Together they form the big picture. Welcome to the big picture. Im captain carl zimmerman. The big picture is a report to you from your army, an army committed by you, the people of the United States, to stop communist aggression wherever it may strike. The big picture traces the course of events in the Korean Campaign through firsthand reports of combat veterans and through film taken by combat cameramen of the army signal corp. These are the men who daily were caught on film the big picture as it happens, where it happens. Today our big picture brings into focus the turning of the tide. Youll see our fight to hold on to the pusan perimeter. Youll see air support from our carriers, the invasion of wall knee and the march on seoul. And youll hear a firsthand report from lieutenant tom driesenstalk, platoon leader from the 24th Infantry Division. Now lets go back to august 1950. On 10 august, after 47 days of fighting in korea, the fight in the pusan beach head is ebbing and flowing for both sides. Dug in along a 120 mile perimeter, communist troops have thus far failed in their objective to drive u. N. Forces into the sea or destroy them before we could take the offensive. At the southern end of our beach head, task force keen consisting of the 25th Infantry Division and the fifth regiment combat are driving toward chin ju. This throws back the reds who are about to launch a major attack only 35 miles from pusan, key port for the entire beach head. Southwest of tie goo, a community bridge head. South of waegwan, troops are containing another bridge head. North, a counter attack by south korean troops pushing communities back across the river. Along the northern perimeter, west of uisong, communities convince withdraw. Red troops have broken through the perimeter, threatening the airfield. To the north, South Koreans have recaptur recaptured yong doc. In the air, air force navy and pleer marines are along the perimeter and blast communications and targets from tie go to the north korean border. Guns of United Nations also help in the mission. The struggle to defend the beach head is a furious one but we are holding. On 24 august, on the central sector which can concerned with the river line, engineers have built a bridge across a tributary of the knack tong. This bridge serves for the use of lighter vehicles and foot soldiers. But with increasing supplies moving in, there is need for a heavy equipment bridge. South koreans civilian labor is employed. Although in many sections primitive native tools are still used and although u. S. Engineers depend on korean man power, there is a change now since the early days of the war. Heavy Construction Equipment is becoming a familiar sight. An accumulation of this type of equipment necessarily second in priority to arms and ammunition. There is an indication of the vast bulk of supplies that are now being received. On 29, august, the british Aircraft Carrier unicorn moved into pusan harbor. On deck are troops for the battle frooeld. Within a week they rushed to fight along the troops to help stopped a threaten break through along the river. The troops are the first infantry men of a foreign nation to join in the United Nations police action, member of the southerland highlands those of scotland, most of whom hailed from the london area. They have served in hong kong for six months where they underwent rigorous training similar to that of korea. Except for the 3. 5 bazooka and u. S. Supplied rations, they will use their own weapons and supplies. Their uniforms are jungle green with only the pipers wearing the kilts which won the scotts the nickname the ladies from hell. A c47 trns port plane is loaded with leaflets. The drops are made to counter enemy propaganda. The c47 transports carry heavy loads of leaflets for long trips into north korea why shorter trips, t6s are used. Safe conduct passes. If the leaflet is found on a north korean soldier by his own officers, the penalty is death. Over Enemy Territory the packets are thrown out and the wind takes care of sorting and delivering. Enemy captives report that the messages are often memorized to avoid the danger of having the leaflet found on the person. On 30 august, the reds with r gaining in the south and the central sector, but near po hang United States and south korean units are Holding Ground against heavy opposition. In this fight it the company of the 24th Infantry Division supported by a platoon of tanks moving forward to attack a position called hill 148, a ridge about one mile west of po hang. The communist drive is a threeprong thrust along kijy and po hang. At this point it is in allied hands. The enemy is in filtrating here. One group of unknown size setting up a road block three miles behind the allied lines. Infantry and tanks coordinate as they approach the jumping off point. Intelligence has revealed that the community attack on po hang is an attempt to fulfill orders given the local red commander to take the city at all cost in the next 24 hours. And for the reds, it is a costly operation. An estimated 2,000 North Koreans have been killed in the last two days. Although u. S. Elements are hearing some strength, the weight of the attack is against the south korean army third and Capital Division and the 17th regiment. This is the tenth week of the korean war and the fighting on all fronts has reached a peek of fury. Although at this Time Military spokespersons are mentioning early offensive troops, the present situation does not appear optimistic. Enemy fire it encountered. Information goes back to the company commander. The orders come forward. At tack on will 148 is about to begin. The attack gets underway slowly at first and then with an increasing fire fight. This is one small action in the big fight that is raging along the entire 150 mile front in korea. A few miles of territory changes hands again and again. If the allied line cracks at any point, the whole pusan beach head could be lost. Those were trying times for all of us. Our troops jammed into the small area of the pusan perimeter, defending against great odds and at same time building strength for the eventual offensive. Lieutenant thom driezenstock was there serving as a platoon leader for the armys 24th division. Tom, tell us what the defense around the perimeter was like. It consisted mostly of a plugging action. No other words moving a division into the perimeter to fill up a gap penetrated by the enemy and we didnt have enough men to completely fill up a complete rectangle or a perimeter so we had to plug up the gaps by moving men around. When trouble started you moved men right in there. That is right. What were the attacks like, tom . Well these attacks were constituted mostly by preparation of a mortar fire by the enemy. They were very good at this mortar fire. And they outnumbered us i would say approximately five to one. They had a mass of men and also they infiltrated in between our lines dressed as civilians and altogether just harassed us by that type of movement. Tell us about the breakout, what were the preparations for it like . Well the preparations consists of getting and getting there. Our ammunition ready and getting men ready and the briefings. The higher powers around there said they believe that the north korean perimeter around our defense was made up of a thin crust and once we went traited that and broke through we would be able to continue up north without too much trouble. That is about the way it worked too, isnt it . Yes, that is the way it did work. What about the team work as you move north . How about air support, was it good . Did you have it when you wanted it. The air support was very good. You call for an air strike and get it almost immediately. One time i was taking with my platoon taking a village and we received firing from hill recei hill to our left front. Called back and left an error for attack and within five minutes, we had planes coming over giving us an attack within 50 yards to the front. Tom, how about the artillery at that time . It was very good. The coordination was close. They gave us very good fire. Accurate fire, and the North Koreans were scared to death of the white phosphorous. Seemed to have a bad effect on them and that was good for us. The artillery was excellent. We heard a lot of talk about the net schism from the North Koreans. Can you give us any examples of that . Yes, i can. My platoon was taking a house one time, which housed several members of a communist party, which had an interpreter, asked them to come out and surrender and they refused to do it. Therefore, we had to fire on the house. As many of them ran out, they shot themselves, and the others pulled pins on grenades and blew themselves up. They just did not want to be captured at all. Well, tom, tell us about the weapons we used over there . How did our weapons compare with those used by the North Koreans . They were far superior. More dependable. Our men knew better use of them and all in all, they gave us more fire power. The round of automatic rifles for instance is my favorite, and the North Koreans were deathly afraid of it. It was a very good weapon and there was no comparison between it and the north korean burp gun as i call it. Pretty much respected that var of ours. They really did. They were really scared of it. Tom, when youre in line with your men like that, moving for a long time, you get to know them pretty well, dont you . Yes, you do. You eat with them, you sleep with them and every once in a while, one of them gets shot and you feel real bad. My platoon sergeant was an old soldier. The type of man who really knows his business. I owe a lot of credit for him to helping me in the platoon. We had younger men, i got to know those, too. Freddy, smoky and those boys, you get to know them really well. Before we broke out, because of the fact that we were shifting around a a lot, it was very hard to try and size up your men, but regardless of that fact, i believe that we did fairly good and i got a good chance to more or less size up my men. We were moving around quite a bit at that time though. Well, tom, it was men like you and the men of your platoon that held back the enemy against very great odds. You kept that enemy from throwing us back into the sea. Lets watch now as some of our troops throw off a red attack. On two september, the first marine brigade rush ued to the battle lines to help throw back one of the main communist thrusts along the river. Communist strategy at this time is an attempt to achieve a major breakthrough between the southern flank and the 25th divisions florn flank. Theyve been rushed here after a brief rest, during which they regrouped. The marines move up the high ground they must retake to secure their sector of the counter attack. The enemy is holding his fire momentarily. The marine counteroffensive has been coordinated with the Second Division. The entire action being five thrown. One tank supported marine unit has moved up the main road leading west while on the right hand left, other marines flag the enemy. Farther to the right and left, tank supported Second Division troops advance in wide and circling movements. Marines run forward as the enemy opens fire. Other marines open fire moving slowly waiting to resume position. Despite north korean tanks and weapons, the assault continues. This counterattack is almost a repeat of an assault these same marines launched two weeks previously when they took this same hill. The high ground in this sector has changed hands at least five times in two weeks. The marines form a base of fire to drive the enemy off. The line builds up and so does the fire power. Marine corps support the ground. Theyre getting ready for another strike on inland targets. Rocketses are of particular interest. Three different types are being used. Later, the 11. 75 inch tiny tim proved highly effective on bridges and similar large targets. The most recent arrival is the navys 6. 5 inch ram. Constant activity on these carriers has not dampened the sense of humor. From its Conference Rooms inception to its appearance in combat, it took only 24 days. Aerial missions of the navy and marines include technical action in the same stripe n. The relatively small area of korea, target of opportunity count heavily. The cameras record targets of the carrier planes. A b 26 raid is going on in september. Its armed with 16, 50 caliber machine guns. These guns are electrically operated and a single l gunner can bring many of them to bear on the same target at once. The b26 can carry a 5,000 pound bomb load or five of these. With these bombs plus the heavy fire power of the machine gun, a b26 is a formidable attacking unit. They have seen constant use in the korean war, ranging from strategic Industrial Areas in the north to technical areas along the battle lines in the south. Its classified as a light bomber with a speed of more than 350 miles an hour. After their final brief iing, cw members head for the field. This has become a familiar scene in United States air bases in japan from which b26s are flown on an around the clock schedule. These b26 invaders were form formerly called a26 bombers. They differ from the b26 martins use ued in world war ii. The present b6 is a very adaptable plane, which is often revamp ed for dimpt purposes. Cannon maybe substituted for the nose gun. The plane can be adapt ed to carry a variety of explosives. The b26 is designed primarily for low level bombing. It is seldom used for High Altitude of the b29. These targets are in the area during the first week of september. The little flashes of light on the ground are traces from the b26 machine gun. Occasionally, enemy flak comes up at the planes. On 7 september, the u. S. Air force flew 625 in 24 hours. Breaks off the island. Chips fire pointblank. Rockets join the softening up process. General mcarthur watches from the bridge of the flag ship. In landing is a calculated risk. He is using many of his reenforcements from the south. The first wave hits the beach. Because of the 30foot tide fall, land l paths must be ashore one hour before high tide and two hours after. The first groups landed here will have to stick it out alone until the next tide, 11 hours later. A bulldozer smothers a red dugout. A fire fight begins. They havent been driven off by the bombardment. Theyre stripped to prevent concealable weapons. Others are a little more formal. The city was recaptured against relatively light resistance. As the men move through, their objective is seoul. There are two allied moves on seoul. One from the south and another sweeping from the north across the hahn river. The hahn is crossed. The marines move on towards seoul. There is bitter fighting ahead. Seoul is heavily defended. As these vehicles move on towards seoul, these marines have a message for the reds. Enjoy yourself. Its later than you think. During the six weeks between 10 august and 20 september, the period covered by this combat bulletin, there were three main phases in the korean fighting. On 10 august, reenforced United Nation forces were dug in to defend at all costs, a beach head perimeter by river. We can withdraw u no farther. We no longer trade space for time. If we were to hold our beach head and the vital supply board. Communist forces were threatening bohang, tiegu. We have launched our first counterattack to stop the most dangerous communist drives. On 1 september, the communists launched their big es drive of the war. It was an all out effort to take pousan, eliminate the beach head in korea and destroy forces. We were being pushed back again. Taigu was in danger from the north and south. By 20 september, the tide of battle had changed completely. Five days previously, u. S. Marines made a landing 150 miles behind the enemy line. The enemy, still pressing his all out drive, was suddenly cut off from his supplies. On 20 september, u. S. Marines were entering the outskirts of seoul as u. S. 7th Division Infantry men ran southward to head off communists retreating from the southern front. Forces were crossing the river and moving ahead everywhere. They were advancing in poehang, south of wiisang and tigu. West of chung young and west of masan. We had held our beach head. Now we are on the offensive and it was the beginning of the end for the communist invasion of south korea. Those were the events that comprised the wig picture from august 20th to september 20th, 1950. Our thanks to the lieutenant for being with us today. Next week, our big picture will show the United Nations forces on the offensive. Youll see our recapture of the city of seoul, the fall of the north korean capital, an air drop by the 187th Regimental Combat Team and giving support to our ground troops, and with us again will be a combat veteran with who saw as it happened, a part of the big picture. This is captain carl sirm mann inviting you to be with us then. Tonight, on American History tv, beginning at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. A night of programs on espionage. We begin with paul kicks, talking about his book, the saab tour, the aristocrat who became frances most daring, antinazi commando. Watch American History tv tonight and over the weekend on cspan3. American history tv on cspan3. Explore iing the people and eve that tell the american story every weekend. Coming up this weekend, 60 years ago, four africanamerican students protested segregation at a woolworth lunch counter in greensboro, north carolina, which began the lunch counter sit ins of the civil rights movement. On sunday at 99 00 a. M. Eastern, live on American History tv and washington journal, well discuss the stitt ins and desegregation in the 1960s with tracey parker, author of Department Stores and the black freedom movement. Then at 4 00 p. M. Eastern on real america, two films on the civil rights movement. Februa