The time covered in this book extends from the administrative landing at Wonsan on 26 October 1950 to the Hungnam evacuation which ended on Christmas Eve. The record would not be complete, however, without reference to preceding high-level strategic decisions in Washington and Tokyo which placed the Marines in northeast Korea and governed their employment. Credit is due the U. S. Army and Navy for support on land and sea, and the U. S. Navy and Air Force for support in the air. But since this is primarily a Marine Corps history, the activities of other services are described here only in sufficient detail to show Marine operations in their proper perspective. The ideal of the authors has been to relate the epic of the Chosin Reservoir breakout from the viewpoint of the man in the foxhole as well as the senior officer at the command post. Grateful acknowledgment is made to the 142 Marine officers and men who gave so generously of their time by contributing 338 narratives, letters, and interviews. In many instances this material was so detailed that some could not be used, because of space limitations. But all will go into the permanent Marine archives for the benefit of future historians. Thanks are also extended to the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as Marine officers, who offered valuable comments and criticisms after reading the preliminary drafts of chapters. Without this assistance no accurate and detailed account could have been written. The maps contained in this volume, as in the previous ones, have been prepared by the Reproduction Section, Marine Corps Schools, Quantico, Virginia. The advice of officers of the Current History Branch of the Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, has also been of aid in the preparation of these pages. [Illustration: (signature)] E. W. SNEDEKER _Major General, U. S. Marine Corps,_ _Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3._ Contents _Page_ I Problems of Victory 1 Decision to Cross the 38th Parallel--Surrender Message to NKPA Forces--MacArthur’s Strategy of Celerity--Logistical Problems of Advance--Naval Missions Prescribed--X Corps Relieved at Seoul--Joint Planning for Wonsan Landing II The Wonsan Landing 21 ROK Army Captures Wonsan--Marine Loading and Embarkation--Two Weeks of Mine Sweeping--Operation Yo-Yo--Marine Air First at Objective--MacArthur Orders Advance to Border--Landing of 1st Marine Division III First Blood at Kojo 43