Escaping the Trap

January 30, 1990
With the exception of Appleman's East of Chosin, the growing body of literature about the 1950 campaign in northeast Korea has concentrated on the breakout of the 1st Marine Division from encirclement by Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) at the Chosin Reservoir, with little attention to the two American army divisions of X Corps, the 3rd and 7th, which contributed significantly. Here the author presents the first inclusive study of the overall campaign, and his skills as a historian and the richness of documentation supporting the text make it likely to be the definitive account. Appleman has uncovered new material on the CCF units involved and argues that the decision of the Chinese high command to counterattack the strongest element in X Corps, the 1st Marine Division, was a sound one. He disputes the long-held view that the Marines were heavily outnumbered and that the Chinese employed ``human wave'' tactics. These are controversial conclusions, especially for Marine partisans who maintain that the Army let them down at the Chosin Reservoir. Photos.