Stone surmises that he cannot withdraw his platoon to the south. If he does, he will open up the valley to the enemy advance and the North Koreans will pour through like water from a hose on a fire hydrant. On the other hand, if he can bottle up the enemy in the valley for a while longer, he may gain valuable time to allow the rest of his company to arrive. He knows he must stop the North Koreans from getting out to the west and must fight for time to allow the rest of C Company to arrive. The $64 million question is how to gain this time .
A volley of North Korean artillery shells slams into the ground several hundred meters behind Stone’s tank. He must make a decision – now! He sees two courses of action.
Course of Action One: Fight From Present Position. Stone could stay in position and fight the enemy as the North Koreans continue to push west out of the valley. He knows that his initial positions at the western exit of the valley are sound. He has defeated one attack from here, and he is confident he can do it again and keep it up until the rest of C Company arrives.
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Course of Action One: Fight From Present Position. Stone considers his position sound enough to withstand any renewed North Korean attack. He decides to stay put and hunker down. Image Credit: PETHO CARTOGRAPHY
Course of Action Two: Counterattack. Stone could surprise the advancing enemy by attacking east, driving through the North Korean infantry, and pushing the force east of the bridge near Check Point 1. However, without knowing how many North Koreans are in the valley, he is not sure if such a risky night attack can succeed.
“We need to decide pronto,” Platoon Sergeant Buckner’s voice sounds over the radio. “What do you want to do?”
Course of Action Two: Counterattack. Stone decides to retain the initiative and disrupt the North Korean attack by surprising the enemy – he commits his tank platoon to a counterattack! Image Credit: PETHO CARTOGRAPHY
If you choose for Stone to take Course of Action One: Fight From Present Position, go here.
If you choose for Stone to take Course of Action Two: Counterattack, go to here.
