RED TANKS DRIVE WEDGE BEHIND AMERICAN TROOPS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23298, 6 July 1950, Page 5

RED TANKS DRIVE WEDGE BEHIND AMERICAN TROOPS

(N.Z.P.A.—HeuUr—Copyright.)

(10.45 a.m.) TOKYO, July 6. American ground froops along the Suwon front are still holding their positions despite pressure from North Korean armoured and infantry units.

Some American positions between Suwon and Osan have been by-passed by North Korean tank spearheads, and the position there, according to the spokesman at General MacArthur's headquarters in Korea, is desperate. ARMOURED FLANKING MOVE

The North forces have got in behind the infantry position and are attacking artillery units.

the defending forces with the apparent objective of cutting off the avenue of retreat,” says the communique. “The reported movements of troops and materials across the Han River from the Seoul area into the recently captured area indicate preparation for further aggressive action." General MacArthur’s headquarters spokesman said that North Koreans slipped around the infantry’s defence position and attacked American artillery positions behind it. He added there was still hope the Americans would be able to hold firm or make a safe withdrawal. Communist tanks were wedged between the Americans and their supporting artillery and supplies. An undisclosed number of South Korean troops were also in' the trap. The spokesman emphasised that this is a minor action.

Reuter’s correspondent says that only fragmentary reports have been rereceived in Tokyo of this action. One of the last reports received states, significantly, that the artillery was “small arms fire" according to an official source.

The battle started yesterday when American forward units sighted eight Red tanks and placed them under an artillery barrage. Retreating temporarily the tanks skirted around the American flank and pierced through between the infantry and artillery. General MacArthur’s communique says that North Korean forces launched a frontal attack on the Suwon line yesterday as other elements continued an enveloping attack on the Yong-dongpo-Inchon-Suwon triangle. Yongdongpo is five miles west of Seoul.

The North Korean radio at Pyongyang claimed today that North Korean forces occupied Inchon, the harbour of Seoul. It said that about 1000 South Koreans were killed and about 2000 wounded. Inchon is 22 miles northwest of Suwon and 20 miles west of Seoul It has a population of 215,000. A North Korean column is reported to be headed from Pyju to Ichon while North Korean troops in Wonju are advancing towards Chu Inju. , Communist light tanks have been reported on the east coast near the 38th Parallel.

The communique says the Communists drove the defenders on to high ground north of Osan, which is 11 miles south-east of Suwon. “The North Korean forces continue to press the South Koreans from the north while at the same time extending columns around the east flank of

RED CAPITAL HEAVILY BOMBED

Air strikes against North Korean targets inflicted heavy damage at Pyong; yang, the Northern capital and at Haeuj 70 miles to the south as well as Chinnamp, 30 miles south-west of the capital.

by air and sea from Japan to Korea. General MacArthur’s headquarters announced that North Korean air losses to date totalled seven planes destroyed, one probably destroyed and four damaged. Five motor torpedo boats and six trawlers have been sunk by the navy. Other losses included seven tanks destroyed, one armoured car destroyed, seven captured, 119 motor trucks destroyed, 22 locomotives destroyed and 11 damaged.

Air Force bombers flew 16 sorties against railroad tracks north-west of Munsan with good results. Fighter units flew 158 sorties attacking a variety of targets. The American Army continued to move supplies, munitions and personnel

"ROUT" OF SOUTHERN ARMY

General MacArthur’s communique says that North Korean troops have been reported to have commandeered food stocks from the civilian populace in Seoul. An undetermined number of- North Korean troops, posing as refugees, were reported to have crossed the Han River for intelligence and sabotage purposes. The Russian news agency, Tass, claimed last night that the South Korean Government had fled from Taejon to Chenju 50 miles south-west. The Government established headquarters at Taejon after being driven successively from Seoul and Suwon by the advancing North Korean Red armies.

be reforming around advanced American units.

The spokesman said there had been no attempts by the main North Korean force to push southward beyond Suwon. The South Koreans fled in a full headlong retreat when the North Koreans overran Suwon, says the United Press correspondent at American headquarters in Korea. Front-line reports said the evacuation could be called conservatively a “rout" with the whole South Korean Army running as fast as it could, every available vehicle, including roadscrapers. being used. It was stated that only strong American air cover prevented the North Korean planes and 35,000 troops from turning the rout into a tragic debacle. This was in sharp contrast to the statement from United States headquarters in Korea which said that the South Koreans evacuated “in an orderlj' manner after putting up a good fight.” The Associated Press correspondent who said he had just travelled 180 miles through a “nightmare area” declared: "No matter what their retreat is called officially, military men would call it a rout.” He added: “We saw several battalions of completely uniformed South Korean troop trainees, all carrying rifles that used to belong to the Japanese Army, but the rifles were all minus their vital bolts.”

The South Korean forces which retreated southward with the fall of Suwon were reported by the American Army spokesman at United States Army headquarters in Korea today to