FIERCE ENEMY ATTACKS

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26857, 9 October 1952, Page 9

FIERCE ENEMY ATTACKS

Grim Defence By French Troops

(Rec. 12.20 a.m.) SEOUL, October 8. For a second successive night Chinese Communists continued their fiercest offensive of the year tonight. The Bth Army Headquarters estimated today that enemy artillery had lobbed nearly 100,000 shells along the line in the 24 hours ending at midnight last night. The communique said the artillery barrage was twice as big as any fired in a 24-hour period of the Korean war.

Two thousand Communists renewed the attack on White Horse Mountain, one of the main fighting areas northwest of Yongchon at dawn. They caphired the peak briefly soon after midnight but were driven off. The new attack was accompanied by a heavy Communist barrage which attempted to keep the relieving troops from reinforcing the hard-pressed defenders.

The southern end of nearby Arrowhead Ridge was defended by French troops of battalion strength. French officers said the Communists had lost 1000 men trying to overrun the position.

The defenders on the two key hills fought the Chinese attack with everything they had—machine-guns, grenades. and in a few instances bare hands.

Latest reports said the attacks had slowed down at daylight but the artillery was still heavily pounding United Nations positions on most parts of the front. The communique said that French infantrymen on a hill northwest of Chorwon took the brunt of the shining attacks. The Chinese Communists advanced in darkness behind the artillery j screen. Heavily outnumbered the French poured machine-gun fire into the attackers, until their barrels were red hot.

The Chinese advanced in increasing waves, but the communique said that after a seven-hour battle the French reported: “The enemy attacks have slackened. We are still holding firm.”