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A review by socraticgadfly
On Desperate Ground: The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle by Hampton Sides
5.0
Excellent overview of the battle of Chosin Reservoir. Possibly the best. "The Last Stand of Fox Company" might be better in some ways, but, it's so focused at times that it omits some of the larger picture of Chosin.
Sides offers just enough background, starting with Inchon, to set the table in 1 Marine Division, Gen. O.P. Smith, X Corps, Gen. Ned Almond, and Dugout Doug MacArthur for the reader to be ready to dive in to the battle.
I did like the touch about Lee Bae-Suk, and Jesse Brown. Neither is mentioned by Fox Company. On the other hand, even with its tighter focus, that book has a lot more detail about the Army's problems east of Chosin than Sides does.
I personally recommend reading both for the most complete detail. Also, Bruce Cumings, "The Korean War: A History." As Sides notes, it's revisionist history at its best.
"Frozen Chosen" is an OK but not great additional book, too. And Russ's book. All are in the bibliography here.
The one other thing I learned that I hadn't seen in other books is that both Smith and Almond expected Mac to remain in Hungham itself. And why not? After the river bridge was blown, the east side of the city was readily defensible. And, if the troops needed backup, aircraft carrier Navy air/Marine Air, plus the cannons of the battlewagons, were just offshore. Pulling out, IMO, rather than staying there as a thorn in the Chinese side, was the last of many Korean War stupidities by MacArthur.
Sides offers just enough background, starting with Inchon, to set the table in 1 Marine Division, Gen. O.P. Smith, X Corps, Gen. Ned Almond, and Dugout Doug MacArthur for the reader to be ready to dive in to the battle.
I did like the touch about Lee Bae-Suk, and Jesse Brown. Neither is mentioned by Fox Company. On the other hand, even with its tighter focus, that book has a lot more detail about the Army's problems east of Chosin than Sides does.
I personally recommend reading both for the most complete detail. Also, Bruce Cumings, "The Korean War: A History." As Sides notes, it's revisionist history at its best.
"Frozen Chosen" is an OK but not great additional book, too. And Russ's book. All are in the bibliography here.
The one other thing I learned that I hadn't seen in other books is that both Smith and Almond expected Mac to remain in Hungham itself. And why not? After the river bridge was blown, the east side of the city was readily defensible. And, if the troops needed backup, aircraft carrier Navy air/Marine Air, plus the cannons of the battlewagons, were just offshore. Pulling out, IMO, rather than staying there as a thorn in the Chinese side, was the last of many Korean War stupidities by MacArthur.