WAR IN KOREA: Three Fronts

On the Ground: At “Capitol” and “Finger” Hills on the central front, newly trained ROKs fought off limited but bitter Red Chinese attacks all week. To U.S. observers, the South Koreans seemed in much better shape than they had ever been in before, but they were still inexperienced in modern tactics and baffled by U.S. ideas of staff work. Said General Van Fleet: “They will need our help for a long, long time.” Meanwhile on “Bunker” Hill, to the west, Marines fought off repeated night attacks.

In the Air: A scant 40 miles from Soviet Siberia, carrier planes from the Princeton and Bon Homme Richard twice bombed Hoeryong, a major supply center and port of entry from Manchuria to Korea. On the Yalu River, three dozen B-29s blasted the Suiho power plants, 1,000 yards from the Manchurian border, where the Reds were repairing damage caused in earlier raids. This is the first time that the big bombers have struck so close to Manchuria. Last June, when light bombers blasted the Suiho plants, there was a big fuss in Great Britain. Last week the British were informed of the coming raid in advance; there were no protests.

At the Truce Table: The only news was that a North Korean officer and two Communist soldiers arranged their personal cease-fire by deserting to the Americans. One of the Chinese came rattling through the truce zone at 50 m.p.h. in a Russian truck. Said Lieut. General William K. Harrison, chief U.N. negotiator: “We don’t mind if they want to come through our place, but at least they ought to stay within our speed limits.”