Inchon Invasion - Korean War Facts and Background approximately 6,500 men Inchon Landings - Background: Following the stunning success of the North Korean invasion of South Korea in the summer of 1950, United Nations forces were trapped in the southeast corner of the peninsula in an area known as the Pusan Perimeter . With the bulk of the North Korean People's Army (NKPA) engaged around Pusan, UN Supreme Commander Gen. Douglas MacArthur began advocating for a daring amphibious strike on the peninsula's west coast at Inchon. This he argued would catch the NKPA off guard, while landing UN troops close to the capital at Seoul and placing them in a position to cut the North Korean's supply lines. Many were initially skeptical of MacArthur's plan as Inchon's harbor possessed a narrow approach channel, strong current, and wildly fluctuating tides. Also, the harbor was surrounded by easily defended seawalls. In presenting his plan, Operation Chromite, MacArthur cited these factors as reasons the NKPA would not anticipate an attack at Inchon. After finally winning approval from Washington, MacArthur selected the US Marines to lead the attack.

Ravaged by post-World War II cutbacks, the Marines consolidated all available manpower and reactivated aging equipment to prepare for the landings. Inchon Landings - Pre-Invasion Operations: To pave the way for the invasion, Operation Trudy Jackson was launched a week before the landings. This involved the landing of a joint CIA-military intelligence team on Yonghung-do Island in the Flying Fish Channel on the approach to Inchon. Led by Navy Lieutenant Eugene Clark, this team provided intelligence to UN forces and restarted the lighthouse at Palmi-do. When Clark's activities were discovered, the North Koreans dispatched a patrol boat to investigate. After mounting a machine gun on a sampan, Clark's men were able to sink the patrol boat. As retribution, the NKPA killed 50 civilians for aiding Clark. Inchon Landings - Going Ashore: As the invasion fleet neared, UN cruisers and destroyers closed on Inchon to clear mines from the Flying Fish Channel and to shell NKPA positions on Wolmi-do Island in Inchon harbor. Though these actions caused the North Koreans to believe than an invasion was coming, the commander at Wolmi-do assured the NKPA command that he could repulse any attack.

On the morning of September 15, 1950, the invasion fleet, led by Normandy and Leyte Gulf veteran Admiral Arthur Dewey Struble, moved into position. Around 6:30 AM, the first UN troops, led by the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines came ashore at "Green Beach" on Wolmi-do. Supported by nine tanks from the 1st Tank Battalion, the Marines succeeded in capturing the island by noon, suffering only 14 casualties in the process. Through the afternoon they defended the causeway to Inchon proper, while awaiting reinforcements. Due to the extreme tides in the harbor, the second wave did not arrive until 5:30 PM. At 5:31, the first Marines landed and scaled the sea wall at "Red Beach." Located just north of the Wolmi-do causeway, the Marines on Red Beach quickly reduced the NKPA opposition, allowing forces from Green Beach to enter the battle. Pressing into Inchon, the forces from Green and Red Beaches were able to take the city and compelled the NKPA defenders to surrender.

As these events were unfolding, the 1st Marine Regiment, under Colonel Lewis "Chesty" Puller was landing on "Blue Beach" to the south. Though one LST was sunk while approaching the beach, the Marines met little opposition once ashore and quickly moved to help consolidate the UN position. The landings at Inchon caught the NKPA command by surprise. Believing that the main invasion would come at Kusan (the result of UN disinformation), the NKVA only sent a small force to the area. Inchon Landings - Aftermath & Impact: UN casualties during the Inchon landings and subsequent battle for the city were 566 killed and 2,713 wounded. In the fighting the NKPA lost more than 35,000 killed and captured. As additional UN forces came ashore, they were organized into the US X Corps. Attacking inland, they advanced towards Seoul, which was taken on September 25, after brutal house-to-house fighting. The daring landing at Inchon, coupled with 8th Army's breakout from the Pusan Perimeter, threw the NKPA into a headlong retreat. UN troops quickly recovered South Korea and pressed into the north.

This advance continued until late November when Chinese troops poured into North Korea causing UN forces to withdraw south. Battle of Inchon – History Wars Weapons About Battle of Inchon The Battle of Inchon was a military engagement between the UN forces, led by the United States, and the Communist army of North Korea, from September 15 to September 19, 1950, in the city port of Inchon and its surrounding area, South Korea, during the Korean War. The battle began at 06:30 hours, on September 15, when the US 3rd Battalion (5th Marine Division -X Corps) landed on "Green Beach" on Wolmi-do Island, off the coast; they were supported by naval gun fire and reinforced with elements of the 1st Tank Battalion, equipped with M26 Pershing tanks and flamethrowers. This was immediately followed by two other landings that took place on "Blue Beach" and "Red Beach", on Inchon coast, carried out by other units of the 5th Marines and South Korean troops.

By September 19, 1950, after four days of fierce fighting, the Marines had defeated the North Korean troops, snuffing out all pockets of resistance. US Navy F4U Corsair fighters, used as ground attack aircraft, played an important role in the battle as they ensured the success of the operation by attacking and destroying two units of Soviet-made T-34 tanks that were heading to landing beaches. Having secured all the area around Inchon, the landing of military supplies and logistic equipment was initiated. Thus, Inchon was the springboard from which the UN forces would launch counter-attacks to liberate the Republic of South Korea, which had been invaded by the Soviet-backed communist forces of North Korea. Maps of Battle of Inchon Battle of Inchon | Military Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Main articles: Battle of Pusan Perimeter and The Great Naktong Offensive From the outbreak of the Korean War following the invasion of South Korea by North Korea on 25 June 1950, the North Korean Korean People's Army had enjoyed superiority in both manpower and equipment over South Korea's Republic of Korea Army and the United Nations forces dispatched to South Korea to prevent it from collapsing.

[4] The North Korean strategy was to aggressively pursue U.N. and South Korean forces on all avenues of approach south and to engage them, attacking from the front and initiating a double envelopment of both flanks of the defending units, which allowed the North Koreans to surround and cut off the opposing force, forcing it to retreat in disarray, often leaving behind much of its equipment. [5] From their initial 25 June offensive to fights in July and early August, the North Koreans used this strategy to defeat any UN force they encountered and push it south. [6] However, with the establishment of the Pusan Perimeter in August, the U.N. troops held a continuous line which the North Koreans could not flank, and their advantages in numbers decreased daily as the superior U.N. logistical system brought in more troops and supplies to the U.N. forces. [7] When the North Koreans approached the Pusan Perimeter on 5 August, they attempted the same frontal assault technique on the four main avenues of approach into the perimeter.

Throughout August, their military conducted direct assaults resulting in the Battle of Masan , [8] the Battle of Battle Mountain , [9] the First Battle of Naktong Bulge , [10] [11] the Battle of Taegu , [12] [13] and the Battle of the Bowling Alley . [14] On the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, the South Koreans repulsed three North Korean divisions at the Battle of P'ohang-dong . [15] The North Korean attacks stalled as U.N. forces, well equipped and with large standing reserve units to draw upon, repeatedly repelled them. [16] All along the front, the North Korean troops reeled from these defeats, the first time in the war North Korean strategy had failed. [17] By the end of August the North Korean troops had been pushed beyond their limits and many of the original units were at far reduced strength and effectiveness. [7] [18] Logistic problems racked the North Korean army, and shortages of food, weapons, equipment, and replacement soldiers proved devastating for North Korean units.

[5] [19] However, the North Korean force retained high morale and enough supply to allow for another large-scale offensive. [6] On 1 September the North Koreans threw their entire military into one final bid to break the Pusan Perimeter, the Great Naktong Offensive , a five-pronged simultaneous attack across the entire perimeter. [20] The attack caught U.N. forces by surprise and almost overwhelmed them. [21] North Korean troops attacked Kyongju , [22] surrounded Taegu [23] and Ka-san , [24] recrossed the Naktong Bulge , [25] threatened Yongsan , [26] and continued their attack at Masan, focusing on Nam River and Haman . [27] However, despite their efforts, in one of the most brutal fights of the Korean War, the North Koreans were unsuccessful. [28] Unable to hold their gains, the North Korean army retreated from the offensive a much weaker force, and vulnerable to counterattack. [29] Planning General of the Army Douglas MacArthur (center) grasps General J.

Lawton Collins (the Army Chief of Staff , left) and Admiral Forrest Sherman (the Chief of Naval Operations , right) upon their arrival in Tokyo, Japan . MacArthur used their meeting to convince other military leaders that the assault on Incheon was necessary. Days after the beginning of the war, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur , the U.S. Army officer in command of all U.N. forces in Korea, envisioned an amphibious assault to retake the Seoul area. The city had fallen in the first days of the war in the First Battle of Seoul . [30] MacArthur later wrote that he thought the North Korean army would push the Republic of Korea Army back far past Seoul. [31] He also said he decided days after the war began that the battered, demoralized, and under-equipped South Koreans, many of whom did not support the South Korean government put in power by the United States, could not hold off the North Korean forces even with American support. MacArthur felt that he could turn the tide if he made a decisive troop movement behind enemy lines, [32] and preferred Incheon over Chumunjin-up or Kunsan as the landing site.

He had originally envisioned such a landing, code named Operation Bluehearts, for 22 July, with the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division landing at Inchon. However, by 10 July the plan was abandoned as it was clear the 1st Cavalry Division would be needed on the Pusan Perimeter. [33] On 23 July, MacArthur formulated a new plan, Operation Chromite, calling for an amphibious assault by the U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division and the United States Marine Corps 's 5th Marine Regiment in mid-September 1950, but this, too fell through as both units were moved to the Pusan Perimeter as well. MacArthur decided instead to use the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry Division , his last reserve unit in East Asia, to conduct the operation as soon as it could be raised to wartime strength. [34] In preparation for the invasion, MacArthur activated the U.S. Army's X Corps to act as the command for the landing forces, and appointed Major General Edward Almond , his chief of staff , as corps commander, anticipating the operation would mean a quick end to the war.

[35] Throughout August, MacArthur faced the challenge of re-equipping the 7th Infantry Division as it had sent 9,000 of its men to reinforce the Pusan Perimeter and was far understrength. He also faced the challenge that the U.S. Marine Corps, reduced in size following World War II , had to rebuild the 1st Marine Division , using elements of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade fighting at Pusan as well as the 1st Marine Regiment and the 7th Marine Regiment , which pulled U.S. Marines from as far away as the Mediterranean Sea to Korea for the task. [36] MacArthur ordered Korean Augmentation To the United States Army (KATUSA) troops, South Korean Army conscripts assigned to U.S. Army units, to reinforce the 7th Infantry Division, while allocating all equipment coming into Korea to X Corps, despite it being crucially needed by the U.S. Army's Eighth Army on the front lines. [37] A Vought F4U-4B Corsair of Fighter Squadron 113 (VF-113) (the "Stingers") flies over U.N.

ships off Inchon, Korea, on 15 September 1950. VF-113 was assigned to Carrier Air Group Eleven (CVG-11) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Philippine Sea (CV-47) . The battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) is visible below the Corsair. MacArthur decided to use the Joint Strategic and Operations Group (JSPOG) of his United States Far East Command (FECOM). The initial plan was met with skepticism by the other generals because Incheon's natural and artificial defenses were formidable. The approaches to Incheon were two restricted passages, which could be easily blocked by naval mines . The current of the channels was also dangerously quick – three to eight knots (3.5 to 9.2 mph; 5.5 to 14.8 km/hr). Finally, the anchorage was small and the harbor was surrounded by tall seawalls . United States Navy Commander Arlie G. Capps noted that the harbor had "every natural and geographic handicap." [38] U.S. Navy leaders favored a landing at Kunsan, but MacArthur overruled these because he did not think they would be decisive enough for victory.

[39] He also felt that the North Koreans, who also thought the conditions of the Incheon channel would make a landing impossible, would be surprised and caught off-guard by the attack. [40] [41] On 23 August, the commanders held a meeting at MacArthur's headquarters in Tokyo. [39] Chief of Staff of the United States Army General Joseph Lawton Collins , Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Forrest Sherman , and United States Air Force operations deputy Lieutenant General Idwal H. Edward all flew from Washington, D.C. , to Japan to take part in the briefing; Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force General Hoyt Vandenberg did not attend, possibly because he "did not want to legitimize an operation that essentially belong[ed] to the Navy and the Marines." The Marine Corps staff, who were to be responsible for leading the landing at Incheon, were not invited, which became a contentious issue. During the briefing, nine members of the staff of U.S. Navy Admiral James H. Doyle spoke for nearly 90 minutes on every technical and military aspect of the landing.

[42] MacArthur told the officers that though a Kunsan landing would bring a relatively easy linkup with the Eighth Army, a landing there "would be an attempted envelopment that would not envelop" and would place more troops in a vulnerable pocket of the Pusan Perimeter. MacArthur won over Sherman by speaking of his affection for the U.S. Navy and relating the story of how the Navy carried him out of Corregidor to safety in 1942 during World War II. Sherman agreed to support the Incheon operation, leaving Doyle furious. [43] The beach of Pohang, where U.N. forces landed unopposed in 1950. Despite these obstacles, in September MacArthur issued a revised plan of assault on Incheon: Plan 100-B, codenamed Operation Chromite. MacArthur spent 45 minutes after the briefing explaining his reasons for choosing Incheon. [44] He said that because it was so heavily defended, the enemy would not expect an attack there, that victory at Incheon would avoid a brutal winter campaign, and that, by invading a northern strong point, U.N. forces could cut off North Korean lines of supply and communication.

[45] He also chose Incheon because of its proximity to Seoul. Admiral Sherman and General Collins returned to Washington, D.C., and had the invasion approved. The landing at Incheon was not the first large-scale amphibious operation since World War II. That distinction belonged to the 18 July 1950 U.N. landing at Pohang, South Korea. However, that operation was not made in enemy-held territory and was unopposed. [46] Prelude Before the main land battle, U.N. forces landed spies in Incheon and bombarded the city's defenses via air and sea. U.N. forces also conducted deception operations to draw enemy attention away from Incheon. Maintaining surprise Edit Incheon, South Korea, in pink coloring. Fourteen days before the main attack on Incheon, a joint Central Intelligence Agency – military intelligence reconnaissance effort, codenamed Trudy Jackson, placed a team in Incheon Harbor. [48] The group, led by U.S. Navy Lieutenant Eugene F. Clark , landed at Yonghung-do, an island in the mouth of the harbor. From there, they relayed intelligence back to U.N. forces.

With the help of locals, Lieutenant Clark, Republic of Korea Navy Lieutenant Youn Joung, and former South Korean counterintelligence officer Colonel Ke In-Ju gathered information about tides, beach composition, mudflats , and seawalls. The tides at Incheon have an average range of 29 feet (8.8 meters) and a maximum observed range of 36 feet (11 meters), making the tidal range there one of the largest in the world and the littoral maximum in all of Asia. They observed the tides at Inchon for two weeks and discovered that American tidal charts were inaccurate, but, fortunately, Japanese charts were quite good. [49] They provided detailed reports on North Korean artillery positions and fortifications on the island of Wolmido , at Incheon, and on nearby islands. During the extensive periods of low tide they located and removed some enemy naval mines, but, critically to the future success of the invasion, Clark reported that the North Koreans had not in fact systematically mined the channels. [50] When the North Koreans discovered that the agents had landed on the islands near Inchon, they made multiple attacks, including an attempted raid on Yonghung-do with six junks.

Clark mounted a machine gun on a sampan and sank the attacking junks. [51] In response, the North Koreans killed perhaps as many as 50 civilians for helping Clark. [52] Bombardments of Wolmido and Incheon Edit The landing at Incheon. Landing craft of the first and second waves approach Blue Beach on 15 September 1950. The U.S. Navy destroyer USS De Haven (DD-727) , visible at bottom center, covers them. Green Beach Edit The 31st Infantry lands at Inchon At 06:30 on September 15, 1950, the lead elements of X Corps hit "Green Beach" on the northern side of Wolmido. The landing force consisted of the 3rd Battalion , 5th Marine Regiment, led by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Taplett and nine M26 Pershing tanks from the U.S. Marine Corps' 1st Tank Battalion .[ citation needed ] One tank was equipped with a flamethrower and two others had bulldozer blades . The battle group landed from tank landing ships (LSTs) .

The entire island was captured by noon at the cost of just 14 casualties. [59] The North Korean forces were outnumbered by more than six to one by the U.N. troops. North Korean casualties included over 200 killed and 136 captured, primarily from the 918th Artillery Regiment and the 226th Independent Marine Regiment . [60] The forces on Green Beach had to wait until 19:50 for the tide to rise, allowing another group to land. During this time, extensive shelling and bombing, along with anti-tank mines placed on the only bridge, kept the small North Korean force from launching a significant counterattack.[ citation needed ] The second wave came ashore at "Red Beach" and "Blue Beach". The North Korean army had not been expecting an invasion at Incheon. [61] After the storming of Green Beach, the NKPA assumed (probably because of deliberate American disinformation ) that the main invasion would happen at Gunsan .[ citation needed ] As a result, only a small force was diverted to Incheon. Even those forces were too late, and they arrived after the UN forces had taken Blue Beach and Red Beach.

The troops already stationed at Incheon had been weakened by Clark's guerrillas, and napalm bombing runs had destroyed key ammunition dumps. In total, 261 ships took part.[ citation needed ] For Red Beach and Blue Beach, Vice Admiral James H. Doyle , Commander of an Amphibious ready group , announced that H-Hour , time of landing, would be 17:30. The North Korean 22nd Infantry Regiment had moved to Inch’on before dawn on September 15, 1950, but retreated to Seoul after the main landing that evening. [62] Red Beach Edit General Douglas MacArthur (center), Commander in Chief of United Nations Forces, observes the shelling of lightly defended Incheon from the U.S. Navy amphibious force command ship USS Mount McKinley (AGC-7) on 15 September 1950. Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez of the Marine Corps is shown scaling a seawall after landing on Red Beach (September 15). Minutes after this photo was taken, Lopez was killed after covering a live grenade with his body. [63] He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor .

The Red Beach forces, made up of the Regimental Combat Team 5 , which included the 3rd Battalion of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC), used ladders to scale the sea walls . Then-Lieutenant Colonel Raymond L. Murray 's, served as Commanding Officer of the 5th Marines, mission was to seize an area three thousand yards long and a thousand yards deep, extending from Cemetery Hill (northern) at the top down to the Inner Tidal Basin (near Tidal Basin at the bottom) and including the promontory in the middle called Observatory Hill. ( See Map ) The 1st Battalion would be on the left, against Cemetery Hill and northern half of Observatory Hill. The 2nd Battalion would take the southern half of Observatory Hill and Inner Basin. [64] Late on the afternoon of September 15, the LSTs closed Red Beach and as the lead ships they came under heavy mortar and machine gun fire from North Korean defenders on Cemetery Hill. Despite the concentrated fire, they disembarked assault troops and unloaded vital support equipment. In addition their guns wiped out enemy batteries on the right flank of Red Beach.

Three ( LST 857 , LST 859 and LST 973 ) of the eight LSTs took some hits from mortar and machine gun fire, which killed a sailor and injured a few others. [65] The LSTs completed unloading and cleared the beach at high tide early on 16 September. After neutralizing North Korean defenses at Inchon on the night of September 15, they opened the causeway to Wolmi-do, allowing the 3rd Battalion of the 5th Marines and the tanks from Green Beach to enter the battle at Inchon. Early morning on September 16, the 5th Marines (Red and Green Beaches forces) would march through the city in Inchon, taking it by the afternoon. Red Beach forces suffered eight dead and 28 wounded.[ citation needed ] Blue Beach Edit Under the command of then-Colonel Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller , the 1st Marine Regiment landing at Blue Beach was significantly south of the other two beaches and reached shore last. The mission of Colonel Puller's 1st Marines in this landing was to take the beachhead , and the road to Yongdungpo and Seoul.

The 2nd Battalion would land on the left at Blue Beach One [66] and 3rd Battalion would land on Blue Beach Two. A little cove around the corner south of Blue Beach Two was called Blue Beach Three. [67] As they approached the coast, the combined fire from several NKPA gun emplacements sank one LST. Destroyer fire and bombing runs silenced the North Korean defenses. When they finally arrived, the North Korean forces at Incheon had already surrendered, so the Blue Beach forces suffered few casualties and met little opposition. The 1st Marine Regiment spent much of its time strengthening the beachhead and preparing for the inland invasion. Air attack on USS Rochester Edit Just before daylight at 0550 on 17 September, a North Korean Yak-9 and an II-2 made an attack run on Rochester while she was anchored off Wolmi-do. Initially the aircraft were thought to be friendly until they dropped four bombs over the American ship. All but one missed and the one that did hit dented Rochester's crane and failed to detonate. There were no American casualties in the skirmish and they painted a Purple Heart on the crane as a reminder of how close the ship had come to being heavily damaged.

After the bombing of Rochester, she and the nearby Jamaica opened fire on the attacking aircraft with their guns. The North Korean II-2 then strafed the British cruiser, resulting in one sailor killed and two wounded. At about the same time, fire from Jamaica hit the II-2 and it crashed into the water. The Yak-9 fled after losing its partner. [68] [69] [70] Aftermath File:M26 Pershing.jpg An abandoned Soviet-made North Korean 76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) on a hill overlooking Incheon harbor after its capture by United Nations forces. Immediately after North Korean resistance was extinguished in Incheon, the supply and reinforcement process began. Seabees and Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) that had arrived with the U.S. Marines constructed a pontoon dock on Green Beach and cleared debris from the water. The dock was then used to unload the remainder of the LSTs.

Documents written by Kim Il-sung and recovered by UN troops soon after the landing said, "The original plan was to end the war in a month, we could not stamp out four American divisions...We were taken by surprise when United Nations troops and the American Air Force and Navy moved in."[ citation needed ] Early that morning of September 16, Lieutenant Colonel Murray and Colonel Puller had their operational orders from General Oliver P. Smith . The 1st Marines and 5th Marines began moving along the Inchon-Seoul road. On September 16, the North Koreans, realizing their blunder, sent six columns of T-34 tanks to the beachhead. They were quite alone, without infantry support. They were spotted by a strike force of F4U Corsair at the village of Kansong-ni, east of Inchon. [72] In response, two flights of F4U Corsair from Marine Fighter Squadron 214 (VMF-214) bombed the attackers. The armored columns suffered extensive damage and the U.S. forces lost one airplane.

A quick counter-attack by M26 Pershing tanks destroyed the remainder of the North Korean armored division and cleared the way for the capture of Incheon. Capture of Kimpo airfield An abandoned Soviet-made North Korean Ilyushin Il-10 attack aircraft captured by United Nations forces at Kimpo airfield in September 1950. The Kimpo airfield was the largest and most important in Korea. [73] On September 17, General MacArthur was extremely urgent in his request for early capture of Kimpo airfield for it was the largest air base in all of Korea. Once it was secured, the Fifth Air Force could bring fighters and bombers up from Japan to operate more easily against North Korea. [74] The attack on Kimpo airfield was carried out by 2nd Battalion 5th Marines . [75] That night at Kimpo, the North Koreans were organizing their defense of the airfield. Kimpo was under the command of Brigadier General Wan Yong . [75] General Wan's troops were a conglomeration of half-trained fighting men and service forces. Several North Korean troops had already fled across the Han River toward Seoul to escape the fight.

The North Korean's defense was almost as bad as the morale of the men who realized that they were not going to get any help from the North Korean officials in Seoul. [76] By morning the enemy were all gone, and Kimpo airfield was securely in the hands of the Marines. Kimpo airfield was in excellent shape; the enemy had not had time to do any major demolition. In fact, several enemy planes were still on the field. So Kimpo now could become the center of Allied land-based air operations. [77] On September 19, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers repaired the local railroad up to eight miles (13 km) inland. After captured of Kimpo airfield, transport planes began flying in gasoline and ordnance for the aircraft stationed there. The Marines continued unloading supplies and reinforcements. By September 22, they had unloaded 6,629 vehicles and 53,882 troops, along with 25,512 short tons (23,000 tonnes) of supplies.

[78] Battle of Seoul Main article: Second Battle of Seoul A Soviet-made North Korean T-34 tank knocked out by United States Marine Corps forces during the United Nations advance from Incheon to Seoul in September 1950. American M26 Pershing tanks in downtown Seoul during the Second Battle of Seoul . In the foreground, United Nations troops round up North Korean prisoners-of-war. U.S. Marines engaged in urban warfare during the battle for Seoul in late September 1950. The Marines are armed with an M1 rifle and an M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle . On the street are Korean civilians who died in the battle. In the distance are M4 Sherman tanks . In contrast to the quick victory at Incheon, the advance on Seoul was slow and bloody. The NKPA launched another T-34 attack, which was trapped and destroyed, and a Yak bombing run in Incheon harbor, which did little damage.

The NKPA attempted to stall the UN offensive to allow time to reinforce Seoul and withdraw troops from the south.[ citation needed ] Though warned that the process of taking Seoul would allow remaining NKPA forces in the south to escape, MacArthur felt that he was bound to honor promises given to the South Korean government to retake the capital as soon as possible.[ citation needed ] On the second day, vessels carrying the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry Division arrived in Incheon Harbor. General Almond was eager to get the division into position to block a possible enemy movement from the south of Seoul. On the morning of September 18, the division's 2nd Battalion of the 32nd Infantry Regiment landed at Incheon and the remainder of the regiment went ashore later in the day. The next morning, the 2nd Battalion moved up to relieve an U.S. Marine battalion occupying positions on the right flank south of Seoul. Meanwhile, the 7th Division's 31st Regiment came ashore at Incheon. Responsibility for the zone south of Seoul highway passed to 7th Division at 18:00 on September 19.

The 7th Infantry Division then engaged in heavy fighting with North Korean soldiers on the outskirts of Seoul. Before the battle, North Korea had just one understrength division in the city, with the majority of its forces south of the capital. [79] MacArthur personally oversaw the 1st Marine Regiment as it fought through North Korean positions on the road to Seoul. Control of Operation Chromite was then given to Major General Edward Almond , the X Corps commander. General Almond was in an enormous hurry to capture Seoul by September 25, exactly three months of the North Korean assault across the 38th parallel. [80] On September 22, the Marines entered Seoul to find it fortified. Casualties mounted as the forces engaged in house-to-house fighting . On September 26, the Hotel Bando (which had served as the US Embassy) was cleared by Easy Company of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. During this fight about 12 North Korean P.O.W.s were killed (apparently while naked and unarmed) in the building's basement. [81] General Almond declared the city liberated on September 25 even though Marines were still engaged in house-to-house combat.

Pusan Perimeter breakout Edit Meanwhile, 5th Marines came ashore at Inchon. The last North Korean troops in South Korea still fighting were defeated when Walton H. Walker 's 8th Army broke out of the Pusan Perimeter , joining the Army's X Corps in a coordinated attack on NKPA forces. Of the 70,000 NKPA troops around Pusan, in the aftermath of the Pusan Perimeter battle, North Korean casualties from September 1 to September 15 could range from roughly 36,000 to 41,000 killed and captured, with an unknown total number of wounded. [82] However, because UN forces had concentrated on taking Seoul rather than cutting off the NKPA's withdrawal north, the remaining 30,000 North Korean soldiers escaped to the north across the Yalu River, where they were soon reconstituted as a cadre for the formation of new NKPA divisions hastily re-equipped by the Soviet Union . The allied assault continued north to the Yalu River until the intervention of the People's Republic of China in the war in November 1950.

Analysis Edit Most military scholars consider the battle one of the most decisive military operations in modern warfare. However, Russell Stolfi argues that the landing itself was a strategic masterpiece but it was followed by an advance to Seoul in ground battle so slow and measured that it constituted an operational disaster, largely negating the successful landing. He contrasts the US style of war fighting with that of Germany by examining the US military's 1950 Incheon-Seoul operation and the German offensive in the Baltic in 1941. American forces achieved a strategic masterpiece in the Incheon landing in September 1950 and then largely negated it by a slow, tentative, 11-day advance on Seoul, only twenty miles away. By contrast in the Baltic region in 1941 the German forces achieved strategic surprise in the first day of their offensive and then, exhibiting a breakthrough mentality, pushed forward rapidly, seizing key positions and advancing almost two hundred miles in four days.

The American advance was characterized by cautious, restrictive orders, concerns about phase lines, limited reconnaissance, and command posts well in the rear, while the Germans positioned their leaders as far forward as possible, relied on oral or short written orders, reorganized combat groups to meet immediate circumstances, and engaged in vigorous reconnaissance. [83] Notes Inch’on Landing - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com Google Korean War: Background After Japan was defeated by the Allies in World War II (1939-45), it lost control of Korea, which it had ruled as a colony since 1910. Korea was divided into two occupations zones, with the Soviet Union administering the area north of the 38th parallel and the United States administering the area south of the 38th parallel. The arrangement was intended as temporary; however, after plans to establish a national government failed, two separate nations formed in 1948: the Communist-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Western-aligned Republic of Korea (South Korea). Border clashes soon broke out between the two Koreas, each of which claimed sovereignty over the entire peninsula. Did You Know?

After he was removed from command by Truman, General MacArthur gave a dramatic televised address before a joint session of Congress in April 1951 in which he criticized Truman's Korean policy. The general ended with a quote from an old Army song: "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away." The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when North Korean troops stormed across the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. The North Korean soldiers caught South Korea’s forces off guard and threw them into a hasty southern retreat. The United Nations quickly condemned the invasion and demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities and for North Korea to withdraw its armed forces to the 38th parallel. When the North Koreans failed to comply, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution on June 27 recommending that its members provide military assistance to South Korea. U.S. President Harry Truman (1884-1972) soon agreed to send American forces into action, and on July 7 the Security Council recommended that all U.N. forces sent to South Korea be put under U.S. command. The next day, General Douglas MacArthur was named commander of all U.N. forces in Korea.

By early August, the Allies had been pushed back to the Pusan Perimeter, a defensive line around an area in the southeastern corner of the Korean peninsula. However, throughout August and into September, the Americans and their counterparts fought off attacks from the North Koreans and prevented them from advancing any further. Inchon Landing: September 15, 1950 Meanwhile, MacArthur, who had commanded the Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific during World War II, had been advocating for a plan to land troops behind the enemy lines at Inchon (now known as Incheon) and attack the North Koreans from both directions. MacArthur’s proposal met with resistance from other American military leaders, who pointed to a variety of challenges associated with landing at Inchon, including the narrow port channel and extreme tides. MacArthur argued that these factors would mean the North Koreans wouldn’t expect the Allies to attempt an amphibious landing there. At an August 23, 1950, conference of top U.S. military leaders at his headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, MacArthur stated, “The only alternative to a stroke such as I propose will be the continuation of the savage sacrifice we are making at Pusan, with no hope of relief in sight.

Are you content to let our troops stay in that bloody perimeter like beef cattle in the slaughterhouse? Who will take the responsibility for such a tragedy? Certainly, I will not.” MacArthur received the official go-ahead for the Inchon landing, codenamed Operation Chromite, and the port was captured by U.S. Marines on September 15, 1950. American-led U.N. troops then pushed inland to retake Seoul on September 26. Allied troops then converged on the North Korean army from the north and the south, killing or capturing thousands of enemy soldiers. Korean War: The Fighting Continues In October, American and South Korean troops advanced across the 38th parallel, and sent the North Koreans into retreat. Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, was captured on October 19. However, as the Americans moved north toward the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and Communist China, their advance was halted when China entered the fray that fall. In late November, a massive force of Chinese troops sent the Allies into retreat. In early January 1951, the Communists recaptured Seoul, only to have the Allies reoccupy it in March.

In April 1951, Truman removed MacArthur from his command after he publicly threatened to bomb China in defiance of Truman’s stated war policy. Truman feared that an escalation of fighting with China would draw the Soviet Union into the Korean War. MacArthur’s dismissal set off a brief uproar among the American public, but Truman remained committed to keeping the conflict in Korea a “limited war.” Korean War: 1953 Armistice By May 1951, the communists were pushed back to the 38th parallel, and the battle line remained in that vicinity for the rest of the war. On July 27, 1953, after two years of negotiation, military leaders from China, North Korea and the United Nations signed an armistice that ended the fighting and created a new boundary near the 38th parallel that gave South Korea some additional territory and established a 2.5-mile-wide demilitarized zone to serve as a buffer between the two Koreas. Because North Korea and South Korea never signed a permanent peace treaty, they are technically still at war today. More than 500,000 American, South Korean and other U.N.

troops were killed, captured or reported missing in the Korean War, while North Korean and Chinese military casualties have been estimated at nearly 1.6 million. By some estimates, civilian deaths were at least equal to the combined number of military casualties. Tags The Assault On Inchon Preface Striking without warning in overwhelming force, armed and supported by Communist Russia, North Korea's veteran troops crushed the unprepared Republic of Korea (ROK). The NK were only contained by the entry of the United States, quickly supported by the United Nations. For a time, the issue was in doubt. Although the NK had virtually annihilated the ROK forces, the surprised ROKs had resisted desperately, and the NK had suffered grave losses in men and material in the savage fighting. When the NK first met our own unprepared army they initially crushed us as well, but the resolute few who always respond to challenge in spite of poor leadership fought well enough to give the US and UN time to build strength to contain, and finally stop them completely, in the battle of the Pusan Perimeter.

Even before it was clear we could do even this, General MacArthur was preparing a masterful counter-strike, perhaps the greatest amphibious assault of the 20th Century. On September 15, 1950 Joint Task Force Seven, with more than 320 warships including 4 aircraft carriers, carried the nearly 70,000 man strong force of X Corps into the dangerous tides of Inchon harbor. Preceded by heavy naval bombardment and under a blanket of fighting aircraft, led by the veteran 5th Marines, elements of the 1st Marine Division were landed 100 miles behind the North Korean lines and fought their way on to take Seoul, by 9/25. The newly reinforced 7th Infantry Division protected its flank. The stroke was decisive. Conceived and directed by our brilliant general Douglas MacArthur, the assault at Inchon was a strategic masterpiece. The invasion had suddenly positioned some of our finest fighting men across the main NK lines of supply, and retreat, far in the rear of their attacking armies. Within two weeks, the North Korean army was largely destroyed or made ineffective.

The way to the Yalu, and total destruction of North Korea's military power, seemed virtually unopposed. PREPARATION With the North Korean invasion hardly a week old, and their armies running amok down the Peninsula, General MacArthur began planning an amphibious assault to retake the communications center at Seoul. This would trap the main NK combat forces, and permit us to destroy them at leisure. MacArthur placed army Major General Edward M. Almond in charge of X Corps, with the responsibility of carrying out this operation. The Marine Corps were expert in amphibious assault, so this was a surprising move. It led to serious problems from the beginning, and was almost fatally damaging later in the rugged Taebaek mountains. For the assault to have maximum effectiveness, a strong military force was required on the southern part of the Peninsula to keep the NK fully engaged. However, the violence of the NK attacks was menacing their very existence. A series of military defeats, and organizational difficulties, repeatedly delayed formation of a strong enough reserve force to stage such a daring amphibious counter-stroke.

United States Marine Corps Readiness President Truman, guided by his Cabinet and the JCS and a strong personal dislike of the USMC, had cut the Fleet Marine Force to 34,000 officers and men, giving a ground fighting strength of only six infantry battalions, and a total Corps strength of 74,279 officers and men. Eliminated were the two Marine divisions which would surely have enabled Eighth Army to meet and defeat the In Min Gun in the Pusan Perimeter. Corps strength was so reduced that the 3 Rifle battalions available for a provisional brigade only had two companies each. Truman had so weakened the Corps that they could not man the third companies ... the elements of maneuver! Forced to attack their veteran enemy frontally, not manned with the force needed to flank them and cut off their retreat, the Marines suffered terrible losses in their early battles. The third companies did not join 5th Marines until after the second Naktong battle, and then were mostly manned by reservists who had been driving buses and bagging at supermarkets barely weeks before.

As it turned out, that single under-strength Marine RCT was still a resolute and deadly fighting force, capable of rapid deployment, and effectively saved the Perimeter and South Korea with its valiant defeats of the NK in the Naktong battles. When Truman permitted calling up the Reserves, the Marines once again rose to the Nation's need, and gave MacArthur the Infantry force needed for decisive counter-attack behind the enemy's over-extended front lines. 5th Marine Regiment Originally selected by MacArthur for the amphibious operation, early Eighth Army defeats made the need for reliable infantry in the perimeter paramount. 5th Marines formed the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade and landed at Pusan 8/3, serving with distinction at the Naktong Bulge, well supported by their M26 Pershings and Marine Corsairs. By "distinction", the 5th Marines typically won their engagements with the NK forces whereas Army units typically did not, and half the Army casualties were usually MIAs whereas the 5th usually had none. On 9/12, the 5th mounted out from Pusan to help form the rest of 1st Mar Div and X Corps at sea.

1st Marine Regiment 1st Marines were activated in August, and staged in Japan. 1st joined the Inchon invasion in the afternoon of the first day, assaulting Blue beach. 7th Marine Regiment 7th Marines were activated around 9/1, staged at Kobe around 9/9, and on 9/21 were landed at Inchon to join 1st Mar Div. 7th Infantry Division 7id had been drained piecemeal to supply replacements for 8th Army losses in the perimeter. By August, it was under half strength, with critical shortages in NCO weapons leaders. By augmenting the division with over 8,000 inexperienced ROKs, but with high quality artillery and infantry crew-served weapons troops, 7id was at full strength (24,845) on embarkation 9/11 at Yokohama for Inchon. General Almond wanted to substitute the 32nd Infantry for the 5th Marines, in the actual landings. 32nd had about 40% raw ROK recruits, with no amphibious training. 1stMarDiv commander General O. P.

Smith refused to comply with Almond's directive, and the order was eventually rescinded. 7id landed on 9/18, and mounted out to block NK threats from the south. AT THE POINT About one week prior to the invasion, a joint CIA-military operation "Trudy Jackson" sent in a tough guerilla unit led by Navy Lt. Eugene Clark , an Old China hand ex-CPO. His team included an Army captain, three EMs and two Korean military specialists, and landed on Yonghung-do, a small island at the mouth of the channel, ten miles from Inchon. Helped by the small civilian population, Clark's men scouted the tides, mud-flats and seawalls, getting vital last minute information for the assault. They were completely successful in this, even reconnoitering fortified Wolmi-do! The NK soon found the guerillas were there, and sent an assault craft with 16 infantrymen to attack them, but Clark met them in the channel with a .50 machine gun on a sampan, and sank them all. In a major accomplishment, Clark got an old light-house working on Palmi-do, which provided a critical navigation point for our Naval forces.

The down side, when Clark moved his small unit to Palmi-do, the NK came back unopposed to Yonghung-do, lined up 50 South Koreans who had helped Clark, and murdered them. A favorite NK tactic. (My major personal regrets about the KW are that we never rounded up the guys who did tens of thousands of murders like those, and hanged them all. ) THE ASSAULT Wolmi Do The assault at Wolmi-Do was preceded by two days of bombardment by 4 cruisers and 5 destroyers, and violent air attacks from TF77. Destroyers Collett and Gurke were hit, and Swenson took casualties from a near miss. At 0500 on the third day after a final barrage by three LSMRs, LCVPs and LSVs from three high speed transports (APDs) and one LSD loaded 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines and nine M26 Pershing tanks from A company, 1st Tank Battalion.

These marines led the 9/15 Inchon invasion with a dawn assault on Green beach , at Wolmi-do Island, killing over 200 enemy troops and capturing 136 more, with only 17 casualties themselves. In the afternoon, after the tides had gone out and then back in, the rest of the 5th Marines took Red beach . The enemy now fully alerted, the 5th lost 8 killed and 28 wounded in forcing the NK to surrender. At about the same time, the 1st Marine Regiment assaulted Blue beach , taking it with relatively few casualties. All these attacks were spearheaded by LCVPs , each carrying 22 men who swarmed up the sea walls over assault ladders. In between the morning and afternoon landings, with the tides out, the Marines on Wolmi-do were surrounded by a sea of mud. By evening, 9/18, the Marines were at the edge of Kimpo air field, 6 miles from Inchon, capturing the 6,000 foot runway the next day.

Although often displaying great individual valor , we had suffered fewer than 300 casualties, with fewer than 30 KIA, including one corsair pilot. For their loss, besides winning a major sea port, killing many hundreds of enemy soldiers, destroying 12 of their T34 tanks, and capturing a major airport, we were positioned to cut off the retreat of their 70,000 assault troops in the south, and move on to capture Seoul itself. Postscript Brilliantly conceived, driven home through the strength and courage of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, Inchon was a remarkable military accomplishment. "It was a flaming miracle" Remember, the assaulting forces had never trained together for any combined operation, let alone one so complex as Inchon, where the prominence on Wolmi-do loomed like Mt. Surubachi on Iwo, where the tides were far more severe than Tarawa, and the narrow approaches made the harbor a potential trap. My squadron had trained with Marines in prior years, but there was nothing like the pre-invasion rehearsals of WWII. Not only was the First Marine Division and all of X Corps only formed while actually at sea, but so was the entire invasion fleet!.

And all this done on the fringes of a typhoon ! The newly activated Marine Regiments had to develop their skills in mutual coordination and support on the battlefields. Apart from the 32' tides and mudflats, we were all very concerned about the enemy blowing us out of the water along the approaches before we could even reach the assault positions. I mean, we were very very concerned. A month later at Wonsan we found about 3,000 well placed mines. Only 300 mines along the winding, mud-lined approaches would have been more than enough to sink our assault ships and block access to the inner harbor. The entire operation would have come apart. Still, we were almost all Regulars. All senior officers and most senior Navy POs and Marine NCOs were WWII veterans. The battalion assaulting Wolmi were fresh from victory over North Korea's toughest at 1st and 2nd Naktong. Justified or not, we had infinite confidence. In the event, it came off like clockwork. That is mainly because of the audacity of MacArthur's plan of attack, and the speed of its execution. The NK were simply not yet prepared.

The approaches were not yet mined nor the inner harbor commanded by their artillery. Their infantry on Wolmi-do weren't well dug in either. Their 18th Rifle Division was waiting uselessly at Seoul, as were their Tank Regiments. The NK were beginning to deploy these forces and, if allowed to do so, would have destroyed any invasion attempt. We in the attacking forces would be there still. But General MacArthur didn't give them time. A few weeks later, Washington authorized UN forces to cross the 38th Parallel. Washington informed MacArthur that China was unlikely to enter the war immediately, so again he sacrificed preparation for speed in an effort to reach the Yalu before the situation could change. As with their earlier evaluation that North Korea would not attack, CIA Intelligence was faulty. Against China's veteran guerilla armies preparation was much more vital than haste. 8th Army was ambushed and beaten. The Marines who crushed the North Koreans at Inchon were also ambushed in the frozen wastes of Chosin where they won a series of savagely fought tactical victories amidst an overwhelming strategic defeat.

Of the 200 Marines my ship Wantuck landed at Wolmi-do, only 20 were still standing when 1stMarDiv fought its way out of the trap. The war went on for almost three more bloody years. The Naval logistics people for the Inchon invasion did an incredible job, as did the same folks in getting X Corps out of Hungnam on the other side of the peninsula later on (along with 100,000 refugees!!). These men were real heroes, and nobody remembers even one of them, today. God bless them, one and all. !!!! And, for me, General MacArthur will always be a great American, betrayed by faulty CIA Intelligence, the Joint Chiefs, and politicians at home, who virtually panicked during key moments of decision. A crowning moment of the brilliance of the logistics planners, and MacArthur's genius, one of the most amazing photos of the entire war, is the empty shore on the other side of the Wolmi-do causeway. A miracle indeed. By any standards. Causes of the Korean Tragedy ...

Failure of Leadership, Intelligence and Preparation Korean War--The Inchon Invasion, September 1950 Online Library of Selected Images: -- EVENTS -- The Korean War, 1950-1953 -- The Inchon Invasion, September 1950 -- Overview and Selected Images On 15 September 1950, after hurling itself fruitlessly against the Pusan Perimeter for nearly a month and a half, the weakened North Korean army was suddenly confronted with a grave threat in its rear. U.S. Marines had landed at the western port city of Inchon, near Seoul, and were poised to move inland to retake the capital and decisively cut the already tenuous North Korean supply lines. This daring amphibious operation was conceived by General of the Army Douglas MacArthur. Though strategically tempting, Inchon was a tactically challenging amphibious target, with long approaches through shallow channels, poor beaches and a tidal range that restricted landing operations to a few hours a day. It took all of MacArthur's unparalleled powers of persuasion to sell his concept to doubting Army, Navy and Marine Corps commanders.

Forces gathered for the Inchon invasion included the First Marine Division, the Army's Seventh Infantry Division, some South Korean units, virtually every available amphibious ship, and dozens of other Navy warships. Most of the Marines had recently arrived from the U.S., while the rest were withdrawn from the Pusan Perimeter defenses. Preliminary naval gunfire and air bombardment began on 13 September. The 1st and 5th Marines went ashore on the morning of the 15th. Resistance and casualties were modest, and initial objectives were quickly secured. Over the next several days, as supplies and troops poured ashore at Inchon, the Marines moved relentlessly toward Seoul . Kimpo airfield was taken on 17 September and was in use to support operations two days later. On 29 September, after days of hard street fighting, Seoul was returned to the South Korean government. A hundred miles to the southeast, the Pusan Perimeter's defenders went on the offensive on 16 September. After resisting for a few days, the now-isolated North Korean army retreated and progressively collapsed during the rest of the month. On the 27th, U.S.

Army units moving southwards from Seoul met those coming up from Pusan. This page features a special image selection on the Inchon Invasion, and provides links to broader pictorial coverage of that operation. For more pictures of the Inchon Operation, see: If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions. Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image. Photo #: NH 97053 Inchon Invasion, September 1950 Map entitled "Movement to the Objective Area", copied from "The Inchon-Seoul Operation", Volume II of "U.S. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950-53", page 83. It shows the route taken by the invasion forces to reach Inchon. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 94KB; 740 x 525 pixels Photo #: NH 97152 Inchon Invasion, September 1950 USS Rowan (DD-782) silhouetted against the sun on 14 September 1950, as she escorts USS Mt.

McKinley (AGC-7) off the Korean coast en route to Inchon. Official U.S. Army Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 107KB; 740 x 600 pixels Photo #: 80-G-423206 Inchon Invasion, September 1950 An LST slips into Inchon harbor in the early hours of 15 September 1950, just prior to the landings there. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 103KB; 610 x 765 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. Photo #: 80-G-423215 Inchon Invasion, September 1950 LCVPs from USS Union (AKA-106) circle in the transport area off Inchon, prior to going to the line of departure on the first day of landings, 15 September 1950. An LST, wearing the side number QO-12, is in the center background.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 86KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. Photo #: 80-G-420024 Inchon Invasion, September 1950 A LSMR fires rockets as LVTs cross the line of departure to take Marines to Blue Beach on the first day of landings, 15 September 1950. Wolmi-Do island is in the left center background. The Inchon waterfront is in the right center distance, with heavy smoke rising from pre-invasion bombardment. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 73KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

Photo #: NH 96876 Inchon Invasion, September 1950 First Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez, USMC, leads the 3rd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines over the seawall on the northern side of Red Beach, as the second assault wave lands, 15 September 1950. Wooden scaling ladders are in use to facilitate disembarkation from the LCVP that brought these men to the shore. Lt. Lopez was killed in action within a few minutes, while assaulting a North Korean bunker. Note M-1 Carbine carried by Lt. Lopez, M-1 Rifles of other Marines and details of the Marines' field gear. U.S. Marine Corps Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.

Online Image: 97KB; 600 x 765 pixels Photo #: SC 348448 Inchon Invasion, September 1950 General of the Army Douglas MacArthur (seated, center), Commander-in-Chief, Far East Command, on board USS Mount McKinley (AGC-7) during the Inchon landings, 15 September 1950. The others present are (from left to right): Rear Admiral James H. Doyle, U.S. Navy, Commander, Task Force 90; Brigadier General Edwin K. Wright, U.S. Army, MacArthur's Operations Officer, and Major General Edward M. Almond, U.S. Army, Commander, Tenth Corps. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 87KB; 590 x 765 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

Photo #: 80-G-420027 Inchon Invasion, September 1950 Four LSTs unload men and equipment while "high and dry" at low tide on Inchon's Red Beach, 16 September 1950, the day after the initial landings there. USS LST-715 is on the right end of this group, which also includes LST-611, LST-845 and one other. Another LST is beached on the tidal mud flats at the extreme right. Note bombardment damage to the building in center foreground, many trucks at work, Wolmi-Do island in the left background and the causeway connecting the island to Inchon. Ship in the far distance, just beyond the right end of Wolmi-Do, is USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729). Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 161KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

Photo #: NH 96980 Inchon Operation, September 1950 A Chaplain reads the Last Rites service as Lieutenant (Junior Grade) David H. Swenson is buried at sea from USS Toledo (CA-133), off Inchon, Korea. He had been killed by North Korean artillery while his ship, USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) was bombarding enemy positions on Wolmi-do island, Inchon, on 13 September 1950. Lyman K. Swenson is in the background, with her crew at quarters on deck. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the "All Hands" collection at the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 101KB; 740 x 625 pixels American Experience . MacArthur . Korean Maps | PBS The Korean War Stage 1: North Korea attacks The Korean War began in the predawn darkness of June 25, 1950 as Kim Il Sung's heavily armed and well-trained North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel -- the border between the two Koreas at the end of World War II. As MacArthur biographer, D.

Clayton James describes it, "North Korean artillery and mortar barrages began hitting South Korean positions along the 150-mile width of the peninsula, shortly followed by invasion forces totaling over 90,000 troops and 150 Soviet-built tanks that struck in smoothly coordinated assaults into South Korea." By the night of June 28, Seoul had fallen and the South Korean forces were in disarray. The United Nations had just passed a resolution recommending that "the members of the United Nations furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and to restore international peace and security to the area." On July 30, President Truman announced that he had "authorized the United States Air Force to conduct missions on specific military targets in northern Korea [and] a naval blockade of the entire Korean coast," adding almost as an afterthought, "General MacArthur has been authorized to use certain supporting ground units." Army Secretary Frank Pace's assessment was more realistic: "We were into Korea deep." Stage 2: Americans pushed to the Pusan Perimeter July 5 saw the first battle between American and North Korean troops, and the Americans did not fare as well as they expected.

Unable to slow the enemy advance below Suwon, the Americans and South Koreans fought desperate delaying operations, buying time with blood as more American units were rushed to Korea. By the end of July, the North Koreans had pushed the U.N. forces to the southeast corner of the peninsula, where they dug in around the port of Pusan. On July 27, a "grim-faced and business-like" MacArthur visited Eighth Army commander Walton Walker. A witness said that MacArthur told Walker, "There will be no Dunkirk in this command. To retire to Pusan will be unacceptable." Gen. Walker gave the "stand or die" order, and over the next six weeks a desperate, bloody struggle ensued as the North Koreans threw everything they had at American and ROK (South Korean) forces in an effort to gain complete control over Korea. Stage 3: Inchon With what is widely considered the crowning example of his military genius, MacArthur completely changed the course of the war overnight by ordering -- over nearly unanimous objections -- an amphibious invasion at the port of Inchon, near Seoul. Evidence has indicated that the Chinese Communists, having studied MacArthur's tactics in World War II, warned the North Koreans to expect such an attack.

Still, they were not prepared. The Americans quickly gained control of Inchon, recaptured Seoul within days, and cut the North Korean supply lines. American and ROK forces broke out of the Pusan Perimeter and chased the retreating enemy north. On September 27, after Washington had consulted with its allies regarding war aims, MacArthur received permission to pursue the enemy into North Korea. ROK forces crossed the 38th parallel on October 1, opening a fateful new chapter in the conflict. Stage 4: Approaching the Yalu Despite warnings from the Communist Chinese through an Indian diplomat that "American intrusion into North Korea would encounter Chinese resistance," MacArthur's forces continued to push north. In their meeting at Wake Island on October 15, both Truman and MacArthur took comfort in the General's assertion that "We are no longer fearful of their intervention,...if the Chinese tried to get down to Pyongyang there would be the greatest slaughter." On October 25, however, things turned ominous. The Chinese army, which had been massing north of the Yalu River after secretly slipping into North Korea, struck with considerable force. After suffering setbacks, the U.N.

forces stabilized their lines by November 5, only to watch the Chinese withdraw northward as quickly as they had struck. MacArthur was now worried enough to press Washington for greater latitude in taking the fight into China. He nevertheless launched a great offensive toward the end of November, which he optimistically hoped would end the war in Korea and "get the boys home by Christmas." It proved a terrible miscalculation. Stage 5: An entirely new war MacArthur's "all-out offensive" to the Yalu had barely begun when the Chinese struck with awesome force on the night of November 25. Roughly 180,000 Chinese troops shattered the right flank of Walker's Eighth Army in the west, while 120,000 others threatened to destroy the X Corps near the Chosin Reservoir. On November 28, a shaken MacArthur informed the Joint Chiefs, "We face an entirely new war." MacArthur's men fought courageously and skillfully just to avoid annihilation, as they were pushed back down the peninsula. Seoul changed hands yet again on January 5.

But under the able and energetic leadership of General Matthew Ridgway, who took over the Eighth Army after the death of Walker, the U.N. retreat ended about 70 miles below Seoul. Stage 6: Stalemate Beginning January 15, Ridgway led the U.N. in a slow advance northward, in what his troops began to call the "meatgrinder." Inflicting heavy casualties on the Chinese and North Koreans, the U.N. re-recaptured Seoul (the fourth and final time it changed hands!) on March 15, and had patrols crossing the 38th parallel on March 31. In the meantime, General MacArthur had been steadily pushing Washington to remove the restrictions on his forces. Not only did Truman decline for fear of widening the war, but he fired MacArthur, who had been publicly challenging him for months, for insubordination on April 11. Although MacArthur's dismissal ignited a political firestorm, most historians have agreed that Truman had little choice but to uphold the doctrine of civilian control of the military. But on military grounds, the picture is less clear.

Whether or not his proposals would have ended the war -- or started World War III -- they probably would have avoided the stalemate, which lasted for another two years. Not until nearly two million more had died did the Korean War end, when an armistice was signed on July 27, 1953. Battle of Chosin Reservoir - Korean War Battle of Chosin Reservoir - Dates: The fighting around Chosin Reservoir lasted from November 26 to December 11, 1950. Battle of Chosin Reservoir - Background: On October 25, 1950, with General Douglas MacArthur's United Nations forces closing in a victorious end to the Korean War, Communist Chinese forces began pouring across the border. Striking the spread out UN troops with overwhelming force, they compelled them to retreat all across the front. In northeastern Korea, the US X Corps, led by Major General Ned Almond, was strung out with its units unable to support each other. Those units near the Chosin (Changjin) Reservoir included the 1st Marine Division and elements of the 7th Infantry Division.

Battle of Chosin Reservoir - Chinese Invasion: Advancing quickly, the Ninth Army Group of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) blunted X Corps advance and swarmed around the UN troops at Chosin. Alerted to their predicament, Almond ordered the commander of the 1st Marine Division, Major General Oliver P. Smith, to begin a fighting retreat back towards the coast. Commencing on November 26, Smith's men endured extreme cold and severe weather. The next day, the 5th and 7th Marines attacked from their positions near Yudam-ni, on the west bank of the reservoir, with some success against the PLA forces in the area. Over the next three days the 1st Marine Division successfully defended their positions at Yudam-ni and Hagaru-ri against Chinese human wave assaults. On November 29, Smith contacted Colonel "Chesty" Puller , commanding the 1st Marine Regiment, at Koto-ri and asked him to assemble a task force to re-open the road from there to Hagaru-ri. Battle of Chosin Reservoir - Hell Fire Valley: Complying, Puller formed a force consisting of Lieutenant Colonel Douglas B.

Drysdale's 41 Independent Commando (Royal Marines Battalion), G Company (1st Marines), B Company (31st Infantry), and other rear echelon troops. Numbering 900 men, the 140-vehicle task force departed at 9:30 AM on the 29th, with Drysdale in command. Pushing up the road to Hargaru-ri, the task force became bogged down after being ambushed by Chinese troops. Fighting in an area that was dubbed "Hell Fire Valley," Drysdale was reinforced by tanks sent by Puller. Pressing on, Drysdale's men ran a gauntlet of fire and reached Hagaru-ri with the bulk of 41 Commando, G Company, and the tanks. During the attack, the B Comapany, 31st Infantry, became separated and isolated along the road. While most were killed or captured, some were able to escape back to Koto-ri. While the Marines were fighting to the west, the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT) of the 7th Infantry was battling for its life on the eastern shore of reservoir.

Battle of Chosin Reservoir - Fighting to Escape: Repeatedly assaulted by the 80th and 81st PLA divisions, the 3,000-man 31st RCT was worn down and overrun. Some survivors of the unit reached the Marine lines at Hagaru-ri on December 2. Holding his position at Hagaru-ri, Smith ordered the 5th and 7th Marines to abandon the area around Yudam-ni and link up with the rest of the division. Fighting a brutal three-day battle, the Marines entered Hagaru-ri on December 4. Two days later, Smith's command began fighting their way back to Koto-ri. Battling overwhelming odds, the Marines and other elements of X Corps attacked continuously as they moved towards the port of Hungnam. A highlight of the campaign occurred on December 9, when a bridge was constructed over a 1,500-ft. gorge between Koto-ri and Chinhung-ni using pre-fabricated bridge sections dropped by the US Air Force. Cutting through the enemy, the last of the "Frozen Chosin" reached Hungnam on December 11.

Battle of Chosin Reservoir - Aftermath: While not a victory in the classic sense, the withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir is revered as a high point in the history of the US Marine Corps. In the fighting, the Marines and other UN troops effectively destroyed or crippled seven Chinese divisions which attempted to block their progress. Marine losses in the campaign numbered 836 killed and 12,000 wounded. Most of the latter were frostbite injuries inflicted by the severe cold and winter weather. US Army losses numbered around 2,000 killed and 1,000 wounded. Precise casualties for the Chinese are not known but are estimated at 35,000 killed. Upon reaching Hungnam, the veterans of Chosin Reservoir were evacuated as part of the large amphibious operation to rescue UN troops from northeastern Korea.

Question: The Battle of Inchon took place during which war?
Answer: Korean