Sep/Oct 2008 - Korean War Veterans Association

92nd ARMORED FIELD ARTILLERY BATTALION
PART III:
assigned. From there, the party proceeded
to the general position area where
Continued from the July-August Issue of Battery Commanders received their
The Graybeards, Vol 22, No. 4
positions.
The battalion was ordered moved at
Unit History For
1005 hours. Battery Commanders were
January, 1951
dispatched to the release point to receive
The first day of 1951 broke clear and
their batteries. The battalion closed into
cold. The Battalion Commander was
firing positions at 1100 hours.
called to Headquarters X Corps Artillery
Communication nets were established
at 0900 hours, where instructions were
and liaison officers were dispatched.
received to move the battalion north to
Security outposts and perimeter defenses
the vicinity of Seoul. Upon closing there,
were coordinated by the Battalion
the battalion was to be detached from X
Executive. At 1600 hours, Battery “B”
U.S. Corps and attached to I U.S. Corps.
was registered on a check point marking
the battalion’s first firing in South
On 3 January the Advance Party left
Korea.
the vicinity of Taejon at 0800 hours and
continued north through Kumchon -
On 12 January the temperature was
Osan - Suwon to Yongdong- Po, the
six degrees below zero. It was the battalion’s
coldest morning in South Korea.
location of I U.S. Corps.
Although clear and sunny, the day
The early morning hours of 4 January
proved to be a bitter one for outside
were highlighted by heavy explosions
work. Due to the extreme cold, motors
from the vicinity of Seoul and Inchon.
were started every 3 hours during the
Upon checking with Colonel Hallock at I
night and run for 20 minutes. The 20-
U.S. Corps, instructions were received
minute periods loosened sludge in the
directing the battalion to assemble in the
circulatory systems and restored life to
vicinity of Chonan, some 55 miles south
the battery. Shorter periods of operation
of Yongdong-Po.
proved more harmful by depleting the
7 January proved warmer and heavily battery.
overcast. Reconnaissance parties including
the Battalion Commanders departed
22 January broke cold, but a bright
sun soon warmed everything. Fifty 1,000
on patrol at 0800 hour. As they proceeded
north to Songwan, they made contact
foot rolls of barb-wire were installed
along the perimeter. Fragmentary
with the 39th Field Artillery Battalion,
grenades and trip-flares were intermingled
into the double-apron barb-wire.
where a general position area was
The full length of wire
was covered by flares.
Experiments were
conducted in the demolition
of HE and White
Phosphorous projectiles
as obstacles along likely
avenues of approach.
These were wired with
electric caps for detonation
at will, C Battery Howitzer – Chonan, January 1951 (Harrison)
electrically,
from a control point. Fresh turkey was
issued for one meal and enthusiastically
received by everyone as a welcome
relief from canned rations. Each man
was issued two cans of beer. A message,
received from Eighth Army
Headquarters, directed the battalion to
draw six towed 155 howitzers and 5 tractors
to bring the battalion fire power to
that of 18 guns.
The night hours of 27-29 January
were filled with action, when the CCF
counter-attacked our infantry on objective
No. 36 at 0115 hours. At an estimated
strength of 300, the enemy first hit
Company “A”, 1st Battalion, 65th
Infantry Regiment, separating it and
overrunning its Command Post. Later,
the enemy hit Companies “B” and “C.“
A tremendous barrage of artillery was
brought to bear by FOs. The artillery fire
continued well over an hour, shifting
from one concentration and then the
other. At approximately 0420 hours, the
enemy attacked the 2nd Battalion, 65th
Regiment to the direct front.
Infiltrating at first, the enemy succeeded
in flanking their position. Again,
a heavy barrage of artillery was brought
down as close as 75 yards to friendly
troops. By 0630, all positions had been
restored, with only light casualties
inflicted on our men in both attacks. The
Division Commander, Major General
Soule, and the Division Artillery
Commander, Brigadier General Shugg,
credited the artillery with the successful
halt of the counter-attack.
During the day, the Battalion
Commander and S-2 visited front line
infantry positions and confirmed the
efficiency of the artillery fires by interviews
with infantry men. On the promise
that last night’s attack might have been a
probing attack to be followed by a large
scale attack tonight, all outposts were
reinforced and final perimeters dug and
18
September – October 2008
The Graybeards