Review (PDF) Chosin: Heroic Ordeal Of The Korean War
It was 1950, a brutally cold November in North Korea, and the war seemed all but over. And then a force of nearly 70,000 Chinese "volunteers" crossed the Yalu River, encircling the 30,000 United Nations troops at the Chosin Reservoir. The epic story of what followed--one of the iconic battles in Marine history--is told for the first time in gut-level detail in this book. From the point of view of the men in the foxholes and tanks, outposts and command posts, Chosin offers a harrowing, firsthand account of the 1st Marine Divisions breakout battle against overwhelming Chinese forces in the bitter North Korean winter. Seasoned military historian Eric Hammel describes the errors and miscalculations by American higher-ups that left the division strung out at the end of a narrow road scores of miles from the sea. Then he plunges into the action: the massing of Chinese forces; the punishing climate and terrain; the high-level over-confidence that crippled the American command; and the onset of the overpowering Chinese assault. His account provides a wealth of tactical and human detail and small unit action: from an intelligence officers efforts to make sense of conflicting reports, to engineers improvising a bridge from logs and snow, from Marines marching to POW camps, to a battle-weary messengers discovery of headquarter staff safely ensconced behind friendly lines, settling down in formal dress to a full-course dinner. The result is the most complete book ever written on this heroic battle, a masterful narrative from the perspective of those who fought. Previously published under the same title by Vanguard Press, 1981, ISBN - 081490856X; and by Presidio Press, 1990, ISBN - 089141782.
Paperback: 480 pages
Publisher: Zenith Press; 1st edition (December 15, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0760331545
ISBN-13: 978-0760331545
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.1 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #184,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #18 in Books > History > Military > Korean War > Campaigns #1682 in Books > History > Asia #1688 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Military
If you prefer to read about the FIGHTING of war, not so much the politics, economics, diplomacy, etc, then this is the book for you. In a very comprehensive and graphically detailed account of the battle, this book presents from the USMC perspective one of the great battles of its history. Anybody who says Americans are weak and its soldiers second rate should read this. Many Marine veterans of the Pacific said Korea was worse by far, and at one of the lowest points for the US and UN forces in the war, our Marines lived up to their reputation as first rate warriors and salvaged what otherwise would have been a total rout and likely annihilation into what I would say is a Pyhricc victory for the Chinese and NK forces.The maps are excellent and it does you well to refer to them throughout the reading. This is a THICK book and not for the casual magazine reader. If you want to teach a COURSE on Korea (and GOD BLESS YOU for it, may this war NEVER be forgotten) this is a perfect book to assign your students, because it will NOT bore them. Honestly, its full of what gets many students INTO history in the first place. The gritty gore and violent bussiness of war. If you teach a technical class for Military Science, it would be an excellent volume for students to study and learn from, and is seemingly written so the tactical and strategic aspects are obvious and "open book" is the only term i can describe it as. The tone is neutral and unbiased and records events like a camera would. And for all that, what a show! The suffering was terrible in degree and scale for all forces involved, and truly makes me sad that Korea has been dubbed "The Forgotten War.
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