The Marines of Autumn

      Guideline Questions-Chapter Seven

1.                  What special orders are given by General Oliver Smith to Colonel Homer Litzenberg (Blitzin’ Litzenberg) and why is General Smith precluded from reducing these orders to writing?

2.                  In reality, what factor slows Litzenberg’s advance toward the Chinese border in the North?

3.                  We learn that on November 7^th, after engaging the ROK troops and the Marines for over a week, the Chinese disappear into the mountains.  In what way is this reflective of Mao’s prescription for successful conduct of guerilla warfare tactics?

4.                  When the Chinese forces fall back and vanish on November 14^th, MacArthur reaches a conclusion that “has him preening again.”  What is this new MacArthur Estimate of the Situation?

5.                  An examination by Marine Officers of dead Chinese soldiers reveals important intelligence about the Chinese Army.  What is this intelligence?

6.                  What does Verity reveal to General Smith and his staff about information he has gathered by monitoring radio traffic in the Taebeck Mountains?

7.                  What warning does General Smith send to Marine Commandant, General Cates, after listening to Verity’s intelligence briefing?

8.                  What weather conditions prevailed in the mountains of North Korea by Thanksgiving Day, Nineteen-Fifty?

9.                  Verity, Tate and Izzo warm themselves in a hut while other Marines suffer the bitter cold in the mountains. “Cold did that to men, reducing them to clever, self-absorbed animals ready to do anything for warmth, almost anything to survive.”  What problems does this portend for the Marines and soldiers preparing to fight the Chinese Army in a winter battle?