The Korean War: The Untold Truth

Chapter 25: Showing off force (1)
Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bradford Smith was so sound asleep that his wife had to push him several times to wake him up.It's Friday night, June 6th.The night before, the 30st Battalion of the 24st Infantry Regiment of the 21th Infantry Division stationed at Wood Barracks on Kyushu Island was on alert, and Battalion Commander Smith stayed up all night.His wife told him that the head of the regiment, Richard Stephens, wanted him to answer the phone.

Stephens' words were succinct: "Something has happened—put on your clothes and report to the command post." Smith glanced at his watch. It was nine o'clock.

As the 34-year-old officer put on his clothes, he thought about the last sudden call. On December 1941, 12, just two years after graduating from West Point, young Lieutenant Bradford Smith took command of D Company, 7th Infantry Regiment, stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.As the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, he received urgent orders to form a position at Barbers Point to repel a possible Japanese invasion.From then on, Smith fought in the South Pacific as an infantry officer with the 35th Division until the end of the war.At the time, his commanding officer, General Lawton Collins, found him a "young and promising officer with a promising future".

In the regimental command post, Colonel Stephens solemnly gave Smith the order to lead the first U.S. combat troops into North Korea.His B and C companies set off to Banzue Air Force Base, 75 miles away, and immediately flew into North Korea.The division commander, General William Dean, would meet them at Banfu and give them instructions on what to do next.

Smith calmly assessed the situation of the troops. Several of his infantry platoons were still short.Stephens said no problem, he could be transferred from the 3rd Battalion.

At 3 o'clock in the morning, Smith and his officers and sergeants gathered 443 soldiers from the barracks. All the personnel carried guns and field equipment in trucks, braved the torrential rain brought by the monsoon, and drove along the dark Japanese road to Banfu. .

史密斯不知道到朝鲜去执行什么任务，但是他率领的这支部队人员匮乏，武器落后。全营共辖两个缺员的步兵连，半个营部连主要由炊事员、文书和参谋组成；一个拥有4门75毫米无后坐力炮（实际运入朝鲜的仅有2门）和4门4.2英寸迫击炮的炮兵排；另外B连、C连还配有6门无后坐力炮（用外行话说是火箭筒）和6门60毫米迫击炮；每个士兵携带M-1型步枪一支，0.30口径的子弹120发和两天的C类口粮。

About a third of the officers had served in Europe or the Pacific, and half of the NCOs were World War II veterans, but not all of them had fought—understandably more clerical than infantry. Thought it would be interesting to re-enlist.All told, about 443 of the 75 soldiers crammed into the vehicle had seen the enemy on the battlefield, most of them young men in their 20s.

American forces in peacetime are on their way to war.This group of fledgling, depressed young men has been dubbed "Task Force Smith" with an exaggerated title, and they are tasked with delaying the entire North Korean Army's offensive.

Bradford Smith did not know - but surely suspected - that he had been sent on a mission that amounted to suicide.In order to better stabilize the South Korean troops, General Douglas MacArthur had no other way but to issue this order.His intention was to quickly airlift troops in, forming a resistance core around which South Korean troops could mass.He hoped that by "demonstrative displays of strength, the enemy will be persuaded that I have at my disposal a strong reserve force in excess of what I have already sent".Smith's task was to delay the North Korean advance as much as possible, allowing MacArthur to buy time to commit the rest of General Dean's 24th Division to North Korea.The 1st Cavalry Division and 25th Infantry Division would follow (although formal approval for the use of the other divisions would be several days away).

These units will be combined to form a new force organization, the U.S. Army Eighth Army in Korea, or EUSAK for short.After the end of the war, the Eighth Army has always been the main force of the Army in Japan, and now it will take on the heavy responsibility of fighting in Korea. Lieutenant General Walton Harris Walker, who had served as the commander of the group army since 8, entered North Korea to command operations.Walker has a reputation as one of the best field generals in the U.S. Army.He was a stocky build, often troubled by his bucket-like ribcage that kept expanding toward his waist.He has the rough, wrinkled face of a "plainsman" back home in Texas, and he speaks with a strong Texas accent.He served as a tank officer during World War II and was known for his fierceness. General George S. Patton often called him "my best bastard boy".In peacetime, Walker loved what was in the glass, and his old comrades in the Army called him "John Walker," after his favorite whiskey. (Walker left his whiskey bottle in Japan. During his months in North Korea, his landline pilot, Capt. Eugene "Mike" Lynch, was with him every day, Lynch said: "I never Didn't see the general drinking, not even when we were both desperate for a sip.")
Walker was not a compassionate man, and neither was he with his subordinates.He considered newspaper reporters a useless drag in the war and told them so without a care, so the press had always turned against him while he was in Korea.He never flinched as a soldier, no one can compare with him. In September, at the critical moment when the North Koreans might break through the defenses of an American division, Walker summoned the division commander and said: "If the enemy breaks into Daegu, you will see me resisting in the streets, and I will bring a group of troops that I can trust. People fight with me, and you better prepare to do the same. Well, go back to your division and fight with the enemy!" Walker yelled at another lazy general, claiming that he didn't want to see that man return from the battlefield again, unless It was brought back in a coffin.In addition to wearing a .9 caliber automatic gun, he also carried a bursting shotgun, and ran around the battlefield in a jeep. "I'm not afraid of getting shot," he told one of his subordinates, "but these bastards don't want to plot against me."

In short, MacArthur sent a soldier to North Korea, this is a person who can "show strength with great fanfare".

For the men of Task Force Smith, however, MacArthur's strategic vision meant immediate physical suffering and command confusion.It took 75 miles from Wood Barracks to Banfu, and it took 5 hours. The heavy rain continued on the road, and the soldiers were all drenched when they climbed out of the truck.General William Dean greeted Smith with worrying news.He didn't even know the exact location of the South Korean Army Command, which conflicting reports from the field put it at "somewhere between Seoul and Suwon."Dean had his own problems.He wanted to gather all the personnel of the 24th Division and distribute them by truck to six nearby Japanese ports, but there were no ships there to transport the troops to North Korea.Frustrated, Dean gave Smith an order that was exemplary in its brevity:

After you arrive in Busan, head towards Daejeon.We intend to intercept the North Koreans as far as possible from Busan.Block major highways as far north as possible.Get in touch with General Church, the commander of the advance team already in North Korea.If you can't find him, go to Daejeon; if you can, keep driving north.Sorry, I don't have much more to say, that's all I know.Good luck and God bless you and your soldiers.

There are only 6 C-54 transport aircraft at their disposal.Less than 40 minutes after Smith arrived, the first plane was loaded and immediately lifted into the air.The second plane took off a few minutes later, but when the two planes flew, they found that there was thick fog over the small runway of Busan Airport, and they could not land, so they had to return to Japan.The sky cleared later, and around 11:[-] a.m., the first U.S. combat troops set foot on North Korean soil.

Church's advance team assembled 100 assorted North Korean trucks and other vehicles to transport Task Force Smith from the airport to Pusan ​​Railway Station, 17 miles away, where they would take a train to Daejeon.

Ordinary people in North Korea either don't understand or don't want to pay attention to the seriousness of the situation in the North.Thousands of ordinary people stand on the streets, creating a festive atmosphere.They were jubilant, holding flags, banners and posters, and waving to the American soldiers.There was even an oriental brass band at the train station.Task Force Smith was about to be driven off on an impossible mission, but the music and cheers of the cheering crowd rang to the ears of the bewildered and nervous dying young soldiers.

Angry Syngman Lee

But even as Task Force Smith pushed north to meet the invaders, political turmoil could bring the war to a sudden and ignominious end, before MacArthur even had time to "pop out with great fanfare" on the battlefield. Show strength".

From a political point of view, the problem still lies with the turbulent President Rhee.On Saturday morning, he angrily berated Harold Noble, a U.S. embassy diplomat assigned to stay at Syngman Rhee's exile residence in Daejeon.Syngman Rhee was furious, saying that he had listened to the words of Ambassador Mu Qiao and "the great God MacArthur", as well as the various wishes of the President of the United States, and they all betrayed him.What can be used to prevent the Communist Party from attacking?nothing.Li spoke for an hour at a stretch.The communists soon appeared on the streets of Daejeon, and he was reluctant to run away again.If he dies in Daejeon, so be it.Fleeing further south would only bring him greater humiliation.

To Noble's dismay, Mrs. Lee also agreed with her husband this time, and in the past when the president was furious, she often played a calming role.She and her husband would rather die in the face of the enemy without fear than live forever. Their actions will inspire the future Koreans to fight and re-establish an independent republic.Noble argued that he was "against this acceptance of failure, and against fatalistic begging for death," and that Rhee had no right to do whatever he wanted, and that he had a responsibility to save his people.

Noble was relieved by the arrival of two South Korean cabinet officials who agreed with Noble.Noble had a private conversation with Mrs. Lee.He said her husband was better off staying on as leader than dying like a trapped animal.Li Chengman finally agreed.He would continue to retreat south, away from the edge of the North Korean attack.

smith ready to fight

On Sunday morning, just as Rhee and Noble left Daejeon, the weary Task Force Smith arrived in the city, climbing off the train with their heavy rucksacks in their hands.At this moment, the mentality of the soldiers is: they don't care what they will be sent to do in the next half day.As long as the land under their feet is still there, they will occupy it. As for what to do in the future, let's worry about it then.

Meanwhile, Bradford Smith was meeting with General Church for the first time.Church, who had suggested a few days earlier to exchange 100 New York police officers for the entire South Korean Army, still seemed to think that the presence of a handful of white soldiers could undo the losses of a few days.Pointing to Osan, a small town 80 miles north on the map, he pointed to Smith with his pointer: "There hasn't been any fighting here yet. We just need to send some men there who won't run away when they see tanks. We You will be sent there to support South Korean troops and give them a boost of morale."

Smith felt that the situation could be more complicated.He listened politely to Church and borrowed some jeeps.In this way, he and his officers could survey the terrain of their area of ​​operations.

Smith drove north along the main highway on the west coast of North Korea, which led north from Daejeon to Suwon and Seoul, and was the most threatening North Korean offensive route.The Achilles' heel of the North Koreans appears to be the issue of supplies.Their tanks and infantry columns can only travel 4 to 8 miles a day, and then stop to wait for fuel and ammunition from the rear.

Bradford Smith considered finding an ambush point.He chose the road just south of Suwon Airport, about 3 miles north of the small town of Osan.Looking from south to north, the road crosses a low saddle-shaped hill, then goes straight down the mountain, and then suddenly turns to Suwon.The rolling hills straddle the road at an excellent angle, perfect for infantry positioning and observation posts, and provide a panoramic view of the 8 miles of rail and road to Suwon.

Bradford Smith selected his position and roughly marked it on the battle map.Task Force Smith would be entrenched here, and if not able to stop the North Korean advance, hopefully delay them.

Meanwhile, the rest of Task Force Smith moved slowly north by train, awaiting orders from Lieutenant Colonel Smith to deploy and arrest the North Koreans at his designated location.Wherever they passed, there was chaos, civilians and soldiers fled south along the embankment.At noon they had witnessed the accidental misery of which the first weeks of the war were full of chaos and misery.

A northbound train with nine ammunition carriages stopped at Pyeongtaek, a small town about 9 miles south of Suwon.The driver is waiting for instructions.He didn't know where the North Koreans were advancing, and he didn't want his precious cargo to fall into enemy hands.Pilots of four Royal Australian Air Force fighter jets on their first combat missions since entering the war under UN leadership spotted the stalled train.The planes didn't know their bearings, and without any ground guidance, the Australians thought they had spotted a perfect North Korean target.Six times they roared over the station in tight formation, firing rockets and machine-gunning the trains.The train, the station, and most of Pyeongtaek Town were wiped out in a sudden explosion and fire, and hundreds of people were also killed.The explosion of ammunition continued all night.The train carrying the Smith Task Force slowly passed through Pyeongtaek on the auxiliary track. The Americans watched the corpses strewn all over the place, silently thinking about the battle they were about to join.

Similar incidents occurred elsewhere that day, largely due to a lack of communication between ground forces and U.S. and other aircraft in the air.Near Suwon, American planes strafed a column of South Korean tanks.Furious, South Korean troops fired rifles into the air and forced a wounded plane to crash-land, only to have an embarrassing American pilot as their "captive."A U.S. military adviser in Suwon insisted that on July 7, "friendly" aircraft attacked the base no less than five times.A few days later, the officer wrote to his friend: "The guys who fly the planes really showed their skills! They attacked friendly ammunition dumps, Suwon Airport runway, trains, mobile columns and South Korean Army Command On another occasion, American pilots strafed along the Suwon-Osan Highway, 3 South Korean trucks were shot and caught fire, killing more than 5 soldiers.

General Church angrily asked General Strattermeyer to rein in his overzealous airmen, and he demanded that the air strikes be confined to the north of the Han River area.Stratmeyer agrees.

(End of this chapter)