The heavens start from Changjin Lake

In accordance with the order of the Volunteer Army Headquarters, all divisions were organized to cross the river from Ji'an and march to North Korea one after another. As soon as the 337th Regiment of the 113th Division arrived in Ji'an, they crossed the river on foot from the pontoon bridge they built.

After Commander Jiang and Political Commissar Yu assigned tasks to each regiment, they entered North Korea by car.

The 338th Regiment arrived at Daji'an on the morning of October 22. After getting off the bus, the troops stayed more than ten miles away from Ji'an according to the original arrangements of the division headquarters, and prepared to cross the river on foot. They had just settled in, and there was no time to set up communication telephones between the divisions. The deputy chief of the military affairs section of the military headquarters, surnamed Cui, took a jeep to the 338th regiment's station according to the order of the military commander, conveyed the urgent mission, and asked them to board immediately. A cart crosses the river.

He also gave them an order signed by the Volunteer Army Headquarters allowing them to take a car, and asked them to ask for a car from the Third Logistics Branch after crossing the river, and quickly seize Miaoxiang Mountain.

The soldiers of the 335th Regiment had also boarded the train to North Korea. When the train drove onto Jiangqiao, the soldiers were in a very uneasy mood. It was extremely quiet in the carriage, with only the sound of breathing accompanied by the beating of the second hand.

The people held their breath, and all the comrades wearing watches stared at the hands on their wrists.

Xiao Heping asked excitedly: "Squad leader, what time is it now?"

"Eight thirty, remember this time."

Old Liu changed his usual irritable temper and said calmly.

The soldiers in the cooking class silently remembered this time in their hearts, and this time will be engraved in their lives forever.

The train stopped, and the rumble of cannon was faintly heard.

Opening the iron door, the howling cold wind swirled into the carriage. The soldiers tightened their tight-fitting cotton coats and leaned their heads to look outside. In the dark night, the buildings looked very blurry.

This is a simple station with not much architecture.

There was a whistle in the distance, and the soldiers filed out of the carriage, and then they could see the outside world clearly.

The station was bombed by the U.S. Air Force and was full of ruins of collapsed buildings. Their people were trying their best to restore the station's troop transport capacity.

"Quick, don't stop at the train station, follow the train."

The commander ran and shouted.

"Let's go." Old Liu took the blame, dragged Xia Yuan, and shouted to Xiao Heping and the others: "Don't fall behind, follow closely. If you fall behind, you may not be able to find your people if you want to find them."

Stepping onto the land of North Korea, rumbling artillery fire echoed in the mountains and fields, and the sky in the distance was dimly flickering with fire. On the battlefield after a long separation, all the soldiers couldn't help but tighten their guns in their hands. The cadres quickened their pace and advanced rapidly. The troops were like a long black dragon, extending through the high mountains of northern Korea.

North Korea is very quiet during the day, but compared to North Korea, it is the US military side that is lively.

After dusk, when it gets dark, the road regains its vitality. The crowds are surging and the vehicles are crowded. It is as if you are in a lively downtown. There are noisy people all over the mountains and plains. Some were leading rats, some were leading oxen, and some were driving carts, looking for shelter and burying valuables.

This is already the last frontier of land, where else can we go to find a safe place.

This situation made the cadres and soldiers anxious and eager to join the battle immediately to repel the enemy's attack and save a piece of land for the Koreans and fellow Koreans.

"American imperialism is like a fire that burns down North Korea and burns down China. China's neighbors must put out the fire. Saving North Korea means saving China."

As he walked, Xiao Heping murmured.

No one spoke, only with heavy breathing, they passed through the crowd of refugees and ran away from them.

Among those fleeing were a small group of people's soldiers consisting of three people and more than ten people. They were very happy to see the volunteers. The first thing they asked about them was:

"Dongmu, is there a chance to shuttle?"

Zhao Ruilong will translate for everyone: "Comrade, is there a plane?"

The most important thing for them is whether the volunteers have aircraft to participate in the war. It seems that infantry alone cannot win this battle. They have been bombed by the US Air Force and have experienced the power of the US Air Force. It is destroying North Korea's transportation and towns, and it is also Destroying the last line of defense in the hearts of the North Korean people.

If they don't get the answer they want, they will say: "How many tanks are there? How many people are coming? There are no planes or tanks. That won't work! That won't work!"

The soldiers listened quietly to the speeches of Zhao Ruilong and several comrades of the Korean People's Army, and finally sent them away. Zhao Ruilong sighed, looked at Company Commander Sun, and briefly stated the content of the conversation just now.

Captain Sun spat, "We can defeat enemies with superior equipment using inferior equipment. We have not already wiped out the reactionary army of eight million American-style equipment. If the American devils come, we will still deal with them and follow the team."

Everyone was in an excited mood, regardless of hard work, marching day and night for days and days. Along the way, they met from time to time in groups of people's army cadres and soldiers with dusty faces, who had broken through the siege and returned from the north. When they saw the volunteers advancing, they cheered and shouted. Guns welcome.

There were also some female nurses who helped the wounded to retreat backwards. They were walking hard and exhausted. When they saw the long queue of the Chinese People’s Volunteers marching forward, they suddenly became energetic. They walked neatly and sang majestic songs to welcome China. The arrival of the People's Volunteer Army expresses their mood at this moment.

When walking into towns, I often see female soldiers of the Korean People's Army standing calmly next to a bomb crater, blowing whistles in their mouths, and waving small red flags with both arms to direct the passage of vehicles.

On the way, the Third Company met two female nurses from the People's Army. They spoke fluent Chinese and proudly told Company Commander Sun and Instructor Hu: "We have worked in the Chinese People's Liberation Army and participated in the Northeast Liberation War. We are very proud." I miss China and thank you for coming to help us."

Even though the country was in ruins, these female warriors still carried a positive spirit that deeply infected the warriors of the Third Company.

The team continued to move forward. In front of them was a town that had been bombed by the U.S. Air Force. There were collapsed ruins everywhere, smoke was rising, and there was a hot breath in the air. Many houses were still burning, and red flames were burning. Shaking in the cold wind.

Beside the road, the fields were filled with North Korean people and livestock killed by U.S. air force bombings and strafing. There was an unpleasant burnt smell in the air.

This place had just been bombed by the US Air Force.

From far away, I could hear North Korean people crying who had lost their loved ones. Children who could not find their families were standing by the road, holding a wooden stick in their hands. I don’t know what kind of toy it was. The loud cries could be heard far and wide.

This was a blood debt owed by the American invaders, which aroused the anger in the hearts of the commanders. Captain Sun gritted his teeth and said: "In our first battle abroad, we must severely teach these Americans who kill and set fire. Robbers, avenge the Korean people!”

After walking through this bombed area for more than an hour, you can still encounter scattered North Korean people, including the elderly, women and children. These refugees could not conceal their joy when they saw this mighty army. Shouting in broken Chinese: "Long live xxx!" "Long live Kim Il Sung!"

After the volunteers entered North Korea, they originally planned to occupy positions north of Tokugawa, use the favorable terrain to organize defenses, stop enemy attacks, stabilize the war situation, buy time, cover the North Korean People's Army's retreat and consolidation, and create conditions for subsequent operations.

The Thirty-eighth Army was still four or five days away from the planned defense area of ​​Tokugawa, and it was no longer possible to stop the enemy in the planned area as planned.

The enemy continued to divide their troops and advance unscrupulously, advancing at a very fast speed. However, they had not yet discovered that the volunteers had entered the DPRK, and they continued to advance unscrupulously.

The puppet capital division on the eastern front has entered Wulaoli, Hongyuan and other places. The main force of the US Eighth Army and the puppet second army on the western front are madly attacking the Yalu River. The US Cavalry Division is deployed on the west road, heading straight along the Beijing-Xinjiang Highway. The Yalu River advanced rapidly, which was the highway from Pyongyang to Sinuiju. The British 27th Brigade and the Puppet 1st Division followed the 1st Cavalry Division and occupied Anju, Bizhou, Turtle City and other places.

The Puppet 6th Division was the left wing, advancing toward the Yalu River along the east bank of the Qingchuan River. The main force of the division arrived at Chushan County on the banks of the Yalu River via Xichuan on October 20, opening a large gap of more than 80 kilometers between the enemy's east and west lines. , On the contrary, it is conducive to the volunteers to intersperse, encircle, divide and annihilate.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Jingbei assessed the situation and made a prompt decision. On October 21, he telegraphed the Volunteer Army to abandon the original plan. After receiving the order, Shisi decided to use the Volunteer Army's flexible strategy to attack the enemy. At 21 o'clock that day, that is, at 9 p.m., the change In terms of combat deployment, it was decided to concentrate the three armies to fight on the western front and annihilate the puppet 6th, 7th and 8th divisions respectively.

The 38th Army was ordered to quickly advance to the Xichuan area to cooperate with the 39th Army and the 40th Army.

The 42nd Army was ordered to stop the advance of the Eastern Front.

After the order was issued that night, the 38th Army quickly ordered all units to rush to Xichuan at night.

The 114th Guards Division did not go abroad until October 25th. At this time, the weather suddenly became cold, and the first snow fell in North Korea. It was the coldest day for the US military and Li Puppet Army.

On this day, the first batch of volunteers entering North Korea, the 118th Division and the 120th Division of the 40th Army, had already encountered the enemy in Wenjingzhong, and fired the first shot to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea.

The cold wind howled, mixed with fluttering snowflakes.

The elder Liu cooked soup for the soldiers, and the team slept in the mountains and forests, and began to live a day and night journey.

The soldiers had their first meal in the wind and snow. The snowflakes were sprinkled into the bowls like sugar. This meal was particularly refreshing. Several US military planes clung to the mountain ridge and flew over the treetops. , the wind under the wings of the aircraft swayed the treetops from side to side, and the soldiers were covered with mugwort or branches, hiding themselves among the mountains and forests.

This is completely different from what they thought before entering the court. Some people are not in high spirits, and some are a little timid about airplanes.

Hearing the roar of the US military aircraft engines echoing in the valley, Xiao Heping's lips trembled a little, and he grasped the soil under his body hard. Xia Yuan was lying not far from him. Xiao Heping turned his head and shouted softly: "Xia Yuan, Xia Yuan .”

Xia Yuan, who heard the sound, looked back and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xiao Heping seemed to want to find some psychological comfort, so he asked: "Are you afraid?"

"not afraid."

"why?"

Xiao Heping didn't quite understand.

"This plane didn't find us. What are we afraid of? We'll wait until it finds us."

What Xia Yuan said made sense. After listening to it, Xiao Heping felt a little ashamed.

After all, he was also a veteran who participated in a war, but he was not as calm as Xia Yuan. He took three deep breaths and felt that the coagulated blood in his body seemed to begin to flow, and his tense body gradually relaxed.

"Yes, the American planes haven't discovered us yet. Doesn't this increase the enemy's arrogance and undermine our own confidence?"

After figuring it out, Xiao Heping felt his whole body begin to relax.

When they applied to enter the DPRK, the soldiers had many childish ideas. The US imperialist paper tiger had left a deep imprint on their minds. But now they see that the enemy planes are much more ferocious than the civil war, blowing up houses, killing people and animals, and It was not peaceful all day long. Many soldiers said angrily: "Damn it, even paper tigers can bite people."

At that time, the Volunteer Army had just entered North Korea and had neither airplanes nor anti-aircraft guns. There was not much we could do to deal with the enemy except to launch air strikes. We allowed the enemy to fly around overhead, but we did not dare to hit it for fear of exposing our target.

At that time, the soldiers were so angry that they forgot that the light weapons in their hands could also fight low-altitude and diving aircraft. Everyone was looking forward to the motherland's aircraft. The most talked about during chats was when our aircraft would be able to join the war.

Later, as soon as they heard the roar of plane engines from the direction of the motherland, someone came out of the bunker and shouted: "Our plane!"

Some people said strange things: "The bomb skin belongs to us."

Sure enough, as soon as the planes arrived, they either strafed or dropped bombs, and then no one looked forward to the arrival of planes from the motherland.

Instructor Hu often does ideological work for the soldiers: "At this time, we have to rely on ourselves. When fighting the reactionaries, we don't always rely on ourselves to survive the most difficult moments. We can still defeat the reactionaries and liberate the whole of China. Since we If you can do it the first time, you can do it the second time.”

After the volunteers entered North Korea, most of them lived at night and slept day and night. Cars were not allowed to turn on lights when driving at night. Mountain roads are narrow and dangerous, and they are most likely to overturn. A medium truck from the headquarters overturned on the second night after entering North Korea. After getting out of the car, almost all the section chiefs were injured. The combat section chief died after being seriously injured, causing great losses to the work of the headquarters.

Coupled with the rampant enemy, it has brought many difficulties in life and combat command to the comrades of the 38th Army.

Fan Tianen, the commander of the 335th Regiment, took the cadres with him to study carefully and find out the enemy's temper. He made very detailed observations and studies on the movement patterns of enemy aircraft and bombing and strafing patterns, and formulated many measures to camp. The ground troops should be dispersed, not crowded together, but when dispersed, they should be spread out, and they should be connected and gathered together. The more important thing is to be well camouflaged.

Even all troops must be prepared for anti-airborne operations at any time.

Orders from the regiment headquarters were also issued to each company.

While resting in the mountains and fields, Captain Sun took Hu Zhizhi, as well as the platoon leaders and elder Liu to convey the orders from his superiors.

"The rampant American planes have seriously affected our efficiency. Our superiors asked us to record the time when the plane came and the time when it left while avoiding the plane. We summarized the rules. When avoiding the plane, we are all right. Hold on to your watch and record the time of the American plane. After two or three days, let’s take a look at the time.” (End of Chapter)