ATIS INTERROGATION REPORT NO. 1959 23 October 1950
FIELD REPORT (ADVATIS - 1212) 19 October 1950
1. PERSONAL DETAILS:| PW NAME: | PAK, T’ae Ho (朴泰浩) (박태호) |
| RANK: | Lt (中尉) |
| AGE: | 25 |
| DUTY: | Asst Co CO |
| UNIT: | 26th Ind Brig, 4th HMG Bn, 45mm AT Co |
| EDUCATION: | Primary School (6yrs) |
| OCCUPATION: | Laborer in sawmill |
| PLACE OF CAPTURE: | KORANGP’O (980-1690) (高浪浦) |
| DATE OF CAPTURE: | 11 Oct 50 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH: | KYONGGI DO, KAEP’UNG-Gun, KWANGDOK-Myon, HWANGGANG Ni, #159 (京幾道開豐郡光德面黃江里一五九) |
| HOME ADDRESS: | P’YONGAN PUKTO, SINUIJU, PAEKUN-Ni, #15 (平安北道新義白雲里一五) |
| INTERROGATOR: | HONDA (FEAF) |
PW was cooperative and spoke freely. Late information was not available except for the 26th Ind Brig which was activated o/a 30 Aug 50. He stated that 4th HMG Regt CO and the Regt C/S committed suicide prior to the retreat. He believed that casualties of the Brig were slight as troops never engaged in actual battle.
3. TACTICAL INFORMATION:Chronology:
3 Nov 48: Drafted into the NKA at NANAM (羅南) and assigned to 3rd Sqd, 2nd Plat, HMG Co, 3rd Bn, 2nd Plat, HMG Co, 3rd Bn, 6th Regt, 2nd Div. Received infantry and HMG basic training. Trained until 17 Jun 49.
22 Jul 49: 2nd Div arrived at HAMHUNG (咸興) by train via KYONGSONG (鏡城), MYONGCH’ON (明川), KILCHU (吉州), SONGJIN, TANCH’ON (丹川), IWON (利原) and HONGWON (洪原). Received HMG training until 12 Jun 50.
18 Jun 50: Arrived at HWACH’ON (華川) and deployed on the 38th parallel south of HWACH’ON until 25 Jun 50.
27 Jun 50: Arrived at CH’UNCH’ON (春川) and each regiment was ordered to advance south separately.
8 Jul 50: 2nd Div regrouped at CHINCH’ON (鎖川).
9 Jul 50: PW was wounded on the right arm by a rifle bullet at the CHINCH’ON front.
12 Jul 50: Hospitalized at the Div hospital in ANDONG (安城).
26 Jul 50: Transferred to the NKA hospital at HAMHUNG (咸興) with 500 other patients.
9 Aug 50: All lightly wounded received orders to report to the Home Ministry at P’YONGYANG (平壞).
17 Aug 50: PW arrived at the Home Ministry with 80 other patients and then was sent to the No 2 OCS at P’YONGYANG (平壞). Received infantry and political training for 5 days and commissioned Lt (中尉).
22 Aug 50: Arrived at NAMCH’ON (南川) with 150 #2 OCS graduates. He was assigned as asst Co CO to 45mm AT company, HMG 4th Bn, 26th Ind Brig. 26th Ind Brig was being activated at this time. 25th and 27th Ind brig’s were also being activated at the same time. 25th, 26th and 27th Ind Brigs were completely organized in the latter part of Aug 50.
9 Sep 50: The three Ind Brigs departed NAMCH’ON (南川) to defend the 38th parallel.
16 Sep 50: 26th Ind Brig Hq arrived at YONCH’ON (連川) on foot, established the Brig Hq and remained here for one week.
25 Sep 50: 4th HMG Bn of the 26th Ind Brig marched for two days and arrived at KORANGP’O (高瀼浦) and set up the defensive position on both flanks of KORANGP’O along the 38th parallel.
10 Oct 50: The defensive line began to break as the Bn was about to surrender to the UN forces.
1200 Oct 50: The Bn withdrew to the north. PW surrendered to ROK troops at KORANGP’O.
Unit Organization and Strength:
26th Ind Brig, completely activated o/a Aug 50, was actually composed of following units:
| Units | Strength |
| 1st In Bn | 600 men |
| 2nd Inf Bn | 600 men |
| 1st) | |
| 2nd) HMG Bns | 600 men each |
| 3rd) | |
| 4th) | |
| Arty Bn | 400 men |
| Eng Bn | 300-400 men |
| Tank Bn | 250 men |
| Tank Bn | 250 men |
In addition to the above Bns, there were following sub units directly attached to the Brigade:
| Trans Co | 80 men |
| Med Co | 50 men |
| Signal Co | 40 men |
| Guard Co | 150 men |
| Rear Sec | Unk |
| Staff Sec | Unk |
| Culture Sec | Unk |
PW stated that the Brig was organized completely with untrained N. Korean conscripts between the ages of 18 and 37. Majority of them were formerly laborers and middle school students. Practically all the Co COs and Plat ldrs were former college students and OCS graduates with maximum of one month schooling.
Equipment:
As of 23 Sep 50, 26th Ind Brig was equipped with no weapons except two to three rifles in each company. During the period 1 Oct 50 to 9 Oct 50, while the HMG 4th Bn was deployed on defensive positions the following equipment was received from the Brig Hq located at YONCH’ON (連川):
12 x HMGs
180 x SMGs
200 x rifles
8 x AT rifles
2 x 82mm mortars with 450 rounds of ammunition
1000 x hand grenades
PW stated that all the necessary weapons including 45mm AT guns and 120mm mortars which were to be delivered to the sub-units were heard to be at the division Hq. These weapons could not be shipped out to designated units as roads were completely blocked by ROK forces. He believed that the weapons were shipped in from P’YONGYANG to the Div Hq prior to 7 Oct 47.
Intentions:
Mission of the Brigade was to defend the 38th parallel.
4. GENERAL:o/a 1 Sep 50, while passing through CH’ORWON (鉃原) city, PW observed about 150 US PsW and 100 ROK PsW being marched north on the CH’ORWON-P’YONGYANG highway. Ultimate destination was not known.
For the Commanding Officer:
WEELDREYER
Executive
