One day in February 1951, McClair, the newly appointed commander of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, reported to Almond, commander of the 10th Army, that Almunel was furious when he saw McClair, who had a thick beard. Seeing that the other party's expression was not good, McClair knew that he would have a hard time under the boss in the future. The reason for all this has to start with the defeat of the First Marine Division to the Volunteer Army at Chosin Lake.
Almond (the gesturalist) was MacArthur's hardcore follower and had a similar personality
In the U.S. military, the army is not a permanent combat unit, but is temporarily formed according to the needs of wartime. The division under its command is a permanent combat unit of the US Army, and it is also the most basic combat unit. However, which divisions under the military jurisdiction can be adjusted at any time. For example, in the Battle of Chosin Lake, the US 10th Army had the 1st Marine Division and the 7th Infantry Division under its command, and it was this combination that made Smith, commander of the 1st Marine Division, and Almond, commander of the 10th Army, directly turn their faces.
Almond was MacArthur's hardcore minor follower, and his personality was the same as MacArthur's, arrogant and self-absorbed. After landing at Inchon, the 10th Army encountered little decent resistance, which made Almond even more blind. Out of the enthusiasm of returning home at Christmas and the mentality of competing with Walker for success, he ordered his troops to march as fast as they could to the Yalu River, completely ignoring the taboo of impatient and scattered troops.
Commander Smith (the man in the helmet) and Almont had an argument over the march
Just as the 7th Division and the puppet army arrived at the Yalu River as ordered, the First Marine Division was far behind, and Commander Smith was worried about Almond's deployment. The World War II veteran has always been known for his caution. Although intelligence showed no large force Chinese found, the soldier's intuition told him that Chinese was waiting for him somewhere ahead.
Almond was not ignorant of the possible Chinese ambush ahead, but after analyzing the intelligence, he believed that: First, this was only a small force sent by the Chinese to protect the Chosin Reservoir power station. Second, Chinese vulnerable. All his plans were based on these two points. So when Smith proposed to build an airstrip in Hakata to "replenish supplies and transport the wounded in wartime," Almond glared at him in disbelief and asked, "How can there be casualties?" ”
The First Marine Division did not obey Almont's orders, but fell far behind
But the airport was still repaired, and the contradiction between the two was semi-public by this time. Smith proved right, and on 27 November, in the midst of heavy snow, the Chinese Volunteers launched a fierce attack on the First Marine Division from both flanks. Smith said, "This is the most brutal battle the U.S. military has ever experienced."
On 30 November, while the 1st Marine Division was suffering a terrible battle, they took in 285 defeated soldiers who had fled from the eastern front of Chosin Lake, from the 31st Regiment of the 7th Division. Smith learned from them that Colonel McLean was dead, that his successor, Lieutenant Colonel Fiss, was dead, that the 31st Regiment of 3500 men was gone, and that only one of them was left. Smith weighed the terrible fighting power of his troops and the enemy, and he immediately ordered that all the wounded and corpses be loaded into the car and "attack south."
Under the blows of the Volunteer Army, the First Marine Division suffered an unprecedented defeat
The airstrip in Hagaru-ri played an irreplaceable role at this time, allowing more than 4,300 wounded to be evacuated by plane to Hingnam from here. The remaining troops also received a large number of supplies through this airfield, and the strong industrial capabilities of the United States made the Watergate Bridge a "bomb-incorruptible" bridge, and the 13 days of death and survival were rendered by the US military as an epic victory. But Smith knew in his heart that if it were not for Almond, the situation would not have deteriorated to this extent, and it was Smith's caution that saved the entire First Marine Division.
When Ridgway took over the Eighth Army, the first thing he did was to improve morale, kurt, the commander of the defeated Second Army, was dismissed, Milburn, the commander of the defeated First Army, was hollowed out, and the commander of the failed 10th Army, Almond, was no longer available. At least he's aggressive. But he was troubled by the report submitted by Division Commander Smith that demanded that he no longer be subject to Almond's temperance.
For Ridgway, who had just taken over the Eighth Army, a quick recovery of morale was a top priority
After much deliberation, Ridgway agreed to the request. To replenish the 10th Army, he placed the 2nd Infantry Division under the command of the 10th Army. The commander of the 2nd Division, Kaiser, had been dismissed due to the defeat in battle, and the new division commander, McClair, had no previous experience as a division commander, and how to improve the morale of the troops as soon as possible made him very moved.
After observation, he found that the Turkish brigades looked mighty and highly morale, because of their beautiful beards. So McClair grew his own beard, and the 2nd Division all grew beards. 2nd Division Staff Officer Carré recalled: He felt that the beard was more like a warrior, and asked the whole division to keep it, and everyone was very disgusted, this was not the Lincoln era.
In the second campaign, the Volunteers captured American prisoners
Almond, who had always liked to be neat and clean-shaved, when he saw McClair and his 2nd Division, he couldn't help but be disgusted, and all his disgust was written on his face, and he casually found a reason to dismiss McClair, who had only been the commander of the division for 37 days.
If Almond had remained in the 10th Army, it would have been a great help to the Volunteers on the Eastern Front, but after MacArthur was removed from office, no one tolerated his wayward nonsense, and almond was driven to the Army Military Academy just after the end of the Fifth Campaign. As soon as the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea ended, Almond retired early and became an insurance broker.