Sean had convinced the tank battalion commanders to leave platoon-sized detachments—all mutually supporting—at the likely exits of the mountain trails the Chinese might use to bypass Highway 12 and encircle Jock’s forces at Soksa-ri. The bulk of the armor, though, formed a steel barrier at the junction of Highways 12 and 20. As they established a defensive position within the village, Jock’s infantrymen were able to make use of the bunkers and fighting holes the ROKs had prepared and then abandoned. His artillery battalions emplaced themselves west of the village, able to deliver massed fires in any direction. Hastily occupied as it was, it wasn’t a perfect position. But it was more than good enough to absorb the onslaught of infantry the CCF unleashed against it.
All along its line, Brigade Miles repulsed that onslaught without giving up a foot of ground while sustaining a mercifully low casualty rate. Despite the superior numbers of Chinese, the GIs were never in danger of being encircled: the outlying armored outposts Sean had championed stopped all such attempts cold, at tremendous cost to CCF forces.
From the vantage point of a ridgeline behind the village, Jock and Patchett watched the battle rage. “Them chinks are getting butchered,” Patchett said, his eyes glued to binoculars. “But they keep coming, the stupid bastards. They gotta have about five thousand dead lying out there already.”
“They’d be a hell of a lot more formidable if they could adjust their tactics when things aren’t working out for them,” Jock added. “But without much in the way of radios, those bugles and whistles just can’t communicate well enough to change plans on the fly. So they keep getting cut to ribbons…until they finally run out of steam.”
“I hear you, sir,” Patchett said. “Funny thing is, we probably got gaps in our line all over the place, rushed as we were to set up out here. But the chinks ain’t found ’em, so too damn bad for ’em.”
The Chinese attack ran out of steam as the sun grew low in the afternoon sky, about to drop behind the towering mountains to the west. Their survivors melted away to the north, into the hills flanking Highway 12.
Patchett said, “It’s a cryin’ shame we ain’t got enough daylight to pursue with anything but artillery. We coulda kept putting the hurt on ’em real good.”
A communications sergeant approached with a message. “We just picked this off the command net, sir,” the sergeant said. “Figured you’d be real interested in it.”
The message was from General Almond, addressed to General Van Fleet at 8th Army. In its text, Almond was taking full credit for the brilliant victory at Soksa-ri by troops under his command.
Patchett roared with laughter as Jock read it out loud. “I reckon if we done it his ass-backwards way, the disaster woulda been all your fault, sir.”
“No doubt about that, Top.”
Looking up from the clipboard on which he’d been jotting notes, Patchett said, “Been doing a little figuring, sir. I reckon that when you add up all the tank rounds, artillery shells, and small arms fire we just expended this past two hours, we let loose with about half a million projectiles.”
“Okay...what’s your point, Top?”
“Well, sir, since the chinks never seem to stop coming by the tens of thousands, I was just wondering how long we can keep something like that up.”
“You know the answer to that as well as I do, Top. We’ll keep it up as long as we have to.”
“Sure we will, sir…but don’t think me crazy if I’m still hoping for that one magic bullet that’ll end this little adventure here once and for all.”
* * * * *
* * * * *
About the Author
William Peter Grasso’s novels explore the concept: change one thing…and watch what happens. Focusing on the WW2 era and beyond, they weave actual people and historical events into a seamless and entertaining narrative with the imagined. His books have spent several years in the Amazon Top 100 for Alternative History and War.
A lifelong student of history, Grasso served in the US Army and is retired from the aircraft maintenance industry. These days, he confines his aviation activities to building and flying radio-controlled aircraft.
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Don’t miss Book #4 in the
Jock Miles-Moon Brothers
Korean War Story
Available Fall 2020
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More Novels by William Peter Grasso
Jock Miles-Moon Brothers Korean War Story
Moon Brothers WWII Adventure Series
4-Book Series
Jock Miles WW2 Adventure Series
5-Book Series
WW2 Standalone Novels
Combat- Parallel Lines Page 39
