Southern Africa in Crisis: Regional and International Responses Book

At the end of November, 1950, the U.S. 8th Army was defeated by Chinese Communist Forces along the Chongchon River in the northwestern part of orth Korea. Military intelligence failed to detect that a significant number of Chinese Communist Forces had already crossed into North Korea from Manchuria. The rough terrain hampered communication among U.S. forces. That, coupled with some poor decisions, led to a series of isolated small unit actions on both sides of the Chongchon River. Some of these actions were Chinese victories and some were U.S. victories. Strategically, however, the 8th Army was in danger of being cut up & defeated in detail.

U.S. forces also failed to detect that the Chinese in division strength surrounded one of the main retreat routes, culminating in a pass, which became known as "The Gauntlet." Wrecked vehicles became roadblocks. Losses in the U.S. 2nd Division varied depending on where you were in the column of vehicles. Those in the front of the column fared better than those strung out towards the rear.

U.S. forces hadn't yet learned how best to fight the Chinese Communist Forces, who liked to launch their attacks at night. U.S. forces learned by accident (grass fires and huts catching on fire) that illuminating the attacking Chinese at night was a key to success. These lessons were eventually passed along to other soldiers as developing doctrine.

Marshall specialized in interviewing soldiers shortly after the action and telling the story on a small unit, even individual, scale. His stories of individual heroics, cowardice, successes & failures are gripping.

One plus of this book is the glossary of military terms for weapons and other equipment. I found the maps to be rather crude but they helped illustrate the events in the story.

On the minus side is Marshall's often racist language (this book was written in 1953). He treats the performance of African-American soldiers with respect, but his choice of words makes unnecessary racial distinctions. Also he frequently refers to South Korean troops as ROKs and Chinese Communist Forces as "gooks." If you can overlook these flaws, this book tells a story that should be told about a largely overlooked episode in what has been called "The Forgotten War."