The US Marines at Chosin Reservoir

in life •  6 years ago 

This article I wrote here was intended for my Military History class back at school. However, I ended up scratching it and used a different essay instead. So here you go! It is an incomplete essay, however it does go to show a strong point that South Korea never realized that their modern day country hung in the balance of just a few men.

“We don’t call it the forgotten war, we call it the forgotten victory.”- Colonel Warren Wiedhahn USMC (ret), Chosin Veteran. November of 1950, Chosin Reservoir, Changjin County, South Hamgyong Province, North Korea. A force of 30,000 UN troops, 12,000 being US Marines and 3,000 US Soldiers, would be surrounded and overwhelmed by 120,000 chinese communist forces, in what would be one of history's most successful retreats and breakthroughs. In what seemed a doomed hope, US Marines would push the limits to save those around them. As Marine Corps and Air Force pilots dominate the skies, US Marines would spearhead a 78 mile march, under enemy attack, to the sea of Japan. Saving the UN’s army from annihilation in Korea, the Marines would also successfully evacuate 98,000 North Korean refugees. Chinese leaders inability to lead and disregard for chinese life would be apparent at Tokfong pass. Fox company, a company of 234 Marines, tasked with defending Tokfong Pass and the road going through it, faced up to 10,000 chinese soldiers. Fox company would save the lives of 8,000 Marines, who were stationed further north, allowing them a passage for retreat towards the sea of japan. Chosin Reservoir would be a decisive battle in the korean war, for UN forces would be effectively pushed back to the 38th parallel, never to have presence again in North Korea. However, the chinese failed to effectively eliminate or annihilate the US Marines, which could’ve had tremendous blow to the UN war effort in Korea. Chosin Reservoir would be a pyrrhic victory rather than a conventional victory.

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The battle of Chosin Reservoir would be very influential in all events that followed on the Korean Peninsula. Of the 150,000 communist troops that poured out of the Central Mountains, 120,000 would surround and overwhelm the UN forces that had fortified Chosin Reservoir. The United States Marines would kill up to 25,000 communist forces and wound another 12,500. Due to the prolonged battle in frigid conditions, Chinese forces suffered a total of 72,500 casualties during the encounter. 60% of the communist forces that invaded North Eastern North Korea would be unfit for battle afterwards. Due to the tremendous loss on the Chinese, the 10 divisions that faced the US Marines at Chosin, would never see action again. As the 8th army made a desperate retreated from Western North Korea, after it was horribly defeated at the Battle of the Chongchon River. It would be driven all the way back to South Korea, where it would lose the South Korean capital of Seoul. However, the communist forces would lack the manpower and logistical means to push the UN out of Korea for good. Had Mao not attacked the US Marines at Chosin Reservoir, the 70-100,000 troops that went to waste during the entire campaign in North Eastern Korea would’ve been enough troop power to push the UN and US forces out of Korea. If the 1st Marine division had been annihilated, and not have had inflicted as much casualties on the communist forces at Chosin. Hungnam would’ve fallen, where a large force of UN forces lay. Had those troops been available, the 8th army would have certainly been completely pushed out of Korea. Where did the communist forces lose their strategic victory at Chosin and the Korean war? China made the same decision that McArthur made earlier in the war. Mao Zedong had accepted the 38th parallel, after the push into South Korea. What would have been an acceptable defense against due to the threats to its Manchurian borders, when the UN forces grew near. became a simple aggression. It became an invasion of an already savaged peaceful country. China became the scapegoat of the United States new Cold War containment policy. What would’ve been a death nail to the United States foreign policy approach, was strengthened by the incorrect decisions by Mao Zedong.

South Korea may have not noticed, but their country, their democracy, their way of life today was in the hands of nearly 12,000 US Marines in the depths of North Korea. Whatever the intentions of America at that time in that war, one cannot deny that the existence of the free state of South Korea hung upon the strings of life that those Marines held onto those dark cold nights.

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I think you should give more precision about the video used. I am not sure you wrote, produced or directed the project and many comments congratulate this post solely on the video.

I am not taking anything away from your writing skills and knowledge but just pointing out that at the very least a link to the video and a little message explaining who produced it, wrote it etc. and in what context is a must.

If you are part of the team than I am sorry and I think you should make it more obvious. If not than I feel the rewards aren't fair.

Best of luck.

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There are always two sides to every story. Let's not bury one because we don't like it.

Sir Do you have full video of this?
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I dont think anybody has video of this, did you upload somewhere? :p

@haseez which vedio

@spectrumecons True, there's always two sides of a story. People tend to remember the one they like.

I lived for 5 years in an area called Geochang, far in the South of the peninsula. There it is not forgotten how Korean resistance were massacred at the hands of the "UN". The resistance actually stemmed from far south as Jeju island which lays to nothing the oft claimed fairy tale about 'an invasion' from the 'north'.

nice post, thanks for sharing i Like it

Bro, please Upvote some posts in my profile, I'm doing hardwork, but no response :(

Just a heads up...If you notice you were flagged for your comment. It's not a wise idea to ask for up votes.

Best regards.

Peace.

Glad to see more stories pop up around the Korean War, definitely feel like it's often in the Vietnam War's shadow

I saw a documentary with that - crazy story

this is so eye catching

Really good.

sir Plz tell me where can I see this type of movie

sir could you tell me the name of best documentary movie , I would like watch

Hello, can you give me documentary movie name about korean war?

"Of all the statist violations of individual rights in a mixed economy, the military draft is the worst. It is an abrogation of rights. It negates man’s fundamental right — the right to life — and establishes the fundamental principle of statism: that a man’s life belongs to the state, and the state may claim it by compelling him to sacrifice it in battle. Once that principle is accepted, the rest is only a matter of time.

If the state may force a man to risk death or hideous maiming and crippling, in a war declared at the state’s discretion, for a cause he may neither approve of nor even understand, if his consent is not required to send him into unspeakable martyrdom — then, in principle, all rights are negated in that state, and its government is not man’s protector any longer. What else is there left to protect?

The most immoral contradiction — in the chaos of today’s anti-ideological groups — is that of the so-called “conservatives,” who posture as defenders of individual rights, particularly property rights, but uphold and advocate the draft. By what infernal evasion can they hope to justify the proposition that creatures who have no right to life, have the right to a bank account? A slightly higher — though not much higher — rung of hell should be reserved for those “liberals” who claim that man has the “right” to economic security, public housing, medical care, education, recreation, but no right to life, or: that man has the right to livelihood, but not to life.

One of the notions used by all sides to justify the draft, is that “rights impose obligations.” Obligations, to whom? — and imposed, by whom? Ideologically, that notion is worse than the evil it attempts to justify: it implies that rights are a gift from the state, and that a man has to buy them by offering something (his life) in return. Logically, that notion is a contradiction: since the only proper function of a government is to protect man’s rights, it cannot claim title to his life in exchange for that protection.

The only “obligation” involved in individual rights is an obligation imposed, not by the state, but by the nature of reality (i.e., by the law of identity): consistency, which, in this case, means the obligation to respect the rights of others, if one wishes one’s own rights to be recognized and protected.

Politically, the draft is clearly unconstitutional. No amount of rationalization, neither by the Supreme Court nor by private individuals, can alter the fact that it represents “involuntary servitude.”

A volunteer army is the only proper, moral — and practical — way to defend a free country. Should a man volunteer to fight, if his country is attacked? Yes — if he values his own rights and freedom. A free (or even semi-free) country has never lacked volunteers in the face of foreign aggression. Many military authorities have testified that a volunteer army — an army of men who know what they are fighting for and why — is the best, most effective army, and that a drafted one is the least effective.

It is often asked: “But what if a country cannot find a sufficient number of volunteers?” Even so, this would not give the rest of the population a right to the lives of the country’s young men. But, in fact, the lack of volunteers occurs for one of two reasons: (1) If a country is demoralized by a corrupt, authoritarian government, its citizens will not volunteer to defend it. But neither will they fight for long, if drafted. For example, observe the literal disintegration of the Czarist Russian army in World War I. (2) If a country’s government undertakes to fight a war for some reason other than self-defense, for a purpose which the citizens neither share nor understand, it will not find many volunteers. Thus a volunteer army is one of the best protectors of peace, not only against foreign aggression, but also against any warlike ideologies or projects on the part of a country’s own government.

Not many men would volunteer for such wars as Korea or Vietnam. Without the power to draft, the makers of our foreign policy would not be able to embark on adventures of that kind. This is one of the best practical reasons for the abolition of the draft."

Ayn Rand, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, 226

Ayn Rand is one of my favorites. Spot on!

I got to ask,,, Were you involved in the draft in 1949, '50', 51, '52? How about for WW2? or 1962, Viet Nam? The Draft was abolished between Viet Nam and any subsequent actions so we are discussing a strictly "Volunteer" Armed Forces.
Ayn Rand,imho, is a good fiction writer that has unfortunately garnered audiences in our Senate and House of Representatives (ie, Paul Ryan) and I has really done a lot for our Republic.
Keep writing, though as you might have a calling.

If you are interested in our true history, in what the military can do to help us restore our Republic, please have a look at our links.

The bald Eagle cast his wings upon the sky and beheld below the spraying City. In it was all types of revelry. But, with his eyes, he could see the noble ones among the crowd. Yet they could not see him. Drift he went on the wind to the next small city. There were the horses, the cows, the farmers...and among them was a little boy. The must humble of all. The Bald Eagle swooped down to get a closer look. The little boy sat on the well. Next to him were the chickens, the ducks and some small chicks. The Eagle could see. In the boy he saw a Prince. This Prince he saw, would soon be King of Nations. Only the Eagle has eyes to see such things. And so the Eagle moved on to his next great find..

Mother Liberty.

https://busy.org/@motherlibertynow

Very impressive story @dreamants

sir,from where i can download free images?

what do you mean?

Very interesting...

Flagged for two word comment. Make more effort to engage.

Your flagging does not make me laugh nor is it fun. I was a server memeber how dare you judge freedom of speech to a limit of words.

I am using my freedom of speech to express how I feel about a really pathetic comment.

Whole lot different than downvoting one kid.

Sir army is great I have huge respect for them@dreamants

nice post, thanks for sharing

worlds best army is us marines

Semper Fi, Brother, Never give up the good fight!

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@dreamants Sir, I would really appreciate if you can support people like us. Your little help will help us grow too.
Looking forward to hearing soon from you. Thank you.

@dreamants Such a great inspirational story of our army, there is always huge respect for them.

Nice bro. visit also my profile @fariskhan

nice to see you at steemit @fariskhan

Thanks bro.

Hi @dreamants, this is really a good story which filled people with pride about american army.
Thank you.

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Mr dreamants i really agree with you

@dreamants very nice historical article thank you for sharing history.

I salute you sir. army is the real hero of a country. thank you sir

hey, nice to meet you, i work for the force recon in korea for 2 years.

This Is Good Blog @dreamants

Excellent Story..

Very good, excellent post greetings.

So sad

Posted using Partiko Android

Fantastic work with this one, kudos

Nice how you did you write the story .. even if you have just shown us the visible side of the Iceberg ;)

The importance of the army to protect the sovereignty of a country is immense.

Very good and meaningful great its

Posted using Partiko Android

its really worth to be in trending.
nicely crafted article @dreamants

41.jpg 1 vote for nice post

if peace can be pursued then promoting peace is more meaningful and more peaceful to popularize so that rain tears no longer shine

how to grow this platform. I am new here?

Nice Story

Nice very nice history I salute all brave solders.

Army of every Country deserve respect from its citizen...Just like we do, we love Pakistan Military more then our lives.

@dreamants that was quite impressive from US marines. Nicely written

Huge Respect For Armymen Because of They Are Doing Toughest Job In The Earth.
Nice Story Brother, Thanks For Sharing This.

you has any childrens at that time?

It was very nice story sir i am glad for reading your stury.sir,from where i can download images for free?

Nice

Nice story

Inspiring people and thanks for this article.

great sircoinlayers 1.png

Very impressive story

Woow very nice story

@dreamants
I respect soldiers.Army is doing safety of our nation. So that is why they are on borders away from their family.

Military History class back at school. is it real?

you should post such kind of stories regularly.....

Do not forget to comment and resteem at least one elephants a day.
Good luck.
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Continue posting content.
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bro this story of battle is interesting , i would like to know more about north korea, recently USA has is planning to take action against korea, however i can see korea has good experience of battle, thank you for this update , pls keep sharing

upvote for upvote and comment for comment

very attractive presentation about war. your tube video is very nice to see. actually war is horrible isn't it?

oh my god ....

love it

i like it history

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very interested topics :)

You got a 42.46% upvote from @postpromoter courtesy of @dreamants!

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us marine is usually great in killing. do they have hearts?

This story relates to the presence of Chinese soldiers and American soldiers with each other's strengths, which has been arranged and presented by Dreams Sir with a very beautiful style. The whole story is very interesting, in which I do the poem. please help me.

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crazy story

The documantry with this crazy story is just Mind blowing .

great article!! 😍

always had a respect for the history and the military servicemen that serve the country while taking their life at risk.

Wow this is a good story

I ask myself sometimes...When will humans stop fighting and start using the full strength of pure and simple love (because we are all human-not?) when trying to settle conflicts? how and to what we’ll all mature ? 🤔
You can call me a dreamer but I’m not the only one :)
Very good and informative post and video, thanks!

Posted using Partiko iOS

Great post! I just followed you and upvoted you! Follow me back @relsserd.

wow awesome story, thanks for sharing.

Good day. Welcome to the community

sir,from where i can download free images?

Flagged for disagreement of rewards. It's not a bad post and the video is entertaining. But sadly not worthy of the number one spot on trending. Keep trying.

  ·  6 years ago (edited)

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good veary good

I don't agree that, if any budy agree

I like this video.

hello @dreamants it's a very impressive story and i really appreciate you to share such posts. i upvoted you because of your wonderful posts. Good Luck Man!

hmm I saw a movie too of korean war.

awesome

nice info

wow! awesome

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Deep story, I felt it in my heart. Nice artwork too by the way!

This post has received a 74.93 % upvote from @boomerang.

Congratulations @dreamants!
Your post was mentioned in the Steemit Hit Parade in the following categories:

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very nice post dear friend

How to grow this platform?

This BLOG is Really Beautiful.. Thanks DEAR....
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Good story

Good story

greate story

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https://steemit.com/@dreamants MOST welcome you aer right this post is actually very nice and very good wonderful post 8.jpg

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@ dreamants, Can We help each other ? I will give you an upvote on your post! Please give me an upvote and follow me in return

wwwoooww, amazing story.

Nice article