Evening star., 1951-05-12
Yanksbeaten0fi
In 6-Hour Battle
For Briidgehead
Reds Hold Crossing;
Concentrate Behind
Smoke Curtain
By the Asseeioted Press

IOkYO, May 12.AAmerican
troops battled in vain for six hours
today to break up a Red bridge
head bulging out of a smoke
screened enemy buildup area in
Central Korea.
The bridgehead, 3 miles wide
is south of the Choyang River
east of Chunchon.
An estimated two Red bat
talions. firing mortars and auto
matte weapons, held the bridge
head against stout attack by
United States infantrymen with
heavy air and artillery support.
The Americans broke contact in
midafternoon.
Aggressive Allied patrols traded
shots with dug-in Reds elsewhere
along the Central and Western
fronts.
Smoke Hides Activities.
Chinese Communists covered
their Dehind-the-front activities
with a pail of smoke from fired
timber and smudge pots.
United Nations officers said
there were indications that the
Reds were building for a second
spring offensive. expected within
the next two weeks.
The locations of the Red-built
fires limited that the next enemy
blows would come from points 20
miles northwest and As miles
northeast of Seoul.
One wall of spreading smoke IS
miles long partly hid Communist
troop movements in the mountain
Gus country north of Chunchon
That town is As miles northeast
of Seoul and 8 miles south OF
Parallel 38. The smoke-screen ex-
tended from Kumhwa to Inje,
north of the parallel.
1t was below this buildup area
that the Reds forged their Cho-
yang River bridgehead.
Move Toward Chunchon.
United Nations pilots reported
Red soldiers moving south toward
Chunchon in pairs. SO yards apart
to make air attack more difficult
The troops were strung out for
miles along the North Korean
roads.
A front line dispatch said Reds
also were reported massing in the
Yanggu sector at the east end OF
the Hwachon Reservoir.
U. N. artillery poured explo-
sives into a Red buildup region
northeast of Chunchon where ar
estimated Chinese division was
Reds sent up another smoke
pail near Munsan. about 20 miles
northwest of Seoul. There the
Red concentration was IL mile:
south of Parallel 38.
Other Red buildups have been
observed between Munsan and
IChunchon. They were near
Pupyong and Kapyong, IS to 80
miles northeast of Seoul.
No Sign of Large Groups.
A United Nations officer said
air spoilers today saw no sign of
the large enemy groups seen yes
terday north of Chunchon.
He pointed out, however, that
the same situation prevailed be-
fore the Reds launched their first
spring offensive April %.
1.-TWO days before they hit us
we saw quite few of them" the
officer said. "The day before they
struck we couldn't find any. Then
the attack came"
Even the same tell-tale fires
preceded the first Red assault.
That drive came to a halt 10
days after it began. The Reds
suffered $4,000 casualties.
Red Airfields Hit.
United Nations pilots reported
they killed nearly 400 Reds in a
f1re-bomb attack on a Red buildut
area near Kapyong.
United States B-29 Superforts
hit Red airfields in North Korea
today for the eighth. consecutive
day.
Twelve American F-86 Sabre
jets clashed with 16 Russian-type
IMIG-15 jets over Northwest Ko-
rea today, damaged one and drove
the rest back across the border
into their Manchurian sanctuary
All the American jets returned
safely to their base.
Allied flyers attacked at least
300 Red vehicles moving toward
the front last night. More than
two-thirds were headed for the
central front buildup area. Pilots
said they destroyed more than 80
vehicles.
One Russian-madeM MIG-15 JET
WAS H2mooed today IL, on oir hot