ATIS INTERROGATION REPORT NO. 2013 25 October 1950
FIELD REPORT (ADVATIS - 1191) 18 October 1950
1. PERSONAL DETAILS:| PW NAME: | LEE, Pak Sok (李朴石) (이박석) |
| RANK: | Lt (中尉) |
| AGE: | 22 yrs |
| DUTY: | Co CO |
| UNIT: | 26th Independent Brigade, 4th HMG Bn, 2nd Co |
| EDUCATION: | 2 years Teachers College |
| OCCUPATION: | Student |
| PLACE OF CAPTURE: | 8 km N of KOREANP’O-RI (980-1690) (高浪浦里) |
| DATE OF CAPTURE: | 11 Oct 50 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH: | HAMGYONG PUKTO, CH’ONGJINK SONGP’YONG-NI #29 (咸鏡北道 淸津市 松平里 二九) |
| HOME ADDRESS: | Same as above |
| INTERROGATOR: | Sgt HAYASHIDA (ATIS) |
PW was cooperative and intelligent and was in good physical condition. PW displayed no signs of fear of apprehension. Reliability good.
3. TACTICAL INFORMATION:Chronology:
26 Jul 50 - Inducted into the NKA at CH’ONGJIN. O/a 1 Jul 50, an estimated 80 male students who were above the age of 20 and who were leaders of the youth communist faction were drafted into the NKA as Cultural Officers. On 26 Jul 50, all students above 20 years of age were drafted into the NKA and sent to the 1st Military Academy in P’YONGYANG. An estimated 130 students were affected. All of the physically fit male students above 20 years of age were drafted but those of the lower age bracket were not affected unless they volunteered.
26 Jul 50 - 13 Aug 50 - PW attended the 1st Military Academy. There were an estimated 3,000 cadets at all times. Small groups of 20 and 30 men were graduated whenever the academy received requests for officers but any decrease in the number of students was filled by incoming personnel. During PW’s attendance at the academy, he received training with the HMG training battalion. The strength of the battalion was about 300 men. Type of training received included military discipline, mechanics and method of employment of the HMG to include marksmanship training. The men did not receive any training o tactics or troop command. The training schedule was greatly hampered by constant UN Air attacks and during daylight hours, the troops moved into the hills to avoid aerial detection. During daylight hours, the men rested in the hills and returned to the city at night to continue their training. Training was conducted in total darkness and it was almost impossible to learn much about the equipment being studied.
13 Aug 50 - Approx 80 men were graduated on this date as Jr Lts. of this number, 30 officers (PW included) were assigned to the 26th Brigade which was stationed in NAMCH’ON (南川). The 26th Brigade was activated on or about 1 Aug 50 at NAMCH’ON, but on 13 Aug 50, there were only a handful of company grade officers assigned to the unit. There was no Brigade commander or troops.
25 Aug 50 - Newly recruited, untrained men from the farming villages in HWANGHAE-DO (黃海道) began to arrive at NAMCH’ON for assignment to the 26th Brigade. There were sufficient uniforms but no weapons.
25 Aug 50 - 29 Aug 50 - An estimated 4,000 men were assigned to the Brigade. Organization of the Brigade was as follows:
1st HMG Bn - 650 men
2nd HMG Bn - 650
3rd HMG Bn - 650
4th HMG Bn - 650
Infantry Bn - 500
Art’y Bn - 400
Eng Bn - 400
Sig Co - 150
Med Co - 80
The brigade had absolutely no equipment.
29 Aug 50 - 4 Sep 50 - There was as yet no Brigade Commander. The Unit was under the command of the Assistant Brigade Commander. The Men were given political training and theoretical training on the M1819/30 rifle only. The Unit sustained several aerial attacks but suffered only three casualties.
4 Sep 50 - Brigade moved to the mountains 13km West of NAMCH’ON to avoid Air Attacks. The unit was broken down into companies and scattered throughout the area.
4 June 50 to 19 Sep 50 - The Troops were given political training and also theoretical training in the employment of the HMG, without equipment or training aids.
19 Sep 50 - 26 Sep 50 - the unit marched via NAMCH’ON, CH’ORWON, YONCH’ON, CHONGOK, and YONP’YONG to CHANGAM-NI. The unit marched only a night.
26 Sep 50 - Brigade, less weapons, arrived CHANGAM-NI. The Brigade Commander joined the unit on 21 Sep 50. Upon arrival at CHANGAM-NI, the men were told that they were to be employed in guarding the 38th Parallel.
26 Sep 50 - 4 Oct 50 - The Brigade was employed in the repair of old defense positions in the CHANGAM-NI Area. New MG emplacements and dugouts were constructed.
4 Oct 50 - 26th Brigade departed CHANGAM-NI Area.
4 Oct 50 - 8 Oct 50 - The Brigade marched via YONGP’YONG and CHONGOK to the highground 8kn North of KORANP’O-RI
8 Oct 50 - Upon the arrival of the Brigade at the above area, 1 truckload of weapons arrived form P’YONGYANG. Also, later in the day, one ox cart load of rifles arrived at the unit area. The total equipment received by the brigade was 80 M1891/30 rifles, 38 HMS, 20 PPsh sub machine guns, 120,000 rounds of HMG ammunition. The brigade had no other weapons, vehicles or communications equipment. On 8 Oct 50, the highway communications were severed at SISYON-NI by ROK Forces, making it impossible for supplies to reach the brigade from that direction. Most of the weapons were allocated to the 4th HMG Bn. The 4th HMG Bn was deployed on the high ground 8 km N of KORANGP’O on the KORANP’O-TOSAN highway. The remaining battalions of the 26th Brigade were on the left of the 4th HMG Bn.
At about 1900 hours, the 1st and 2nd Companies of the 4th HMG Bn which were deployed on the left flank of the battalion front exchanged brief fire with US forces. The companies, without orders, retreated in the direction of CHORWON, discarding all weapons.
9 Oct 50 - The Battalion front extending east of the KORANP’O-T’OSAN highway completely disntegrated with the withdrawal of the machinegun section. The battalion sustained an intense artillery barrage but suffered a negligible number of casualties. The battalion front extending west from the above highway remained stable.
10 Oct 50 - There was no contact made with UN Forces. PW was dispatched by the Battalion Commander to lees the units which withdrew toward CH’ORWON but was unsuccessful. PW heard from civilians that the main body of the brigade had withdrawn toward CH’ORWON.
11 Oct 50 - All company commanders and the Battalion CP Officers, except the battalion commander, deserted. In some companies, only the NGO’s and the troops remained. PW seeing this, surrendered to the UN forces.
Morale:
The morale of the troops was very low because of the lack of equipment and weapons. The men had absolutely no desire to serve in the NKA because the men did not have any desire to fight. There was much desertion. The men were so demoralized that a single artillery shell falling in the proximity would cause the troops to discord their weapons and scatter. The majority of the company grade officers have completely lost their faith in the NKA and the Government and their only desire is to surrender or return to their homes. In the first engagement of 8 Oct 50, the commanders withdrew their units without orders to withdraw. PW believes that the troops of the 26th brigade will not be able to put up any appreciable resistance. Most of the officers were students drafted in Aug 50.
Equipment:
Aside from the equipment listed in 3A, the 26th Brigade had no weapons. The weapons received were all new and packed in cosmolene. the crates were new but bore no dates. Inscriptions on the crates were in Russian, details unknown. Of the equipment listed in 3A, about 50% was lost during the period 8-11 Oct 50.
Strength:
There was no appreciable decrease in the strength of the 26th Brigade from its original strength of 4000 men. Casualties sustained in combat were negligible but an estimated 10% of the men had deserted by 11 Oct 50.
Personalities 26th Brigade:
Co Lt Col (中佐) LEE, Chae Un (李在雲) (이재운) Age - 26. Remarks - Before assuming command of 26th Brigade, was a student of a Russian Military Academy.
Chief of Staff - Maj (少佐) KIM, Kang (金康) (김강), Age 40.
Ass’t CO - Maj (少佐) SIM, Chong Taek (沈貞澤) (심정택), Age - 36.
Co 4th Bn - Capt (總尉) KIM, To Song (金道成), (김도성), Age - 23
Cul Off 4th Bn - Sr Lt (大尉) HAN, Kwan Bin (韓官빈) (한관빈) Age - 32
Code Numbers:
26th Brigade - 634
4. GENERAL:Currency Information (as of Oct 50):
1. Rate of Exchange - 1 Ruble = 4 NK Won
40 Gen (CCF) 1 1NK Won
2. Extent of Usage - The people had faith in the value of their currency and it was used as a standard means of exchange.
Prices were as follows:
5 (斤) rice = 350 Won free market
70 won Ration Price
1 Pair Cotton Trousers = 600 Won
1 Pair Tennis Shoes = 400 Won
Wage Paid were:
College Instructors = 80 Won Per Hours
Truck Driver = 800 Won Per month
Doctors = 2,000 Won Per month
Unskilled Laborers = 800 Won Per month
Availability of Labor:
Due to the large number of men in the NKA, there was an acute shortage of labor to harvest the crops. In addition to the men in uniform, a large number of the men and women have been recruited as air raid and home guard personnel. PW believes that due to the shortage of labor, a large quantity of the crops will be destroyed.
For the Commanding Officer:
WEELDREYER
Executive
