Корей соғысындағы Чосин көлінен қиын шығу жолы

The Regimental Combat Team 31 (RCT 31), commonly referred to as Task Force Faith of the "Chosin Few", is a United States Army unit known for its role in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War where 90 95% of its force was killed, wounded, and/or captured on the eastern side of the reservoir. RCT 31 primarily consisted of infantry, artillery, and tank units from the 7th Infantry Division including the 31st Infantry Regiment, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 13th Engineer Combat Battalion, 73rd Heavy Tank Battalion, and the 15th Antiaircraft Automatic Weapons Battalion. It was also augmented by KATUSA (also known as ROKs).

However, during the night, powerful Chinese forces – which had infiltrated the area undetected – made a surprise attack on the task force elements as well as the Marines, inflicting heavy casualties and forcing the postponement, though not the cancellation, of the planned offensive. The following afternoon General Almond and his aide, 1st Lieutenant Alexander Haig, flew into the perimeter of RCT 31. Despite all the evidence of massive Chinese intervention, Almond exhorted the soldiers to begin the offensive. "The enemy who is delaying you for the moment is nothing more than remnants of Chinese divisions fleeing north" he told the soldiers, "We're still attacking and we're going all the way to the Yalu. Don't let a bunch of Chinese laundry men stop you." The corps commander then flew back to Hagaru ri, convinced that RCT 31 was strong enough to begin its attack and deal with whatever "remnants" of CCF forces were in their way. Although large numbers of Chinese troops were seen moving south all day, on the hills east of the task force position, U. S. officers did not change their view of the situation. MacLean still expected reinforcements: his second infantry battalion (2 31) and the 31st Tank Company. The reinforcements did not arrive. The PLA 80th Division reinforced with the 242nd Regiment from the 81st Division, both from the elite PLA 27th Corps, had – unbeknownst to MacLean – completely surrounded the task force, cutting it off from the south, where they established a strong roadblock a few miles north of the Marine base at the ruined village of Hagaru ri. When the tank company reached the south end of the reservoir and moved north past Hagaru ri, it was stopped by the Chinese roadblock, losing four tanks to enemy fire. The next day, it tried again, this time with scratch infantry support from headquarters and service troops of the 31st Infantry and 57th Field Artillery, but it was again beaten back. This force then returned to the position they had occupied at Hudong, a small, abandoned village north of Hagaru ri, about 4 miles (6.5 km) south of RCT 31. The Marines – surrounded and under heavy attack – had been unable to give assistance to the Army relief effort. MacLean's expected infantry battalion never made it to the Chosin area at all. MacLean was unaware of this and for some reason he made no effort to establish communications with higher headquarters and report his situation using Capt. Edward Stamford's (the Marine air controller) radio. During the night of 28 November, the Chinese again struck the task force, overrunning several positions, again inflicting many casualties. Chinese prisoners indicated the 80th Division and elements of another, likely the 81st. The Chinese attacked 1/32's position, but were destroyed by artillery and airstrikes. The weather conditions deteriorated rapidly. The temperature plunged as low as 30 degrees F ( 34 C), as heavy snow fell, impeding mobility. Visibility was low and the troops were suffering from the intense cold (several men froze to death in their foxholes). Colonel MacLean decided to pull his lead battalion, the 1/32 Infantry, back into the perimeter of his other units a few miles to the south, to provide a stronger defense. All the rest of the day 1/32 moved under cover of Marine and Navy planes from VMF 212, VMF 214, VMF 312, VMF(N) 513, and Hedron 12. At the same time, the PLA 27th Corps committed the 241st Regiment from the 81st Division. Thousands of enemy troops moving south made excellent targets. In addition to the cover afforded by F4U Corsair fighter bombers, much needed supplies were dropped by the Air Force Combat Cargo Command. At times, Captain Stamford found himself directing both air drops from cargo planes and close support strikes over the same radio net. The air was filled with cargo planes, chutes, and agile Corsairs. Finally, 1/32 joined the casualty ridden 3/31 after 40 Marine aircraft had hit the enemy with some 225 rockets, 18 napalm tanks, 10 500 lb bombs, and 29 fragmentation bombs. This ordnance was delivered from early morning until the last flight left its station at 1705. During this withdrawal, MacLean saw what he thought were his long awaited reinforcements, but as he approached them they turned out to be Chinese, who shot MacLean several times and took him prisoner; he died four days later. Lieutenant Colonel Don Faith, commander of 1/32, now took command. Reaching the southern position, he consolidated the task force into one defensive perimeter as the Chinese intensified their attacks. With the assistance of Marine Corps air support – expertly coordinated by Captain Stamford and without which the task force would have been overwhelmed – RCT 31 fought off heavy assaults by the PLA 80th and 81st divisions for another two days, inflicting severe losses on the communist forces who left hundreds of bodies in the snow around the army position. During the day Stamford directed 38 sorties, making this the major effort of the 1st Marine Air Wing for the day. From 0645 until 1830 Marine planes attacked the Chinese, dropping 21 napalm tanks, 16 500 lb bombs, 21 fragmentation bombs, and firing 190 rockets. All attacks on the perimeter were repulsed.

The Americans were running low on ammunition, and over half their number had been killed or wounded, including a high proportion of key leaders. Faith, realizing he was surrounded and greatly outnumbered, decided to attempt a breakout to the south, toward Marine lines. The situation was so desperate that only a minimum of equipment and sufficient vehicles to carry the wounded were taken, freeing more soldiers to fight as infantry. The rest of the equipment was destroyed in place, including the artillery's howitzers after they fired their last rounds. The breakout began on 1 December, greatly aided by Marine F4U Corsairs and Navy Grumman F7F Tigercat twin engine fighters which strafed and bombed Chinese positions as the American truck column, encumbered with hundreds of wounded and under constant attack, made its way down a gravel road on the east side of Chosin Reservoir. The march south was interrupted when the Corsairs mistakenly bombed short, spraying the lead platoons of the task force with napalm, killing and burning troops. The napalm drop had a demoralizing effect on the task force. As the front of RCT 31 made their way against close range fire, heavy small arms fire from across the small valley caused many members of the rear guard to seek shelter below the road, instead of protecting the trucks. The enemy fire killed or wounded those already in the trucks as well as the drivers who viewed the job as a form of suicide. In the late afternoon, with light fading, Faith got the column moving again, albeit slowly, until it approached Hill 1221 overlooking the road. One battalion from the PLA 242nd Regiment had set up a strong defensive position on the Hill and a roadblock beneath it to block Faith's retreat. Several units attacked Hill 1221 trying to clear it. As Faith led an assault on the roadblock, he was hit by an enemy grenade and badly wounded.

At this point, darkness closed in, ending the protective Marine air cover. Chinese infantry assaults grew bolder, penetrating closer to the convoy. RCT 31 began to disintegrate. Almost all of its officers were dead or seriously wounded. Separate attacks were made on the hill which cleared part of it, but many of the leaderless soldiers, instead of returning to the column, continued out onto the frozen reservoir immediately behind the hill and walked on the ice toward Marine positions several miles to the south, seeking safety. The roadblock at the base of the hill was finally removed, and the truck column again crept forward in the dark but was finally halted by another Chinese roadblock just north of Hudong. The U. S. troops and tanks occupying Hudong – who might have saved at least part of the task force – had been ordered back to Hagaru ri the previous day (an action which remains controversial). Here the Chinese renewed their attack, swarming among the trucks, throwing white phosphorus grenades into vehicles loaded with wounded, setting some of them on fire. Lieutenant Colonel Faith, hit again by rifle fire, died of his wounds (he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor). Major Harvey Storms, the last commander of 3/31 Infantry, was also killed. The breakout attempt collapsed and the remaining American rear guard soldiers abandoned the truck convoy and attempted to escape individually, many crossing onto the ice of the reservoir. Chinese officers and soldiers involved in this battle were new to international conflicts. They had been used to allowing their Chinese Nationalist opponents to survive and surrender after the combat on their own volition. In several instances, Chinese soldiers just stood by as American soldiers dropped their weapons and left once the fighting was over. There were also instances in which the Chinese let go of prisoners who had already surrendered. The 27th Corps was later criticized by PLA historians for not making any serious attempts to gather POW's, thus enabling so many members of Task Force Faith to reach safety and fight again.

The 385 able bodied survivors of Task Force Faith were formed into a provisional battalion which was attached to the Marines and fought with them in the breakout of the 1st Marine Division during the remainder of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. This unit was made up of survivors from east of Chosin, as well as units from Hudong ni and Hagaru ri; Tank Company, 31st Infantry, which had been at Hudong ni and withdrawn on 30 November with other Hudong units, was attached to the 5th Marines as rear guard during the breakout on 6–7 December. The so called Provisional Battalion (known as "31/7" under Lieutenant Colonel Berry K. Anderson) was actually formed into two small battalions of three rifle companies each, 3/31 (Major Carl Witte) with I, K and L, 1/32 (Major Robert Jones) with companies A, B and C.

During the night of 1 December, hundreds of survivors from the task force reached Marine positions south of the reservoir at Hagaru ri. Several hundred more were rescued the following day by Marine jeep patrols. Some soldiers taken prisoner by the Chinese were released a few hours later. Of the 2,500 troops trapped by the Chinese north of the roadblock, about 1,500 eventually made it back to American lines, the majority of them wounded or badly frostbitten. Over 1,000 soldiers of Task Force Faith were killed or died in Chinese captivity, about a third of the original strength of RCT 31. RCT 31 was the largest American unit destroyed except for the 8th Cavalry Regiment, previously destroyed to the west, and the 2nd Infantry Division, rendered ineffective due to one third casualties, near Kunu ri, also to the west. Casualties for the opposing Chinese 80th and 81st Divisions are not known precisely, but are believed to be extremely heavy. Both divisions were not identified again on the battlefield until early April 1951. Chinese record claims 4,300 killed and seriously wounded. This number does not include the many Chinese soldiers who froze to death due to a lack of winter clothing. The majority of RCT 31 survivors, suffering from wounds and/or frostbite, were evacuated to hospitals in Japan. 7th Division units comprising the task force were soon reconstituted, going back into battle in February 1951.

Chinese documents and research by historians Marine Corps Major Parrot and Roy Appleman provided evidence that the RCT 31 had fought bravely and performed well given the circumstances. In recognition of the efforts of the 31st RCT, in 2000 the Navy awarded the task force the Navy Presidential Unit Citation.

Of the 1,777 American soldiers of RCT 31 positioned at Chosin Reservoir from 27 Nov–2 Dec 1950, 1,392 were missing in action, either unrecovered killed or prisoners of war, by December 12. SoldierDate IdentifiedDate RecoveredInitiativeUnitReference(s)Don C. Faith Jr.11 Oct 2012200436th Joint Recovery OperationCommanding Officer, Regimental Combat Team 31Corporal Jules Hauterman, Jr.14 Dec 201615 Sep 1954Operation GloryMedical Platoon, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry RegimentCorporal Melvin R. Hill12 Oct 20161990–1994North Korean repatriationHeavy Mortar Company, 32nd Infantry RegimentCorporal Freddie L. Henson3 Apt 2017200436th Joint Recovery OperationBattery A, 57th Field Artillery BattalionSergeant First Class Rufus L. Ketchum24 Apr 2018Sep 2001Joint Recovery OperationMedical Detachment, 57th Field Artillery BattalionMaster Sergeant Carl H. Lindquist8 Aug 20181954Operation GloryHeadquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry RegimentSergeant Arnold Pitman7 Oct 20141954Operation GloryCompany L, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry RegimentSergeant James W. Sharp9 Jan 2017200125th Joint Recovery OperationBattery B, 57th Field Artillery BattalionSergeant Joseph M. Snock5 Jan 20151993North Korean repatriationHeavy Mortar Company, 31st Infantry RegimentMajor Harvey H. Storms30 Jul 201927 Jul 20182018 NK–US SummitExecutive Officer, Headquarters, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry RgtSergeant First Class Nicholas J. Valentine16 Mar 202127 Jul 20182018 NK–US SummitBattery B, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry DivisionCorporal Asa E. Vance10 Sep 201927 Jul 20182018 NK–US SummitCompany D, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division