Page 70 - History of War - Issue 05-14

GREAT BATTLES: THE IMJIN RIVER

tumble out. To our anger and disappointment,
they drifted like dandelion seeds in the wind and A Chinese victim of
fell outside our perimeter.” The Northumberlands the fighting in Korea
were forced to throw tins of cheese at the
Chinese, hoping they would be mistaken for
grenades. The men were exhausted – unable
to sleep at night because of the continuous
assaults, during the day they were pounded
by mortars and pinned down by sniper fire from
the higher slopes.
Finally, on the night of 24-25 April, Brodie
got permission to withdraw. The commander of
the Royal Ulster Rifles was furious – his men
had repulsed all attacks and leaving the high
ground would place them at greater risk. He
was ill-informed about the rest of the brigade,
however: the Fusiliers were at the end of their
strength and the Glosters would experience
another night of vicious fighting, often hand-to-
hand. Carne himself led counter-attack after
counter-attack, but when Anthony Farrar Hockley
asked what he had been up to, he replied
vaguely, “Oh, just shooting away some Chinese.”
Smashed equipment
At 8am on the 25th, the Fusiliers began their through a Korean house to try to dislodge a told that there was no chance of relief. Carne
retreat; the Chinese looked down on them and Chinese soldier who was trying to get into his informed Brodie by radio, “What I must make
pressed home their attacks with increased turret hatch. The Colonel of the Fusiliers was clear to you is that my command is no longer
vigour. Deprived of sleep for up to 72 hours, killed as he retreated in his jeep; he had ignored an effective fighting force.” However, “If it is
the men stumbled in a trance down the road to a warning that the track was being swept by required that we stay here… we shall continue
the south. Some of the Ulsters held a crucial enemy fire, which was attracted by vehicles to hold.” He asked what had happened to the
defile through which they passed to relative in particular. It was a race between the British armoured column. The response was, “It isn’t
safety. The rest of the Ulsters and the Belgians on the road and the Chinese as they moved coming.” Carne now faced a decision: should
leap-frogged down the hill – one unit holding, across country and fired down upon them. he stay, surrender or attempt to break out?
the next withdrawing and setting up a position A US force had taken a blocking position across As he offered words of encouragement to his
further back, and so on. This is one of the the road and, as the last of the Centurions men, his adjutant, Farrar Hockley, ordered the
hardest manoeuvres in warfare and, slowly, the passed through it, word was passed that, drum major to respond to the endless Chinese
men lost their cohesion, with groups of infantry “Everybody’s come down who’s coming.” The bugling with his own. He was to play every call
making off down the hill towards the track to road behind them was strewn with bodies and he knew, “except retreat”. The drum major stood
the rear. It was now that the tank, which had smashed equipment, wrecked by their crews so to attention and played Reveille, Cookhouse,
had a very quiet war so far, finally came into its that they would be of no use to their enemies. Defaulters and Officers Dress For Dinner.
own. British Centurions sprayed the hillside with Another brief attempt was made that morning The final blow came at 9.30am, when Carne
their machine guns and main armament; others to rescue the Glosters. The US 65th Infantry was informed that the other battalions had now
ferried the wounded and exhausted fugitives Regiment moved into the defile that had halted withdrawn and the Chinese were so far behind
back down the road. Eventually, the Chinese the rescue mission the day before, but Chinese them that they threatened the artillery. The
rushed onto the road and threw themselves fire and the discovery that only the lightest 45th Field Regiment were going to have to pull
onto the hulls of the tanks; they turned their tanks could fit up the road meant that it had to out their guns. The importance of the artillery
guns on their fellow tanks to try to clear the be called off. The last hope for the beleaguered is brought into sharp relief by the fact that its
Chinese off, and one tank commander drove battalion was gone. The Glosters were finally removal made Carne’s decision easy for him.
It was absolutely impossible to survive where
they were without the British guns holding off
After fighting their way out of a the enemy. The night before, the Glosters had
Communist encirclement, British called in fire on their own positions. The men
soldiers of the 1st Battalion, had stayed low while shells exploded around
the Gloucestershire Regiment them, sending showers of shrapnel upwards
take up new defensive positions
and outwards to kill the attacking Chinese.
Carne ordered his company commanders
to lead their men back to the British lines.

Getty Images Getty Images Soldiers of the “Glorious
Glosters” pictured on
their Bren gun-carrier

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