Evening star., 1951-03-10

bC4O1C 11OOl1 COOdy CdoO VI 0COu!
Flame-throwing tanEs rumblee
ahead of U. N. fighting units ane
spit their fiery streams into Com.
munist foxholes.
I'VE killed a batch of then
and have driven many more bach
Mop Of Korean Fighting. Pose A:
into the hills" one front-line of.
ficer said.
' On the eastern front, South
Korean reinforcements moved in.
to the line to bolster defenders oi
Amidong. The Red Korean &c
Corps had driven within less than
3 miles of the town.
Making Good Progress.
A battalion of South Korean
Marines also was thrown into the
fight.
Field dispatches said the South
Koreans were making good
progress" in plugging the line. An
American officer with the South
Koreans said he was confident the
bulge in the lien would be
Strengthened out within "a hours.
In the west. patrols of the
United States 25th Divisions 35th
ann famed 9th Wolfhound Regi-
ments ranged off the Seoul plains
into rugged hills to the north.
Intelligence officers of the 25th
tTropic Lightning) Division said
the mighty United Nations artil-
lery bombardment and infantry
drive across the Han apparently
had broken the back of the Com
munists' first defense line north
of the river.
They said the Reds probably
had pulled back to defend the
main road leading west to Seoul
This is about miles north of the
present line.
Skies were gray but the weather
was mild as the Doughboys slowly
and methodically pushed their
northward advance. They searched
every yard of ground.
Reds Abandon Best Positions.
When the Reds showed fight,
the Allied units called for artillery
barrages. Then they threw their
own firepower into the Chinese
positions and finally climbed the
hills to capture or kill any who
stood their ground.
1.-The more than 300 prisoners
we collected already would make
up one of their battalions." an
officer said.
Farther west, United States 1st
Cavalry Division troops pushed
along razorback ridges east and
southwest of Yongdong. They
were fighting up the road to the
Red supply center of Hongchon
Their commander, Maj. Gen
Charles D. Palmer, said the
cavalrymen have forced the Reds
to abandon their best positions
I'VE are picking up a consider
able amount of equipment and it
looks as though we are killing
plenty of them" he said.
In the center of the line, Greek
troops advanced as much as four
miles against moderate to stiff
resistance. The British 9th
Commonwealth Division rolled
ahead more than one mile.
American Marines pushed ahead
another mile north of Hoengsong
The Leathernecks called for air
strikes and slammed artillery bar
RACES into Red positions honey
combing a row of 3,000-foot high
mountains.
Forced to Retreat.
Jellied gasoline hit in soaring
flames. Rockets zoomed into the
ridges. Bombs smashed against
the peaks. Smoke from a dozen
fires shrouded the ridgeline.
THAT ought to help soften them
up for u.s." a Marine major said
Five to eight miles east OF
Hoengsong. United States End Di-
vision doughboys scattered Com
munists holding ridges.
On the eastern flank, South Ko-
rean 5th Division troops forced
the Reds to retreat after heavy
fighting throughout this morning
The ROK's gained more than one
mile.
The toll of Communist deao
mounted on the fourth day of the
new Allied offensive.
In three days, U. N. troops have
killed or wounded more thar
$4,000 Reds. The United States
9th Army said 6,849 Reds were
killed or wounded yesterday.
United States 5th Air Force
pilots reported they inflicted 40(
Communist troop casualties alone
the front today.
Low visibility delayed the starr
of the Air Force operations, but
by 6 pm. a am, EST fighter
and light bomber pilots had fowr
$40 sortieS.
Pilots reported they destroyed
one tank, $50 buildings, 46 vehi-
cles, five railroad cars, two CUR
emplacements, a supply dump anc
q railroad bridge.
The air blows were aimed at q
villages along the Red supply line