East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950 (Volume 2) (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series)

In November, 1950, with the highly successful Inchon Landing behind him, Gen. Douglas MacArthur planned the last major offensive of what was to be a brief "conflict": the drive that would push the North Koreans across the Yalu River into Manchuria. In northern Korea, US forces assembled at Chosin Reservoir to cut behind the North Korean forces blocking the planned march to Manchuria. Roy E. Appleman, noted historian of the Korean conflict, describes the tragic fate of the troops of the 31st Regimental Combat Team which fought this engagement and presents a thorough analysis of the physical conditions, attitudes, and command decisions that doomed them.

roy Appleman's East Of Chosin, First Published In 1987, Won Acclaim From Reviewers, Readers, And Veterans And Their Families. For The First Time, There Was One Complete And Accessible Record Of What Happened To The Army Troops Trapped East Of The Chosin Reservoir During The First Wintry Blast Of The Korean War. Based Heavily On The Author's Interviews And Correspondence With The Survivors, East Of Chosin Provided Some Of Those Men With Their First Clue To The Fate Of Fellow Soldiers. In November Of 1950, U.s. Forces Had Pushed Deep Into North Korea. Unknown To Them, Chinese Troops Well Equipped For Below Zero Temperatures And Blizzard Conditions Were Pushing South. With The 1st Marine Division On The West Side Of The Frozen Chosin Reservoir, The Army's Hastily Assembled 31st Regimental Combat Team, 3,000 Strong, Advanced Up The East Side Of The Reservoir. Task Force Faith In The Extreme Northern Position Caught The Surprise Chinese Attack. With Rifles And Vehicles Often Immobilized In The Cold And Snow, The Task Force Struggled To Retreat Through A Tortuous Mountain Gauntlet Of Enemy Fire. With Truckloads Of Dead And Wounded Trapped Along On The Road, A Few Of The 385 Survivors Trudged Across The Frozen Reservoir To Alert The Marines To Their Plight.

publishers Weekly

appleman's Book Clears Up One Of The Nagging Mysteries Of The Korean War: The Fate Of The 7thstet U.s. Division's Task Force Faith Between November 27december 1, 1950, When Chinese Forces Surrounded It Along The Icy Shores Of The Chosin Reservoir. Due To Poor Command Decisions And Lack Of Communication, Only 385 Out Of Some 3000 Gis Made It Back To The Relative Safety Of The Marine Perimeter Nearby. Appleman Addresses The Oft-debated Question Of Why The Marines Did Not Send A Rescue Force, And The Degree To Which The Sacrifice Of The Gis Enabled The 1ststet Marine Division To Accomplish Its Successful Retreat. Based On Analysis Of Official Records And Interviews With Survivors, This Study Can Be Appreciated As A Highly Suspenseful Account Of A Military Catastrophe And As An Inverted Object Lesson In Field Command Under The Worst Possible Conditions. As The Author Remarks, ``it Would Be Hard To Find A More Nearly Hopeless Or More Tragic Story In American Military History.'' Appleman Wrote The Highly Regarded South To The Naktong, North To The Yalu. Photos. (april 27)