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001 - The Outbreak · Korean War - Brief Histories

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  Speaker 1: Section one of the Korean War Brief Histories. This is
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  Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: The Korean War Brief Histories by various The Outbreak by
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  Speaker 1: William J. Webb introduction. The Korean War was the first
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  Speaker 1: major armed clash between free world and communist forces as
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  Speaker 1: the so called Cold War turned hot. The half century
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  Speaker 1: that now separates us from that conflict, however, has dimmed
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  Speaker 1: our collective memory. Many Korean War veterans have considered themselves
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  Speaker 1: forgotten their place in history sandwich between the sheer size
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  Speaker 1: of World War Two and the fierce controversies of the
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  Speaker 1: Vietnam War. The recently built Korean War Veterans Memorial on
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  Speaker 1: the National Mall and the upcoming fiftieth anniversary commemorative events
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  Speaker 1: should now provide well deserved recognition. I hope that this
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  Speaker 1: series of brochures on the campaigns of the Korean War
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  Speaker 1: will have a similar effect. The Korean War still has
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  Speaker 1: much to teach us about military preparedness, about global strategy,
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  Speaker 1: about combined operations in a military alliance facing blatant aggression
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  Speaker 1: and about the courage and perseverance of the individual soldier.
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  Speaker 1: The modern world still lives with the consequences of a
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  Speaker 1: divided Korea and with a militarily strong, economically weak, and
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  Speaker 1: unpredictable North Korea. The Korean War was waged on land,
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  Speaker 1: on sea, and in the air over and near the
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  Speaker 1: Korean Peninsula. It lasted three years, the first of which
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  Speaker 1: was a seesaw struggle for control of the peninsula, followed
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  Speaker 1: by two years of positional warfare as a backdrop to
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  Speaker 1: extend its ceasefire negotiations. The following essay is one of
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  Speaker 1: five accessible and readable studies designed to enhance understanding of
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  Speaker 1: the United States Armies role and the achievements in the
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  Speaker 1: Korean Conflict. During the next several years, the Army will
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  Speaker 1: be involved in many fiftieth anniversary activities, from public ceremonies
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  Speaker 1: and staff rights to professional development discussions and formal classroom training.
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  Speaker 1: The commemoration will be supported by the publication of various
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  Speaker 1: materials to help educate Americans about the war. These works
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  Speaker 1: will provide great opportunities to learn about this important period
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  Speaker 1: in the Army's heritage of service to the nation. This
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  Speaker 1: brochure was prepared in the United States Army Center of
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  Speaker 1: Military History by William J. Webb. I hope this absorbing account,
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  Speaker 1: with its list of further readings, will stimulate further study
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  Speaker 1: and reflection. Complete listing of the Center of Military Histories
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  Speaker 1: available works on the Korean War is included in the
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  Speaker 1: Centre's online catalog www dot Army dot mill slash CMH
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  Speaker 1: hyphen pg slash catalog, slash brochure dot HTM. John S. Brown,
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  Speaker 1: Brigadier General, USA Chief of Military History The Outbreak twenty
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  Speaker 1: seven June through fifteen September nineteen fifty. Korea, a small
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  Speaker 1: country numbering thirty million people in nineteen fifty, lies at
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  Speaker 1: the point where three great Asian powers meet, Japan, China,
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  Speaker 1: and the former Soviet Union. Japan ruled Korea from nineteen
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  Speaker 1: ten to nineteen forty five. Following the defeat of Japan
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  Speaker 1: and World War Two, the United States and the Soviet
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  Speaker 1: Union jointly occupied the country. The United States south of
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  Speaker 1: the thirty eighth Parallel, and the Soviet Union north. Preoccupied
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  Speaker 1: with Soviet intentions in Western Europe, the United States attached
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  Speaker 1: little strategic importance to Korea. In the late nineteen forties,
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  Speaker 1: America did assist the South Koreans and national elections and
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  Speaker 1: Information of the Republic of Korea ROK. The Soviet Union,
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  Speaker 1: on the other hand, took an active role in governing
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  Speaker 1: North Korea and information of the Democratic People's Republic of
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  Speaker 1: Korea DPRK. The United States Army withdrew its combat forces
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  Speaker 1: from South Korea in nineteen forty nine, but left a
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  Speaker 1: military advisory group to assist the ROK Army. In early
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  Speaker 1: nineteen fifty, the Soviets applied weapons to and assigned several
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  Speaker 1: thousand Russian soldiers as trainers for the North Korean People's
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  Speaker 1: Army nkpa A. Armed clashes between North and South Korea
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  Speaker 1: were common along the thirty eighth parallel, but in June
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  Speaker 1: nineteen fifty, American observers did not anticipate an invasion of
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  Speaker 1: the South. Determined to unite Korea by force, the North
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  Speaker 1: Koreans invaded South Korea on twenty five June. An initially
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  Speaker 1: hesitant United States decided that it must take a stand
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  Speaker 1: against this armed aggression. American military intervention was ineffective at first,
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  Speaker 1: but by September nineteen fifty, the combined efforts of the U.
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  Speaker 1: S and rok armies, complemented by air and naval superiority
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  Speaker 1: held the North Koreans in Czech at the Pusan Perimeter
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  Speaker 1: strategic setting. Korea's a mountainous peninsula jutting from the central
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  Speaker 1: Asian mainland with a shape that resembles the state of Florida.
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  Speaker 1: Water outlines most of this small country, which is more
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  Speaker 1: than five thousand, four hundred miles of coastline. The Yalu
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  Speaker 1: and Tumen Rivers define much of its northern boundary, while
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  Speaker 1: major bodies of water are located on its other sides,
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  Speaker 1: the Sea of Japan on the east, the Korean Strait
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  Speaker 1: on the south, and the Yellow Sea on the west.
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  Speaker 1: China lies above the Yalu and Tumen Rivers for five
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  Speaker 1: hundred miles of Korea's northern boundary, as does the former
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  Speaker 1: Soviet Union for some eleven miles along the lower Tumen River.
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  Speaker 1: Korea varies between ninety and two hundred miles in width
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  Speaker 1: and five hundred twenty five to six hundred miles in length.
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  Speaker 1: High mountains drop down abruptly to deep water on the east,
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  Speaker 1: where there are few harbors, but a heavily indented shoreline
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  Speaker 1: on the south and west provides many harbors. Summers are
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  Speaker 1: hot and human with a monsoon season that lasts from
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  Speaker 1: June to September, but in the winter, cold winds roar
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  Speaker 1: down from the U s Asian interior. A rugged landscape,
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  Speaker 1: a lack of adequate roads and rail lines, and climatic
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  Speaker 1: extremes make large scale modern military operations in Korea difficult.
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  Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty, the country's population told about thirty million,
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  Speaker 1: twenty one million south of the thirty eighth parallel, with
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  Speaker 1: seventy percent of the people engaged in agriculture and nine
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  Speaker 1: million north. Japan annexed Korea nineteen ten and ruled the
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  Speaker 1: country until the end of World War II. Unlike the
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  Speaker 1: Soviet Union in nineteen forty five, the United States attached
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  Speaker 1: little strategic importance to Korea. At the Potsdam Conference, Soviet
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  Speaker 1: authorities told American representatives that the Soviets would attack Korea
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  Speaker 1: after declaring war on Japan, but the collapse of Japan
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  Speaker 1: and August nineteen forty five made a major assault unnecessary.
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  Speaker 1: As aligned to divide Korea into Soviet and America and
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  Speaker 1: areas for accepting Japanese surrender, the United States War Department
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  Speaker 1: selected the thirty eighth parallel, roughly splitting the country in half.
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  Speaker 1: The Soviets agreed to operate in the north and the
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  Speaker 1: American forces would operate in the south. Also in August
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  Speaker 1: nineteen forty five, the Joint Chiefs of Staff designated General
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  Speaker 1: of the Army Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander for the
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  Speaker 1: Allied Powers. To receive the Japanese surrender. MacArthur selected Lieutenant
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  Speaker 1: General John R. Hodge, twenty fourth Corps Commander, to command
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  Speaker 1: the United States Army Forces in Korea USA FIK, which
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  Speaker 1: administered South Korea on behalf of the United States. The
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  Speaker 1: foreign ministers of the United States, Great Britain and the
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  Speaker 1: Soviet Union met in Moscow in December nineteen forty five
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  Speaker 1: and developed a plan for a four power trusteeship of
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  Speaker 1: Korea were up to five years. Many South Koreans wanted
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  Speaker 1: their independence immediately and protested violently. The Soviets had their
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  Speaker 1: own special plans, which involved strong support for the Korean
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  Speaker 1: Communist Party that assumed political power in the north under
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  Speaker 1: Kim Il Sung. In August nineteen forty seven, the United States,
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  Speaker 1: Great Britain and China agreed to reconsider establishment of a
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  Speaker 1: four Power trusteeship to facilitate Korean unification, but the Soviet
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  Speaker 1: Union refused to cooperate. The United States then proposed that
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  Speaker 1: the United Nations u N supervised elections in both zones
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  Speaker 1: of Korea and that oversee the formation of a national government.
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  Speaker 1: Elections took place in South Korea in May nineteen forty eight,
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  Speaker 1: but the North Koreans neither participated in nor recognized the
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  Speaker 1: results of the elections. The South Koreans chose representatives for
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  Speaker 1: the National Assembly of the New Republic of Korea, which
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  Speaker 1: then elected Sigmund Rie as its chairman. In nineteen forty eight,
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  Speaker 1: the Assembly produced a constitution and elected Rie as President
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  Speaker 1: of the Republic. Usaf I K's governmental authority then came
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  Speaker 1: to an end in September nineteen forty eight. The North
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  Speaker 1: Koreans formed their own government, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea,
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  Speaker 1: under the leadership of Kim Usung, that claimed jurisdiction over
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  Speaker 1: all of Korea. The National Security Council recommended that all
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  Speaker 1: US combat troops leave Korea by the end of June
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  Speaker 1: nineteen forty nine, and President Harry S. Truman approved the recommendation.
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  Speaker 1: Attempts to build a native defense force in South Korea
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  Speaker 1: began shortly after the end of World War II. In
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  Speaker 1: January nineteen forty six, the Joint Chiefs of Staff authorized
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  Speaker 1: General MacArthur to form a Korean police Force, and despite
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  Speaker 1: problems with equipment and training, the Korean Constabulary grew to
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  Speaker 1: twenty thousand men by the close of nineteen forty seven.
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  Speaker 1: Washington asked MacArthur about the advisability of creating a South
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  Speaker 1: Korean Army. MacArthur proposed instead in February nineteen forty eight
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  Speaker 1: an increase of the constabulary to fifty thousand men. President
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  Speaker 1: Ree asked in November for an American military mission, and
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  Speaker 1: the Provisional Military Advisory Group established by MacArthur in August
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  Speaker 1: nineteen forty eight was redesignated in July nineteen forty nine
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  Speaker 1: the United States Military Advisory Group to the Republic of
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  Speaker 1: Korea KMAG and authorized four hundred and seventy two soldiers.
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  Speaker 1: In November nineteen forty eight, South Korea passed the Armed
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  Speaker 1: Forces Organization Act, which created a Department of National Defense.
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  Speaker 1: By March nineteen forty nine, the South had converted its
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  Speaker 1: constabulary brigades into an army of sixty five thousand men
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  Speaker 1: assigned to eight tactical divisions, the first, second, third, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth,
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  Speaker 1: and Capital divisions. In June nineteen fifty, the Rok Armed
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  Speaker 1: Forces consisted of the following Army ninety four thousand, eight
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  Speaker 1: hundred eight, Coast Guard six thousand, one hundred and forty five,
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  Speaker 1: Air Force one thousand, eight hundred and sixty five, and
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  Speaker 1: National Police forty eight thousand, two hundred and seventy three.
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  Speaker 1: In the early summer of nineteen fifty, four ROK divisions
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  Speaker 1: held positions along the thirty eighth parallel. The first, sixth, seventh,
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  Speaker 1: and eighth. The seventeenth Regiment of the Capitol Division was
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  Speaker 1: on the western extreme in the Oengin Peninsula. The other
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  Speaker 1: four divisions were scattered about the interior and southern parts
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  Speaker 1: of the country. The headquarters of the Capital Division was
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  Speaker 1: located at Seoul, the second near Tejan, the third ed
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  Speaker 1: tai Ku, and the fifth at Khuanju in southwest Korea.
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  Speaker 1: When US Armed Forces in Korea withdrew from South Korea
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  Speaker 1: nineteen forty nine, it transferred equipment to the Rok Army,
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  Speaker 1: sufficient for fifty thousand men. The weapons of the ROK
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  Speaker 1: divisions stationed along the thirty eighth parallel included the American
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  Speaker 1: M one rifle, thirty caliber carbine, sixty millimeter and eighty
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  Speaker 1: one millimeter mortars, two point three six inch rocket launchers,
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  Speaker 1: and the M three one oh five millimeter howitzer. The
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  Speaker 1: South Korean Armed Forces had no tanks, no medium artillery,
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  Speaker 1: and no fighter aircraft or bombers. In October nineteen forty nine,
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  Speaker 1: the ROK Minister of Defense had requested M twenty six
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  Speaker 1: Persian tanks from the United States, but the KMAG staff
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  Speaker 1: concluded that the rough Korean terrain and inadequate roads would
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  Speaker 1: not allow efficient tank operations. In June nineteen fifty, the
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  Speaker 1: ROK Army possessed some two thousand, one hundred serviceable US
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  Speaker 1: Army motor vehicles, eight hundred and thirty two and a
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  Speaker 1: half ton trucks, and one thousand, three hundred quarter ton
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  Speaker 1: trucks jeeps. The ROK Air Force consisted of twelve Layisan
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  Speaker 1: type aircraft and ten advanced trainers eighty six. The ROK
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  Speaker 1: Navy had a sprinkling of small vessels that included patrol
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  Speaker 1: craft along with mine layers and sweepers. The North Korean
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  Speaker 1: People's army was officially activated in February nineteen forty eight.
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  Speaker 1: The Soviets exercised close control over its organization and training,
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  Speaker 1: and Soviet advisors worked directly with units. At that time,
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  Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty the Soviets were assigned to each division.
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  Speaker 1: The number dropped to twenty per division in nineteen forty
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  Speaker 1: nine and to a lesser number by nineteen fifty as
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  Speaker 1: trusted North Korean officers were developed. By June nineteen fifty,
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  Speaker 1: the NKPA and the Border Constabulary numbered about one hundred
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  Speaker 1: and thirty five thousand. The primary tactical units consisted of
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  Speaker 1: eight full strength infantry divisions of eleven thousand men each,
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  Speaker 1: two more infantry divisions at half strength, a separate infantry regiment,
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  Speaker 1: a motorcycle reconnaissance regiment, and an armored brigade. The NKPA
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  Speaker 1: benefited from some twenty thousand North Koreans who were veterans
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  Speaker 1: of the Chinese Civil War of the late nineteen forties,
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  Speaker 1: which gave its units a combat hardened quality and efficiency.
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  Speaker 1: The Soviet Union supplied much of the materiel for the NKPA.
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  Speaker 1: Of primary importance was the TI twenty four medium tank,
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  Speaker 1: a mainstay of the Soviet armored force in World War II,
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  Speaker 1: that weighed thirty two tons and mounted an eighty five
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  Speaker 1: millimeter gun. The Soviets also supplied artillery support that resembled
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  Speaker 1: the weaponry of the older Soviet divisions of World War II,
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  Speaker 1: seventy six millimeter and one hundred and twenty two millimeter howitzers,
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  Speaker 1: forty five millimeter anti tank guns, and eighty two millimeter
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  Speaker 1: and one hundred and twenty millimeter mortars. The outset of
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  Speaker 1: the war, North Korea had about one hundred and eighty
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  Speaker 1: Soviet aircraft, sixty Yak trainers, forty Yak fighters, seventy attack bombers,
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  Speaker 1: and ten reconnaissance planes. Like the Rok Navy, the North
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  Speaker 1: Korean naval forces had only a few small vessels, sixteen
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  Speaker 1: patrol craft and several coastal steamers. US strategic planning after
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  Speaker 1: World War II c entered on the Soviet Union and
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  Speaker 1: its satellite nations. In nineteen fifty, as the single most
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  Speaker 1: powerful nation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, America gave
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  Speaker 1: first claim for its military resources to the defense of
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  Speaker 1: Western Europe. Not only did the United States give priority
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  Speaker 1: to Europe over the Pacific and Far East. In April
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  Speaker 1: nineteen forty eight, President Truman had approved a policy that
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  Speaker 1: no problems within Korea could become a cautious belli for
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  Speaker 1: the United States. In January nineteen fifty, in a speech
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  Speaker 1: to the National Press Club in Washington, d C. Secretary
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  Speaker 1: of State Dean g Atchison announced an American defensive strategy
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  Speaker 1: in the Far East that excluded both Korea and Formosa.
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  Speaker 1: The Joint Chiefs of Staff had designated General MacArthur as
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  Speaker 1: Commander in Chief Far East Command f D effect of
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  Speaker 1: January nineteen forty seven. The boundaries of FEC were not specific,
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  Speaker 1: but MacArthur commanded forces in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and
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  Speaker 1: other island groups. It was responsible for the American occupation
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  Speaker 1: of and for general emergencies in those areas. Along with
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: the United States Army Forces Far East, MacArthur also controlled
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  Speaker 1: Far East Air Forces and Naval Forces Far East. In
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  Speaker 1: June nineteen fifty, the active United States Army had an
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  Speaker 1: authorized strength of six hundred and thirty thousand, two hundred
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  Speaker 1: and one, with an actual strength of about five hundred
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  Speaker 1: and ninety one thousand and ten combat divisions, some three
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  Speaker 1: hundred and sixty thousand troops were at home, while the
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: remaining two hundred and thirty one thousand were in overseas commands,
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  Speaker 1: with eighty thousand in Germany and one hundred and eight thousand,
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  Speaker 1: five hundred in the Far East. Designated to handle the
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: army's emergency assignments was the General Reserve, which consisted mainly
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  Speaker 1: of five combat divisions stationed in the United States Second
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  Speaker 1: Armoured Division, Second and third Infantry Divisions, and the eleventh
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  Speaker 1: and eighty second Airborne Divisions. The Far East Command had
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: four tactical divisions and a Regimental Combat Team RCT, the
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  Speaker 1: First Cavalry Division, the seventh, twenty fourth, and twenty fifth
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: Infantry Divisions, and the twenty ninth RCT that operated under
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: the command of the eighth U. S Army in Japan.
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  Speaker 1: Each division was short of its authorized war strength of
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  Speaker 1: eighteen thousand, nine hundred by nearly seven thousand men, and
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  Speaker 1: had major shortages in artillery batteries and equipment. The FEC
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  Speaker 1: had received no new vehicles, tanks, or other equipment since
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  Speaker 1: World War II. Army personnel station in Japan had had
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  Speaker 1: performed primarily occupation duties, and no serious effort had been
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  Speaker 1: made to attain combat efficiency at battalion level or higher.
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  Speaker 1: Convinced that a purely occupational mission was no longer needed,
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  Speaker 1: MacArthur issued a policy directive in April nineteen forty nine
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  Speaker 1: that called for an intensified training program for ground, naval,
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  Speaker 1: and air units in FEC. By May nineteen fifty, eighth
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  Speaker 1: Army's divisions had reportedly reached combat readiness levels that range
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  Speaker 1: from sixty five to eighty four per cent. As early
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  Speaker 1: as nineteen forty seven, the North Korean communists employed propaganda
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  Speaker 1: and even armed violence to instigate the overthrow of the
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: South Korean government. On three May nineteen forty nine, the
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: North Koreans launched their first open attack across the thirty
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  Speaker 1: eighth Parallel in the vicinity of Quesson, but ROK units
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  Speaker 1: repulsed them. Hundreds of six small scale assaults occurred across
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: the Parallel during the first half of nineteen fifty. However,
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: some encounters inflicted heavy casualties on both sides. A series
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  Speaker 1: of guerrilla uprisings on the island of che Judo spread
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: to the mainland by late nineteen forty eight, but by
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: June nineteen fifty, the Rok Army had virtually eliminated them,
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: claiming to have killed about five thousand insurgents. By late
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: nineteen forty nine, talk of a North Korean invasion was
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: almost routine in intelligence circles, but it went unnoticed against
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: the background of threatening communist activities in other parts of
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  Speaker 1: the world, Southeast Asia, Western Europe, and the Middle East.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: In the early summer of nineteen fifty, senior American observers
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: discounted the likelihood of a North Korean invasion. Both Major
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: General Charles A. Willoughby, the FECG two intelligence officer, and
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: the US American Embassy and Seoul upon that an attack
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  Speaker 1: was unlikely and that the North Koreans would continue to
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  Speaker 1: employ guerrillas in psychological warfare. The officers of the k
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: mag felt that an attack by North Korea was not eminent,
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  Speaker 1: and if it happened, they thought that the South Koreans
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  Speaker 1: could repel it. Since the United States had no plan
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: to counter an invasion, any debate about an American intelligence
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: failure regarding the North Korean attack was academic operations. During
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: fifteen through twenty four June nineteen fifty, the North Korean
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: High Command assembled some ninety thousand men, seven infantry divisions,
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  Speaker 1: one armored brigade, one separate infantry regiment, one motorcycle regiment,
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  Speaker 1: and one border constabulary brigade, supported by one hundred and
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  Speaker 1: fifty Soviet T thirty four tanks near the thirty eighth Parallel.
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  Speaker 1: At four hundred hours on twenty five June, the North
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  Speaker 1: Koreans launched a coordinated attack on South Korea that ran
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  Speaker 1: from coast to coast. The assault began on the Ojian Peninsula,
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  Speaker 1: on the western extreme of the parallel, but the North
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: Koreans concentrated half of their forces on the Uijambu Corridor,
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  Speaker 1: an ancient invasion route that led directly south to Seoul.
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  Speaker 1: The ROK First, second, seventh, and Capital divisions defended the
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  Speaker 1: area north of Seoul, but the suddenness of the North
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: Korean attack and the shock of enemy armour rapidly pushed
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: the ROK Army back towards Seoul. In the early hours
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  Speaker 1: of twenty eight June, the South Korean Vice Minister of
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  Speaker 1: Defense ordered a premature blowing of the Han River bridges,
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: located on the southern edges of Seoul, to slow the
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: North Korean advance. This was catastrophic for the ROK Army.
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  Speaker 1: Much of the army was still north of the river
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  Speaker 1: and had to abandon transport supplies in heavy weapons and
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  Speaker 1: crossed the Han River in disorganized groups. The r O
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  Speaker 1: K army, numbering ninety five thousand on twenty five June,
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  Speaker 1: could account for only twenty two thousand men at the
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  Speaker 1: end of June. The UN Security Council met on twenty
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  Speaker 1: five June and passed a resolution. They called on North
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  Speaker 1: Korea to cease hostilities and withdraw to the thirty eighth Parallel.
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  Speaker 1: President Truman authorized ships and airplanes to protect the evacuation
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: of American dependents in Korea, and also use of the
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: American air and naval forces to support the Republic of
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: Korea before the thirty eighth Parallel. On twenty seven June,
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: the UN Security Council passed another resolution that recommended UN
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: members assist South Korea in repelling the invasion. The Joint
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: Chiefs of Staff issued a directive that authorized MacArthur to
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: assume operational country roll of all American military activities in Korea.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: Magarthur then sent the General Headquarters Advance Command in leasan
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: group in Korea, a d co M headed by Brigadier
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: General John h Church to administer k M A G
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: and assist the ROK Army. On twenty nine June, MacArthur
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: personally inspected the situation at the Han River and urged
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: the immediate commitment of American ground forces. President Truman then
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: authorized the employment of American combat units to ensure a
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: port and air base at Pusan, South Korea, and more importantly,
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: it proved sending two army divisions from Japan to Korea
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: and the establishment of a naval blockade of North Korea.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Following the breakdown of the ROK Army at Seoul, elements
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: of the North Korean Third and fourth Divisions captured the
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: South Korean capital on twenty eight June. The North Koreans
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: then repaired a railroad bridge over the Han River, and
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: by four July these two divisions with T thirty four
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: tank support, were poised to resume their drive south in Tokyo.
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: On thirty June, General MacArthur instructed Lieutenant General Walton H. Walker,
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: eighth U S Army commander, to order the twenty fourth
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: Infantry Division stationed on Cayusho to Korea at once. Major
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: General William F. Dean, commander of the twenty fourth was
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: to send immediately to Korea by air a delaying force
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: of about five hundred men, and the rest of the
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: division would soon follow by water. General Dean would assume
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: command of USA FIK, reinstated as a provisional headquarters upon
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: his arrival. Lieutenant Colonel Charles B. Smith, commander of the
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: first Battalion twenty first Infantry of the twenty fourth Division,
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: led the delaying force task Force Smith. On five July,
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: he established a defensive position three miles north of Osan,
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: assisted by elements of the fifty two Field Artillery Battalion.
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: Task Force Smith took on two regiments of the North
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: Korean fourth Division and thirty three t thirty four tanks.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: Badly outnumbered and without armour, effective anti tank weapons, or
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: air support, the U S force was overrun the next day.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: Colonel Smith could assemble only two hundred and fifty men,
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: half his original force. On for July, General Dean assumed
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: command of USA FIK and established his headquarters at Teijon.
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: The thirty fourth Infantry, another organic element of Dean's twenty
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: fourth Division, and the rest of the twenty first Infantry
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: arrived in Korea during the first week of July. During
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: that week, General MacArthur ordered General Walker to deploy from
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: Japan and assume operational control of the campaign in Korea.
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: Walker set up his headquarters for the eighth U S
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: Army in Korea at Taigou and on thirteen July assumed
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: command of USA FIK. Shortly thereafter, he also took command
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: of RK Ground Forces. Walker's objectives were to delay the
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: enemy advance, secure the current defensive line, and build up
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: units in materiel for future offensive operations. On seven July,
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: the UN Security Council passed a resolution that recommended a
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: unified command in Korea. President Truman then appointed MacArthur Commanding
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: General of the Military forces under the Unified Command that
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: became the United Nations Command. Magarthur's strategy in the early
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: stages of the Korean War was first to stop the
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: North Koreans and then use naval and air superiority to
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: support an amphibious operation in their rear. Once he realized
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: that the North Korean People's Army was a formidable force,
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: MacArthur estimated to the Joint Chiefs of Staff that to
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: halt and hurl back the North Koreans would require four
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: to four and a half full strength infantry divisions, an
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: airborne regimental combat team, and an armored group of three
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: medium tank battalions and reinforcing artillery. After the defeat of
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: Task Force Smith, General Smith employed the thirty fourth and
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: twenty first Infantries in additional delaying actions against the events
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: of the North Korean third and fourth Divisions along the
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: corridor that ran south of Osan toward Teijan. Fighting occurred
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: at Pontac, sh Nan, Sho Nui, and Shoschiwan Dean sought
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: to delay the enemy's approach to the Kombe River to
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: support the Rok forces left flank that was retreating through
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: the central mountains of South Korea. By early July, the
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: Rok Army, which became and badly disorganized after the fall
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: of Seoul, had reformed to some extent. From west to east,
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: the Roki Army line was held by the seventeenth Regiment,
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: the second Capital, sixth and eighth Divisions in the twenty
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: third Regiment of the third Division. The major part of
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: the NKPA conducted a main attack along a wide front
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: against Rok defended territory, which was everything east of the
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: main Seoul Taigu Railroad and Highway. Five divisions moved south
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: over the two mountain corridors, while a sixth the second Division,
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: followed the road from chung Ju through Pun to Huangan,
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: where it entered the Seoul Taigu Highway. The North Korean First, thirteenth,
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: and fifteenth divisions moved over one mountain corridor and across
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: the Munyung Plateau, while the eighth and twelfth divisions came
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: down the eastern corridor. On the east coast along the
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: Sea of Japan. The North Korean fifth Division and the
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: seven hundred and sixty sixth Independent Infantry Regiment marched south
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: and met virtually no opposition. The trackless mountains of the
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: Taibok Range effectively separated the east coast of Korea below
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: the thirty eighth Parallel from the rest of the country.
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: Mid July nineteen fifty, General Dean's twenty fourth Division continued
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: as the primary U. S Army fighting force in Korea. Teijan,
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: located one hundred miles south of Seoul, served as an
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: important road in communications center. The Kumbe River makes a
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: semi circle to the north around Teijon that constitutes a
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: protective Moat, Dean placed his twenty fourth Division in a
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: horseshoe shaped arc in front of Tejon, the thirty fourth
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: Infantry on the left, the nineteenth Infantry on the right,
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: and the twenty first Infantry in reserve. By positioning elements
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: of the thirty fourth at kan Ju, located about twenty
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: miles northwest of Tejon, Dean hoped to prevent the North
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: Koreans from an early crossing of the Koumbe River and
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: an immediate drive on Tejon. Since the division had only
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: about four thousand men at Tejon, the twenty fourth could
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: not effectively delay two enemy divisions. During fourteen through sixteen July,
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: the North Korean fourth and third divisions, operating west to east,
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: penetrated the thirty fourth to nineteen Infantry's forward defensive positions
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: on the south side of the Kombe River and inflicted
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: substantial casualties. Dean then pulled his regiments into a tighter
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: defensive perimeter around Tejon, and the North Koreans launched their
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: attack on Tejon on nineteen July. The men of the
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: twenty fourth at Tejon enjoyed one positive development. They just
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: received a weapon that was effective against the T thirty
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: four tank the new three point five inch rocket launcher.
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: The five foot hand carried launcher fired a two foot long,
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: eight and a half pound rocket with a shaped charge
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: designed to burn through any tank then known. U S
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: Army soldiers destroyed ten enemy tanks in Teijon on twenty July,
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: eight of them with the three point five inch rocket launcher.
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: The superior numbers in relentless assault of the North Koreans
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: forced the men of the twenty fourth Division to abandon
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: Tajon on twenty July and withdraw to the south. General
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: Dean experienced one of the most dramatic adventures of the withdrawal.
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: Moving down the road to Cumsan, Dean and the small
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: party encountered an enemy roadblock. Forced back. Dean's party, with
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: some wounded, set out on foot after dark. While trying
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: to fetch water for the injured, Dean fell down a
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: steep slope, was knocked unconscious, and suffered a gashed head
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: and a broken shoulder. Separated from his men, Dean wandered
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: alone in the mountains for thirty six days trying to
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: reach the American lines, and was betrayed by two South
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: Koreans to the North Koreans. He would spend the next
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: three years as a prisoner of war. Dean was awarded
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: the first Medal of Honor for service in the Korean
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: War for his leadership and personal bravery with the twenty
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: fourth Division at Teijan. The division suffered a thirty percent
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: casualty rate there and lost all of its organic equipment.
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: The unit had endured many deficiencies since its arrival in Korea.
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: Among them were new subordinate unit commanders who were unfamiliar
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: with their men, poor communications equipment, a shortage of ammunition,
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: outdated maps, and large numbers of young soldiers in the
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: ranks who were inadequately trained for combat. As for the
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: North Koreans, in five days, they had executed two highly
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: successful envelopments of American positions, one at the Coombe River
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: and the other at Tejon. Each time they combined strong
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: frontal attacks with movements round the left flank to establish
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: road blocks and obstruct the escape routes. The twenty fourth
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: Division would soon share the defense of South Korea with
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: the rebuilt r O K Army and two newly arrived U.
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: S Army divisions, the twenty fifth Infantry Division and the
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: First Cavalry Division. On twenty fourth July, the ro O
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: K Army reorganized itself into two corps and five divisions.
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: The r O K First Corps controlled the eighth and
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: Capital divisions, while the r O K Second Corps controlled
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: the First and sixth divisions. A reconstituted r O K
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: Third Division was placed under direct r O K Army control.
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: The r O K Second Corps headquarters was at ham Cheng,
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: with its First and sixth divisions on line from west
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: to east, and the First Corps headquarters was at sung Jou,
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: with the A, eight and Capitol divisions online from west
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: to east. The third Division operated on the east coast
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: to South Korea. Large numbers of recruits and replacements had
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: entered the ROK Army, which had regained its pre war
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: strength of about ninety five thousand. The U S twenty
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: fifth Division, with its three regiments twenty fourth, twenty seventh,
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: and thirty fifth, commanded by Major General William B. Keane,
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: arrived during ten through fifteen July nineteen fifty at Pusan.
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: General Walker ordered the twenty fifth to bolster ok defenses
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: of the central mountain corridors. The first Cavalry Division with
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: its three regiments fifth, seventh, and eighth sailed from Japan
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: and landed at Pohangdong north of Pusan. During fifteen through
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: twenty two July, the unit assumed responsibility for blocking the
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: enemy along the main Tejon Taikou corridor. In late July,
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: both the twenty fifth Division on the first Cavalry Division
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: withdrew steadily in the face of aggressive North Korean attacks.
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: On twenty nine July, General Walker, with the sport of
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: General MacArthur, issued what the press called a stand or
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: die ordered to the Eighth Army. Walker emphasized that the
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: retreating must stop. The Eighth Army had been trading space
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: for time and was running out of space. One of
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: the major problems of the retreat was the volume of
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: refugees moving through Eighth Army lines. Their numbers were greater
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: during July and August nineteen fifty than at any other
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: time in the war. During the middle two weeks of July,
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: about three hundred eighty thousand refugees crossed into Rok held territory.
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: The North Koreans often exploited the situation by launching attacks
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: that began with herding groups of refugees across minefields and
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: then following up with tanks in infantry. The enemy also
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: infiltrated U S Army line by wearing the traditional white
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: civilian clothing and enjoining groups of refugees, thus enabling him
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: to commit a variety of surprise attacks on American soldiers.
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: The commanders of the twenty fifth Infantry and first Cavalry
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: Divisions attempted unsuccessfully to control the volume of refugees in
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: enemy infiltration by searching displaced civilians and limiting the times
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: in routes available for their movements. In late July, General Walker,
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: with the cooperation of Rok authorities, set explicit rules for
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: the organized removal of refugees to the rear by the
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: Rok National Police. By the end of July, the Rok
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: government had established fifty eight refugee camps, most of them
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: in the Tigu Pusan area to care for the homeless.
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: But even with these efforts, refugees continued to hamper the
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: movement of US and Rok troops through the battlefield. As
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: the Eighth Army neared a natural defensive position along the
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: Nektung River, the North Koreans accelerated their efforts to cut
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: off elements of that army. After the fall of Seoul
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: in late June, the North Korean sixth Division had crossed
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: the Han River and rapidly moved south over the western
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: coastal Road. Net eighth Army intelligence lost track of the
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: sixth The only Yun forces situated at the time southwest
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: of the Tejon Taiku Pusan Highway were a few hundred
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: ro O K seventh Division survivors, along with some scattered
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: ro O K marines and local police. On twenty one July,
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: General Walker learned that a North Korean unit, presumed to
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: be the fourth Division, was operating in the southwest area.
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: Walker ordered the twenty fourth Division, despite its deficiencies in
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: man power and equipment after the loss of Tejon to
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: serve as a blocking force in the area from Chinjou
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: in deep south central Korea northward to Kumchang. Two battalions
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: of the twenty ninth Infantry, then stationed on Okinawa and
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: the Rok seventeenth Regiment would reinforce the twenty fourth Division.
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: On twenty five July, the North Korean fourth Division moved
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: south from Tejon with the intent of supporting the sixth
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: Division in an envelopment of the United Nations left flank
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: and driving to Pusan. The fourth pushed as far as
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: the Anawi Kocheng area, about fifty miles southwest of Taikou
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: by the end of July. During twenty five through twenty
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: eight July, the two battalions of the twenty ninth were
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: driven back by elements of the sixth at Haddam, located
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: about twenty five miles west of Chinju. On thirty one July,
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: the Eighth Army finally became aware of the sixth Division's
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: presence after the sixth to Chinju enforced one battalion of
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: the twenty ninth and the nineteenth Infantry of the twenty
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: five fourth Division to withdraw to the east. Eighth Army
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: rushed the twenty seventh Infantry of the twenty fifth Division,
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: which had been in reserve, to reinforce American units in
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: the Chinju Masan corridor. The twenty fourth and twenty fifth Divisions,
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: aided by the Rok seventeenth Regiment, finally managed to slow
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: the progress of the North Korean fourth and sixth Divisions
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: at what would become the southernmost sector of the Pusan perimeter.
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: By three August, US and ROK units had averted the
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: immediate threat of a North Korean drive all the way
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: two Pousan. On one August, the Eighth Army issued an
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: operational directive to all U and ground forces in Korea
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: for their planned withdrawal east of the Nantung River. UN
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: units would then establish main defensive positions behind what was
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: to be called the Pusan Perimeter. The intent was to
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: draw the line on retreating and hold all the NKPA
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: while the United States Army could build up its forces
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: and wage a counter offensive. The Pusan perimeter assumed by
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: US and ROK forces on for August, involved a rectangular
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: area about one hundred miles from north to south and
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: fifty miles from east to west. The Noktung River formed
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: the western boundary, except for the southernmost fifteen miles, where
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: the Noctang turned eastward after its confluence with the Nam River.
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: The Ocean formed the eastern and southern boundaries, while the
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: northern boundary was an irregular line that ran through the
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: mountains from above Waiguang to yang Duk. From the southwest
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: to the northeast, the Yuan line was held by the
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: US twenty fifth and twenty fourth Infantry and first Cavalry Divisions,
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: and then by the ROK first, sixth, eighth, Capital, and
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: third Divisions from south to northeast. The North units positioned
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: opposite the UN units were the eighty third Motorized Regiment
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: of the one hundred and fifth Armored Division and then
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: the sixth, fourth, third, second, fifteenth, first, thirteen, eight, twelfth,
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: and fifth Divisions, and the seven hundred and sixty sixth
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: Independent Infantry Regiment. The fifth Regimental Combat Team from Hawaii,
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: and the phased arrival of the second Infantry Division from
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: the United States augmented U S Army forces. A third
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: major reinforcement arrived in Korea on two August, the first
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: Provisional Marine Brigade, about four thousand, seven hundred men. UN
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: combat forces at this point actually outnumbered the North Koreans
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: ninety two thousand, two seventy thousand. The North Koreans had
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: four possible avenues of advance leading to Pussan that could
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: result in the defeat of US and ROK forces, and
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: in August they tried them all so simultaneously. These approaches
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: went through Masan, South of the confluence of the Nam
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: and Noktung Rivers, through the Noktung Bulge, to the rail
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: and road lines at Miryang, through kayung Ju, and down
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: the East Coast Corridor and through Taigu. During the first
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: week of August, General Walker decided to launch the first
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: American counter attack of the war in the chin Ju
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: Masan Corridor. One of his purposes was to break up
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: a suspected massing of enemy troops near the Taigu area
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: by forcing the diversion of some North Korean unit southward.
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: On sixth August, the eighth Army issued the operational directive
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: for the attack by Task Force Kien, named for the
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: twenty fifth Division Commander. Task Force Keen consisted of the
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: twenty fifth Division lest the twenty seventh Infantry and Field
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: Artillery Battalion, with the fifth RCT and the first pro
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: Visional Marine Brigade attached. The army plan of attack required
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: the force to move west from positions then held near Masan,
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: seize the chin Jew Pass, and secure the line as
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: far as the Nam River. Task Force Kien launched its
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: strike on seventh August, but ran head on into one
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: being delivered simultaneously by the North Korean sixth Division. After
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: a week of heavy fighting, neither Keenes troops nor their
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: opponents had made any appreciable progress. Even so, the eighth
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: Army had launched its first defensive in Korea and successfully
• 45:36
  Speaker 1: halted an assault by an enemy division. Seven air miles
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: north of the point where the Nktung River turns east
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: and the Nam River enters it, the Knucktung curves westward
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: opposite yung sengh in a wide, semi circular loop. This
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: loop became known to the American troops as the Knocktung
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: Bulge during the bitter fighting there in August and septemb
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: On sixth August, the North Korean fourth Division crossed the
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: Noktung at Ho Hang with the intent of driving to Yangsan,
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: located about ten miles to the east. The twenty fourth
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: Division defended that sector, and the twenty fourth commander, Major
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: General John H. Church, who had seceded General Dean as
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: division commander, placed the defense of the Noctung Bulge under
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: Task Force Hill. Task Force Hill consisted of the ninth
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: Infantry of the second Infantry Division, along with the thirty
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: fourth nineteenth Infantries. In a battalion of the twenty first
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: Infantry of the twenty fourth Division. Despite the efforts of
• 46:42
  Speaker 1: Task Force Hill, by eleventh August, the fourth Division had
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: penetrated to the vicinity of Yangsan. General Walker then added
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: to the fray the twenty third Infantry of the second Division,
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: the twenty seventh Infantry of the twenty fifth Division, and
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: the first Provisional Marine Brigade. General Church led the coordinated
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: attack of Army and Marine Corps troops against the North
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: Koreans that began on seventeen August. By the eighteenth, the
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: American forces had decisively defeated the fourth Division, which had
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: lost half its original strength of about seven thousand men.
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: Located about twenty miles south of pohang Dong on the
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: east coast, kieung Ju was an important rail and highway
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: center situated within the tai Ku pohng Dong Pusan triangle
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: inside the Pusan Perimeter. The capture of poheng Dung and
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: the nearby Yoonil Airfield used by the Far East Air
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: Force would open a natural and essentially undefended corridor for
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: the n k P to move directly south through kiyong
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: Ju to Pusan. General Walker had only lightly fortified the
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: east coast corridor because the enemy threat was more immediate
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: on the western perimeter, and he doubted that the North
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: Koreans could mount a major successful drive through the trackless mountains.
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: In early August, the enemy almost proved Walker wrong when
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: three North Korean divisions, the fifth, eighth, and twelfth and
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: the seven hundred and sixty sixth Independent Infantry Regiment, mounted
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: strong attacks against the ROK defenders. By twelve August, the
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: North Koreans had pressed to pohang Dong and also threatened
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: Ynil Airfield. The North Korean fifth Division cut off the
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: ro O K third Division above pohang Dong, and the
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: third Division had to be evacuated by sea to positions
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: farther south. General Walker reinforced the ROK units in the
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: area with elements of the United States Second Infantry Division.
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: By seventeen August, ROK units and the second Division had
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: managed to check the enemy drive at Pohangdung. A primary
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: factor in stopping the North Koreans was logistics, as the
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: enemy had outrun his supply line during the difficult trek
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: southward through the mountains. The natural corridor of the Noctung
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: Valley from sang Ju to Taigu presented another principal axis
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: of attack for the NKPA. The sizeable enemy forces assembled
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: in an arc around Taigu in early August from south
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: to north, consisted of the tenth, third, fifteenth, thirteenth, and
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: First Divisions, and elements of the one hundred and fifth
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: Armored Division. Opposite the North Korean divisions were the US
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: First Cavalry Division and the first and sixth divisions of
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: the ROK Second Corps. The North Koreans crossed the Noktung
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: River in several places within the ark around Tegu during
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: the second week of August. When several enemy artillery shells
• 49:52
  Speaker 1: landed in Taigo. On eighteen August, President reordered movement of
• 49:56
  Speaker 1: the Korean provincial government then in Tigu to puss On.
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: The North Korean First and thirteenth Divisions posed the primary
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: threat as they pressed toward Tigoo by overland routes from
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: the north to northwest. General Walker moved up the twenty
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: third and twenty seventh Infantries, both fresh from defensive action
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: in the Noktung Bulge, to reinforce the ROK First Division
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: which confronted the North Korean First and third Divisions in
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: its sector. Although the North Korean First Division pushed to
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: within nine miles of Tegu, the combined efforts of the
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: Rok first Division and the United States twenty third and
• 50:37
  Speaker 1: twenty seventh Infantries frustrated enemy efforts to penetrate to Tigou.
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: Even though the North Korean People's Army had seriously threatened
• 50:47
  Speaker 1: the United States and Rok armies within the Pusan perimeter
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: during August nineteen fifty, the defenders both successfully resisted the
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: enemy attacks and continued the build up of forces for
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: a counter offensive. The Far East Air Force had established
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: air supremacy over the North Koreans early in the war
• 51:09
  Speaker 1: and continued to influence the outcome of battles by multiple
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: sorties in close support of ground troops four thousand, six
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: hundred and thirty five in July and seven thousand, three
• 51:20
  Speaker 1: hundred ninety seven in August. By late August, there were
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: more than five hundred American medium tanks within the Pusan perimeter.
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: The tanks and tank battalions were equally divided between M
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: twenty six Persians and M four A three Shermans. Except
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: for one battalion that had the newer M forty six patents.
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: On first September, the United Nations Command had a strength
• 51:46
  Speaker 1: of one hundred and eighty thousand in Korea. Ninety two
• 51:50
  Speaker 1: thousand were South Koreans and the balance were Americans in
• 51:54
  Speaker 1: the one thousand, six hundred men British twenty seventh Infantry Brigade.
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: In August, the North Koreans continued the plan in tactics
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: begun at the Han River in early July with a
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: frontal holding attack, envelopment of the flank, and infiltration to
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: the rear. When the Eighth Army stabilized the line at
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: the Pusan perimeter, these tactics no longer worked and success
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: could only come by frontal attack, penetration and immediate exploitation.
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: Generals MacArthur and Walker countered with classical principles of defense,
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: interior lines of communications, superior artillery fire power, and a
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: strong air force. By one September, the North Koreans had
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: assembled a ninety eight thousand man army for a massive
• 52:44
  Speaker 1: offensive against the Pusan perimeter. However, the experience substantial problems.
• 52:50
  Speaker 1: A third of the ranks manned by forcibly conscripted and
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: untrained South Koreans, a major shortage of small arms, and
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: only enough rations for one or sometimes two meals a day.
• 53:02
  Speaker 1: In early September, as during August, General Walker faced dangerous
• 53:06
  Speaker 1: situations in essentially the same places along the Pusan perimeter
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: and the east dead Pohang Dong, to include a potential
• 53:14
  Speaker 1: severing of the corridor between Tegu and po hang Dong
• 53:19
  Speaker 1: north of Teigu, where the enemy made disturbing gains at
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: the Naktung bulge, and in the Masan area in the
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: extreme south. Also, as he had during the fighting in August,
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: Walker continued his masterful tactics of shifting his forces from
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: one threatened enemy penetration to another. In early September, the
• 53:40
  Speaker 1: ROK third, Capital, eighth and sixth Divisions held the line
• 53:45
  Speaker 1: farthest to the east against the North Korean fifth, eighth, twelfth,
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: and fifteenth Divisions. Major General John B. Coulter, newly appointed
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: Deputy Commander eighth Army, assumed command of American units in
• 53:59
  Speaker 1: the East sector and employed the twenty first Infantry of
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: the U. S. Twenty fourth Division and other supporting units
• 54:07
  Speaker 1: to bolster the ROK divisions. On seventh September, General Church
• 54:12
  Speaker 1: replaced Cult as American commander in the eastern sector after
• 54:16
  Speaker 1: General Walker ordered the entire twenty fourth to reinforce the
• 54:20
  Speaker 1: Rok divisions. A combination of ground fighting predominantly by the
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: South Koreans, along with American close air support and naval
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: gunfire from offshore, inflicted serious losses on the enemy divisions.
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: The North Korean first, third, and thirteenth Divisions pressed the
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: attack north of Taigou against the U s First Cavalry Division,
• 54:43
  Speaker 1: which prompted Walker on five September to move the main
• 54:47
  Speaker 1: eighth Army headquarters from Taigou to Pussan. The First Cavalry
• 54:52
  Speaker 1: Division essentially checked the thrusts of the North Koreans north
• 54:56
  Speaker 1: of Tigoo, but fighting continued there into mid September. At
• 55:01
  Speaker 1: the end of August, the North Korean People's Army also
• 55:04
  Speaker 1: planned a crushing blow against the United States Second and
• 55:08
  Speaker 1: twenty fifth Divisions in the southern part of the Pusan perimeter.
• 55:12
  Speaker 1: The enemy's sixth Division would attack through Haman Masan and
• 55:16
  Speaker 1: capture kum Hi, fifteen miles west of Pusan. The seventh
• 55:21
  Speaker 1: Division was to strike north of the Masan Highway wheel
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: left to the knak Tung River and wait for the
• 55:28
  Speaker 1: sixth Division on its right and the ninth on its left,
• 55:32
  Speaker 1: and then resume the attack toward Pusan. The twenty fifth
• 55:35
  Speaker 1: Division held the southernmost sector that ran from the confluence
• 55:39
  Speaker 1: of the Knaktung and Nam rivers to the southern coast,
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: while the second Division was positioned in the area across
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: the nak Dung River. North of the twenty fifth. The
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: North Korean ninth Division faced the second Division at the
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: nuk Tung Bulge and at the mission of capturing the
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: towns of Miryang in Semnangjin, thereby cutting off the Eighth
• 56:01
  Speaker 1: Army route of withdrawal between Taigu and Pusan. During the
• 56:06
  Speaker 1: first week of September, the ninth Division penetrated the Noktung
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: Bulge as far east as yung San, but a counter
• 56:13
  Speaker 1: attack by the Second Division, together with the US first
• 56:17
  Speaker 1: Provisional Marine Brigade, pushed back the uninth almost to the
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: Nuktung River. The Second Division's twenty third Infantry beat back
• 56:27
  Speaker 1: the North Korean second Division six miles north of yung
• 56:30
  Speaker 1: San at cheng Yuk. At the same time, the sixth
• 56:34
  Speaker 1: and seventh Divisions mounted strong attacks against the twenty fifth Division.
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: Despite enemy penetrations into the sectors of the twenty fifth regiments,
• 56:43
  Speaker 1: the thirty fifth Infantry sector west of Chiwan and the
• 56:48
  Speaker 1: twenty fourth Infantry sector near Haman that was effectively stopped
• 56:52
  Speaker 1: by the twenty seventh Infantry. The twenty fifth Division repelled
• 56:56
  Speaker 1: the nkpa's offensive in the south Oktang river line held
• 57:01
  Speaker 1: and the Pusan perimeter was secured analysis within the space
• 57:07
  Speaker 1: of a few months. In nineteen fifty, the United States
• 57:10
  Speaker 1: had taken the big leap from attaching no strategic importance
• 57:14
  Speaker 1: to Korea to active involvement there in a major armed conflict.
• 57:19
  Speaker 1: Its active army of five hundred ninety one thousand had
• 57:22
  Speaker 1: been focused on Soviet intentions in Western europe An occupation
• 57:26
  Speaker 1: duty in Europe and the Far East. The four divisions
• 57:30
  Speaker 1: under MacArthur's Far East Command at Japan were performing primarily
• 57:35
  Speaker 1: occupation duties, and their actual readiness level for conventional combat
• 57:40
  Speaker 1: was even lower than their marginal. Statistic ratings indicated each
• 57:44
  Speaker 1: of MacArthur's divisions was about seven thousand men short of
• 57:48
  Speaker 1: its authorized strength of eighteen thousand nine hundred, and none
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: of them had received any new equipment Since World War II.
• 57:56
  Speaker 1: MacArthur had not fully supported development of the ro K Army,
• 58:00
  Speaker 1: and in nineteen forty eight he had suggested merely expanding
• 58:03
  Speaker 1: the r K Constabulary. When the r K Minister of
• 58:08
  Speaker 1: Defense in nineteen forty nine requested M twenty six Persian
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: tanks from America, the k m A g argued that
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: the Korean terrain and roads would not allow tank operations,
• 58:20
  Speaker 1: a clearly inaccurate prediction of the Soviet T thirty four
• 58:24
  Speaker 1: tanks performance in South Korea during the war's early stages.
• 58:29
  Speaker 1: When U S A f I K withdrew from South
• 58:32
  Speaker 1: Korea nineteen forty nine, it did transfer to the r
• 58:36
  Speaker 1: O K Army individual weapons and equipment sufficient for fifty
• 58:40
  Speaker 1: thousand men, but these small arms were incapable of repelling
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: enemy armored attacks. America failed to anticipate the North Korean invasion,
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: and k m A G aired in concluding that the
• 58:54
  Speaker 1: r O K Army could withstand an invasion if it happened. Nevertheless,
• 58:58
  Speaker 1: when the attack came, the United States decided to intervene
• 59:02
  Speaker 1: on behalf of South Korea. President Truman authorized air and
• 59:07
  Speaker 1: naval support early in the conflict and the progressive introduction
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: of ground troops. The defeat of Task Force Smith underscored
• 59:15
  Speaker 1: the importance of adequate pre war training, along with armored
• 59:19
  Speaker 1: and air support and combat operations. Further, MacArthur underestimated the
• 59:24
  Speaker 1: skill and determination of the North Koreans, but recognized his
• 59:29
  Speaker 1: error when he concluded that more than four U S
• 59:31
  Speaker 1: divisions were needed to defeat the enemy. The combined efforts
• 59:36
  Speaker 1: of the U S and ROK armies, led by General Walker,
• 59:40
  Speaker 1: complemented by air and naval superiority, slowed the southward drive
• 59:44
  Speaker 1: of the North Koreans and ended in a difficult but
• 59:48
  Speaker 1: successful defense of the Pusan perimeter. The fighting was intense,
• 59:52
  Speaker 1: as reflected in American casualties to mid September nineteen fifty
• 59:57
  Speaker 1: four thousand, five hundred ninety nine battle debts twelve thousand
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: and fifty eight wound it four hundred and one report
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 1: it captured in two thousand, one hundred and seven reported
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 1: missing in action. The bitter weeks of retreat and death
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 1: would soon change, however, with MacArthur's hammer against the Anvil.
• 1:00:17
  Speaker 1: The breakout from the Pusan perimeter, coupled with the landing
• 1:00:20
  Speaker 1: at Incheon by the first Marine Division and the army's
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: seventh Infantry Division during the third week of September. Further
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 1: readings Appleman roy E South to the Noktang North to
• 1:00:36
  Speaker 1: the Yalu. United States Army in the Korean War, Washington,
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 1: d c U. S. Army Center of Military History, nineteen
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: sixty one. Blair Clay, The Forgotten War, America and Korea,
• 1:00:50
  Speaker 1: New York, Time Books, nineteen eighty eight, Collins J. Lawton
• 1:00:55
  Speaker 1: War in Peacetime, The History and Lessons of Korea, Boston,
• 1:01:00
  Speaker 1: Houghton Mifflin, nineteen sixty nine. Dean Major General William F.
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 1: General Dean Story, New York, Viking Press, nineteen fifty four.
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: Edwards Paul M. The Poussan Perimeter, Korea, nineteen fifty in
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 1: annotated bibliography, Westport, Connecticut, Greenwood Press, nineteen ninety four. Ridgeway
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 1: Matthew B. The Korean War, Garden City, New York, Doubleday,
• 1:01:29
  Speaker 1: nineteen sixty seven. Schnabel, James F. Policy and Direction, The
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 1: First Year. United States Army in the Korean War, Washington,
• 1:01:40
  Speaker 1: d c U. S. Army Center of Military History, nineteen
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 1: seventy two, and of Section one the Korean War, The
• 1:01:49
  Speaker 1: Outbreak by William J. Webb