repeatedly in a vain effort to drive it off the crest. Possession of Hill 894 by the 9th Regiment failed, however, to relieve the pressure on the 23rd as it sought again to cut the ridge line between Hills 931 and 851. The KPA's firepower kept the assault forces pinned down on the lower slopes. On 16 September Colonel Adams ordered his 2nd and 3rd Battalions to shift from the column formation they had been using to attack abreast. Thus, while the 3rd Battalion renewed its drive due west, the 2nd Battalion swung to the southwest and approached Hill 931 along another spur. In the meantime, C Company of the 1st Battalion passed through the positions of the 9th Regiment on Hill 894 and tried to take Hill 931 from the south. The three-point attack made little headway against the heavy curtain of fire laid down by the KPA. Secure in their strongly fortified bunkers, the KPA defenders waited until the artillery and air support given to the 2nd Division assault forces was lifted and then returned to their firing positions. As the 23rd Regiment's soldiers climbed the last few yards toward the crest, the KPA opened up with their automatic weapons, rifles, and grenades. Since the KPA controlled the Mundung-ni Valley which offered defiladed and less steep access routes to Heartbreak Ridge, the problem of reinforcements and resupply was not difficult to resolve. In fact, General Hong Nim, commander of the KPA 6th Division, managed to send the fresh 13th Regiment in to replace the 1st Regiment on 16 September without any trouble. For the U.S. 2nd Division, the outlook was rather grim. The narrow Pia-ri Valley, southwest of Heartbreak, was jammed with vehicles and exposed to KPA artillery and mortar fire. Korean civilian porters frequently abandoned their loads along the trails and bolted for cover when the KPA got too close. To keep the front-line units supplied with food, water, ammunition, and equipment and to evacuate the casualties often required that American infantrymen double as carriers and litter bearers. The rugged terrain and the close KPA surveillance of the approaches to Heartbreak Ridge made their jobs very hazardous and time consuming, for it could take up to ten hours to bring down a litter case from the forward positions held by the 23d Regiment. The stalemate on the ridge led Colonel Lynch on 19 September to suggest a