Frigid Ridges

Cold fog, followed by freezing rain and falling temperature, reduced front-line fighting last week to its lowest scale since early October. On the frigid ridges of the central front, where the rain had put a glazed crust on four inches of fresh snow, the temperature dropped to 3DEG below zero. Enemy patrols were observed in white-clad camouflage. In a pre-dawn snowstorm, the Reds captured some frozen foxholes near "Old Baldy," slipped away after trading machine-gun fire with the allies for an hour.

To frustrate Red efforts to build up their reserves during the lull, the U.S. Fifth Air Force sent hundreds of Thunder-jets, Shooting Stars and Mustangs ranging over Communist camping grounds in western Korea. Night-raiding B-26 and B-29 bombers struck at Communist supply bases and transport columns rolling southward towards the front. The Reds retaliated with a propaganda attack: a Communist plane dropped leaflets on U.S. lines showing American civilians relaxing in Caribbean sunshine. Front-line loudspeakers played Christmas carols. Through the imperfect loudspeaker transmission, some listeners thought they heard the phrase, in imperfect English: "We want to go home as much as you do."

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