On September 19th, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Volunteers’ going abroad to fight the United States and Aid Korea, the Memorial Hall to Resist America and Aid Korea was reopened in Dandong, Liaoning Province.

This is the only thematic memorial in China that fully reflects the history of the Chinese People's War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and the Movement to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. It is also a national patriotic education demonstration base.

The Memorial Hall to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was built in 1958.

In June 2014, the central government approved the reconstruction and expansion of the Memorial Hall against the United States and North Korea.

The renovated and expanded Memorial Hall to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea covers a total area of ​​182,000 square meters and consists of a memorial hall, a memorial tower, a panoramic painting hall, and a national defense education park.

Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Qing/photo

　　Seventy years ago, the Chinese People's Volunteers, composed of outstanding Chinese sons and daughters, crossed the Yalu River with great strength and spirit. After two years and nine months of arduous and bloody battles with the Korean people and army, they won a great victory in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.

The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea produced the national and military might of New China. It was a glorious chapter of the People's Army overcoming the strong with the weak and the superior with the inferior. It was a classic example of the courage to fight and win.

"Peace is for, and war is not afraid"

　　The Chinese people hope for peace and love peace.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government were determined to govern a country that had been plundered and destroyed by imperialist wars for a long time, and a country that had been devastated and awaiting prosperity.

By June 1950, except for some islands such as Tibet on the mainland and Taiwan on the coast, all other regions had been liberated. The large-scale war was basically over, and the peace that the Chinese people longed for had been achieved.

　　However, after the Korean Civil War broke out on June 25, 1950, due to the armed intervention of the United States, the Korean War evolved from a civil war between North and South Korea into a large-scale international local war, and into a war of aggression and anti-aggression. .

At the same time, the US Seventh Fleet invaded the Taiwan Strait, and US aircraft continued to bomb border cities and important targets in our northeastern region, and adopted a posture of military offensive against New China, which seriously threatened China's security.

　　North Korea is at stake, and China is eagerly awaiting assistance from China.

The invaders have burned the war to the gate.

Facing the stark threat of war from US imperialism, is it patience to shrink back?

Still rise to the challenge?

The leaders of the Chinese party and government have to make major strategic choices.

　　At that time, there were many difficulties in China. Once troops were sent to the war, the United States would face the world's number one economic and military power on the battlefield.

In this regard, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chairman Mao Zedong also analyzed and believed that although the United States is strong, it also has weaknesses.

Moreover, China’s modern history tells us that concessions to the aggressor can only make it more rampant and unscrupulous. Wars are ultimately inevitable. We can only be beaten passively; instead, we stand up to fight, seek peace by fighting, and use the invaders. Only by speaking with a language that you can understand can you win the initiative and win peace.

After careful consideration and repeated weighing of pros and cons, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chairman Mao Zedong and other leading comrades made a major strategic decision to form the Chinese People’s Volunteers to resist the United States, aid Korea, and defend the country.

　　This strategic decision was made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chairman Mao Zedong under the circumstances of the time, and was made based on the common need to support the Korean people in resisting US aggression and defend China's national security.

The decision of New China, which has just been established for only one year, fully demonstrates the heroic spirit of the Chinese people who dare to fight and win, and fully demonstrate the Chinese people's determination to defy power and resist aggression.

　　On October 19, 1950, the first batch of Chinese People's Volunteers joined the war, led by Commander Peng Dehuai and political commissar, to the Korean battlefield.

On October 25, the Volunteers encountered enemy troops on their way to advance, and fired their first shot into the North Korean war.

As soon as the Chinese People's Volunteers appeared on the Korean battlefield, they immediately changed the situation of the Korean War and finally stabilized the front near the "38th Line".

　　In the two years and nine months of the war, the Volunteers wiped out more than 718,000 enemies. Coupled with the record of the Korean People’s Army, the Chinese and North Korean troops wiped out a total of 1.09 million enemies on the Korean battlefield, including 791,000 American troops. The myth that the US military is "invincible" maintains peace in Asia and the world.

History has proven that peace must be won through struggle, and peace is the only way to fight.

On issues related to the destiny of the country and nation, we must have a clear-cut stand, a firm stand, tit-for-tat, and fight every inch of it.

"You beat you, I beat mine"

　　The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea was the first large-scale international local war after the end of World War II.

In the face of a brand-new war environment and combat opponents, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Central Military Commission, and Chairman Mao Zedong did not stick to general principles of war and combat doctrines, and made comprehensive plans and deployments from the overall strategic considerations centered on victory in the war.

　　The first problem to be solved is how to maintain the initiative and win victory in the war.

Before the Volunteer Army entered the DPRK, Mao Zedong judged the possible development trend of the war after the Volunteer Army was dispatched. He believed that the most likely situation was that the Volunteer Army could use flexible tactics, exert its tactical expertise, and implement effective operations to force the United States. Carry out truce negotiations with China and North Korea, and resolve the North Korean issue through negotiations.

Mao Zedong pointed out: "Our army should start from a stable basis and do nothing that cannot be done; on a stable and reliable basis, strive for all possible victories." At the same time, he warned the whole army "must deeply estimate all possible encounters. To meet the difficulties and situations that will inevitably be encountered, and prepare to overcome these difficulties with a high degree of enthusiasm, courage, carefulness and hard work."

　　In terms of strategic guidance, when the Volunteers entered the dynasty, facing strong enemies, Mao Zedong resolutely changed the original defense plan and decided to adopt the policy of destroying the enemy in each campaign, thus winning the first battle and stabilizing the battle.

After the victory in the first battle, our army followed the development of the battlefield situation and still adopted the correct policy of focusing on mobile warfare, combining some positional warfare and guerrilla warfare, which fundamentally reversed the situation and laid the foundation for war victory.

　　When the war formed a stalemate and the United States was forced to express its willingness to enter into armistice negotiations, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chairman Mao Zedong determined in a timely manner the strategic policies of "fully preparing for protracted operations and striving for peace talks to end the war" and "protracted operations and active defense". Guide the Volunteers to successfully complete the strategic transformation, and successfully complete the strategic task of adhering to the 38th line of defense in the north and south areas and facilitating a truce in North Korea.

　　In terms of campaign guidance, Mao Zedong instructed before the Volunteers entered the DPRK: Facing the powerful enemy of the American invading army, our strategy and tactics should be: "You hit you, I hit me, you hit an atomic bomb, I hit a grenade, catch Live your weakness, follow you, and finally defeat you."

　　In accordance with this basic operational guiding principle, the Volunteer Forces strive to maximize the strengths and avoid weaknesses, seek advantages and avoid disadvantages on the battlefield, actively restrict the effectiveness of enemy technology and equipment, and give full play to their own advantages to conduct powerful operations.

For example, the people’s army is good at close combat and night combat as the main means of combat, and night combat is developed into a campaign scale; in mobile warfare, emphasis is placed on the interspersed and detour of the battle, cutting off the enemy’s retreat, and the use of night darkness to complete the division and encirclement of the enemy and determine the battle’s end in time Keep the initiative; in positional warfare, relying on favorable terrain to build a strong positional defense system with tunnels as the backbone, the positional warfare has been upgraded from an auxiliary combat form to the main combat form.

In addition, there are small battles of annihilation, rotation of operations, and construction of "unbreakable, explosive steel transportation lines."

　　Our army has always advocated "what wars are to be fought under what conditions". These effective war instructions and highly creative and flexible strategies and tactics in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea enabled the Volunteers to firmly grasp the initiative of the war on the battlefield. With technical equipment and economic and military forces at a disadvantage, the war was finally won.

The commander-in-chief of the "United Nations" Clark also had to admit that the Volunteers had mastered "the latest ground combat skills", and the U.S. military often had to "choose a time and place" at the Volunteer Army and "entered into an enemy war."

"Less steel and more gas"

　　After the Korean Civil War broke out, the arrogant American authorities ignored the Chinese government’s repeated warnings and ordered their ground forces to cross the 38th parallel, attack the border between China and North Korea, and engage in war provocations against China, believing that China does not have the strength to confront it.

However, on the Korean battlefield, the United States was severely punished in the face of facts.

Despite China’s poverty and weakness, and despite the disparity between the economic strengths of China and the United States and the comparative advantages and disadvantages of the military’s weapons and equipment, the Chinese people who have stood up, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, are not afraid of powerful enemies and are determined to win. Made infinite psychological advantages and spiritual strength.

　　On the battlefield to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, under the command of Peng Dehuai, the Volunteers cooperated closely with the Korean People’s Army. “The first battle at Liangshuidong, the fierce battle at Yunshan City, the battle against the Cheongcheon River, and the fierce battle against Changjin Lake.” The Yalu River and the Tumen River rushed back to the vicinity of the 38th Parallel, regaining the vast land in northern North Korea in one fell swoop, laying the foundation for the victory of this anti-aggression war.

Since then, a defensive position like a copper wall and an iron wall has been built to smash the enemy's multiple offensives and "strangulation wars" and germ warfare, and won the full-line tactical combat and the victory of the Shangganling defensive campaign.

　　This is the first time that the vast number of volunteer army commanders have participated in such a highly modernized war and fought against an enemy "armed to the teeth."

In the absence of air dominance and sea dominance, they have created epic heroic deeds with fearless heroism, and poured the flowers of peace and happiness with their blood.

　　They braved the severe cold of minus 30 degrees Celsius, charging and engulfing among the snow-capped mountains.

Countless warriors got up from the pool of blood and rushed towards the enemy after being seriously injured. Even if they fought one shot at a time, they still held their ground.

In the war, more than 300,000 heroes and heroes such as Yang Gensi, Huang Jiguang, and Qiu Shaoyun emerged. There were 3 military cadres, more than 10 division cadres, more than 200 regiment cadres, and more than 110,000 volunteers who died on the battlefield.

Their spirit will always be the pride of the Chinese nation, and their achievements will last forever.

　　The great victory the Volunteers have won on the Korean front is inseparable from the strong support of the people of all ethnic groups across the country.

At that time, all fronts and people across the country actively responded to the call of the party and the government and launched a vigorous movement to resist US aggression and aid Korea.

There are moving scenes of parents sending off their children, wives sending their husbands, and brothers rushing to enlist in the army.

Thousands of railway workers, truck drivers, and migrant workers have gone to the front lines of North Korea to take up field transportation and service work. Medical workers have organized a large number of medical service teams to serve the Chinese and North Korean military, and a nationwide campaign of condolences to the volunteer army and donation of weapons. , Preferential treatment of the Volunteer Army Martyrs Movement, which greatly encouraged the morale of the soldiers in front, and provided huge spiritual encouragement and continuous material support for the volunteers.

　　The powerful war force formed by the volunteers on the battlefield and the broad masses of the domestic people has effectively deterred the American aggressors.

Just as Mao Zedong said: "The imperialist aggressors should understand: Now that the Chinese people are organized, they are not irritable. If irritated, it will be difficult to handle." The United States also has to admit that China is in this war. China has shown strong leadership and tremendous strength. "It is no longer the weak and incompetent country of World War II." China "won its reputation" and "enhanced its status" in this war.

　　(Author Chu Yang's unit: Academy of Military Political Work, Academy of Military Sciences)