Escaping the Trap: The Us Army X Corps in Northeast Korea, 1950 (Texas A and m University Military History Series, 14) - Hardcover

Appleman, Roy E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0890963959 ISBN 13: 9780890963951

Publisher: Texas A & M Univ Pr, 1990

Synopsis

After its successful landing at Inchon and capture of Seoul in September 1950, the U.S. X Corps was joined by Eighth Army, and many people expected the two commands to be combined into one. Instead, General MacArthur ordered the X Corps to load onto ships and travel around the peninsula to northeastern Korea and the port city of Wonsan, which the South Korean I Corps had captured. Major elements of X Corps were to move west from their positions in northeast Korea and cut the supply lines of Chinese troops expected to cross the Yalu and confront Eighth Army. Other parts of X Corps would push north toward the border and thus control all of Korea. Neither goal was met.Escaping the Trap tells what happened when X Corps discovered that the Chinese had crossed the Yalu unseen and marched rapidly to Chosin Reservoir, where they landed a surprise attack against the 1st Marine Division and the army's 31st Regimental Combat Team of the 7th Infantry Division. The Chinese attack in late November 1950 virtually annihilated the 31st RCT east of Chosin, while the 1st Marine Division made an escape through treacherous terrain and a forty-mile roadblock, pushing on to the coast and the monumental evacuation of X Corps from North Korea.Roy E. Appleman's study of the day-to-day records of X Corps and of published material and his interviews and correspondence with survivors make the whole story of this portion of the Korean War available for the first time.

About this title

About the Author:

Roy E. Appleman (1904-1992) served in the U.S. Army in both World War II and the Korean War. He is the author or coauthor of several military history studies, including South to Naktong and North to the Yalu.

From Publishers Weekly:

With the exception of Appleman's East of Chosin, the growing body of literature about the 1950 campaign in northeast Korea has concentrated on the breakout of the 1st Marine Division from encirclement by Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) at the Chosin Reservoir, with little attention to the two American army divisions of X Corps, the 3rd and 7th, which contributed significantly. Here the author presents the first inclusive study of the overall campaign, and his skills as a historian and the richness of documentation supporting the text make it likely to be the definitive account. Appleman has uncovered new material on the CCF units involved and argues that the decision of the Chinese high command to counterattack the strongest element in X Corps, the 1st Marine Division, was a sound one. He disputes the long-held view that the Marines were heavily outnumbered and that the Chinese employed "human wave" tactics. These are controversial conclusions, especially for Marine partisans who maintain that the Army let them down at the Chosin Reservoir. Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Texas A & M Univ Pr
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0890963959
• ISBN 13: 9780890963951
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 411