The Korean War, 70 Years Ago, The Gazette and Daily, York PA
Korean War Weekly Front Pages
20 May – 26 May 1951
The Gazette and Daily, York PA
Trading offensives.
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Allied forces early in the week smashed vicious new Chinese attacks in Central Korea and rammed strong armored patrols against Red positions in the west. The Chinese massed more men for 20 miles in front of the US Second Division – already victor over 96,000 Communists who had tried to engulf it. An Allied officer said, “the situation is still dangerous out there.” The US Eighth Army reported that bitter fighting raged in most sectors across the mountainous peninsula as the Red offensive entered its sixth day. Headquarters emphasized that Red casualties continued to be heavy, but gave no estimates. In the air Sunday, 26 US Sabre jets bested 50 Russian-type MIG-15 jets over northwestern Korea. Pilots said they definitely destroyed three MIGs, and probably a fourth, and damaged five without loss to themselves. On the bloody central front, the Second Division hurled back waves of Chinese striking at its left, or western, flank south of Chunchon, between 45 and 50 miles northeast of Seoul.
On Tuesday, Allied troops chased retreating enemy troops as far as 26 miles in the west and central part of the front but a new tank-led Communist offensive threat arose in the east. An Allied officer said huge armored Chinese forces were massing 50 to 70 miles northwest of Seoul. He told an Associated Press correspondent that a strike might come in hilly east-central Korea with even greater force than the 125,000-man drive that opened there the previous Wednesday night. But by the end of the week the Allied offensive had smashed ahead all across the Korean peninsula. Armored columns thrust deeper into North Korea in pursuit of the retreating Communists. The commander of the US Eighth Army called the new surge of Allied might an “all-out offensive,” and added “The 38th Parallel means nothing to me. The Eighth Army will go wherever the situation dictates in hot pursuit of the enemy.”
Two US senators, one Democratic and one Republican, urged that the emphasis in the MacArthur investigation shift from why the general was fired to what this country should do next. One said, “I’m certain that the boys fighting in Korea and the American public are more interested in what is our program from here on out.” Another senator said that only total world disarmament, sponsored by the United Nations, was the only hope for world peace. He condemned the folly and uselessness of war.
The UN delegation from India was sounding out other delegations on the possibility of getting both sides in Korea to agree not to cross the 38th Parallel again. The delegation was citing in their approaches the statement by the UN commander in Korea that the ending of the war at the Parallel would be a “tremendous victory” for UN forces. Meanwhile Pravda, Russia’s official newspaper, gave great prominence to the proposal by a US senator that a cease-fire and armistice be arranged at the Parallel on 25 June, the first anniversary of the opening of the conflict. The US Secretary of State declared American readiness to negotiate with the Chinese for a settlement, but he knew of no overtures from the other side. Earlier, his Assistant Secretary had called the Chinese regime “a colonial Russian government.”
General Omar Bradley, US Chief of Staff, told senators that a UN move to end the war in Korea depends on the Allies smashing the big spring offensive by the Chinese. He also said the UN objective is not to drive the Chinese and North Korean armies “clear out of North Korea.” He added, “We are trying to inflict maximum casualties with a minimum to ourselves so that we can get some kind of negotiation.” On another subject, he said Russia may be incited to war because the US is disclosing “all of our intentions, all of our thoughts and all of our capabilities” in the Senate hearings.
(Photo courtesy newspapers.com, York Gazette and Daily)