General Almond had ordered 7th
Division's 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT) to
relieve the 5th Marines on the east side of the frozen
Chosin Reservoir so 1stMarDiv could concentrate their
drive to the north and west. The 31st RCT was widely
scattered, the roads treacherous, and the battalions
and artillery only slowly began to assemble. east of
the reservoir. The 1st Battalion, 32d Infantry, Lt.
Col. Donald C. Faith, Jr., relieved 5th marines on 25
November, and the 31st Infantry and two artillery
batteries arrived on the twenty-seventh. With the rest
of the RCT still en route, that night the Chinese
struck the U.S. forces on both sides of the Chosin
Reservoir nearly simultaneously. Two CCF Divisions, the
79th and 89th, attacked in the west at Yudam-ni, and
the CCF 80th Division hit 31st RCT's spread-out
positions. 31RCT fought bravely, but was destroyed.