23rd inf 1st battle group 1959 ancorhage alaska

23RD INF 1ST BATTLE GROUP 1959 ANCORHAGE ALASKA SERIES

Young, called a halt to the 'fiasco' on Heartbreak Ridge as American planners reconsidered their strategy.Īs long as the North Koreans could continue to reinforce and resupply their garrison on the ridge, it would be nearly impossible for the Americans to take and hold the mountain. The Americans employed massive artillery barrages, airstrikes and tanks in an attempt to drive the North Koreans off the ridge, but the KPA proved extremely hard to dislodge.įinally, on 27 September, the 2nd Division's new commander, Major General Robert N. Several units up to company size (100-200 men) were wiped out.

23RD INF 1ST BATTLE GROUP 1959 ANCORHAGE ALASKA SERIES

The fighting was savage-no quarter was given or asked by either side-the ridgeline (called Heartbreak by the American infantrymen) changed hands many times in an exhausting series of attacks and counterattacks. Once a particular element had been so ground-up that it could no longer stand the strain, a fresh unit would take its place, until the 23rd Infantry as a whole was fairly well shattered. Because of the constricting terrain and the narrow confines of the objectives, units were committed piecemeal to the fray, one platoon, company, or battalion at a time. Sometimes dawn broke to reveal the defenders still holding the mountaintop.Īnd so the battle progressed for two weeks.

Battles begun by bomb, bullet, and shell were inevitably finished by grenade, trench-knife and fist as formal military engagements degenerated into desperate hand-to-hand brawls. Many of these counterattacks were conducted at night by fresh troops that the North Koreans were able to bring up in the shelter of neighboring hills. Then the inevitable counterattack would come-waves of North Koreans determined to recapture the lost ground at any cost. Those who survived to reach the crest arrived exhausted and low on ammunition. Next, the 23rd's infantrymen would clamber up the mountain's rocky slopes, taking out one enemy bunker after another by direct assault.

First, American aircraft, tanks and artillery would pummel the ridge for hours, turning the already barren hillside into a cratered moonscape. The attack began on 13 September and quickly deteriorated into a familiar pattern. They ordered a single infantry regiment-the 23rd-and its attached French battalion to make what would prove to be an ill-conceived assault straight up Heartbreak's heavily fortified slopes.Īll three of the 2nd Division's infantry regiments participated, with the brunt of the combat borne by the 23rd and 9th Infantry Regiments, along with the attached French Battalion. Byers, the X Corps commander, seriously underestimated the strength of the North Korean position. 2nd Infantry Division's acting commander, Brigadier General Thomas de Shazo, and his immediate superior, Major General Clovis E.

If anything, the Communist defenses were even more formidable here than on Bloody Ridge.

2 Re-designation of 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry regimentĪfter withdrawing from Bloody Ridge, the Korean People's Army (KPA) set up new positions just 1,500 yards (1,400 m) away on a seven mile (11 km) long hill mass.

It included a battalion of volunteers made up of active and reserve French military personnel who had been sent to the Korean Peninsula as part of the United Nations force fighting in the Korean War. The modern 23rd Infantry regiment was formed during the American Civil War the regiment saw action in American wars up to the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. In 1815 it was combined into what is at present the 2nd Infantry Regiment. The 23rd saw action in 14 battles during the War of 1812. The 23rd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army originally formed on 26 June 1812. Republic of Korea Presidential unit citation 3Ĭited in the order of the day of the Belgian Army

23rd inf 1st battle group 1959 ancorhage alaska