Once almost frozen into an "ice sculpture" | Oral history of a volunteer soldier. I fought with the enemy in the Battle of Changjin Lake, my job was to fight bayonets, my hometown, and the enemy
Narrator: Shen Zheng, male, 92 years old, a soldier from the 175th Regiment of the 59th Division of the 20th Army of the Chinese People's Volunteers. He went to North Korea to participate in the war in November 1950
My ancestral home is Shaoxing, Zhejiang. At the age of 12, I was forced to leave my hometown to make a living, and at the age of 15, I arrived in Shanghai. Before the liberation, I worked as a worker in a sock ironing workshop. While working, I participated in the "Workers' Night School" and received the baptism of advanced ideas. I also joined the New Democratic Youth League. After the liberation of Shanghai, I witnessed firsthand how the Communist Party treated us ordinary workers and ordinary people as relatives, which further strengthened my determination to follow the Party.
On May 13, 1950, I officially joined the military and belonged to the 175th Regiment of the 59th Division of the 20th Army of the Ninth Corps. I was assigned to the Propaganda and Education Department of the Regiment, and my initial task was to use steel plates to engrave wax paper to print the daily publication of the "Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers Newspaper" that was distributed to various classes. Not long after enlisting, the Korean War broke out. The Ninth Corps first received an order to garrison in Northeast China, and on the way, they received a new order for us to immediately enter North Korea for combat.
I remember we entered North Korea in November 1950 and headed towards Lake Changjin. That year, the weather in North Korea was particularly cold. When we marched to the Wolf Forest Mountains, the temperature dropped sharply to around minus 40 degrees Celsius. Our corps is stationed in the south all year round, and each soldier only has two thin cotton coats. Coupled with the urgent military situation, there is no time to change clothes, so we can only wear thin military uniforms and grit our teeth while marching on narrow mountain roads. When I was on my way, I didn't feel too cold yet. Once I stopped, beads of sweat would freeze and prick my body, causing not only cold but also piercing pain. Some weak comrades had already sacrificed themselves during the march.
When the Battle of Changjin Lake officially begins, our logistics will face even greater pressure. At that time, each of us had to carry a rice bag, but it was quickly finished. American planes kept bombing, and supplies from the rear could not be delivered. We had reduced our daily meal to only a few potatoes per day. The potatoes have already frozen and can't be bitten at all. I can only hold them in my arms for now, but they are not hot inside and there is no salt left. It's really difficult to swallow.
Once, I almost became an "ice sculpture". At that time, after completing the task, I walked back along the highway from the headquarters. Suddenly, four enemy planes flew over, and I quickly hid under a small tree by the roadside to hide. Unexpectedly, a telephone operator happened to come from the opposite side winding around an electric wire. The enemy plane flying at low altitude saw the telephone operator and immediately dived and shot, and the telephone operator hid in the forest as he dodged up the mountain. In this moment, he drew the enemy's attention to the roadside and I was caught. At this point, it was too late to cross the road and enter the forest again, so I had to roll off the mountain field and lie down in a small ditch on the roadside. The enemy planes took turns diving and strafing, and I lay on the ground unable to move. Also, because I was too tired, I fell asleep. When I woke up, the enemy plane had already flown away, but I was also frozen in the ditch and couldn't get up. Fortunately, a comrade passed by on the road, which rescued me.
But even in such an extremely difficult environment, my comrades and I have always maintained high morale. Why? Because we know that fighting this war is to defend our country and protect the hard-earned fruits of revolutionary victory. I have experienced the invasion of Japanese invaders, the rule of the Wang puppet government, and the reactionary Kuomintang. I remember when I was a child, my family often ran out of food, and I had to think about how to fill my stomach every day. After arriving at the factory in Shanghai, I was often oppressed by capitalists. I woke up at five or six o'clock every day and could only rest at 10 or 11 o'clock in the evening. It wasn't until the establishment of the People's Republic of China that I truly felt what good days were. So, we all think that no matter what, we must win this battle and not let the common people of our country fall into dire straits again.
Although my job is to be responsible for propaganda and education in the Youth League headquarters, I often find it difficult to distinguish between them on the battlefield of Changjin Lake, and everyone has to go to the front line. In a battle, the regimental guard company was first sent to the front line for support, while the regimental commander organized more than 30 of our government personnel and then rushed to the front line. The security guard fought very tenaciously, and after the bullets were fired, they fought with the Americans with bayonets. A new soldier who joined the army in Shanghai at the age of 18 bent his bayonet and used a digging shovel to smash it. The shovel broke and he hugged the enemy, bit their ears, and together they rolled off the cliff, dying together. At a critical moment, the regimental leader led us to the battlefield, and everyone roared and charged towards the enemy. I came to use the assassination moves I learned in the security company, fighting with the enemy with bayonets. Finally, more than 20 American soldiers fled in a panic, and our guard company only had a dozen soldiers left.
The Americans couldn't defeat us on the battlefield, so they resorted to tactics. One day in December 1950, the troops discovered a pile of spiders, cockroaches, fleas, mice, etc. near the road near their base, and also found bomb shells nearby. It was only then that they realized it might be a bacterial bomb dropped by enemy planes. Although the troops reacted quickly and took timely measures to eliminate the source of the disease, some soldiers were still infected with the bacteria, and I was one of them. I was unconscious for a total of 38 days from December 30, 1950 to February 5, 1951. The day I woke up happened to be the Lunar New Year's Eve, when American planes bombed again and the hospital house was set on fire. As soon as I woke up, I was weak all over. Fortunately, my comrades did not give up and fought their lives to save me and the other wounded and sick.
After recovering, I returned to the military. However, due to health reasons, I was mainly responsible for some paperwork in the Youth League until I returned to China in June and July 1952. In October, the main force of the 20th Army also returned to China. My comrades and I learned about the victory of the Korean War on the land of our motherland.
To be honest, my mood was very complicated at the time. On the one hand, we have won, and of course we are very happy and excited. On the other hand, we all feel unwilling. When we first entered North Korea, there was a significant gap in our weapons, equipment, and logistics capabilities compared to the US military, and many soldiers sacrificed themselves as a result. Nevertheless, we still managed to bring them back to the 38th parallel. Later on, our air force became stronger, logistics and equipment were greatly improved, and everyone's confidence increased. We believe that if we continue to fight, we can definitely drive the US military out of North Korea!
