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005 - Restoring the Balance · Korean War - Brief Histories

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  Speaker 1: Section five of the Korean War Brief Histories by various
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  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Korean
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  Speaker 1: War Restoring the Balance twenty five January through eight July
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  Speaker 1: nineteen fifty one by John J. Mc grath introduction. The
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  Speaker 1: Korean War was the first major armed clash between free
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  Speaker 1: World and communist forces as the so called Cold War
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  Speaker 1: turned hot they half century that now separates us from
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  Speaker 1: that conflict. However, as dimmdark collective memory, many Korean War
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  Speaker 1: veterans have considered themselves forgotten their place in history sandwich
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  Speaker 1: between the sheer size of World War Two and the
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  Speaker 1: fierce controversies of the Vietnam War. The recently built Korean
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  Speaker 1: War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in the upcoming
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  Speaker 1: fiftieth anniversary commemorative events should now provide well deserved recognition.
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  Speaker 1: I hope that this series of brochures on the campaigns
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  Speaker 1: of the Korean War will have a similar effect. The
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  Speaker 1: Korean War still has much to teach us about military preparedness,
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  Speaker 1: about global strategy, about combined operations and a military alliance
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  Speaker 1: facing blatant aggression, and about the courage and perseverance of
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  Speaker 1: the individual soldier. The modern world still lives with the
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  Speaker 1: consequences of a divided Korea and with a militarily strong,
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  Speaker 1: economically weak, and unpredictable North Korea. The Korean War was
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  Speaker 1: waged on land, on sea, and in the air over
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  Speaker 1: and near the Korean Peninsula. It lasted three years, the
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  Speaker 1: first of which was a seesaw struggle for control of
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  Speaker 1: the peninsula, followed by two years of positional warfare as
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  Speaker 1: a backdrop to extend it ceasefire negotiations. The following essay
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  Speaker 1: is one of five accessible and readable studies designed to
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  Speaker 1: enhance understanding of the United States Armies role and achievements
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  Speaker 1: in the Korean Conflict. During the next several years, the
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  Speaker 1: Army will be involved in many fiftieth anniversary activities, from
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  Speaker 1: public ceremonies and staff rights to professional development discussions and
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  Speaker 1: formal classroom training. The commemoration will be supported by the
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  Speaker 1: publication of various materials to help educate Americans about the war.
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  Speaker 1: These works will provide great opportunities to learn about this
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  Speaker 1: important period in the Army's heritage of service to the nation.
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  Speaker 1: This brochure was prepared in the United States Army Center
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  Speaker 1: of Military History by John J. McGrath. I hope this
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  Speaker 1: absorbing account, with its list of further readings, will stimulate
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  Speaker 1: further study and reflection. A complete listing of the Centre
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  Speaker 1: of Military History's available works on the Korean War is
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  Speaker 1: included in the Centre's online catalog www. Dot Army dot
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  Speaker 1: mill slash, CMH, hyphen pg slash catalog, slash, brochure dot HTM.
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  Speaker 1: John S. Brown, Brigadier General, USA, Chief of Military History,
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  Speaker 1: Restoring the Balance twenty five January through eight July nineteen
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  Speaker 1: fifty one. The PEROT from late January to early July
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  Speaker 1: nineteen fifty one was critical for the United Nations UN
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  Speaker 1: Command in Korea. Recovering from the disastrous retreat that followed
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  Speaker 1: the Chinese Communist Forces CCF military intervention in November nineteen
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  Speaker 1: fifty UN forces endured two massive CCF campaigns that threatened
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  Speaker 1: to push them off the Pennusinsula. Amid desperate fighting, the
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  Speaker 1: UN troops managed to hold on, regroup, and counter attack
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  Speaker 1: each enemy initiative, finally establishing a strong defensive line across
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  Speaker 1: the middle of the peninsula. Their sacrifices finally stabilized the
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  Speaker 1: battlefield and provided the foundation for the ceasefire and negotiations
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  Speaker 1: that followed. These bitter struggles also saw a major shift
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  Speaker 1: in US policy and strategy. For American policy makers, the
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  Speaker 1: Korean War became an economy of force operation with limited objectives.
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  Speaker 1: The World War II concept of total victory and unconditional
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  Speaker 1: surrender was supplanted by the more limited goal of restoring
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  Speaker 1: Republic of Korea r OK or South Korea to its
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  Speaker 1: general pre war boundaries in implementing an effective ceasefire agreement
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  Speaker 1: as one of its unexpected consequences. This strategic shift also
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  Speaker 1: saw the dismayhistle of the Yuan Commander General of the Army,
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  Speaker 1: Douglas MacArthur, when he openly criticized the new limitations. But
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  Speaker 1: with the nuclear monopoly enjoyed by the United States quickly fading,
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  Speaker 1: the threat of worldwide atomic war tempered the options available
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  Speaker 1: to US officials. Campaign objectives were thus increasingly limited to
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  Speaker 1: gaining control of key defensible terrain and using battlefield attrition
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  Speaker 1: to force the other side into negotiations. Strategic setting approximately
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  Speaker 1: six hundred miles long and between one hundred and twenty
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  Speaker 1: five and two hundred miles wide, the Korean Peninsula is
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  Speaker 1: mountainous and frequently cut by waterways of all sizes, generally
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  Speaker 1: flowing down from the mountains into the sea. In the
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  Speaker 1: central section of the peninsula, where much of the fighting
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  Speaker 1: in early nineteen fifty one occurred, the terrain is particularly rugged.
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  Speaker 1: The western portion was a minor coastal plain marked by
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  Speaker 1: estuaries formed from the han Imjin and Pukan rivers. In
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  Speaker 1: the center, the was Shon Reservoir was the most prominent feature.
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  Speaker 1: Except in the most rugged areas, villages and towns dotted
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  Speaker 1: the landscape. The road network was primitive and greatly affected
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  Speaker 1: by the weather. By January nineteen fifty one, the Korean
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  Speaker 1: War was six months old. The invasion by North Korea
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  Speaker 1: Democratic People's Republic of Korea in June nineteen fifty had
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  Speaker 1: driven the UN forces into a headlong retreat to the
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  Speaker 1: Pusan perimeter in a spectacular reversal of fortune. The amphibious
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  Speaker 1: landing of Yuan forces at Incheon in mid September triggered
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  Speaker 1: a collapse of the North Korean People's Army that was
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  Speaker 1: only stopped by the enormity of the Chinese intervention in
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  Speaker 1: October and November. The entry into the war of major
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  Speaker 1: Chinese military FIES forces rocked the over extended yu In
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  Speaker 1: troops and sent them reeling back into South Korea. For
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  Speaker 1: a time, it seemed that the UN forces might have
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  Speaker 1: to abandon the peninsula, resulting in a complete Communist victory.
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  Speaker 1: Only by trading space for time and by pummeling the
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  Speaker 1: advancing Chinese with artillery fire and airstrikes did the new
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  Speaker 1: UN commander, Lieutenant General Matthew b Ridgeway, halt the enemy operations.
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  Speaker 1: On the eve of the renewal of full scale UN
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  Speaker 1: offensive operations. The Eighth Army consisted of one hundred and
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  Speaker 1: sixty eight thousand, four hundred and sixty four American soldiers
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  Speaker 1: and marines, two hundred and twenty three thousand, nine hundred
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  Speaker 1: and fifty ROK Army troops and un ground continians from Australia, France, India,
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  Speaker 1: the Netherlands, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
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  Speaker 1: These forces were organized into five corps from west to east, First, ninth,
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  Speaker 1: and tenth, and the ROK third and first. In general,
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  Speaker 1: ROK forces held the more easily defended rugged terrain in
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  Speaker 1: the east, while U S forces were positioned on the
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  Speaker 1: lower flatter areas in the west, where their greater mobility
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  Speaker 1: and firepower were more decisive. Arrayed against the UN forces
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  Speaker 1: were some two hundred ninety thousand Chinese and North Korean soldiers.
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  Speaker 1: The Chinese were organized into seven corps sized armies in
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  Speaker 1: twenty two divisions two hundred and four thousand strong, primarily
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  Speaker 1: holding the western and central portions of the front. About
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  Speaker 1: fifty two thousand North Korean soldiers, in turn, organized into
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  Speaker 1: three corps and fourteen under strength divisions, held the eastern sector.
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  Speaker 1: In addition, and estimated thirty thousand North Korean guerrillas were
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  Speaker 1: still behind Yuan lines in the mountainous areas of eastern
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  Speaker 1: South Korea. Although the Chinese had halted their offensive after
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  Speaker 1: heavy casualties, they had no shortage of manpower. Supply difficulties,
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  Speaker 1: rather than casualties, had stopped the Chinese communists drive south,
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  Speaker 1: encouraging American commanders in turn to resume their own offensive north.
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  Speaker 1: On twenty January nineteen fifty one, General Ridgeway, eighth Army commander,
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  Speaker 1: issued a directive designed to convert his current reconnaissance operations
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  Speaker 1: into a deliberate counter attack. Since the enemy's situation was
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  Speaker 1: still unclear. The action codenamed Operation Thunderbolt, was designed to
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  Speaker 1: discover enemy dispositions and intentions with a show of force.
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  Speaker 1: The operation had the additional abjective of dislodging any enemy
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  Speaker 1: forces south of the Han River, the major estuary running
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  Speaker 1: southeast from the Yellow Sea through Seoul and beyond. The
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  Speaker 1: projected attacks did not represent a full scale offensive. Phase
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  Speaker 1: lines lines drawn on maps with specific reporting and crossing
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  Speaker 1: instructions would be used to control tightly the events of
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  Speaker 1: the First and Ninth Corps. The units were to avoid
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  Speaker 1: becoming heavily engaged. To accomplish this, each Corps would commit
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  Speaker 1: only a single US division and ROK regiment. This use
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  Speaker 1: of train based phase lines and of limited advances with
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  Speaker 1: large forces and reserve was to become the standard procedure
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  Speaker 1: for un offensive operations for the rest of the war.
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  Speaker 1: The first or Western phase of Operation Thunderbolt lasted from
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  Speaker 1: twenty five to thirty one January. The First and ninth
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  Speaker 1: Corps moved up to twenty miles into the area south
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  Speaker 1: of Seoul. Only the Turkish brigade attached to the U
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  Speaker 1: S twenty fifth Infantry devas east of Osan, a major
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  Speaker 1: city twenty miles south of Seoul encountered its stiff resistance. Elsewhere,
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  Speaker 1: opposition was light, and the Chinese merely conducted rearguard actions
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  Speaker 1: rather than hold their ground. On the twenty sixth, siu Uan,
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  Speaker 1: north of Osan, with its large airfield complex, was recaptured.
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  Speaker 1: Close air support sorties supported the advance, damaging enemy lines
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  Speaker 1: of communications and pounding points of resistance. As January neared
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  Speaker 1: its end, Chinese resistance began gradually to increase, indicating that
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  Speaker 1: the main enemy line had almost been reached. On twenty
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  Speaker 1: seventh January, the U S third Infantry Division joined the
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  Speaker 1: attack in the first core sector, and on the twenty ninth,
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  Speaker 1: Ridgeway converted Thunderbolt into a full scale offensive, with tenth
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  Speaker 1: Corps joining the offensive on its eastern flank. The First
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  Speaker 1: and ninth Corps continue they needed a steady of slow
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  Speaker 1: advanced to the Han River against increasingly more vigorous enemy defenses.
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  Speaker 1: On two January, armored elements of the tenth Corps reached
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  Speaker 1: juan Ju, located in the central section, fifty miles southeast
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  Speaker 1: of Seoul. Other elements of the tenth Corps recaptured huang Song,
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  Speaker 1: ten miles north of juan Ju. The same day, as
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  Speaker 1: part of the First Corps attack, the U. S twenty
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  Speaker 1: fifth Infantry Division advanced against stiff enemy resistance in high
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  Speaker 1: ground south of Seoul. One Obstacle Hill one eighty, an
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  Speaker 1: enemy strong point located near soum Ni, proved particularly difficult.
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  Speaker 1: Captain Lewis L. Millet of Company E twenty seventh Infantry,
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  Speaker 1: twenty fifth Division, led his company against that hill in
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  Speaker 1: a dramatic bayonet and grenade assault. The tank infantry task
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  Speaker 1: force to which Millet's company belonged had been held up
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  Speaker 1: for or several days by a determined mixed force of
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  Speaker 1: Chinese and North Koreans. In the resulting hand to hand combat,
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  Speaker 1: the American shock action carried the day, routing the enemy
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  Speaker 1: from his well entrenched positions atop the hill. The surviving
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  Speaker 1: defenders fled the battlefield, leaving their equipment and weapons behind,
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  Speaker 1: while Millet, in the thick of the fighting, was subsequently
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  Speaker 1: awarded the Medal of Honor. Actions such as Millets sustained
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  Speaker 1: the U. N offensive despite fierce Communist resistance. On nine February,
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  Speaker 1: the enemy defense opposite First and ninth Corps gave way.
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  Speaker 1: Soon Yun units in the west were racing northward. The
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  Speaker 1: U S twenty fifth Infantry Division retook Inchanng and Kimpo Airfield,
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  Speaker 1: as elements of First Corps closed on the south bank
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  Speaker 1: of the Han opposite Soul, while the three US Corps
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  Speaker 1: advanced west in to the center. General Ridgeway decided to
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  Speaker 1: expand the offensive to the east by committing additional elements
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  Speaker 1: of the Tenth Corps and the ROK third Corps under
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  Speaker 1: Tenth Corps control in an operation code name round Up.
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  Speaker 1: Roundup's object was the expansion of the offensive to the
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  Speaker 1: central sector of the front. The Tenth Corps, ROK fifth
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  Speaker 1: and eighth Divisions were to retake hong Chung, fifteen miles
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  Speaker 1: north of huang Song and in the process destroy the
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  Speaker 1: North Korean forces in that vicinity. US forces supporting the
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  Speaker 1: movement included the second and seventh Infantry Divisions and the
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  Speaker 1: one hundred and eighty seventh Airborne Regimental Combat Team RCT.
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  Speaker 1: Roundup would also protect the right flank of Thunderbolt farther east.
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  Speaker 1: The ROK third Corps on Tenth Corps right flank and
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  Speaker 1: still under its control, would also advance north. The operation
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  Speaker 1: commenced on five to February, with both the tenth and
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  Speaker 1: the ROK third Corps, attacking steadily but against increasing enemy resistance,
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  Speaker 1: while UN forces in Operation Thunderbolt advanced to an area
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  Speaker 1: just south of the Han against only minor resistance. Chinese
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  Speaker 1: and North Korean forces were massing in the central sector
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  Speaker 1: north of Huen Song, seeking to renew their offensive south.
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  Speaker 1: On the night of eleven twelve February, the enemy struck
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  Speaker 1: with five Chinese People Liberation Army PLA armies in two
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  Speaker 1: North Korean corps, totally approximately one hundred and thirty five
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  Speaker 1: thousand soldiers. The main effort was against tenth Corps ROK
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  Speaker 1: divisions north of Pueang Song. The Chinese attack, dramatically announced
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  Speaker 1: with bugle calls and drum beating, penetrated the ROK line
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  Speaker 1: and forced the South Koreans into a ragged withdrawal to
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  Speaker 1: the southeast v va snow covered passes in the rugged hills.
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  Speaker 1: The ROK units, particularly the eighth Division, were badly battered
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  Speaker 1: in the process, creating large holes in the UN defenses. Accordingly,
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  Speaker 1: UN forces were soon in a general withdrawal to the
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  Speaker 1: south in the central section, giving up most of the
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  Speaker 1: terrain recently regained. Despite an attempt to form a solid
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  Speaker 1: defensive line. Huang Song itself was abandoned on thirteenth February.
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  Speaker 1: Also on the thirteenth, the Chinese broadened the offensive against
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  Speaker 1: the tenth Corps with attacks against U. S. Second Infantry
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  Speaker 1: Division positions near chip Yung Knee on the left of
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  Speaker 1: the corps front. They also struck farther to the west
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  Speaker 1: out of a bridgehead south of the Han near yang Yang,
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  Speaker 1: against elements of the U. S. Twenty fourth Infantry Division
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  Speaker 1: holding the ninth corps right flank. The twenty first Infantry
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  Speaker 1: of the twenty fourth Division quickly contained the yung Pyeong
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  Speaker 1: attack that was aimed towards Suan, but at chip yung Ni,
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  Speaker 1: the Chinese encircled the second Division's twenty third infantry and
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  Speaker 1: its attached French Army battalion, cleverly exploiting a gap in
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  Speaker 1: the over extended American lines. Chip Yong Ni was a
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  Speaker 1: key road junction surrounded by a ring of small hills.
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  Speaker 1: Rather than have the twenty third infantry withdraw, General Ridgeway
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  Speaker 1: directed that the position beheld to blockward delay Chinese access
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  Speaker 1: to the nearby Han River valley. An enemy advanced down
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  Speaker 1: the east bank of the Han would threaten the positions
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  Speaker 1: of the ninth and first Corps west of the river. Accordingly,
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  Speaker 1: the UN forces at chip yung Ni dug into the
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  Speaker 1: surrounding hills and formed a solid perimeter while reinforcements were mustered.
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  Speaker 1: The role of the air force was essential at chip
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  Speaker 1: yung Ni, with close air support forcing the attack to
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  Speaker 1: conduct their assaults only after dark and once the enemy
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  Speaker 1: had cut off the ground roots, all resupply was by air.
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  Speaker 1: As Ridgeway hoped, the five thousand defenders of Chip Young
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  Speaker 1: Knee quickly became the focus of Chinese attention. Throughout the
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: night of thirteen fourteenth February, three Chinese divisions assaulted the perimeter,
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  Speaker 1: supported by artillery. The attackers shifted to different sections of
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  Speaker 1: the two mile American perimeter, probing for weak points. The
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  Speaker 1: Chinese were often stopped only at the barbed wire protecting
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  Speaker 1: the individual American positions, With the defenders employing extensive artillery
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  Speaker 1: support and automatic weapons fire from an attached anti aircraft
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  Speaker 1: artillery battalion, daylight brought a respite to the attacks. True
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  Speaker 1: to form, the Chinese renewed their assaults the night of fourteen,
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  Speaker 1: fifteen February. Again the fighting was intense during the teen
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  Speaker 1: February attack. Sergeant first class William Sitman, a machine gun
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  Speaker 1: section leader in Company M twenty third Infantry, was posthumously
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  Speaker 1: awarded the Medal of Honour for his actions in providing
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  Speaker 1: support to an infantry company in the end, placing his
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: body between an enemy grenade and five fellow soldiers. While
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  Speaker 1: the twenty third Infantry held on at Chipyong Knee, the
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: situation to the southeast was grave. At the time. Ridgeway
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  Speaker 1: and Major General Edward M. Allman, the tenth Corp commander,
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  Speaker 1: were seeking to stabilize the front line between Chipyong Knee
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  Speaker 1: and juan Ju, where the destruction of the ROK forces
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: around huang Song had created major gaps in the defensive line.
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  Speaker 1: For three desperate days, the front wavered as the Chinese
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  Speaker 1: attempted to exploit these gaps before un reinforcements could arrive
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  Speaker 1: on the scene. Ridgeway acted quickly to push units into
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  Speaker 1: the critical areas, ordering ninth Corps to move the U
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  Speaker 1: the twenty seventh British Commonwealth Brigade and the ROK sixth
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  Speaker 1: Division over to ten Corps and into the gap south
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  Speaker 1: of chip Yung Ni. The action proved timely. On the
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: night of thirteen fourteen February, the Chinese conducted major assaults
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  Speaker 1: at chip yung Ni, Chiuumni, five miles southeast of chip
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  Speaker 1: yong Ni, and at oun Jou, but supported by massed
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  Speaker 1: artillery and air support, the UN forces repulsed the attacks,
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  Speaker 1: causing heavy Chinese casualties. To provide additional support, the Ninth Corps,
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  Speaker 1: commanded by Major General Bryant E. Moore, now began directly
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  Speaker 1: assisting the Tenth Corps and restoring the front and relieving
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  Speaker 1: chip yong Ni. On fourteen February, the fifth Cavalry, detached
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  Speaker 1: from the US first Cavalry Division, was taken out of
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  Speaker 1: Ninth Corps Reserve and assigned the relief mission for the task.
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  Speaker 1: The three infantry battalions of the fifth Cavalry were reinforce
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  Speaker 1: forced with two field artillery battalions, two tank companies, and
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  Speaker 1: a company each of combat engineers and medics. Initially, the
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: relief force advanced rapidly, making half the twelve mile distance
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  Speaker 1: to chip Young Knee from the main US defensive line
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  Speaker 1: on the first day. Damage bridges and roadblocks then slowed movement.
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  Speaker 1: On the morning of the fifteenth two of the infantry
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  Speaker 1: battalions assaulted enemy positions on the high ground north of
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  Speaker 1: the secondary road leading to Chip Young Knee. When the
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: attack stalled against firm Chinese resistance, Colonel Marcel Crombez, fifth
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  Speaker 1: Cavalry Commander, organized a force of twenty three tanks with
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  Speaker 1: infantry and engineers riding on them to cut through the
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: final six miles to the twenty third infantry. The tank
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: infantry force advanced in the late afternoon, using mobility and
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: firepower to run a gauntlet of enemy defenses. Poor coordination
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: between the tanks and supporting artillery made progress flow. Nevertheless,
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: in an hour and fifteen minutes, the task force reached
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  Speaker 1: the encircled garrison and spent the night there. At daylight,
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: the tanks returned to the main body of the relief
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  Speaker 1: force unopposed, and came back to Chip Young Knee spearheading
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  Speaker 1: a supply column. With the defenders resupplied and linked up
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: with friendly forces. The siege could be considered over u
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: un casualties total four hundred and four, including fifty two
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  Speaker 1: soldiers killed. Chinese losses were far greater. Captured documents later
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: revealed that the enemies suffered at least five thousand casualties.
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  Speaker 1: The defense of Chipyong Knie was a major factor in
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: the successful blunting of the Chinese counter offensive in February
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  Speaker 1: nineteen fifty one and a major boost to U N
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  Speaker 1: morale elsewhere. On fifteen February, the efforts to restore the
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  Speaker 1: front finally bore fruit. Rather than take advantage of the
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: way weak in front to the east, the Chinese had
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  Speaker 1: chosen to concentrate on eliminating the U S forces at
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  Speaker 1: Chip Young Knee first, but they had chosen poorly, and
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  Speaker 1: the rest bit allowed more and almond to restore their lines. Reinforcements,
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: particularly the U S seventh Infantry Division and the one
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: hundred and eighty seventh Airborne RCT, helped the South Koreans
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  Speaker 1: form a solid line around juan ju In near Chai Shoon,
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  Speaker 1: twenty miles to the southwest. By the eighteenth the Communists
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  Speaker 1: offensive was spent and enemy forces began withdrawing to the
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  Speaker 1: north rather than attempting to hold what they had taken.
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  Speaker 1: Such tactics would become the familiar way that the Communists
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: would indicate the end of their offenses. Heavy casualties and
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: the need for a resupply and reorganization frequently forced the
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: Chinese to break direct contact and pull back. Yuan firepower
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  Speaker 1: was simply too strong, with the enemy withdrawing, Ridgeway immediately
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  Speaker 1: ordered in advance by the ninth Corps, while the tenth
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: Corps moved to destroy the Communist forces bround che Chon
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: in the central sector. By the nineteenth the initiative had
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: completely shifted back to the United Nations command. The new
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: offensive became formalized on twenty February as Operation Killer. Ridgeway
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: hoped that the name would help encourage an offensive spirit
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: in the Eighth Army. The ninth, tenth and r O
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: K Third Corps were directed north toward a line named
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: Arizona running from yang Pyeong north of uing Song and
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: along the east west portion of the Juan Jou Kieng
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Nung Highway, all about twelve to fifteen miles above the
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: current front line. The operation was designed to enhance the
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: damage to enemy forces, and in practice proved methodical. Often
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: slowed by the spring thaw and heavy rains that swelled
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: streams and turned roads into seas of mud. By twenty
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: eighth February, all units had reached their Killer objectives in
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: the process, finally eliminating all enemy forces south of the
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: Han River. Nevertheless, many enemy units escape by withdrawing north
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: under cover of inclement weather. With General MacArthur's support, Bridgeway
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: planned a new operation code named Ripper to continue the
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: advance twenty to thirty miles northward to a new line,
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: Idaho Line. Idaho was in an arc with its apex
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: just south of the thirty eighth Parallel. The major objectives
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: of Ripper included the recapture of Seoul and of the
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: towns of hon Chong fifty miles west of Seoul in
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: chun Choon fifteen miles farther to the north. However, the
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: destruction of enemy forces continued to be more important than
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: geographical objectives. Although the removal of all Communist forces from
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: areas south of the thirty eighth Parallel in the restoration
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: of South Korea's pre war boundaries remained a broad strategic objective,
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: weakening the enemy's military power was the primary operational goal.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: Ripper commenced on seven March with the first and ninth
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: Corps on the west near Seoul and huang Song, and
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: tenth and Rok third Corps in the east. One of
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: the largest un artillery bombardments of the war preceded the offensive.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: On the left, the U S twenty fifth Infantry Division
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: quickly crossed the Han and established a bridgehead farther to
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: the east. Ninth Corps reached its first phase line on
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: eleven March. Three days later, the advance proceeded to the
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: next phase line. During the night of fourteen fifteen March,
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: elements of the ROK first Division and the U S.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: Third Infantry Division liberated Seoul. The capital city changed hands
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: for the fourth and last time in the war. The
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: Communist forces were compelled to abandon it when the Yun
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: approached to the east of the city threatened the defenders
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: with encirclement. Following the recapture of Soul, Communist forces retreated northward,
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: conducting skillful delaying actions that utilized the rugged, muddy terrain
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: to maximum advantage, particularly in the mountainous ten Corp sector.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: Despite such obstacles, Ripper pressed on through March. In the
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: mountainous central region, the ninth and tenth Corps pushed forward methodically,
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: the Ninth Corps against light opposition, in the Tenth Corps
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: against staunch enemy defenses. Hong Chong was taken on the
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: fifteenth and chung Choon secured on the twenty second. The
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: capture of chun Chong was the last major ground objective
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: of Operation Ripper. Yuan forces had advanced north in average
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: of thirty miles from their start lines. However, while the
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: eighth Army units had occupied their principal GEO of graphic objectives,
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: the goal of destroying enemy forces and equipment had again
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: proved elusive. More often than not, the enemy withdrew before
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: he could receive extensive damage. Chun Choon, a major communist
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: supply hub, was empty by the time Yuan forces finally
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: occupied it. Even with Ripper in its final stages, Ridgeway
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: staff was planning a new operation code named Courageous. It
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: was designed to drop large Chinese and North Korean forces
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: in the area between the Han and Imjin Rivers north
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: of Seoul, opposite First Corps. The operation featured a parachute
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: drop by the one hundred and eighty seventh Airborne RCT
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: onto the south bank of the Imjin River near Munsannie,
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: twenty miles north of the current front line, and a
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: rapid advance by an armored task force. Both the airborne drop,
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: which used over one hundred C one nineteen flying back
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: car transport aircraft and the armoured movement were successfully executed.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: The drop took place on twenty two March, and Task
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: Force Grouded, made up of armored elements from the U
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: S twenty fourth Infantry Division's six Medium Tank Battalion borrowed
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: from ninth Corps, and infantry elements from the US third
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: Infantry Division, linked up with the paratroopers on the twenty third.
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: The one hundred and eighty seventh faced only weak resistance,
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: and the Armoured task Force faced primarily minefields rather than
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: active defenses. However, once again Communist forces withdrew more rapidly
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: than the UN forces could advance to trap them. As
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: March nineteen fifty one drew to a close eighth Army
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: units were nearing the thirty eighth parallel. However, with indications
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: that the Chinese and North Koreans were massing forces for
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: a spring offensive, Bridgeway decided to move even farther north
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: to secure more defensible positions. President Harry S. Truman and
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: General MacArthur agreed. The new advance was divided into two
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: sub operations, code name Rugged and Dauntless. The first Operation
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: Rugged was designed to secure a new Line Kansas just
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: north of the thirty eighth parallel. The second, Operation Dauntless
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: would see the UN forces continue twenty miles farther to
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: the north to another line designated Wyoming. Wyoming would then
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: be transformed into a heavily defended outpost line. When the
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: Communists opened their next offensive, The forces along Wyoming were
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: to conduct a fighting withdrawal south to Line Kansas while
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: causing the maximum amount of casualties and disruption to the enemy.
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: The main defensive battle would then be fought along Kansas.
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: Ridgeway also intended Dauntless to threaten the enemy logistical hub
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: located in the region nicknamed the Iron Triangle. Northwest of
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: kumbois a crossroads town twenty miles north of Line Kansas.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: The two phase operation began on first April, with the
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: first and ninth Corps in the west and the ROK
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: first Corps in the east, reaching Line Kansas by the
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: fifth in the center. The tenth in ROK Third Corps
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: were also closing in on the line after a late start.
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: Then the First and ninth Corps moved forward toward chor
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: Wan southwest of the Iron Triangle and reached an intermediate
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: phase line Utah. By the eleventh to the right, Tenth
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: Corps forces took a dam overlooking the Watchwon Reservoir. Five
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: days later, on twenty April, the last UN forces, the
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: U S seventh Infantry Division and the ROK third Division
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: of the Tenth Corps, reached the Line Kansas. Operations began
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: to continue the advance to Line Wyoming. However, all U
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: AND offensive action ceased when Communist forces launched their Spring
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: offensive across the entire front on twenty two April. During
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: Operation Rugged, Turbulence at the higher American command levels led
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: to significant leadership changes in the Far East Command and
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: the Eighth Army. On ten April, as the result of
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: a disagreement over strategy, President Truman relieved General MacArthur as
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: Commander in chief US Far East Command, replacing him with
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: General Ridgeway. Four days later, Lieutenant General James A. Van
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: Fleet in turn replaced Ridgeway as Eighth Army Commander. MacArthur
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: had long chafed at the limitations imposed on him, especially
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: those restricting direct action against the People's Republic of China.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: In March, he expressed his views in a letter to
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: Congressman Joseph Martin of Massachuchusis, who made the letter public
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: in early April. Truman saw the action as just one
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: more example of MacArthur's attempts to defy his authority as
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: commander in chief. Accordingly, after consulting with selected members of
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: his cabinet and the Joint chiefs of Staff, the President
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: removed the venerable and popular World War two general. This
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: action created a political firestorm in the United States, but
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: its impact on battlefield operations, other than the change at
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: the highest level's command, was minimal. The new offensive was
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: the Chinese fifth of the war. At the time, Yuan
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: forces were astride or slightly north of Lyne, Kansas, which
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: extended one hundred and sixteen miles from the confluence of
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: the Han and Mjian rivers on the west, following the
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: Imjian northeast to the thirty eighth Parallel, and generally following
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: the parallel easterly along good defensive terrain to the Sea
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: of Japan. The lead units of the First and ninth
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: Corps had advanced forward of Kansas to line Utah, well
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: on their way to line Wyoming. Both Corps took the
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: brunt of the offensive, conducted by three Chinese army groups
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: called fronts by the Chinese and a North Korean Corps,
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: converging from the north and northwest and aiming for the
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: northeast southwest corridor leading fifty miles down to Seoul the
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: yan Chong Wi Jambu Seul corridor. The offensive actually began
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: in the center of the U N line during the
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: night of twenty one April, with a Chinese assault on
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: the ROK sixth Division west of the Wa Chung Reservoir.
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: The weight of the enemy attack broke through the division,
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: exposing the flanks of the adjacent U S twenty fourth
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: Infantry Division in the tenth Corps sector to the west
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: and the U. S first Marine Division to the east.
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: A follow up Chinese push the next day completed the
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: collapse of the ROK sixth and events south of Yapiong,
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: twenty miles southwest of the reservoir. Their elements of the
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: British twenty seventh Brigade and the attached U S seventy
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: second Tank Battalion finally held off the attacking Chinese forces,
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: enabling an orderly UN withdrawal for this action company, a
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: seventy second tank Battalion, and the Australian and Canadian battalions
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: of the British Brigade were later awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: In the first Course sector, the twenty fourth Division in
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: the Turkish Brigade bore the direct impact of the Chinese
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: main effort. The First and Ninth Corps immediately began withdrawing
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: southward to prepare positions along Line Kansas. These objectives were
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: reached the next day. Also in the First Corps, multinational
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: UN forces from Belgium, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: the United States were fighting a series of intense battles
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: as the enemy crossed the Imjin River and established bridgeheads
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: on the southern bank. By the twenty third most First
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: and Ninth Corps units were back on Line Kansas. Also
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: on twenty three April, the Chinese offensive expanded to the
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: east and east central areas. A successful North Korean advance
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: against the Rok fifth Division in the center on the
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: right flank of the Tenth Corps enabled the enemy to
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: move below Line Kansas. In Inje, the major town located
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: in the west halfway between the watchown Reservoir and the
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: Sea of Japan. Along the Mjian, the Chinese penetrated between
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: the positions of the Rok first Division and the British
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: twenty ninth Brigade in the first Core sector. Enemy forces
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: then surrounded the twenty ninth Brigade's Gloucestershire Battalion on a
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: hilltop near Solmont Ree, several miles south of the Imjin.
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: The Gloucesters put up a heroic defense which later won
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: them a U S Presidential Unit Citation. When relief attempts
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: failed to reach the battalion and an early breakout effort collapsed,
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: on the twenty fourth and twenty fifth, the battalion attempted
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: to break out on its own and was destroyed, with
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: most of the surviving members captured. The inability of the
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: First Corps to extract the Gloucestershire Battalion was due to
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: a combination of factors poor decisions, unreliable communications, rough terrain,
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: and determined enemy resistance. The cost was heavy, twenty British
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: soldiers killed, thirty five wounded, in five hundred seventy five
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: missing in action and presumed capture. Despite the extensive use
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: of air strikes and massed artillery. The multiple enemy penetrations
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: destroyed Eighth Army hopes of establishing a firm defensive line
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: along Kansas. On twenty five April, Major General Frank W. Milburn,
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: the First Corps commander, ordered a further withdrawal to a
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: new line Delta, located roughly ten miles south of Kansas,
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: and a subsequent fallback to a line closer to Seoul,
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: designated Golden. It was now obvious that the objective of
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: the Chinese offensive was nothing less than the recapture of Soul.
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: The withdrawal of First Corps forced Van Fleet to move
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: the rest of the Eighth Army back all across its front.
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: He hurriedly created a new line as an extension of
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: Golden cross the whole peninsula, which he ironically named the
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: No Name Line. The fighting during the Chinese Spring Offensive
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: was again extremely bitter. In the three day period of
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: twenty four through twenty six April nineteen fifty one, alone,
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: six American soldiers earned Medals of Honour voting, Four awarded
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: to members of the seventh Infantry, third Infantry Division. Three
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: were posthumous Corporal John SA. Bagger Company, a private first
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: class Charles L. Gilliland Company I in Corporal Claire good Blood,
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: Company D. Corporal Hiroshi Miyamura of Company H also earned
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: the medal. All four distinguished themselves with exceptional gallantry in
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: separate defensive actions against large, assaulting enemy forces, inflicting disportionately
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: heavy casualties on the attackers. The Eighth Army completed its
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: withdrawal to the No Name line by twenty eight April.
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: Although torrential rainstorms slowed the maneuver, they hindered the Chinese
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: advance as well. The new defenses were sighted on good
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: terrain and held. Once the Chinese attack was spent, Uan
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: forces limited their activities to patrolling and local counter attacks.
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: The Communists had failed to recapture Seoul, and with Yuan
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: forces in good defensible positions, any renewed offensive would face
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: even less chance of seceding. The new Eighth Army line
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: extended from the Han Estuary east in an arc six
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: miles north of Seoul, and then continued east along the
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: Han for twenty miles to the town of Tokso Ree,
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: then northeast across the peninsula to Taypo Re, a port
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: on the east coast. On thirty April, fearing a new
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: Communist effort to take Seoul, General van Fleet started shifting
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: forces westward, shoring up the area around the capitol. This
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: left a primarily Rok force in the mountainous sectors of
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: the tenth and Rok third Corps. He also fortified the
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: line as much as possible, while Eighth Army units improved
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: their positions. Over the next week, the front was quiet,
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: with little contact between opposing forces. Van Fleet, taking advantage
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: of the lull, issued instructions for the Eighth Army to
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: advance forty miles back to line Kansas. On nine May,
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: UN forces made limited attacks north while intensifying preparations for
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: yet another major offensive. Slaid it to begin on the twelfth,
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: but on the eleventh intelligence indicated that the enemy was
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: once again ready to renew its own offensive, and all
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: UN attack planning was halted. The Chinese communists renewed offensive
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: began on sixteen May. This time the enemy struck the
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: eastern portion of the front, along the boundary between the
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: Tenth Corps and Rok third Corps. The Chinese had shifted
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: five armies eastward between ten and sixteen May, and the
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: attack came across the Sojang River. Against four Rok divisions.
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: The Rok fifth and seventh Divisions under Tenth Corps control
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: were withdrawn southward in a matter of hours. However, the
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: Rok third Corps failed to extract its two threatened units,
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: the Rok third and ninth divisions, and the Chinese quickly
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: destroyed both and poured through the resulting gap. The enemy
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: advanced as far as Souksai, thirty five miles south of
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: the original front west did the breakthrough the tenth course.
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: U S. Second Infantry Division attempted to stem the Chinese tide.
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: In addition to facing fierce enemy attacks to its front,
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: the division had to contend with the collapse of the
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: Rok units on its right flank, but despite heavy losses,
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: the division held its ground. Meanwhile, Van Fleet rushed the
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: U S Third Infantry Division to the tenth Corps from
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: Seoul to cover the Rok third course withdrawal. Reassuringly in
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: the east, the Rok first Corps continued to conduct an
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: orderly retreat to a new line along the main east
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: west King Noung Soksai Road. The combination of the stiff
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: resistance of units such as the U S Second Infantry
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: the orderly withdrawal of the ROK forces in the east
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: and the shifting of reinforcement stopped the Communist advance. As
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: an all previous Chinese offensives, the attack lost its impetus
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: after a couple of days, when the combination of heavy
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: casualties in poor resupply caught up with the Communist troops.
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: In typical fashion, the enemy fell back to a group,
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: allowing the UN front to stabilize. Unknown to the defenders,
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: this was to be the last major Chinese offensive of
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: the war. Unwilling to give the enemy a chance to
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: reorganize for another attack, van Fleet directed the Eighth Army
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: to shift immediately on to the offensive once again. The
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: goal was to regain the better defensive positions of Line Kansas,
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: shortly north of the thirty eighth parallel. The new UN
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: advance was also designed to exact maximum enemy casualties and
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: hopefully destroyer cut off major enemy units. The counter offensive
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: quickly secured positions along key road networks in the central
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: area around the towns of Wuochon and in g inflicting
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: heavy casualties in the process, and G and Wouchon were
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: back in Eighth Army hands on twenty seven May, and
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: escape routes south of the Woichon Reservoir were severed. However,
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: mud rain and effective Chinese delaying actions impeded efforts to
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: close all of the escape routes, precluding the complete destruction
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: of enemy forces and supply bases. On first June, Secretary
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: of State Dean Atchison indicated US willingness to accept a
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: cease fire line in the vicinity of the thirty eighth Parallel.
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: At the time, UN forces were again at or slightly
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: north of the parallel. The Secretary of State's feeler expressed
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: a policy espoused earlier in May by President Truman, which
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: in turn imposed definite limitations on the Eighth Army's advance.
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: Once UN forces reached the defensible positions of Line Kansas
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: and its outpost, Line Wyoming, the attack north would stop
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: the measures would be taken to fortify the line. On
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: eleven June, the U S third Infantry Division in the
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: First Corp Zone captured Cherwan on Line Wyoming south of
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: the Iron Triangle. By the fifteenth UN forces had closed
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: on Line Kansas everywhere, while in the west the First
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: and ninth Corps had moved in force to Line Wyoming,
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: securing the lateral road running east west between Chorwuan and
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: Kumbois fifteen miles to the east. For the rest of June,
• 45:44
  Speaker 1: UN forces continued to improve their defensive positions, heavily fortifying
• 45:49
  Speaker 1: Line Kansas. Meanwhile, the Air Force, with mixed success, executed
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: Operation Strangled, a massive effort to interdict communist supply routes
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: by air. The UN line was anchored in the west
• 46:02
  Speaker 1: along the Han Estuary, just south of the thirty eighth Parallel.
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: From there it extended to the northeast south of the
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: Iron Triangle, curved around the UN controlled Huachon Reservoir, and
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: then rose steeply north to meet the Sea of Japan
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: on the east coast, forty two miles north of the parallel.
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: With minor modifications. This front became the ceasefire line agreed
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: to in nineteen fifty three and is still in place
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: a half century later. On twenty three June, the Soviet
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: ambassador to the Yun called for cease fire negotiations. As
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: the real possibility of negotiations loomed, Eighth Army forces continued
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: to improve their positions, building strong points in conducting active patrolling.
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: Since April the enemy had suffered more than two hundred
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: thousand casualties and heavy losses in equipment, drastically impairing his
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: ability to conduct large scale offences operations. On two July,
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: the Chinese and North Koreans finally agreed to cease fire negotiations.
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: The parties agreed on the choice of Ki Song, a
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: village north of the front line in the Eastern sector,
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: as the site for the talks, and the meetings formerly
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: began in early July. The negotiations marked the end to
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: major offenses conducted by both sides. However, both the talks
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: and the fighting would continue for two long years, with
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: the war characterized by small scale infantry battles to gain
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: control of hilltops and other tactically critical pieces of terrain.
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: Despite peace talks, the war was not yet over. Analysis
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: the winter and spring campaigns of nineteen fifty one are
• 47:47
  Speaker 1: a bridge between the mobile battles of nineteen fifty and
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: the static warfare that marked the last two years of
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: the war. The defeat of the communists advance into South
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: Korea and the restoration of a firm defensive line roughly
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: along the thirty eighth parallel decided the outcome of the
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: war and guarantee the future of South Korea. US and
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: Euan resolve in the subsequent summer fighting brought the Chinese
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: and North Koreans to the peace table. The American response
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: to the shock of the Chinese intervention evolved into a
• 48:20
  Speaker 1: firm determination to limit the objectives of war to the
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: continued existence of South Korea. There would be no reconquest
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: of North Korea or any widening of the war. This
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: strategic shift led to the dismissal of its principal opponent,
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur. Wars and operations would
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: limited strategic objectives have been a feature of American global
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: strategy ever since. The concept of limited war affected the
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: army in many ways. In April nineteen fifty one, the
• 48:55
  Speaker 1: United States Armed Forces adopted in individual rotation policy. American
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: soldiers were no longer expected to remain in the theater
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: of operations wore the duration of the conflict, but would
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: now be rotated back to the United States after a
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: specific period of time roughly a year. U S forces
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: would subsequently follow a similar policy in Vietnam. Theater commanders
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: could expect only a limited number of reinforcements and replacements,
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: with inadequate training and personnel turbulence becoming familiar problems as
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: experienced personnel steadily returned to the United States. Tactically, UN
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: forces had proved able to handle the Chinese and North
• 49:40
  Speaker 1: Koreans on their own terms. After restoring the front line
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: near the original thirty eighth parallel demarcation line. Despite some
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: perilous moments, the UN halted rather promptly the massive C
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: c F Spring offensive and quickly regained the lost ground.
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: Although the enemy often took advance of the hastily organized
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: and equipped ROK divisions, those units improved considerably. By mid
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: nineteen fifty one, ew AND commanders had learned how to
• 50:11
  Speaker 1: deal with the Chinese style of warfare, characterized by furious
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: offensive operations only marginally sustained, followed by withdrawal and regrouping.
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: Failed offensives convinced the Communists that the conquest of South
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: Korea was no longer possible under the existing conditions, and
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: made the ceasefire table an appealing option. Further readings Appleman
• 50:37
  Speaker 1: Roy c Ridgeway, Duels for Korea College Station, Texas A
• 50:42
  Speaker 1: and M University Press, nineteen ninety Blair Clay He Forgotten
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: War of America in Korea, nineteen fifty through nineteen fifty three,
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: New York Time Books, nineteen eighty eight. Fahrenbach tr This
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: Kind of War, A Study in Unpreparedness, New York, McMillan,
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three. Mossman, Billy c. Eb and Flow, November
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: nineteen fifty through July nineteen fifty one. United States Army
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: in the Korean War, Washington, d c U S Army
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: Center of Military History, nineteen ninety Schnabel, James, Policy and Direction,
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: the first Year United States Army in the Korean War, Washington,
• 51:29
  Speaker 1: d c U S Army Center of Military History, nineteen
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: seventy two. End of section five,