[Hermit]

Orders have arrived to make an advance into Chinese-held territory, farther up the Korean Peninsula. It's January 1952 and boy, is it cold out! There is snow everywhere, with some drifts high enough to swallow a whole vehicle. Getting up and down the ridges in front of our objectives is going to be especially difficult with all the snow and ice. At least most of the trees have lost their leaves, and there are plenty of them out there.

At least we got some new equipment. All of our M26 Pershings have been replaced by the new M47 Pattons, and each battalion has been strengthened by the permanent attachment of an additional infantry platoon. We have received additional support from division HQ, composed of two battalions of 105mm artillery, four Chaffee light tanks and 4 mechanized infantry platoons. Air support has also been promised, but whether it will arrive, or do any good in this terrain, who can say. At least the whether is holding out, with great visibility. While it bodes well for the promised air support, it will also give the enemy a good view of our approach in the open areas.

As our forces entered the tactical area of operations, the enemy let loose with a barrage of 75, 122, and a few 152mm tubes. They seemed to be searching at random for something to shoot at, although some seemed focused on the roads cutting through the woods in the center of the area. Counter-battery fire seemed partially effective, but I suspect they'll continue to be a problem for some time. What surprised the hell out of our top brass was the arrival of two enemy attack aircraft. We all think they were MiG-15's of some sort, although it's difficult to be sure. We weren't even sure if they were ours or theirs at first, since they just swooped down and shot at something in the saddle of the ridgeline that we couldn't see. Because of the delay in realizing they were enemy, hardly any of our boys even took a shot at them. I'm sure they'll be back...