Outpost Kelly: A Tanker's Story (Alabama Fire Ant) (Fire Ant Books) - Softcover

Siewert, Jack R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0817353410 ISBN 13: 9780817353414

Publisher: The University of Alabama Press, 2006

Synopsis

In the second year of the Korean War, Jack Siewert commanded a platoon of five M-46 tanks. Temporarily assigned to provide fire support for an infantry battalion on the front, he eventually found himself in the midst of intense fighting for a relatively unknown and unimportant hill, code named Outpost Kelly. Those four days of battle against Chinese forces form the heart of this memoir, which is unique in its focus on the hill fighting that dominated much of the Korean War. Trained to take advantage of his tanks' mobility, his orders - to provide direct fire support for advancing infantry - along with the mountainous terrain and the torrential monsoon rains that created shin-deep fields of impenetrable mud, forced him to abandon doctrine and improvise. Siewert's platoon played a key role in allowing members of the 15th Infantry to retake Outpost Kelly, and he offers an excellent analysis of how theory and experience come together in a point-of-the-spear military situation. ""Outpost Kelly"" also paints a fascinating picture of the type of fighting, often overlooked, that characterized the second and third years of the Korean War. With truce talks proceeding in Panmunjom, both sides fought to claim incremental pieces of real estate along the demarcation line between North and South. In the grand scheme of the war, the battle for Outpost Kelly might not have meant much. But for the 3rd Infantry Division, and the men, like Jack Siewert, who fought there, it was the entire focal point of the war during the last four days of July, 1952.

About this title

About the Author

Jack R. Siewert, LTC USA (Ret.) is a retired career U.S. Army officer.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Outpost Kelly

A Tanker's StoryBy JACK R. SIEWERT

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA PRESS

Copyright © 2006 The University of Alabama Press
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8173-5341-4

Contents

List of Illustrations..............................ixForeword by Paul M. Edwards........................xiPreface............................................xvAcknowledgments....................................xix1. Reconnaissance Up Front.........................12. Close and Join..................................123. Hill 199........................................284. Stuck in the Mud................................635. Outpost Kelly Is Lost...........................766. The Fight for Outpost Kelly.....................927. Return to Home Station..........................136Epilogue...........................................143Notes..............................................147Glossary...........................................151Bibliography.......................................155

Chapter One

Reconnaissance Up Front

Korean terrain presents unique problems for the passage of tracked vehicles, particularly in the mountains. Narrow defiles, steep slopes, bottomless rice paddies, ice-covered trails and roads, streams and rivers that cannot be forded, traffic congestion, and a host of other hostile conditions catalog the problems of moving a tank in Korea. A tank platoon leader quickly learns that it is prudent to make a route reconnaissance, time and circumstances permitting, prior to committing his tanks to a motor march. In my case I commanded a platoon of M-46 tanks. At forty-eight tons the M-46, the finest tank in the world, was a formidable machine of war. It was twenty-eight feet long, twelve feet wide, and nine feet high. Much of the weight could be attributed to the armor protection; the front of the hull and the turret each had a thickness of four inches of steel. The Continental V-12, 810-horsepower engine used gasoline in prodigious quantities-three gallons of gas to the mile. The 233-gallon fuel tank gave the M-46 a radius of action of seventy miles before refueling. The tank could climb a thirty-one degree slope and could ford four feet of water. On level terrain it could move at thirty miles per hour. Seventy rounds of ammunition were stowed in the fighting compartment for the 90m/m cannon. The small arms mounted on the tank included a caliber .50 machine gun and two caliber .30 machine guns. The M-46 required a lot of care and attention; a five-man crew operated the tank.

It was 13 July 1952, and Captain Jim Barrett, commanding officer (CO), C (Charlie) Company, 64th Tank Battalion, had given me my marching orders. A map reconnaissance was the first order of business. Jointly, Barrett and I completed a map study of the area my platoon and I were to report to the following day.

The task my platoon had been given was relatively simple, almost routine. I was to report to the CO, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, to be attached under operational control for the purpose of relieving disabled tanks of the 7th Tank Company. The term "operational control" meant that my platoon would become a combat element of the 7th Infantry Regiment; administratively, the platoon would still be carried on the "Morning Report" of Charlie Company. The disabled tanks were to be repaired and returned in a few days, at which time my platoon would be released from operational control and we would return to Charlie Company. The area I was going into was the west flank of the 3rd Infantry Division, held by the 7th Infantry Regiment. Next to our flank was the British 1st Commonwealth Division. The opposing forces were the Chinese.

My goal today was twofold: to examine the route the tanks would follow, with emphasis on potential problem areas, and to coordinate the transfer procedures for my platoon to replace a platoon of the 7th Tank Company, 7th Infantry Regiment. My map study indicated that I had been in this area back in November 1951. There had been heavy fighting then for control of Hill 355, Little Gibraltar, and Charlie Company, 64th Tank Battalion, had been placed in a blocking position at a nearby ford on the Imjin River from 23 to 26 November 1951. In the event the enemy penetrated to that point in our lines, Charlie Company was to deny them the use of the ford. The route I planned to take tomorrow was a distance of about six miles between the Charlie Company bivouac area and the headquarters of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment. There the details would be firmed up for my platoon of five tanks to move forward and occupy the positions to be vacated by the tanks of the 7th Tank Company.

Much had changed since last November. I did not recognize any features of the current road. Eight months earlier this road had been a narrow mountain trail scarcely capable of handling quarter-ton truck (jeep) traffic. Today the road was wide enough for trucks to pass in opposite directions; it was well graded, had good culverts, and was even ditched in the appropriate places. The Army Corps of Engineers had created a very good road.

As the quarter-ton rose to the top of a long grade, I could see a large billboardlike sign at the side of the road. I told Sergeant Davis, my driver, to slow down so we could read the sign. The sign stated: danger. You are under enemy observation for the next 500 yards. Danger. A huge canopy of camouflage netting covered the down-sloping road; it was draped and supported high enough to clear a tank with the radio antennas down. It extended almost to the bottom of the hill. The netting looked awfully thin; I could look right through it and see the surrounding terrain with no problem (figure 1). Did this netting really conceal our movement from the enemy? My eyes focused on the commanding terrain feature to the north, Hill 317. I estimated it to be about two and one-half miles away. It was occupied, and held, by the enemy.

Up to now Sergeant Davis and I had been involved in a relatively quiet ride in the Korean countryside on a warm, cloudless day. Now we were abruptly back in the war. I considered this new hazard for a moment.

"Davis, if a round lands behind us, uphill, I want you to 'How-Able' [phonetic alphabet for H-A, which was an abbreviation for 'haul-ass'] down this hill as fast as this quarter-ton will take us. If the round is in front, drive into the ditch to the right, and we'll take cover. Understand?"

Davis responded with a nod of his head and a snappy, "Yes, sir!"

Frankly, I did not know whether this was the best plan or whether our maneuver should have been reversed. The point was that the hazard had been recognized and a contingency plan made to accommodate it.

We reached the bottom of the hill without event. A small roadside sign pointed the way to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment. Even without the sign, the jumble of hastily laid telephone wire, both on poles and lying along the side of the road, pointed to the command post (CP). I made a mental note to remember that the movement of my tanks through here would have to be done carefully to avoid tearing up the telephone wire.

The administrative area of the battalion was in a small valley surrounded by ridges. The CP was in a medium-sized utility tent with the sides rolled up for ventilation, light, and access to the numerous slit trenches surrounding the tent. I was received by the battalion executive officer, Major Lovis Caudell. He said he was expecting me and explained that the battalion commander was at a regimental briefing and that I would see him tomorrow. My mission, he stated, would be the same as that of the 7th Tank Company platoon-to support ground combat operations by direct fire from the tanks. The fire support was delivered from fixed dug-in positions located on a ridge top, part of the main line of resistance (MLR) that was also occupied by the 7th Infantry Regiment Heavy Mortar Company. The infantry line companies were also disposed along the MLR. The whole battalion was on the line. The frontage to be covered was so extensive that all the combat assets were committed to meet the mission responsibilities.

The major used a detailed wall map, 1 to 50,000 scale, covered with clear plastic and marked with grease pencil, to describe the tactical situation graphically. The 7th Infantry Regiment left flank was also the 3rd Infantry Division left flank. This boundary was shared with the 1st British Commonwealth Division situated to the immediate west. Running through the 7th Infantry Regiment area was the Imjin River. The Greek Expeditionary Battalion held the east flank, and that boundary was shared with the 65th Infantry Regiment to the immediate east. So, facing north, the regimental alignment reading west to east was 2nd, 3rd, and Greek battalions, with the 1st Battalion in regimental reserve. There were numerous outposts along the regimental frontage; the 2nd Battalion was responsible for Outposts Cavite, Kelly, Tessie, Nick, and Betty. Outpost Nori was a 3rd Battalion responsibility. Not all the outposts were manned at the same time. The most commanding terrain feature in the area was Hill 355, Little Gibraltar, which we held; the next most significant feature was Hill 317 to the north, held by the Chinese. The road I had come in on was the main supply route (MSR) and served the regimental area from the west flank boundary to the Imjin River. The opposing force was the 348th Regiment, 116th Division, 39th Chinese Communist Forces army (maps 2 and 3).

"That's about it," the major concluded. "The two disabled M-46 tanks on Hill 199 will be down by tomorrow. You can plan to occupy their positions when you get here in the morning. There has been a delay in getting the engineers to build the road, but by tomorrow the recovery operations will be completed."

My mind had been going pretty fast absorbing this briefing, but now I thought, Whoa! Wait a minute! Did he mean two tanks and two positions only? Up to now, with the information available to me, I had been planning to bring the 2nd Platoon, five tanks, forward and deploy them to bring the enemy under the fire of my 90m/m guns. At my briefing this morning Captain Barrett had stated that a platoon of the 7th Tank Company had to be taken off the line for rear-echelon maintenance. The 64th Tank Battalion had been directed by G-3 (Operations), 3rd Infantry Division, to provide a replacement platoon on a temporary basis until the repairs were completed, a project that was estimated to take several days. Ultimately, the mission reached me. Further details were to be finalized at the 2nd Battalion.

"Major," I said, "are there only two firing positions?"

"Yes," he replied, "but they are dug in-revetted for hull defilade-and each position has its own bunker."

"Any chance of developing more firing positions so I can get all five of my tanks up there?" I asked.

"Possibly," he responded. "Take a look around when you get up on the ridge. If you think you can squeeze more tanks in, we'll see what can be done. You will meet the CO, Major Crain, tomorrow. Plan on being here at 0900 hours."

This concluded the briefing, and I was turned over to the S-4 (the logistics officer) to work out the logistic details of joining the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment. The S-4 was well acquainted with the needs of a tank platoon, so the arrangements for billeting, mess, medical support, fuel, ammunition requisitioning, and communications were quickly settled. I reflected briefly on the major change in my plans and expectations-only two firing positions. Somehow, through channels, the requirement for two tanks had been translated into a platoon. Now what? Should I bring two tanks forward and leave three in bivouac at Charlie Company? Or was it best to keep the platoon together and bring everybody up front regardless of how I might be able to deploy them? I elected to bring the whole platoon forward for several reasons: most important was maintaining unit integrity and developing teamwork; second was preparing for the unexpected; and, third, I figured that in an emergency, five tanks were better than two. And maybe there was room on the ridge for five tanks. Accordingly, I arranged for the light section (two tanks, including mine) to be on top of the hill and for the heavy section (three tanks with the platoon sergeant) to be at the foot. For logistics the entire platoon would be attached to Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, which was near the battalion CP.

The next order of business was to see what the top of Hill 199 looked like (figure 2). Davis and I drove the short distance to the road that led to the top and discovered that a tank recovery vehicle blocked it. The marking on the vehicle identified the 703rd Ordnance Company. We parked, dismounted, and walked up the hill; it was a 350-yard climb up a steep, narrow, dirt road just wide enough for a tank. Road dust, like fine powder, puffed and billowed with each step. Near the top, recovery operations were under way for the disabled tanks. We paused to watch the activity. One tank was in the road facing backward downhill. We learned that both tanks had transmission problems, which clearly made this an awkward recovery. In my mind I could visualize the complexities of attaching forty-eight tons of immobile tank to a tank recovery vehicle positioned on a steep, narrow grade. The recovery crew was in for a long, hot, sweaty day coupled with some high anxiety. The second tank was farther up the road, still parked in its revetment. I could find no officers in sight, which bothered me because this recovery operation demonstrated a high level of complexity and hazard dealing with very expensive combat vehicles. I left Davis to observe the recovery operations; as a tanker he could learn something about accomplishing a difficult task. My interest was in the vacated tank position about thirty yards farther uphill to the left.

Standing in the revetment, looking north, I was pleased with the field of fire from this position. In place, only the tank turret would be above ground level. To the immediate front, about one hundred yards away, ran a ridge parallel to the one I was on. That ridge out there was the forward edge of the MLR. I could see a service trail on the side facing me, with bunkers both above and below the trail. I noticed communication trenches leading up the slope and then disappearing over the ridgeline to the military crest where the fighting trenches were located. Also to the front beyond the MLR, through a shallow saddle in the ridge, I could see Outpost Kelly. I looked through my ten-power binoculars, but I could not detect any activity on Kelly. I estimated the range to be about fifteen hundred yards from where I was standing. Outpost Tessie, which was to the right, did not show any activity either. I could not see Outposts Nick, Betty, and Nori, also to the right, because the ridge to the front masked my view. The dominating terrain feature was Hill 317, to my left front, about a mile and a half away. Enemy held, it overlooked our MLR; I did not see any hostile activity. A quick tour of the adjacent bunker showed it to be well made. The immediate area had all the signs of an abrupt departure; it was trashy and needed "policing up," or restoring it to correct standards. Far to the right, beyond the second tank, I could see the Heavy Mortar Company area; I decided I would visit that location tomorrow after getting settled in. My survey up to this point clearly showed that this hilltop offered no more positions to place additional tanks. I would have to shelve that idea.

I rejoined Davis. "How are they doing here?" A glance showed nothing much had changed.

"There are too many bosses there." Sergeant Harold D. Davis shook his head in a vigorous negative manner. With Davis, attitude and aptitude made a congenial blend. He was nineteen years old but had already made sergeant. Of medium height and wiry, he had the right physique for the tight confines of a tank. And he was cool and controlled under pressure, a trait he had exhibited a number of times. As a tank driver he could not learn much more; he knew the operation and maintenance of the engine and transmission, suspension, electrical, and hydraulic systems. I suspect he knew as much about the unit-level maintenance and repair of the tank as did our company mechanic. The "21" tank (the numerical designation was based on the platoon and tank number; in this case, the "2" indicated the 2nd Platoon, and the "1" indicated that it was the first of the five tanks; the "22" tank meant 2nd Platoon, second tank, and so on) was always ready for the mission. Mental preparation for your personal response to the stress of combat is an important element of being a soldier. Davis handled this like many nineteen-year-olds; he knew he was immortal. As the driver of an M-46, he knew he was invincible. Every task was done briskly; his driving was done with dash and verve. At times he had to be reined in to ensure we got to our destination without a calamity. He was a real hell-for-leather cavalryman.

We approached the second tank position. It was about forty yards to the right of the position I had just visited. The M-46 tank was still in hull defilade in the revetment. No personnel were present; they were probably assisting with the recovery operations on the tank down the road. The field of fire here was as good as the other position. Again, the bunker looked sound and certainly large enough for a five-man tank crew. As we were leaving, Davis said, "Lieutenant, did you notice this excavation work and road to the rear of the tank? The recovery guys were talking about it-they said this tank peeled a track, left side, and couldn't get it back on until the engineers built a road under the tank! Had to be a hell of a job."

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Outpost Kellyby JACK R. SIEWERT Copyright © 2006 by The University of Alabama Press. Excerpted by permission.
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Edition details

• Publisher: The University of Alabama Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0817353410
• ISBN 13: 9780817353414
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176