Review: On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War’s Greatest Battle

I’m reviewing two history books…because Pastors also need a break!

Hampton Sides. On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War’s Greatest Battle.  New York, NY: Doubleday, October 2, 2018.  368 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

If you ever heard the hymn for the US Marines there’s a line that says “we will fight in every climb and place” but where’s a place that’s cold that the Marines have fought in? This book covers the legendary First Marine Division and their campaign in the Korean War.  Readers will learn about the epic and horrible battle of Chosin Reservoir that took place in frostbiting cold of North Korea.  There’s other battles covered but this was the climatic part of the book.

The book is divided into five parts.  “Book One” cover the first Marine Division Campaign up to Seoul (capital of South Korea).  Book two then goes over the Marines campaign driving into North Korea followed by book  three that cover the Reservior campaign when the Chinese attacked back and surrounded the First Marine Division.  Book four continues this campaign with bloodly details of survivors and atrocities and book five is the final march of the Division back to the Sea (and eventual safety).

I thought the author did a good job of capturing multiple facets of the Korean War.  This include the command level of Generals to Marine grunts and also native Koreans.  Most insightful to me is the author’s assessment of General Douglas MacArthur of how he and his immediate staff didn’t understand truly what was going on in the beginning of the fight and they went against what intelligence and battle field commanders were telling them about the threat of Chinese soldiers entering the conflict and the forces being split thinned.  This made me appreciate the Marines of that era even more with the odds they have to overcome along with bad leadership from the Army at the Corps level and up.  I also appreciate more General Smith who was the Marine general that lead the First Marine Division.  Also interesting to me was the book’s discussion about how the Marines integrated Marines of all ethnicities rather early on among the various branches and the account of the first Asian Marine officer Lt. Lee was fascinating.

There’s so much in the book more than I can go over such as how General MacArthur lying about the situation in Korea and the experience of a North Korean that fled and caught up in the war.  Worth reading.