Evening star., 1951-05-02
Van Fleet Claims Reds Beaten
In First Phase Of Offensive;
Expects THEY'LL Strike Again
Planes Smash Dam,
Thwurting Enemy's
River Crossing
BY the Assoeioted Press

spring offensive has been stopped
by "a great victory by the United
Nations" 1t. Gen. James A. Van
Fleet said today-but a new Com
munist assault is in the making
The Allied ground commander
jubilantly announced "the enemy
has failed"
The Reds lost, too, in their
battle to control the rivers which
must be crossed in the next phase
of their spring offensive.
American naval planes skip
bombed gaping holes in the food
gates of Hwachon Reservoir and
sent water rushing back into the
Pukhan and Han Rivers. The Reds
had closed the gates tight in an
effort to lower these great natural
water barriers for an easy crossing.
Tanks Hunting Reds.
AS the rivers returned toward
normal levels, U. N. tank patrols
rumbled out today on Red hunts.
One tank force stabbed II miles
north of Seoul to the Uijongbu
area and ran into a Chinese am
bush. Tankers buttoned down
their matches and fought their
way back through Red attempts
to set up a road block.
Other armored patrols searched
the immense "V'' formed by the
Pukhan and Han Rivers east of
Seoul. They found no Reds.
Searching warplanes found
plenty of targets on the highways.
Through the night and day they
blasted Red efforts to build up
manpower and supplies for a re-
newal of their halted offensive.
Foe Punished Severely.
The present status of the Red
drive was summed up by Gen.
Van Fleet after a flying visit to
the 10th Corps front. He said:
1--WE have punished the Com
munist forces severely. The
enemy has failed in the first
phase of his offensive. He has
paid a heavy price (more than
$4,000 casualties in nine days.
The first part of the battle has
ended in a great victory for the
United Nations"
Gen. Van. Fleet made it clear
he didn't consider this the final
end of the Red offensive.
Communist forces, he said, have
"the capability of hitting again as
hard as before or harder. How
ever. I am confident the results
will be the same"
Planes Reopen Gates.
Every Red attempt in the drive
so far has ended like the battle of
the rivers.
The Communists closed the
sluice gates Monday night to lower
the level of the two rivers. That
would make them easier to cross
The water level dropped sharply.
Skyraiders from the Carrier
Princeton opened the gates yes
terday. They swept in across the
reservoir and skipped 1,000-pound
bombs into two flood gates. First
reports said they used aerial tor
pedoeS but later Associated Press
Correspondent Tom Bradshaw said
they used bombs with special fuses
to cause the greatest amount of
underwater damage.
One of the Is f1oodgates was
destroyed. A 10-foot hole was
ripped in another.
Now the Reds will have to build
bridges across the river. And
their Slow-working engineers will
be easy targets for United Nations
artillery and planes which blasted
the drive out of the nine-day-old
Communist offensive.
Supply Lines Bombed.
Fifth Air Force planes, round
ing out their 125,0OOth sortie of
the Korean war, inflicted 500 cas-
ualties.
The planes kept up a round
the-clock attack on Communist
supply lines and concentrations.
Unprecedented numbers of Red
trucks still were rushing south
as the Communists shifted their
weight from the west to the CEN
tral front.
Heaviest increase in men and
supplies appeared to be on the
central front. Most of them were
concentrating in the Chunchon
sector. This is the center of a
road network.
BY the light of flares U. N
planes spotted more than 1000
vehicles on the move last night.
Nine hundred were counted on
west coast highways leading
toward Seoul.
The Reds stayed out of range
of massed American artillery.
Chinese Artillery Opens Up.
Chinese artillery, a rarity dur
ing more recent stages of their
offensive. opened up briefly last
AAASAAU AAOA VII VI OCOul. RuIlS
fired 200 to 300 rounds 4 miles
northwest of the city, then fell
silent
The number of Red shells was
matched by the United States
cruiser Helena alone. Back in ac-
ton after an overhaul in the
United States, the heavy cruiser
blasted 280 rounds into Wonsan
on the east coast by the light of
star shells.
The Navy maintained it's usual
bombardments on both coasts and
sent its planes roaring over North
Korea. But its most spectacular
action was the reopening of
Hwachon Dam.
Bacon Rution Increased