It is September of 1950 and the United Nation forces led by the US are defending a small
portion of the Korean Peninsula called the Pusan perimeter against the North Korean troops.
However, Korean war is just starting and the Americans are concentrating their forces around
Peninsula to strike back. Welcome to the second episode in our series on the Korean War! If
you are interested in the history of this era, don’t forget to check out our second
channel – The Cold War – the link is in the top right corner.
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United Nations forces were able to repel the attack of the North Korean forces on the Pusan
Perimeter by September 1950. The KPA’s aim was to finish the war as soon as possible,
and the plan was to continue attacking the United Nations defenses in the only remaining
territory not controlled by KPA – the Pusan Perimeter.
In order to relieve the situation of defenders of the Pusan Perimeter, General MacArthur
and the UN military leadership planned to surprise the North Koreans with a landing
behind their lines. Aside from lessening the pressure on the Pusan perimeter, this move
aimed to cut the supply and communication lines of the KPA, cause panic among them,
force the KPA forces to fight on a number of fronts, and retake the capital of South
Korea as soon as possible. A number of landing spots were discussed.
At some point the port of Kunsan was being discussed as the more preferable option, but
MacArthur thought that the landing spot should be unexpected by the Koreans. Eventually,
dangerous and difficult Incheon port was chosen as a landing spot.
Incheon had only two naval passages to enter its port, which could have been easily protected
by sea mines. But MacArthur calculated that the North Koreans would not expect a landing
in such a tough spot. Furthermore, Seoul was very close to Incheon, and a successful landing
would allow a chance to liberate Seoul before KPA forces recovered from the shock of the
landing. Thus, the Operation Chromite was launched.
Prior to landing in Incheon, American forces used deception tactics to confuse the North
Koreans. The Americans bombarded some other potential landing spots and succeeded in diverting
the attention of KPA to a certain extent. On the 13th of September, the American and
British navies started bombarding the North Korean defenses in Incheon and Wolmido.
Two days later, on September 15th, the UN forces started landing on the so-called Green,
Blue and Red beaches in and close to Incheon. The first landing was on the Green beach - the
northern side of the island of Wolmido. The landing force consisted of the 3rd Battalion,
5th Marines, led by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Taplett and nine M26 Pershing tanks from the
USMC 1st Tank Battalion. The KPA forces were outnumbered significantly and lost more than
200 men against 14 casualties among the UN forces. Wolmido was entirely taken by them
within a few hours. Even after their defeat at the Green Beach,
the North Korean leadership believed that this attack was a diversion and the main landing
was going to take place in Kunsan. Too few KPA troops were defending Incheon, and the
UN landing in Red and Blue Beaches was successful without too many casualties. KPA’s 22nd
Infantry Regiment, which was initially brought to defend Incheon, was ordered to withdraw
to Seoul. The next objective of the UN forces was to
march on Seoul and recover it as soon as possible. On the next day, the 1st and 5th Marine Divisions
started a march towards Seoul. September 17th was even a bigger success for the UN forces.
They were able to defeat the KPA force resisting their march towards Seoul, destroying six
T-34 tanks and killing 200 men. After that the 5th Marine Division was able
to capture the extremely important Kimpo airfield. Previously the American air force had to fly
from Japan for their missions. Capturing Kimpo airfield allowed them to use an airfield within
Korea. Since the KPA was not able to destroy Kimpo airfield in time, the airfield was mostly
left in tact and ready to use for the Americans. All attempts by the KPA to recapture Kimpo
airfield were repulsed. The fact that KPA was mostly focused on the
Pusan Perimeter made the defense against American landing behind their lines weak and relatively
unprepared. Approximately 7k troops of the 78th Independent Infantry Regiment and 25th
Infantry Brigade were defending the Seoul area against approximately 40k UN troops,
a number which became possible due to continued landing of American troops, such as the 7th
Infantry Division. On the 19th of September, in the evening the
31st Infantry Regiment of the 7th division engaged with KPA forces in the outskirts of
Seoul. On the 25th of September American forces entered Seoul. It was heavily fortified. The
Americans had to engage in taxing house-to-house fighting against KPA forces, who were defending
fiercely. Nevertheless, by September 28th the UN forces were able to defeat any nests
of resistance in Seoul and took complete control over the city.
The UN forces suffered more than 500 losses between the landing in Incheon and the taking
of Seoul, while the KPA’s losses were way more significant at 35k. The defeats of the
KPA and a South Korean advance was followed by the Namyangju and Goyang koyang Cave massacres,
in which hundreds of civilians suspected in communist sympathies were murdered by the
South Korean police and local militia. Almost simultaneously to the landing in Incheon,
the UN forces started operations to breakout from the Pusan Perimeter, which they had defended
fiercely, and link up with the forces which landed in Incheon. On the eve of offensive,
which was launched on September 16th, US intelligence estimated that the KPA had 13 infantry divisions
on line supported by 1 armored division and 2 armored brigades, with the KPA I Corps on
the southern half of the front having 6 infantry divisions with armored support— a strength
of 47,417 men, and the II Corps on the northern and eastern half of the front having 7 infantry
divisions with armored support—a strength of 54,000 men. This made a total of 101,417
enemy soldiers around the Perimeter. KPA formations were estimated to be at an
average of 75 percent strength in troops and equipment. UN forces had 140k men. The UN’s
strategy was for the US 8th Army and ROK armies to break through from the Pusan perimeter
and merge with the newly landed units of the X corps. The attack would be spearheaded by
the US 24th infantry division, with the 1st Cavalry division in the rear, while the 25th
and 2nd infantry divisions would advance from the left and ROK I and II corps from the right.
On September 16th the offensive commenced. KPA forces were still very much capable of
offering a strong resistance to the UN forces. It took 3 days for them to force the Naktong
river and make North Koreans withdraw behind it. Until the 19th of September there was
stout KPA resistance everywhere and no indication of voluntary withdrawal; generally UN advances
were minor and bought only at the cost of heavy fighting and numerous casualties.
Then during the night of 18–19th September, the KPA 7th and 6th Divisions began withdrawing
in the southern part of the line, where they were farthest from North Korea. The 6th Division
left behind well organized and effective delaying parties to cover the withdrawals. On the 19th
of September, Waegwan fell to the US 5th RCT, and the ROK 1st Division in the mountains
north of Taegu penetrated to points behind the KPA 1st and 13th Divisions' lines. These
divisions then started their withdrawals. By the 23rd of September, KPA forces were
completely on a course withdrawal. The last North Korean troops in South Korea still fighting
were defeated when General Walton Walker's 8th Army broke out of the Pusan perimeter,
joining the Army's X Corps in a coordinated attack on KPA forces.
Of the 70,000 KPA troops around Pusan, more than half were killed or captured. However,
because UN forces had concentrated on taking Seoul rather than cutting off the KPA's withdrawal
north, the remaining 30,000 North Korean soldiers escaped to the north across the Yalu River.
But North Koreans suffered a significant number of casualties and lost the majority of their
tanks and artillery. On the 29th of September, the South Korean
government was restored in Seoul. Their forces continued their advance and went past the
38th parallel. China warned that if the US forces crossed the 38th parallel they would
interfere. Nevertheless on the 7th of October, the UN authorized American forces to cross
into North Korea. By the 19th of October, the North Korean capital
Pyongyang was captured by the UN forces. On the 26th of October, the US made landings
in Riwon and Wonsan, but both of them were already taken by the South Korean army. By
then the KPA had suffered some 200,000 men killed or wounded, for a total of 335,000
casualties since the end of June 1950, and had lost 313 tanks.
Momentum was decisively on the side of the UN forces. Inability to break through the
Pusan Perimeter, suffering many casualties in an attempt to do this, and successful American
landings in Incheon changed the course of the Korean Civil War. It was becoming clear
that only in the case of foreign intervention could the advance of the UN forces could be
stalled. Stalin clearly stated his reluctance to deploy Soviet troops, but requested that
the Chinese send 5-6 divisions into Korea. The upcoming Chinese intervention would prove
to be a force strong enough to achieve stalemate in the Korean Civil War.
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We are planning to talk more about Korean War both on the Kings and Generals channel
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in the description. This is the Kings and Generals channel, and we will catch you on
the next one.