Korean War (17)

K Co., 35th RCT, 25th Div. fire at CCF w/ a M1919A4, 30 caliber air-cooler light machine gun during Operation Ripper.

The battered men of the 38th Regiment of the 2nd Division, the Dutch battalion and the 187th RCT were ordered to “make the strongest possible stand to blunt the CCF.” This amounted to approximately 8,000 men. As expected on 13 February 1951, the enemy attacked along with their usual whistles, horns and bugles blaring. Hills numbered 339,340,341 and 342 were the east to west ridge-lines needed to be taken. Here, the fighting became so intense and continuous that it remains difficult to follow the progress over the rugged terrain and individual unit combat. Casualties mounted on both sides, but their position was held. Hill after hill and ridge after ridge, they grabbed whoever was still able to fight and went through Hills 240, 255 and 738. (Hills were numbered according to their height.)

CCF XIII Army attack on Hoengsong – ROK 8th Div. destroyed

18 February, the Chinese realized they were fighting a lost cause and pulled back. Ridgeway was notified and set up Operation Killer to launch a counterattack. Two days later, with a visit from MacArthur, they went over this plan that included recrossing the Han River. Later on, MacArthur would claim (with Almond’s confirmation) that this operation was his own by stating, “I ordered Ridgeway to start north again.” No such order had been given as far as the records show. Since censorship had been in force since December 1950, Ridgeway tried diplomatically to stymie MacArthur’s theatrics and grandstanding with the press. He complained that MacArthur’s long-standing habit of visiting when a major offensive was about to be enforced was most assuredly going to be picked up by the enemy.

By 28 February, all enemy resistance south of the Han River was eliminated. The 187th RCT Rakkasans were once again sent back to Taegu to reorganize.

1-12 March, the U.N. line was about halfway between the 37th and 38th parallels and this did not sit well with Ridgeway. The 1st Marine Division captured Hoengsong. 5 March, COMNAVFE (the commander of the Navy, Far East), stated his intelligence reports were showing a build-up of CCF and small boats in port opposite Formosa. The junk might be used for an amphibious attempt on Formosa. Operation Ripper, devised 2 weeks before with MacArthur’s approval, was to trap and eliminate the enemy. It was intended to split the Chinese and the North Koreans. This was put into action on the 7th with about 150,000 men on the offensive. By the 11th, the US IX Corps had reached their Line for Phase One.

14-19 March, Seoul was once again in Allied hands; being that it was deserted and laid in rubble, no great victory was declared. For these 5 days, the USS Missouri fired on Kyojo Wan, Songjin, Chaho and Wonsan. The ship was credited with 8 railroad bridges and 7 highway bridges.

Even Peng told Mao that no one would win the war. He reported back that with 227,000 American troops backing the 250,000 ROK troops and 21,000 from Britain, Australia, Turkey, the Philippines, Thailand, Canada, New Zealand, Greece, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, would be too many to eliminate.

enemy POWs

IX and X Corps neared Chunchon; this was the 3rd Phase line and the Marines were met with heavy fighting. On 20 March, the JCS (Joint Chiefs of Staff) informed MacArthur that the UN was ready to begin negotiations with Red China. The front had reached north far enough where the talks might produce a cease-fire line. MacArthur blamed Washington for not going in for a total victory; such Cold War rules alluded the general. Even the 150,000 POWs captured since Inchon were more of a hindrance than a bargaining chip. The logistics problems were enormous, but not the only ones. The militants, ordered by Mao to surrender, disrupted the camps with uprisings, drug trafficking, murder, prostitution and communication with the enemy forces out in the field. On the 23rd, MacArthur gave Ridgeway authorization to cross the 38th. This was done without JCS approval.

A large spreading of a “plague-like disease” in the enemy bases would start accusations by the pro-Communist reporters that the Americans were waging germ warfare. BGeneral Crawford F. Sams, later to be named Surgeon General of the Army, took on a dangerous mission in the Wonsan sector. In this area, Sams examined strickened Chinese soldiers and found the disease to be hemorrhagic smallpox. The origin of which is known to be Manchuria.

Mosquito hunt

When asked about UN troops crossing the 38th, Truman blundered, “That is a tactical matter for the field commander. A commander-in-chief 7,000 miles away does not interfere with field operations. We are working to free the Republic of Korea…” Upon hearing this in Tokyo, MacArthur grumbled about a “one-sided gag.” He said that officials in Washington can say what they want, but he needed approval for anything more significant than a morning report.

Click images to enlarge.

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Current News –

Picture released by Chinese of Allied POWs

A “Korea Remembered 1950-1953” ceremony was given for Darrell Krenz and hundreds of other Korean War veterans in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this past Tuesday. Krenz, was a bazooka operator, sniper and POW; a member of the 24th Infantry Division.

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Farewell Salutes –

Fred Alfele – Atlantis, FL; US Navy, oral surgeon

Bartley Fugler – Arlington, VA & Naples, FL; US Navy, pilot, WWII

George Kuhter – Chicago area; US Navy, WWII

Judge Clarence Lipnick – Chicago, IL; US Army WWII, D-Day

Raymond Vernier – Detroit, MI & Lake Worth, FL; US Army, medic, Korea

G.T. “Tom” Simpson – Greenville, SC; civilian employee, contractor WWII,; built bases in VA, SC & GA

Leonard Witt, Jr. – Marysville, WA; US Army, WWII

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Resources: Korean War on line; “Rakkasans” & “The Angels” by Gen. EM Flanagan; history.navy.mil;”MacArthur’s War” by Stanley Weintraub; “The Korean War” by Maurice Isserman; “Korean War” by Stephen Badsy; “Warfare of the 20th Century” by Christopher Chant