U.S. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950-1953, Volume 5 (of 5): Operations in West KoreaUnited States. Marine Corps
History
U.S. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950-1953, Volume 5 (of 5): Operations in West Korea
United States. Marine Corps
Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Campaigns; United States. Marine Corps -- History -- Korean War, 1950-1953
At division level, the reserve mission was filled by Colonel Russell
E. Honsowetz’, 7th Marines, minus 2/7 (Lieutenant Colonel Noel C.
Gregory), which on 30 March became the maneuver force for the Kimpo
Regiment. As the division reserve, the regiment was to be prepared
to assume at any time either a defensive or offensive mission of any
of the frontline regiments. In addition, the reserve regiment was
to draw up counterattack plans, protect the division rear, improve
secondary line defenses, and conduct training, including tank-infantry
coordination, for units in reserve. The 7th Marines, with 3/7
(Lieutenant Colonel Houston Stiff) on the left and 1/7 (Lieutenant
Colonel George W. E. Daughtry) on the right, was emplaced in the
vicinity of the secondary defense lines, WYOMING and KANSAS, to the
rear of the 5th and 1st Marines.
Another regiment located in the rear area was the 11th Marines. Its
artillery battalions had begun displacement on 17 March and completed
their move by 25 March. Early on the 26th, the 11th Marines resumed
support of the 1st Marine Division. While the Marine artillery had been
en route, U.S. Army artillery from I Corps supported the division. With
the arrival on the 29th of the administrative rear echelon, the Marine
artillery regiment was fully positioned in the west.
For Colonel Frederick P. Henderson, who became the division artillery
commander on 27 March, operational problems in western Korea differed
somewhat from those experienced in the east by his predecessor,
Colonel Bruce T. Hemphill. The most critical difficulty, however, was
the same situation that confronted General Selden--the vast amount
of ground to be covered and defended, and the insufficient number of
units to accomplish this mission. To the artillery, the wide division
front resulted in spreading the available fire support dangerously
thin. Placement of 11th Marines units to best support the MLR
regiments created wide gaps between each artillery battalion, caused
communication and resupply difficulties, prevented a maximum massing of
fires, and made redeployment difficult.[25]
[25] Col Frederick P. Henderson ltr to Hd, HistBr, G-3 Div,
HQMC, dtd 25 Aug 59, hereafter _Henderson ltr I_.
In making use of all available fire support, the artillery regiment
had to guard not only against the duplication of effort in planning
or delivery of fires, but also against firing in the Panmunjom peace
corridor restricted areas, located near the sector held by the Marine
division’s center regiment. Moreover, the artillerymen had to maintain
a flexibility sufficient to place the weight of available fire support
on call into any zone of action.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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