The ground was laid for an epic battle when, in late 1950, the U.S. First Marine Division moved deep into the snowy mountains of North Korea, assured (wrongly) by American commanders that Chinese forces would not cross the Manchurian border and enter the fight. Ending up surrounded, heavily outnumbered, and caught in grueling conditions, the Marines against all odds fought their way out of the frozen wilds in which they were initially trapped. Although this legendary story has been told before, Hampton Sides chronicles it with fresh research, vivid detail, and broad perspective in On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War’s Greatest Battle (Doubleday, $30). Sides provides not only a gripping, frontline view of the fighting, highlighting the courage and resourcefulness of the Marines; he also assesses the misjudgments and intelligence failures of American leaders in Tokyo and Washington.
