Madison County Democrat. (London, Ohio) 19??-1958, 1951-06-08
CHINESE
USE new
TANK GUN
BY oien Clements

OAAAOt OOANEl O-AfTt--- AillEu
guns thundered down on Chorwon
today and threatened Kun1hwa
from the brink of central Koreas
Pyonggang valley.
Chinese communists opened
flood gates and employed a pow
erful new type anti-tank gun in
efforts to halt the relentless ap-
proach of United Nations ground
forces.
Chorwon and Kumhwa are en-
tries to the Reds buildup and sup
ply area, and center of vital
road network.
The area, known as the Iron
Triangle" was blanketed with
augmentation bombs last night
by % Y. N. bombers. They used
radar technique. Far east air
forces said 100000 bomb frag-
ments splattered over the tri-
angle in "one of the heaviest OPP
erations of its kind"
There were signs the Reds were
shifting their weight eastward
from the triangle. u. N. officers
said the shift indicated the Reds
were moving toward Wonsan, east
coast port at the head of Pyong-
gang valley Wonsan has been
Shelled daily by Allied warships
for nearly four months. 1t is
about IS air miles north of the
38th parallel.
Fiercest fighting was east of
the triangle in the Yanggu-Inje
area. Allied infantrymen clawed
up ridges. With grenades and bay
onets they dug north Koreans out
of fortified dugouts and deep
foxholes where they have with
stood artillery and bombing for
days.
All along the front Reds are
digging new hiding places from
air attack. They are drafting
civilians to speed the job of going
underground, said Maj. Gen.
Frank F. Everest, commander of
the 5th Air Force.
New tunnels are dug wherever
there are no available railroad
tunnels, mines or caves in which
they can hide from fire and frag-
ulentation bombs.
There was no cover for Chinese
still in Chorwon. u. N. artillery
was looking down their throats
from 2,700 foot high mountain
(Kodae). The town itself was
already flattened.
A driving rainstorm Friday
slowed the Allied ground ad-
vance.
The Reds tried to stem the at
tack Thursday by opening one of
the IA gates in Chorwon Dam. A
two foot wall of water swept
down the Hantan River but failed
10 knock out any Allied bridges.
The flood subsided quickly and
the river waters were back to
normal Friday.
Red trucks still streamcd south
with more supplies. And the Chin
ese still have much heavy equip.
ment in the Chorwon-Kumhwa-
Pyonggang triangle.
A delayed dispatch from AF
Correspondent Jim Becker indie
ated how fiercely the Chinese
fought to defend Chorwon's outer
approaches. He said stacks oi
Chinese dead and tons of equip
ment Uttered captured hills,
1t was in this fight the Chinese
unveiled the new anti-tank gun
Becker described it As a long
shouted 81 MN. weapon that fires
shells that pierce five inches ol
solid steel plate.
The barrel of the gun Is nine
feet long and the shells whistle
from its mouth at terrific speed
U.N. troops captured them
Becker said they bore new Rus
sian tires, but they weren't al
good os some American made
tires on a big Chinese mortar
also captured.
Allied officers repeated tina
IL Chorwon falls, all of the "irol
triangle" will fall. The lands ar
flat, easily covered by tanks.
The u. N. made no summary o
communist casualties. But tn
north Korean Pyongyang radi'
said s, 1000 Allied troops were Kill
ed or wounded Thursday on tn
eastern front. It also said IL U.N
planes were shot down.
On the eastern front, AP cor
respondent George Macarthur saic
Allied troops were harrasse
through the night by heavy MOI
tar fire.