Battle Of The Imjin River Book

[hucks216]

Just thought that I'd point members to what is a very good book on one of the iconic battles of the Korean war. To The Last Round by Andrew Salmon (ISBN: 978-1-84513-533-1) provides a full account of the fighting of the British 29th Infantry Brigade at the Imjin River which culminated with the famous last stand of 'The Glorious Glosters'. But this book doesn't solely concentrate on the actions of the Glosters. It also shines the light on the Royal Ulster Rifles, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, King's Royal Irish Hussars, Belgian Battalion and artillery support arms and their contributions & actions before, during & after the Chinese offensive, including the Ulster Rifles fight down Happy Valley and the Brigade's breakout down Route 11. Also interwoven into the 'story' is the actions of the American, ROK & other UN forces. An interesting chapter is the aftermath of the battle when the British PoW's were in their PoW Camps, describing the life in the camps and reactions of the PoW's to certain Western journalists who reported favourably for the Chinese.
A very well told story, and personally I found the book hard to put down.

[azyeoman]

If you want to read an excellent book on the Battle of the Imjin River, then this is it. It's a must for a military library.

[Patrick Dempsey]

Agreed. Essential reading in fact.

[Michael Page]

This reminds me - I saw a book the other day, Scorched Earth, Black Snow, about the British and Australians in Korea, by the same author. This was released in June.

[hucks216]

That looks like one to order. Being from the UK I wish someone would write a book about the actions of the Royal Navy in the Korean War, and not just concentrating on the squadrons from the carriers but tell the stories of the cruisers & frigates etc.

[hucks216]

I've just finished Scorched Earth, Black Snow and just like the author's previous work it is a very readable book telling the story of the British/Commonwealth 27th Brigade in the first year of the Korean War with the narrative centering on the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, the Middlesex Rgt, the Royal Australian Rgt and 41 Commando RM but it does also tell the story of the US units that 27 Brigade supported to give a fuller picture. The narrative tells the story with plenty of input from the soldiers themselves which makes the 'telling' come alive. Battles on the Pusan Perimeter and the breakout across the Nantong River with the push to Pyongyang and beyond are all covered very well but the highlight of this book for me was the coverage of 41 Cdo RM which covered their raids on the North Korean coast and their ordeal (with the US Marines) at the Chosin Reservoir during sub-zero temperatures. The story of the book leaves off where To The Last Round begins.
All in all this is another book I would strongly recommend.

[Michael Page]

Here's a nice presentation by author Andrew Salmon, at the site of the battle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwMc5FjGiFs