Evening star., 1951-10-08
| Yanks Drive Near Top
OF Last Red Peak on
|Heartbreak Ridge
BY the Assoeioted Press

UNITED STATES 9th ARMY
HEADQUARTERS, Korea, Oct. 8.
A thin line of dog-tired Amer
|ican infantrymen today edged
toward the top Of the last Red
held peak on craggy Heartbreak
Ridge in Eastern Korea.
Last reports put them within
200 yards of the summit. Com
|munist grenades and machinegun
fire poured down from Red bunk
Iers above as the troops of the
United States I'd Divisions 23d
Regiment fought forward foot by
foot and bunker by bunker.
Across the Mundung Valley to
the west the 9th Regiment of the
ID Division fought fiercely resist
ing North Koreans for possession OF
Kim II Sung Ridge, named by
the Reds for the North Korean
Premier. A dispatch from the
front said the doughboys took sew
eral small hills. Their progress
toward the ridge itself was slowed
by Communist artillery and small
arms fire.
Tanks Pound Red Line.
Between Kim and Heartbreak
infantrymen of the 38th Regi-
ment, also of the I'd Division,
slashed northward and captured
small hill. Tanks attached to the
regiment moved into the valley
and pounded Red positions on
Kim.
Other Allied tanks roared into
Satae. east Of Heartbreak, for the
third straight day. They opened
point blank fire on the Reds but
received heavy artillery fire in
return.
South Korean troops captured a
high peak overlooking the punch
bowl east of Satae and Heart
brake. but a Red counterattack
forced them Off by nightfall.
The ridgelines and valleys
echoed to the roar Of 81 Allied
warplanes that bombed and
strafed Red positions. Allied air.
men reported 1856 casualties on
the Communist troops
Reds Gain I'm West.
Across the war-torn peninsula
on the western front British and
American infantrymen ground
slowly forward on both sides of
the upper Imjin River against
bitterly resisting Reds. The United
Nations troops were supported by
tanks and maSsed artillery. The
Reds met the attacks with heavy
ARTILLERY and mortar barrages of
their own.
There was little but patrol ac-
Ition on the West-Central front.
Sunday. American troops In that
area captured Bloody Baldy, a
dominating peak. and two other
| Iobjectives.
Bloody Badly dominates most of
the United States 1st Cavalry
DIVISIONS sector north of Yon-
tchon.
The Allied advance Sunday was
made behind one of the heaviest
artillery barrages of the war. A
pooled dispatch said the U. MS
big guns fired 2o,68S rounds in IL
hours.
| United States 5th Air Force war
planes were out in strength Mon
day.
/ Fighter bombers relentlessly
pounded Red road and rail facil-
tiles.
Rail Lines Cut.
! q. N. pilots said they cut rail
lines in more than so places in
Western and Northwestern Korea.
In pre-dawn attacks on the east
coast. 5th Air Force pilots said
they spotted 1900 Red vehicles
and destroyed at least l25. Two
trains were attacked but results
were not observed.
| F-86 Sabre jets patrolled MIG
alley Monday afternoon but found
no Red jets.
| One F-84 Thunderjet was hit by
groundfire and crashed in flames
during the day. The Air Force
said there was no chance of pilot
survival.
Allied planes Sunday few 900
sorties, many Of them in close
support Of United Nations troops
across the peninsula.