October 19, 1950 – Korean War: UN forces capture Pyongyang
On October 8, 1950, the daythat UN forces crossed the 38th parallel into North Korea, Chinese forces in Manchuria (theNorth East Frontier Force, or NEFF) were ordered to deploy at the Yalu River in preparation toenter North Koreafrom the north. On October 19, 1950, theday Pyongyang fell, on Chairman Mao’s order, the NEFFcrossed into North Korea. Chinese authorities called this force the“People’s Volunteer Army”, the “volunteer” designation conferring on it anon-official status in order that China would not be directlyinvolved in a war with the US/UN.
(Taken from Korean War – Wars of the 20th Century – Twenty Wars in Asia: Vol. 5)
War On June 25, 1950,after some initial fighting in the Ongjin area, North Korea launched a full-scaleinvasion across the 38th parallel. North Korean invasionforces, which consisted of 90,000 troops and supported by armored and artilleryunits, crossed into South Korea from east to west of the line. South Korean border defenses south of theline were easily overcome. South Koreanforces, lacking heavy artillery and powerful anti-tank weapons, surrendered ordefected en masse, or fled south. OnJune 28, 1950, Seoulfell, with President Rhee and his government having vacated the capital inadvance of the North Korean offensive. To forestall the North Koreans, the South Korean military destroyed themain bridge south of Seoul across the Han River, causing the deaths of hundreds of civilianswho were crossing the bridge at the time. Thousands of South Korean troops also were unable to leave the city andwere later captured by the North Koreans. By the third day of the invasion, South Korea was verging oncollapse.
On June 25, 1950, the UnitedNations Security Council (UNSC) passed Resolution 82 which called for an end tohostilities, and demanded that North Korean forces withdraw from South Korea. The resolution passed because at that time,the Soviet Union, which was a permanent UNSC member with veto power, hadboycotted the UNSC meetings in protest of the UN’s continued non-recognition ofChina. The Soviet government also challenged the UN’slegitimacy to decide on the Korean conflict, stating that the war was aninternal security issue, and that the 38th parallel was a militarydemarcation and not an international border.
Then on June 27, 1950, theUNSC passed Resolution 83, which called on UN member states to provide militaryassistance to South Koreato counter the North Korean invasion. Like South Korea, theUnited States was caughtoff-guard by the invasion, but quickly moved into action, and used its strongdiplomatic influence to mobilize international condemnation of North Korea. Up until now, President Truman viewed the Cold Waras relating only to Europe, and the U.S.containment policy as directed against the Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc allies. But with the outbreak of the Korean War, forthe United States, the ColdWar had come upon Asia.
President Truman particularlylikened the North Korean invasion to Germany’saggression in World War II, and announced that his government would not repeatthe pre-war Allied appeasement policy, and that the United States would meet the NorthKorean “challenge” with force. And inview of this expanded Cold War policy, on June 27, 1950 (two days after thestart of the Korean War), President Truman ordered the U.S.7th Fleet to proceed to the Taiwan Strait, to prevent hostilities between theRepublic of China (Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China. Both Chinese states pursued a policy todestroy its rival, but the arrival of the American naval fleet deterred thePeople’s Republic of Chinafrom launching its long-planned invasion of Taiwan.
At the start of the war, the U.S.military was undergoing a drastic reduction in combat strength because of majorcutbacks in military appropriations following World War II. Furthermore, because of the perceived greatersecurity threat in Europe, the United Statesconcentrated its forces there in line with its “Europe First” policy, leadingto the U.S. militaryscrambling to assemble enough American military units for Korea. During the early stages of the war, the United States experienced some difficultydispatching sufficient forces to the fighting, as U.S.units in Japanwere insufficiently trained for combat and seriously under-strength. As a result, only small advance unitsinitially were sent to the fighting in Korea.
Subsequently during the war,a combined total of some 370,000 foreign troops from 16 UN countries fought onthe side of South Korea. Of this number, nearly 90% was provided bythe United States (326,000 troops), while Britain(14,000), Canada (8,000),and Turkey(5,000) also sent sizable contingents.
On the day of the invasion,the U.S. governmentevacuated American civilians from South Korea. On June 27, 1950, with the passage of UNSCResolution 83 authorizing the use of force against the North Korean invasion,the U.S. military based in Japan sent warplanes into bombing raids in North Korea. U.S. planes attacked airfields anddestroyed several North Korean planes on the ground. U.S. ships also were rushed toKorean waters, where they shelled North Korean positions along the coast,somewhat slowing down the North Korean advance in these coastal areas.
On July 7, 1950, the UNSCpassed Resolution 85, which merged all UN member units into one unified force(called the United Nations Command, or UNC) under one commander. That same day, President Truman named GeneralDouglas MacArthur (head of the Far East Command based in Tokyo, Japan)as commander-in-chief of the UNC. TheEighth U.S. Army, headquartered in Japan, would serve as the mainAmerican force in the Korean War. Itscommander, General Walton Walker, was named as commander of the UNC groundforces. The South Korean government,whose army had been reduced to 22,000 troops from 90,000 since the start of thewar, allowed its remaining forces to be placed under the UNC.
On July 1, 1950, the first U.S. force, a 400-man battalion called TaskForce Smith (named after itscommander), arrived in Korea. Four days later, July 5, Task Force Smithencountered an armored North Korean column consisting of 5,000 troops that wasadvancing toward Osan. In the ensuingbattle, Task Force Smith caused some material damage to the enemy, destroying anumber of North Korean tanks, but itself was decimated and forced into achaotic retreat. But Task Force Smithachieved one objective: it delayed the North Korean advance to allow time for moreUN forces to arrive in the southern edge of the peninsula, where they couldestablish a stronger defensive line.
Meanwhile, other Americanunits that had arrived in Korea also used delaying tactics in clashes atPyeongtaek, Cheonan, Chochiwon, and Taejon, but were forced to retreat bynumerically superior North Korean forces that advanced using both frontalattacks and flanking tactics. At Taejon particularly, the U.S. 24th InfantryDivision was nearly destroyed and its commander, Major General William Dean,was captured by the North Koreans. Bythis time, South Korean and UN forces had been pushed to nearly the southernedge of the Korean Peninsula and faced thedanger of being annihilated or driven to the sea.
However, in early August1950, UN forces succeeded in establishing the Pusan Perimeter (Figure 16), a 140-mile long defensive line that partially followedthe length of the Naktong River. The Pusan Perimeter was so-named for Pusan, South Korea’smajor southern port, where U.S.and other UN forces, together with their war materials, were arriving in largenumbers daily.
In August 1950, North Koreanforces attacked many points along the Pusan Perimeter, and heavy fighting took place in Taegu,Masan, P’ohang-dong, and across the Naktong River. Because UN forces yet were numerically inadequate to defend the wholeline, General Walker used a “mobile defense” strategy, where his forces were movedconstantly to areas of enemy attack. North Korean forces broke through in many places, including a flankingmaneuver that threatened to drive straight to Pusan. But UN forces succeeded in establishing new defensive positions and thencounterattacked, driving back the North Koreans.
By early September 1950,North Korean forces were experiencing supply problems, as UN (mainly American)planes, which controlled the skies, were taking a heavy toll on North Koreanlogistical lines, attacking North Korean rail and road networks, weaponsdepots, oil refineries, and military facilities. As well, UN forces now had 180,000troops. By contrast, the North Koreaninvasion force, which had experienced heavy casualties, stood at some 100,000troops with the arrival of more reinforcements. UN forces also now had 600 tanks while North Korean armor, which hadspearheaded the invasion, had been reduced to fewer than 100 tanks from theoriginal 270 at the start of the war.
Some key areas during the Korean War
Nevertheless, in earlySeptember 1950, North Korean forces, comprising 13 divisions, launched anall-out coordinated five-prong offensive in a desperate attempt to finallybreak through the Pusan Perimeter. Intense fightingtook place in Haman, Kyongju, Yongsan Tabu-Dong, and Ka-san. The North Koreans, using the element ofsurprise and exceptionally fierce attacks, pushed back the UN forces in manyplaces. But by mid-September 1950, UNforces had succeeded in re-establishing a new defensive line, although thesituation remained critical.
As early as July 1950,General MacArthur had conceived of aplan to launch a UN amphibious assault at Inchon harbor, located 27kilometers southwest of Seoulon the central west coast. The successof such an operation would have the strategic effect of destabilizing the NorthKorean supply lines to the south, and threaten the North Korean forces fightingin the Pusan Perimeter. The U.S. JointChiefs of Staff (JCS) initially were skeptical about the operation because ofthe risks involved, but soon gave its approval when General MacArthur expressedunwavering optimism in the feasibility of his plan. U.S.forces then prepared to launch an amphibious landing on Inchon.
On September 15, 1950,preceded by days of heavy air attacks and naval artillery bombardment, some75,000 U.S. and South Korean troops (of the newly reconstituted U.S. X Corps)in 260 naval vessels were amphibiously landed north and south of Inchon, taking the city where they met only light resistancefrom the small North Korean garrison.
