Chap4 Scenario 7.3 Night of Fire
Italics = in game notations
Well who ever reads this might as well know this diary,…is painful to write. I still cant write about the battle for No Name Ridge. Not yet anyway.
But as I sit here I can still feel the soreness in my thigh when the weather changes, from that dreadful experience.
You know I was at Hagaru when it all went down just after Thanksgiving back ’50. I was thankful all right. After being wounded back in August I did a rotation with Division until I got my strength back. It was good to be out of the line of fire despite fretting for the men.
Thanksgiving wasn’t much to celebrate, except the fact that we were alive and the Chicoms didn’t interrupt the turkey dinner…well it wasn’t turkey, but it was some sorta meat. Anyway it was bitterly cold, even with winter uniforms. It had to be at least 15 below in the sun. The Engineers were blasting rock and frozen ground for an airstrip. Hell of a time to build.
2200 hrs
I was still up when it all started. Talking to the Major, drinking a bourbon from his private collection. Eagle Rare. I’d never heard of it. But back in Arizona there was not much call for Whiskey. I drank Tequila. This Eagle Rare was a little sweet for me.
Lesson learned about stacks, movement under OW and a host of little things. Both sides earned some pain.
An MG section from 172 dies, near NW end of the runway. Several Chi units suppressed.<
Once the shooting started, the Major asked me to go help the USMC tanks move a little closer to the action.
This moves tanks to cover 3/1 and airfield against imminent threats.
2300
The Arty was all diverted to support the airstrip defense. Those guns lite up the night! Dam, talk about frightening. The sneaky bastards were caught in the open, and paid for it.
They had swept wide to come across the paddies.
US Arty SYRs one stack, continuous fire and FF combined.
CHI fire mortars @ How 3/1 suppressing it, follow up with a crossfire SFA, and..
I was headed to 3/1 Howard when a daring charge into the midst of How 3/1, was executed by the Chinese. 3/1 stood their ground and fought taking horrendous losses.
Chinese inflict 3 steps on Howie, with -3 columns on 12 str for the A-Fire. AND Howie only does 1 step on 21 str +5!! Crappy rolls;
Guns jammed, cold numb hands dropped grenades, the 3/1 is in disarray at the onslaught they see in the illumination!
They SYR as the decision to lose the MG unit costs them a Battalion Morale. So preserving the Inf Steps for the next round of close assault combat was pointless. Duh..Losing! 2 platoons have 1 step each and are hiding in Hagaru.
I figured we had to slow these bastards up somehow. I led 2-Dog-1 across the airstrip right into the middle of the buggers!
However the M26’s and tanks did reciprocate with 2 awesome Overruns! The tanks barreled out across the airstrip overan one unit who was paralyzed and then destroyed a MG section who was suppressed.
They skidded on a hard right U turn back across the field to sit and wait for the next opportunity. Hoohah.
Mid way thru 2400 and 1/172 has 2 Bat Morale 2/172 has 0 and 3/173 has 3
3/1 has 2.
The Chinese special rule of food foraging when attacking has kicked in, so no more morale recovery for the 172 !!! Yikes. Its still snowing and the damned 240 is no where to be seen.
Under the illumination I could see thru my ‘nocs many of the platoons of Chinese diverting to ransack a secondary supply cache that had been dropped but not moved into Hagaru-ri yet. Dam are they hungry?