The Korean War, 70 Years Ago, The Republican and Herald, Pottsville PA
Korean War Weekly Front Pages
12 October 1952 – 18 October 1952
The Republican and Herald, Pottsville PA
Will the peace talks be revived?
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On Monday Chinese Communists threw suicide troops against South Koreans holding bloody White Horse Mountain, but the gallant defenders hurled the Reds back in a brief but bitter fight. The South Koreans then took off on an attack of their own against three knobs on the northern edge of the central front height, the Reds’ last precarious toehold on White Horse. Even as the fighting raged, General James Van Fleet, Eighth Army commander, praised the South Korean Ninth Division for its tremendous victory in re-capturing all territory lost in the bloody, weeklong battle on the mountain
The UN staged a mock invasion Tuesday of the enemy-held coast of east Korea after deliberately tipping off the Communists the “landing” was imminent. The UN hoped the Reds would expose large numbers of the estimated 250,000 men in the Kojo peninsula area 30 miles south of Wonsan to air and sea bombardment. It was not immediately known whether the Reds committed large numbers of troops in the beach area in response. Navy fighters from six carriers and the heaviest guns in the US Seventh Fleet pounded the shore and raked inland positions in a blistering effort to kill whatever Communists were defending the coast.
Chinese Communists hit Sniper Ridge with a strong counterattack Wednesday night and American infantrymen dug in for an expected Red assault on newly-won Triangle Hill little more than a mile away. Two Chinese battalions of about 800 men each attacked South Koreans on Sniper behind stepped up artillery and mortar fire. Republic of Korea troops captured Sniper’s crest Wednesday morning and found that many Chinese defenders had committed suicide in its caves and bunkers. Late in the week, gallant South Korean troops on Sniper Ridge hurled back attacks by 500 Chinese Communists despite intense Red artillery fire that showered down a shell every four seconds. The Red attacks on the hill north of Kumhwa on the central front were unusual. The Communists ordinarily preferred to wait until darkness before hitting UN positions
The Communist leadership in Korea and China demanded the United Nations resume truce talks at once and conclude an armistice forcing all war prisoners to be repatriated. In a letter to the Allies, Red leadership accused them of disrupting the peace talks. The Communists were still willing to “make our greatest effort” for an armistice. The Allies said they would study the letter.
President Truman charged General Dwight D. Eisenhower with giving “aid and comfort to the Communists” by making “false promises” about Korea in his bid for votes. He said Eisenhower “appears to be willing to undermine” national safety to get elected president. He accused the general of “cheap politics,” “shameless pretense,” and “sheer demagoguery.”
(Photo courtesy newspapers.com, Pottsville Republican and Herald)