U.S. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950-1953, Volume 4 (of 5): The East-Central Front — John Shaqi
U.S. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950-1953, Volume 4 (of 5): The East-Central FrontMontross, Lynn
History
U.S. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950-1953, Volume 4 (of 5): The East-Central Front
Montross, Lynn
Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Campaigns; United States. Marine Corps -- History -- Korean War, 1950-1953
Finally, a compromise solved the problem. The Navy agreed to have
the engineering work done by a detachment of its Mobile Construction
Battalion 2 (Seabees) and furnish the concrete for patching the runways
and rebuilding the warm-up aprons. The Air Force was to provide the
pierced steel planking for the runways.
On 15 January MAG-33 sent an advance detachment of 125 officers and men
to Bofu to do some of the preliminary work, and on the following day
the Seabees initiated the heavy construction. The restoration of K-1
was meanwhile resumed by MAG-12.
Until these two fields were made ready, VMF-212 on the _Bataan_ would
be the only Marine squadron in combat.
_Red China’s “Hate America” Campaign_
The middle of January was also a transition period for the 1st Marine
Division. In accordance with Division Orders 1-51 and 2-51, the
movement from Masan commenced at 0545 on 10 January when the first
serial of RCT-1 departed by motor for the Pohang-Andong area. LSTs
898 and 914 sailed the next day with elements of the Tank, Ordnance,
Engineer, and Service Battalions. The new Division CP opened at
Sinhung, about five miles southeast of Pohang, at 1600 on 16 January;
and by the 17th all designated motor and water lifts were completed.
Thus the 1st Marine Division and 1st Marine Aircraft Wing were poised
to begin new operations which will be described in the following
chapter.[43]
[43] 1stMarDiv _HD_, Jan 51.
By 15 January relative quiet prevailed along the entire front; the
Chinese Reds had shot their bolt. In terms of territorial gains (Map
4) the Communists could claim a victory, for they had inflicted heavy
losses both in troop casualties and equipment on the UN forces. Yet
the CCF January offensive could not compare with the November-December
attacks either in moral or material damage done to the Eighth Army.
This time the UN divisions had withdrawn for the most part in good
order after the rout of ROK units at the outset. Nor were Ridgway’s
troops always driven from their positions by enemy action. Whenever he
had an option between sacrificing men or Korean real estate, it was the
latter he chose. And by his insistence on good combat discipline, he
made the enemy pay an exorbitant price.
Nevertheless, the blunt fact remains that the United Nations forces
had been beaten in spite of an overwhelming superiority in aircraft,
artillery, armor, and transport as well as command of the sea.
Stateside Americans can scarcely be blamed for asking themselves why
their well-equipped divisions had been defeated twice within six weeks
by an Asiatic peasant army using semiguerrilla tactics and depending
largely on small arms, mortars, and light artillery.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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