Wonju (H) [Hardcover]

J. D. Coleman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2000

By December 1950, the dramatic entrance of Communist China into the war had forced the retreat of U.S., South Korean, and other United Nations troops from the Yalu River back into South Korea. In February, 1951, near a central South Korean town named wonju, UN forces finally quit running and started fighting--and stopped the Chinese juggernaut cold.

Just as the Battleo of Gettysburg was the high water mark of the Confederacy's bid for secession, the Chinese offensive launched at Wonju was the high point from which China's hopes for victory soon faded. This is the first book to show that after fifteen days of combat at Wonju, Chinese leaders realized that they could not win the war andcould possibly lose it. On this not particularly well-known battlefield, UN forces led by brave U.S. and South Korean fighting men ensured South Korean independence. These battles reinvigorated the UN war effort, thanks in no small part to the leadership of the U.S. Eighth Army's new commander, Lt. Gen. Matthew Ridgway. J.D. Coleman's comparison bewteen the pivotal battles of Wonju and Gettysburg is original and thought-provoking.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Coleman, now a retired lieutenant colonel, was a sergeant in the 187th Regimental Combat Team and survived the brutal fighting in February 1951 for the critical central South Korean town of Wonju. Mixing personal memories, oral history, and thorough research in primary and secondary sources, he traces the Korean War's first eight months with an unsparing eye for the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. He then focuses on the Chinese Fourth Offensive, which met an Eighth Army that, transformed by General Matthew Ridgway, refused to retreat and used its superior firepower to deadly advantage. Traditional accounts of the decisive U.N. victory in the battle emphasize the fighting around Chip'young Ni, but Coleman's detailed account of the fighting around Wonju stresses its equal role in taking stra- tegic initiative away from the Chinese. Even in very good accounts of very ugly firefights, Coleman remains evenhanded, which helps him produce an exceptionally worthy addition to Korean War battle literature. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“A well-written account . . .” -- Seattle Post Intelligencer

“Compares the action at Wonju to Gettysburg in the Civil War, the supreme but failed effort by an attacking force.” -- Arizona Republic

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574882120
• ISBN-13: 978-1574882124
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,956,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not very comprehensive, May 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Wonju (H) (Hardcover)

JD Coleman has attempted to illustrate how the battles around Wonju were the high-water mark for the Chinese, much as Gettysburg was the beginning of the end for the Confederates. There is an interesting account of a task force all but wiped out in what became known as "massacre valley" but most of the book has been recounted elsewhere, in greater depth. The author spends a substatial amount of time on the 187th Airborne RCT (his old outfit) and while this is interesting in its detail, the author tends to dwell a little too long on it. Most of these accounts revolve around one or two companies and this gives a disjointed perspective which magnifies things out of proportion to what's going on elsewhere.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not very comprehensive, May 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Wonju (H) (Hardcover)

JD Coleman has attempted to illustrate how the battles around Wonju were the high-water mark for the Chinese, much as Gettysburg was the beginning of the end for the Confederates. There is an interesting account of a task force all but wiped out in what became known as "massacre valley" but most of the book has been recounted elsewhere, in greater depth. The author spends a substatial amount of time on the 187th Airborne RCT (his old outfit) and while this is interesting in its detail, the author tends to dwell a little too long on it. Most of these accounts revolve around one or two companies and this gives a disjointed perspective which magnifies things out of proportion to what's going on elsewhere.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating but long first-person account, April 24, 2003

By 

Gadgester "No Time, No Money" (Mother Earth) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Wonju: The Gettysburg of the Korean War (Paperback)

This is a fascinating first-person account of the brutality of the Forgotten War. It's equally fascinating to us today how America and China both paid dearly to defend the two Koreas, with Red China losing 10-20 times as many men as the U.S., and 50 years later, neither country is appreciated (or liked) by their respective protege. Wars, indeed, are silly and futile, especially when you die for others.

The book details the bloody battles around Wonju in early 1951. While the major phases of the Korean War had ended by Christmas 1950, the Chinese, under the leadership of the psychotic general Peng Te-hwai (Peng Dehuai), only began to launch their massive human wave attacks in 1951, pretty much all of which ended in failures and cost the Chinese half a million lives but also inflicted heavy losses on U.S./UN forces. Wonju is a prominent example of the insanity of war, especially at an individual level. The accounts here are a little too lengthy and confusing at times, but Coleman makes an attempt to provide a comprehensive story. The bravery of the young American soldiers fighting for a people unappreciative of their actions (even the Rhee gov't resented American intervention, despite the fact it came very close to being swallowed by their North brothers who had no love for them) comes out alive in the pages, but you can also feel for the peasant "volunteer" soldiers of Red China who died like ants rushing into a fire, so their comrades behind could march on.

A worthy read for everyone interested in military history... and the history of human suffering.