I've stumbled across a very interesting narration of a defensive
action fought in the Korean War.
 A large number of Chinese troops surrounded an American unit
(artillery battery), and attacked, nearly overwhelming the pinned-down
troops, until a high-ranking officer went up to each man and told him
to get back in the fight.
 After they were rallied this way, the men returned effective fire and
repulsed the attack with light American and heavy Chinese casualties.
 I always thought this was a great example of what good leadership can
do, and one passage always stuck with me.  It went something like,
"... and at one point it seemed the men were enjoying themselves."

---

Clarification of Question by pcventures-ga on 04 Feb 2005 05:06 PST

Sorry, I meant to say that I found this narration once or twice online
and would love to read it again.

Hello pcventures and thank you for your question.

I have posted an excerpt from "Combat Actions in Korea (XII)" which I
believe refers to the narrative you mentioned.  The article is only
available in the Google cache, however, this does not stop you from
reading the full article.


"Combat Actions in Korea (XII)"

"Colonel Lavoie set out to make another round of his defensive
positions. His indifference to the enemy fire was a steadying
influence. As he walked through the area, talking with the men and
cautioning them to conserve ammunition, he noticed a great change in
his troops. Over their initial scare, they now appeared to be enjoying
themselves. A great deal of enemy fire continued to come into the area
even though Chinese machine guns seemed subdued by this time, but the
men no longer hesitated to expose themselves in order to fire their
weapons effectively. Realizing that they were holding their own and
winning, they had lost the fear and uneasiness Colonel Lavoie had seen
on his first trip around the area. It had been replaced by a cocky
sort of confidence."
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:Z4TCXlYDPdUJ:www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/korea/30-2/30-2_12.htm+korea+%22each+man%22+enjoying&hl=en

Thank you for your question and if you need any clarification of my
answer, do not hesitate to ask.

Very best regards

THX1138

Search strategy included:
korea "each man" enjoying
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&as_qdr=all&q=korea+%22each+man%22+enjoying

Awesome answer - this is one of my all time favorite "war stories" and
I'm so happy to have found it - with your help, of course.

Hello again pcventures.

Just a note to say thank you for the five stars and nice tip!

Very best regards

THX1138