Word: wonju
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...Horseshoe. The same was true of Wonju, in the frigid uplands of central Korea. For 16 days, the U.S. 2nd Division (in which a French and a Dutch battalion had been incorporated) had held a horseshoe salient just south of the town, from which the allied force could rake it with artillery. Early last week, Eighth Army Headquarters announced that the salient was being given up in order to shorten and straighten the allied line. The withdrawal was carried out under artillery and air protection which prevented enemy interference...
...fear that its supply line to Pusanand its possible line of retreatmight be cut off, especially since U.N. forces in the central mountains were bravely and skillfully holding the Reds back from mountain passes that meant access to the plains north of Pusan. Below Wonju, the U.S. and Division, aided by French and Dutch battalions, held on. In the first counterattack since the fall of Seoul, they fought back briefly into the town, withdrew under small-arms fire...
...rest of the week the battle below Wonju was a seesaw. Several times Hill 247, a half-mile-long crest two miles south of the town, changed hands. One day, 6,000 screaming North Koreans drove the doughfeet off the hill, set up mortars on it and poured fire on nearby U.S. positions. After artillery and air attacks had silenced the enemy mortars, the Americans retook the hill. They abandoned it again after dark, without a fight...
...Difficult Art. While Seoul was falling, the enemy had pushed down the central mountains toward Wonju. Despite MacArthur's statement that vast numbers of Chinese were in the area, the local U.S. commander found himself confronted by only four "well-equipped and well-fed" North Korean divisions, but they were quite enough to give him trouble. Wonju was defended by the U.S. 2nd Division (which had taken a terrible beating in the Chinese November offensive), plus French, Dutch and South Korean units. They were supplied by airdrop from C-119s ("Flying Boxcars") and smaller transports which landed...
Four R.O.K. regiments, which had been mauled in the fighting farther north, found themselves cut off by an enemy roadblock. U.S. units broke up the roadblock, and the South Koreans got through to the Allied lines. Wonju was then attacked on three sides by the determined North Koreans, and seemed about to fall when an Allied counterattack saved it temporarily. Twenty-four hours later, the U.N. forces abandoned the town...