Evening star., 1951-03-23

TOKYO, Mar. 23.-American
paratroopers bolstered by tough
Rangers jumped today behind
Communist lines north of Seoul
and shocked some 10000 Red
troops into hasty flight.
The paratroopers filled the sky
with their brightly hued para
Pictures on Poee AS.
chuteS like massive Easter bou-
quet. But the Communists rallied
later and were fighting desperately
to surround and wipe out the $500
outnumbered American jumpers.
An armored column spearhead-
ing fresh Allied drive by three
divisions north of Seoul linked up
with the paratroopS near the drop
area south of Munsan.
Infantry Moves to Aid.
Lines of infantrymen trudged
up the road for miles behind, mov-
ing to the aid of the hard-fghting
to the aid of the hard-fghting
'chutists.
A second column rolled through
the road center of Uijongbu and
famed out to the east, north and
west. But the Reds won back a
commanding peak miles north
west of Uijongbu and late today
were pouring heavy artillery and
mortar fire into the Allied posi-
tionS.
Munsan is 81 miles northwest of
Seoul and only 9 miles south of
Red Korea. Uijongbu is II miles
north of Seoul.
1t. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway
landed in his light plane on a dirt
road near Munsan only 20 minutes
after the first paratrooper jumped.
Field dispatches said the 9th
Army commander at one time was
in the thick Of a heavy freight.
The parachute operation was
carried out on fast schedule.
Clio Flying Boxcars roared over
the one-mile drop area on express
train schedule. The paratroopersI
had only 20 seconds from signal
to "hit the silk"
Purpose to Kill Enemy
Ammunition cases, jeeps and ar
tillery billowed down after them.
Gen. Ridgway. tight-lipped, told
correspondents: THE purpose of
this operation is to kill the
enemy"
Earlier, some $4,000 Reds had
been reported in the area, with
dug-in defenses 25 miles wide and
Is miles deep to the Red Korean
border. 1t was not Immediately
reported whether the bulk of this
force had fled across the border
or was making stand. They were
identified as elements of the North
Korean 1st Corps.
In Central Korea, an American
patrol pushed within 2 miles of the
border north of Chunchon. 1t met
no Reds, but was halted by Jllt
deep and swift Pukhan River.
But elsewhere in this central
area, a field dispatch said, Red
Koreans stepped up their resist
ance. The Communists were dug
in 10 miles south of the bor1er
around Red-held Mount Kari, a
4,000-foot peak.
Farther east, 2,000-man Com
munist rearguard force was OBJ
served II miles northwest of Pun
gam, moving toward the border.
In Northeast Korea F-86 Sabcr
jets damaged two Russian-typ
MIG jets today. Fifteen American
Saber jets tangled with 80 or more
MICS near Sinuju.
There were dogf1ghts all over
the sky. It was just one big raj
race" a pilot said.
Planes Blister Drop Area.
Allied planes blistered the para
chute drop area near Munsar
ahead of the big jump.
More than $500 paratroopers of
the 1880 Airborne Regimental
Combat Team and Ranger ele-
ments made the jump.
Allied armor speeding north
from Seoul in a new offensive
linked up with the chutists few
hours after the mass Jump from
145 combat cargo planes.
Two tank spearheads paced the
Allied drive north from the old
South Korean capital. Tanks
rumbled up mine-pocked roads
behind crews of engineers who
dug up the explosives.
Attack Finished in Hour.
The airborne assault begun att
9 am. was completed in one hour.
The paratroops met no opposi-
ton in the first minutes after
landing. They slipped out of their
chute harnesses and ran into
Skirmish order standing up.
But as they pushed out from the
UAS44V OAOP d1Cd Ol1Cy oil 11IGO OP-
position from small, scattered
groups of Reds. Some of the Reds
put up stiff fight.
The airborne infantrymen
knocked these out with their artil-
lery and some fighter plane sup
port.
Communist troops apparently
were all around the paratroopers.
An 9th Army staff officer in the
parachute force said there was
continuous fire on the boundary
of the drop erea.
The only mishap of the huge
airdrop was the explosion of a.
C-119 Flying Boxcar cargo plane
in the air after it delivered its
paratroopers.
The Flying Boxcars met no
anti-aircraft fire. No enemy
planes rose to try to break up the
surprise Allied move.
The troops landed near the
place on the western front where
Chinese troops launched their New