Evening star., 1951-09-03
Communists Routed
From Two Heights
North of Inje
By the Associated Press

By the AsSociaied Press
UNITED STATES 9th ARMY
HEADQUARTERS, Korea, Sept. 3.
Communist fighter planes today
made six bombing and strafing
attacks on United Nations ground
forces on the east central fighting
front.
One of the planes was identified
as Russian-type Yak-9 fighter.
The others were identified only as
enemy aircraft.
The Red planes made their hit
and-run attacks through clouds
between 6 and GAO am. Monday
a and 4:40 pm. Sunday EDIT =.
They fled north Immediately after
the attacks.
Some Drop Bombs.
Some dropped single bombs. The
one identified as Yak-9 fired a
rocket at Allied ground troops.
There was no report of results.
The attacks were made between
KumhWa and Hwachon, north of
the 38th Parallel.
An Allied officer told Associated
Press Correspondent George A.
Macarthur on the east central
front that it was family possible
all the Strafing runs were made by
a single plane. But the officer
said this was unlikely in view of
the distance and time involved.
One attack was against a front
line unit near KumhWa. The
others were directed at Allied
troops just to the rear of the
front line.
In ground action on the east
central front. Mr.. Macarthur re-
ported attacking Allied troops
Swarmed up two vital heights
north of Inje today and routed
Reds from their last stronghold
on the line north of the Punch
bowl, scene of bitter fighting be-
fore the armistice talks began.
Control Ridgeline.
The Allies pushed around the
Punchbowl plain from east and
west, Mr.. Macarthur said, and by
late this afternoon controlled the
ridgeline surrounding the area,
except for one peak at the north
east corner. That peak was still
under attack.
u. N. gains gave the Allies con-
troll of the supply road into the
Punchbowl through which Reds
have been pouring south.
Red resistance in the area was
reported slackening by nightfall
and an estimated 500 Communists
were observed marching north
from the Punchbowl. They were
brought under artillery attack.
The Reds apparently were pull
ing back to set up another de-
fense line a short distance to the
north.
West of the Punchbowl, how
ever, the Reds stubbornly counter
attacked and defended their
dug-in hill positions against hard
driving Allied troops.
Red Charges Hurled Back.
Attacking on a 30-mile front,
the U. N. troops carved out bloody
gains earlier in see-saw action
from Kumhwa north to Inje.
The Reds threw battalionS Of
up to 1000 men each at the driv-
ing Allies, who hurled back the
charges with the aid of heavy ar
tillery barrages.
Elsewhere along the front ac-
ton was confined to brief patrol
clashes.
Far East Air Forces said nine
United States B-29s from Oki-
naWa rained 80 tons of 500-pound
bombs on marshalling yards at
Chongju, junction for two rail
lines from Manchuria to North
Korea. Chongju is midway be-
tween the Manchurian-Korean
border and the North Korean
capital. Pyongyang.
The SuperfortS unloaded their
bombs on a 14-track 2.500-foot
marshalling yard in Chongju.
Twelve other B-29s from bases
in Japan hit the railroad bridge
spanning the Chong River 20 air
miles east of Chonju.
Red Jets Knocked Down.
The bombers ran into some
antiaircraft fire &c thew carried
their bomb loads into MIG alley
but they met no Red jets.
In the same general area on
Sunday, 81 F-86 Sabre jets
knocked down four out of 40 Rus
Sian-made MIG-15s in history's
longest jet battle. 1t was a 30
minute fight that roared at alti-
tudes from 712 down to miles.
Credit for the kills went to Col.
Francis S. Gabreski, his second
MIG of the Korean war; 1t.
Ralph D. Gibson, his fourth; Maj.
Winton w. Marshall and Capt.
Richard S. Johns.
Two other B-29s today bombed
Red supply center near Wonsan
on the east coast without meeting
anti-aircraft fire or enemy planes.
FEAT said all planes returned
safely to their bases.
Fifth Air Force fighter -bombers
destroyed or damaged 38 railroad
cars and cut rails in 10 places in