Air Force Combat Units of WWII

490 AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS OF WORLD WAR I1April 1951, but the thrust was checked justshort of Seoul. After a lull, in which theUN strengthened its positions along thenew line, the Communists struck again,pushing back the eastern end of the line.Having again been driven south of the38th parallel, the UN counterattacked andby 24 June not only had regained the territorylost during the enemy’s spring offensivebut had shoved the line deeper intoNorth Korea. It was then that Malik suggestedan armistice.UN Summer-Fall Ofiensive: 9 July to27 November 1951. Truce negotiationsbegan on 10 July, but hostilities continued,although neither side was willing to begina major offensive while the peace talkswere being conducted. When negotiationswere suspended in August, the UNbegan an offensive in the area known asthe Punchbowl, and in the fierce fightingthat followed was able to take some importantpositions, including Bloody andHeartbreak Ridges. After peace negotiationswere resumed in October, Ridgwaystopped offensive operations on theground. In August FEAF had begun astrong campaign against the enemy’s railroads.For three months the results ofthe latter campaign were good, but afterwardthe Communists provided strongerdefenses and rushed repairs, thereby reducingthe effectiveness of the interdictoryoperations.Second Korean Winter: 28 November1951 to 30 April 1952. Terminating itsoffensive, the UN waged a war of contain-ment, but the aerial attacks on railroads inNorth Korea continued. The ,UN’s interdictoryoperations, which destroyed somematerial and curtailed efforts to stockpilesupplies, so damaged the Communists’railway system that it could not be usedagain to support a sustained offensive onthe ground. But interdiction could notforce the Communists to end the war.The enemy made some probing attacks,but there were no important changes inthe battle line.Korea Summer-Fall, 1952: I May to 30November 1952. In May 1952 the Communistsincreased their probing andstepped up their artillery fire. As a result,in June the UN began a limited action toadvance the patrol bases in front of theline, but the fighting was relatively ofminor significance. Both sides madesome small-scale attacks during the summer.After knocking out most of theelectric plants in North Korea duringJune, FEAF began to apply continuouspressure on the Communists with the viewof making the war as costly as possible interms of enemy personnel, materiel, andfacilities. The tempo of the action on theground increased in October, but therewere only minor changes in the line.Third Korean Winter: I December 1952to 30 April 1953. Activity along the frontsubsided during the winter, increasedsomewhat in March, but declined again inApril. Negotiations for an armistice wereapproaching a decisive stage, but it was