In Clover

On the west flank of the Seoul front, in the sector split by the road from Kaesong, units of the U.S. 25th Division and the British Commonwealth 29th Brigade had come under attack almost simultaneously. The Chinese were attacking all along the British line, against the Royal Ulster Rifles, the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and the Gloucestershires. The British regulars had been spoiling for a fight ever since they landed in Korea some two months before, and now they were getting one. Said an officer at the brigade C.P.: "My best company commander's got bullet holes all up the side of his trousers and a gash in the thigh. He's as happy as a pig in clover."

Like the rest of the U.N. forces north of Seoul, the British were getting ready to withdraw, but they had a few small chores to attend to first. Lieut. Colonel Kingsley Foster, C.O. of the Northumberland Fusiliers, pointed down a small valley toward two smoldering villages. "Some of my troops, including a few wounded, are pinned down there," he said. "I've lost my senior major, a classmate of mine whom I've known for 25 years. I've also lost my assault platoon commander. We're just about to go in and get out the rest." Then the colonel had some cheese & crackers and a mug of tea, swung his carbine over his shoulder and marched off to join his riflemen. The counterattack came off successfully, and a few hours later, the British too started their pullback through Seoul and out across the Han to the south.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.