CHONGJU
October 25, 1950

By the end of October, 1950, the North Korean People's Army was in full rout. As Allied forces pursued them relentlessly, their advance began to lose cohesion and order. MacArthur was inordinately demanding that the troops proceed "with all speed." General Johnnie Walker, commander of all Allied units in Korea, felt that his job was in jeopardy and threw all caution to the wind. In the whirlwind advance, however, some ominous problems began to present themselves. The weather was turning rigorously cold. Winters in the Korean mountains are some of the most severe on earth with temperatures dropping to 30 degrees below zero and fierce winds that bring the wind chill to a point beyond human endurance. Most American soldiers were not geared for this sort of inclement weather and the early winter was already beginning to take its toll. Supplies were another matter of expediency. The Allies were starting to find themselves in the same situation as their enemy some five months earlier. The advance was so rapid that keeping the troops with adequate ammunition, fuel, medicine, and food was becoming an impossible task. Even though Inchon was being used to the maximum, the fickle tides made things difficult. Many railroad bridges had not been rebuilt and the bulk of supplies had to come by truck or emergency airlift. What finally arrived at the front was a trickle of what was desperately needed.
The enemy, on the other hand, driven against its northern border, was blessed with readily available and short supply lines. One senior commander later commented that there was never enough ammunition in Korea. It seemed that in every action, the soldiers, tankers, and gunners were always desperate for rounds to fire and were constantly forced to ration their fire output. This placed a severe restriction on Allied activities throughout the entire war. Finally, ominous rumbling and activity from within Manchuria made disturbing sounds in the ears of front line commanders. More and more was being seen of Chinese Communist Forces (CCF). Though many saw this as strictly independent action on the part of a few border forces, others became alarmed at the possibility of the war widening to include China's tens of thousands of troops.
Even so, the U.S. forces did not hesitate. The North Korean border was almost within reach, and upon arriving there, the next move would be toward home. It had now evolved into a type of foot race between Army and Marine units. Who would arrive first? Who would get the glory? One element of the Eighth Army was the Commonwealth Brigade, a fine group of Australian infantry, whose fighting abilities were well proven. It was this Brigade that would lead the under strength 24th Division to the northwest, through Chongju and follow the coast road onward to Sinuiju, at the North Korean border with Manchuria. Accompanying the Australians was the 89th Medium Tank Battalion, Tom Dolvin commanding. It was his unit that had fought so valiantly during the siege at Pusan.
During the morning of October 25th, the units set out toward Chongju. It was an unusually cold morning, with snow flurries falling throughout the day. The advance went well until the troops arrived at the surrounding hills. Advance recon teams were suddenly fired upon with savage fury. Amid the explosion of jeeps and scout vehicles, the Australian Argyll Battalion called urgently for help. Dolvin's tanks were soon moving in that direction.
As the American armor moved into position to support the reorganizing Australians, an ambush was set off by well hidden T-34 tanks and a number of self-propelled guns.
Dolvin, a graduate of West Point (1939), and a combatveteran of both Italy and the ETO, was a good leader and well qualified in armor tactics. Taking control of the situation, he dispersed his Pershings and Shermans, and began to take on the Soviet-made tanks and SP guns. Even though the T-34's were the later models with an 85mm gun, they were no match for the American tankers. The indomitable troops of the Argyll Battalion did not turn and run, but effectively used their available anti-tank weapons, including the new 3.5" bazookas. The battle grew in intensity and a number of U.S. tanks were put out of commission. The maneuvering of the U.S. tank platoons and the vicious firepower from the Australian tank-killer teams more than evened out the odds. The North Korean tankers became confused and attempted to withdraw. The Allies would have none of that; soon the rising smoke from the hills around Chongju came primarily from North Korean tanks, and within a matter of hours, the conflict had been decided. As the Australians moved into Chongju, they left behind their beloved commander, Charles H. Green. He had been a WWII veteran and was an aggressive and intelligent fighter. Though in Korea for only a short while, he had already earned a reputation for his military prowess. He had been killed in the heavy firefight. He would be sorely missed in the months to come