The Ordeal of 254 Marines of Fox/2/7
By Dave Schmidt
The Korean War, commonly described as the “forgotten war,” was a remarkably brutal conflict, a proxy war fought by two superpowers (and China) in an undeveloped land inhabited by a poor and largely agricultural population. “Was” is perhaps inaccurate, for the war has never been concluded. The 1953 truce that ended combat operations still holds, but no peace treaty has ever been signed. For close to 70 years the two sides have been at a precarious stalemate.
The Battle at the Chosin Reservoir, which was referred to as a ‘tactical retreat’ by American and U.N. forces, in December of 1950, was by many accounts one of the most horrific, grueling battles fought in American history. North Korea is a mountainous country where summers are unbearably hot and the winters are unforgivingly cold. The winter of 1950 was the coldest in living memory.
The North Korean army invaded the South in June 1950 and pushed the South Korean army and the U.S. forces south to a small perimeter around Pusan in the south. Late in the summer, though, U.S. and U.N. forces lead by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, landed at Inchon, and pushed the North Korean forces back across the 38th parallel. MacArthur’s plan was to push the North Korean forces to the border with China with his most experienced U.S. Army and Marine forces; the Army to engage the North Korean Army (NKA) in the west and the Marines in the east. The First Marine Division commanded by the very tactically accomplished MG Oliver Smith was shipped from Inchon to the east coast of Korea. The two commands fought separately as they were physically separated by the Taebaek Mountains.
General MacArthur had a staff of ‘yes men’ who told the general what he wanted to hear. As a result, MacArthur made a number of ill-advised decisions.. Pushing the NKA to the Chinese border (and beyond) was one of several poor tactical decisions. MacArthur gambled that the Chinese would not cross the Yalu River to reinforce the North Koreans. The forces that the Marines faced were not the North Korean army, which had offered little resistance, but the massive Chinese army which poured across the Yalu River.
In the west the U.N. forces were over extended and were surprised when they were confronted with 180,000 Chinese that surged across the Yalu River. At the same time, approximately 110,000 Chinese crossed into North Korea to meet X Corps composed of Marines and an Army Regimental Combat Team in the east. The U.N. forces, to put it bluntly, were hammered.
In the east, Marine General O.P. Smith followed the orders he was given as best as he could but was concerned that his three regiments were in danger of becoming overextended and his flanks becoming vulnerable to attack. Unfortunately, U.S. Army General Almond, the overall commanding officer of X Corps, voiced his dismay that the Marines were moving too slowly.
Facing relatively light resistance, the Marines to the east pushed forward on a winding mountain road, the main supply road towards the Chosin Reservoir; contending with the brutal Korean winter. They bivouacked in foxholes around Yudam-ni, scratched out from the minus 20 to 30-degree frozen ground near the Chosin Reservoir and tried desperately to keep warm, battling frostbite. Soon, the Marine’s First Division, often referred to as the “Chosen few,” found themselves surrounded by and battling 100,000 Chinese. With the distinct probability of being annihilated, the Marines had to retreat through Nangnim Mountains, all the while holding off the numerically superior Chinese forces. During the battle the Chinese isolated Fox Company which clung to a hill overlooking the Toktong Pass which was just barely wide enough to permit the passage of a single vehicle through which the retreating X Corps had to transit. In the face of the Chinese offensive, Gen. MacArthur and Gen. Almond ordered all U.S. forces to withdraw to the port of Hungnam, a successful but daring operation. In true Marine fashion, Maj. Gen. Smith denied that the retreat from the Chosin Reservoir was the intent: “Retreat, hell! We’re not retreating, we’re just advancing in a different direction.” MacArthur’s gamble failed.
Fortunately, the Chinese broke contact with these Marines to attack Hagaru-ri, the headquarters of X Corps, to the south. The outnumbered Marines around Yudam-ni were now enabled to retreat south down the Main Supply Route through the Toktong Pass which was defended by Fox Company. It was imperative that this pass, this choke point, be held open for the retreating Marines. Fox Company was the security force that was to hold this crucial gorge under the command of Captain William Barber and his isolated 254 Marines unaware that they would be facing and deterring over 10,000 Chinese who desperately wanted that pass to trap and annihilate the Marines retreating south to Hagaru-ri.
The Marines of Fox Company dug into the frozen ground, in what would become known as Fox Hill. Captain Barber placed his men on 50% alert. The Marines underwent a deluge of mortar shells rained down upon them. At 2AM, the Chinese came: sounds, shadows rising, a snapping twig, low voices, the sound of a Chinese grenade bouncing off rocks or the frozen ground. They didn’t come in waves as is often depicted, but in lines of a dozen or so, with whistles and bugles blowing and cymbals clanging. The Chinese climbed the ice- and snow-covered slopes to get at the outnumbered and isolated Marines. They’d be repulsed to charge back again and again to be third and fourth time. The three platoons of Fox Company held back the repeated assaults of a Chinese regiment of over 3,000 over several never-ending nights; nights which were 16 hours long. The Chinese finally withdrew at dawn to hide in ravines and beneath trees as they feared U.N. close air support.
Many of the Chinese were captured soldiers of the Nationalist Chinese Army of Chaing Kai-shek who were defeated by Mao’s communist forces during the Chinese civil war. They were sent into battle unarmed and instructed to collect weapons from their fallen comrades as they advanced.
The Arctic conditions both hampered and benefited the Marines. Toes froze. Lubricants for rifles, especially the light M1 carbine, thickened, turning to glue, making them unreliable. M1s fired fairly dependably but not as dependably as their machine guns, BARs, i.e., Browning Automatic Rifles, and hand grenades. The Chinese used whale oil as a lubricant and had no issues with frozen guns. On the positive side, the freezing temperatures also slowed or stopped the bleeding of wounds. Marines that retreated to their sleeping bags to escape the cold were bayoneted by the Chinese when they periodically broke through the dwindling Marine perimeter. Because of the failure of rifles to reliably fire, grenades were used extensively. Because of the extreme cold the Marines were given special instructions in arming hand grenades to ensure their detonation after being thrown. There were a great many instances of hand-to-hand combat using entrenching tools and wielding rifles as clubs. Often times the two forces fought each other under a rain of hand grenades. Because the frozen ground offered little protection for the Marines, they stacked the Chinese dead to act as sandbags in front of their shallow fighting hole to improve their defenses.
For five short days and hellishly long nights, from 27 November through 02 December 1950, Fox Company endured and persevered before they were finally relieved by Lt. Col. Raymond Davis with a force of 500 Marines saving the beleaguered Fox Company from annihilation.
At the end of Fox Company’s ordeal, three-quarters of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines were killed, wounded, or captured. Eighty-five of Captain Barber’s original 254 Marines walked off of Fox Hill.
Captain William Earl Barber, and Pvt. Hector Albert Cafferata Jr were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their courage, leadership, and tenacity in the face of overwhelming enemy forces.
About the author: Dave Schmidt
From Director of Collections & ExhibitsBriana Fiandt
One of the most interesting things about working in the Bong Center Archives is the opportunity to do in-depth research into specific areas of military history. We hope to share some of the research being done by staff and volunteers in each newsletter.
Dave Schmidt is a dedicated and long-time volunteer with the museum. Growing up outside Madison and then Superior he enjoyed his childhood, chasing salamanders and living a “perfect for little boys” rural life.
He served in the U.S.A.F. Security Service, now the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency, from 1968 to 1972.
After his discharge, he received his degree from the University of Kansas in Geology, he was thinking of a career in the oil industry until a representative spoke at UK and changed his mind. Dave didn’t want to be a stereotypical fat man smoking a cigar.
He was recruited by the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution where he enjoyed 35 years out in the field chasing down specimens as well as in house. The proper descripion is of his work is collections management as a collection specialist, but his recall is much more exciting than this title.
He retired in 2011 (and we keep him busy as much as he will allow!)