A reader from St.John's, Newfoundland

books:

	• East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950 (Texas a & M University Military History Series) Roy Edgar Appleman Texas A&M University Press, 1991 - 416 pages average customer review:based on 10 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A reader from St.John's, Newfoundland

A very engrossing account. Despite the level of detail on the geography, personnel and their units it holds your attention. Also provides comment on areas of uncertainty over what actually happened. One of the most successful books on warfare in putting you there - to the point where it was difficult to read ( in this case an indication of the author's success ). One really sensed the isolation of the units and the desperate situation in which they found themselves. Recommended.

Hung Out to Die

Never served. I've read plenty of war stories telling of brave men though. This story of the Army's fight trying to get back from the east side of the Chosin Reservoir is the saddest story I've ever read.

Bad plan. Frigid weather. Four straight days and nights under attack in the cold. No help available. Get back on your own, guys. Frostbite. All out of bandages, gasoline, ammunition. Then death in the cold cold night so close to getting back.

I've read this book twice and it effected me even more the second time.

skwirl60646@yahoo.com

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Infantryman's War

I've read a lot of military history over the years, though I'm definitely not as well-read as some. This book and the others in Appleman's Korean War series really helped me understand small unit operations. They can be dry and a little tough going, but if you give them a chance you may discover a side of battle often overlooked. Making great use of original after action reports as well as interviews and the more common types of sources, Appleman reminds us that (unlike the movies) often ammunition and rations run out and what happens when they do. (Real men have to be sent to get more.) He shows us how and why troops are moved from one nondescript hill to another. (Almost never due to command brilliance.) And better than anyone else he shows us how great battles are built up from squad and platoon actions.

You may lose track of which regiment "L Company" is a part of, but you will come to care what happened to L Company.

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Can it get any worse?

Having read several books about the Chosin Campaign, I was pleased to finally get the story of what occurred on the East side of the reservoir. Mr. Appleman exaustingly found the details through official Army and Marine combat reports as well as listening to the survivors of this tragic event. The 31st RCT was doomed almost before they started and poor weather, traffic jams, raw Korean recruits, bad luck and command mistakes caused its demise. The Soldiers fought bravely and tenaciously but being out-numbered by as much as 10 to 1 was just too much to overcome.
The author has given us a clear, detailed, hour by hour account
of this heroic but heartbreaking episode in American military history.

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Honest, In Depth and Heartbreaking.

I've long been very familiar with the 1st Marine Division's history at the Chosin, but until I read Roy Appleman's book I didn't realize just how much I didn't know about the Army's side of the conflict. This tale of desperation and bravery should be required reading amongst all American service personnel and perhaps even in High Schools. Excellently written, this book holds your attention despite the huge amount of very detailed geographic and unit data presented.

reviews: page 1, 2

"Well written and meticulously researched ... East of Chosin is military history at its best". -- Harry G. Summers, Jr., Washington Post Book World Roy E. Appleman's East of Chosin, first published in 1987, won acclaim from reviewers, readers, and veterans and their families. For the first time, there was one complete and accessible record of what happened to the army troops trapped east of the Chosin Reservoir during the first wintry blast of the Korean War. Based heavily on the author's interviews and correspondence with the survivors, East of Chosin provided some of those men with their first clue to the fate of fellow soldiers. In November of 1950, U.S. forces had pushed deep into North Korea. Unknown to them, Chinese troops well equipped for below-zero temperatures and blizzard conditions were pushing south. With the 1st Marine Division on the west side of the frozen Chosin reservoir, the army's hastily assembled 31 st Regimental Combat Team, 3,000 strong, advanced up the east side of the reservoir. Task Force Faith in the extreme northern position caught the surprise Chinese attack. With rifles and vehicles often immobilized in the cold and snow, the task force struggled to retreat through a tortuous mountain gauntlet of enemy fire. With truckloads of dead and wounded trapped along on the road, a few of the 385 survivors trudged across the frozen reservoir to alert the marines to their plight.

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