Sixty yards of open ground lay between the jump-off point and enemy trenches on the slope of the objective. All went well until, half-. This fire was not effective, however, and did not stop the advance. When the skirmish line reached the base of the knoll, enemy soldiers stopped firing; and began throwing fragmentation and concussion grenades. These caused trouble.
One of the grenades wounded Lamb. Arne Severson, seeing the skirmish line falter, picked up his machine gun and walked forward, firing as he advanced. When he reached the base of the hill an enemy grenade exploded at his feet and broke both of his legs.
But he set up his gun and continued to fire until the attack stalled. Two men dragged him back. High moved the remaining members of both platoons back to a covered position and radioed Lieutenant Riddle to bring in the machinegun fire again and to send help, if possible.
North Korean soldiers in bunkers on the objective began to taunt High and his men with phrases such as, "American, you die! Deciding to make a second attempt this time a close-in envelopment of the objective High called off the supporting fire again and led about a dozen of his men downhill toward the south, where they could move without being seen or fired upon by the enemy. They then climbed the hill, moving north to the top of Hill When the men broke defilade, the enemy opened fire and began throwing grenades again.
A concussion grenade knocked High down. The rest of his men, believing him dead, straggled back to the platoon base. Within a minute or two, however, High regained consciousness and returned to the platoon base where he reorganized the remaining men about twenty in all. In the meantime, regimental headquarters had sent three flame-thrower operators to the 2d Battalion, two of them designated for Company G and one for Company F.
Lieutenant Riddle sent all three men, their flame throwers strapped to their backs, forward to help High. One operator was wounded almost immediately upon leaving the line of departure; the other two reached High as he was preparing to make another assault. He sent one flame-thrower operator and two riflemen directly to the front. Under cover of fire, the men crawled into positions from where they could place flame on the foremost eastern bunker on Hill As soon as this bunker was destroyed, High led the rest of his platoon around to the left and formed a skirmish line facing another enemy bunker on the south side of the hill.
In position, he signaled the flame thrower to open up. As soon as the flame thrower commenced operating, High was to signal for the assault.
This time the flame thrower failed to work. By then only two enemy bunkers were interfering with the attack. A machine gun was firing from each. High decided to make the assault without the flame thrower. He sent a BAR team to knock out one bunker while he, with a rifleman and the third flame-thrower operator, walked.
Firing as they walked, the men exposed themselves because High feared that if they tried to crawl they would be pinned down. Ten yards from the bunker, the second flame thrower failed to work.
Standing exposed to enemy fire, the operator took it apart but was unable to repair it. Finally, High told him to get out of the way because he was too conspicuous. High stationed one of his riflemen in front of the bunker. Troop assaults were confined to twilight and nighttime, as the Americans were supported by aerial bombing as well as dense artillery and tank fire, which would commence in the morning and last all throughout the daytime hours.
For weeks, the battle often seesawed between the opposing forces. One side would often capture a crest from the other, but only after suffering high casualties and depleting their ammunition. An inevitable counterattack would always follow, dislodging them, and the cycle would repeat itself.
Desperate hand-to-hand battles punctuated the culmination of every assault. The American deployment of armor to actively support troop operations served as the turning point. After two weeks of stalemate, the Americans determined that a lasting victory lay in destroying the resupply depots in the Mundung-ni Valley just west of Heartbreak Ridge.
Later, all units in the Division were dispatched and the ridge was captured. And, the 9th Regiment launched an attack simultaneously from the west of the Mundeung-ri valley. In this battle, the French Battalion suffered heavy due to the Communist Army's stiff resistance and caused the Communist Army immense damage too.
The cease-fire talk resumed 9 days after this battle ended. After he witnessed this scene, he described the battle condition as "Heartbreak Ridge" when reporting about this battle. Thereafter, Hill was known as the Heartbreak Ridge. This was the battle in which the French Battalion fought against the th Regiment of the Chinese Communist Army th Division while defending Hill , northwest of Cheolwon.
The Chinese Communist Army dispatched a battalion or company size unit every night from Oct. Honor Water is a practical path to honor generations of our Fallen Service Members. Helping give life to those in need today.
Our daily challenge is to work and live as good global citizens. It's our sacred duty as individuals living in a free society, earned through the efforts of those who gave their all for all of us. Share This Page With Friends! General Disclaimer - This is a private sector project developed by Crafted Knowledge. Although we enter into collaborative associations with many supporting organizations, this site is not owned or operated by any Government body.
0コメント