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    On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle
    Unavailable
    On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle
    Unavailable
    On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle
    Audiobook12 hours

    On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle

    Written by Hampton Sides

    Narrated by David Pittu

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From the New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Soldiers and In the Kingdom of Ice, a chronicle of the extraordinary feats of heroism by Marines called on to do the impossible during the greatest battle of the Korean War

    On October 15, 1950, General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of UN troops in Korea, convinced President Harry Truman that the Communist forces of Kim Il-sung would be utterly defeated by Thanksgiving. The Chinese, he said with near certainty, would not intervene in the war.

    As he was speaking, 300,000 Red Chinese soldiers began secretly crossing the Manchurian border. Led by some 20,000 men of the First Marine Division, the Americans moved deep into the snowy mountains of North Korea, toward the trap Mao had set for the vainglorious MacArthur along the frozen shores of the Chosin Reservoir. What followed was one of the most heroic—and harrowing—operations in American military history, and one of the classic battles of all time. Faced with probable annihilation, and temperatures plunging to 20 degrees below zero, the surrounded, and hugely outnumbered, Marines fought through the enemy forces with ferocity, ingenuity, and nearly unimaginable courage as they marched their way to the sea.

    Hampton Sides' superb account of this epic clash relies on years of archival research, unpublished letters, declassified documents, and interviews with scores of Marines and Koreans who survived the siege. While expertly detailing the follies of the American leaders, On Desperate Ground is an immediate, grunt's-eye view of history, enthralling in its narrative pace and powerful in its portrayal of what ordinary men are capable of in the most extreme circumstances.

    Hampton Sides has been hailed by critics as one of the best nonfiction writers of his generation. As the Miami Herald wrote, "Sides has a novelist's eye for the propulsive elements that lend momentum and dramatic pace to the best nonfiction narratives."

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 2, 2018
    ISBN9780735208551
    Unavailable
    On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle
    Author

    Hampton Sides

    Narrative historian Hampton Sides is the New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Soldiers, Blood and Thunder, Hellhound on His Trail, In the Kingdom of Ice, and On Desperate Ground. He is a contributing editor to Outside magazine and a frequent contributor to National Geographic and other publications. His work has been collected in numerous anthologies, and he is a two-time finalist for the National Magazine Award for feature writing. Hellhound on His Trail, about the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. and the hunt for his killer, was the basis for the acclaimed PBS documentary Roads to Memphis. Sides lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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    Reviews for On Desperate Ground

    4.5/5

    56 ratings14 reviews

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    • 5/5
      The frozen Chosin. Great overview of the context and the battle. Not too in-depth but a great read. You’ll never think of McArthur the same way.
    • 4/5
      I was basically completely ignorant about the Korean War. I feel, after listening to this account of it, that I have a much better understanding of what occurred. The Marine First Division was truly remarkable in their endurance, courage, and determination. I was truly impressed. I was appalled by the arrogance and narcissism of General Douglas MacArthur. Very good book!
    • 5/5
      Hampton Sides has written another powerful book, this one focussed on the Marines trapped at the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea in late 1950. Sides did an amazing amount of research, tracking down survivors as well as using written sources. In addition, his focus on the Marines is balanced with interludes surveying the entire theater of war, and stories of the Army units also trapped when the Chinese armies attacked. In particular, he sees the Korean perspectives of the conflict and tries to convey the suffering and dislocation Koreans underwent by relating the story of a then young North Korean who had fled south but left his family north of the DMZ. An excellent book!
    • 5/5
      If you are unfamiliar with other histories by Hampton Sides, you may be forgiven for double-checking to make sure you didn’t pick up this book from the thriller section of a bookstore or library. This real-life page-turner focuses on the battle at the Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War. The Marines trapped in the mountains of Korea around the reservoir were desperately outnumbered and fighting in - at best - minus-twenty-degree weather. (Who would have thought this turned out to be life-saving for some, since wounds were instantly frozen shut….?)The Korean War was fought between June, 1950 and July, 1953 between North Korea (with the support of China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (with the support of the United Nations, and in particular, the United States).General Douglas MacArthur, in charge of U.S. forces in the area, met with President Truman in October of 1950 and assured him the Chinese were not going to enter the war. This was in spite of the warning from Mao Zedong he would take military action if MacArthur sent United Nation forces (made up principally of Americans) north of the 38th parallel, which divided North from South Korea. MacArthur, however, claimed he had special insight into “the Oriental mind,” and although intelligence indicated the Chinese were spotted in large numbers along the border, MacArthur ignored it.And yet, it was almost impossible to ignore. That same month, some 300,000 Red Chinese soldiers began crossing the Manchurian border into Korea.The brutal conflict at the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea began in late November, 1950, about a month after the People's Republic of China surreptitiously entered the Korean War on the side of the North Koreans. (And only a month after MacArthur assured Truman this would never happen.)Even when confronted with evidence of the massive Chinese presence, MacArthur and Major General Edward Almond, the commander of the U.S. forces, pooh-poohed the idea that “Chinese laundrymen” represented any threat to Americans. Almond maintained that reports about the Chinese had to have been exaggerated, and those worried about them were cowards: how could a “crude bamboo army” be any threat whatsoever? (Notably, Almond was also prejudiced against African-American soldiers.) Almond, acting on MacArthur’s wishes, insisted their troops - primarily the 20,000 men of the 1st Marine Division - advance to the Chosin Reservoir up in the mountains of North Korea, over a single unpaved road through the heart of the T’aebaek Mountains in freezing weather and blinding snowstorms. They were to take the reservoir and then keep on going to the Yalu River (which forms the border between North Korea and China). The result of this racism and hubris at the top of the American military hierarchy was a Chinese ambush followed by many deaths on both sides.For over two weeks the soldiers under the field command of Major General Oliver P. Smith (some 30,000 in all, later nicknamed "The Chosin Few") were encircled and attacked by between 120,000 and 150,000 Chinese, who had been ordered by Mao Zedong to destroy the UN forces. The fact that the UN combatants were able to break out of the encirclement (albeit with heavy casualties) against such daunting odds and to make a (fighting) withdrawal to the port of Hungnam was nothing less than miraculous. Upon reaching Hungnam, the surviving veterans were evacuated as part of the large amphibious operation to rescue UN troops from northeastern Korea.Hampton Sides tells what happened in a way that will have you gasping with shock and awe, and crying and cheering both, in turns.Some standout moments from the story:-Marine First Lieutenant John Yancey, 32, a WWII veteran, remaining in action despite being seriously wounded, even with one eyeball dangling from its socket; he grasped his dangling eye and mashed it back into place. He felt it imperative that he stand his ground because there was a 90% fatality rate in his platoon;-Private Stan Robinson, who, with frostbite so bad the skin had sloughed off of both anklebones, crawling back up the hill from the hospital tent to fight by Yancey’s side;-Private Hector Cafferata, 21, fighting in his stocking feet (it was 20 below zero), and killing over a hundred Chinese soldiers with the help of his best buddy, Private Kenneth Benson, 19. Benson, although blinded by shrapnel, readied guns for Cafferata which Benson reloaded from memory;-Army Private First Class Ed Reeves, 19, somehow persevering after having both legs blown to bits and being shot in the head by the Chinese and left for dead. When the Chinese saw Reeves was still alive, they pummeled his head with rifle butts and broke the bones in his hands. Still he lived! He crawled on his belly and elbows across the frozen lake at Chosin to be rescued.-The darkly funny episode when a supply drop for ammo was called in at embattled East Hill in Hagaru. Someone wasn’t apprised that “Tootsie Rolls” was code for 60-millimeter mortar shells, and boxes of the candy were delivered instead of the ammo. The Marines softened them up in their mouths and used them as spackling to plug the bullet holes in their trucks and tanks.-The U.N. troops feeling a deep sympathy for the Chinese troops; they were young and were clearly being sacrificed as cannon fodder. Yet it was kill or be killed, and so they mowed down the Chinese in wave upon wave, using the frozen corpses as sniper screens and even ballast for rebuilding a blown bridge when they ran out of sand bags.The bitter cold proved as deadly as the Chinese. On one night, the actual temperature was 25 below and the wind chill was 70 below. Overall, eighty-five percent of the UN combatants suffered from frostbite, and many died of exposure. In all, US Army losses numbered around 2,000 killed and 1,000 wounded. For the First Marine Division, the numbers were some 750 dead with 3,000 wounded and just under 200 missing in action. Precise casualties for the Chinese are not known but are estimated between 19,000 to 30,000. Sides also provides interesting information on how the machinery was (adversely) affected by the cold, and what the cold did to the minds as well as the bodies of the soldiers.Afterwards, the First Marine Division was lauded by Truman’s liaison in Korea as “the most efficient ad courageous combat unit I have ever seen or heard of” and Truman himself called the departure from Chosin “one of the greatest fighting retreats that ever was.” Military historians placed most of Chosin’s success in the hands of one man: General Oliver Smith. Smith, however, credited his men and officers for what was accomplished at Chosin.Evaluation: Once again, Hampton Sides turns history about an episode many Americans know nothing about into vivid, heart-racing drama. This terrific story makes you feel as if the American military can do anything, even while realizing that “the American military” is just a bunch of American kids, made up of equal parts of fear and bravado. My only criticism is that Sides assumes readers will know the relative sizes of companies, platoons, divisions, battalions, etc. But that may just be a problem experienced by this particular reader. Highly recommended!
    • 3/5
      Most readers will probably rate this book higher than I did. In my case, I wanted a true history of the battle. This isn't it. That is not to say it isn't worth reading or that it doesn't keep a reader's attention. It most definitely does. Here's the thing: it starts out very dramatically. I could almost hear the patriotic music swelling in the background, with John Wayne just off to the side, ready to make sure the reader was focused on what really mattered. Then it switches to a quite caustic presentation on how America had two of the most vain, arrogant, military leaders who ever existed in charge of the armed forces in Korea -- with absolutely no explanations for why America would have allowed such a state of affairs -- and then, having set the stage for how several thousand lesser ranking military people were going to have to deal big time with this nearly unlimited amount of incompetence, it goes on to explain in quite graphic detail how they did just that. The book from that point is mostly vignettes of various Marines (and a soldier or two.) At times, you will be hard pressed to believe what you are reading, but the author makes it all very, very convincing. Make no mistake about it, what the Marines (and few others) went through in this battle was remarkable. It is regrettable that only a handful of individuals get the first-class attention when it is obvious that others, unnamed, must have done much or nearly the same. In the end, the author makes no excuses about what the book is or is not. It's one of the few times the Acknowledgments section of a non-fiction book helped me to accept the basic, but limited, book for what it was, allowing me to maintain a rather high regard, nonetheless. As an homage to extraordinary effort, the book serves its purpose quite well.
    • 5/5
      On Desperate Ground: The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War’s Greatest Battle,Hampton Sides, author, David Pittu, narratorThere are few books I would like to award more than 5 stars, but this is one of them. Not only is it researched thoroughly and written logically, with the clear lens of the backward glance, the audio has a pitch perfect narrator, imparting the story with the clarity and structure the author intended. He plants the reader right in the thick of every scene with descriptions and prose that transcend the time and place without his ever usurping or going beyond the purpose for which he was chosen. He brings the story to life and engages the reader completely. Although history can be dry to some, this is not, and I think there will be few who will not read it through, experiencing what the soldiers did in each battle. Not a single reader will fail to understand the need to have toxic masculinity when fighting this war, or any, for that matter. War is evil, no doubt about it, but when engaged in it, one must be totally absorbed in it.Although the book covers the reason America was in Korea, the infighting between the Marines and the Navy, and the incompetence of some of the commanding officers who designed and implemented the tactics of the Korean War, it dwells mostly on the courage and stamina of the brave soldiers who fought against all odds, to overcome the enemy, in a strange place, in an unkind climate. They bravely fought the Chinese soldiers who were instructed to defy and ignore every rule of the Geneva Conventions, by their leader, Mao Tse-tung. It was 1950, the American soldiers were young, they were devoted to the cause and they were a brotherhood of men. Although these marines, who came from many backgrounds to fight the battle of the Chosin Reservoir, were eventually forced to retreat, they can only be described as displaying what today would be called something akin to male toxicity, yet without these kinds of soldiers, we Americans, not by our own choice, might all be speaking a different language than our own English. The Commanding officer, of the First Marine Division, General Oliver Smith, is an unsung hero of the war. He saved more men then was thought possible, against odds also thought impossible. Another unsung hero, in this historic, but little known battle, was Lieutenant Colonel John Partridge. He never gave up, which is a huge quality of toxic masculinity. It is the idea of maintaining perseverance in the face of extreme danger and impossible odds and of then accomplishing the impossible in just that way. Truman, led down the garden path by Douglas MacArthur, who was beginning to be ruled by his arrogance more than careful thought and planning, approved the war strategies he proposed. Unfortunately, they led to unnecessary loss of life and the eventual stalemate decision of the war, with no clear winner, as the odds were stacked against them by an arrogant General. Still, though outnumbered, the soldiers did perform valiantly. Many of the commanding officers, like General Ned Almond, were political, and their carriage and behavior belied the reality and casualties of war. More concerned with their image and future, they made decisions founded on their own fantasies and not the intelligence with which they were provided, but ignored. Some blamed their failures on others, putting innocents in harm’s way to justify their actions. MacArthur wanted the spectacle of war, the photo ops and the praise and began to lose sight of the danger of failure. Almond, who supported MacArthur was a racist until he died and he blamed the black soldiers for failures. Racism was alive and well as the Korean War raged, but there were examples of heroism and brotherhood in spite of it. The soldiers were cut from a different cloth than many Americans today with the idea of nationalism and love of flag and country being so widely disparaged. The story is told in five parts beginning with start of the war in Seoul, and ending with the evacuation by sea to the United States for the soldiers of General Smith’s valiant regiment. Two of the generals, MacArthur and Smith, who were involved in the battle plans, one laying them out and the other carrying the orders out, were as different as they could be. While MacArthur never met a spotlight he did not like, Smith preferred his privacy. He did not need medals or cameras as MacArthur fed upon those needs. Smith’s concern was for the safety of his men and winning the battle. MacArthur’s concern was pretty much for his own image and success, which is what led to his ultimate failure.There were so many unsung heroes who did not claim the center of attention and yet fought and/or died with incredible valor. Their respect for their commanding officers and their country was beyond admirable. The marines were duty bound and they performed their duties with gallantry and honor whenever possible. They were a brotherhood of men, devoted to each other and their country. They devised ways to defeat the enemy in the face of the most dreadful odds. They did not give up. How many of us retain such strong convictions, today, convictions that would spur us on beyond what is thought humanly possible? Today, such qualities are often mocked, especially in men, and not given the praise they deserve. Sometimes men and women are called upon to do things they do not like, but for the sake of the greater good, they perform their duties with bravado and spirit. Their daring should be respected. Perhaps we need to reinstate the draft, or a draft of some kind, like the Peace Corps, that is not voluntary, so that all young people give some time to the service of their country and do not expect their country to serve them. I cannot write more without giving the heart of the book away, but if every high school student read and analyzed this book, male and female, in a genderless society some think is utopia, they would begin to understand far more about their country than they do now, as they think only of their technical devices, their idealism and self-serving needs. As President John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”. America may have lost its way, but it can find its way back if we start educating our young to love it once again.
    • 4/5
      I read David Halberstam's history of the Korean War and it was excellent - however, I found this book to be much more readable and engaging. The narrative approach of picking out a few individuals and telling the story of this episode in US military history through their eyes make the book seem much more personal and moving. The author certainly makes MacArthur and Almond out to be so sub-standard compared to the bravery and strategic excellence of Smith and the US Marines. A very moving story and a vitally important look at the havoc wreaked by detached and incompetent leaders.
    • 4/5
      The battle of Chosin Reservoir accounted for about 10% of all casualties in the Korean War, on both sides, yet it only lasted 8 days. Chosin was brutal and legendary for the ferocity of the fighting, cold weather and canyon-like terrain. There have been many books, but Hampton Sides has written the definitive introduction for the general reader. Sides balances pacing, character, research and story. The reading is effortless and hard to put down, it's informative and not of that dubious genre "adrenaline literature", it contains real historical analysis and perspective on the wider war. It shows all sides from McArthur to private and refugees, it's a marvel how much it includes while keeping the narrative going. Highly recommended for a cold winter.
    • 5/5
      The story of the battle of the Chosen Reservoir from The First Marine Division point of view. Surrounded by 300,000 Chinese soldiers who streamed across the border into what would be known as North Korea. General Douglas MacArthur and his underestimated the desire and will of Chairman Mao and his country. MacArthur sent 20,000 Marines disregarding what others were telling him to be surrounded by a Chinese trap. This story is the how the Marines fought their way out. The greatest battle of the Korean War.
    • 4/5
      This is about the Korean War. The Marines were ordered to come in to North Korea from the water, then over mountains during the coldest time of the year (in what turned out to be one of the coldest winters). There were a lot of stupid decisions made by two people higher up in the chain of command (sorry, I don’t know the military well enough to remember titles and who outranks whom), though the next in that chain knew they were stupid decisions and he did his best to follow orders, but to find ways to keep damage to a minimum. I really liked this; it was really interesting. I know very little about the Korean War, and not only did this tell the stories of these Marines and how they (most? some? of them) got out of a bad situation, but I got a bit of insight into how the war started.
    • 4/5
      A great telling of a great battle, fought by great men. A fantastic job by side to illuminate the oft forgotten Korean War and the brave men that fought in it. The brutal conditions in which these men were placed and dealt with was communicated to the reader in a well written, readable and addictive prose that Sides is becoming well know for. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Quite an engrossing story, I read it in two days. Sides does an excellent job describing the lead-up to the battle. The battle itself was less interesting, though parts of it were amazing. The wrap-up was too perfunctory. > When the mortar teams ran low on ammo, a supply drop was called in, using the established code name for 60-millimeter mortar shells: "Tootsie Rolls." A plane came and dropped the requested supplies by parachute, but when the boxes were cut open, the supply crews found no shells inside. Whoever had packed the order, apparently not familiar with the code name, had stuffed the boxes with actual Tootsie Rolls, enough candy for many thousands of men. The mortar teams were infuriated about the mix-up, but everyone else was thrilled. … The Marines found that the confection not only provided quick fuel; it had a practical use, too. The rolls were the perfect size and consistency for plugging bullet-riddled gas tanks, fuel hoses, and radiators. The men would warm the candies in their mouths until they softened, then "precision-mold" them to whatever shape was required.
    • 5/5
      Hampton Sides’ account of the First Marine Division’s desperate battle for survival at the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea reads like a gripping adventure/mystery novel. Sides carefully documents his accounts and brings the narrative to life by focusing on individuals who played an active role in the fight. He provides a glimpse of the thinking of individuals at the highest echelons (President Truman, Mao Zedong, and Generals Douglas McArthur, Edward Almond, and Oliver Smith) down through the middle ranks to the privates in foxholes engaged in a desperate fight to stay alive.The sudden attack on the the army and marine corps forces by forces composed of hundreds of thousands of Chinese army regulars could have and should have been avoided. The arrogance and close-minded folly of Generals Douglas McArthur and Edward Almond were responsible for this disastrous ambush. Multiple sources of intelligence revealed the presence of overwhelming elements of the Chinese army in the mountainous areas surrounding the Chosin reservoir. McArthur and Almond ignored that information and committed Army and Marine Corps troops to advance to the Yalu river separating China and North Korea. Their belief was that the troops would encounter little enemy opposition and they wanted a quick resolution of the Korean War: “Home by Christmas” was their goal. They even opposed taking time for obvious preparations such as preparing facilities to receive wounded men. The narrow, winding, single track road leading through the jagged mountains towards the reservoir and the Yalu on beyond was perfect for an ambush. Steep hills bordered both sides of the road. Halfway to the reservoir was a single bridge that, once crossed, could be destroyed, leaving the troops no avenue for escape. There were narrow, u-shaped chokepoints where troops could be trapped and murdered at the leisure of the Chinese army. And the troops were ordered to undertake this advance in temperatures of -30F with biting winds that created a windchill of -70F. The survival of the marines is attributable to the heroism of so many individuals any effort to count them would be incomplete. In contrast to McArthur and Almond, Marine Corps general Oliver Smith saw the situation clearly and, despite orders, prepared his troops for opposition. He worked his engineers to work around the clock to create a small air field that allowed the delivery of supplies and removal of wounded. He established a field hospital to treat the wounded, and he positioned his troops in strong defensive positions at nightfall. The latter allowed the marines to survive the human wave attacks that Mao had employed so successfully in overwhelming Chaing Kai-shek’s troops. Sides’ focus on the experiences of the individuals caught up in this battle provides a graphic understanding of the heroic struggle for survival of the marines at the Chosin Reservoir. On Desperate Ground provides a riveting narrative you won’t want to put down.
    • 3/5
      This is an ok read. Not a comprehensive account. I feel guilty rating down this author, but just did not get traction with his treatment. That said, any telling of the story of what happened at Chosin is of value. Amazing Marines.