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Wu Qianli, commander of the People's Liberation Army's 7th Company, returns home after the Chinese Civil War. He tells his family that his brother, Wu Baili, was killed in action. Having been allotted land for his service, he promises his parents he will build them a house, but his leave is cancelled when China enters the Korean War. Qianli's younger brother, Wanli, asks to go with, but is refused. The film jumps to 15 September 1950, where the Battle of Incheon is underway. U.S. aircraft are shown indiscriminately bombing a village in Andong Province, China. The film then jumps to Beijing on 4 October 1950 where the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party is meeting in Zhongnanhai to discuss the war situation. Mao Zedong asks whether the U.S. Army crossing the 38th parallel means they will also cross the Yalu. The military briefer states that by stationing forces in Taiwan, the U.S. has already invaded China and U.S. forces in Korea threatens China's security. To Qianli's horror, Wanli has enlisted and is stationed in the 7th Company. Wanli gets bullied by the other members of the 7th Company en route to Korea, with Qianli refusing to help him and at first refuses to even give him a rifle. The train is bombed while track is being fixed, forcing the 7th Company to continue on foot while avoiding American aircraft. The 7th Company stumble upon a battle and aid a group of Chinese soldiers. Wanli and Qianli kill four Americans in hand-to-hand combat and avoid being killed by a tank. The 7th Company continues to the front lines, eventually arriving and delivering field radios. The 7th Company is allowed to rest. Mao Zedong's son, Anying, serving under the pseudonym “Liu“, helps distribute clothing to them before the company is ordered to the front lines. The Chinese soldiers stay hidden in the mountains, running low on supplies and facing below-freezing temperatures while American soldiers celebrate Thanksgiving in relative comfort and anticipate going home for Christmas. U.S. radio detection detects the headquarters where Anying is stationed and aircraft are sent to bomb the base. While most of the staff take shelter in bunkers, Anying runs back to the base to collect a map and is killed in the bombing. The 27 November offensive begins with Chinese soldiers swarming the positions of the U.S. Army 31st Infantry Regiment at Sinhung-ni. The Americans begin to retreat and Qianli shoots the U.S. commander, Colonel Allan MacLean, but then stops Wanli from executing him. At Hagaru-ri reinforcements are ordered to Sinhung-ni. A USMC Vought F4U Corsair attacks the Chinese forces and drops a smoke marker on the overrun base but is then shot down by a Chinese soldier using a bazooka. Lei Suisheng puts the smoke marker in a jeep and drives off, joining up with the retreating U.S. column. The U.S. bombers destroy the American column and Lei is killed. The scene then cuts to Hagaru-ri which is under attack by the Chinese. U.S. forces are forced to retreat by air and land while they are pursued by Chinese forces. The scene then shifts again to the 3rd Company, 3rd Division, 58th Corps on Hill 1071, which is shown holding out against U.S. forces. Yang Gensi, as the last surviving member of his unit, suicidally attacks American tanks with a satchel charge. The retreating U.S. Marine column finds a group of Chinese soldiers frozen to death at their post. General Oliver P. Smith salutes them; his voiceover is heard saying that fighting against such strong-willed men, the U.S. was not ordained to win. The closing scenes show a U.S. mass grave at Hungnam as the city burns during the Hungnam evacuation. Captions state that 105,000 U.S. troops were evacuated by 24 December and that the 9th Corps captured Hungnam. The captions explain the significance of the battle of Lake Changjin, which was a “perfect example for annihilating a U.S. reinforced regiment“ and how Chinese forces stopped MacArthur's “presumptuous“ plan to end the war by Christmas and “set the stage for the final victory of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea“ despite the deaths of more than 197,000 Chinese.
