Battle of Chipyong-Ni - Mission Command of COL Freeman - Essay Example

? Battle of Chipyong-Ni: Mission Command of COL Paul L. Freeman YOUR Military sciences, Research Paper 12/3/13 Introduction During the winter of 1951 the forces from United Nations in Korea which were deployed by the American were facing a very severe retreat from the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) who had joined the war in 1950. Before Chinese intervened in the war, the American estimated that the war might end soon. When General Douglas MacArthur’s Inchon Landing Operation became successful in September 1950 they eventually destroyed the North Korean military and propagated the war. Somehow, the UN's advancement into the North Korea is very short as around 600,000 Chinese “volunteers” attacked towards the North Korean hillsides, leading to many casualties, and eventually pulling back the forces of UN. Once there is a retreat it is very hard to stop it as the army is in a “police action” they did not bother that they had to go home. It would require a lot of effort to stop the ongoing retreat and start the fighting and revive the spirit again United States army. The first most prominent leader during the entire course was an Army commander who belonged to the United States is General Matthew Ridgeway. He had served in various previous combats and stood victorious and prominent in almost all of them. Apparently he was the one who relieved the G3 operations officer when he devised the contingent plans for the general to review. Now the difficult part was that to make his soldiers have faith in the plan he suggested and stop the prevailing retreat. Now the job of the leader was to gather the forces, make them believe in the policy and this was done by man with the name Colonel Paul Freeman, at a place known as Chipyong-ni. Body: According to Ridgeway the road of Chipyong-ni was of real importance as it had great value for all the strategies that were made as it allowed movements of vehicles. For future military operation Ridgeway needed Chipyong-ni to launch such operations. Now the most important task was to set a pace and keep the momentum. He was happy with the courage and enthusiasm shown by the 23rd INF's success that happened at the Twin tunnels which had Great Spirit and outstanding leadership. The Chinese were considered to be the unbeaten adversary and many troops got demoralized so he knew that he required someone steadfast to stand against the Chinese and prove to the United Nations and the United States. For this he was relying on COL Freeman and the men of the 23rd INF to do the job and stand against them. COL Freeman’s and the 23INF Regiment when they had won the fight at the Twin Tunnels and eventually securing the village of Chipyong-ni they were almost 70% in power when he was ordered to gain Chipyong-ni from almost five of the Chinese divisions near the hillside. COL Freeman’s consisted of three battalions of infantry. The reason so as to why the 23INF Regiment was so dissimilar to the various other so US infantry regiments that were posted in Korea was due to the fact that they were equipped with a 1,000 men who were all volunteers for the battalion belonging to the French military led by the famous military leaders, LTCRalphMonclar. COL Freeman’s regiment all in all consisted of a total around 4,500 soldiers with only 2,500 of the men being devoted to the infantry men to come face to face to almost 20,000 Chinese troops in the nearby hillsides.1 COL Freeman had an idea that his few man power meant that he could not cover up the high hillsides that were around Chipyong-ni because that would lead to the saturation of his regiment. So he gathered his men on a smaller region but in such a position that they were covering this hillside too. COL Freeman kept his engineers to work making the fighting positions throughout the village and gathering the required supplies for the Chinese siege which was expected in the near future. A siege is what COL Freeman kept in store for the Chinese. Before the battle was about to begin on February 13, 1951, the Chinese gained positions around the INF regiment and were smart to stop all the supplies to the city. The Chinese commanders were eager and determined to completely devastate the 23INF who had caused serious casualties on the Chinese when the retreat from Kunu-ri in North Korea and the battle of Twin Tunnels that happened two weeks ago. Colonel Freeman placed his men in a circular defense with a single battalion that covered all the ways through which the Chinese men could attack the village. As the 23INF soldiers were preparing to make their defense stronger the Chinese were gathering resources in order to attack on Chipyong-ni which was quite expected. Midnight February 13th bugles were being heard and there were glow in the dark numbers that had been taped to the backs of Chinese spotters were seen by the 23INF’s soldiers who were being used to position the Chinese forces for the particular night, they planned to assault the 23INF’s frontlines. February 13, 1951, The Chinese Attack Begins the prior assaults that happened were started against the second Battalion that was in the south and the French regiment was in the west. The assault was not really huge but was only done so that they could prepare. The soldiers were so used to such from the Chinese that they understood that this assault was only meant to locate the 23INF foxhole locations and how they had positioned their massive machine guns before they could finally attack. Recognizing this, the French men forces started their own attacks by using bayonets and targeting upfront at the Chinese forces that were moving closer to the rice paddies eventually leading to the front of the French battalion’s frontlines. The French attack was done completely with the playing of an air raid siren to stop and counter the usage of the Chinese bugles that they used to guide their own Chinese troops. The French soldiers on the other hand comprised of several Algerians with red turbans that were outnumbered as four to one by the Chinese, but they so scared the Chinese that most of them made their way back to their own frontlines and a few of them even were surrendering to the French battalion.2 The Chinese continued to disrupt the lines of the regiment the whole night but later the next morning all of the Chinese men took a step back in the morning light and COL Freeman was sending the recon teams in the surrounding area to find the remaining Chinese soldiers and evaluate the death rate. This patrolling murdered and captivated certain Chinese soldiers who remained and were left during the combat. The patrolling had numbered almost 500 killed Chinese men in the regimental vicinity with a not known number of killed and injured from artillery strikes in the perimeter of the hill sides. A light snowfall that had begun in the morning of February 14 covered the bodies of the dead soldiers on Valentine's Day. Freeman showed great devotion and did his best to gather all resources and tried all possibilities to stand victorious. Colonel Paul Freeman was a true leader in all aspects. He knew what he required when and performed in such a manner that the right steps are taken on the right moment. He knew that he was nothing without his team but even understood the power of every individual therefore took benefit from both. A good leader and commander needs to be a good analyst in order to evaluate the situation, interpret what actually can happen and what actually did initially happen that led to such consequences in order to device a concrete plan. That’s what Col. Freeman did, he used to critically analyze, come up with a plan so as how to counter the situation. He used to deploy his men in the same manner and hence got best result. The way of directing of this great man was very dynamic as he was so devoted to the cause that he used to try his best to perform and motivate his men as well to perform. A best example of devotion, dedication and honesty to the cause is when he got injured, he was told to come back and be replaced by another man but he refused and stood steadfast till his mission was not accomplished. Leadership plays a very important role here as the leader is the one who knows the potential of those under him and then does his best in order to get great results. This is what the Col. Freeman did and won the war which initially seemed quite impossible as there was not any hope that they would be able to defeat the Chinese but through good guidance, leader and efforts the war was won under the table guidance of Freeman.3 During this time, the attack that happened on McGee Hill continued for the 23rd Infantry. The Chinese men tried their best to attack the tanks but it was all in vain. The fire that started from the tanks joined with the reserve force. As the Chinese began to recline back off of McGee Hill towards their strength on Mangmisan Mountain, COL Crombez’s relief column came over their strongholds and burnt everything to ashes. The Chinese now were really scared and were retreating from Chipyong-ni. It was the opposite of the “bug out” fever that had somewhat caused problems for the US troops when it all actually started. But now for the first time it happened in the war that the Chinese were the ones “bugging out”.4 By the time night was about to fall all the Chinese had been kicked out of Chipyong-ni area completely; it was the first victory of the allied forces against the Chinese communist party during the Korean War. The US 23rd Infantry Regiment and the French Battalion that was attached comprised of only 4,500 soldiers and yet some way or the other they were able to overcome the great Chinese army. The battle had its own tolls over the 23rd Infantry Regiment. Almost 52 men from the regiment passed away, 259 were badly injured and 42 men were missing after the combat. The battle was way more expensive for the Chinese. The Allied forces in the next couple of days would number over 5,000 Chinese bodies in the perimeter of the rice paddies, hills, and valleys near Chipyong-ni. The Most important achievement for all the allies was that this victory represented the remaining of the allied forces that the Chinese instead of their high numbers were defeated. When such great and determined men led by great leaders like Colonel Paul Freeman. Conclusion: Col Paul Freeman was an outstanding leader who led the allied forces in a brilliant manner. Ridgeway had faith in him and he carried forward Ridgeway's belief and vision and entrusted his men in the same way. He knew his battalions potential and had great instincts therefore was able to interpret, find solutions to the problems he and his regiment might have faced. Countered them and eventually led the army standing victorious in the end proving to be an outstanding leader. He did not care about himself and was fully devoted towards the cause. References Stueck, William Whitney. The Korean War: an international history. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1995. Gugeler, Russell A.. Combat actions in Korea. [Rev. ed. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S. Army; 1970 Top of Form Hamburger, Kenneth Earl. 2003. Leadership in the crucible the Korean War battles of Twin Tunnels & Chipyong-ni. College Station: Texas A & M University Press. Bottom of Form Project MUSE - Leadership in the Crucible: The Korean War Battles of Twin Tunnels and Chipyong-Ni (review)." Project MUSE. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jmh/summary/v068/68.2beirne.html (accessed March 13, 2013) Read More