Officially Hill 122 on a map but known as Bunker Hill to the troops, it became a hotspot throughout much of August 1952 as the 1st Marine Division made efforts to solidify its thinly-stretched positions along the Jamestown defensive line in west central Korea. Possession of the ridge that made up Bunker Hill offered a dominating view of Chinese movements beyond the outpost line as well as of nearby hills.
The Americans first took the hill from the Chinese late on the night of August 11, 1952 via an attack by B Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. Heavy shelling followed into the next day and the Marines prepared for an anticipated counterattack which came at around noon. Reserves from the 7th Marines were moved up as a supporting force and I Company of the regiment’s 3rd Battalion was placed on the reverse slope of the hill. Two Marine companies now held the hill.
Over time several Marine companies ultimately occupied Bunker Hill, one relieving the other as Chinese attacks failed to let up. Sporadic artillery and mortar fire, as well as the occasional probe, harassed the Marines day in and day out throughout the rest of the month. By the end of August 1952, the Chinese had launched seven organized counterattacks against the fortified Marine positions atop Bunker Hill. Only one, on the night of August 25/26, threatened to overrun them.
Evidently the Americans held firm in their defensive actions on the hill. The use of supporting arms, which ranged from tanks, heavy artillery, and air strikes, to small arms fire and mortars, greatly contributed to the success of the defense. The Marines suffered 48 killed, 313 seriously wounded, and several hundred more with minor wounds.
pieater69
The guy holding the BAR looks like he’s seen some shit.
robust_mongoloid
What are those donut shaped things?
WinterNL
The thing that stood out to me were those vests, didn’t realise they had those at that point.
Couldn’t find too much about them either, seem to be a bunch of vests filled with fiberglass plating around that era.
Wikipedia is quite short, some of its sources seem down and can’t easily find other reliable sources.
Anyway have a decent source on this?
Boraxo
I talk to a lot of vets (I’m a commander of VFW post) and Korean War vets seem to have more effed up stories than the WW2 and Vietnam vets. These guys have my greatest respect.
Lt_Kije
If you want a first hand account of Bunker Hill, read Martin Russ’s "The last Parallel."
![Marines of the 1st Marine Regiment dug-in on Bunker Hill in North Korea in August 1952. [900 x 680]](https://i.redd.it/v70dyh8t7h751.jpg)
Nicktator3
Officially Hill 122 on a map but known as Bunker Hill to the troops, it became a hotspot throughout much of August 1952 as the 1st Marine Division made efforts to solidify its thinly-stretched positions along the Jamestown defensive line in west central Korea. Possession of the ridge that made up Bunker Hill offered a dominating view of Chinese movements beyond the outpost line as well as of nearby hills.
The Americans first took the hill from the Chinese late on the night of August 11, 1952 via an attack by B Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. Heavy shelling followed into the next day and the Marines prepared for an anticipated counterattack which came at around noon. Reserves from the 7th Marines were moved up as a supporting force and I Company of the regiment’s 3rd Battalion was placed on the reverse slope of the hill. Two Marine companies now held the hill.
Over time several Marine companies ultimately occupied Bunker Hill, one relieving the other as Chinese attacks failed to let up. Sporadic artillery and mortar fire, as well as the occasional probe, harassed the Marines day in and day out throughout the rest of the month. By the end of August 1952, the Chinese had launched seven organized counterattacks against the fortified Marine positions atop Bunker Hill. Only one, on the night of August 25/26, threatened to overrun them.
Evidently the Americans held firm in their defensive actions on the hill. The use of supporting arms, which ranged from tanks, heavy artillery, and air strikes, to small arms fire and mortars, greatly contributed to the success of the defense. The Marines suffered 48 killed, 313 seriously wounded, and several hundred more with minor wounds.
pieater69
The guy holding the BAR looks like he’s seen some shit.
robust_mongoloid
What are those donut shaped things?
WinterNL
The thing that stood out to me were those vests, didn’t realise they had those at that point.
Couldn’t find too much about them either, seem to be a bunch of vests filled with fiberglass plating around that era.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doron_Plate
Wikipedia is quite short, some of its sources seem down and can’t easily find other reliable sources.
Anyway have a decent source on this?
Boraxo
I talk to a lot of vets (I’m a commander of VFW post) and Korean War vets seem to have more effed up stories than the WW2 and Vietnam vets. These guys have my greatest respect.
Lt_Kije
If you want a first hand account of Bunker Hill, read Martin Russ’s "The last Parallel."