Special KWVA "W in Your Dream Vacation Fund-Raiser" Information ...

70
ganda mill, which loudly claimed military
victory for its side. On the other hand, the
price that the enemy had paid to sustain a
major drive was extremely high; the
Eighth Army estimated that over 28,000
casualties had been inflicted upon the
Chinese during their breakthrough and its
aftermath.
While the ROK II Corps was carrying
out its counteroffensive, the Communists
exerted pressure upon several scattered
points along the Eighth Army line in an
effort to take long contested hills and outposts
prior to the signing of an armistice.
The reasons behind this pressure were difficult
to fathom, since all of the threatened
points fell in the demilitarized zone and
would have to be abandoned by the UNC
forces anyway. As it turned out, the
Communists had to surrender possession
of their new gains shortly thereafter.
The operations along the front during
the last week of the Korean War subsided
again to small-scale probes and patrols, as
each side now anticipated that the
armistice soon would be signed.
The Tally Sheet
A recapitulation of enemy activity in
the final months might prove helpful in
assessing the military situation when hostilities
ended.
The close relationships between the
Communist military operations and the
truce negotiations at Panmunjom were
apparent through the April-July period. As
the two sides moved toward settlement,
the intensity of the enemy’s operations
varied according to the prospects for
reaching final agreement. Beginning in
late March, the Communists assumed an
increasingly offensive attitude at the front
and displayed a willingness to employ
their forces more lavishly than they had in
the past.
While the negotiations dragged in late
April and early May, the tempo of enemy
action slackened again. In the closing days
of May, after the 25 May UNC proposal,
which seemed to offer the possibility of a
truce within the near future, the
Communist attacks commenced to pick up
impetus once again. The agreement on
prisoners of war on 8 June was followed
by the large-scale assaults of 10-17 June
which succeeded in attaining better terrain
positions, cowing the growing ROK opposition
to the armistice, and providing the
Communists with a propaganda mantle of
military victory.
The dramatic release of the Korean
non-repatriates by Syngman Rhee on 18
June reintroduced the elements of uncertainty
into the situation and ground operations
again declined until the truce meetings
resumed on to July. Then, in their
largest offensive since the spring of 1951,
the Communists sought to repeat the June
objectives on a more grandiose scale.
The Communists established two
artillery records for themselves in July, the
highest total for any month and the highest
total for a ten-day period 197,550
rounds during the 11-20 July span. The
freedom with which enemy troops
expended artillery and mortar shells
demonstrated clearly that their supply situation
had improved greatly and that they
were willing to fire the rounds necessary
to support their attacks. Even after the
drains of June and July, there were no
shortages of ammunition except on a local
basis.
End - Excerpt from Military History Book
Chapter entitled “The last offensive”
Truce Signed
Begin: Excerpt from “92nd AFA BN
History”
On July 27 1953, a truce was signed
with the Communist North Koreans bringing
a cessation of action to the Korean
conflict. For all who survived the terrorfilled
days of combat, the truce was slow
in coming. The loss of all those Red
Devils killed, missing , and wounded in
action will never be forgotten.
Following the signing of the truce, all
United Nations units, including the 92nd,
withdrew a few miles in order to create a
buffer zone. Even though the conflict had
been officially closed, the battalion
remained combat ready in case the Korean
and Chinese Communist forces should
decide to break the truce.
End: Excerpt from “92nd AFA BN
History”
The battalion was deactivated on 27
July 1955 at Camp Omiya Japan.
92nd AFA Bn January - February 2002
Battalion Newsletter Item
PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION
Excerpts:
“The request for the Presidential Unit
Citation to be awarded to the 92nd AFA
Battalion for their participation in the battle
to extract the Army’s 7th Infantry and
1st Marine Divisions out of the Chosin
Reservoir area in December 1950 has
been approved by the Department Of The
Army. The 92nd AFA Bn was involved in
keeping the pass open for personnel trying
to evacuate the Chosin Reservoir.
The Presidential Unit Citation is
awarded to units for extraordinary heroism
against an armed enemy. The unit
must display such gallantry, determination
and esprit de corps in accomplishing its
mission under extremely difficult and hazardous
conditions as to set it apart and
above other units participating in the same
battle.
As a result of the approval of this citation,
we have ordered another streamer to
add to our battalion flag.”
Document compiled by: Jim Settlemire,
92nd AFA BN - HQ Btry 1952-53
End Of Document
Anyone who would like more information
about this unit can contact the 92nd AFAF BN
web page:
http://www.92ndafa.homestead.com
National KWVA Fund Raiser Flower Rose of Sharon
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May – June 2009
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