Flare-up in Korea
On the Korean front a limited Communist offensive appears to have been in progress for some days. When it started, General Van Fleet's headquarters spoke of determined attacks in six or seven different sectors of the front and estimated that the enemy had committed 15,000 men to task operations. To assault half-a-dozen objectives with forces no larger than this hardly suggests a major attempt at a break-through, particularly by troops accustomed to rely on an overwhelming numerical superiority; and activity now seems to be largely confined to a continuous, determined but so far unsuccessful attempt by the enemy to dislodge the defenders of White Horse Hill, an important feature commanding the main highway to Seoul.
• The South Korean division which, with some American armour in support, was holding the hill has given an extremely good account of itself and, though parts of its position have changed hands a bewildering number of times, the Chinese have failed to capture their objective and have lost very heavily in the attempt. It is too early to say that this bitter fighting represents the limit of the enemy's offensive intentions this autumn; but winter is once more closing in on both armies, and, though it is probably true that, man for man, the United Nations troops suffer greater handicaps from the cold than do their opponents, they are much better equipped to overcome those handicaps. All the attacking, moreover, has not been on one side. The Americans have captured a strong position on the central front, and a landing-feint calculated to lure enemy forces into the open where they could be bombed from the air appears to have served its purpose.
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