The Chosin Few
Fox Company
Toktong Pass November 28, 1950
by Mark Hannam
 |
Citation
When a force of estimated regimental strength savagely attacked during the night, inflicting heavy casualties and finally surrounding his position following a bitterly fought 7-hour conflict, Capt. Barber, after repulsing the enemy gave assurance that he could hold if supplied by airdrops and requested permission to stand fast when orders were received by radio to fight his way back to a relieving force after 2 reinforcing units had been driven back under fierce resistance in their attempts to reach the isolated troops. Aware that leaving the position would sever contact with the 8,000 marines trapped at Yudam-ni and jeopardize their chances of joining the 3,000 more awaiting their arrival in Hagaru-ri for the continued drive to the sea, he chose to risk loss of his command rather than sacrifice more men if the enemy seized control and forced a renewed battle to regain the position, or abandon his many wounded who were unable to walk. Although severely wounded in the leg in the early morning of the 29th, Capt. Barber continued to maintain personal control, often moving up and down the lines on a stretcher to direct the defense and consistently encouraging and inspiring his men to supreme efforts despite the staggering opposition. Waging desperate battle throughout 5 days and 6 nights of repeated onslaughts launched by the fanatical aggressors, he and his heroic command accounted for approximately 1,000 enemy dead in this epic stand in bitter subzero weather, and when the company was relieved only 82 of his original 220 men were able to walk away from the position so valiantly defended against insuperable odds. His profound faith and courage, great personal valor, and unwavering fortitude were decisive factors in the successful withdrawal of the division from the deathtrap in the Chosin Reservoir sector and reflect the highest credit upon Capt. Barber, his intrepid officers and men, and the U.S. Naval Service. BARBER, WILLIAM E.
History The night of 28th November 1950, saw some of the fiercest fighting experienced so far during the Korean War. It was the beginning of a week long effort by the Chinese Army to trap and destroy the United States 1st Marine Division at the Chosin Reservoir. Whilst the weight of two Chinese divisions fell on the Marine perimeter at Yudam-ni, Chinese forces in battalion strength attempted to cut-off the Marines from the outside world by severing the 'Main Supply Road' as it wound through the Toktong Pass. However, the Chinese had not reckoned upon Captain William Barber and the men of Fox Company, 7th Marines. This scenario was played with Rapid Fire! I changed the figure ratio though NOT the ground scale so that each 'company' is now a platoon and each heavy weapon represents 2-3 machine-guns / mortars etc. Special rules for the Korean conflict can be found in my new book Pusan to Panmunjom : A Wargamers` Guide to the Korean War 1950-53 (100 pages, 16 pages of TOE`s). The week long battle for the Toktong Pass can be played as a mini-campaign. Each Chinese (CCF) assault begins at around 02:00 hours and finishes at 08:00 when Marine Air and artillery support disperses the remnants of any Chinese attack. If the Marines survive the first night they may redeploy as they see fit during daylight hours. The game immediately ends on the night that the Chinese take control of 'Fox Hill', the US objective is to prevent this. The loss of the hill seals the fate of the 1st Marine Division. A thick layer of snow covered the ground which when coupled with the bright moonlit nights gave good visibility - say half that of daylight. Outside this range the Chinese player may claim 'hidden' status for his units. On each night roll 2xAvD to determine how close each Chinese unit can approach before the marine player can attempt to spot. The First Night: 28th November, 1950 US Marines Fox/2/7 Marines :
Wpns Company/2/7 Marines :
The late hour at which Fox Company dug-in coupled with the heavy traffic on the road meant that they could not register supporting artillery fire. So none was available on the first night. Chinese Communist Forces
1st Battalion, 177th Regiment, 59th Division :
In Support : - 3x82mm Mortars (off board)
The Second Night : 29th November, 1950
The following night the Chinese renewed the assault with a fresh battalion. Use exactly the same forces, this time from 2nd Battalion, 177th Regiment. The Marines had been resupplied by air. No re-inforcements got through but many of the wounded had been patched up and were able to man their weapons - so allow 1/3rd the previous night`s casualties to return as effectives. Figures and weapons overrun by the Chinese are permenantly lost. During the day, the howitzers of 3/11 Marines registered their fires giving the 'Fox Hill' support from 3x105mm howitzers, which may fire 10 times during the game. 6 illumination rounds are available to the artillery and a further 6 illumination rounds can be shared amongst the mortars within the perimeter. The Third Night: 30th November, 1950 The Chinese attack with 1 rifle company from 3rd Battalion, 177th Regiment organised as over plus 1MMG with 3 crew from the weapons company. Supporting mortars remain the same. I fought this out in 15mm after investing in some Chinese figures from Quality Castings in the US. Pusan to Panmunjom this summer. The Marines on this occasion were WW2 US troops from Peter Pig. Outpost Miniatures and Caliver Books both do Korean War Ranges in 20mm. The Toktong Pass & 'Fox Hill' were constructed very easily - with books and boxes forming the contours over which I stretched a couple of layers of that stiff, opaque white styrene foam wrapping material. The Marine positions were made very simply by cutting a hole in the styrene so the figures stood on the books, with papermache parapets to soften the edges. Salt, sugar or unperfumed talc can be scattered for further 'snow' effect. SPECIAL RULES Treat the Chinese as Elite. Ignore any morale results to withdraw or retreat until at least 75% casualties has been received by the entire force, ie. on the first night the Chinese have to lose 40 figures before morale takes a nose-dive, up to that point treat them as being pinned down, unless they have a Commissar with them when this can be 'no offensive action'. A platoon with a Commissar attached will ignore the first bad morale reult and carry on with it`s orders. The Chinese were armed with a large proportion of automatic weapons, PPSH and Thompson SMG`s. At Short Range, shift one to the right on the casualty column. They were also ligthly equipped and could move quickly so give them a movement rate of 8". The Marines are also Elite. They will not 'surrender / rout' but will abandon their position to try to find another. The US Marine platoons carried a lot of firepower in the shape of 9 BAR`s, so each BAR armed figure is worth 3 Fire Points. Fields of fire were deliberatly chosen in defensive positions so give the Marine MMG & HMG`s one shift to the right on the first night and two shifts thereafter. Visibility should be 2/3rds daytime due to bright moonlight reflecting on the snow. Back to The Gauntlet No. 14 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of Company F in action against enemy aggressor forces. Assigned to defend a 3-mile mountain pass along the division's main supply line and commanding the only route of approach in the march from Yudam-ni to Hagaru-ri, Capt. Barber took position with his battle-weary troops and, before nightfall, had dug in and set up a defense along the frozen, snow-covered hillside.