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A Christmas far from home : an epic tale of courage and survival during the Korean War / Stanley Weintraub.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Boston, MA : Da Capo Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group Press, 2014Description: xvi, 286 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 0306822326 (hardcover)
  • 9780306822322 (hardcover)
Subject(s):
Contents:
Foreword -- A Turkey for Thanksgiving -- Upbeat Thanksgiving -- The Pincers Parlay -- Mission Impossible -- An Entirely New War -- Beginning the Breakout -- Hagaru to Koto-ri -- A Bridge Apart -- Downhill All the Way -- Christmas Eve -- Epilogue.
Scope and content: "From an acclaimed historian, the dramatic story of the Christmas escape of thousands of American troops overwhelmingly surrounded by the enemy in Korea's harsh terrain. Just before Thanksgiving in 1950, five months into the Korean War, General MacArthur flew to American positions in the north and grandly announced an 'end-the-war-by-Christmas' offensive despite recent intervention by Mao's Chinese, who would soon trap tens of thousands of US troops poised toward the Yalu River border. Led by Marines, an overwhelmed X Corps evacuated the frigid, mountainous Chosin Reservoir fastness and fought a swarming enemy and treacherous snow and ice to reach the coast. Weather, terrain, Chinese firepower, and a 4,000-foot chasm made escape seem impossible in the face of a vanishing Christmas. But endurance and sacrifice prevailed, and the last troop ships weighed anchor on Christmas Eve. In the tradition of his Silent Night and Pearl Harbor Christmas, Stanley Weintraub presents another gripping narrative of a wartime Christmas season"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 951.9042 W424 Available 33111007950864
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The day after Thanksgiving, five months into the Korean War, General Douglas MacArthur flew to American positions in the north and grandly announced an end-the-war-by-Christmas offensive, despite recent evidence of intervention by Mao's Chinese troops. Marching north in plunging temperatures, General Edward Almond's X Corps, which included a Marine division under the able leadership of General Oliver Smith, encountered little resistance. But thousands of Chinese, who had infiltrated acrossthe frozen Yalu River, were lying in wait and would soon trap tens of thousands of US troops.

Led by the Marines, an overwhelmed X Corps evacuated the frigid, mountainous Chosin Reservoir vastness and fought a swarming enemy and treacherous snow and ice to reach the coast. Weather, terrain, Chinese firepower, and a 4,000-foot chasm made escape seem impossible in the face of a vanishing Christmas. But endurance and sacrifice prevailed, and the last troopships weighed anchor on Christmas Eve.

In the tradition of his Silent Night and Pearl Harbor Christmas , Stanley Weintraub presents another gripping narrative of a wartime Christmas season.

A Military Book Club main selection

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword -- A Turkey for Thanksgiving -- Upbeat Thanksgiving -- The Pincers Parlay -- Mission Impossible -- An Entirely New War -- Beginning the Breakout -- Hagaru to Koto-ri -- A Bridge Apart -- Downhill All the Way -- Christmas Eve -- Epilogue.

"From an acclaimed historian, the dramatic story of the Christmas escape of thousands of American troops overwhelmingly surrounded by the enemy in Korea's harsh terrain. Just before Thanksgiving in 1950, five months into the Korean War, General MacArthur flew to American positions in the north and grandly announced an 'end-the-war-by-Christmas' offensive despite recent intervention by Mao's Chinese, who would soon trap tens of thousands of US troops poised toward the Yalu River border. Led by Marines, an overwhelmed X Corps evacuated the frigid, mountainous Chosin Reservoir fastness and fought a swarming enemy and treacherous snow and ice to reach the coast. Weather, terrain, Chinese firepower, and a 4,000-foot chasm made escape seem impossible in the face of a vanishing Christmas. But endurance and sacrifice prevailed, and the last troop ships weighed anchor on Christmas Eve. In the tradition of his Silent Night and Pearl Harbor Christmas, Stanley Weintraub presents another gripping narrative of a wartime Christmas season"-- Provided by publisher.

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