BATTLE OF KOREA: Slow but Steady

In a week of careful, two-mile-a-day advances, Eighth Army took most of the slack out of the Communist defense line. Thrown off balance, the Chinese Reds were having difficulty preparing the counteroffensive Eighth Army had predicted.

His western flank still stabilized on the south bank of the Han River, Lieut. General Matthew Ridgway kept U.N. troops attacking in the east and in the center. Last Friday U.S. marines drove the Chinese 66th Corps off the hills commanding the central Korean town of Hoengsong. Next day, the marines trudged northward through the narrow mountain passes toward the Red supply base at Hongchon.

Matt Ridgway kept visiting his advancing troops, warning them not to extend their lines too rapidly. But the sudden rains last week made his warning unnecessary in most sectors. Marines attacking near Hoengsong had to slog through eight to 20 inches of mud.

The week's fighting was expensive for the Communists. Eighth Army announced 13,720 new Chinese and North Korean casualties. But the enemy, especially the Chinese, still fought stubbornly and skillfully. Any wishful thinking about worsening Chinese morale was dispelled by the Pentagon's prisoner-of-war count: as against 136,000 North Koreans captured since the war began, only 1,800 Red Chinese had surrendered.