For Korea, 1950 was a year of astonishment, and tragedy.

1951 had its full share of both, as well.

Our major adversary, the Chinese army, was well and courageously led at the small unit level, thoroughly disciplined, and industrious. They fought effectively in spite of UN superiority in air, and in communications, and with a hodge-podge of equipment. They earned the respect of the world, as well as our own armed forces.

And yet, man for man, we met them, fought them to a standstill, and South Korea is free today, because of the valor of men like those in these photos.

These illustrations from Mossman: Ebb and Flow show small unit military operations during the Korean War from late November 1950 to early July 1951, a period in which battle lines did indeed ebb and flow in pronounced surges.

In its coverage of combat operations, Mossman's book falls in the series between South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu by Roy E. Appleman and Truce Tent and Fighting Front by Walter G. Hermes. The photos themselves fully succeed in meeting the author's objective of displaying the gallantry, suffering, and achievements of individual American fighting men in combat.