Screening the Buildup

The pattern of war in Korea last week: small-scale skirmishing, punctuated by a few violent flurries where larger units met. Screening their buildup for a new offensive, the Chinese and North Koreans slowed down the cautiously probing Eighth Army to a snail's pace or stopped it altogether.

The allies ran into cleverly-laid minefields covered by accurate mortar fire, tank traps dug across the roads, determined counterattacks. Thousands of Chinese filtered back into the top of the lost "iron triangle" which they had left two weeks before. There were bloody clashes. One piece of high ground there changed hands five times in one day. U.N. infantrymen charging with fixed bayonets were met by bayonet-wielding Chinese. On the eastern front, the Reds were firing deadly artillery barrages, mostly at night. Some Eighth Army officers expected a Chinese offensive on June 25, the anniversary of the war. The day came & went without any offensive, but the Chinese marked it by hard fighting.

For the next two months, when monsoon winds from the ocean bring heavy rain, thick mud on the roads and bad flying weather could be expected. Nevertheless, General Van Fleet's intelligence officers predicted hopefully that the Reds' summer offensive--if it comes soon--will be less heavy and easier to deal with than their two spring pushes.

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