Engaging account of an important, sometimes overlooked battle of the Korean War. Drury and Clavin (Halsey's Typhoon, 2007, etc.) have mined archival material and conducted extensive interviews with veterans who participated in the Battle of Fox Hill, during which a Marine rifle company held Chinese troops at bay for five days. Facing enemies who were better equipped in temperatures reaching 30 degrees below zero, the Marines fought south through the Toktong Pass in North Korea's Nangnim Mountains. The company's leader, Capt. William E. Barber, was shot and severely wounded in the leg; refusing to be evacuated, he commanded his troops from a stretcher and was subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery. The authors are thorough, but they don't overwhelm readers with minutia in this riveting narrative, which combines drama, military strategy and human interest. They provide a palpable sense of place by including interesting background material, such as accounts by missionaries who explored the terrain in the 1600s. The book's best sections, however, paint vivid verbal pictures of the fighting: "A concussion grenade exploded in the slit trench and kicked [Pfc. Harrison] Pomers into the wall. Another bounced off his helmet and exploded just outside the trench, nearly knocking him out. He could move nothing but his left arm. He wiped his head, saw the blood on his left hand and, frantically reached for his helmet." This approach offers a fine example of historiography examining war at the micro level. Those looking for a big-picture treatment of the war should consult David Halberstam's masterful and elegantly written The Coldest Winter (2007). Drury and Clavin's prose, bycontrast, is rather pedestrian, but those who persevere will find the effort worthwhile. Substance trumps style in a book that will appeal to military history buffs and veterans. First printing of 100,000. Agent: Nat Sobel/Sobel Weber Associates
November 1950, the Korean Peninsula. After General MacArthur ignores Mao's warnings and pushes his UN forces deep into North Korea, his 10,000 First Division Marines find themselves surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered by 100,000 Chinese soldiers near the Chosin Reservoir. Their only chance for survival is to fight their way south through the Toktong Pass, a narrow gorge in the Nangnim Mountains. It will need to be held open at all costs. The mission is handed to Captain William Barber and the 246 Marines of Fox Company, a courageous but undermanned unit of the First Marines. Barber and his men are ordered to climb seven miles of frozen terrain to a rocky promontory overlooking the pass. The Marines have no way of knowing that the ground they occupy-it is soon dubbed "Fox Hill"-is surrounded by 10,000 Chinese soldiers. As the sun sets on the hill, and the temperature plunges to thirty degrees below zero, Barber's men dig in for the night. At two in the morning they are awakened by the sound-bugles, whistles, cymbals, and drumbeats-of a massive assault by thousands of enemy infantry. The attack is just the first wave of four days and five nights of nearly continuous Chinese attempts to take Fox Hill, during which Barber's beleaguered company clings to the high ground and allows the First Marine Division to battle south. Amid the relentless violence, three-quarters of Fox Company's Marines are killed, wounded, or captured. Just when it looks like the outfit will be overrun, Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Davis, a fearless Marine officer who is fighting south from Chosin, volunteers to lead a force of 500 men on a daring mission that cuts a hole in the Chinese lines and relieves the men of Fox Company.
The Last Stand of Fox Company is a fast-paced and gripping account of heroism and self-sacrifice in the face of impossible odds. The authors have conducted dozens of firsthand interviews with the battle's survivors, and they narrate the story with the immediacy of such classic accounts of single battles as Guadalcanal Diary, Pork Chop Hill, and Black Hawk Down.
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The Last Stand of Fox Company is a fast-paced and gripping account of heroism and self-sacrifice in the face of impossible odds. The authors have conducted dozens of firsthand interviews with the battle's survivors, and they narrate the story with the immediacy of such classic accounts of single battles as Guadalcanal Diary, Pork Chop Hill, and Black Hawk Down.
The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat
November 1950, the Korean Peninsula. After General MacArthur ignores Mao's warnings and pushes his UN forces deep into North Korea, his 10,000 First Division Marines find themselves surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered by 100,000 Chinese soldiers near the Chosin Reservoir. Their only chance for survival is to fight their way south through the Toktong Pass, a narrow gorge in the Nangnim Mountains. It will need to be held open at all costs. The mission is handed to Captain William Barber and the 246 Marines of Fox Company, a courageous but undermanned unit of the First Marines. Barber and his men are ordered to climb seven miles of frozen terrain to a rocky promontory overlooking the pass. The Marines have no way of knowing that the ground they occupy-it is soon dubbed "Fox Hill"-is surrounded by 10,000 Chinese soldiers. As the sun sets on the hill, and the temperature plunges to thirty degrees below zero, Barber's men dig in for the night. At two in the morning they are awakened by the sound-bugles, whistles, cymbals, and drumbeats-of a massive assault by thousands of enemy infantry. The attack is just the first wave of four days and five nights of nearly continuous Chinese attempts to take Fox Hill, during which Barber's beleaguered company clings to the high ground and allows the First Marine Division to battle south. Amid the relentless violence, three-quarters of Fox Company's Marines are killed, wounded, or captured. Just when it looks like the outfit will be overrun, Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Davis, a fearless Marine officer who is fighting south from Chosin, volunteers to lead a force of 500 men on a daring mission that cuts a hole in the Chinese lines and relieves the men of Fox Company.
The Last Stand of Fox Company is a fast-paced and gripping account of heroism and self-sacrifice in the face of impossible odds. The authors have conducted dozens of firsthand interviews with the battle's survivors, and they narrate the story with the immediacy of such classic accounts of single battles as Guadalcanal Diary, Pork Chop Hill, and Black Hawk Down.
The Last Stand of Fox Company is a fast-paced and gripping account of heroism and self-sacrifice in the face of impossible odds. The authors have conducted dozens of firsthand interviews with the battle's survivors, and they narrate the story with the immediacy of such classic accounts of single battles as Guadalcanal Diary, Pork Chop Hill, and Black Hawk Down.
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170894383 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tantor Audio |
| Publication date: | 03/30/2009 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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