Volume 1: The First Battle Chapter 37 Killing Prisoners
The soldiers raised their guns and cheered loudly. The Americans had no idea what we were talking about and thought we were going to execute them. They were so scared that they turned pale and trembled all over. Some even collapsed to the ground with weak legs.
When we were escorting the prisoners to the rear, the Americans thought they were going to be executed, and at least half of them refused to leave. I had to tell them over and over again in English that the Chinese Volunteer Army would not kill prisoners, that the Volunteer Army would treat prisoners well, and that we would abide by the Geneva Convention...
This made them follow us half-heartedly. It reminded me of a scene in a movie I watched back then where the volunteers captured a group of American advisors and wanted to take them away, but they refused to leave and had to be carried away. I always thought the movie was exaggerated, but it turned out to be true.
Alas! This time, wearing the uniforms of the Volunteer Army, I didn't have to worry about being beaten by my own people. When everyone was escorting the prisoners out of the alley wearing the cotton-padded clothes of the Volunteer Army, I couldn't help but feel like I was reborn. Wearing that yellow coat, I really looked like a street rat, and I was so nervous every time I walked.
Look at them now. The soldiers are walking down the street with their heads held high and escorting more than a hundred Americans. Teams of volunteer soldiers running by are casting envious glances at them. Some curious soldiers even run up to see what the Americans look like. They must have never seen an American before, and they even go up to scratch the Americans' big noses with a smile! Captain Chu is so happy to see this that he laughs.
Hey! The uniforms of the team ahead seemed a little different. After walking for more than half an hour, I could see a team of people busy doing something in the darkness ahead. Although they were not very orderly, their uniforms were much newer and more impressive than the tattered cotton-padded clothes of the volunteers!
"Captain, what are those..." I couldn't help but ask Captain Chu in a low voice.
Captain Chu was also stunned. If they were the enemy, they couldn't be walking around in the Volunteer Army's position wearing such obviously different uniforms. If they were friendly troops... Oh! The captain and I understood now. They must be the North Korean People's Army!
"Let's go and take a look." Captain Chu said excitedly, "Maybe we can run into that Visky. Let him see if we can beat the Americans!"
"become!"
Everyone walked up happily, and the captives they were escorting were the most worthy trophies for us to show off.
But to our disappointment, we did not meet Wikowski and his group. Instead, we were greeted by Captain Battalion Commander Cui Chengxi.
"Comrades, you have worked hard!" Cui Chengxi's eyes lit up when he saw the prisoners , and there seemed to be a hint of coldness. He then shook our hands enthusiastically and said, "We are here on the orders of General Jin to replenish food and ammunition for the Volunteer Army. Leave the prisoners to us! I will report the situation to my superiors truthfully. Comrades, please come over here to get the food!"
I translated Cui Chengxi's words to Captain Chu, and he nodded and agreed. The volunteer soldiers had no food of their own, and bringing a large group of prisoners would be even worse. Moreover, we went to Korea to fight as volunteers, and our original purpose was to hand over the prisoners of war to the North Koreans.
However, after the handover, something happened that neither Captain Chu nor I had expected. This incident even affected the dialogue between the Volunteer Army Commander and North Korea’s top leader Kim Il-sung.
After handing over the prisoners to the People's Army, we went to collect food happily. I felt a little unbalanced when I thought about it. We came to North Korea to help them fight, but what do you think? Our troops here don't wear as good clothes as the People's Army, don't eat as good food, and even their equipment is not as good as theirs.
The People's Army is made up of local people, so they can get food from the common people. The Soviets will supply them with uniforms and equipment, and they even have their own arsenal to produce their own ammunition. But look at the Volunteer Army... When the Volunteer Army just arrived, the common people had no idea who we were fighting for. When we went to borrow food from the common people, we were mistaken for the United Nations Army because of the language barrier!
Having not had a bite of food for several days, the soldiers were so excited standing in the queue to get food. They had won another victory and could have a full meal. There was nothing better for the volunteers.
But what I didn't know was that the happy people were not only our volunteers, but also Major Paltz, who we had just captured. Since being captured by us, Major Paltz and his men have been worried, because he saw that we were wearing ragged cotton clothes and didn't look like regular soldiers. And when he heard our angry shouts, we looked more like the Indians their ancestors had fought.
They were Americans, and they all knew the cruelty of the Indians. They also knew that the Indians had a habit of scalping their enemies as trophies.
These ragged volunteers before us were very similar to the Indians, both in their charging fighting style and their terrifying shouts.
Major Paltz and his men felt a tingling sensation on their heads when they thought of this. The scenes of being scalped alive flashed , making them more and more afraid.
Now, the army that received them looks neat and tidy, with uniform weapons and equipment. At least they look like regular troops and not so much like barbarians. They should understand humanitarianism!
So Major Paltz and his men followed the officer into a wooden house with confidence and sat down in a row as he requested.
Then something horrifying happened. The officer walked behind them and pulled out the Tokarev pistol from his waist...
"Bang! Bang..." Several gunshots were heard from the hut at regular intervals. The volunteer soldiers who were queuing up to receive food quickly understood what was happening and they all raised their guns and rushed towards the hut.
The few People's Army soldiers guarding the door of the hut seemed not to have expected us to react so quickly and excessively, or perhaps they were intimidated by our reputation of defeating the Americans, and they retreated aside without any resistance.
Captain Chu ran in the front and kicked the door open without saying a word. A bloody scene appeared in front of everyone: several American soldiers with their heads shattered were lying on the ground, red and white. Cui Chengxi was pointing a gun at a row of prisoners sitting on the ground, one of whom was Major Paltz, who was gasping for breath with a pale face...
"Bastard!" I rushed forward and pushed Cui Chengxi to the ground, then kicked the gun out of his hand.
"Who dares to..." Cui Chengxi was also furious. He stood up and was about to lose his temper, but when he saw that it was us, he quickly smiled and said, "Comrade, what's going on?"
"What's going on?" I asked angrily, "Who told you to kill the prisoners? Where is your leader? I must report today's incident to your leader..."
"Is there anything wrong? " Cui Chengxi asked a little confused: "We are responding to General Kim Il Sung's call to resolutely eliminate the enemies who are against the people and undermine the unification of North Korea!"
Ah? I realized then that killing the prisoners was not Cui Chengxi's way of venting his anger.
"What's more..." Cui Chengxi continued, "Our food supply is very tight. How can we let the precious food of the people be wasted on these running dogs?"
"No!" When I translated Cui Chengxi's words to Captain Chu, he quickly made a decision: "We should take these prisoners with us. We must not allow this indiscriminate killing of prisoners to continue. Besides, if we kill them once they are captured, who in the enemy's heart will dare to surrender? How can we fight this war in the future!"
After that, he took the prisoners out without any further ado. After that, he told me, "Tell that guy, if they continue to kill prisoners like this in the future, we will release all the people captured by the Volunteer Army instead of giving them to him!"
"Comrade! This..." Cui Chengxi saw that we brought the prisoners back again, and said in embarrassment: "Comrade, this makes it difficult for me to explain to the leader!"
"Just tell your leader that this is what the Volunteer Army wants!" I looked at Cui Chengxi disdainfully and said, "Since the founding of the Volunteer Army, we have always abided by the discipline of treating prisoners well. You can use this discipline to teach your leader a lesson!"
"Please don't kill me." Major Paltz just came out of the house and recognized me who spoke English. He grabbed my hand and said, "Please don't kill me. I have a wife and a child, and I love them very much. Please... "
"I'm sorry, Major!" I said to Paltz in English, "I'm sorry for what happened just now, but I can promise that it will never happen again. You are safe!"
"Really?" Major Paltz asked doubtfully.
"It's true." I nodded and said to him affirmatively: "The Chinese People's Volunteer Army treats prisoners well. You'd better let your men distinguish between the uniforms of the Chinese army and the North Korean army. I think this will be good for you!"
"Yes, yes..." Major Paltz nodded hurriedly, telling his subordinates how to distinguish between the two countries' armies, and told them not to follow the North Korean army.
What I didn't expect was that soon after we released a group of prisoners, all the UN troops knew that if they wanted to surrender, they must find the Chinese who were wearing tattered cotton clothes, holding outdated weapons, and were covered in dirt.
Captain Chu and I walked further and further into the night with the prisoners, and the sound of gunfire became quieter and quieter. The first battle ended with the US military's first defeat and retreat to the south bank of the Cheongcheon River. But I knew that what awaited us next was the even more tragic second battle...
