Assembly (2007) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Gu Zidi was imprisoned for three days after ordering the execution of surrendered NRA soldiers. Enraged by the death of his political commissar during the battle, he made the decision to kill the enemy combatants who had surrendered, an act that violated military discipline. Colonel Liu Zeshui placed him under arrest for this violation.

• Gu Zidi imprisonment
• execution of NRA soldiers
• Colonel Liu Zeshui

Wang Jincun was a foot soldier in the PLA and former teacher who had been jailed for cowardice. Despite being educated and serving as the company's political commissar later, he had previously been convicted for displaying cowardice in battle, demonstrating how courage and culpability wore different faces in war.

• Wang Jincun
• former teacher
• cowardice
• political commissar

The bugle call was never sounded because the 9th Company had been deliberately sacrificed to buy time for the rest of the regiment. Colonel Liu Zeshui's subordinate, who survived as the caretaker of Liu's tomb, revealed that the order to regroup was never given, the 9th Company was left to fight and die holding their position at the mine while the regiment withdrew.

Foreshadowing: Gu had initially believed the distant bugle was a real signal for relief, but some soldiers claimed to hear it while others, like Gu who was deafened by explosions, doubted its authenticity.

• bugle call
• 9th Company sacrifice
• Colonel Liu Zeshui
• regiment withdrawal

Gu Zidi survived because he was knocked unconscious by a tank shell during the final assault. The entire 9th Company was wiped out fighting to the last man, but Gu was left unconscious on the battlefield. He later woke up wearing an NRA uniform he had stolen to survive behind enemy lines after secretly bombing an enemy fuel depot.

• Gu Zidi survival
• Wen River battle
• unconscious
• NRA uniform

Gu Zidi was suspected of desertion because he was found unconscious wearing an NRA uniform he had stolen during a covert mission to bomb an enemy fuel depot. Additionally, by the time he woke up, the PLA had undergone reorganization and there was little memory of the 139th Regiment, making it impossible for him to prove his identity as a PLA captain.

• deserter suspicion
• NRA uniform
• PLA reorganization
• 139th Regiment

Gu Zidi lost his eye while serving with the People's Volunteer Army. During an artillery-spotting mission, Lieutenant Zhao Erdou accidentally triggered a hidden anti-personnel mine. Gu threw himself over Zhao to shield him from the blast, holding the mine down to preserve Zhao's life. The explosion destroyed Gu's right eye, but Zhao survived.

• Korean War
• Gu Zidi lost eye
• Zhao Erdou
• landmine

Wang Jincun sacrificed himself to prevent the mine from being captured. As enemy forces closed in, Gu and Wang had buried their fallen comrades inside the mine. When Gu left to continue fighting, Wang who was mortally wounded, chose to detonate the mine entrance, blowing it up so the enemy could not access the bodies or the position.

• Wang Jincun death
• mine explosion
• sacrifice
• 9th Company burial

The 9th Company was deliberately left to fight and die to buy time for the rest of the regiment. Colonel Liu Zeshui had ordered Gu's unit to hold the coal mine position until a bugle call for regrouping, but that call was never sounded. The 9th Company was a sacrificial detachment, sacrificed so the larger force could withdraw and regroup elsewhere.

• 9th Company sacrifice
• abandoned
• holding position
• buy time

Gu Zidi was an orphan abandoned as an infant during a famine at just three months old. He was discovered by a shoemaker in a millet field, which is how he received his name, 'Gu' means millet and 'Zidi' means child of the field. This origin story is revealed in the closing titles, explaining why his name literally means 'millet field.'

• Gu Zidi origin
• orphan
• millet field
• name meaning

After returning to the Wen River battlefield, Gu Zidi tracked down Wang Jincun's widow. Gu then arranged for her to marry Zhao Erdou, the lieutenant he had saved during the Korean War. This was Gu's way of weaving a personal resolution into the larger national saga, ensuring that Wang's memory lived on through this union and that Zhao, who had supported Gu's quest for recognition, would be cared for.

• Wang Jincun widow
• Zhao Erdou marriage
• Gu Zidi
• resolution

Gu Zidi wore an NRA uniform because he had secretly stolen it during a solo mission to bomb an enemy fuel depot behind enemy lines. After being knocked unconscious during the battle and left for dead, he used the enemy uniform as a disguise to try to survive and make his way back to PLA lines, which led to his capture and suspicion of desertion.

• NRA uniform
• fuel depot mission
• disguise
• survival