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025 - Chapter 12 Part 2 - Breakout From Yudam-ni · Marine Operations in Korea The Chosin Reservoir Campaign

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twelve, Part two of US Marine Operations in Korea
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  Speaker 1: nineteen fifty to nineteen fifty three, Volume three, The Chosen
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  Speaker 1: Reservoir Campaign by Lynn Montross and Nicholas Canzona. This LibriVox
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  Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Breakout from Udem Knee
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  Speaker 1: the Ridge Runners of Tactong Pass all the rest of
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  Speaker 1: their lives. The survivors of the two Spearhead marine battalions
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  Speaker 1: would take pride in nicknames earned during the breakout from
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  Speaker 1: udem Knee. For Taplet's outfit, it was dark Horse, after
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  Speaker 1: the radio call sign of the battalion, while Davis's men
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  Speaker 1: felt that they had a right to be known as
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  Speaker 1: the Ridge Runners of Tactong Pass. At daybreak on two
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  Speaker 1: December one, seven corrected its westward drift of the previous
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  Speaker 1: night and attack toward Hill sixteen fifty three, a mound
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  Speaker 1: only about a mile and a half north of Fox Hill.
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  Speaker 1: Davis's men got the better of several firefights at long
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  Speaker 1: range with CF groups on ridges to the east, but
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  Speaker 1: the terrain gave them more effective opposition than the enemy.
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  Speaker 1: The radios of one to seven could not contact marine
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  Speaker 1: planes when they came on station, and relays through tactical
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  Speaker 1: channels proved ineffective. Moreover, all efforts to reach Fox Company
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  Speaker 1: by radio had failed. This situation worried the battalion commander,
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  Speaker 1: who realized that he was approaching within range of friendly
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  Speaker 1: eighty one millimeter mortar fire from Fox Hill. The ancient
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  Speaker 1: morale weapon of surprise stood Davis and his men in
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  Speaker 1: good steed. However, as the column encountered little opposition on
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  Speaker 1: the western slope of Hill sixteen fifty three, how Company,
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  Speaker 1: bringing up the rear with the wounded men, came under
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  Speaker 1: an attack which threatened for a moment to endanger the casualties.
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  Speaker 1: But after the litters were carried forward, Newton managed to
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  Speaker 1: keep the Chinese at a respectful distance without aid from
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  Speaker 1: the other companies. Early Company was given the mission of
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  Speaker 1: seizing a spur covering the advance of Abel and Baker
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  Speaker 1: Companies east from Hill fifteen twenty to Hill sixteen fifty three.
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  Speaker 1: The command group had just passed Morris on this position
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  Speaker 1: when the radio operator shouted to Davis Fox six on
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  Speaker 1: the radio. Sir Captain Barber's offer to send out a
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  Speaker 1: patrol to guide one seven to his position was declined,
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  Speaker 1: but Fox Company did control the strike by planes of
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  Speaker 1: VMF three twelve, which covered the attack of Kerkabbis Company
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  Speaker 1: on the final objective, a ridge about four hundred yards
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  Speaker 1: north of Fox Hill. Aided by the air attack and
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  Speaker 1: supporting eighty one millimeter mortar fires, Baker Company seized the
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  Speaker 1: position and Able Company the northern portion of Hill sixteen
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  Speaker 1: fifty three. It was eleven twenty five on the morning
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  Speaker 1: of two December nineteen fifty when the first men of
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  Speaker 1: Baker Company reached Fox Company's lines. Able Company held its
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  Speaker 1: position on Hill sixteen fifty three until the rest of
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  Speaker 1: the battalion was on Fox Hill. After grounding their packs,
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  Speaker 1: men from the forward companies went back to help carry
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  Speaker 1: the twenty two wounded men into the perimeter. While supervising
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  Speaker 1: this task, the regimental surgeon, Lieutenant Peter A. Arioli, Medical
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  Speaker 1: Corps U S. Navy was instantly killed by a Chinese
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  Speaker 1: sniper's bullet. There were no other death casualties, though two
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  Speaker 1: men had to be placed in improvised straight jackets after
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  Speaker 1: cracking mentally and physically under the strain. Both died before
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  Speaker 1: evacuation was possible. The first objective had been reached, but
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  Speaker 1: there was to be no rest until Taktong Pass was secured.
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  Speaker 1: Baker Company paused on Fox Hill only long enough for
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  Speaker 1: Kurcaba's men to eat a hasty meal of air drop rations.
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  Speaker 1: Then they moved out to seize the high ground, commanding
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  Speaker 1: the vital terrain feature at a point where the road
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  Speaker 1: describes a loop from north to south. Able Company followed
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  Speaker 1: shortly afterwards, and the two outfits set up a single
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  Speaker 1: perimeter for the night, while the rest of the battalion
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  Speaker 1: man perimeters on the high ground east of Fox Hill.
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  Speaker 1: Barber's men remained in their positions. Five days and nights
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  Speaker 1: of battle had left Fox Company with one hundred eighteen
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  Speaker 1: casualties twenty six KIA, three MIA, and eighty nine WIA.
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  Speaker 1: Six of the seven officers were wounded, and practically all
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  Speaker 1: the unwounded men suffered from frostbite and digestive ills. CCF
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  Speaker 1: attacks on Hills twelve seventy six and fifteen forty two.
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  Speaker 1: While the two spearhead battalions advanced, the marine elements in
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  Speaker 1: the rear could not complain of being neglected by the enemy.
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  Speaker 1: All three infantry battalions were kept busy by CCF attacks,
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  Speaker 1: which persisted from midnight until long after daybreak, Lieutenant Colonel
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  Speaker 1: Royce's two five, which had been designated as rear guard,
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  Speaker 1: was hit on Hill twelve seventy six. In the early
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  Speaker 1: morning hours of two December. Under cover of rifle and
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  Speaker 1: machine gun fire, the Chinese advanced on Fox Company positions
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  Speaker 1: with their inverted wedge assault formation. Testimony as to its
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  Speaker 1: effectiveness is found in the two to five report. The
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  Speaker 1: Chinese used fire and movement to excellent advantage. They would
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  Speaker 1: direct a frontal attack against our positions while other elements
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  Speaker 1: of their attacking force moved in closer to f Company
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  Speaker 1: flanks in an attempt at a double envelopment. Then, in turn,
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  Speaker 1: the forces on both flanks would attack while the forces
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  Speaker 1: directly to our front would move closer to our position.
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  Speaker 1: In this the enemy, by diverting our attention in the
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  Speaker 1: above manner, were able to maneuver their forces to within
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  Speaker 1: hand grenate range of our positions. One Fox platoon, assailed
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  Speaker 1: from three sides, was forced to withdraw at zero one
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  Speaker 1: ten and consolidate with the rest of the company At
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  Speaker 1: zero two hundred. The fact requested an air strike from
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  Speaker 1: two night fighters on station. The aircraft were directed on
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  Speaker 1: tis Art by sixty millimeter mortar white phosphorus bursts, and
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  Speaker 1: conducted effective strafing in rocket runs within two hundred yards
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  Speaker 1: of the marine front line. In all, five aircraft of
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  Speaker 1: VMFN five forty two were employed with excellent results during
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  Speaker 1: the night. At zero two thirty, Royce directed Fox Company
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  Speaker 1: to retake the left flank hill from which the platoon
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  Speaker 1: had been driven. Two attempts were made before daybreak with
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  Speaker 1: a support of four point two inch mortar fire, but
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  Speaker 1: enemy machine guns stopped the assault. At zero seven thirty
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  Speaker 1: an airstrike was requested. After strafing in rocket runs, Fox
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  Speaker 1: Company fought its way to the crest, only to find
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  Speaker 1: the positions untenable because of machine gun fire from the
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  Speaker 1: reverse slope. At ten hundred the course airs blasted the
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  Speaker 1: enemy for twenty five minutes with napalm and five hundred
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  Speaker 1: pound bombs, and CCF troops were observed vacating the objective area.
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  Speaker 1: It was nearly time for the battalion to displace as
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  Speaker 1: the rear guard, however, and the enemy was left in
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  Speaker 1: possession of a scarred and scorched piece of real estate.
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  Speaker 1: Both Dog and Easy Companies received probing attacks, while the
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  Speaker 1: Chinese did not attempt to push home at daybreak. Some
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  Speaker 1: of them broke and ran along the Dog Company front,
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  Speaker 1: thrown away their weapons as they scattered in disorder. Marine
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  Speaker 1: fire pursued the retreating communists and cut down many of them.
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  Speaker 1: Captain Arthur D. Chalacombe's provisional company of artillery men on
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  Speaker 1: Dog Company's right counted over fifty dead in front of
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  Speaker 1: its position. On the eastern flank, One five came under
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  Speaker 1: attack about twenty one hundred by seventy five to one
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  Speaker 1: hundred Chinese who crossed the arm of the reservoir on ice.
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  Speaker 1: Mortar and artillery fire drove them back at zero one
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  Speaker 1: hundred with heavy losses, but attempts at infiltration continued throughout
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  Speaker 1: the night. In the morning, fifty one CCF dead were
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  Speaker 1: counted in front of one Charlie Company machine gun and
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  Speaker 1: total enemy KIA were estimated at two hundred. At the
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  Speaker 1: other end of the marine line, a CCF attack hit
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  Speaker 1: three seven minus on Hill fifteen forty two. The assault force,
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  Speaker 1: according to the enemy report, consisted of Sungway Shan's ninth Company,
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  Speaker 1: third Battalion, two hundred thirty fifth Regiment, the fifth Company
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  Speaker 1: of two two thirty five, and apparently two other Companies
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  Speaker 1: of three two thirty five all were units of the
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  Speaker 1: seventy nine CCF Division, and their mission was to annihilate
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  Speaker 1: the defending enemy before daylight. Georgian Item Companies of three seven,
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  Speaker 1: following their repulse from the upper reaches of Hill fifteen
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  Speaker 1: forty two, had formed a defensive perimeter on the eastern
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  Speaker 1: slope as reinforcements. The depleted units were assigned a composite
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  Speaker 1: outfit known as Jig Company and consisting of about one
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  Speaker 1: hundred cannoneers, headquarters, troops, and any other elements which could
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  Speaker 1: be hastily put together. First Lieutenant Alfred I. Thomas of
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  Speaker 1: Item Company was placed in command of men who were
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  Speaker 1: for the most strangers to him as well as to
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  Speaker 1: one another. Some led the ninth company's attacking column. Although
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  Speaker 1: the Chinese account states that his men were advancing from
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  Speaker 1: the northwest toward the topographical crest of Hill fifteen forty two,
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  Speaker 1: they actually held the summit. Their attack was downhill, though
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  Speaker 1: some climbing of spurs and finger ridges may have been necessary.
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  Speaker 1: After reconnoitering to a point within twenty five yards of
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  Speaker 1: the Marines, the Chinese jumped off at zero four point
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  Speaker 1: thirty with the support of fires from battalion weapons. Relying
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  Speaker 1: on the inverted wedge, the attackers bored in alternately right
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  Speaker 1: and left, while seeking an opportunity for a knockout blow.
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  Speaker 1: The second platoon on the Chinese left took a severe mauling,
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  Speaker 1: losing its commander and almost half its men. The other
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  Speaker 1: two platoons had heavy casualties, but succeeded in routing the
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  Speaker 1: Jury Rig Jig Company. Since it was a composite outfit
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  Speaker 1: not yet twenty four hours old, there is no re
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  Speaker 1: record of either its operations or losses. Apparently, however, a
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  Speaker 1: majority of the men straggled back to their original units.
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  Speaker 1: Lieutenant Thomas, who had commanded ably under difficult circumstances, rejoined
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  Speaker 1: First Lieutenant William E. Johnson's Item Company with such men
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  Speaker 1: as he had left. The Marines gave ground slowly under
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  Speaker 1: Chinese pressure until daybreak, when they held positions abreast of
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  Speaker 1: George Company, which had not been heavily engaged. The two
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  Speaker 1: companies were reduced to a total of fewer than two
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  Speaker 1: hundred men. After being reinforced by H and S Company personnel.
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  Speaker 1: They formed a defensive line in an arc stretching from
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  Speaker 1: the MSR about eleven hundred yards and taking in the
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  Speaker 1: eastern slopes of Hill fifteen forty two. Apparently, the Communists,
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  Speaker 1: like military forces everywhere, did not air on the light side.
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  Speaker 1: When estimating the casualties of opponents, the marine losses for
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  Speaker 1: the night were listed in the CCF report as kill
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  Speaker 1: altogether one hundred enemy troops. This figure, indicating total casualties
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  Speaker 1: of several hundred, is manifestly too high. Owing to the
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  Speaker 1: loss of the seventh Marin's records, the statistics for Item
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  Speaker 1: Company are not available, but it does not appear that
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  Speaker 1: more than thirty to forty men were killed or wounded
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  Speaker 1: advance of dark Horse on two to three December. Several
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  Speaker 1: CCF daylight attacks and platoon strength were received between Hills
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  Speaker 1: fifteen forty two and twelve seventy six. During the morning
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: hours of two December, all marine units in this area
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  Speaker 1: were in process of disengaging, so that the emphasis was
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  Speaker 1: placed on breaking off action rather than attempting to defend
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: grounds soon to be evacuated. The vehicle train in the
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  Speaker 1: rear made slow progress during the afternoon of two December.
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  Speaker 1: Infantry strength was not sufficient to occupy all the commanding
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  Speaker 1: terrain during the passage of the motor column, and CCF
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  Speaker 1: groups infiltrated back into areas vacant by marine riflemen. Effective
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: air support reduced most of these efforts to harassing attacks,
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  Speaker 1: but marine vehicle drivers were singled out for special attention,
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  Speaker 1: making it necessary to find replacements among nearby troops. To
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  Speaker 1: one five fell the mission of furnishing close in flank
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  Speaker 1: protection on the left. Marine air and artillery supported infantry
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  Speaker 1: attacks clearing the flanks, and the column jolted on with
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  Speaker 1: frequent halts. The night passed without incident, except for a
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  Speaker 1: CCF attack on three to eleven. George battery gunners had
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: to employ direct fire to repulse the communists, and a
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  Speaker 1: one hundred five millimeter howitzer was lost, as well as
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  Speaker 1: several vehicles. Dark Horse, leading the way, was meanwhile fighting
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  Speaker 1: for nearly every foot of the road. During the advance
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  Speaker 1: of two December, George Company on the left went up
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  Speaker 1: against Hill fifteen twenty while dog Easy moved astride the MSR.
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  Speaker 1: By noon, George had secured its objective. Dog Easy advanced
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  Speaker 1: against moderate resistance to a point about three hundred yards
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  Speaker 1: beyond Hill fifteen twenty, where a demolished bridge had spanned
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  Speaker 1: a rock ravine as the road turns from south to east. Here,
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  Speaker 1: Chinese automatic weapons fire halted the column until a strike
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  Speaker 1: by twelve corsairs cleared the enemy from the ravine On
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  Speaker 1: the right. Captain Harrold B. Williamson's How Company was to
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  Speaker 1: have joined the attack, moving through the high ground south
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  Speaker 1: of the bend in the road. A Chinese strong point
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  Speaker 1: delayed its advance, and how was pinned down by heavy
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: enemy fire while attempting to cross the stream bed halfway
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  Speaker 1: to its objective. The last airstrike of the day freed
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: Captain Williamson's unit, which secured its objective after dark. During
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: the last minutes of daylight, the engineer Platoon, now commanded
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  Speaker 1: by Technical Sergeant Edward L. Knox, constructed a bypass around
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  Speaker 1: the blasted bridge. About nineteen hundred, the first vehicles followed
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  Speaker 1: the tank across Itasse Battalion continued its slow progress, with
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  Speaker 1: George and Howe companies clearing the high ground on opposite
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  Speaker 1: sides of the road, while dog Easy moved astride the MSR.
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: At about zero two hundred on the third the advance
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  Speaker 1: came to a halt one thousand yards short of Fox Hill,
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  Speaker 1: Dog Easy, which had suffered heavy casualties, particularly among its
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: key NCOs, had reached a limit of exhaustion and three
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  Speaker 1: five secured for the rest of the night. Not until
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  Speaker 1: daylight did how Company discover that it had halted three
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  Speaker 1: hundred yards short of its final objective, the hill mass
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: southwest of Fox Hill. At dawn on three December, the
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  Speaker 1: ground was covered with six inches of new snow, hiding
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: the scars of war and giving a deceptively peaceful appearance
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: to the Korean Hills. As the marine column got under
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: way again, with Sergeant Knox's engineers at the point just
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: behind Sergeant Munsel's Loan tank, alternately serving as engineers and riflemen.
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  Speaker 1: This platoon came through with seventeen able bodied men left
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  Speaker 1: out of the forty eight who started Dog Easy Company.
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  Speaker 1: Having been rendered ineffective by its casualties, Taplet moved George
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  Speaker 1: Company down from the left flank to advance astride the road.
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  Speaker 1: First Lieutenant Charles D. Mace took over the reorganized outfit,
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: assisted by Second Lieutenant August del Camarata. The two riddled
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: Dog Easy platoons were combined with George Company under the
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  Speaker 1: command of Second Lieutenant John J. Cayhill and technical Sergeant
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: Don Faber. Cayhill had the distinction of leading the platoon
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: which fought the first action of marine ground forces in
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: the Korean conflict. But it hardly seemed possible on this
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: sub zero December morning that the encounter had taken place
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: barely four months before, or that the temperature that August
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: day had been one hundred two degrees in the non
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: existent shade. Korea was a land of extremes. Dark Horse
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: was not far from a junction with the Ridge Runners.
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: The night of two to three December had passed as
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: quietly in Tactung Pass, where the five companies occupied separate perimeters.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: The Marines on Fox Hill lighted warming fires in the
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: hope of tempting the enemy to reveal his positions. The
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  Speaker 1: Chinese obliged by firing from two nearby ridges. One CCF
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: group was dug in along a southern spur of the
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: hill held by Abel and Baker companies, and the other
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: occupied a ridge extending outward beyond Taktung Pass in the
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: direction of Hagarou. Simultaneous attacks in opposite directions were launched
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: by one seven Davis led Morris's and Newton's companies against
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: the CCF force barring the way to Hagarou. Tigay moved
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: out with Kurkaba and Hovaters companies meanwhile against a larger
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: CCF force on high ground south of the big bend
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: in the road. This stroke took the Chinese by surprise
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  Speaker 1: as they fell back in disorder. The Communists did not
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: realize that they were blundering into the path of the
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: a coming marines of Williamson's how five attacking south of
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: the MSR. Colonel Litzenburg, who had been informed by radio,
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: turned to Lieutenant Colonel Murray and said, Ray, notify your
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: third battalion commander that the Chinese are running southwest into
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: his arms. Taplet was unaware that Tigey's attack was forcing
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: about a battalion of Chinese into his lap. He had
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: spotted the Chinese in strength on the high ground south
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: of the road when day broke. Attempts to lay artillery
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: on the Chinese having failed because of the range from Hagarou,
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: the three to five commander called for an airstrike. The
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: overcast lifted just as the corsairs came on station. They
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: hit the demoralized Communists with napalm and rockets, while the
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: eighty one millimeter mortars and heavy machine guns of the
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: two covering marine forces opened up with everything they had,
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: probably the greatest slaughter of the UDM. Knee breakout ended
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: at ten thirty, with the CCF Battalion completely eliminated, as
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: the three five report phrased it, and how Company in
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: possession of the CCF positions at thirteen hundred. On three December,
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: after Davis had cleared the enemy from the ridge northeast
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: of Tactong Pass. The basic maneuver of the breakout was
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: completed by the junction of three five and one seven.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: Several more fights awaited Tablet's men on the way to Hagaru,
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: but at Taktong Pass they had fulfilled their mission that
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: the victory had not been gained without pay a price
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: in casualties, as indicated by the following daily returns of
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: effective strength in the three rifle companies. George Company one
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: December one hundred fourteen, two December ninety six, three December
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: eighty four, four December eighty How Company one December one
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: hundred eighty two December one hundred sixty seven, three December
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: one hundred thirty one four December seventy three, Item Company
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: one December one hundred forty three, two December forty one,
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  Speaker 1: three December forty one, four December forty one. Total one
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  Speaker 1: December four hundred thirty seven, two December three hundred four,
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  Speaker 1: three December two hundred fifty six, four December one hundred
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  Speaker 1: ninety four. This is a total of two hundred forty
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: three battle and non battle casualties as compared to the
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: one hundred forty four suffered by the same units during
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: the CCF attacks of twenty seven to thirty November entry
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: into Hagaroo perimeter. When the truck column with its wounded
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: men reached Taktong Pass, it halted to receive the casualties
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: of one seven, three five and Fox Company of two seven.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: Lieutenant Commander John H. Craven, Chaplain of the seventh Marines,
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: helped to assist the litter cases into vehicles. Since there
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: was not room for all the walking wounded had to
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: make room for helpless men. They complied with a courage
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: which will never be forgotten by those who saw them
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: struggling painfully toward Hagaroo alongside the truck column. When the
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: tank leading the three five column reached Taktok Pass. It
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: halted only long enough for Colonel's Tablet and Davis to
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: confer D twenty three then moved out, and the four
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: companies of one seven came down from their hillside positions
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: and fell in behind Stephens. One five, having leap frog,
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: Three five followed next on the way to blocking positions
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: further east of the M. S. R. Taplet remained in
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: Tactong Pass until after midnight, acting as radio relay between
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: Colonels Litzenburg and Murray, by now in Hagaroo and two
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: five in the rear. At about midnight, the three five
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: commanders sent G and H companies into the vehicle column
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: to furnish security for the artillery, and an hour later
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: the remainder of the battalion joined the column. Royce's two five,
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: which had passed through three seven, came next, followed by
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: Harris's rear guard. Interspersed among the infantry were elements of
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: artillery and service troops with their vehicles, and the column
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: became more scrambled after each Hult two observation planes of
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: VMO six circled overhead to give warning of enemy concentrations.
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: Marine planes were on station continuously during daylight hours, strafing
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: and rocketing to the front and along both flanks. A
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: total of one hundred forty five sorties, most of them
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: in close air support of troops advancing along the hagarou
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: uem NEMSR, were flown on three December by the following
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: units VMF two fourteen thirty six sorties, VMF three twenty
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: three twenty eight sorties, VMF two twelve twenty seven sorties,
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: VMF three twelve thirty four sorties, VMFN five thirteen seven sorties,
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: VMFN five forty two thirteen sorties total one hundred forty
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: five sorties. At the other end of the route, the
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: Royal Commandos, reinforced by a platoon of tanks, were sent
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: out from Hagaroo at sixteen thirty on three December to
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: drive the Chinese from the road leading into that perimeter.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: Thanks to excellent air support, one seven met no opposition
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: save harassing attacks. One of Davis's flanky patrols reported the
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: fleshing out of a few Chinese so exhausted by cold
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: and hardships that they had abandoned their weapons and holed
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: up together for warmth. If these marines had been in
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: a mood for such reflections. They might have recalled that
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: the American press of late had been bemoaning the supposed
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: decline of the nation's young manhood. Un reverses in the
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: summer of nineteen fifty had led editorial writers to conclude
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: that our troops had neither the legs for long marches
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: nor the backs for the bearing of military burdens. Mechanization
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: had gone so far, they lamented that we had become
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: the servants rather than the masters, of our own wheeled
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: and tracked vehicles. The marines of Davis's battalion might have
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: taken grim satisfaction therefore, in encountering Chinese peasants inered all
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: their lives to privations whose will to fight had been
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: broken by the hardships of the past week. These marines
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: had not knowing a full night's sleep during that week,
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: they had subsisted on a diet of crackers varied with
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: canned rations thawed by body heat. They had been under
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: continuous nervous pressure as well as physical strain, and yet
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: they were able to summon one last burst of pride
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: when the point neared the Hagaroo perimeter at nineteen hundred
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: on three December nineteen fifty. Several hundred yards from the entrance,
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: a halt was called while the men closed up into
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: a compact column. Then they came in, marching, their shoulders
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: thrown back and their shoe packs beating a firm tread
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: on the fen road. The marines at the head of
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: the column were followed by the walking wounded and the
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: vehicles loaded with more serious cases, some of whom had
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: been strapped to the hoods. All casualties were given medical care,
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: and the remaining troops taken into warming tents for hot coffee.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: Many of them appeared dazed and uncomprehending at first. Others
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: wandered about aimlessly with blank faces, but there were few
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: who had suffered any psychological disturbances that could not be
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: cleared up with a good night's sleep and some hot food.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: Troops of four eleven and three five were due to
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: arrive next at Hagarou, while one five and two five
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: echelon companies forward along the MSR to provide flank protection.
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: Not all the Chinese had lost aggressiveness, but the column
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: had little difficulty until zero two hundred on four December.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: Then it came to an abrupt halt when prime movers
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: of eight one hundred and fifty five millimeter howitzers ran
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: out of diesel fuel as far back as sin Hung
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: Nie one hundred fifty gallons had been requested, but none
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: had been delivered. While the troops ahead, including g N
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: H of three five, continued on towards Hagarou unaware of
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: the break, A bad situation developed around the stalled guns.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: Following the halting of the convoy, Major Angus J. Cronin,
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: in charge of four eleven's vehicle column, and his handful
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: of truck drivers and cannoneers drove off a platoon of Chinese.
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: These marines were soon joined by Lieutenant Colonel Fihans one
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: eleven an able company of one five. By the time
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: Lieutenant Colonel Tablet arrived, the one fifty fives had been
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: moved off the road by Captain O. R. Lodge of
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: four to eleven, who continued in spite of a wound
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: until more severely wounded than the head. Royce and Stevens
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: arrived shortly afterwards, and the three battalion commanders drew up
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: a hasty plan while three five built up a base
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: of fire. A platoon of easy Company two five would
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: move through the ridge north of the road to knock
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: out the Chinese strong point. Up to this time, there
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: had been few and minor instances of panic during the
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: breakout from you'd m Knee, but some confusion resulted when
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: the enemy took advantage of the delay to blow a
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: small bridge ahead and increase his rate of fire. Thus
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: a new roadblock awaited after the howitzers were removed and
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: two truck drivers were killed. While the engineers repaired the break,
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: other drivers bypassed the bridge and made a dash for
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: safety by crossing the little stream on the ice. A
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: comparatively few men, giving way to panic, were endangering the
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: entire column. Behind one of the fleeing trucks, An angry
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: warn officer pounded in pursuit, shouting some of the most
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: sulfurious profanity that Lieutenant Colonel Taplet had ever heard. This
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: was Chief Warnan officer, Alan Carlson of Baker Company one eleven.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: He disappeared around a bend in the road, only to
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: return a moment later with a Chasen driver towing a
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: one hundred five millimeter howitzer. Carlson hastily recruited a crew
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: and set up the piece beside the road for point
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: blank fire at the enemy position, while Taplet directed the
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: fire of a seventy five millimeters recoiliss rifle, a Charlie
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: battery howitzer and a one to five Hey machine gun
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: added their contribution. As a platoon of Easy Company two
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: five attacked under the cover of air strikes. The Chinese
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: position was overrun at zero a thirty at an estimated
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: cost to the enemy of one hundred and fifty dead.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: Two other attacks were launched by infantry units of Royce's
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: Battalion on the high ground to the left before the
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: MSR was cleared. When the one hundred fifty five millimeter
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: howitzers were pushed off the road, it had been assumed
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: that they would be retrieved. Only one thousand yards farther
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: down the MSR was a cachet of air dropped diesel fuel,
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: but efforts to bring back replenishments were frustrated by enemy fire.
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: Attempts at recovery by the British Marines failed later that
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: day and orders were given for the destruction by air
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: of the eight stalled howitzers, plus a ninth which had
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: previously been abandoned after skidding off the road. This was
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: the largest loss of weapons in the Utem Knee breakout
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: at fourteen hundred. On four December, the last elements of
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: the rear Guard three seven entered the perimeter and the
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: four day operation passed into history. Some fifteen hundred casualties
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: were brought to Hagaru, a third of them being in
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: the non battle category, chiefly frostbite cases. It had taken
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: the head of the column about fifty nine hours to
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: cover the fourteen miles, and the rear unit seventy nine hours.
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: Under the circumstances of its execution, commented General Smith, the
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: breakout was remarkably well conducted. Since centralized control of the
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: widespread elements was a difficult task, particularly with a joint command.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: Unit commanders were required to exercise a high degree of initiative.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: The spirit and discipline of the men on one of
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: the most adverse conditions of weather and terrain was another
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: highly important factor, contributing to the success of the operation
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: and also reflecting the quality of the leadership being exercised.
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: End of Chapter twelve, Part two read by Aaron Bennett