Enter the Drago -OSI

by Russell Spurr

Book Overview

An "outstanding military history" (Kirkus) based on recollections of Chinese and Americans in Korea.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1557040087
• ISBN13: 9781557040084
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Newmarket Press
• Length: 335 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.

Customer Reviews

..........I Liked The Ending Chapter The Best.........

I purchased this book as I was intrigued to read how my mortal enemies in Korea percieved their point of view in this war...I served two [2] volunteered tours of duty in Korea in close combat vs both Communists Armies from Red North Korea and Red China...I know my enemies from that bestial war...it was easy reading as the Red Chinese Captain put pen to paper...I do not doubt one word of his text and was not surprised of the lack of security of US Army and ROK units up on the Yalu, [especially at nite]....his 'famed long knives' unit was well trained in stealth, I grant him that...the author rambles on about his unit's successful assaults vs US Army elements from the Yalu to Wonju which is a distant south of Seoul in the Red Chinese offensive from late Nov/50 to Feb/51 when the attrition of logistics finally render their breakthrough expendable and his detailed account of how the US Eighth Army under Gen Matt Ridgeway drove the Red Chinese back up into North Korea territory for good...in this undertaking the good Captain sadly relates all of his 'long knives' unit was completely wiped out by US Army troops...I LIKED THAT PART THE BEST....in summation, a good read from the eyes of a cunning and skillful enemy...allow me to say this, the Red Chinese soldier in the field was NOT superior to American forces, the Red Chinese won their battles with suicidal frontal attacks [mostly at nite] by means of thousands upon thousands of troops, alot of them unarmed, were cut to ribbons by withering firepower from US and ROK troops...other times, the United Nation Forces were overrun or made a withdrawl to survive...the American fighting man in Korea was the better warrior not the Communist hordes...."stay warm".....SEMPER FIDELIS...SSGT CHRIS SARNO-USMC FMF

Fast-reading narrative on the US and China fighting in Korea, 1950-51

The majority of Western literature on the Korean War (1950-53) deals primarily with the Western experience; either that of the Americans, or, if you dig a little deeper, perhaps something on the British or another Commonwealth nation. Little attention is paid to the Koreans hailing from either side of the 38th Parallel, and even less to the hordes of Chinese, at least beyond a "faceless enemy conducting human wave attacks" standpoint. Russell Spurr breaks from that tradition in Enter the Dragon: China's Undeclared War Against the U.S. in Korea, 1950-51, bringing us an in-depth point-of-view from the Chinese and North Korean side of the fight at last. Spurr does not make the mistake of limiting his coverage to one side of the fight, however. The Americans are (of course) also prominent players in the drama, supplemented by cameos of the supporting cast of UN forces, occasionally the South Koreans, and even some vignettes including the Soviets. What we end up with is a fairly comprehensive portrait of the battles as they raged (both on and off the battlefield; military maneuvers are supplemented by political developments and diplomatic intrigue) from August 1950 through January 1951. These are the key months, according to Spurr, that "changed the course of history." (p. 5) It's hard to argue with him: after those fateful months came the long period of competition and suspicion between the US and China in Asia and the Pacific that lasted well into the 1970's and beyond (albeit in a more limited fashion now). The author states that the Chinese intervention need not have happened if only UN forces had been better aware of the goings-on in Peking; for those not in the business, this means intelligence! US intelligence evaluations of Chinese intentions should have included analysis of high-level political intelligence provided by the CIA, but they did not, largely because the Truman administration had been "blinkered" by General Douglas MacArthur's intelligence monopoly in Asia. By MacArthur's decree, the Central Intelligence Agency was not even allowed to operate in Japan (from where they would have been running source operations in Korea and elsewhere) until 1952! As if the lack of independent intelligence collection was not bad enough, MacArthur's G-2 (chief intelligence officer), Major General Charles A. Willoughby, was seemingly incapable of rendering an independent assessment of the intelligence picture; instead he "matched his master's judgment." (p. 161) Throughout the book Spurr shows us how poor American intelligence was and how easy it was for the enemy to collect on us. At the strategic level, US Far East Command (FECOM) was negligently dismissive of the North Korean troop and materiel build-up along the 38th Parallel before hostilities commenced. The entire American war effort in Korea was continually hampered by a "failure to gather or evaluate intelligence." (p. 27) US commanders suffered from "an almost complete lack of reli

FRom my enemy's viewpoint.

I was a automatic rifleman (BAR) in the USMC during the 1st 4 months of the Korean War, wounded at the Chosin Reservoir. Enter the Dragon is a fascinating story told from the Chinese view. It is seldom that anyone in combat ever gets to see his theater of action reported on by his enemy. After 40 years I turned to the books on the war. This one is As Good As it Gets. Anyone interested in the Korean War from the enemy "grunt's" view, this is your book.

Early part of Korean War from Chinese perspective

Written by a British newspaper reporter who covered the latter stages of the war, this book contains narrative from extensive interviews with particpants in the Korean War, including many Chinese, which differentiates it from most other accounts. A portion of the book is devoted to the political underpinnings of Chinese intervention. The author provides supporting evidence for recent conclusions by figures such as U.S. General Matthew Ridgeway, that the intial N. Korean invasion was carried out without advance knowledge by China, which then hastily sent ill-equipped troops into battle after UN forces defeated North Korea. But most of the book is comprised of gripping individual experiences of the battlefield from the perspective of the Chinese foot solider. Whether it be destroying tanks by close assault, surviving the ever-present American airstrikes, or the amazing bluff of marching Chinese commandos masquerading as South Koreans directly into a US battalion headquarters, any reader with an interest in wartime accounts will be well rewarded by time spent with this book