The Frozen Hours

After the North Korean invasion of 1950, United Nations forces recover from near defeat and advance beyond the 38th parallel. Douglas MacArthur believes China will not intervene in strength, but Mao Zedong sends large forces across the border. Around the Chosin Reservoir, Oliver P. Smith’s 1st Marine Division is dispersed in mountain positions as temperatures fall far below freezing.

Chinese attacks surround the Marines and threaten the route south to Hungnam. The novel follows Smith, a Marine rifleman and a Chinese officer through close combat, frostbite, evacuation and the disciplined withdrawal from the reservoir. Shaara presents the campaign as both a military achievement and a strategic failure produced by overconfidence at the highest level.