Commando raid on the East Coast Railway, Korea

Unit/ Formation: 41 Cdo RM

Location: Korea

Period/ Conflict: Korean War

Year: 1950

Date/s: 5th October 1950

125 men and five officers of C & D Troops, under command of the 2i/c, Major D L St. M Aldridge, embarked in the Assault Personnel Destroyers USS BASS and WANTUCK (1400 tons).

Each carried four Landing Craft and had accommodation for 162 in the troop space. This force made two separate raids also against the East Coast railway on 5 & 6 October 1950.

National Archives Photo (USN) 80-G-438727

The Commando worked up for three raids on the North Korean east coast, against the coast railway between Chongjin and Hungnam. This line carried supplies south from China, and Chongjin is only some 40 miles from the Chinese border.Two of these raids were to be made from US Destroyers, and another from a Submarine. The ships sailed from Japan after a certain amount of detailed planning.

The chosen targets, from a dozen possibles, were tunnels and a bridge on the coastal railway. The Marines were lowered from the destroyer about 2.5 miles from the coast, late on the evening of 6th October 1950 with nothing known about the enemy defences.

A scout boat from each party, preceeded the landings to check for enemy defences, and soon D and C troops were on the beaches after crossing a sand bar and heavy turbulent surf.

Commandos from the USS Horace A. Bass (APD 124) load an assault boat for a raid on installations deep behind enemy lines. Commissioned in 1944, the Bass first saw combat at Okinawa and is credited with sinking a Japanese submarine in thefinal days of World Waril. I

The boats were hauled ashore and quickly unloaded. The Marines headed inshore to the tunnel, moving air raid refugees from the tunnel for their own safety, and allowing two trains to pass. Pickets were out, beyond the railway, and an 88mm Bazooka was sited to destroy any further trains which came along before the two tons of explosive had been placed.

During the raid Corporal Babb was killed and Lieutenant Pounds was burnt by some electric cables, the Marines made it back to their LCP(R)s before their explosives detonated and wrecked the tunnel, blocking the line for many weeks.

The second tunnel and a bridge suffered the same fate, destroyed by C and D troops south of Songjin, some 5 miles from their second landing point. Another landing from the US Submarine Perch, had been successful as well.

Related Royal Marines 'Dits'

1. Amphibious Raid from USS Perch

2. 41 Commando - Chosin Reservoir Korea November/ December 1950 - Task Force Drysdale

3. Poundforce - Diversionary landings in Korea 

4. Commando Raid on the East Coast Railway - North Korea 

5. HMS Belfast to Victory the story of Ron Knight a Royal Marine on operations in Korea and Malaya

6. Lt Colonel Drysdale, Royal Marines, Commanding Officer 41 Independent Commando 

References/ Further Reading:

• TRAIN WRECKERS AND GHOST KILLERS - Allied Marines in the Korean War by LeoJ. Daugherty III

• Britain's Small Wars - No.41 (Independent) Commando