood up again.

"Otherwise, cut the blankets into small squares and distribute them to the companies, which not only solves the glove problem, but also reduces the occurrence of frostbite of soldiers on the battlefield."

Hearing this, some people agree and some people object. Among them, those who disagree think that this practice is a bit wasteful.

Wang Zhi understands people's worries, but he also knows how important gloves and cotton cloth at the feet are that people ignore.

Therefore, even if people objected, he cut the blanket "willfully" after obtaining Yu's consent.

Seeing that the blanket was broken, the dissatisfied people stopped making comments and just thought it was an unpleasant episode and turned over the page.

No one expected that it was these unpleasant events that made the 89th Division become the division with the least frostbite, so that it could become a team that pursued the US troops continuously.

1On October 27th, soldiers attacked Li Xinxing.

Guns and grenades are useless because of the low temperature. In order to win, the soldiers regard themselves as weapons and kill the enemy.

Although poorly equipped, the bullets turned into flesh and blood have killed one enemy after another.

After three days and nights of hard fighting, the soldiers of the whole army wiped out the polar bear regiment at the cost of 1000 non-combatants reduction and 22% frostbite of the whole army.

12 On February 24th, the second battle came to an end.

At the post-war summary meeting, Liao Zhengguo sadly recalled the destruction of this war and thought that so many soldiers were frozen to death in the ice and snow.

At the meeting, Liao Zhengguo said bluntly:

"The 89th Division had a political commissar who asked the soldiers to take down the materials on the cotton-padded clothes to make earmuffs and gloves. There were only 400 casualties. Why didn't others think of it? "

Liao Zhengguo's words hurt everyone, but they are more thought-provoking than those soldiers who were frozen to death by frostbite.

Political commissar Wang Zhi's decision can be said to have saved countless lives. Recalling this incident, the veteran at that time said, "If the teacher and the political commissar had not been far-sighted, things might have ended in another way."

Yes, without their decision, things would be even more regrettable.

Then, according to Liao Zhengguo, if this strategy was applied to each battalion at that time, would the casualties be reduced? Will the result be different?

This is not necessarily true.

First of all, as far as the situation at that time was concerned, because things were sudden and the situation was tense, the initial war preparation materials were definitely not comprehensive, and no matter from which aspect, it was impossible for everyone to go to war with cotton-padded jackets.

This has also led to the lack of cotton-padded jackets, and it is impossible for soldiers to freeze to death.

Secondly, at that time, in the battle of Changjin Lake, the temperature was as low as MINUS 40 degrees after heavy snow.

What kind of concept is this? It is no exaggeration to say that if you take off your shoes and sleep at night, you will only get one result the next day, and that is because your feet are swollen with cold and you can't put them on.

Not only that, if you don't take a long rest in the snow, you are likely to freeze to death in your sleep.

In this weather, even if you give each company a small blanket to wrap their feet, you may be able to keep warm for a while, but it is useless.

Finally, the soldiers went to the battlefield to take part in the battle. At that time, the situation was tense, and our equipment was not as good as that of the US military, so in order to reduce unnecessary casualties.

Many times, soldiers can only lurk in the snow during the day and March at night.

Frozen for a day, my body is already stiff. If there are enough cold-proof materials and food that can replenish heat in time, it can still survive.

However, at that time, we couldn't make a fire to cook, so we had to drink snow water and eat frozen potatoes.

I would like to ask how much loss can be reduced even if the materials on the cotton-padded clothes can be removed to protect the hands, feet and ears in such a difficult environment and such a tragic soldier?

It's been a long time since the first stop in Lake Changjin, but we will never forget the heroic martyrs who were buried in the snow.

We should always remember the truth that if we lag behind, we will be beaten.

While taking this as the driving force, we can't forget the warmth that only belongs to that era.

Perhaps, the soldiers' hands were frozen stiff, perhaps, the soldiers were buried in the snow, but their hearts and blood were always "hot".

Remember the martyrs and remember the history!

Major General of the People's Liberation Army: China sacrificed 654.38+800,000 volunteers to resist US aggression and aid Korea. Zhongxin.com.