U. S. And south Korean Forces were badly outnumbered. This is war. War and its masses. War and its men. War and its machines. Together they form the big picture. Welcome to the big picture. Im captain carles immerman. The big picture is a report to your army, an army committed by you the people of United States to stop communism or it strikes. It will change the course of the Korean Campaign firsthand reports from combat veterans, and film taken by combat cameramen. These are the men who daily records on film the big picture as it happens where it happens. Today the big picture brings into focus the first 40 days in korea. It was the beginning of the fighting there. When every ridge was a heartbreak ridge. Lets go back to 19 fifties when our troops went across the first thrusts of this is best told by the language of the soldier that was there. This story is hard to tell. Painful because our outfit was in training a few weeks ago. Some of the boys hour with us arent around anymore. They were good men. Good soldiers. They learned to fight, and they had the guts for fighting. When it came it was like a sock in the back of the head. Korea started rough. The first 40 days or a battle for time. And full of men against an army. They were goodman. Good soldiers. And no story of the korean war could be told without saying how well they fought against great odds. In the beginning there is only a couple of companies in the 24th division. No brass bands of the air force. Few days before some of us had been in cities, spending time at restaurants. We werent scared we didnt know. Weve got stuff out of the plains, we moved out. Nobody said this is it. Nobody said you have arrived in korea to beat back five korean divisions. Someone said we are here to delay the reds. Okay lets go. About 10 of those veterans. A few of those look like friends. Somewhere between paris and mens. Mostly the soldiers were young, no battle experience. They smiled a lot. They made the whole lot of us look like good nature yanks, glad to see newtown. Some of these boys enlisted to travel. But whoever sees travel posters about korea. Relax come to the land of the morning come. At first the towns looked like any town. In this part of the world. The south korean troops like any soldiers. They worry about the same things. Get tired, i mean tired. We all want to ask what was it like up there . What kind of fighting . Terrain, tactics and guns . As far as weak were concerned those koreans couldnt talk. We are in a foreign country, no time to get acquainted. They empty the town, hardly a thing left. Couldnt buy anything, even if you had the time. Which we didnt have. There are two ways to getting to know the terrain, walking over it and feeling how it was underneath. Underneath was caked and sticky. The totals of a soldiers trade a shovel, and again. We had small stop with us, machine guns howitzers. It was hard to believe, one to three were smack in the middle of a war. Guns ready aimed north against an enemies who would look exactly her friends the south koreans. These troops have seen action. They didnt have to speak. Their clothes spoke. Their shoes spoke. Their eyes spoke. We got sent. I like when i said when it came in was fast and it was all around us. They threw everything at us. We answered. We went ahead, it was like the day. With no warning. Those kids, they became veterans overnight. Tough, hard. They moved as if theyd been through with us all through germany. There is too many North Koreans are too many heavy equipment especially tanks. What would men with guts do against tanks . A bazooka was some defends, but there is too many tanks and too few bazookas. They have today it was pulled back and fight again. There is too many of them. You wouldnt know where they come from. We the rice pattys would like quiet. We need to hide in the shadows, trying to look like a cornfield or rice paddy. Concealment was one of our weapons. There were too many of them. The boys pulled back tired as dogs. Whenever they meet the reds had on they had enough men to fight us on the front and then are flying to. We knew it was hard to face. We were hurting. Kids would dragged back so beat up they can be expected to fight for at least several days. We grabbed him out from anywhere. Take a shower, sat down, laid down. Seemed like the greatest pleasure in life was to give a feat a chance to breathe. We fell back in two positions, if you looked around that some of the foxholes you could see a deep respect for those red mortars. Very deep. We were short on men, south koreas carried arrival. We but we didnt know what some of the others were carrying. Turned out many of those on refugees around the south korean roads were north korean communist in disguise. Would sneak through airlines and fighters from behind. We caught some but infiltration caused plenty of casualties. Were gonna watch the refugees more carefully from now on we. This was a big police job in korea. The biggest. It was full sides had to be stopped. United states army of fog private rescue to help. There would be other minute uniforms fire for us soon. The whole world had seen this and new with the score was. Up near the guns the scores against the enemy. They are losing points, losing time. noise there were tough decisions we had leaders who could make them, general walker in general dean. As our outfits were winning, theyre holding back the enemy until help could arrive. We dont feel it yet, but reinforcements were on the way. Takes time to put a Defense Program in the small country with almost nothing. Not all the stuff together overnight. Even a jury used to thanks traveling for 500 miles an hour. We needed tanks. And gps, soon. Some of the boys at the front could have heard the winches grind at the port. It wouldve been sweet music. If something, television maybe could have shown us the soldiers were gonna fight with us soon, maybe it wouldve been easier. It was the outfits in the foxholes need everything how its there and tank they could get and more. And the men to go with them. Our mission in the lines was delayed. To delay the red drivein area. The late so we can get gps, so we can get weapons, and more ammo. Get it to us, man equipment wet or dry. Because it was still rough going for us. It would stay that way for months. Maybe longer. Until enough men would be in korea to strike back. Yes it was operation delay. And what was precious. One battalion against 40 tanks. We know them offer a few hours in a blasting frontal attack. Reds would envelop us on both flanks. I always travel up ahead and trouble on the sides. Did you back at a back at the river. Burned our bridges behind us. People in big cities like pittsburgh are bothered by smoke. But this smoke was black but it didnt bother us a bit. Smoke didnt look good but its what you wanted. Plenty of times when the smoke was too close. It got in your eyes, so you can see anything. It can take a lot when your body is getting hit, its you inside. Nobody says much. Just so and so got it, or so and so has been evacuated hell be okay. Or so and so has been evacuated. The First Cavalry Division were unloading now. With baggage. All of it first class, urgent. The tanks were light jobs. This bent north where theyre most needed. Smaller than the russian monsters but still wonderful sight. Nothing was too good for a tank in this territory. The boys treated them like babies. They went over them from top to bottom. Called them pet names. They clean them up better than tricks inspection. Thats cleaning. Those tanks had heavier armor. Then that was their advantage. But our advantage was some fine sharpshooters. They had giants. Pay john was the worst. Ask anyone where he felt they were still here a few other names, because this battle over. But most guys will say to john. Some places we were just outnumbered, but we are outnumbered outgunned, ill tanked and outflanked. We pushed out trying to poke a hole in their lines. No goal. We tried another direction. But at the end of every road leading out, there are thousands of north korean troops. Plenty of tea 34 tanks. It got kind of confusing. It was one hot day, 100 degrees, we just sat. There is no place to go. It was war not the way it is in the movies. We were all tired, including general dean. Flank attacks had cut every escape route. We cast up, ready for a move. We were supposed to hold this hot town for two days. We held it for three, it was get out or be trapped there. We got out. We fought our way out. General dean stayed behind, and he will still be there. It was a bad road out. Some guys didnt make it. It was burning, a dead town. The men who got out were heroes. The middle didnt get out, they were heroes. There is no better word. This time the new outfit were on the lines. Fresh, ready to shoot. Everything set just right. Nice to hear the sound of your own mortars. Even nicer to hear the howitzers slamming. Together they are terrific. High morale went up 5000 . We had some pressure now. We turned it on and forced a victory. A time like this, frontline chao tasted better than pheasant under glass. The rally was short, what outfit might do okay for a day. But on that same day, five other sections of the frontline were giving the enemies hard blows. Infiltrations, the elements. Some of our strongest attacks were by patrols. Small groups battered by the enemy. Beaten by the mountains. Falling down tired. After climbing over half a dozen mountains, in medium or tired just to look at them. It felt like the bear who went over the mountain. And saw another mountain. Getting anything in korea was backbreaking work. There is no push pull quick quick to throw a bridge across the stream in for five hours. Heavy rock added up. Even the little ones. You are to three days to put an outfit on the other side of a stream. The rainy season, and the korean super highways didnt help us get around. Wherever we went, we built our way. There was no good having any engineers they had their own troubles. You are the engineer. In this battle you did everything. Build, fight, hold, pull back. And destroy. Whatever we are about to leave a place, we planted it. Carefully. The anti. Planted it not deep, just deep enough, so it would come up the way we wanted it to. Better you planted, the bettered comes up. The second story job, this cannot gardening went on quite frequently. Very relaxing work. We are gonna stall them up and down the whole front. And someday there would be a turn about that would pay those north americans off for what we have been taking. Then we might have to put back all these bridges. We slowed them but we couldnt stop them. Fighting his fighting, always rough. But its refer when youre forced to go back. We hear them come and gives us time. We used every river to make a stand. It was the best way of saving men. They beat us back to the river, that we got there early enough to make it enough. It was a pretty useful river, no king never had a multi around his castle so why did so thick. Talk a new division was in the fight. Many men went across the taedong river. If youve seen combat you know what it means to have a line. A place to fight. For the first time in the korean business we had something that we could call a line. All during the fighting, we had air power. They if they have had it, we might have been through. Air power did plenty of damage to everything the enemy had and wanted to bring up. Those guys flew solo they should had bayonet on their propellers. In a corner of korea a little bigger than a beach had we dug in, decal village of foxholes. Only here you couldnt dig too deep on account of the rocks. On this beach had a lot of the boys who flew in at the beginning or still around. Still smiling. Theres waiting everywhere. Time to find out where you were, how you are doing. We face the enemy. We face ourselves. Already means were fanatics. We were believers. In one faith. That men could live together peacefully. Thinking, feeling, or shipping each in his own way. The good and think about anything for very long. When you are planning on new moves, new delay tactics. We pulled down the bridges, we wrecked the roads. The steep hills around us were rugged. We made them more rugged. The enemy, beyond our foxholes way out on some lines of our own with thorn. And beyond the tight ring of a perimeter, the enemy closed in, pushing us hard. Threatening a death blow that would blow us back into the city. How long could we hold . How long . A battle hung in the balance. And then swung to us. A great force reached korean a new strategy that gave the north korean army a battle at three sides at once. We placed new units, ready for business. They stayed along the hills, one underage is looking for a soft spot in the enemies hard shell. We gave it to them steady, all up and down the line. All at once. Thats the in smoky. This is what we used to get when we first hit korea victory never comes easily. We have to be in a fight to see how tough it is, see how an attack guy stumbled back, meeting others to look after them. Always plenty of trouble. It takes men, and machines to knock out a strong enemy. And as you go forward, you could expect to lose some of those that start out with you. Yes some went back their feet heavy their steps slow. Kids who became men, men whose hollow face look show theyve been in the lines too long. We can count on a straight road to victory. Sometimes it winds, goes down, goes up. Sometimes you are forced to detour. You can pick out the new troops, they walk different. A new outfit. Theyre like the fellows in our outfit when we landed. The same smiling yanks. Making the best of everything. And a little better than that. We battled for time in korea. And one. We had the right men, good men. Good soldiers those were the first 40 days in korea. We took our losses, regrouped and gain new strength. We held that ground despite many determined efforts to throw us back into the sea. Those North Koreans are yet to feel the strength of the eight army, an army that proved to be the greatest the world has yet seen. Next week, the big picture will show the turning of the tide. You will see the fight to hold that perimeter. You will see how our troops received their support from our carriers. The invasion of wont mean and the march on sole. You hear the report from a combat veteran who saw as it happened, a part of the big picture. This is captain carl number men, inviting us you to be with us now. Fraud in American History, tv beginning at 8 pm eastern. A night of programs on espionage. We begin with paul kicks, talking about his book the saboteur. The aristocratic became france is most daring anti nazi commando. It chronicles the world war ii exploits of robert gilroys focal. Watch American History tv friday and over the weekend, on cspan 3. American history tv, on cspan 3. Exploring the people on the events that tell the american story every weekend. Coming up this weekend, 60 years ago for African American students protested segregation, not a world war lunch counter. Which began the lunch hour sedans of the civil rights movement. And 9 am eastern on American History to be in washington journal, we will discuss the students and desegregation in the 1960s. With university in massachusetts travis tracy parker. Author of Department Stores and the black freedom movement. Then at 4 pm eastern, on real america. Two films on the civil rights movement. February one the story of the greensboro floor an American Revolution of 63. And at 7 pm eastern on oral histories, an interview with former Bennett College president esther checked terry, and her role in the 1960 lunch hour sit in protests in greensboro. Exploring the american story, watch American History tv, this weekend on cspan 3. Now, a u. S. Army fell from september 1950, when u. S. Led forces in south korea, were in retreat. The film shows the arrival of british forces, and the subsequent drive to retake the south korean capital of seoul. This is war. War and its masses