Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
Battle of Chosin Reservoir
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
===East of the reservoir=== [[File:Lt. Col. Don C. Faith, Jr., 150226-O-ZZ999-021.jpg|thumb|alt=A Caucasian man with brown hair in a military uniform|Lieutenant Colonel Don Carlos Faith, Jr.]] RCT-31, later known as "[[Task Force Faith]]," was a hastily formed regimental combat team from the 7th Infantry Division that guarded the right flank of the Marine advance towards Mupyong-ni. Before the battle, RCT-31 was spread thin, with main elements separated on the hills north of Sinhung-ni, the Pyungnyuri Inlet west of Sinhung-ni, and the town of Hudong-ni ({{Coord|40.43|N|127.28|E|display=inline}}) south of Sinhung-ni.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=85}} Although the Chinese believed RCT-31 to be a reinforced [[regiment]],{{sfn|Roe|2000|p=329}} the task force was actually understrength, with one [[battalion]] missing, due to the bulk of the 7th Infantry Division being scattered over northeast Korea.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=85}} On the night of 27 November, three regiments from the 80th Division attacked the northern hills ({{Coord|40.489|N|127.259|E|display=inline}}) and the inlet,{{sfn|Guang|2007|pp=53β54}} completely surprising the defenders.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=89}} The 1st Battalion, [[32d Infantry Regiment (United States)|32nd Infantry]], to the north of Sinhung-ni suffered heavy casualties,{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=93}} while the 57th Field Artillery Battalion and the 3rd Battalion, [[31st Infantry Regiment (United States)|31st Infantry]], were almost overrun at Pyungnyuri Inlet.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=97}} The Chinese also sent the 242nd Regiment of the 81st Division towards Hill 1221, ({{Coord|40.449|N|127.268|E|display=inline}}),{{sfn|Guang|2007|p=55}} an undefended hill that controlled the road between Sinhung-ni and Hudong-ni.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=98}} As the night's fighting ended, RCT-31 was split into three elements.{{sfn|Roe|2000|p=310}} Believing that the defenders had been completely destroyed at the inlet, the Chinese stopped their attacks and proceeded to loot the American positions for food and clothing.{{sfn|Guang|2007|p=58}} As morning came on 28 November, the 3/31st Infantry counterattacked the PVA 239th Regiment at the inlet, driving the surprised Chinese back in a complete rout.{{sfn|Guang|2007|p=58}}{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=96}} In the afternoon, Almond flew into the Sinhung-ni perimeter of RCT-31, convinced that RCT-31 was strong enough to begin its attack north and deal with whatever "remnants" of Chinese forces were in their way. Almond ordered Colonel Allan D. Maclean, the commander of RCT-31, to resume the offensive north, while presenting [[Silver Star]]s to three of Maclean's officers. In disgust, Lieutenant Colonel [[Don C. Faith, Jr.]], the commander of the 1/32nd Infantry, threw his medal into the snow.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|pp=102β103}} [[File:Chinese at Chosin.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Soldiers charging into thick smoke|Chinese troops assaulting Task Force Faith's position at Sinhung-ni.]] On the night of 28 November, the PVA 80th Division attacked again with four regiments.{{sfn|Guang|2007|p=59}} At the inlet, the Chinese assault became a disaster as communications broke down, while devastating fire from the [[M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage|M16]] and [[M19 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage|M19]] anti-aircraft (AA) guns attached to the 57th Field Artillery Battalion swept the Chinese ranks.{{sfn|Guang|2007|pp=59β60}}{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=107}}{{efn|RCT-31's anti-aircraft guns were from D Battery, 15th Antiaircraft Battalion, which was attached to the 57th Field Artillery Battalion during the entire battle. See {{harvnb|Appleman|1990|p=82}}.}} In the aftermath, the PVA 238th and the 239th Regiment together had fewer than 600 soldiers.{{sfn|Guang|2007|p=61}} The attacks by PVA 240th Regiment, on the other hand, forced Maclean to order a retreat from the northern hills towards Sinhung-ni.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=110}} On 29 November, the 1st Battalion managed to break through the Chinese blockade and reached the Sinhung-ni perimeter, but Maclean was lost when he mistook some Chinese soldiers for American.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=114}}{{efn|Maclean's final fate is disputed between US and Chinese sources. Although both sides agreed that Maclean was shot numerous times while running towards the Chinese soldiers, Chinese sources claim that Maclean was shot dead on the spot, while UN POWs stated that Maclean later died from his wounds while being moved to a POW camp. See {{harvnb|Appleman|1990|p=114}} and {{harvnb|Guang|2007|p=60}}.}} The Chinese finally stopped their attacks on the night of 29 November, while waiting for fresh reinforcements.{{sfn|Guang|2007|p=62}} While RCT-31 was under siege, Almond finally instructed the 1st Marine Division to rescue it by breaking out of Yudam-ni, an impossible order for Smith to implement.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=183}} Only the 31st Tank Company tried to rescue RCT-31, by attacking Hill 1221 from Hudong-ni,{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=103}} but without infantry support, the two armored attacks on 28 and 29 November were stalled by slippery roads, rough terrain, and close infantry assaults.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|pp=103β105, 118β9}} By 30 November, the US forces evacuated Hudong-ni in order to defend Hagaru-ri, leaving the rest of RCT-31 completely isolated.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=126}} On 30 November, Major General [[David G. Barr]], the commander of the 7th Infantry Division, flew into Sinhung-ni and met with Faith, who by now had assumed command of RCT-31. Faith laid out the difficulties of a breakout, particularly the 500 wounded that RCT-31 had to bring along.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=124}} On the same day, parts of the PVA [[94th Division (People's Republic of China)|94th Division]]{{efn|Misidentified as the 90th Division by UN intelligence. See {{harvnb|Guang|2007|p=118}}.}} and the rest of the 81st Division{{sfn|Ye|p=114|2007}} arrived as reinforcements for the 80th Division.{{sfn|Guang|2007|p=62}} By midnight, six{{sfn|Ye|p=126|2007}} Chinese regiments renewed their attacks, and Zhan Danan, the commander of the 80th Division, ordered the complete destruction of RCT-31 before dawn.{{sfn|Guang|2007|p=63}} Again, the 57th Battalion's AA guns held the Chinese at bay,{{sfn|Appleman|1990|pp=129β130}} but supplies of shells were desperately low.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=134}} On the day of 1 December, Faith finally ordered RCT-31 to break out from Sinhung-ni and withdraw to Hagaru-ri.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=134}} [[File:Koreacloseairsupporttwo1950.JPEG|thumb|alt=Soldiers watch a hill in front of them as aircraft drop bombs on it|Marines watch [[F4U Corsair]]s drop napalm on Chinese positions.]] The breakout began as soon as the weather allowed the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing to provide air cover on 1 December.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|pp=132β135}} As the soldiers formed a convoy and tried to leave the Sudong-ni perimeter, the PVA 241st Regiment immediately swarmed over the American forces,{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=137}} with three other regiments closing in.{{sfn|Guang|2007|p=64}} Left with no choice, the covering aircraft dropped [[napalm]] right in front of RCT-31, inflicting casualties on both American and Chinese troops.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|pp=137β138}} The resulting firestorm wiped out the blocking Chinese company,{{sfn|Guang|2007|p=64}} allowing the convoy to advance.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=138}} As the front of RCT-31 made its way forward, heavy small arms fire caused many members of the rear guard to seek shelter below the road instead of protecting the trucks.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=138}} Chinese fire also killed or wounded those already in the trucks as well as the drivers, who viewed the job as a form of suicide.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=139}} Slowly, the convoy approached a roadblock under Hill 1221 in the late afternoon.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=140}} Several parties tried to clear Hill 1221, but after taking part of the hill, the leaderless soldiers continued out onto the frozen reservoir instead of returning to the column.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=144}} As Faith led an assault on the roadblock, he was hit by a Chinese grenade and subsequently died of his wounds.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=146}} The convoy managed to fight past the first roadblock, but as it reached the second at Hudong-ni, RCT-31 disintegrated under Chinese attacks.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=150}} Out of the original 2,500 soldiers, about 1,050 managed to reach Hagaru-ri, and only 385 survivors were deemed able-bodied.{{sfn|Alexander|1986|p= 339}} The remnants of RCT-31 were formed into a provisional army battalion for the rest of the battle.{{sfn|Appleman|1990|p=249}}
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
Battle of Chosin Reservoir
(section)
Add topic