[explosions] 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. I am 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 our combat veterans and film taken by cameramen of the army signal corps. These are the men who daily record on film the big picture as it happens where it happens. Today, our big picture brings into focus the turning of the tide. You will see our fight to hold onto the pusan perimeter. You will see air support from our carriers, the invasion, and the march on seoul. And you will hear a firsthand report from a lieutenant, the put to leader with the armys 24th infantry division. Now lets go back to august, 1950. On 10 august, after 47 days of fighting in korea, the tide of battle in the beachhead is ebbing and flowing for both sides. United nations force it forces are dug in on the perimeter. Communist troops are numbering ours more than two to one have thus far failed in their objective to drive u. N. Forces into the sea or destroy them before we can take the offensive. At the southern end of our beachhead, task force keane consisting of units of the 25th infantry division, the fifth regimental combat team, and the first marine brigade are driving toward chinju, to throw back the. This counteroffensive was to throw back the reds were about to launch a major attack 35 miles from pusan, a key port for the entire beachhead. Southwest of taegu u. S. Troops are reducing a communist bridgehead. South, u. S. Troops are containing another bridgehead. North of waegwan, a cover attack pushes theck communists back across the river. West of uisong communist compel s compel South Koreans to withdraw. Red troops have broken through the perimeter threatening that port city and its airfield. However, to the north south , koreans have recaptured yongdok. In the air, air force, navy, and marine players are giving support to Ground Troops along the perimeter. They also blast communications to militaryindustrial targets to the North Koreans northern border. United nations ships also helped in this mission. The struggle to defend the beachhead is a furious one but we are holding. On 24 august, on the central sector which is concerned with the defense of taegu engineers and the river line engineers , have built a pontoon bridge across the tributary. 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 korean civilian labor is employed. Although in many sections, primitive native tools are still used, and although u. S. Engineers depend on korean greatly on korean manpower, 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 and in priority to arms and ammunition is an indication of the vast bulk of supplies that are now being received. On 29 august, the british Aircraft Carrier unicorn moves into pusan harbor. On deck are british troops. Bound for the korean battlefront. Within a week, they are rushed to fight alongside first cavalry troops east to help stop of threatened breakthrough all along the river. These troops are the first infantrymen of a foreign nation to join in the United Nations police action. They are members of the argo and cumberland highlanders. Composed largely of scotsman and the middlesex regiment, most of whom hail from the london area. Almost all of these britishers have served in hong kong for six months where they underwent rigorous training in hilly country similar to that of korea. Except for the 3. 5 bazooka, u. S. Supplied rations, these britishers will use their own weapons and supplies. Their uniforms are jungle green with only the regimental pipers wearing the kilts which won this the scots the nickname the ladies from hell. A c47 transplant plane is loaded with leaflets. These drops are being made to frequently to counter enemy propaganda. The c47 transports carry heavy loads of leaflets for long trips into north korea. For shorter trips, t6s our use. Used. Safe conduct passes. If a leaflet is found on north korean soldier, the penalty is death. Over Enemy Territory the packets are thrown out and the wind takes care of sorting and delivery. Enemy captives report these messages are often memorized to avoid the danger of having the leaflets found on a person. On 30 august, the reds are gaining in the south of the and in the central sector but in the northeast, the United States and south korean units are holding their ground against heavy opposition. In this fight, the company of the 24th infantry has a Platoon Division is supported by platoon eight of tanks. They are moving forward to attack a rescue mission called hill 148. A ridge about one mile west. The communist drive in this area is a threepronged thrust along the 10 mile front. At this time, pohang is in allied hands. The enemy is infiltrating here. One Group Setting up a roadblock three miles behind the allied line. Infantry and tanks coordinate activities as they approach the jumping off point. Intelligence has revealed that the communist attack on pohang is an attemptr to fulfill orders given the local red commander to take the city in the next 24 hours. 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 here, in some strength the weight of , the attack is against the south korean armys third and Capital Division and their 17th regiment. This is the 10th week of the war and the fighting on all fronts has reached a peak of fury. Although at this Time Military spokesmen are mentioning early offensive moves the present , situation does not seem optimistic. Enemy fire. [explosions] information goes back to the company commander. The orders come forward. The attack on hill 148 is about to begin. The attack gets underway slowly at first and then with an increasing firefight. 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 beachhead 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 the same time, building strength for the eventual offensive. Lieutenant tom was there. Tom served with the armys 24th division. Tom, tell us what the defense around the perimeter was like. The defense around the pusan permi perimeter consisted mostly of a footing action, moving a division into the perimeter to fill a gap penetrated by the enemy. We did not have enough men to completely fill up a complete rectangle or a perimeter. So therefore we had to plug up , the gaps by moving men around. When trouble started, you move men right in there. Thats right. What are these attacks like . These attacks were constituted mostly by a preparation of mortar fire by the enemy. They were very good at 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 with the preparations for it like . The preparations consisted of getting ready, getting her menammunition ready, and ready, and a briefing. The higher powers around that said they believe that the north korean perimeter around our area defense was made up of the thin crust and once we penetrated that and broke through we would , can be able to continue up north without much trouble. That is about the way it worked too. , yes, that is the way it worked. What about the teamwork as you moved north. How about our air support . The air support was very good. You called for an air strike and you get it almost immediately. One time i was taking with my platoon taking a village, and we received firing from a hill to our left. Called back and asked for an air attack, and within five minutes we had planes coming over giving us attack within 50 yards to our front, which is pretty close. That certainly is. It is really getting it in there when you need it. It is. How about the artillery at that time . The artillery 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 phosphorus, which they fired. Actually it was good for us. The artillery was excellent. Heard a lot of talk about the fanaticism of the North Koreans. Can you give us any examples . Yes, i can. My platoon was taking a house one time, which housed several members of the communist party. We surrounded the house and had an interpreter ask 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 grenades and blew themselves up. They just did not want to be captured at all. Tom, tell us about the weapons we used over there. How did our weapons compare with those used by the North Koreans . Our weapons were far superior to the North Koreans. They were more dependable. All in all, they gave out more firepower. The browning automatic rifle for instance is my favorite and the North Koreans were afraid of it. It was a very good weapon. There was no comparison between it and the north korean firearm. Pretty much respect for that bar of ours. They really did. They were scared of it. When youre in the line with your men moving for a long time to 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 really feel bad. You get to know them very well. My platoon sergeant was an old soldier. He was the type of man who knows his business. I owe a lot of credit to him for helping me and the platoon. We had younger men. I got to know those. Squad leaders. Freddie, smoky, and those boys, you get to know them fairly well. Back around the perimeter before we broke out, because of the fact we were shifting around an awful lot, it was very hard to try to size up your men. But, regardless of this fact, i believe 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. Tom, it was men like you and your platoon that held back the enemy in the pusan perimeter against very great odds. You kept the enemy from throwing us back into the sea. Now as some of our troops throw off a red attack. On 2 september, in the southcentral sector the first , marine grade helped throwback one of the main communist thrusts in their allout offensive along the river. Communist strategy at this time is an attempt to achieve a major breakthrough between the Second Divisions southern flank and the 25th divisions northern flank. These marines have been rushed here. The marines move up the high ground they must retake to secure their sector of the counterattack. The enemy is holding its fire momentarily. The marine counteroffensive has been coordinated with the Second Division. The entire action being five pronged. One tank supported marine unit has moved up the main road leading west. While diagonally on the right and left, other marines flank the enemy. Farther to the right and left, tank support in Second Division troops advance in circular wide and circular movements. Marines rush forward as the enemy opens fire. [gunfire] a wounded marine runs back for aid. Other marines resume the attack moving slowly. , waiting for the enemy to reveal his flanks and main position. Despite north korean tanks, and mortars and automatic weapons, the assault continues. This counterattack along the southern part of the river is almost a repeat of the assault the same marines launched two weeks previously when they took the same hill. The high ground in this sector has changed hands at least five times in two weeks. [gunfire] the marines form a base of fire to drive the enemy off. The line builds up, and so does the firepower. [gunfire] meanwhile, overhead, air force and marine corps plane support s support the Ground Troops. Carrier planes are ready for another strike on inland targets. Rockets are of particular interest at this time. Three different types are being used. One of the first super explosive types to see service in korea was the five inch holy moses. 11. 75 inch tiny tim grew 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 their the crewmens sense of humor. It is noteworthy that the ram rocket set a speed record for production. From its Conference Room conception to its appearance in combat it took only 24 days. ,aerial missions of the navy and marines often include strategic and tactical action in the same strike. In the relatively small area of korea, targets of opportunity count heavily. Cameras record targets of the carrier planes. [explosions] japan. A b26 raid is in preparation during the week of six september. The b26 is armed with 1650 caliber machine guns. A single gunner can bring many of them to bear on the same target at once. A 500 poundcarry bomb load. With these bombs plus napalm was the heavy firepower of the machine guns, a b26 is a formidable attacking unit. They have seen constant use. These planes have seen use in the war. Their targets raining from an strategic Industrial Areas in the north to tactical areas along the battle lines in the south. Like26 is classified as a bomber with the speed of 350 miles an hour. After their final briefing, crew members had for the field. This has become a familiar scene in United States air bases in japan from which sorties flown on an aroundtheclock schedule. These b26 douglas invaders were formally called a26 bombers. They differ from the b26 marauders used in world war ii. The present b26 is a very adaptable plane which is often revamped for different purposes. Canon may be substituted for the nose guns. The plane can be adapted to carry a variety of explosives. They b26 is designed primarily for lowlevel bombing. It is seldom used for high alta did work of the b29. B29. Tude work of the [engine idling] these targets are in the area of seoul during the first week of september. The little flashes of light on the ground are traces from the b26 machine guns. Occasionally enemy flak comes up. On seven september, the u. S. Air force flew 625 sorties in 24 hours. On 15 september, dawn breaks out off the island. Ships of the u. N. Fleet fire pointblank at the island. Rockets join the softening up process. General macarthur watches from the bridge of the flagship. This landing is a calculated risk. General macarthur is using many of his reinforcements from the south. The first wave hits the beach. Because of the 30 foot tide fall the landing path of the first , wave runs one hour before high tide and two hours after. Landedst troops here will have to stick it out alone until the next tide 11 hours later. A bulldozer smothers a red dugout. A firefight begins. All of the reds have not been driven off by the bombardment. Stripped to prevent containment of weapons. Others are little more formal. On 16 september, the First Marine Division moves through. This city is recaptured against relatively light resistance. Allied casualties are few. And these men move through ishon, their objective seoul. There are two allied moves on seoul. One from the south and another from the north across the river. The river is cross. Village ise river taken, and the marines move on towards seoul, but there is bitter fighting ahead. Seoul is heavily defended. As these vehicles move on towards seoul, the marines have a message for the reds. Enjoy yourselves. It is later than you think. During the six weeks between 10 august and 20 september, there period covered by this combat bulletin there were three , main phases in the korean fighting. On 10 august, reinforced United Nation forces were dug in to defend at all cost the beachhead perimeter. We could withdraw no farther. Could no longer trade space for time if we were to hold the beachhead and the vital supply for pusan. Communist forces were threatening many cities and their drive to pusan. We launched our first counterattack to stop the most dangerous communist drive. On one september, the communists launched their biggest drive of the war. All along our beachhead perimeter. It was an allout effort to take pusan, eliminate our beachhead in korea, and destroyed United Nations forces. We were being pushed back again. Pohang was being taken and retaken. By 20 september, the tide of battle had changed completely. Five days previously, u. S. Marines had made an amphibious 150 miles inchon, behind enemy lines. The enemy still pressing his allout drive for pusan was suddenly cut off from his supplies. On 20 september, u. S. Marines were entering the outskirts of seoul as Seventh Division infantrymen fanned south to head off communists retreating from the southern front. On our southern beachhead, United Nations forces were crossing the river and moving ahead everywhere. They were advancing south of north of taegu, and west of masan. We had held our beachheads. Now we were 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 big picture from august 20 to september 20, 1950. Our thanks to our lieutenant for being with us today. Next week our big picture will show the United Nations forces on the offensive. You will see our recapture of the city of seoul, the fall of the north korean capital upon pyongyang, an airdrop by the regimental combat team. And you will see the missouri, the big mo in action, giving support to our Ground Troops. And with us again will be a combat veteran who saw a part of the big picture. This is captain carl zimmermann, inviting you to be with us then. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org]