In 1950, the Cold War between communists in the Soviet Union and communist-fearing Americans led by the likes of Senator Joseph McCarthy was feverish. President Truman -- as all Presidents must -- was attending to domestic crises when North Korean communists invaded the southern half of the country. General Douglas MacArthur, a man of Trumpian self-assurance, insisted the communists could be demolished in the background while MacArthur posed for press photos in the foreground. Edward Almond, Commander of the U.S. Marine X Corps was a MacArthur sycophant who directed the marines to push the North Koreans out of the south. Mission complete, he ordered the marines to continue their march to the Yalu River on the Chinese border.
On Desperate Ground manages to paint a picture that remains in focus when seen from spy sattelite and when magnified to individual marines trapped along the Chosin Reservoir. X Corps was surrounded by a massive Chinese army that neither MacArthur nor Almond allowed themselves to believe was there. In addition to Chinese and North Korean armies, the U.S. Marines faced a third enemy: winter temperatures reaching seventy degrees below zero. Guns failed to fire, vehicles refused to start, bullet and shrapnel wounds froze shut, and frostbite and gangrene were as dangerous as unrelenting enemy fire and human waves of nighttime assaulters.
 |
Attempting one of the most difficult maneuvers in warfare, the marines of X Corps fought their way out of a valley needing to retreat or be demolished.
Hampton Sides lays out a story of suspense and heroism, leaders blinded by ambition or politics, and unsung commanders and soldiers who paid the price of following orders in service of national ambition. It is a cautionary tale of how conflicts can expand unintentionally, for example, following an ill-conceived drone strike of an Iranian general, or an unjustified invasion of Afghanistan or Iraq.
|
Comments
Post a Comment