Three Marine regiments were now in line, the 1st on the left, the KMCs in the center, the 5th on the right, and the 7th in reserve. A reshuffling of units also took place in the 1st MAW when VMF-312 ended its tour of duty on the CVL _Bataan_. The replacement involved a change of carriers when VMF-323 was alerted for west coast duty on the CVE _Sicily_ a week later.[232] [232] _PacFlt Interim Rpt_ No. 3, VI, 6-6, 6-7; 1stMarDiv _Special Action Report_ (_SAR_), Jun 51. Ahead of the KMCs stretched the most difficult of the regimental zones of action--the main mountain range extending northeast from Yanggu to Hill 1316, known to the Koreans as Taeam-san. Along these ridges the Chinese had placed North Korean troops with orders to “hold until death.”[233] [233] The account of the KMC attack is based upon these sources: 1stMarDiv _HD_, Jun 51; “KMC Operations in Korea, Jun 51,” n.d., by Col C. W. Harrison, then KMC senior adviser. From the air, the ground in front of the KMCs resembled a monstrous prehistoric lizard, rearing up on its hind legs. The 1st Battalion was to ascend the tail and the 2d the hind legs. The two would meet at the rump, Hill 1122 (Map 15). From this position the backbone ran northeast to the shoulders, Hill 1218. Still farther northeast, along the neck, was the key terrain feature--Taeam-san, the head of the imagined reptile. The 1st and 2d Battalions ran immediately into the opposition of an estimated NKPA regiment. In an effort to outflank the enemy, the 3d Battalion swung over to the east and attacked up the ridge forming the forelegs. Seizure of the shoulders (Hill 1218) would render enemy positions along the back, rump, hind legs, and tail untenable. Major General Choe Am Lin, commanding the 12th NKPA Division, was quick to recognize the tactical worth of this height and exact a stiff price for it. That the KMCs could expect little mercy from their fellow countrymen was demonstrated when the bodies of ten men reported missing were found. All had been shot in the back of the head. For five days the fight raged with unabated fury. The terrain limited the advance to a narrow front, so that the attack resembled the thrust of a spear rather than a blow from a battering ram. When the KMCs did gain a brief foothold, the enemy launched a counterattack.