Evening star., 1951-02-17
Korea
Continued From First Page.)

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ward from bloodily repulsed on
slaughts at Chipyong and Wonju.
The smash at the east flank
near Chechon, a mountain gate
way to South Korea, was the only
serious enemy effort. The Reds
massed $4,000 or more men in the
area, but late field report said
only spearheads had been COM
Imitted.
Eastward on the coast, South
Korean trops made a deep pull
back from the 38th Parallel to a
new defense line, but under no
enemy pressure.
Westward for 70 miles to Seoul
there was scattered, small-scale
fighting.
/. Around Wonju and Chipyong,
where Chinese Reds suffered 22,-
1913 causualties in four days but
failed to break through, Allied
patrols ranged one to more than
two miles north without finding
Reds.
4 The chewed-up Chinese 41st
Corps had pulled back the rem
nantS of four divisions for re-
grouping. But there were signs
that upward of 10000 Chinese
Reds might try to smash the AL
lied center and imperil 100000
United Nations troops around
Seoul.
Three Battles Fought.
| Three separate battles flared
last night and today around Che
chon, ID miles southeast of Wonju.
Accurate U. N artillery quickly
broke up a Red attack last night
IS miles northeast of Chechon.
| At about the same hour, Red
regiment assaulted South Korean
units 10 miles northeast of the
town. BY 2 am. Saturday, the
attack subsidized.
The third action was initiated
miles northeast of Chechon by
South Koreans against south
bound North Korean column.
Reporting from the central
front, Associated Press War Cor
respondent John Randolph said:
while the North Koreans pene-
trated the line, it was in no sense
a breakthrough. Rather the AL
lied forces rolled with the punch.
"The enemy north Of Chechon
was believed to be the 5th North
Korean Corps. 1t seemed to be
trying to slip into the Pyongchang-
Yongwol-Tanyang mountain route
to the south"
Allied Victory Claimed.
Frontline Allied officers claimed
a victory against the attacking
Reds in Central Korea. They
pointed to the disappearance of
lChinese Communists before Chip
yong and Wonju as evidence the
enemy had been hurt. badly.
/ Thirtv-four miles northwest of
Chechon French and American
patrols ranged more than 2 miles
north of Chipyong past hills
strewn with the bodies of Chinese
Reds.
The patrols found no live Reds,
although they pushed up to the
Hukchon River and road leading
northwest to the enemy hub of
Hongchon.
These French and Amenicans
had been encircled from Tuesday
to Thursday and had cut down
waves of Chinese making banzai
attacks. The attacks subsidized
after an armored Allied column
broke the encirclement.
Reds Suffer 5,417 Casualties.
Red ground casualties in Korea
yesterday were estimated at SAT-.
This brought to 1867 the total
estimate of enemy dead, wounded
and taken prisoner since the
United States 9Th Army opened a
drive January Is aimed primarily
at hunting down and killing Reds.
On the Western Front United
States and Puerto Rican forces
met stiff enemy resistance today
while mopping up a pocket south
of the Han River around Kyon-
gan and north of Ichon. Kyon-
gan is 18 and Ichon 81 miles
southeast OF Seoul.
Unfavorable weather cut Allied
air activities yesterday down to
about 500 sorties, less than half
of the record 1,O27 flown Thurs
day.
Saturday 10 Russian made
MIG-15 jets jumped a United
States F-80 Shooting Star near
Sinanju, a Chongchon River town
about 40 miles north of Pyong-
'yang, North Korean capital. The
F-80 escaped unharmed into an
overcast.
Allied naval forces pounded both
Korean coasts yesterday in
diversionary bombardments. Car
rier-borne planes added their
power to the front-line punch of
Allied artillery.