Soldiers and Marines Saga, page 13
“I kill many Chinese, my father be so proud.”
Kim’s labor companies are responsible for carrying off our casualties and distributing supplies. He assured me that Lieutenant Kim and his Koreans have come around from their relatively safe positions on the south side of the hill and are already on the job, and that he, of course, is there to make sure of them before he returns to the front line to kill more Chinese. Then he rushed out.
Did he actually skip for joy as he went out the door?
******
Our phone lines to Seoul were still out, so I radioed a report in clear to Talley. He and I had agreed earlier that anything we radio to each other in clear will only be stuff the Chinese already know about and will accurately describe the situation, but only contain deliberately misleading information about conditions on the hill, and our intentions.
The Chinese know we have devastated their attack, so when Talley comes on the line I described the Chinese attack as accurately as I could, without mentioning the stupidity of the Chinese commander. But then I said that my company had taken many casualties and was running out of ammunition, but that we would hold them off as long as possible.
In fact, we are, sure as hell, bigger than a company, and our casualties are unexpectedly light. Three are killed and five are wounded. Two of our wounded have really serious head wounds from rounds that came through the firing gaps in their sandbags. They’ll be evacuated on the breeches buoy line as soon as it gets dark. Spinelli will have a team take them off the line on the other side of the river.
Spinelli can do it because, about a week ago, he set up an extremely dangerous “breeches buoy” outpost on the south side of the river commanded by a newly frocked Lieutenant de Croup-Crank and manned by about two dozen volunteers from the firebase. The new lieutenant and his men are dug in with automatic weapons and a lot of ammunition at the base of the evacuation line, but their main protection is from Candelaria’s men, and from our mortar positions up on the south side of 817. The good news is that we’ll have phone contact with de Croup-Crank until the two landlines connecting us get knocked out.
Yeah, his name really is de Croup-Crank and he really is a steady Brit. Apparently he took a job in New York as soon as he finished his military service in Britain, and we immediately drafted him.
After a while I send Ira and Barney to the position next door to get some sleep and try to get some myself. I tell the relief guy, I’m so tired I can’t remember his name, not to wake me unless it is really important, and instantly fall asleep.
Got to get his name was my last thought.
******
A light snow fell all night, and the next morning the Chinese dead were just white lumps on the ground. There were marks in the snow where some of the Chinese wounded had crawled away.
Both observation posts reported in as soon as the sun came up. The news is not good. More and more Chinese are gathering on the other side of the hills near us. Worse, the road from the north is full of Chinese vehicles and it includes tanks and truck-drawn artillery.
Shit. How did they get over the border and down here so quick?
This time Ira gets through on the land line and Talley himself comes on to get my report. He was friendly and overly encouraging.
It’s almost as if General Talley feels guilty about something. Wonder why.
I quickly briefed General Talley on the attack and the tanks—and pleaded for air support to take out the Chinese tanks and vehicles. Then I mentioned that I thought Major Hart performed heroically leading the rear guard during the retreat, and deserves serious recognition for it.
General Talley said he’ll try to get some air on the Chinese and that Hart will be taken care of immediately. I told him that if there is a choice he should have the air concentrate on the Chinese artillery; we can take care of the tanks ourselves.
He asked me how things are going with the Marines and South Koreans. I told him the Marines did great and that Captain Kim got off on killing Chinese. He said his father would really be pleased.
“No surprise there,” said Talley, “his father was an officer in the Japanese Army and fought against the Chinese and us.”
No shit? I’m astonished.
“Really? I didn’t know that General. I’m surprised. Really surprised.”
“It’s true,” the general explained, “turns out that the senior ROK officers were all in the Japanese army and the senior North Koreans were all in the Chinese and Russian armies. They hate each other. For them, this is just another battle in a war that started many years ago.”
I am now truly astonished.
“I never heard that before, Sir. When this thing is over, and I have the time, I’m going to have to do some serious reading, maybe go back to school for a while, if I stay in and the army will let me.”
“Good idea, Guns. In fact it’s a great idea. Hold that thought and hang in there. Out.”
Japanese officers? They’ve got tanks? Well it’s time to visit the recoilless teams.
******
More and more Chinese continued to gather in front of us, according to our two observers. I needed to make a decision. Should I have Spinelli hit them with the artillery or should I keep the artillery quiet and play the infantry company card again?
Fuck it. We’ll keep the artillery up our sleeve and see if we can sucker them in again.
“Ira, send out an officers’ call. We’ll meet in the northside mess tent in thirty minutes.”
******
“Okay everybody listen up.”
It is only the second time we’ve all been together in the same place. And it once again surprised me to find myself in command of more than forty officers. I told them we’re going to try to sucker the Chinese again. The mortars are to stay silent except for the same two as last time.
“Rosie, you watch closely, but don’t turn the rest of your mortars loose unless you hear from me, or the Chinese actually start to get through our fifty yard wire and it looks like our first line is about to be overrun.” He nodded.
“Teddy,” I say to Hammond, “the same for the Porks and Shermans. Try to keep the Chinese from seeing where they are for as long as possible. Don’t roll them up into their firing positions unless you see tanks, or the Chinese are about to break into our lines.
“They’ll probably come at us with tanks this time, Teddy, so tell your guys to stay quiet and hidden until they can get a really clean shot. But as soon as your boys can get a really clean shot, they should move up and take it, even if the Chinese tanks aren’t close.
“Same with the recoilless teams. They are not to use their recoilless rifles until they get a real good shot at a tank. Then they are to take it. Every shot has got to count.
“Now listen carefully,” I said pointing my finger in the air, “and pass this word to every single man: Today we’re going to continue to pretend to be a single company just like we did yesterday except that there’s going to be a lot more Chinese.
“So we’re gonna start out by doing exactly what we did last time. Same mortars, same six BARs and two 30s and same single rifle shots from the designated shooters on the first line.
“Every single one of your men needs to know two things and be able to explain them back to you,” I said holding up one finger, “when he is to fire with his weapon on automatic” and then, holding up a second finger, “who he is to shoot at.
“First, since we want them to think we’re only a desperate rifle company the designated shooters can fire single shots at any time at anyone with their designated weapons.”
As I’ve told everyone over and over, for as long as possible we want the Chinese to think they are only facing a single rifle company. We want them to charge right in to overrun it.
“Second, everyone else is to wait until the Chinese start to get through the fifty yard wire in front of them… Through it, Goddamn it, make sure your men understand that….only when the Chinese actually start to get through the fifty yard wire, and only then, can everyone start using their automatic weapons.
“And when everyone who has been laying low does start firing, the job of the guys in the third and fourth line positions is to kill the Chinese follow-on guys who will still be way out there,… so they can’t get away to regroup. The job of the positions in the first and second lines is to take out the up close Chinese and then those in the middle.”
Then I raised both hands and gestured out towards the Chinese. My left hand close to my chest and my right hand extended.
“Here come the Chinese and here’s what we want.”
The officers pay rapt attention. Some are leaning forward. They’ve all heard it more than once, but today it’s going to be for real so they’re hearing it again.
Slowly moving my left hand away from my chest I say “the men in the first and second line positions cut them down front to back; then slowly moving my right hand back towards my chest at the same time I say, “the third and fourth line guys cut them down back to front.”
And I sure as hell hope this works or we are really and truly up shit creek.
I tried to keep it really simple but there were questions, and good ones at that.
“Yeah Teddy, once a Sherman or Pork reveals itself by shooting it’s okay for its machine guns to join in.
“Yeah, once they get through the fifty yard wire, and everyone opens up, the Shermans and Porks should too. And since they’ve got fifties with more range, they should use tracers and concentrate on working the most distant Chinese they can reach, unless the Chinese get into our first line. Leave the closer ones for the weapons with less range.
“No. You keep the flares up over the battlefield, and also way out there where they are forming.
“You got it. I’ll give the order if the rest of your mortars are needed and where they should concentrate their fire. You keep them ready to go on a moment’s notice. But keep them quiet, unless I’m not around, or you’re fairly certain we’ll be overrun without them.”
Then I smiled and raised my eyebrows.
“We want your mortars to be our little surprise for the next time they’re dumb enough to attack us.”
Some of the guys grinned.
There were a lot of questions before we broke up, but it isn’t the first time we’ve gone through it, and I think everyone here understands the plan. It’s the NCOs and their men I’m concerned about.
I damn sure hope they get it or a lot of our guys are gonna get killed.
Chapter Nineteen
There’s been scattered shooting and sniping all morning. The Chinese obviously have pushed observers and skirmishers forward to try to find out more about our positions. About one o’clock the Chinese start dropping serious amounts of mortar rounds on us. It got real intense for about thirty minutes, and then it leveled off to be sporadic.
Our mortars didn’t respond and we all hunkered down and waited. The initial reports were that the steel roofs over the fighting positions were working. There were a few casualties from the mortars but not hardly as many as the Chinese would think by looking at all the explosions.
Our observation posts were now staying on the line and reporting in constantly. Both of the observers report that four or five times as many Chinese were being assembled as last time.
Terry One estimated thirty thousand or more; Terry Two estimated forty-thousand plus. And they both reported twenty or thirty tanks. We have the coordinates for their various staging areas so this time I turned Spinelli loose.
We couldn’t see the results but we can sure hear the artillery rounds going over. Give’em hell, Tony. The observers got all excited. They reported lots of hits and were continually phoning in corrections which we relayed to Spinelli on the landline. The Chinese formations finally began scattering. They didn’t expect to be hit so early, or so accurately, and they obviously didn’t have a plan for what to do if it happened.
******
We expected an attack to follow the mortar barrage, but it didn’t happen. What does happen, after a couple of hours, is that the Chinese artillery began dropping counter-battery fire on Spinelli. The firebase took some pretty good hits, but continued to pound the two Chinese assembly areas. Then our observers spotted the Chinese batteries, and Spinelli switched to pounding the Chinese artillery.
About dusk it all died away. The Chinese assembly areas have been emptied and maybe, just maybe, knock on wood, the Chinese artillery batteries have used up all their ammunition.
Captain Kim reported that his men have evacuated seven KIA and eighteen wounded to the aid station on the south side of 817, and are in the process of sending those who’ve been stabilized across the river. Hart and Murphy quickly replaced our losses in the first two lines with men from further up on the hill.
Kim lost three KIA from his troops and six wounded. None of his Chogi laborers were casualties. They’d been on the south side of the hill, and weren’t called to duty until the shooting stopped.
Two positions in the second line that had been totally destroyed by the Chinese mortars were in the process of being quickly rebuilt. Did the steel roofs fail? No one knows. When I get a chance, I’m going to go down to see for myself.
Spinelli and his men ended up suffering the most casualties even though most of the Chinese artillery counter-battery barrage landed outside his perimeter. He lost eighteen KIA and fifty-six wounded out of his 986 men. Two of his 105s were damaged and he lost nine deuce and a halfs and a couple of Jeeps. He reported that his wounded and the wounded we’d sent over earlier on the breeches buoy line were already on their way to Pusan.
“Watch out,” I warned Tony. “You hit them really hard and now they know where you are. You should expect some of their infantry to walk over on the river ice and hit you sometime soon. It’ll probably start with an artillery barrage to keep your heads down, but don’t count on it.”
“We’re ready, Guns. It’s getting hit by their damn tanks that I’m really worried about.” And everything else.
“You sure you got enough flares?” I asked. He said he does.
And then I told him one of my concerns.
“I’m concerned about de Croup Crank’s position at the end of the breeches buoy line. I’m going to wait until it gets dark to evacuate our seriously wounded over to him. Hopefully, the Chinese won’t spot them going over and close our evacuation route. Keep me posted, okay?”
Better the Chinese never find it. If they do we’ll have to keep our wounded here.
“You can count on it, Guns. We’ll be okay as long as you can keep the tanks from crossing. I don’t think the river ice has gotten thick enough to support armor, but when it does, we could be in deep shit.”
Our flares continued intermittently all night long, and so did Spinelli’s. But there was nothing from the Chinese. Apparently they were regrouping.
Nothing happened the next day either. It was unexpected and nerve-racking.
Months later a Chinese prisoner of war told us a lucky hit from Spinelli’s artillery killed the Chinese commander and his deputy standing next to him. So the Chinese troops had to stand outside in their ranks, and take frostbite casualties from the bitter cold, while they waited for Peking to appoint a new commander.
******
Two days later the Chinese finally came up with a plan. The various different Chinese divisions formed up in the dark, out way beyond our flares and observers, and then marched towards 817. They began hitting us before daybreak with massive division-strength human wave attacks.
But it was all uncoordinated. Each division apparently marched from its assembly point and attacked on its own. Maybe they were all supposed to arrive at the same time and attack at the same time, but it sure didn’t work that way. They came in waves instead. Thank you, Jesus.
“Lieutenant Goolby in Terry One estimates division strength Chinese infantry entering artillery range. Coordinates 371 463. Proceeding SW at walking pace.”
“Terry One estimates division strength Chinese infantry entering artillery range. Coordinates 369 462. Proceeding SE at walking pace.”
“Guns, Billy Joe in Terry Two estimates two divisions of infantry entering artillery range. Coordinates 369 462. He says they are on foot proceeding due south in two big columns.”
Even better for us, once the Chinese got inside the range of our artillery and flares the observers could see them even though we cannot, and were able to call Spinelli’s artillery in on them. Tony hit them with everything he had, which wasn’t all that much, compared to the number of targets. It was bad for Tony but good for 817; it again drew Chinese counterbattery fire.
“Roger, on the way.”
Ira was manning the phones and could see the big picture—he knew the Chinese had artillery and was getting really upset and worried. And so am I but I sure as hell can’t show it.
“My God, Guns, they’ve got artillery and there are so many of them. Do you think we can we hold them?”
“Sure Ira, we’ve got the bastards by the balls.”
At least I hope so. But I sure don’t want the guys thinking we’re gonna be overrun. If they panic, and start trying to hide or run, we’ll be overrun for sure.
I felt a bit guilty about ordering Spinelli to fire. It will draw attention to him instead of to the hill. I knew it when I ordered him to fire. And so did Tony. But he understood and didn’t complain; we can hold them at 817 until they hit us with artillery. Besides, he is both the only diversion I have available and the only way I can reduce their artillery capacity, unless we get some air support.
My calculation was simple: We might be able to hold the Chinese without Spinelli’s artillery; he cannot possibly hold them without us. And they had to be held.
It was an easy decision. But I agonized over it.
******
The first Chinese attacks started before dawn, just after 4am. It was as bright as day with all the flares we were sending up. I watched from my post near the top of the hill. It was exciting and I was fascinated.
Ira and Scott, the radiomen on duty, were sending almost constant contact and action reports to Seoul as one division-size group of Chinese after another formed up and charged with lots of cheers, bugles, and flags waving.
