When the War broke out, the Regiment was in Japan training on the southern island of Honshu. The Wolfhounds were soon chosen to lead the 25th Infantry Division deployment to Korea. In command of the Regiment was Lieutenant Colonel Michael ("Mike") Michaelis (pronounced Ma-KAY-less). LTC Michaelis would lead the Wolfhounds to great fame during his command. During World War II, he had commanded a regiment of the 101st Airborne Division in Holland. In Korea, he would receive two battlefield promotions within six months, to full Colonel and Brigadier General. General Michaelis was an exemplary and hard leader, who believed in intense and demanding training. Before moving to its area of operations, he assembled his officers and non-commissioned officers and told them he wanted the men stripped down to weapons, ammo, water, and rations. All else would be discarded. LTC Michaelis had studied Oriental fighting tactics and jungle warfare after World War II. He told his leaders to always take the high ground overlooking your position; have every man drink a full canteen of water in the morning, then refill the canteen and ensure a proper level of body fluids throughout the day. Concluding the talk he said, "Remember, you're here to kill and not to be killed."
The next Wolfhound fight would earn the Regiment's second Presidential Unit Citation. The NKA had surrounded ROK units near Pohang and were now preparing to continue moving towards Taegu, in the northern sector of the Pusan Perimeter. The Wolfhounds and the 23rd Regiment dug in along the Tabu Road leading to Taegu and prepared to defend. The NKA 13th Division, leading the attack, collided with the Wolfhounds the night of 18 August. The Wolfhounds were fully prepared for a hard fight; high ground secure, mines laid, flares ready, all guns zeroed in. When the enemy came into range, Michaelis let loose a hail of frightening and deadly fires. Two NKA tanks an artillery piece, two trucks, and over 100 enemy troops were destroyed. The same scene was repeated for seven consecutive nights. The Wolfhound Battalion commanders remained magnificently cool and refused to yield one yard of ground. Bit by bit, they whittled down the strength of the enemy division inflicting 4000 casualties. The persistent and noisy onrush of the NKA down this valley, coupled with tank and return fires, reminded the Wolfhounds of a bowling alley. This resolute stand was of course named The "Battle of the Bowling Alley." The Eight Army commander, General Walton Walker, inspected the Wolfhound front on 20 August. Surveying the NKA carnage on the battlefield and the stout American positions, he declared that "Taegu is certainly saved." On 31 August, with the NKA defeated, the Regiment went into reserve near Masan.
On 15 September 1950, General Douglas MacArthur conducted the amphibious assault at Inchon that would eventually cut off the NKA at the Pusan Perimeter. On 19 September US units attacked out of the Perimeter. The Wolfhounds, attacking westward against retreating NKA units, captured Chin-ju on 28 September, secured the Chig-ni and Chonju Road, and began mop up operations. The landing at Inchon and the breakout from the Pusan Perimeter decisively broke the NKA's back and precipitated their withdrawal from South Korea. The Korean War took a decisive turn when President Truman decided to invade North Korea and re-unite the two countries. From October through November 1950, UN forces pursued the NKA across the 38th parallel towards the Yalu River, which divided North Korea from Red China. In early October through November, the 27th Regiment was involved in the clearing of the Iron Triangle near Chorwon. The retreating NKA used the Iron Triangle as a guerrilla base of operations, conducting raids and ambushes. On 6 November the Regiment's I and R platoon (scouts) and a platoon from L Company were ambushed near Kunch-on and Sibyon-ni; fourteen Americans were murdered when they refused to give their captors information other than name, rank, and serial number. On 25 November 1950, the regiment stopped for Thanksgiving Dinner near the Kuryang River and a small North Korean village named Ipsok. MacArthur had announced that the Korean "Police Action" was almost over and that troops would be home for Christmas. The 25th Division, part of the US I Corps, launched an advance towards Unsan. The Regiment was designated as the Corps reserve. However, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) had other plans. They had moved six armies over the border into North Korea. They savagely attacked UN forces on 25 November, causing a retreat across the entire front. Captain Reginald Desiderio gave his life protecting the task force command post. Wounded numerous times, he still managed to encourage his men. He moved up and down the line shouting, "Hold on 'till daylight! Hold on 'till daylight, and we've got it made!" He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions. Forced to conduct a fighting withdrawal, the 25th Division and the Wolfhounds withdrew to Yongbyon and then Sukchon, taking up defensive positions. Further retreats were ordered to the Imjin River and finally to Pyongtaek in early January, where the Division took up defensive positions along Line D. The CCF offensive had pushed US and UN forces out of North Korea and northern South Korea and recaptured Seoul, the South Korean capital. During this retreat, the Wolfhounds were frequently called upon to cover the withdrawal of other US units, always fighting hard and withdrawing in good order. Since the Chinese offensive UN forces had only retreated; morale was low, and no offensive spirit remained. General Matthew B. Ridgeway, who took command of the Eighth Army in early December, desperately needed to restore the American soldier's fighting spirit. Calling upon Michaelis's Wolfhounds, he ordered the Regiment to attack in early January 1951. Although the Wolfhounds encountered no resistance, its aggressive deployment forward of "Line D" served as an important morale builder; the Eighth Army was no longer withdrawing, but attacking. In mid January, another attack was launched, codenamed "Wolfhound." Attacking north, the Regiment cleared Osan and advanced to Suwon, withdrawing only when it was in danger of being trapped. This attack, like the earlier one, provided the allied forces another much needed psychological uplift. From late January to mid February, the fighting in Korea was characterized by attacks and counterattacks. Colonel (then Captain) Lewis Millett, earned the Medal of Honor when he led Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry in a bayonet assault against a fortified Chinese hilltop. It was described by an Army historian as ". . . the greatest bayonet attack by US soldiers since Cold Harbor in the Civil War." Colonel Michaelis was promoted to Brigadier General and the 27th Regiment's command passed to Colonel Gilbert Check, who had commanded the 1st Battalion since the beginning of the war. 16 February 1951, the Wolfhounds, as part of a 25th Infantry Division attack, attacked north to the Han River under a massive artillery barrage. Eleven artillery batteries alone supported the Regiment. This assault in conjunction with other attacks from early January, forced the CCF and NKA forces to withdraw from South Korea. On 7 March 1951, preceded by tremendous artillery preparation, the Regiment, spearheaded by the Third Battalion led the assault across the Han River near Mugam. This 25th Division advance, outflanked the Communist forces in Seoul and would shortly cause the enemy to withdraw from the South Korean capital. The Regiment continued its advance from the Han River until it was relieved near Uijonbu. On 3 April, the 27th was again in the attack as part of Operation "Rugged," crossing the 38th parallel, where the war had begun ten months earlier. The Regiment received its third Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during the crossing of the Han River. From early to mid-April, the Regiment continued its advance north finally reaching Line Utah, near Chorwon. On 22 April it advanced further north to Line Wyoming. That same night the CCF attacked again, its objective the recapture of Seoul. At the Hantan River, six Chinese Divisions with 50,000 troops struck against the 27th and the 24th Infantry Regiments. The CCF hit the left sector of the Wolfhounds hard with artillery, infantry, and several tanks. In another remarkable performance, the Regiment held in close, hand to hand fighting. The CCF then backed off in the dark, then hit the right sector of the Wolfhounds. A senior officer remembered:
From the end of April through mid May 1951, the 27th Regiment continued to defend along Line Lincoln, northeast of Seoul, awaiting another Communist offensive. However, the Chinese renewed their attack further east, in an attempt to envelope the Eighth Army and Seoul from the southeast. To counter this offensive UN forces in the east withdrew, then counterattacked. In the west, I Corps (of which the 25th Division and the Regiment were assigned) also attacked north to Line Kansas at the Imjin and Hantan Rivers on 20 May, achieving its objective on 28 May. Next, the Wolfhounds participated in Operation Piledriver, which would again place it near the Iron Triangle at Kumhwa. Piledriver began in June 1951, and Kumhwa was secured on 14 June. The Wolfhounds dug in, built bunkers, strung wire, planted mines, and registered its artillery. The lull in battle ended on 12 September when the regiment attacked and seized heavily fortified Communist fortifications near Kumhwa. Lieutenant Jerome Sudut, a Platoon Leader with B Company, was awarded the Medal of Honor after he lost his life single-handedly storming a enemy bunker that had pinned down his platoon. Over fifty other Wolfhounds received medals for valor for their actions during the attack. Shortly afterwards, the 25th Division, to include the Wolfhounds, were relieved on Line Kansas and became the I Corps reserve. In January 1952, the Wolfhounds were called to the Island of Koje-do. Communist prisoners confined there were becoming insurgent. Shortly after their arrival the prisoners in Compound 66 ignited a prison wide riot. Well organized Reds distributed steel pickets, blackjacks, pipes, clubs, knives and rocks to be used against Wolfhound soldiers. Riot control tactics, bayonets and concussion grenades failed to control the rioters. The Wolfhounds were forced to fire. By the time the uprising was subdued, seventy-five Reds lay dead and one-hundred and thirty-eight were wounded. One American soldier was killed and seventy-nine others injured. The regiment moved back to the mainland and into the division reserve. At the end of March the regiment again moved forward, relieving the 14th Infantry in the Satae-ri Valley. With the heaviest fighting of the Korean war now over and truce negotiations beginning at Kaesong (subsequently moved to Panmunjom), the war transitioned to a new phase. The UN, Chinese, and NKA forces reverted to almost World War I tactics. From heavily fortified positions, limited offensives were launched, backed by tremendous artillery concentrations, whenever the negotiations bogged down. The main activity were combat patrols sent into the "No Man's Land" between the lines to capture prisoners, gain information, and maintain contact with the enemy.
Finally, on 27 July, 1953, a formal cease fire was signed at Panmunjom. However, a peace treaty is yet to be formulated between North Korea and UN forces, who are technically still at war. Korea was and is now divided by a fortified demilitarized zone or DMZ. Negotiations at Panmunjom continue to this day. On 10 September, 1954, the 27th Wolfhounds left Korea from the Port of Inchon, bound for duty once again in the Territory of Hawaii. Maps
Personal Account by SFC (Ret) George Langdale
Order COL (Ret) Logan Weston's new book about Korea: "Fighting' Preacher", $11.99 to Fighting Preacher, 298 Swamp Fox, Ft. Mill, SC 29715 Read Fighting on the Brink: Defense of the Pusan Perimeter, BG (Ret.) Uzal W. Ent, Turner Publishing Company, Paducah, KY (1996) 431p. I got mine at www.amazon.com or you can order from the publishing company. 412 Broadway, PO Box 3101, Paducah KY 42002-3101. Read The Battle for Pusan, Addison Terry, Presidio Press Inc., Novato CA (2000). www.amazon.com
Last updated: Tuesday, May 27, 2008
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The Famed 27th Infantry 
At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into the communist North and the democratic South. The Soviets actively organized the North Korean Army (NKA) with the intent of invading and conquering South Korea. On 25 June, 1950, the NKA crossed the 38th parallel, invading South Korea. President Truman, in conjunction with the United Nations (UN), condemned the invasion and deployed US forces to Korea to repel the aggression. There were no US combat units in South Korea at this time; the closest units were in Japan on occupation duty.
The Regiment landed by ship at Pusan, Korea on 10 July, 1950 and was immediatly thrust into battle to stem the onrushing NKA. The Regiment moved to Uisong, approximately 35 miles north of Taegu. They received orders on 13 July to move to Sangju but, enroute they were diverted to Hawanggan. From 24 to 29 July, the Regiment fought the NKA's 2nd Division at Hawanggan. On 24 July, during engagements at Hawanggan, the 1st Battalion clandestinely disengaged while covering the Regiments withdrawal. As dawn broke the next morning the NKA, thinking the Wolfhounds were exposed, attacked into the vacated position. They were greated by the combined fire of tanks, artillery, mortar, and small arms into the massive engagement area. The Two NKA Battalions conducting the attack were destroyed. During operations around Hawanggan the Regiment inflicted over 3,000 casualties, before withdrawing on order, at a cost of 53 KIA, 221 WIA, and 49 MIA. Other US and South Korean (ROK) units were retreating in disorder. This was the first action in which a US unit had skillfully fought the NKA to a standstill and still remained combat ready. For this action, the Regiment was awarded the first Presidential Unit Citation of the Korean War.
Retreating US and ROK forces consolidated and moved into defensive operations around the port city of Pusan in southeast Korea. The Regiment moved into the US Eighth Army's reserve. The Wolfhounds quickly became well known as the 8th Army's "Fire Brigade," rushing to destroy NKA units who had broken through the defenses.
By 24 April, the CCF offensive was at full fury and caused the withdrawal of the 25th Division to the Line Lincoln, where they prepared defensive positions, north of the Han River and Seoul. The Wolfhound mission was to defend and to inflict maximum casualties. From 28 to 30 April, the CCF attacked. But due to overwhelming artillery and the combat proficiency of all US forces, Line Lincoln remained unbroken. The CCF withdrew to Uijonbu to lick his wounds. This Chinese attack, known as the CCF Spring Offensive, was the single biggest battle of the war.
One of these fortified positions was located along the eastern side of Heartbreak Ridge in the Taebaek-Sanmaek Mountain range. At the highest elevation was a massive fortification popularly called "Sandbag Castle." Built by the Turks and improved by numerous American GI's the redoubt provided minimal cover against the constant enemy sniper fire and 120mm mortar barrages. Less than 15 yards from the enemy lines was Listening Post 
