Give Me Tomorrow – Stories Never Told in the Korean War (2)

2 Big bets

In North Korea, after weeks of desperate fighting around shrinking Busan, america's large numbers of troops faced massacres of large numbers of North Korean troops. Outnumbered, facing 11 divisions of the Korean People's Army, it seemed possible for the troops to retreat in a Dunkirk-style manner.

The general MacArthur was in charge of the surrounding area was Lieutenant General Walton-H.W. Walker, also known as "Johnny" or "Bulldog." During World War II, Walker commanded the Corps to spearhead General George S.-Patton's advances in Western Europe. Now, faced with a numerical superiority and realizing that he didn't have enough personnel to maintain the depth of the defense, Walker used a small-scale counterattack strategy to counter the North Korean offensive, trying to buy space and time.

In a desperate struggle to hold the perimeter of Busan, MacArthur was boldly planning a massive counterattack. But he needs more people. His first request to the Joint Chiefs of Staff included the immediate deployment of a Marine Brigade. Shortly after the request was approved, MacArthur insisted to Marine Corps General Lemuel Shepard: "If I had the Marine Corps First Division, I would land here in Inchon and turn the tide of battle." "

Busan can't wait any longer: the situation is getting more and more desperate every day. To prevent an impending collapse, the United States hastily dispatched the Fifth Marine Corps. Known as the First Provisional Marine Brigade, the Marine Corps was used to plug the perimeter of loopholes, which Marine Brigadier General Edward Craig described as a leaking embankment. "We will be used to plug the holes they open. We are a brigade - a brigade of firepower - and we will engage in expensive battles with a large number of enemies. Craig said: "The Marine Corps has never lost a battle, and this brigade will not be the first to set such a precedent." Once ashore, the Marines plugged holes in the defensive line and repelled several North Korean offensives.

August 23, 1950, 5:30 p.m., the sixth floor of the freshman year in Tokyo, Japan.

General Douglas MacArthur stood in front of a huge map of North Korea, biting his trademark corncob pipe. On the afternoon of Aug. 23, MacArthur and U.S. commanders in the Far East gathered to discuss how to turn the tide in North Korea. The area around Busan can only be barely maintained, and it may be breached at any time.

With a sense of fate, MacArthur staged his most spectacular theatrical performance. Instinctively and intuitively, he set aside all arguments against the landing at Inchon. He speaks as a film actor in a slow voice with "deep resonance". Over the past hour, the Navy has briefed MacArthur on the near-impossible scenario of an amphibious landing at Inchon. There are only three possible landing dates, September 15, 17, and October 11, when the tide will be high enough for a landing craft to carry ashore. Otherwise, they will be trapped in the mud. The seawall also gave the defenders a tactical advantage. In addition, the offshore crescent island guards the passage to the port and must be seized hours before any landing, which reduces the surprise factor. Finally, the high tide occurred in the late afternoon, leaving less than three hours of daylight to attack the beachhead. They also assumed that the enemy would plant magnetic mines in the harbor.

MacArthur looked directly at Admiral Dole and the other top members of the Navy and said, "Admiral, in all these years of my military career, this is the best briefing I've ever received." Commander, you taught me all the knowledge I had ever dreamed of about tides. Did you know that in the First World War they sent our divisions to Europe through submarine-infested waters? From the shame of Bataan, I have a deep admiration for the Navy, which brought us back. With tears in his eyes, MacArthur continued: "I never thought that one day, the Navy would not be able to support the Army in combat."

MacArthur pulled his corncob pipe out of his mouth, emphatically emphasizing his point, "I could almost hear the second hand of fate ticking." We must act now or we will die. . We will land at Incheon, and I will crush them. "

MacArthur's forty-five-minute impromptu speech changed the minds of everyone present. Turner Joy, deputy commander of naval operations command, said, "Admiral, the Navy will send you to Inchon." "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3 Incheon

As the LVT sailed into a man-made dark cloud, the smoke mixed with the disgusting smell of cordyceps filled the air. A gust of wind blew away the smoke, and the soldiers gazed at a panorama like a Hollywood movie. Fighters dropped cans filled with napalm, while a nearby ship fired dozens of rockets into the intended landing zone. When bullets and shells fall into the water, splashing bubbles of light gush out.

"Hey, they're shooting at us!" A Green Reservist poked his head above AMTRAC's metal hull and said incredulously.

"Fucking head down!" A sergeant barked.

The crackling of small arms fire pierced the clamor of the battle, surpassing the muffled noise of the LVT engine working overtime to cut through the gray-blue waves. Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick tick Tick! Tick! Tick tick

A machine gun was aimed at the LVT mounted by machine gunner Jack Daniels: "Bullets bounced off the armor like hail; several mortars landed in nearby water," he recalled.

As the beachhead approached, a Marine nervously turned to a veteran and asked, "How is my M1 reloaded?" Arguably, the reservists were among the worst-trained men the Corps had ever had, but their spirit often compensated for their lack of training.

But at its core, George's Company was made up of veterans and officers like Zulo. Despite the constant challenges and opinions of the recruits, Zulo was "like a sphinx" – undaunted. For a moment, Zulo's mind briefly flashed to the amphibious attacks on Guadalcanal and Belleliu, where he barely survived. Suddenly, a bubble that had almost been knocked off pulled Zulo's mind back to the present, and LVT turned closer to the beach, and a large sea embankment appeared in front of them.

"Get the ladder ready!"

As the soldiers stabilized the crumbling two-by-four ladder they had built a few days earlier, the landing craft carrying George's Company swayed up and down. The men in the first row nudged the seawall. Bob Habra leaned the ladder against the wall and began a nerve-wracking climb.

bang!

A bullet flew past his ear, and the man carrying the ammunition slowly climbed up each rung of the ladder; he carried more than a hundred pounds of extra equipment on his back: two cans of machine gun ammunition on a plastic track tray, and two more cans of armor hanging around his neck, as well as grenades, carbines, and personal items.

Step by step, he climbed to the top of the ladder. He reached over the seawall and jumped over, and his watch shattered.