A Christmas far from home
Subtitle: an epic tale of courage and survival during the Korean War
By: Stanley Weintraub
Edition: First Da Capo Press paperback edition
Publisher: Da Capo Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Boston, MA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 286
ISBN-13: 9780306824135
Copyright date: 2014
Subjects: History; Korean War, 1950-1953; Campaigns; Marines; Soldiers; Christmas; Escapes; Courage; Survival; Regimental histories; Military campaigns; United States. Army. Corps, 10th; United States
Description: Just before Thanksgiving in 1950, five months into the Korean War, General MacArthur flew to American positions in the north and grandly announced an "end-the-war-by-Christmas" offensive despite recent intervention by Mao's Chinese, who would soon trap tens of thousands of US troops poised toward the Yalu River border. Led by marines, an overwhelmed Tenth Corps evacuated the frigid, mountainous Chosin Reservoir fastness and fought a swarming enemy and treacherous snow and ice to reach the coast. Weather, terrain, Chinese firepower, and a four-thousand-foot chasm made escape seem impossible in the face of a vanishing Christmas. But endurance and sacrifice prevailed, and the last troopships weighed anchor on Christmas Eve.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-276) and index.
Table of contents: title: Preface; title: A Turkey for Thanksgiving; title: Upbeat Thanksgiving; title: The Pincers Parlay; title: Mission Impossible; title: An Entirely New War; title: Beginning the Breakout; title: Hagaru to Koto-ri; title: A Bridge Apart; title: Downhill All the Way; title: Christmas Eve; title: Epilogue; title: Sources; title: Acknowledgments; title: Index.