The following are quotes from Chairman Mao, the founding father of the People’s Republic of China who made the final decision in 1950 to send the People’s Volunteer Army to the Korean Peninsula when the US-led coalition forces occupied North Korea bordering China and kept air stroking Chinese cities and villages in an attempt to help its puppet KMT regime, by then retreated to the tiny Taiwan island, to return and rerule the mainland.
At the time, China had no air force or navy, while its ground forces were only equipped with very basic armament. The gap in military power between the US force and Chinese army by then was huge, no narrower than the one between the US force and Yemani Houthis by now.
Yet in mere a couple of months, the mighty US troops were forced to pull back from the Chinese border and North Korean territory and return to South Korea behind the 38th Parallel where their military crusade with an ultimate goal to crush a socialist China began.
Here is part of Chairman Mao’s conversations during that period.
You all know, I never fight a battle if I’m not confident that we have a good chance to win. With regard to sending Volunteer Armies abroad this time, although some people opposed the decision, thinking we may not be able to win, after careful deliberation by me and by some of my comrades in the Central Committee, we’ve formulated a strategy for lengthy warfare, and we believe we are in the position to claim victory.
We estimate that the American army has one strength and three constraints (美帝的军队有一长三短). It has more metal stuff more aircraft and more canons, which is the only advantage it possesses. It has established too many military bases in the world, has made too many enemies around, has to guard against everyone and has problems drawing enough recruits – this is its first constraint (世界上的军事基地多，到处树敌，到处设防，兵源不足); It fights a war far away from home on the other side of the ocean – this is its second constraint (远隔重洋); It fights for a course of aggression and injustice, therefore its morale is low which becomes its fatal constraint (为侵略而战，师出无名，士气十分低落是它的致命伤). Its single advantage cannot make up for its three weaknesses.
We’ll take an enduring warfare to destroy the enemy’s main force piecemeal, and to inflict the death and injuries of its soldiers daily (我们要进行持久战，一步一步消灭它的有生力量，使它每天都有伤亡). It occupies the land of North Korea for a day, we’ll attack it for a day; it occupies the land of North Korea for a year, we’ll attack it for a year; it occupies the land of North Korea for ten years, we’ll attack it for ten years until the US can no longer bear the loss and plea for peace. As long as it has a will for peace, we’ll end the war, ‘cause we want peace in the first place. (它一天不撤退，我们就打它一天，一年不撤退，就打它一年，十年不撤退，就打它十年。这样一来，它就伤亡多，受不了，到那时，它就只好心甘情愿地进行和平解决。只要它愿意和平解决，我们就可以结束战争，我们原来是要和平的。)
First of all, together with the North Korean people, we’ve retained the original Military Demarcation Line, otherwise, the frontline would still be along the Yalv Rive (鸭绿江) and Tumen River (图们江), and the people in Shenyang, Anshan and Fushun wouldn’t be able to work in peace.
Secondly, through the war, we’ve gained some military experience. The ground force, the air force, the navy force, the infantry troops, the artillery troops, the engineering corps, the tank units, the railway corps, the air defence force, the signal units, the military medical support units and the logistic service units in Chinese People’s Volunteer Army all obtained practical experiences in fighting the war against the US forces. This time, we learned a great deal about American troops, and we now know Americans are nothing to be frightened of – they are in fact pretty dumb. This is an extremely valuable knowledge we retained from this war.
Thirdly, the war has helped the general public to realise that America is the enemy of the Chinese people.
And finally, because of the above three, America’s plan to declare war against China has been put on hold, and the third world war has been put on hold.
The imperialists should understand by now: Chinese people have already been mobilised and united, and can no longer be bullied. Otherwise, the consequences will be enormous (中国人民已经组织起来了，是惹不得的。如果惹翻了，是不好办的).
Should we invade other people’s territory then? No, certainly not. We must attack no one. However, if somebody comes to attack us, we will have to fight back and keep fighting until we win the battle. Chinese people love peace but are not afraid of war. We are good at both, and we have the support of our people. During the Korean War, people responded enthusiastically to the call to join the Volunteer Army. The selection for recruits was so strict, which is about one in a hundred. People say that it was more choosy than an old man selecting a suitable husband for his daughter. So as you can see, if the Americans want to keep fighting, we will have no problem sticking it out.