Pyongyang's Sunshine
Vote for me!
When the Chairman of Beijing learned that the US 2nd Division was completely annihilated, the US 1st Cavalry Division had completely lost its combat effectiveness, and the US 25th Division and British 27th Brigade also suffered heavy losses, he happily ordered the guard to add a dish of braised pork in chili sauce. And with great joy, he wrote: "Before the orders of Yan Ziqi and Wang were issued, the contradictions had been going on for many years without any solution, but now a new era has begun, I am most delighted that poets are singing loudly, and the news from the front line is continuous, the war flag is fluttering on the fragrant hill."
At this time, the Americans and public opinion were in a state of pessimism. The news of the complete defeat of the US 2nd Division and the successive heavy casualties of other troops came one after another, and was published on the headlines of major newspapers and repeatedly broadcast by radio stations, causing the American people's morale to suffer heavy blows again and again. Especially when General Wu Xiuquan took good care of the more than 2,000 wounded soldiers abandoned by the US 1st Cavalry Division and invited American media to interview them, the Americans were furious because such a major scandal occurred in a country that values humanity on the surface, and it was exposed by an enemy in a state of hostility. Under questioning from the media, the White House, State Department, Defense Department, and Joint Chiefs of Staff all pointed their fingers at Gay, this poor scapegoat, and he was immediately suspended, sent back to the US Supreme Military Court for trial on a military plane overnight, and under threat to his family, Gay simply admitted his "crime" despite repeatedly explaining that he did it to save more than 5,000 people, of which more than 3,700 actually escaped. However, the angry roars of the onlookers, the unfavorable words from the witness stand, led to him being sentenced to life imprisonment and spending a miserable later life. His comrades-in-arms, Major General Keizer, commander of the US 2nd Division, and Major General Dean, commander of the US 24th Division, were also implicated.
At the same time that Zhi Si issued a military order declaring the 38th Army as the Wan Sui Army and the Independent First Division as the Iron Blood Hero Division, he also received a big gift: more than 176 tanks and over 1,200 vehicles captured in Sansori and Yongwonri, as well as thousands of various artillery pieces. The 38th, 39th, and 40th Armies, and the Independent First Division's First Regiment then boarded vehicles and quickly headed towards Sunchon and Pyongyang under the guidance of more than 40 tanks from the Independent Division's Tank Regiment, cutting off the enemy's retreat route and striving to annihilate the remnants of the ROK 1st Division, US 24th and 25th Divisions, and British 27th Brigade north of Pyongyang. MacArthur was greatly panicked upon learning of our army's movements through aerial reconnaissance, as the main force of the enemy's remnants were still in the Anju to Sinanju area; if they were surrounded again by our army, it would only be possible for them to be completely annihilated. The US military, which had air and naval superiority, immediately launched a large-scale retreat from Sinanju, with hundreds of US transport planes and dozens of various warships rushing towards Sinanju. In three days, the enemy had completely withdrawn from Sinanju, and under the deafening roar of explosions, the US military concentrated on destroying all abandoned supplies, including tanks, vehicles, artillery, and ammunition. The enemy's air force exerted itself to the utmost, frequently taking off to bomb roads, bridges, and everything else they thought we could use.
In central Korea, the enemy had only 20,000 troops left in front of them. The main force of the puppet army was still regrouping in the Hanseong area, and the US Marine Corps' 1st Division was also retreating from Heungnam Port. Therefore, Commander-in-Chief Peng Dehuai ordered all units of the Volunteer Army to launch a large-scale campaign towards southern Korea.
For the first time, the Chinese People's Liberation Army began its mechanized forced march, with enemy forces abandoning everything they could and fleeing south in cars. The remnants of the US 8th Cavalry Regiment retreated 110 kilometers in one day after receiving the order to withdraw. Under the cover of tanks, the 1st Battalion of the Independent Division broke into Pyongyang on the night of December 3, 1950, recovering the North Korean capital that had been occupied by the enemy for 43 days.
Pyongyang was in a state of chaos, with the retreating enemy hastily installing explosives on water and electricity facilities but not causing much damage. Many supplies were left intact in warehouses. However, as soon as the enemy withdrew, enemy planes arrived. Hundreds of tons of bombs, incendiary bombs, and napalm were dropped on key targets in Pyongyang.
Pyongyang became a sea of flames. When Commander-in-Chief Peng Dehuai and Commissar Qian Daxin entered Pyongyang with their headquarters the next morning, they were shocked by what they saw. Everywhere was ablaze, with thick smoke blocking out the sun. Important factories and landmark buildings like the Kim Il-sung Library and the People's Assembly Building had been destroyed. The highways were pockmarked with craters, and burning houses on the roadside still contained the charred bodies of civilians.
Soldiers wept as they put out the fires and collected the burned bodies of Korean civilians for cremation. They seethed with hatred towards the enemy. Commissar Qian Daxin took advantage of the situation to propagandize to the troops about the brutality of US imperialism and the necessity and importance of their participation in the war, warning that if they didn't fight back, the flames of war would reach China's borders and harm their own families.
Some veteran cadres also told the soldiers about the atrocities committed by the Japanese against the Chinese during World War II, and how they had invaded China from Korea. The morale of the troops soared as they demanded to take part in the battle to drive US imperialism back to America and liberate all of Korea.
When faced with a mountain of requests to join the fight, Commander-in-Chief Peng Dehuai smiled wryly and shook his head, ordering his guards to pass them on to Commissar Qian Daxin. Thinking about Qian's bitter expression, Peng couldn't help but burst out laughing.
The mechanized rapid advance of the 38th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 50th and 66th Armies and the Ninth Army Corps roughly along the line from Yan'an (again a fake version), Kaicheng, Lianchuan, Huachuan, Yangkou, Linzhi, Xiangyang (still a fake version) before December 8 confronted the main force of the enemy army. The defeated Americans were looking for a way to save face and step down, while our army's cessation of military action on the 38th parallel undoubtedly gave the enemy a glimmer of hope. Under the special attention of US President Truman and the UN Command, the main forces of the puppet army were dispatched to the 38th parallel, with the excuse that "we cannot give the Communist army an excuse to attack". South Korea's Syngman Rhee knew that the US military did not want its own troops to suffer further losses, but he had no choice but to obey his master.
When thirteen Afro-Asian countries proposed the "Thirteen Countries Proposal" at the United Nations, calling for a ceasefire between the Chinese People's Volunteer Army and the UN forces along the 38th parallel, it deeply hurt Mao Zedong, who was not familiar with international rules. Mao Zedong indignantly thought that when the US military crossed the 38th parallel, they did not make a sound, but now that we want to cross, you do not let us? What kind of logic is this? So, Mao Zedong, with his strong personality, decided to fight across the 38th parallel and prepare for the third campaign.
In the actual history, the casualties of our army and the US military in the first two battles were 1:4 (excluding non-combat injuries such as frostbite). However, due to Mao Zedong's strong personality (this personality had a profound impact on world and Chinese history. During China's three-year natural disaster, China still developed atomic bombs and conducted nuclear tests in '64, and also developed missiles and nuclear submarines, which may be a kind of momentum!), as well as the idea of making a name for China, and the Soviet Union's intention to drag US military power into Korea and Asia, they pushed from behind. For example, before March 1951, they delivered equipment for 36 infantry divisions ordered by China, several air force divisions, 7-8 tank brigades, and also sent an air force corps to station at airports along the Chinese border to cover our logistics lines.
The Korean War was prolonged for more than two years, and China paid a heavy price in casualties and materials. The front line remained near the 38th parallel, although after two battles, the war made the Chinese army truly realize the power of modernized troops, and many iron-like armies were forged, but the cost was too great!
