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| PLA Fieldcraft : Eating Frozen Potato |
An army marches on its stomach is an old saying that is most frequently attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. It is absolute common sense that soldiers would have to be properly fed in the field in order for them to attain peak performance and accomplish their missions successfully. Because soldiering is by nature physically demanding, think trench digging, force marches across difficult terrain in harsh climates and combat, military personnel would have a higher than average daily calorie need. Failure to ensure a continual supply of rations to the frontline troops is therefore a definite recipe for disaster.
This was exactly what happened to Chinese soldiers at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War. The winter of 1950 was one of the harshest ever encountered on the Korean Peninsula and some of the ill-equipped and poorly supplied Chinese infantry units were said to have nothing more than a single frozen raw potato to eat each day. Well at least that was the claim made by numerous Chinese " documentaries " through the years and also by the Chinese Communist Party's latest propaganda war movie The Battle At Lake Changjin. The movie attempted to glorify the extreme hardship that the soldiers had to endure during the winter campaign, while distorting the truth and historical facts.
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| Combat Rations : Frozen Potatoes |
Although the Chinese ultimately helped recapture North Korea and forced the tactical withdrawal of the United Nations mandated allied forces, the self-proclaimed victory came at a very high cost in human casualties, many of which were exposure related. Combat rations of frozen raw potatoes? Really? In cahoots with the North Koreans who started the Korean War, one can only say to the Chinese aggressors : Serves You Right.
Propaganda aside, what really happened at Chosin?
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| Tanks on the road south of Koto-ri, 1950. Original image : USMC |
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir
The Chosin Reservoir ( 長津湖 ) is an artificial lake in the mountainous north-east region of the Korean Peninsula. The name Chosin is derived from the Japanese pronunciation Choshinko. It is invariably known to the Chinese as Changjinhu and to the Koreans as Jangjinho. The immediate area around the lake has an average altitude of 1300m above sea level and was very sparsely populated. It was here in November through December 1950 that one of the fiercest and most pivotal battle of the Korean War was fought between the Chinese and American lead allied forces.
On 25th June a few months prior, the North Korean Army had crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded South Korea with the implicit backing of the Soviets and the Chinese. It would be the start of a three year conflict known to the world at large as the Korean War.
By July, the South Korean Army and the United Nations mandated allied forces sent to its aid was besieged at the port city of Pusan and were on the brink of total annihilation. It was only after a massive reinforcement effort and an audacious amphibious landing behind enemy lines at Incheon in September that the allied forces turned the table and routed the North Koreans. The United Nations Command then decided to advance across the 38th Parallel in pursue of the retreating North Korean forces despite warnings from China that it would intervene. Elements of the Chinese People's Liberation Army ( PLA ), renamed the People's Volunteer Army ( PVA ) for the Korean campaign would secretly cross the Yalu River which marked the Chinese-Korean border on 19th October and the first engagements with UN troops ensued. In the following month, the PVA staged a second offensive in an attempt to destroy the UN forces advancing along the west coast of the Korean Peninsula and those in the north-east in the area of the Chosin Reservoir.
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| Marines halted on the road south of Hagaru-ri waiting for roadblock to be cleared, Dec 1950. Original Image USMC |
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir had began on 27th November when the elite PVA 9th Army launched a surprise all out attack on the US X Corps. It coincided with one of the harshest winters on the Korean Peninsula with temperatures plunging to -38C. The allied troops were badly outnumbered and were forced into a hasty retreat along a narrow road over mountainous terrain to the port of Hungnam 126km away where evacuation by naval vessels awaited. The soldiers had to fight their way to safety through numerous PVA blockades and they were also constantly harassed by PVA elements occupying the high grounds both sides along the only retreating route. Unfortunately for the Chinese, due to the urgent nature of their deployment to North Korea, the PVA 9th Army had little time to be fully prepared and equipped for winter warfare. The soldiers wore thin cotton tunics more suited for the warmer climate of East China ( 华东 Huadong ) as they were originally destined for invading Taiwan. UN air raids and bad weather hampered logistics and food was in short supply. Foraging was out of the question since the region was sparely populated and with everything covered under a thick blanket of snow. Poorly equipped and hungry, the PVA could not fight as efficiently as expected and the retreating Americans inflicted heavy casualties to their enemy.
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| US Marines retreating from the Frozen Chosin, Dec 1950. Original Image : USMC |
After more than two weeks of intense fighting, allied forces successfully withdrew to Hungnam and were eventually evacuated to Pusan.
Battle casualties for the US and South Korean troops numbered 10459 with an additional 7338 non-battle casualties. The PVA suffered 19202 battle casualties and another 28954 non-battle casualties. The US claimed tactical victory as it managed to breakout of the Chinese entrapment at Chosin while inflicting heavy losses to the PVA. At the same time the Chinese claimed strategic victory as it had successfully driven the UN forces south of the 38th Parallel and prevented the annihilation of the North Korean communist regime. The ramifications of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir are felt to this day as it prevented the rapid conclusion of the Korean War and the unification of the two Koreas.
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| The Battle At Lake Changjin publicity poster |
The Movie
The Battle At Lake Changjin was commissioned by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party ( CCP ) and the National Radio And Television Administration with support from the Central Military Commission. It was produced by the Bona Film Group. With a production budget of over US$200 million, it is also one of the most expensive film made in China. The release date was 30th Sep 2021, a day before the national day of China. It is also the centennial year of the Chinese Communist Party. Since its release, the film has broken several of China's box office records, with takings of US$821 million as of 23rd Oct, and could be on track to be the top grossing film worldwide this year.
Impressive as it might be, this movie is nothing but propaganda from the CCP and was intended to induce a sense of patriotism among the Chinese film viewers and make them feel good seeing China triumph over America. In China, the Korean War is officially known as " The War To Resist US Aggression And Aid Korea" ( 抗美援朝战争 kang mei yuan chao zhan zheng ) which is an absolute misnomer. The US was not the aggressor, the North Koreans were. They were the aggressors that started the war by invading the south. The US and its allies from 20 different countries were in the Korean Peninsula as a military force mandated by the United Nations in aid of South Korea. The Chinese were therefore fighting the multi-national United Nations Command, not just the US alone, although admittedly the bulk of the troops were Americans.
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| Frozen to death : China's Ice Sculpture Company ( 冰雕连 ) |
The movie also tried to portray the resilience of the Chinese soldiers under very harsh and trying winter environments with lack of proper clothing and food. A young soldier was shown having only a single frozen potato to eat a day and muttering something about having to endure a little more until the town of Sinhung-ni is reached. Entire companies were discovered frozen to death in the snow while guarding their assigned positions. Such hardship and sacrifices have touched the hearts of Chinese audiences and some were even prompted to try eating frozen potatoes themselves after watching the movie. You can watch a Chinese girl's attempt to emulate soldiers eating frozen potato in this video gone viral. That of course is not an easy feat and Chinese military historians say that the frozen potatoes were first put under the armpit for partial thawing before being eaten raw, layer by layer. Several cycles of thawing and gnawing would be repeated until the entire tuber is eventually consumed. Sounds like something any sensible person would want to avoid!
But seriously, can a human being survive on just a single potato a day in near-arctic environments? Common sense tells us it is impossible, but here's the science.
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| Estimated energy expenditures and allowances from US DoD Military Dietary Reference Intakes ( 2001 ) |
Daily Calorie Requirements
The first thing that is needed is to determine the daily energy expenditure for a soldier engaging in very strenuous activities in extreme cold. From the US DoD's Military Dietary Reference Intakes ( MRDI ) tables, men engaging in exceptional level of activity would have an energy requirement of 58 kilocalories per kilogram of body weight per day ( kcal/kg/day ) which would be about 4600 kcal/day based on the military reference man of 79kg.
The average Chinese soldier however, has a smaller stature and would likely weigh much less than his American counterpart. My estimate would be about 60kg and even this figure could be over-optimistic for the 1950s which was preceded by years of war, famine and then civil unrest in China. Based on this lower weight, the Chinese soldier would still require about 3500 kcal/day.
Although there is no RDI for carbohydrates, it is generally accepted that approximately half our energy intake should be in the form of carbohydrates ( sugars and starch ). Since the calorific value of carbohydrates is 4.1kcal/g, the Chinese soldier would need to consume roughly 427g in carbohydrates daily to sustain his activities.
In addition, the RDI for protein is between 0.8 to 1.5g per kg body weight. This will mean 48 to 90g of daily protein intake for a 60kg Chinese man.
Now that we understand the exact nutritional ( caloric ) requirements for a soldier fighting a winter war, it is time to have a closer look at the potato.
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| Freshly harvested potato tubers. Wikimedia Commons. |
The Humble Potato
The potato has its origins in the Andes region of South America, an area that is modern day Peru and Bolivia where it has been cultivated for thousands of years. It was introduced to Europe by the Spaniards in the 16th century and quickly became an important food source throughout the world. There are now more than 5000 varieties of potatoes following millennia of selective breeding. China and India are currently the leading producers of the potato.
In Chinese, the potato is known as the malingshu ( 马铃薯 ) or colloquially as the tudou ( 土豆 ), literally meaning bean of the earth. The potato is popularly grown in the cold and acrid northern regions of China where rice cultivation is difficult or even impossible.
What is the weight of a potato and how much energy does it contain? Sizes may differ according to cultivars and growing conditions but the weight of a potato can be anywhere between 100g to 285g. According to data from the US Department of Agriculture ( USDA ), a single potato that weighs 136g will contain 105g of water *, 27.3g of carbohydrate and 2.54g of protein. It will provide 118 kcal of energy. These figures are far short of what we have calculated earlier. To summerise, the 60kg soldier engaged in exceptional level of physical activity would need to consume at least 427g of carbohydrates and 48g of proteins everyday. In other words, he would need to eat not 1 but 16 small to medium sized potatoes, as well as other food stuff to make up for the shortfall in proteins and especially fats which is not found in any significant quantity in the tubers.
* In sub-zero temperatures, the potato's high water content meant it would rapidly freeze and become rock hard.
Starvation
Failure to have sufficient food supply would rapidly lead to depleted muscle and liver glycogen stores, the human body's preferred source of energy, and eventually depleted fat stores as well. Fatigue would set in and the body would be much less likely to survive physiologically stressful events like hypothermia. Prolonged starvation could also result in the loss of skeletal muscle mass to a process known as gluconeogenesis, in the body's bid to maintain a minimum blood glucose level essential for brain functioning.
It is therefore not surprising that the half-starved PVA 9th Army could not have performed better at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir and prevented the breakout of the US X Corps from its encirclement. A single frozen potato a day? Not unless you aim to fail your mission or die of hypothermia! The PVA high command should be held accountable for its utter failure in equipping its troops and providing for their most basic nutritional needs, resulting in many unnecessary non-battle injuries and even death. Those poor Chinese soldiers may have been hailed as heroes for their ultimate sacrifice for their motherland but they were really nothing more than pawns in the eyes of the CCP, cheap, abundant and expendable. None deserved the slightest of our sympathies.
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