“Battle of Chatkol”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

The Battle of Chatkol (also known as the 55 Nights of Chatkol) was the name given to the series of skirmishes between UN forces and Chinese forces near the village of Chatkol at the centre of the "Iron Triangle" during the Korean War. The position was held by the Belgian UN contingent for 55 consecutive nights, during which time they came under heavy attack.

Chatkol

The small village of Chatkol ({{lang-ko|찻골}}, sometimes "Chat-kol") lay in the centre of the zone labelled "Iron Triangle" between Chorwon and Kumhwa in the South, and Pyonggang in the north.^[5] Chatkol was viewed as a decisive communications hub by both Chinese and UN commanders owing to its proximity to the railway running north-east through the triangle.^[6]

Defences around Chatkol

The villages of Chatkol and Sandong-ni were surrounded to the north to east by an arc of defensive fortifications known as "The Boomerang" on the "White Horse Mountain Range" hill line^[7] On the northern portion of the defensive line, there were three "outposts" codenamed (from left to right) "Alice", "Barbara" and "Carol".^[8] The first letter of each outpost denoted which company of the Belgian contingent was responsible for their defence, while the Heavy Weapons Company defended the eastern arc of the "boomerang." The Belgians' command post was established at Sandong-ni to the north-west of the trench line.

Each outpost was manned by as few as three men during the day, but at night - the preferred time for Chinese assaults, this could be increased to over ten men. Both the main positions, and the outposts themselves, were heavily built and easily defensible, incorporating bunkers and trench lines.^[9]

8–9 March: Retaking Outpost Carol

The next morning, at 06:45 and with US artillery support and smoke screen, Belgian soldiers successfully assaulted and re-took the position. In this action 5 Belgians were killed and 17 wounded while Chinese losses were estimated at 25 killed, 40 wounded.^[12]

13 March: Retaking Outpost Alice

Outpost Alice was attacked at 00:15, first by an artillery bombardment, then by a massed Chinese attack. Retreating to their lines under fire, one soldier from the original garrison was found to be missing. When Alice was retaken, patrols were sent out to find the missing soldier. By 06:00, a wounded soldier - survivor of Outpost Alice - was seen crawling towards the front line and was evacuated to a MASH hospital by helicopter.

7–8 April

Realising that a Chinese breakthrough was a distinct possibility, Corporal Raymond Beringer of the Luxembourg Platoon, A Company moved his Water-cooled .30 Machine Gun to the roof of his bunker to enable a broader field of fire.^[13] After the battle, the bodies of over 20 Chinese soldiers were found within 200 meters of his bunker alone.^[14] For this action, Cpl. Beringer was awarded the American Bronze Star and recommended for the Silver Star. Despite this, the paperwork containing the recommendations for both medals were lost and the award was only made in 1992.

Notes

1. ^As at the Battle of Haktang-ni in October 1951, the Battle of Chatkol co-incided with a period of troop rotation in the Luxembourg detachment. The majority of the soldiers in the Second Luxembourg Detachment returned home by ship in January 1953, arriving in March. However, several Luxembourg soldiers (including Cpl. Beringer would distinguish himself during the action at Chatkol) remained in Korea after the end of their official tour, included in Belgian units. Their flag is thus included for completeness, even though there was (strictly speaking) no Luxembourg unit present.
2. ^Belgians Can Do Too! The Belgian-Luxembourg Battalion in Korea 1950-1955, (Brussels) 2011 {{ISBN|2870510500}} p.173
3. ^http://www.koreanwar-educator.org/topics/national_archives_103.htm
4. ^Belgians Can Do Too! The Belgian-Luxembourg Battalion in Korea 1950-1955, (Brussels) 2011 {{ISBN|2870510500}} p.39
5. ^https://www.flickr.com/photos/dmclean2009/3659976694/
6. ^Belgians Can Do Too! The Belgian-Luxembourg Battalion in Korea 1950-1955, (Brussels) {{ISBN|2870510500}} p.39
7. ^{{Cite web |url=http://hendrik.atspace.com/eng/korchatkol.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=20 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206162149/http://hendrik.atspace.com/eng/korchatkol.html |archive-date=6 February 2012 |dead-url=yes |df=dmy-all }}
8. ^A. Crahay, Bérets Bruns en Corée 1950-1953 (Vécu Par Des Belges) p.179
9. ^A. Crahay, Bérets Bruns en Corée 1950-1953 (Vécu Par Des Belges) p.180
10. ^A. Crahay, Bérets Bruns en Corée 1950-1953 (Vécu Par Des Belges) p.181-2
11. ^{{Cite web |url=http://hendrik.atspace.com/eng/korchatkol.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=20 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206162149/http://hendrik.atspace.com/eng/korchatkol.html |archive-date=6 February 2012 |dead-url=yes |df=dmy-all }}
12. ^{{Cite web |url=http://hendrik.atspace.com/eng/korchatkol.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=20 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206162149/http://hendrik.atspace.com/eng/korchatkol.html |archive-date=6 February 2012 |dead-url=yes |df=dmy-all }}
13. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.warfoto.com/3rdsociety3.htm |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2012-07-10 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827123641/http://www.warfoto.com/3rdsociety3.htm |archivedate=27 August 2012 |df= }}
14. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.warfoto.com/3rdsociety3.htm |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2012-07-10 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827123641/http://www.warfoto.com/3rdsociety3.htm |archivedate=27 August 2012 |df= }}