Pork Chop Hill

by S.L.A. Marshall

A firsthand account of frontline combat during the Korean War chronicles the courageous valor of a handful of U.S. riflemen, who held their posts on Pork Chop Hill against overwhelming odds. Reissue.

Genres: History, Military History, War, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

S.L.A. Marshall (full name, Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall) served in World War I and then embarked in a career in journalism. In World War II, he was chief combat historian in the Central Pacific (1943) and chief historian for the European Theater of Operations (1945). He authored some 30 books about warfare, including Pork Chop Hill: The American Fighting Man in Action, The River and the Gauntlet and Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command in Future War.

Reviews

[W]

Watched the movie based on this book because it had Gregory Peck in it,and he is my favourite actor.A black and white war film with pretty good action.

Watched it as entertainment the first time and then wondered what was the US doing in Korea ? Then,I remembered that the US has to be everywhere,it is after all the world's policeman,saving it from all kinds of evils,including communism !

And then I remembered the US invasions of Vietnam and Iraq.It doesn't matter if it ends up destroying the countries it is supposed to be "helping" or "liberating."

[Checkman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic Marshall account of the famous Korean War battle at the end of the war (or fighting since the war is still technically going on). Highly detailed blow by blow account of the combat. If you're not a fan of the nuts and bolts approach to military history then avoid this one. If you like accounts that cover the movement of platoons and squads you'll enjoy S.L.A. Marshall.

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy reading this book. It recorded acts of heroism by brave soldiers in the Korean war which should have been applauded, but weren't. It also told of the senseless death and maiming of good men due to the pride, arrogance, stupidity (failuer to learn hard lessons) and lack of communication of the higher ranks in the American army. America should have learned its lesson in Korea, but instead got involved in Vietnam. It would have been very helpful if the book included maps and diagrams of the actions being described. Instead, there were only vague sketches which were not really helpful. Even though I believe the material in the book was accurate and factual, I had a hard time making sense of it. Because of the senselessness (my perception) of most of the actions described, and the sacrifices of of brave young men who did their duty and were killed or wounded, I found the book rather depressing. I would not recommend this book to anyone, unless they were comfortably familiar with this part of the Korean war.

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pork Chop Hill is an oral account of a month long rolling battle towards the end of the Korean War, a series of brutal night infantry engagements around hilly outposts. S.L.A. Marshall based his book on immediate oral histories, debriefing the survivors of entire companies right after events happened, and then reconstructing a timeline. What emerges is a scattered and desperate narrative. Men alone in the dark, grenades and automatic weapons going off all around them, unreliable lines back to lifesaving artillery batteries, sudden snapshot violence and trance-like states of total exhaustion. Marshall pushes his hobby horses here: That only about 1-in-5 soldiers directly takes action in combat, and that better training and small arms are vital to saving lives.

On the plus side, this is a very candid portrayal of warfare. These are inexperienced men in dangerous situations, and many men panic, freeze, and die, even as some exhibit extraordinary heroism. Dislike of the KATUSA's (Koreans's attached to US Army units is balanced by frank admiration for the Ethiopian contingent to the UN mission. While the people are real, there is barely any characterization beyond 'grenadier' or 'manned a Browning machine-gun', and the writing is as choppy and confusing as the battle itself.

[Devyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

While reading this I wasn't at all sure if I was reading a nonfiction account of combat on Korea, or if someone ripped the cover off and glued it onto a Charlie Chaplin or a Three Stooges film script.
War is unpredictable, but this was a complete and utterly mad mess. Everything was so chaotic, disorganized, and senseless.
Absolutely no military discipline and a total lack of commonsense. It made me cringe to read it.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

SLA Marshall's "Pork Chop Hill" is a classic post World War 2 American military history. A movie was based upon portions of the book. The book itself contains after action reviews of series of small unit engagements from 1953 in the vicinity of a hill named "Pork Chop Hill" by the Americans.

As befits material gathered by one author on one trip in one campaign area, there are repeated themes that run through all of the after action reports. One is the inexperience, tactical inability, and poor unit cohesiveness of the American forces. Another is how the experienced and capable the Chinese veteran opponents were. A third is how technically superior the Americans were in terms of artillery and airpower.

In many ways this book shows a continuation of the strengths and weakness of the United States Army in World War 2. And quite possibly through Vietnam as well. This book lays the basis for how the effectiveness of the American Army was reviewed after Vietnam. And the ensuing reforms. Which have brought us to our current Army.

In terms of what this book is, a series of after action reviews and reports; I found this an interesting and well written book. The author an experienced soldier, author, and historian provides thoughtful and probable scenarios to each review. And he identifies lessons that can be learned from each.

A worthwhile read if you are interested in small unit modern military actions, military history or history in general.

[Michael Romo · Rating 4 out of 5]

S.L.A. Marshall’s famous account of the Chinese offensive against the US 7th Infantry Division at the ending phase of the Korean War. Here we learn of the brutal static warfare in Korea coupled with violent patrol actions. Marshall chronicled both the heroism and deficiencies of the Chinese and American forces. A classic!

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scholarly detailed account of small unit tactics in Korea. Dated to its era.

[Poop Nutz · Rating 1 out of 5]

was not about pork chops
was gonna move der but al i got was bad ish
>;/

[Karl · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wonder why. He got low reviews. Simple answer. The book made no sense.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty dry and hard to follow, the diagrams are near useless. Biggest takeaways are Ethiopians are badasses and the "greatest battle implement ever devised" sure does jam a hell of a lot.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Confusing, fragmented and horrible maps.

[MAH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting perspective and source material for the book

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a very long time ago so pardon this is more of a "what i remember"

This book is written in a more matter of fact style rather than a narrative. Because of this, some may find it drier than expected.
For military buffs, this book provides very detailed explanations of the minute by minute events of the battle.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent telling of a small battle towards the end of the Korean war. Based on first person interviews conducted shortly after the battle, Gen. Marshall provides an insightful portrayal of small unit combat. The only thing that could improve the book is if there were narratives from the Chinese side.

What I found most interesting is how the terrain played an important factor in fighting the war. Fighting in the Korean hills inhibited the vast maneuvering in the 1950 fighting; blinded commanders' knowledge of the action confronting company and platoon leadership; and seriously impeded the fighting capability of soldiers moving from point A to Point B.

Although the author does not specifically point out, the Chinese PLA appear as masters of stealth and night fighting.

The book also shows importance of supporting artillery and patrolling. Both took key roles in fighting the Viet Nam war.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

could get dense sometimes but still interesting

[Jefferson Coombs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a little hard to read. It made me think about the futility of war and the incredible sacrifice of those who serve.

[Carterswift · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book very quickly got so heavy with small details that it was a struggle to read.