Latest / Marine Operations in Korea The Chosin Reservoir Campaign / 012 - Chapter 6 Part 1 - The Battle of Sudong

Transcript

012 - Chapter 6 Part 1 - The Battle of Sudong · Marine Operations in Korea The Chosin Reservoir Campaign

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Chapter six, Part one of U. S Marine Operations in
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Korea nineteen fifty to nineteen fifty three, Volume three, The
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Chosen Reservoir Campaign by Lyn Montross and Nicholas Canzona. This
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Battle of Sudang.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: The coastal plain of the song Chong Estuary is one
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: of the most spacious flatlands in all North Korea. Its
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: one hundred square miles divide into two irrigation districts, which
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: regulate cultivation in a virtual sea of rice paddies. The
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Songchong River, swollen by tributaries in its descent from the
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: northern hinterland, nourishes this agricultural complex before flowing into the
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Sea of Japan. Flanking the mouth of the waterway are
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: the port city of hung Nam to the north and
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: the town of Yeongpo with its modern airfield to the south.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Eight miles upstream lies Hamhung, an important transportation center with
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: the population of approximately eighty five thousand Koreans and Japanese
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: in nineteen forty. Ham Hung straddles the main railroad connecting
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: juan San to Sanjin as it follows the coastal route
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: to the border of Soviet Russia. A narrow gage line
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: two feet six inches stems from Hungnam and passes through
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: Hemhung before penetrating into the mountainous heart of North Korea.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: Parallel to this railroad is the only highway that could
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: be utilized by the Transport of First Marine Division for
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: its advance to the north, the MSR from Hungnam to
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: Yudam Knie. Soon the eyes of the world would be
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: fixed on maps of the narrow, winding, seventy eight mile
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: stretch of dirt and gravel road leading from the supply
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: port of hung Nam to the forlorn village of Yudam
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Knee at the western tip of the Chosen reservoir. Distances
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: in road miles between points along the route are as
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: follow hung Nam to Hemhung eight miles, Hemhung to Orori
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: eight miles, Orori to Majan Doong fourteen miles, Majandong to
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: Sudong seven miles, Sudong to Chinhung Nie six miles, Chinhung
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: Knee to koto Ri ten miles, Kotore to Hagarou eleven miles,
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: Hagaroo to Yudam Knee fourteen miles. Total of seventy eight miles.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: The first half of the distance. The forty three miles
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: from hung Nam to Chinhung Knie is traversed by a
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: two lane road, passing through comparatively level terrain. Rolling country
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: is encountered north of Majongdong, but it is at Chinhung
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Nie that the road makes its abrupt climb into a
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: tumbled region of mile high peaks. There are few straight
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: or level stretches all the rest of the thirty five
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: miles to Yudam Knee, but the route from Chinhungnie to
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: Kotoree is the most difficult. Funchulin Pass, comprising eight of
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: these ten miles, represents an ascent of twenty five hundred
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: feet for a straining jeep or truck. The road is
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: merely a twisting one way shelf with a cliff on
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: one side and a chasm on the other. About two
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: miles south of koto Rie, the trail reaches a rugged
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: plateau region. There it rejoins the railway along the Changjin River,
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: though the narrow gage line was operative only from Hamhung
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: to Chinhung Nie. Hagaroo at the southern tip of the
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: Chosen reservoir, with highways branching off on both sides of
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: that body of Water was an important communications center before
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: the war, and even though many buildings had been flattened
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: by bombing, the town was still impressive as compared to
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: such wretched mountain hamlets as Kotoree and Chinhungrie. The road
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: from Hagaroo to Yudam Knee climbs from the table land
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: at the foot of the Chosen Reservoir and winds its
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: way up to four thousand foot Taktong Pass. Descending through
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: gloomy gorges, it finally reaches a broad valley leading to
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: Yudam Knee, where roads branch off to the north west
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: and south from a western arm of the reservoir. This
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: was the seventy eight mile main supply route that would
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: soon be claiming its page in history. In only a
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: few weeks, it would be known to thousands of Marines
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: as the MSR. As if there never had been another.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: Officers and NCOs of the seventh Marines, which was fated
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: to be the first United States unit to defeat the
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: Chinese communists in battle, were given a verbal preview of
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: the MSR and the part it might play in their future.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: This was as the result of a flight of inspection
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: made by Major Henry J. Wozner On thirty October, following
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: a briefing at the ten Core CP in Wansan, the
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: S three of the seventh the Marines was fortunate enough
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: to arrive just in time to hear the briefing given
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: General Barr by General Almond. Pointing to the map, the
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: ten COREP commander indicated that the seventh Infantry Division would
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: push northward to Haisanjin on the Yalu. Meanwhile, the Marines
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: were to head for the border by a way of
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: Chinhong Knee, Cooto Ree, and Hagarou, while the third Infantry
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: Division took over responsibility for the rear area. When we
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: have cleared all this out, concluded General Almond pointed it
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: again to the map, the Rocks will take over and
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: we will pull our divisions out of Korea. At the
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: ten Courps CP, Wosner met a US Army liaison officer
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: just returned from the twenty sixth Rock Regiment with a
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: report of the unit's encounter with Chinese communists. The Rocks
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: had been north of Sudan when they collided with the
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: new enemy and were pushed back after taking sixteen prisoners.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: Colonel Edward H. Forty ranking marine officer on the ten
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: corpse staff arranged for Major Wozner to make a reconnaissance
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: flight over the Hamhung Hagaroo route in an Air Force
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: T six. The S three saw no sign of enemy
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: troop movements all the way to the northern end of
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: the chosen reservoir, but he did not fail to note
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: the formidable character of the terrain through which the new
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: MSR passed. When he returned that evening with his report,
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: Colonel Litzenberg called the meeting of officers and NCOs at
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: the Regimental CP in an informal talk. He told them
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: that they might soon be taking part in the opening
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: engagement of World War three. We can expect to meet
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: Chinese Communist troops, he concluded, and it is important that
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: we win the first battle. The results of that action
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: will reverberate around the world, and we want to make
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: sure that the outcome has an adverse effect in Moscow
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: as well as Peiping rocks relieved by seventh Marines on
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: one November, the seventh trucked out of Hamhung to an
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: assembly area midway between Rore and Majen Dong, moving into
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: position behind the twenty sixth Rock regiment without incident. Colonel
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: Litzenberg ordered a reconnaissance which took Lieutenant Colonel Raymond G.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: Davis's first Battalion about four miles northward to the South
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: Korean positions above Majen Dong. Late that afternoon, the regiment
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: secured for the night in a tight perimeter. Attached to
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: the regiment were the third Battalion, eleventh Marines, Major Francis F. Perry, Division,
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: Reconnaissance Company, First Lieutenant Ralph B. Crossman, Company D, First
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: Engineer Battalion, Captain Byron C. Turner, First Motor Transport Battalion,
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: Lieutenant Colonel Olin L. Beale, Company E, First Medical Battalion,
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: Lieutenant Commander Charles K. Holloway, and detachments from the First
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: Signal Battalion, First Service Battalion, and Division Military Police Company.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: Intelligence based on the questioning of the sixteen prisoners taken
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: by the Rocks, had revealed that they had been attacked
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: by elements of the three hundred seventieth Regiment of the
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: one hundred twenty fourth CCF Division, along with the one
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: hundred twenty fifth and one hundred twenty sixth, the other
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: two divisions of the forty second CCF Army. The one
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: hundred twenty fourth had crossed the Yalu during the period
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: fourteen to twenty October. After marching southeast via Kangyi and Chanjin,
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: the unit deployed further the defense of the Chosen Reservoir
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: Power Complex, while the one hundred twenty six pushed eastward
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: to the Fuson Reservoir and the one hundred twenty fifth
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: protected the right flank of the forty second CCF ten
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: Corps G two officers concluded that these CCF forces were
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: probably flank security for the enemy's fourth Army Group across
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: the peninsula and the USAC zone. The G two section
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: of the first Marine Division arrived at this interpretation. The
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: capture by the twenty five six Rock Regimen of sixteen
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: POWs identified as being members of the one hundred twenty
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: fourth CCF Division would seem to indicate that the CCF
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: have decided to intervene in the Korean War. It would
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: indicate also that this reinforcement is being affected by unit
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: rather than by piecemeal replacement from volunteer cadres. However, until
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: more definite information is obtained, it must be presumed that
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: the CCF has not yet decided on full scale intervention.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: Division intelligence officers concluded their analysis with the comment the
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: advantage to be gained by all out intervention at a
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: time when the NK forces are on the verge of
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: complete collapse is not readily apparent. There was little activity
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: in the valley on thirty one October and one November.
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: The Rocks, upon learning that they would be relieved shortly
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: by the seventh Marines, withdrew from advanced positions near Sudong
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: to a valley junction about four miles soulid of that town.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: Here at zero six hundred on two November, they were
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: hit by an enemy counter attack, which, since it was
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: about two platoon strength and of only thirty minutes duration,
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: amounted really to a CCF combat patrol action. Shortly after
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: this clash, Lieutenant Colonel Raymond G. Davis's first Battalion, seventh
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: Marines moved out of the regimental assembly area and marched
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: toward the rock lines at Majondong in route. Column Major
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: web D. Sawyer Second Battalion followed at an interval of
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: five hundred yards, while overhead, the corsairs of VMF three
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: twelve orbited on station for reconnaissance and close air support missions.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: The passage of lines proceeded smoothly and quietly, save for
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: the drone of aircraft as they probed the reaches of
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: the valley. It was over by ten thirty. Thereafter, progress
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: to the front was slow and watchful, led by Company
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: A under Captain David W. Banks. The first battalion took
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: ineffectual long range CCF fire with only a few casualties.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: Batteries G and H of three to eleven displaced forward
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: during the morning, and at noon Battery I opened up
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: with the first of twenty six missions fired by the
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: artillery battalion that day. Though second in the tactical column,
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: two seven was responsible for high ground on both sides
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: of the MSR, dominated on the left by Hill six
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: ninety eight. Company D ascended the eastern slopes early in
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: the afternoon to relieve a rock unit that apparently had
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: been unable to hold the crest. When the South Koreans
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: saw the Marines approaching, they promptly abandoned their position about
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: midway up the slope and headed for the rear. Dog
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: Company continued up the exposed hillside, scattered enemy shots from
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: the top of the ridge gradually merged into a pattern
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: of light resistance. As the Marines climbed higher. Captain Milton A. H.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: Hull ordered his troops to halt, deployed his machine guns
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: for return fire, and radioed for an air strike. Within
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: a few minutes, a flight of corsairs swept down and
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: worked over the ridge line. Hull's only assault route traversed
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: a barren area about fifty yards from the crest. His
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: two assault platoons, fully exposed to the enemy's observation, inched
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: upward by fire and movement, taking casualties, and finally reached
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: the top. Their foothold on the ridge line did not
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: discourage the Red Chinese, who continued to pour fire from
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: skillfully camouflaged positions to prevent continued attrition among his now
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: exhausted troops. By this time, they had climbed some sixteen
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: hundred vertical feet from ground level over an average gradient
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: of twenty five percent. Hull recalled the two platoons to
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: the eastern slopes and radioed for supporting fire. This fire
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: was not forthcoming. Company de held a line near the
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: summit until about twenty two hundred, when Easy Company passed
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: through to occupy a small plateau about one hundred and
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: fifty yards below the crest for the night. Meanwhile, down
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: in the valley, Litzenberg's walking perimeter completed a thirteen hundred
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: yard advance by sixteen thirty. Owing to the nature of
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: the terrain with the attendant three hundred sixty degree vulnerability,
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: the regimental commander stipulated that the seventh Marine's column extend
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: not less than four thousand the minimum distance which would
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: allow for close in artillery support, nor more than six
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: thousand yards in length. This allowed sufficient depth for overall
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: protection with no loss of mutual support among the three
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: infantry battalions. Enemy resistance had flared up now and then
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: in the course of the day, but marine supporting arms
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: so ruled the valley that no serious challenges by the Chinese.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: Developed VMF three to twelve flew twelve close support missions
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: in the Sudong area, and VMFN five thirteen assisted with
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: several more. The whole precipitous skyline on either side of
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: the regiment was blasted with five hundred pound bombs, twenty
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: millimeter shells, and high velocity rockets. By way of reply
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: to the heavy shelling and bombing, Chinese mortars and at
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: least one small artillery piece began to fire sporadically as
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: the day wore on. A one hundred twenty millimeter mortar
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: round struck one seven CP at seventeen hundred and wounded
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: three men CCF counterattack at Sudong. Although the unicommanders of
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: the seventh Marines anticipated more fighting with the new enemy,
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: they probably did not suspect what the night held in store.
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: When the regiment dug in at dusk onto November. They
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: did not know that the three hundred seventy first Regiment
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: one hundred twenty four CCF Division was massed to the
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: north and west, nor that the three hundred seventieth Regiment
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: occupied high ground east of the MSA and strength both
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: units within easy striking distance of Litzenberg's perimeter. The three
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: hundred seventy second Regiment in reserve stood poised in its
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: hidden encampment several miles to the rear. Leading elements of
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: the seventh Marines deployed defensively less than a mile south
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: of Sudong to the right of the MSR Able Company's third, second,
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: and first platoons in that order formed a line which
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: extended across Hill five point thirty two in part way
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: up a spur of massive Hill seven twenty seven, then
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: bent rearwards sharply to refuse the east flank. Emplaced along
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: the road in anti mechanized defense was the company's three
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: point five inch rocket squad, the sixty millimeter mortar section
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: and Company CP set up in the low ground behind
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: the spur, but Captain Banks himself decided to spend the
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: night in an ope with his rifle platoons. Lieutenant Colonel
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: Davis of one to seven deployed Charlie Company MIN across
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: the MSR from Abel on the northeast slopes of Hill
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: six ninety eight to the rear headquarters, and one platoon
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: of Company B dug in on an arm of the
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: same hill, while the other two platoons went into positions
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: on the lower reaches of Hill seven twenty seven behind
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: Company A. One platoon of Charlie Company, Davis's CP, and
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: the battalion eighty one millimeter mortars were located in low
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: ground behind Able Company and the elements of Baker on
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: the right of the road south of one point seven
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: lay Major Sawyer's second Battalion with Company D at the
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: foot of Hill six ninety eight E on its crest
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: and slopes, and f spread along the steep incline of
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: seven to twenty seven Sawyer CP and elements of the
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: seventh Marines Anti tank and four point two inch mortar
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: companies were situated in a shallow meadow along the road
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: beneath the Fox Company positions several hundred yards to the rear,
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: south of a sharp bend in the road made Major
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: Maurice E. Roach's third Battalion deployed in what was in
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: effect a second perimeter, protecting the regimental train three eleven
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: and Litzenburg CP on the valley floor, tying in at
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: the MSR Companies H and I occupied ridges on the
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: left and right of the road, respectively, while G minus
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: arched through the low ground as the southernmost element of
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: the regiment. Colonel Litzenburg was concerned about the valley, which
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: joined the Sudong Valley below Orrore, lest it contained Chinese.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: He had Major Roach make a helicopter reconnaissance during the afternoon.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: Roach cited nothing except for the occasional thump of an
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: incoming mortar. Round nights settled on the valley and the
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: Marine perimeter with deceptive quiet deceptive, since at Sudong, two
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: CCF battalions were poised to smash at the seventh Marines
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: with a well coordinated double envelopment. At twenty three hundred,
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: d Davis's first Battalion reported itself under attack from the
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: right flank, the enemy apparently descending the higher slopes of
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: Hill seven twenty seven. This announcement was somewhat premature, as
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: the Marines of Company A were merely experiencing the infiltration
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: and probing that precede almost every Communist assault. At twenty
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: four hundred, two seven reported two enemy battalions on the
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: left flank. During the first hour of three November, sobering
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: messages were received from Litzenberg's northernmost units. What had begun
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: at twenty three hundred as a staccato of small arms
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: fires swelled in volume by imperceptible degrees until Hills six
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: ninety eight and seven to twenty seven were engulfed in
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: a ceaseless din. By zero one hundred, the first and
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: second battalions of the seventh Marines bent under the weight
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: of a full scale attack on both flanks, avoiding the
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: obvious approach through the corridor leading south from Sudong, the
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: commander of the three hundred seventy first CCF Regiment, had
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: dispatched a battalion along each of the ridge lines bordering
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: the valley. Bursting flares and bugle calls signaled when the
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: two assault units came abreast of the marine positions on
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: the lower reaches of Hills seven twenty seven and six
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: ninety eight. Then treading swiftly and silently in their rubber sneakers,
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: the Chinese infantrymen swept down obliquely and struck Able and
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: Fox companies on the east and Baker on the west.
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: Charlie on the slopes of Hill six ninety eight was undisturbed.
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: Where the Chinese met resistance, they slugged it out at
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: close range with grenades and submachine guns. When they found gaps,
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: they poured through and raced to the low ground to
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: the Marines. The specific CCF objectives were not readily apparent
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: in those hectic hours before dawn, for the enemy seemed
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: to be everywhere. Shortly after the battle was joined, high
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: on the hillsides Marines, at Able comp Company's CP heard
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: the clanking sounds of a tracked vehicle on the MSR
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: to the north When the machine passed the rocket section
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: at the roadblock without incident, they dropped their guards momentarily,
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: believing it to be a friendly bulldozer. The big vehicle
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: rumbled into the CP and stopped, one headlight glaring at
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: exposed mortar crews and headquarters personnel tank shouted Staff Sergeant
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: Donald T. Jones, Section Chief of Able Company sixty millimeter mortars.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: It was a Russian T thirty four, one of the
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: five remaining to the three hundred forty fourth North Korean
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: Tank Regiment supporting the one hundred twenty four CCF Division.
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: The troops at the roadblock had been caught napping. A
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: burst of machine gun fire from the tank sent the
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: lightly armed marine scurrying for cover. The armored vehicle quickly
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: withdrew to the road and drove further south into one
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: seventh CP. After a short inquisitive paw, it rumbled toward
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: the first Battalion's eighty one millimeter mortar positions. The Russian
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: eighty five millimeters rifle flashed four times in the darkness,
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: but the shell screamed harmlessly over the mortars and detonated
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: in the high ground beyond. Rocket launchers of Charlie Company
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: and the RECOILSS Rifles of seventh Marines Anti Tank Company
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: opened up from positions around one seven's headquarters. At least
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: one seventy five millimeters round struck home and the belt
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: of sandbags around the T thirty fourth turret began to burn.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: The tank swung back onto the MSR and headed north,
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: approaching Able Company's roadblock, through which it had entered the
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: Marine position. It took a hit from the three point
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: five inch rocket section in reply, one to eighty five
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: millimeter shell at pistol range all but wiped out the
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: Marine anti tank crew. The enemy vehicle, trailing flame and sparks,
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: clanked around a bend in the road and disappeared. Not
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: long after this astounding foray, The fighting on Hills six
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: ninety eight and seven to twenty seven spread down to
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: the MSR. The first and second platoons of Company A,
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: pressed now from three directions and suffering heavy casualties, retracted
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: to the third platoon positions at the tip of the spur.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: Some of the men were cut off and forced back
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: on the Baker Company elements east of the MSR. Ultimately,
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: one of the two Company B platoons in this area
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: was driven down to the low ground, and the other
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: forced to fall back. Later, they counterattacked and recovered their foxholes.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: West of the MSR, the remainder of Company B fought
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: off assaults on its left flank and rear by Chinese
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: who had skirted around Charlie Company's advanced positions. Lieutenant Colonel
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: Davis sent the Battalion Reserve, Lieutenant Graber's second platoon of
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: Baker to reinforce the hard pressed left platoon. Attempting to
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: lead his men across the MSR grab found the route
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: effectively blocked by the enemy in the river bed. Descending
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: now from both sides of the road, enemy infantrymen swarmed
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: over the valley floor. They overran most of the seventh
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: Marine's four point two inch mortar company and captured one
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: of its tubes. They seriously threatened the first and second
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: Battalion CPS and the AT Company in the same general idea.
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: High on the slopes of two seven Zone Companies E
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: and F were beset by small bands of infiltrators, and
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: though these two companies held their ground, the Reds found
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: their flanks slipped behind them and entrenched at the key
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: roadbend separating two seven from three to seven to the south.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: The principal marine unit at the sharp curve in the
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: MSR was Battery Eye, whose position in the low ground
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: became increasingly precarious as the night wore on. Two marine
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: battalions cut off. Dawn of three November revealed a confused
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: and alarming situation in the valley south of Sudong. Enemy
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: troops shared the low ground with marine elements between the
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: first and second Battalion CPS, and they had blown out
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: a section of the MSR in this locale. The second
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: Battalion's commander later remarked, when daylight came, we found that
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: we were in a dickens of a mess. The rifle
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: companies were well up in the hills, and the Chinese
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: were occupying the terrain between the CP and the companies.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: Between two seven and three seven, a company of reds
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: had dug in on a finger of high ground overlooking
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: the road bend and Battery Eye. From the east. Scattered
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: Chinese forces roamed Hill six ninety eight and seven to
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: twenty seven almost at will. On the latter height. Elements
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: of the three hundred seventy first CCF Regiment had been
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: reinforced by a battalion of the three hundred seventieth, so
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: that pressure against the right flank of one seven and
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: two seven continued long after daybreak. With his lead battalions
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: thrown back on the defensive, Colonel Litzenberg relied on overwhelming
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: superiority and supporting arms to tip the scales on three
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: November and regained the initiative while the regimental four point
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: two inch mortars fired howitzers from batteries G and H
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: thundered almost ceaselessly the whole night long from positions within
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: three sevens perimeter. Battery I, after being extracted from the
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: enemy dominated roadbend at eleven hundred, with the help of
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: a platoon of G Company, added its metal to the bombardment.
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: In the course of the day, the eighteen field pieces
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: of the battalion fired a total of one thy, four
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: hundred and thirty one rounds in forty nine missions. VMF
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: three to twelve provided constant air cover after first light.
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: Its planes not only scorged enemy assault troops left exposed
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: on the ridges, but also searched out and attacked CCF
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: artillery repositions in vehicles. This squadron alone flew eighteen close
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: support missions. On three November, the alternating flights, being led
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: by Major Daniel H. Davis, Captain Harry G. C Henneberger,
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: Captain GEORGEI. McClain, and First Lieutenant Shelby M. Forrest. VMFN
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: five thirteen dispatched a flight of night fighters to Sudong
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: at zero nine ten under Major Robert L. Cochrane. After
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: raking enemy troops with fifteen hundred rounds from their twenty
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: millimeters cannon, Cochran and his three pilots unloaded three general
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: purpose and fragmentation bombs along with fifteen high velocity rockets.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: As much supporting fire fell within the seventh Regiment's perimeter
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: as outside. Since the crack of dawn, it had been
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: the principal mission of the Advanced Marine Elements to eject
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: scores of Chinese troops, individuals, and small bands who were
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: scattered along the hillsides and valley floor within the zones
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: of the first and second batte. While accomplishing this task,
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: the Marines established a tactical principle for coming weeks that
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: to nullify Chinese night tactics regardless of large scale penetrations
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: and infiltrations defending units had only to maintain positions until
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: daybreak with observation. Restored marine firepower invariably would melt down
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: the Chinese mass to impotency. This was the case on
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: three November, although the melting down process was a savage
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: all day affair. With the help of error artillery and mortars,
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: the first battalion cleared the low ground by mid morning
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: and restored its right flank. Later in the day, the
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: Chinese in the valley were crushed, the main group being
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: annihilated by the heavy machine guns of Weapons Company as
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: they attempted to march northward along the railroad in column.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: At daylight. Counted enemy dead in one seven zone alone
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: amounted to six hundred sixty two. The main effort in
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: the second battalion zone was aimed at the CCF concentration
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: on the spur of Hill seven twenty seven, overlooking the
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: bend in the MSR. Owing to this barrier, Litzenberg had
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: to call for an air drop of supplies to sustain
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: his leading elements. On three November, Major Sawyer ordered Company
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: D on the base of Hill six ninety eight, to
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: the south of the roadblock to move up the valley
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: cross the river and clean out the spur at Hill
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: seven twenty seven. Finding the low ground blocked by heavy fire,
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: Captain Hull circled to the left along the incline of
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: Hill six ninety eight, intending to come abreast of the
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: Chinese strong point before striking at it across the MSR. Meanwhile,
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: Captain Walter D. Phillips Easy Company, perched on the side
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: of Hill six ninety eight, struggled to secure the peak
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: of that hill mass. A rush by First Lieutenant John
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: Yancey Second Platoon at about zero eight hundred secured a
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: small plateau about fifty yards below the crest against the
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: opposition of one Chinese soldier. First Lieutenant Robert T. Bay's
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: third Platoon then passed through and frontally assaulted the peak,
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: only to be thrown back by what Bay calls the
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: most concentrated grenade barrage. This writer has had the dubious
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: distinction to witness. Following an airstrike at about fourteen hundred,
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: Easy Companies secured the crest with its forty Chinese dead.
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: With all the rifle companies involved in firefights or security missions,
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: Litzenberg resorted to supporting arms and headquarters troops to knock
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: out the roadblock from his regimental CP, he dispatched First
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: Lieutenant Earl R. DeLong, executive officer of the AT Company,
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: with a reserve seventy five millimeters recoilist rifle and a
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: makeshift crew. DeLong moved into position opposite the strong point
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: at a range of five hundred yards while air and
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: artillery hammered the enemy positions simultaneously, The Division Reconnaissance Company
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: ascended the high ground east of the MSR in the
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: vicinity of Litzenburg's headquarters, then advanced northward along the ridge
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: to envelop the roadblock. This unit, just returned from an
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: active overnight patrol to Husui, moved into a hillside position,
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: and took the rear of the Chinese under fire across
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: an intervening gully. DeLong seventy five had begun firing high
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: explosive and white phosphorus into the enemy's front and company
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: d after cleaning up the scattered resistance of the slopes
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: of Hill six ninety eight, closed on the roadblock under
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: cover of two air strikes and prepared to assault. The Chinese,
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: obviously shaken by the pounding of supporting arms, had commenced
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: to withdraw into the hills east of the road bend.
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: When Hull's men began their assault from recont company's positions,
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: Lieutenant Crossmen called for air and artillery to catch the
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: retreating Reds in the open, but the request was turned
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: down because Dog Company troops were already filtering through the
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: objective area. By eighteen ten, the roadblock was eliminated, although
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: Dog Company had to withstand two counter attacks before its
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: hold on the spur was secure. The Chinese had left
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: behind twenty eight dead strewn among the boulders and recesses
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: of a natural redoubt. The enemy encroachments having been smashed,
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: the seventh Marines MSR was again clear for traffic, save
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: for long range harassment by an occasional c CF rifleman
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: hidden in the hills. At dusk, trucks streamed northward from
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: the Regimental CP to deliver supplies to the first and
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: second battalions and to evacuate about one hundred battle casualties
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: from those units. The wounded were rushed to the Division
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: hospital and the one hundred twenty first Army Evacuation Hospital
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: in Hungnam. End of Chapter six, Part one read by
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: Aaron Bennett