Lt. General Matthew B. Ridgway was our most able Army commander during the Korean War. Taking a disorganized, demoralized army, questionably supported by an inept staff, Ridgway turned the entire situation around by violently counter-attacking the previously victorious CCF. Not impetuously, but progressively, probing always for their strength and intentions, and moving against them while building the fighting efficiency and morale of all our forces. The recapture of Seoul is a case in point.
While deliberately seeking out and destroying CCF and NK forces, Ridgway outflanked the South Korean capitol. To avoid the entrapment they themselves were so adept at, the CCF abandoned Seoul when UN forces reached the Hongchon River and captured Hongchon itself. Over fifty years later, this is still the last time we had to do the job.
