Imjin River 1951

Imjin River 1951
Author: Brian Drohan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 97
Release: 2018-10-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472826906

After China's November 1950 intervention in the war and the subsequent battle of the Chosin Reservoir, UN forces faced a new onslaught in the spring of 1951 with over 350,000 veteran troops attacking along the Imjin River. The US 3rd Infantry Division took the brunt of the attack along with the attached British 29th Infantry Brigade which included the Gloucestershire Regiment (the “Glosters”). The heroic defence of the American and British forces would pass into legend, most especially the doomed effort of the Glosters, as they sought to buy time for the rest of the UN forces to regroup and organise an effective defence of Seoul, the South Korean capital city. Featuring full colour commissioned artwork, maps and first-hand accounts, this is the compelling story of one of the most epic clashes of the Korean War.

To The Last Round

To The Last Round
Author: Andrew Salmon
Publisher: Aurum
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2010-04-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 1845138317

NEW PAPERBACK EDITION ‘Salmon’s vivid use of recollections and dramatic quotes brings alive an unjustly forgotten conflict’ Time Out With even World War II now just on the edges of living memory, and with British forces now engaged in a lengthy, brutal and attritional old-fashioned war in Afghanistan, historical attention is starting to turn to the Korean War of the early 1950s. And remarkably, the most notorious and celebrated battle in that conflict, from a British point of view, has never previously been written about at length. Andrew Salmon’s book, which has garnered excellent reviews and sold out two hardback printings already, has filled that gap. This is the story of the Battle of the Imjin River, when the British 29th Infantry Brigade, and above all the “Glorious Glosters” of the Gloster Regiment, fought an epic last stand against the largest communist offensive of the war. It lasted three days, of bitter hand-to-hand combat. By the end of it one battalion of the Glosters – some 750 men – had been reduced to just 50 survivors. Andrew Salmon’s definitive history, which gained excellent reviews in hardback and sold very steadily, is very much in the Antony Beevor mould: accessible, pacy, narrative, and painting a moving and exciting picture through the extensive use of eyewitness accounts of veterans, of whom he has tracked down and interviewed dozens. Andrew Salmon is a Seoul-based journalist who writes for The Times, The Washington Times, and Forbes magazine. He first became fascinated by the battle in 2001 when he met British veterans returning to the Imjin River to mark the 50th anniversary.

Captured at the Imjin River

Captured at the Imjin River
Author: David Green
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2003-12-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1844683729

The author, a young conscript, fought with The Glorious Glosters at the legendary Imjin River battle. Heavily outnumbered by the Chinese and subjected to 'human-wave' infantry attacks, he and his colleagues suffered the trauma of being overrun and the vast majority of those who were not killed became POWs. This serious reverse of fortunes shocked postwar Britain but the bravery of the Battalion caught the public's imagination. The inhuman treatment suffered at their captors' hands by the survivors, including the author, has possibly never been fully realized. This memoir written from the perspective of a fighting soldier will surely bring home some most unpalatable truths.

The Imjin and Kapyong Battles, Korea, 1951

The Imjin and Kapyong Battles, Korea, 1951
Author: Paul MacKenzie
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2013-03-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 0253009081

The sacrifice of the "Glorious Glosters" in defense of the Imjin River line and the hilltop fights of Australian and Canadian battalions in the Kapyong Valley have achieved greater renown in those nations than any other military action since World War II. This book is the first to compare in depth what happened and why. Using official and unofficial source material ranging from personal interviews to war diaries, this study seeks to disentangle the mythology surrounding both battles and explain why events unfolded as they did. Based on thorough familiarity with all available sources, many not previously utilized, it sheds new light on fighting "the forgotten war."

Korean War—Imjin River

Korean War—Imjin River
Author: Gerry van Tonder
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Total Pages: 203
Release: 2020-05-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1526778149

An in-depth look at the disastrous consequences of misjudgment and impulsiveness by the United States during the Korean War. As of October 1950, a quarter of a million Communist Chinese troops, in twenty-seven divisions, had poured across the Yalu River into North Korea, with the singular objective of forcing General Douglas MacArthur’s United Nations troops back across the 38th Parallel and into the Sea of Japan. Shortly before midnight on April 22, 1951, to the west of the U.S. Eighth Army’s defensive front, the Chinese Sixty-third Army fell on the British 29th Brigade. On the left flank, the 1st Battalion, Gloucester Regiment (“Glosters”) held a tenuous position at a ford on the Imjin River. Despite a gallant defense, the battalion was pushed back to make a desperate but futile stand on Hill 235. On what became known as “Glosters’ Hill,” the battalion ceased to exist. It was subsequently estimated that the attacking force of 27,000 Chinese troops suffered 10,000 casualties, forcing the Chinese army to be withdrawn from the front. From August 1951 to the summer of 1952, the USAF conducted Operation Strangle in a futile and costly attempt to disrupt Chinese supply routes. In the last two years of fighting, Communist Chinese and UN forces faced each other from well-entrenched positions in hilly terrain, where mapped hill numbers were contested. From June 1952 to March 1953, a series of five hard-fought engagements took place in central Korea as the antagonists sought ownership of Hill 266, commonly referred to as “Old Baldy.” This was followed during April–July 1953 by two tactically pointless battles over Pork Chop Hill, in which the UN forces won the first battle and the Chinese the second, with both sides sustaining major casualties. On July 27, 1953, the two belligerents signed an armistice agreement, implementing a ceasefire that stands to this day. De facto, the Korean War has never ended.

Yalu River 1950–51

Yalu River 1950–51
Author: Clayton K. S. Chun
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 97
Release: 2020-02-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 147283724X

Following the Inchon landings and the breakout from the Pusan Perimeter, UN forces crossed the North Korean border on 9 October and moved on the capital Pyongyang. Many in America believed the war would be over by Christmas, but some Washington diplomatic, military, and intelligence experts continued to raise dire warnings that the People's Republic of China might intervene. Nevertheless, General MacArthur decided to push on to the Chinese/North Korean border, the Yalu River. On 25 October, Communist Chinese Forces unexpectedly attacked Republic of Korea forces near Unsan. Then, on 25 November, the day after MacArthur announced a 'final offensive to end the war', the Chinese 13th Army Group struck in mass against the Eighth Army in the north-west corner of North Korea, overrunning the US 2nd and 25th Infantry Divisions. The Chinese attacks quickly shattered Truman's dream of a unified Korea. American, UN, and ROK forces could not hold a successful defensive line against the combined CCF and NKPA attacks. At the Chosin Reservoir, US Marine Corps and Army units retreated south whilst MacArthur's forces withdrew from Pyongyang and X Corps later pulled out of Hungnam. Using expert research, bird's-eye views, and full-colour maps, this study tells the fascinating history of the critical Yalu campaign, including the famous retreat past the 38th Parallel.

Korean War - Imjin River

Korean War - Imjin River
Author: Gerry van Tonder
Publisher: Cold War
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2020-08-19
Genre:
ISBN: 9781526778130

As of October 1950, a quarter of a million Communist Chinese troops, in twenty-seven divisions, had poured across the Yalu River into North Korea, with the singular objective of forcing General Douglas MacArthur's United Nations troops back across the 38th Parallel and into the Sea of Japan.Shortly before midnight on 22 April 1951, to the west of the US Eighth Army's defensive front, the Chinese Sixty-third Army fell on the British 29th Brigade. On the left flank, the 1st Battalion, Gloucester Regiment ('Glosters') held a tenuous position at a ford on the Imjin River. Despite a gallant defence, the battalion was pushed back to make a desperate but futile stand on Hill 235. On what became known as 'Glosters' Hill', the battalion ceased to exist. It was subsequently estimated that the attacking force of 27,000 Chinese troops suffered 10,000 casualties, forcing the Chinese army to be withdrawn from the front.From August 1951 to the summer of 1952, the USAF conducted Operation Strangle in a futile and costly attempt to disrupt Chinese supply routes. In the last two years of fighting, Communist Chinese and UN forces faced each other from well-entrenched positions in hilly terrain, where mapped hill numbers were contested. From June 1952 to March 1953, a series of five hard-fought engagements took place in central Korea as the antagonists sought ownership of Hill 266, commonly referred to as 'Old Baldy'. This was followed during April-July 1953 by two tactically pointless battles over Pork Chop Hill, in which the UN forces won the first battle and the Chinese the second, with both sides sustaining major casualties. On 27 July 1953, the two belligerents signed an armistice agreement, implementing a ceasefire that stands to this day. De facto, the Korean War has never ended.

The Edge of the Sword

The Edge of the Sword
Author: Anthony Farrar-Hockley
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 371
Release: 2007-11-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1473819229

An account of the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, at the Battle of Imjin River during the Korean War and the survivors’ captivity in a POW camp. In April 1951, at the height of the Korean War, Chinese troops advanced south of the 38th parallel towards a strategic crossing-point of the Imjin River on the invasion route to the South Korean capital of Seoul. The stand of the 1st Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment, against the overwhelming numbers of invading troops has since passed into British military history. In The Edge of the Sword General, Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, then Adjutant of the Glosters, has painted a vivid and accurate picture of the battle as seen by the officers and soldiers caught up in the middle of it. The book does not, however, end there. Like the majority of those who survived, the author became a prisoner-of-war, and the book continues with a remarkable account of his experiences in and out of Chinese prison camps. This book is not an attempt at a personal hero-story, and it is certainly not a piece of political propaganda. It is, above all, an amazing story of human fortitude and high adventure.