Charlie: What do you think soldiers thought of their leadership at this point in the war? Why?

The men of the UN forces had lost faith in their leadership and the will to fight based up on the general principle of the circumstances that which they faced while fighting the Chinese in North Korea.   just like the two examples that “zman” gave above, the leadership was still trying to peddle the same false intelligence that the forces that the US forces were fighting were nothing more than remanence of retreating Chinese forces. Even after capturing a Chinese POW that gave in great detail the size, strength, and basic scheme of maneuver of the 6 Chinese divisions that the task force was facing, the strategic plan still was not altered. Thus, you pair that with the extreme cold conditions, that which the US forces were not ready to fight in, the moral of the soldiers was at a all time low for the War; it almost seems that most of the forces on ground was growing tried of war, the cold, and leadership.

With that said, there were honorable and valorous acts by both the officers and NCOs of the US forces.  Just to highlight on a couple,  The physical statement of the E Co. commander after thrusting his weapon with bayonet into the frozen ground, and tell the men that this is where E co. stands their ground. the artillery LT that grabbed a dozen able bodied men and run to the aid of another officers voices yelling for the men to get back on line and for reinforcements.  Unfortunately, most of all these acts of valor during this time of the war was rewarded with death.