ATIS INTERROGATION REPORT NO. 1250 22 September 1950
FIELD REPORT (ADVATIS - 0847) 20 September 1950
1. PERSONAL DETAILS:| PW NAME: | KIM, Ung P’il (金応弼) (김응필) |
| RANK: | Jr Lt (少尉) |
| AGE: | 22 |
| DUTY: | Signal Officer |
| UNIT: | 15th Div, 48th Regt, Signal Co |
| EDUCATION: | 4 years Primary School |
| OCCUPATION: | Farmer |
| PLACE OF CAPTURE: | 9 km E of YONGCH’ON (永川) (1190-1450) |
| DATE OF CAPTURE: | 15 Sep 50 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH: | P’YONGAN PUKTO, P’YOKTONG-Gun, UNSI-Myon, UNHA-DONG (平安北道 碧潼郡 雲時面 雲下洞) |
| ADDRESS: | Same as above |
| INTERROGATOR: | KAJIWARA (FEAF) |
PW had shot in both legs. In spite of being an officer in an Arty Signal Unit he did not seem to be too well informed. In civilian life, he was a farmer. No further interrogation recommended.
3. TACTICAL INFORMATION:Chronology:
9 Jun 47 - PW volunteered into the NKPA at SINUIJU (新義州).
25 Aug 48 - PW entered OCS at P'YONGYANG (平壤). Attended school 6 months and was commissioned a Jr Lt.
27 May 50 - Arrived at HOERYONG (會寧) and assigned to the 15th Div Arty.
25 Jun 50 - Departed HOERYONG by train with the entire 15th Div.
O/a 27 Jun 50 - Arrived at KUMHWA (金華), crossed 38° Parallel on foot.
O/a 1 Jul 50 - Passed thru CH’UNCH’ON (春川).
O/a 4 Jul 50 - HONGCH’ON (洪川). Arrived in CH'UNGJU (忠州) by foot, o/a 15 Jul 50 via YANGPYONG (陽平) YOJU (驪州), CHANGHOWON-Ni (長湖院里). The 15th Div was bombed and strafed by 4 x twin-engine bombers and 2 x RAAF fighters. In PW's Bn there were 8 killed and 10 wounded. One 45-mm AT Gun and one truck was damaged.
O/a 15 Aug 50 - Arrived in KUMCH'ON and marched to AP'O (牙浦) 10 km E of KUMCH'ON. The line was at that point. 15th Div engaged the enemy. PW's Arty Bn suffered no casualties.
O/a 19 Aug 50 - Div moved 10 km E of AP'O on the W side of NAKTONG River and prepared for the river crossing.
20 Aug 50 - Crossed NAKTONG River under ROK fire and met heavy resistance after the river was crossed. PW’s Bn lost about half of the strength and PW believed about half of the 15th Div was lost. PW's Arty Bn lost 2 x 45-mm AT Gun, 1 x 82-mm Mortar. After the river crossing, PW was transferred to the Signal Co. The 45-mm AT Gun Co was dissolved due to lack of men and the troops were dispersed to other companies.
9 Sep 50 - Arrived at YONGCH’ON and advanced to a point 15 km E of YONGCH’ON.
15 Sep 50 - PW was at the 14th Regt Hq on a hill 15 km E of YONGCH’ON. The Signal Co had laid telephone line to the 3 battalion. From here he heard of the annihilation of the 1st and 2nd Bns. Lost contact with the 3rd Bn. Last order to 3rd Bn was to hold the line and not retreat. The Regtl Hqs was evacuated. PW was shot in the leg and later captured by ROK troops.
Unit Organization and Strength:
15th Div - 48th, 45th, and 50th Regts.
48th Regt - Original strength - 2,700
Strength at time of capture - about 30 men in the 3rd Bn.
Equipment:
Arty Regt: Original
4 x 45-mm AT Gun
4 x 120-mm Mortars
4 x 76-mm Field Guns
A signal plt was attached to the Div Arty. PW believes Div Arty has no pieces now.
Other Units:
The 12th Div was to the E of the 15th Div and the 8th Div was to the west.
Communication:
PW was in a signal company attached to the 48th Regt and his duty was to lay telephone line between the Regt Hq and Bn Hq. The communication between the Bn and Co was handled by a signal plt. Telephone lines were laid only if the distance between the Regt Hq and Bn Hq was less than 3 km. If further, radio was used. However, radio is used only between Regts and Bns. No Walkie Talkie type of radios used on company level. PW knows nothing of codes.
Intentions:
The 15th Div objective was supposedly PUSAN, but does not know the time schedule.
Supply:
The ammunition depot was located at KUMMI (亀尾) and the ammunition was hauled by trucks to a point 10 km to the rear of the artillery and then packed on the backs of men. Ammunition for the artillery was always short.
Personalities:
Div CO - PAK, Sang Ch'ol (박상철) Sr Col (?) Came from CHINA
C/S (48th Regt) - PAK, Ch'ang Do (박창도) Sr Capt
CO of Signal Co - HO, Si Un (호시운) Capt
Morale and Propaganda:
Morale, very low because of high casualties. Saw no propaganda leaflets, but heard of them and stated that he wanted to surrender but was too far to the rear.
4. GENERAL INFORMATION:1. PW saw 3 ROK PsW, but does not know how they were treated. Stated that the order for all troops were to send all PsW to the rear, but no reference to PW treatment were in the order.
2. PW thought NKPA would win the war. He did not at first know of the UN.
3. The 15th Div received about 800 replacements somewhere E of the NAKTONG River. Replacement were S. Koreans. There were supposed to be 1,500 more replacements, but they did not come.
4. Heard that there were 5 tanks attached to the 15th Div.
5. The AT guns used 3 types of shell:
a. Armor Piercing (black tip)
b. Lead tip shells which pierced armor through the rise of temperature when the shell hit (yellow tip)
c. Delay Action Fuse shell (red and yellow stripe on tip. Shell exploded after piercing armor
For the Commanding Officer:
WEELDREYER
Executive
