East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950 (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) [Paperback]

Roy E. Appleman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series | Publication Date: September 1, 1990

Roy Appleman's East of Chosin, first published in 1987, won acclaim from reviewers, readers, and veterans and their families. For the first time, there was one complete and accessible record of what happened to the army troops trapped east of the Chosin Reservoir during the first wintry blast of the Korean War. Based heavily on the author's interviews and correspondence with the survivors, East of Chosin provided some of those men with their first clue to the fate of fellow soldiers. In November 1950, U.S. forces had pushed deep into North Korea. Unknown to them, Chinese troops well equipped for below-zero temperatures and blizzard conditions were pushing south. With the 1st Marine Division on the west side of the frozen Chosin Reservoir, the army's hastily assembled 31st Regimental Combat Team, 3,000 strong, advanced up the east side of the reservoir. Task Force Faith in the extreme northern position caught the surprise Chinese attack. With rifles and vehicles often immobilized in the cold and snow, the task force struggled to retreat through a tortuous mountain gauntlet of enemy fire. With truckloads of dead and wounded trapped along the road, a few of the 385 survivors trudged across the frozen reservoir to alert the marines to their plight.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Appleman's book clears up one of the nagging mysteries of the Korean War: the fate of the 7thstet U.S. Division's Task Force Faith between November 27December 1, 1950, when Chinese forces surrounded it along the icy shores of the Chosin Reservoir. Due to poor command decisions and lack of communication, only 385 out of some 3000 GIs made it back to the relative safety of the Marine perimeter nearby. Appleman addresses the oft-debated question of why the Marines did not send a rescue force, and the degree to which the sacrifice of the GIs enabled the 1ststet Marine Division to accomplish its successful retreat. Based on analysis of official records and interviews with survivors, this study can be appreciated as a highly suspenseful account of a military catastrophe and as an inverted object lesson in field command under the worst possible conditions. As the author remarks, "It would be hard to find a more nearly hopeless or more tragic story in American military history." Appleman wrote the highly regarded South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu. Photos.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Much has been written about the Marines' fighting retreat from the frozen Chosin Reservoir after they were overwhelmed by Chinese troops during MacArthur's push to the Yalu River. Several small Army units also took part in the action, but their story has been neglected until now. Appleman is a U.S. Army historian, and he writes for a professional audience. The casual reader will be perplexed by the book's intricate description of military units, place names, and timetables, but will appreciate the complexities of modern ground combat. This microscopic study nicely supplements the larger canvas painted in Alexander Bevin's Korea: the first war we lost (LJ 6/15/86). For serious military collections only. Raymond L. Puffer, U.S. Air Force History Prog., Los Angeles
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: TAMU Press (September 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890964653
• ISBN-13: 978-0890964651
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #337,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > History > Military > Regiments
  • #77 in Books > History > Military > Korean War

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive tale of the 31st RCT, April 5, 2000

By 

John F. Close (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950 (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) (Paperback)

Appleman's book is meticulously researched and wonderfully detailed. (Though you will find yourself wishing you had a set of really detailed topo maps to follow the action.) The one weakness of Appleman's research has to do with the 31st Tank. Appleman seems to have relied heavily on the recollections of Col. Drake, who commanded the 31st Tank. Drake's recollections are generally correct but more details could have been obtained from the other survivors of 31Tank.

Despite this small personal quibble, Appleman's book is superb.

John F. Close

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Casting light into a little understood part of history, March 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950 (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) (Paperback)

This book makes it possible to understand how the tragedy of Task Force Faith could occur. In part, it does this by showing how false assumptions made at critical moments led to weaknesses which the Chinese exploited. In part, it does this by showing how the 32nd RCT could have been saved. The most telling historical insights, to me, are the resources and energy used by the Chinese which might otherwise have been brought to bear on the Marines at Hagaru-ri, and which might have been just enough to have captured that road junction, and entrapped the 7th and 5th Marines. One of the proudest moments in Marine Corps history may honorably offer humble gratitude to the forgotten army men who's relics still lie unmarked, east of Chosin.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A reader from St.John's, Newfoundland, June 29, 2000

By 

Keith Bowden (St.John's,Newfoundland,Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950 (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) (Paperback)

A very engrossing account. Despite the level of detail on the geography, personnel and their units it holds your attention. Also provides comment on areas of uncertainty over what actually happened. One of the most successful books on warfare in putting you there - to the point where it was difficult to read ( in this case an indication of the author's success ). One really sensed the isolation of the units and the desperate situation in which they found themselves. Recommended.