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Although the Korean War is most famous for the long stalemate along what became the modern border between North and South, the first part of the war saw dramatic advances and retreats by both sides, before the front line finally stabilised. This book looks at that first part of the war, building up to an account of the battles fought by the 1st Marine Division.
This book falls into two quite different part. The first provides a general background to the Korean War and a history of the first part of the war, from the initial North Korean successes, through the UN fightback and MacArthur’s daring landings at Inchon, and on to the advance towards the Chinese border, the Chinese decision to get involved, and their dramatic success on the western part of the front, where the US 8th Army collapsed and fled south. The second part looks in detail at the battles fought by the 1st Marine Division on the eastern end of the front line, and in particular the defensive battles around the Chosin Reservoir and the breakout from that area back to relative safety.
The author has some firmly held views on the reasons for the American failure to predict the invasion, based around their belief that the entire Communist bloc was ruled from Moscow. He also has some strong opinions on Douglas MacArthur, portraying him as out of touch and past his best, refusing to listen to any news that didn’t fit in with his existing views and far too self confident, but also still capable of the occasion strategic masterpiece, in particular the landings at Inchon that ended the first phase of North Korean success.
The nature of the book changes in the second part. We move from the strategic over-view to an in-depth account of the 1st Marine Division’s battles, taking us all the way down into individual foxholes and the fights for the many numbered hills (along with a clear sense of just how cold it really was!). However we don’t lose track of the overall course of the fighting either, so always have a clear idea of what was at stake in each of these battles.
The result is a compelling account of the desperate fighting around the Chosin reservoir, and how the Marines were able to hold on longer than their colleagues in the US Army further west.
Chapters
1 - Brother's Keeper
2 - Background to War in the Land of the Morning Calm
3 - The Wages of Hubris
4 - The Fatal Decision
5 - First Contact
6 - Where is the Enemy?
7 - The Chinese Attack
8 - Holding On
9 - Breakout
10 - 'Retreat, Hell, We're Just Attacking in a New Direction!'
11 - Evacuation
12 - Aftermath
Author: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
Edition: Hardcover
Pages: 324
Publisher: Osprey
Year: 2016