Leadership in the Crucible: The Korean War Battles of Twin Tunnels and Chipyong-ni (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) [Hardcover]

Kenneth E. Hamburger (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Kenneth E. Hamburger’s Leadership in the Crucible: The Battles of Twin Tunnels and Chipyong-ni is a most welcome addition to the literature on the Korean War. Much more than just a detailed description of the first engagement in which United Nations forces defeated the Chinese People’s Volunteers, this account provides with clarity and succinctness important insights on the qualities necessary for effective battlefield leadership. Relying on numerous oral histories and interviews with veterans, the author’s superb use of anecdotal information makes this study far more entertaining than most military histories. His discussion of the relationship between the Korean War and France’s commitment in Vietnam covers new ground. Leadership in the Crucible also provides powerful illustrations of the extreme hardships of fighting in freezing weather, the contributions of South Korean forces, General Matthews B. Ridgway’s “lure and kill” strategy, problems related to using U.S. Reserve forces, the necessity to integrate Black soldiers into white units, and the vital role of U.S. air power in the Korean War. Hamburger achieves his ambitious objective of making the reader “feel a tingle of exhilaration and a shudder of the despair of the human elements of combat and even to detect a hint of the stench of the battlefield in the descriptions of the participants.”--James I. Matray, Professor of History, New Mexico State University

(James I. Matray, Professor of History, New Mexico State University )

About the Author

Kenneth Hamburger is a retired U.S. Army Commander. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy, continues to teach courses on the Korean War at the American Military University, and leads staff tours of European battlefields for active duty U.S. Army soldiers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: TAMU Press; 1 edition (April 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585442321
• ISBN-13: 978-1585442324
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,140,025 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real gem, December 3, 2005

By 

L. Myers (New Brunswick, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leadership in the Crucible: The Korean War Battles of Twin Tunnels and Chipyong-ni (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) (Hardcover)

For those who seek examples on what constitutes good leadership (and bad for that matter) would do well to read Col. Hamburger's work. Set in Korea during the pivotal months of Jan-Feb 1951, he tells of the Battles of the Twin Tunnels and Chipyong-ni as fought by the 23rd Infantry Regiment and its attached French Battalion. He leaves nothing out, not only examining the command styles of Cols Freeman, Monclar and their subordinates,but goes into great detail among other things, the use of supporting arms, medical issues and what it was like for the men in the line. All of this in a highly readable, clear and even handed manner. Well done!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have book on military leadership, September 23, 2009

By 

T-Rexx (France) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Leadership in the Crucible: The Korean War Battles of Twin Tunnels and Chipyong-ni (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) (Hardcover)

Leadership of the Crucible is an exceptional book on how modern wars are conducted by "ordinary" men. It is a breathtaking account, a faithful depiction of this (unfortunately) largely forgotten war. Many reasons push me to rank this book as an authoritative, reference type of books.

First, the quality of the background work is astounding. The author obviously didn't spare himself any time in researching his subject, interviewing veterans, collecting pictures of actual places, digging into books and articles.

Second, his objectivity as a historian is spotless with a clean, detached narration that (almost) never take sides on the doings and decisions of these men who put their lives at stake amidst while fighting in chaos.

Third, the clarity of his writing, as well as the use of simple yet reliable overview maps makes understanding of complex tactical situations an easier task. The narration feels as if events are actually unfolding right in front of the eyes, although these events took place over half a century ago. Readers will undoubtedly finish their reading by a "I have learnt something today!"...

Fourth, he manages to treat a series of high-fame events in a very efficient way by locating them in the chronological chain of events that made the Korean War. He also connects them to other military actions that were unfolding at the same time, sometimes at the other end of the country, if not the world.

Fifth, he explores this often underestimated aspect of military conflicts, precisely because of its very nature as an intangible, highly subjective topic: human interaction, the role of leadership, of emotions of all kinds, of moral values that might, at one stage, make the difference between victory and disaster, between life and death.

Only drawbacks, just for the fun of it: a lack of North Korean/Chinese views on these events (but communist archives are still not easily available) and, being in aviation, the scope and depth of air power is sometimes weak.

Otherwise, this book only deserves praise and should be seen as a "must-have" in any serious military historian/fan book collection.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent service, December 25, 2007

By 

Thomas A. Dunn "Otter" (Madison WI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leadership in the Crucible: The Korean War Battles of Twin Tunnels and Chipyong-ni (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series) (Hardcover)

After reading David Halberstam's The Coldest Winter, I have started reading more history books about the
Korean War. This should be required reading for our military officers and NCOs.