Korean Winter

by Griff Hosker

  I smiled, “Right Corporal, have the men stand to. Make sure they all have ammunition. Have someone watch the ground to the north.”

  “Ground to the north, sir?”

  “There are North Koreans there. The last thing we need is to be attacked from the north.”

  Sergeant Major Thorpe handed me a mug of soup and a hunk of bread, “Here, sir, eat!” I nodded and obeyed. “Major Poulson?”

  “He is going to lose his leg. We stay here until the operation is over.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  “What I am worried about is the north. There is no road but they could send tanks.”

  He looked north, “Aye, sir, you are right.”

  “Have Williams and Hall take the rest of the explosives and a few grenades. I want them to mine the ground half a mile from here. At least we could have a warning.”

  “Right, sir. We will be alright. We have good lads.”

  I hoped he was right! As I ate I watched Lance Corporal Williams and Marine Hall heading north. It was open ground and all that they would be doing was putting explosives and booby traps where they through the enemy might pass. We were not trying to kill large numbers nor even slow them down. We just needed a warning that they were approaching. We had too few men as it was to defend the perimeter.

  While eating the bread and soup, I went to Harry Ashcroft, “Get on the horn to Captain Warwick and tell him we have the prisoners but there are more wounded than we had expected. Give him the precise numbers and tell him that we can’t leave yet. Ask the Americans their situation too.”

  “Sir.”

  I saw Marines Harris, Collins and Haynes; they were wearing the greatcoats we had brought and were clearing some snow behind one of the canister parapets. They looked up at me as I approached. Harris said, “We thought you would be back in Blighty, sir, after that wound.”

  “What, go home and miss your smiling faces?”

  Haynes asked, “Will Mr Poulson…?”

  “Live? I hope so. We have three medics who will do their best to see that he does.” These were like family and as family deserved to know the truth. “He will lose the leg below the knee.”

  They all knew what that meant, “It is not fair, sir, he is a good officer! It is all the fault of those Koreans!”

  “What do you mean, Harris?”

  “When he broke his leg, sir, Pikey used the last of his powder on the wound and set it as best we could. He asked for a doctor to look at it but they just laughed. That was the real reason we surrendered, sir. We had almost run out of ammunition and when Sergeant Bo-yeon Heon was killed we had no interpreter.” He shook his head, “We should have kept on fighting sir, or tried to get home. You would have tried, wouldn’t you, sir?” I was not sure and I said nothing. To have commented might have implied criticism of Polly. “We were put in the bag with the Middlesex lads. There were a lot more of them then.”

  “And then the bastards made us walk.” Haynes shook his head. “Mr Poulson was going to try but we took it in turns to carry him. And even then, they whipped us when we went too slow. When the officers from the Middlesex regiment objected, sir, the two of them were shot!”

  I had felt guilty about shooting the four Koreans; now I did not. Even the Germans would have treated our wounded. He would lose a leg because the enemy had not adhered to the Geneva Convention. I realised that we were in an even worse position than I had thought. We were outnumbered and trapped. If we were overrun then we could expect draconian treatment. I mopped the last of the soup from the mug with the crust of bread and looked along the line. The rescued prisoners were interspersed with my men. There were some from the Middlesex regiment. I did not know them but I had no doubt that after their march north and losing their officers the way that they did, they would fight as hard as my men.

  “Hall, Entwhistle, do you think you could nip over the parapet and collect some of the Korean guns, ammunition and grenades?”

  “Aye, sir!”

  “Stand to! Cover these lads while they try to get some weapons. Lofting, eyes front!” I could not see Lofting for he had a hide. He was our secret weapon. I heard his voice.

  “Aye, sir. It looks clear!”

  They clambered over, leaving their own weapons behind and ran the eighty or so yards to the closest Koreans. The ammunition would not fit our guns but we could use their weapons to augment our own. The two of them worked quickly and efficiently. Bodies were unceremoniously searched and flipped over. Suddenly I heard the crack of a Lee Enfield and a Korean tumbled from the roof of the building. Lofting had the advantage of a telescopic sight and he shouted, “Best hurry up lads! There is movement.”

  They were coming.

  Chapter 8

  This time they were led by a small tank. It had a two-pounder gun. It was a poor tank but we had no anti-tank defences and so any tank was a threat. “Mortar crews, your target is the tank!”

  “Sir!”

  Behind them came North Korean soldiers. There had to be at least two hundred of them. I wondered if Intelligence had miscalculated or had they been reinforced?

  I looked at the crew with the Browning machine gun, “Allenby and Lowe, you have our best weapon. Use it wisely.”

  Williams and Hall ran in, “Sir we have planted all the explosives. They are half a mile north of us. We could have used more, sir.”

  I nodded, “The mantra of every soldier since the Romans. We never have enough but it will have to do. Now take your positions and use your bullets judiciously!”

  The North Koreans in the tank were either too eager or inexperienced. Their first shot soared beyond our defences and exploded two hundred yards behind us. I saw the two mortar crews carefully adjusting their weapons. They would work together. One would fire and the other would watch the fall of shot. In theory, they should do no damage as they were using high explosives but these old fashioned light tanks were more fragile than they appeared. A sudden flame could ignite fuel or ammunition. Only Lofting was firing and his rifle was picking off officers and NCOs as they approached. The men would wait until they were closer. We were relatively safe from their bullets as we had the snow-covered canister defences before us. We were also harder to see as we all wore the parachute ponchos. I lay next to Marines Williams and Hall. I missed the Lee Enfield I had given to Lofting. I always felt I had more control when I used it but the Thompson was deadly. We had three of them and they, along with the Browning, would winnow the Koreans when they were closer.

  The tank fired again but the gunner had not seen the dead body he had driven over. The barrel rose as he fired and instead of hitting our lines it landed a hundred yards behind us. This time we suffered a shower of snow and soil. Then the first mortar fired and the shell exploded just behind the tank. The effect was devastating, the body of the tank helped deflect some of the shrapnel and a swathe of soldiers were cut down. The second mortar exploded directly in front of the tank and it made it swerve.

  I saw that they were now in range and I shouted, “Open fire!” The heavy Browning thundered and the three Thompsons chattered a deadly chorus. The Lee Enfields and the North Korean automatic weapons we had taken from the enemy dead filled the air with the smell of cordite and deafened us all. The machine guns were all firing short bursts and when we stopped, I heard the double pop of two mortar shells. One was a lucky shot. It hit the body of a North Korean who lay close to the tank. He must have had a couple of grenades on him and they exploded. The track on one side was damaged and as the tank slewed around the second mortar hit the top. They had not buttoned it up. Two more shells were sent in quick succession and one of them struck either the fuel or ammunition for the tank suddenly lifted into the air and then exploded. Pieces of metal scythed towards us but we had all taken cover when we had seen the strikes. The North Koreans had no such shelter but they were game. They began to fire back from their prone positions. It was a waste of ammunition.

  “Open fire!”

  We fired again and the mort
ars sent their shells towards the Koreans and it was the last six mortar shells which finally defeated the enemy. They fell back leaving more than half of their number dead.

  “Cease fire!” I looked around. “Casualties?”

  Matt Dixon shouted, “Hall has been hit by shrapnel but it is a scratch.”

  “That is a relief. Keep a good watch!”

  I saw that my medics had brought Polly into the open and he was on a table behind the hut. I saw why they had done this. They were close to the fire Pike had started and they had better light. I wandered over. There was a pot of boiling water and there were commando knives in the bottom. I saw wire cutters which would be used to pick the sterilised instruments from the bottom of the pot. Pike said, “We have cleaned up as well as we can. Sergeant Major Thorpe had a flask of whisky and we used that to sterilise our hands.” I nodded and looked at Polly. He looked to be asleep. “We gave Mr Poulson the morphine to dull the pain and a couple of tots of whisky. He fell asleep.”

  Powell said, “We had better start, sir.”

  I nodded, “And you want me out of the way.”

  He smiled, “If you don’t mind, sir. This is hard enough without a senior officer watching over my shoulder.”

  “Right. Good luck.” I touched Polly’s hand, “Take care, old man!”

  I went to join my men. The tank was still burning and the air was filled with the smell of burning flesh. It was not a pleasant aroma and I saw some of the younger commandos had reacted badly to it. Sergeant Major Thorpe joined me. He pointed to the northern sky, “Those clouds suggest more snow, sir.”

  I nodded, “That might help us.”

  “Are you still planning on using the boats Lieutenant Morrison found, sir?”

  “It strikes me as the safest option but we do not know the condition of the vessels nor if they have power. I don’t fancy travelling down the river with no power.”

  “Is there an alternative, sir?”

  I pointed south, “We could fight our way south. The Marine Division is marching up that road. We might only have a day or so to travel before we find them.” I turned to look north, “But if the weather deteriorates…” I did not finish the sentence as I saw a dot in the distance. It could be only one thing, an aeroplane and if it came from the north then it was an enemy aeroplane. “Take cover! Incoming!”

  I grabbed my gun and knelt. It was not in my nature to take an attack lying down. I would fight back. I heard Allenby shout, “Swing the Browning around!”

  It was at that moment that I realised this was a jet and a fast one. The North Koreans did not yet possess jets. This one had to be American, Chinese or Russian. When I saw the spurts from the aeroplane’s guns, I knew that it was not American. Even as I opened fire, I knew that the odds on my hitting the aircraft were slim. The Browning and the other guns chattered a feeble response. The enemy shells struck as the jet screamed overhead. I felt them whizz past me. When I heard screams, I knew that some of my men had been hit. I prayed that the three medics and Major Poulson, not to mention the rescued prisoners, had not been hit. They had been through enough. I tracked the jet and emptied my magazine. I saw the star on the side which identified it as Russian. It was a MiG. As it banked, I saw that some of our bullets had done some damage for I saw a tendril of smoke coming from the wing. It continued its turn and headed north and west which confirmed that it had come from Russia. I heard cheers from the town. They must have called in the strike.

  I looked at the devastation it had caused. It had torn a line down my men. Allenby, Lowe and the Browning had all been hit. None had survived. Archie Mackenzie had also been in the line of fire as were five of the Middlesex regiment we had rescued.

  “Lieutenant, go and check on the men in the hut.” I shouted, “Is anyone wounded?”

  Corporal Dixon shook his head and pointed to the eight corpses, “Just these lads who are dead! Sir, what are the Russians doing in this war?”

  I have no idea.” I suddenly remembered the medics. I ran around the hut. There was a great deal of blood but the three of them were still tending to Polly. Godfrey shook his head, “We were lucky sir.” He pointed four feet to the right of them. Their Bergens had been piled up there and were now shredded.

  “How is the operation going?”

  “The critical part, sir. Do you need any of us?”

  Shaking my head, I said, “An undertaker is all we need!”

  I went back and saw that Sergeant Major Thorpe and the Lieutenant had organised the men to begin digging graves. Jake handed me the identity disks. He said, “Sergeant Major Thorpe said to get them in the ground while we can, sir.” He pointed to the sky. “Snow is on the way!”

  He was right and even before we had finished digging the graves, we were enduring a blizzard. Pike had rigged up a parachute as an awning and to afford some protection from the elements. Corporal Dixon had kept men watching for a North Korean attack but they seemed broken. After dark it would be a different matter but, by then, I hoped we would be away. By the time the men were buried, it was two o’clock.

  As much as I wanted to be around to see how the operation went, I knew I had to recce the river. “Ashcroft, get on the radio to base and tell them that we have been attacked by a Russian MiG and we hope to make our escape south tonight.”

  “Shall I tell them how, sir?”

  I shook my head, “Better not in case the enemy soldiers are listening. Lieutenant, take charge here, Williams, come with me. I want you to show me the boats. Sergeant Major, if you need me then send up a flare.”

  “Sir.” He took out his pipe and wagged it at me, “and sir?”

  “Yes, Sarn’t Major?”

  “Be careful.”

  I took just my Colt and I left my Thompson with Marine Harris. We had just under a mile and a half to go and as Williams led me, I was assessing the chances of making it to the river with so many injured men. Luckily the snow had flattened everything and with more snow falling we would have a relatively solid, albeit slippery surface. I saw that just one end of the bridge was destroyed and, as we drew closer, I saw that the barges were moored to the north of the wrecked bridge. Would there be debris underwater? Would the boats have engines?

  We moved cautiously and that caution was justified. I saw movement close to the river bank. There were North Korean soldiers there. I counted just five of them. I drew my Colt, having already removed my silencer and I took out a grenade. I said quietly, “Williams, we are going to have to shift those North Koreans.”

  “Yes, sir. What if there are more of them?”

  “Then we will have to go back and find another way out of this fix. Wait until I tell you before you fire. You start with the soldier furthest south and I will hit the one furthest north. Take it steady and make every bullet count. I am hoping that these white ponchos will make it harder for them to see us. And now we crawl.” We had three hundred yards to crawl through the snow. The falling snow made it hard for us to keep our eyes on them and so I was confident that they would not know that we were closing with them.

  We got to within eighty yards of them. The range was not good for the Colt but any closer and we risked being seen. I tapped Sam on the shoulder and I levelled my pistol. I was resting on my elbows with a two-handed grip just as I had been taught all those years ago. I did not look at Williams, I just said, quietly, “Are you ready?”

  “Sir!”

  “Then open fire!”

  I squeezed the trigger as I said the word and my bullet spun one Korean around and he fell into the water. Sam’s shot hit a heartbeat later and my second hit one in the shoulder. The last two looked around for their attackers and two more bullets ended their confusion. I quickly rose and ran. I was looking for anyone else. When we reached them, we found just two bodies. The other three were floating down the river and I was able to gauge the speed of the current. “Williams, take their guns, grenades and ammo.”

  I slithered down the bank to the boats. They were not big, perhaps twe
lve feet wide and thirty feet long; they looked to be barges used for transporting material up and down the river. They would not have to travel far. There was a cabin at the stern of each one. I had just clambered up on the nearest one when I saw a rifle emerge from the cabin. As it swung towards me, I raised my Colt. It was like a gunfight in the wild west. Which bullet would reach its target first? Although it was me and I hit the man in the chest, I sensed, rather than saw the bayonet which lunged towards me from the side. There had been another on the boat. Although I flicked the bayonet aside with my pistol it still scored a deep cut across the back of my hand and I dropped the gun. I drew my dagger with my left hand and grabbed the barrel of the Korean rifle with my right hand. I knew there might be more men on board and so I slashed my dagger across the man’s throat. He fell spurting blood. I retrieved my Colt and went into the cabin. It soon became clear that there were just the two men. I saw that the one who had used the bayonet had oily hands. He had been in the engine room.

  I saw the open hatch and I went down into the engine room. There was a light which suggested power of some type. I had seen naval engines before and I recognised a big red button. I pushed it. The engine turned but did not fire. I cursed myself. “You idiot! It needs priming!” I saw the priming level and I pumped it seven times just as I would with my petrol lawnmower back in England. I pushed the button again and, although it complained, it fired and began to chug. I was unsure of how much fuel we had and so I turned it off. One boat worked. Did the other?

  I climbed out of the cabin and saw Sam’s face as I emerged, “Sir, are you wounded?”

  I looked down and saw the blood on my poncho. “No, Sam, this is the Korean’s and I just have a scratch on my hand. This one works. Let’s have a look at the other.”

  As soon as we stepped aboard the second barge, I knew there was trouble. It was lower in the water and, when we stepped into the engine room, we stepped into water. There was a leak. Despite priming the engine, it refused to even turn over. I shook my head, “Unless we have a mechanical genius, we are in trouble.” He nodded, “I want you to stay on the other boat and guard it. If North Koreans come then fire three shots and we will come running. While you are here, see what you can find on the two barges which might be useful.”