23. Map Showing Battle of Sudong

The 7th Marines did not suspect what the night of 2 Nov had in store for them. The 371st Regiment, 124th Division, massed to the north and west while the 370th occupied high ground east of the road in strength. The 372nd, in reserve, stood poised in a hidden encampment several miles to the rear. Units of 1/7 took defensive positions less than a mile from Sudong. South of 1/7, 2/7 took positions at the foot of Hill 698 to the left and Hill 727 on the right. Several hundred yards to the rear, Major Maurice Roach's 3rd Battalion deployed in what was in effect a second perimeter protecting the regimental train, 3/11 with Company G and Stan Smith on the road and Company H on the left flank and Company I on the right 1/7 flank. The 371st attacked 1/7 at Hills 698 and 727 where 1/7 suffered heavy losses. A Russian T-34 tank joined in the fray. Batteries G, H of the 1/11 began firing its howitzers. Elements of 3/7 G company succeeded in helping I Battery and it also began firing its guns. A total of 1431 rounds in 49 missions from 18 guns fired at the enemy forces. Planes from VMF-312 raked the enemy with 1500 20mm cannon rounds, fragmentation and general purpose bombs along with 15 high-velocity rockets. With the help of air, artillery, and mortars, 1/7 restored the flanks. The enemy dead in 1/7 zone amounted to 662. The 371st CCF Regiment lost the equivalent of five companies with an estimated dead count of 793. The 370th had two companies destroyed.