Ridgway Duels for Korea PDF
Preview Ridgway Duels for Korea
Page i Ridgway Duels for Korea Page ii Page iii Ridgway Duels for Korea By Lt. Col. Roy E. Appleman, AUS (Ret.) Page iv Copyright © 1990 by Roy E. Appleman Manufactured in the United States of America All rights reserved First Edition The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, Z39.48 1984. Binding materials have been chosen for durability. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGINGINPUBLICATION DATA Appleman, Roy Edgar. Ridgway duels for Korea / by Roy E. Appleman. — 1st ed. p. cm. — (Texas A&M University military history series ; no. 18) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0890964327 (alk. paper) 1. Korean War, 19501953 — Campaigns. 2. Ridg way, Matthew B. (Matthew Bunker), 1895 . I. Title. II. Series: Texas A&M University military history series; 18. DS918.A8 1990 951.904'2 — dc20 8948499 CIP Page v Contents List of Illustrations page vii List of Tables ix List of Maps xi Preface xiii List of Abbreviations xv Chapter 1 3 General Ridgway in Command of Eighth Army 2 25 The Sword of Damocles over Eighth Army 3 38 The Chinese 3rd Phase Offensive 4 59 The Third Evacuation of Seoul 5 96 The Fight for the Central Corridor 6 116 Almond's X Corps and the Recapture of Wonju 7 140 Transition: Eighth Army in the West 8 175 Eighth Army to the Han River 9 198 Twin Tunnels: Prelude to Chipyongni 10 218 The Chinese 4th Phase Offensive 11 255 The Key Battle: Chipyongni 12 293 The Third Battle for Wonju 13 315 Eighth Army's Crossing of the Han and Capture of Seoul 14 349 Warfare in the Mountains 15 376 Eighth Army across the 38th Parallel 16 409 Across the 38th Parallel to Line Kansas 17 430 Changes in Command and an Enemy Buildup 18 449 The Chinese 5th Phase Offensive, 1st Impulse 19 497 Interlude 20 509 The Chinese 5th Phase Offensive, 2nd Impulse 21 553 End of the War of Maneuver Appendix: Lament of Suwon 581 Notes 584 Bibliographical Note 640 Index 643 Page vii Illustrations Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway and Gen. Frank W. Milburn page 11 Korean refugees fleeing from Seoul 35 Pontoon bridge over the Han River 77 US and ROK troops on tanks withdrawing from Seoul 86 Hill 930 between Hoengsong and Hongchon 224 Aerial view over Saemal near Massacre Valley 243 Railroad at Chipyongni 260 Road from Chipyongni to Koksuri 262 Critical area at east end of Chipyongni 263 Troops from 17th Regiment, 7th Division on muddy road 309 Engineers repairing road washed out by rain near Inje 310 South Korean porters carrying food and ammunition to troops 325 M4 tanks of 89th Tank Battalion crossing the Han River 339 Marine tank and infantry patrol entering wartorn Hongchon 369 Troops of 15th Regiment, 3rd Division, near Uijongbu 383 Hwachon Dam under attack by Navy AD Skyraiders 423 Aerial view of Gloucestershire Battalion zone 464 Aerial view of "Gloster Hill" (Hill 235) 465 Aerial view of "Gloster Hill," Kamaksan, and Salmari 466 Troops of 35th Regiment, 25th Division, withdrawing on tanks 484 204th FA Battalion firing 155mm guns 485 Generals Hoge, Bryan, Van Fleet, and Ridgway 502 Hill 1051 on No Name line 511 Marine unit marching to the central front 536 Men of 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment, crossing burned bridge 543 Men of 3rd Division Reconnaissance Company carrying body 547 Stretcher bearers with troops on Hill 1179 in the Punchbowl 565 7th Regiment, 3rd Division, attacking Hill 717 574 Jeep drivers waiting at the Kaesong armistice meeting site 578 Page ix Tables 1. UN Forces in Korea, December 1950 page 40 2. CCF and UN Troop Alignment, 31 December 1950 41 3. CCF XIII Army Group Order of Battle, 1 January 1951 43 4. North Korean and CCF Support Weapons, 6 January 1951 94 5. North Korean Troop Strength, 1 January 1951 99 6. Eighth Army Troop Strength, 14 January 1951 149 7. KATUSA with US Combat Forces, 14 January 1951 150 8. UN Losses at Hoengsong, 1113 February 1951 249 9. UN Casualties at Chipyongni, 316 February 1951 287 10. CCF Forces at Chipyongni, 1315 February 1951 288 11. I Corps Casualties, March 1951 395 12. Replacement Troops from the United States 405 13. UN Forces in Korea, March 1951 407 14. UN Casualties, March 1951 407 15. Chinese Order of Battle, 2229 April 1951 450 16. North Korean Order of Battle, 2229 April 1951 452 17. UN Casualties, April 1951 493 18. UN Forces in Korea, April 1951 494 19. I Corps Casualties, April 1951 494 20. The Van Fleet Rate of Fire 533 Page xi Maps 1. CCF and UN deployment at outset of 3rd Phase Offensive page 39 2. CCF 39th Army's initial crossing of Imjin River 48 3. CCF 3rd Phase Offensive, 31 December 504 January 1951 56 4. Han River bridges at Seoul, January 1951 76 5. UN line south of Han River, 7 January 1951 89 6. Central corridor, January 1951 97 7. UN positions at Wonju, 67 January 1951 105 8. UN positions in Twin Tunnels area, JanuaryFebruary 1951 200 9. Twin Tunnels battle, 31 January1 February 1951 211 10. Hoengsong area, 1112 February 1951 223 11. Attack on ROK 8th Division and US 38th Infantry, 1112 February 1951 244 12. 23rd Infantry and French Battalion Perimeter, Chipyongni, 1315 February 261 1951 13. CCF 4th Phase Offensive, 1116 February 1951 290 14. 25th Division crossing of the Han River, 7 March 1951 332 15. 1st Cavalry and 1st Marine divisions capture Hongchon basin, 117 March 368 1951 16. Linkup of Task Force Growden and US 3rd Division, 27 March 1951 386 17. UN offensive, 1 March21 April 1951 439 18. CCF and UN Positions in I Corps sector, 22 April 1951 454 19. British 29th Brigade (BIB) position, 22 April 1951 459 20. CCF 5th Phase Offensive, 2230 April 1951 480 21. CCF Redeployment for 5th Phase Offensive, 2nd Impulse, 115 May 503 1951 22. Positions at outset of CCF 5th Phase Offensive, 2nd Impulse, 16 May 510 1951 23. CCF 5th Phase Offensive, 2nd Impulse, 1623 May 1951 531 24. UN offensive, 20 May24 June 1951 555 Page xiii Preface This volume covers battlefield events from Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway's assumption of command in Korea on 26 December 1950 to the beginning of truce talks on 10 July 1951, and the end of the war of maneuver in Korea. It is a sequel to Disaster in Korea: The Chinese Confront MacArthur and Escaping the Trap: The US Army X Corps in Northeast Korea, 1950, which carried the war from 24 November 1950 to 26 December 1950, and they in turn are sequels to South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu, the combat narrative of the first six months of the war, which began with the North Korean invasion of South Korea on 25 June 1950. This volume, like the other three, is a combat history and records the fighting in Korea with only necessary mention of political and diplomatic events associated with the war. It is based on military unit records, command reports, and afteraction reports in Record Group 407 in the National Archives, Federal Records Center, Suitland, Maryland. This record group comprises the Korean War official records. Besides researching records in the National Archives, I spent several weeks examining the General Ridgway Papers, deposited in the US Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. I also have corresponded with and interviewed a great number of participants in the war. The few published works that relate to actual combat operations in Korea are cited in the notes whenever they are used as sources. Most of these relate to UN allies, notably the British, Canadians, and Australians. I have twice been in Korea, the first time entering Korea in September 1945 in the occupation of the area south of the 38th Parallel with the US XXIV Army Corps from Okinawa, the second time in 1951 during the Korean War, when I saw many of the combat areas across the breadth of the peninsula. At the time I examined the Korean War records in the years 197475, they were still classified Secret, and I spent two years in the vaults where they are stored, working in a small cubbyhole provided for my use. Throughout, an attempt has been made to portray Matthew Ridgway's
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