The Foundation of Freedom is the Courage of Ordinary People

History    On Line

	Roy E. Appleman CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY UNITED STATES WASHINGTON, D. C., 1992 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 60-60043 First Printed 1961-CMH Pub 20-2-1
...to Those Who Served

Foreword

At the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the U.S. Army combat units nearest the scene were the four infantry divisions performing occupation duties in Japan. When the Army of the Republic of Korea, supported only by U.S. air and naval forces, was unable to halt the North Korean aggressors, these divisions, seriously understrength and only partially trained and equipped for fighting, provided the troops that were committed initially to action in response to the call of the United Nations Security Council.

Colonel Appleman's narrative portrays vividly the grimness of "limitedwar" against a fanatical enemy, and the tragic consequences of unpreparedness.His writing recaptures the dismay that most Americans experienced in therealization that a small, little-known country could achieve military successagainst a coalition that included this, the world's most powerful nation.

Here is the story of how U.S. Army combat units, thrown piecemeal intothe battle to slow Communist advances, fought a desperate and heroic delayingaction, buying time until the United Nations forces could attain the militarystrength necessary to take the offensive. When that offensive was launched,it quickly crushed the North Korean forces, only to be met with the massiveintervention of a more formidable adversary, Communist China.

This volume covers U.S. Army action in Korea from the outbreak of warto the full-scale intervention of the Chinese Communists. It is the firstof five volumes now planned for inclusion in UNITED STATES ARMY IN THEKOREAN WAR, a series patterned on the much more voluminous UNITED STATESARMY IN WORLD WAR II. Subsequent volumes will complete the Korean combatnarrative as well as deal with related problems of command, strategy, logistics,handling of prisoners of war, and the armistice negotiations.

 Washington, D. C.             JAMES A. NORELL15 March 1960                 Brigadier General, U.S.A.                                Chief of Military History 

Page vii

The Author

Roy E. Appleman, a graduate of Ohio State University, magna cum laude,continued his education at Yale Law School and Columbia University,receiving from the latter the M.A. degree in History and completing allrequirements for the Ph.D. degree except the publication of a dissertation.

He entered the United States Army as a private in the infantry in 1942during World War II and after completing Officer Candidate School the followingyear was commissioned a 2d lieutenant. After a number of assignments, hewas sent overseas to the Pacific theater in 1944, assigned as a combathistorian with the United States Tenth Army and subsequently attached tothe XXIV Corps. Coauthor of Okinawa: The Last Battle, first combatvolume to be published in the series UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II,he received the Army Commendation Ribbon in 1945 for performance of dutiesas combat historian in the Okinawa campaign and his subsequent contributionto the Okinawa volume.

Early in 1951 Colonel Appleman (then a major) was ordered from reservestatus to active duty with the Army and sent to Korea as a combat historianfor the purpose of studying the action there and preparing the Army's historyof the Korean War. A lieutenant colonel, he returned to civilian life inthe autumn of 1954. Upon completion of the manuscript for the present work,he received the Secretary of the Army's Certificate of Appreciation forPatriotic Civilian Service.

Author of Abraham Lincoln: From His Own Words and Contemporary Accounts,published by the Government Printing Office; coauthor of Great WesternIndian Fights, being published by Doubleday & Company, Inc.; andcoauthor of History of the United States Flag and Symbols of Sovereignty,being published by Harper & Brothers, Mr. Appleman is presentlyStaff Historian in the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior,and holds a commission as lieutenant colonel in the U. S. Army Reserve.

Preface

William Napier, upon finishing after seventeen years of painful toilthe six volumes of his Peninsular War, wrote in a parody of Chaucer:

"Easy ys myne bake to rede and telleth of moche fyte,
But then your easy rede is damned hard to wryte...."

True it is that a historian's first business is grinding toil and drudgery.All of this it has been to the writer of this book. Nevertheless it wasa labor willingly undertaken, but accompanied throughout by the apprehensionthat he might fail in doing justice to the story of his countrymen whofought in Korea.

First and always, within the limits of his knowledge and ability, theauthor has neglected no effort nor passed over any evidence that seemedlikely to further his purpose of writing a true history of the Korean War.He accepted Parkman's dictum that faithfulness to the truth of historyinvolves far more than research, that one who is to write it "muststudy events in their bearings near and remote; in the character, habits,and manners of those who took part in them . . . and must himself be, asit were, a sharer or a spectator of the action he describes."

During the first four of the nine years he devoted to writing this book,from 1951 to 1954, the writer was on active duty in the United States Armyand completed a first draft of the manuscript. In the following five years,as a civilian in Army reserve status, he devoted the time he could salvagefrom earning a living to several revisions and final completion of thework.

The writer was not entirely a stranger to Korea when he arrived thereearly in July 1951. Six years earlier, as a staff officer, he had accompaniedLt. Gen. John R. Hodge's U. S. XXIV Army Corps from Okinawa to Korea inearly September 1945. This was at the beginning of United States commitmentin Korea, when General Hodge accepted the surrender of the Japanese thereat the end of World War II and began the occupation of that country belowthe 38th Parallel. But it was in 1951 that the writer saw Korea's hillsat close quarter and felt his knees tremble and buckle as he climbed thesteeply pitched ridges.

Korea was at the same time both beautiful and sordid. The green hillsand patchwork-patterned rice paddies have an enchanting beauty when seenfrom a distance or the relative comfort of a vehicle on the roads. Sloggingover this same ground carrying a load of weapons and pack in scorchingheat or pelting rain, or in the numbing cold of a Siberian-type winter,with the enemy waiting around the next bend or over the next rise of ground,is another matter. Then the landscape loses its charm and becomes harshand deadly to the spirit and exhausting to mind and body.

From Pusan in the south to the United Nations line north of the 38thParallel, from the Imjin River in the west to the Iron Triangle, to. themountain line above the Hwach'on Reservoir, to Heartbreak Ridge and thePunchbowl, and on to the high Taebaek Mountains near the east coast inthe ROK sector, the writer traveled from command post to command post andoften up to battalions and rifle companies on the line. His companion duringthese travels in Korea was Capt. (now Major) Russell A. Gugeler, an experiencedsoldier who subsequently wrote Combat Actions in Korea. Wheneverpossible the earlier, 1950 battlefields were visited. Where lack of timeor other circumstances did not permit this, critical terrain was studiedfrom liaison planes that could dip low and circle at leisure around pointsof interest.

The writer came to know the stifling dust, the heat, the soaking rains,the aching legs, the exhausted body that was the common experience of themen who fought in Korea, although he seldom had to run any risk of knownpersonal danger as did they, and he could always look forward to food atnight and a safe place to sleep at some command post, which most of themcould not. It is easy for him now to close his eyes and see the rushingtorrents in the mountain gorges and everywhere the hills, scantily covered,if at all, in the south, and green with pine in the higher mountains ofthe north. In the lower ground were the rice paddies, small vegetable patches,the mud-walled and thatched-roof huts. How could one forget this Asiaticland where so many of his countrymen died or were maimed, where they enactedtheir roles of bravery and fortitude. In a sense, the Korean War experiencebecame a part of him.

Official records are indispensable for fixing dates and time of majorevents and troop movements. But anyone familiar with the way the recordsof combat units during battle are made up will know that they seldom tellthe essential facts of what happened, and how, and why. They are oftenthe products of indifferent clerks transcribing, at places remote fromthe scene of action, a minimum of messages for something-anything-thatwill satisfy the official requirement for a report. Those who know themost about an action or an event seldom take the time to tell, or write,about it. They are too tired, or too nearly dead, or they are dead.

In the early months of the Korean War there was little time for themilitary organizations committed there to keep adequate records of whatthey did, even had there been the desire to do so. Always they were stoppingonly briefly, fighting hazardous rear-guard actions, and then on the runagain. No one had time to write down what had happened and why, even ifhe knew. And no one in the various headquarters had the time or the energyor the will to search out those who survived each action and from themlearn firsthand of the event. Everyone was too much concerned with survival or of getting a moment of respite from exhaustion. A record for posterity,for history, weighed the least of many things on their minds. Even whenreports of military organizations are models of official records, the authoragrees wholly with Marshal Erich von Manstein, who believes that a historianof military matters and campaigns "cannot get the truth from filesand documents alone . . . the answer . . . will seldom be found-certainlynot in a complete form-in files or war diaries."

How easy it would have been to write a story of the war based on therecords alone, never stopping to get beneath that gloss! Such a book mighthave read smoothly and had a tone of plausibility to all except those whosepersonal knowledge would have branded it as inadequate at best and as almostwholly false at worst. Rather than produce such a book, the author chosethe nine years of work that resulted in this one.

Since it was only from survivors of the early battles in Korea thatone could hope to reconstruct the narrative of the first months of theconflict, the writer undertook to get their story. When he arrived in Koreain early July 1951, on active duty with the Army, he had orders from Maj.Gen. Orlando Ward, then Chief of Military History, to study the terrainof the action and to interview as many participants, of all ranks, as hecould find. He began then a process continued almost to the hour that thismanuscript went to press. He talked with hundreds of soldiers, from privatesto three- and four-star generals, about particular actions and decisionsaffecting the action of which each had personal knowledge in some degree.One interview would result in leads to others. Thus the snowball grew.Many officers and soldiers who had information were now in distant landson reassignment, or otherwise out of reach for personal discussion. Tothem went letters. Over the years, information came back from many cornersof the globe. The response was remarkable. The author had only to ask andhe received. The men were eager to tell their story-from the private inthe ranks to General of the Army Douglas MacArthur. Without this willinghelp of those who toiled, suffered, bled, and lost their comrades the storyof the Korean War in 1950 could never have been told satisfactorily. Ifthis narrative carries the mark of truth, it is to these men largely thatit is due. My debt to them is great.

Some major events almost defied comprehension. Such was the battle ofTaejon. The author spent seven years in attempting to solve that puzzlingand bizarre action. The first draft of the Taejon chapter, based on theofficial records, was nothing. Knowing this, the author sought out survivorsand throughout the years searched for, and gradually accumulated, moreinformation. Missing pieces of the puzzle came to light that made it possibleto fit others into place. The author rewrote this Chaptereight times.Finally he obtained from Maj. Gen. William F. Dean his comments on themanuscript and a statement of his contemporary thoughts and actions bearingon the events described. Some of them were not calculated to raise himto the level of an all-seeing military commander, but they marked Deanas a man of truth and honor. Then, with General Dean's contributions, theauthor felt at last that he had salvaged about all that ever would be learned concerningTaejon from American sources. Many other chapters reached their final formin much the same manner as this one.

The scope and scale of treatment change as the narrative proceeds. Atfirst only two reinforced rifle companies were committed to battle, thena battalion, then a regiment, then a division, finally the Eighth Armyand the reconstituted ROK Army. Against them was the might of the initiallyvictorious North Korean Army, and later the light infantry masses of theChinese Communist Forces. Gradually, United Nations troops from many partsof the world entered the lists, usually in small numbers to be sure, butin the case of Great Britain the force rose from two battalions to a Commonwealthdivision. As the larger forces came into action against each other thefocus of action necessarily broadened and detail diminished. Task ForceSmith, for example, in the first week of July 1950, received a detail oftreatment that could not possibly be continued for all of the Eighth Armylate in the year, nor even in August and September at the Naktong Perimeter.The use of detail necessarily had to be more selective. The ROK Army istreated in less detail than the American organizations, but enough is toldto relate its part in the over-all operations. Reliable information onROK action was nearly always very difficult to obtain, and sometimes impossible.

Throughout, the writer's sympathies have been with the troops who foughtthe battles at close range-the men who handled the rifles, who threw thegrenades, who caught the enemy's bullets, who fought their own fears inthe face of the unknown, who tried to do their duty as United States soldierseven though they were fighting for a cause they did not understand, andin a country to whose culture and interests they were strangers. He triedto be there with them.

The writer is indebted to many officers who, while serving in the Officeof the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, have read themanuscript in its various stages and offered comments and criticisms. Theyinclude Maj. Gen. Richard W. Stephens, a leading participant in the action;Col. George G. O'Connor; Col. S. W. Foote; Col. Carl D. McFerren; Col.Joseph Rockis; Col. Warren H. Hoover; and Lt. Col. Eugene J. White.

The sympathetic and generous viewpoint of Dr. Kent Roberts Greenfield,who gave valuable help in directing the critical panel review of the manuscriptand evaluating needed final revisions, is gratefully acknowledged. Dr.Louis Morton gave detailed and critical review to the manuscript. Dr. StetsonConn, who succeeded Dr. Greenfield as Chief Historian, and his Deputy,Dr. John Miller, jr., have been most helpful in reviewing the final draftof the manuscript.

To Miss Ruth Stout, the editor, and Mr. Thomas J. Seess, the copy editor,the writer especially wants to express his appreciation for their friendly,necessary, and painstaking editing of the manuscript and guiding it throughthe printer. Mr. Joseph R. Friedman, as Editor in Chief, has contributedfrom his wide editorial experience and wisdom. Mrs. Norma Heacock Sherris assisted in finding suitable illustrations for the volume.

Mr. Billy-Mossman, assisted by Mr. Elliot Dunay and the draftsmen whoworked under his supervision, produced the maps in this volume. The authorturned over to Mr. Mossman a large number of sketch maps and overlays whichhe had prepared while writing the text. Mr. Mossman, a former infantryofficer with World War II experience in the Pacific Theater, and lateron active duty in Korea during the Korean War, has a wide knowledge ofmilitary matters and of Korea itself. This background combined with histraining in military cartography made him an ideal choice for the layoutand supervision of the map work on this volume.

Mr. Israel Wice and his staff in the General Reference Section, Officeof the Chief of Military History, cheerfully and efficiently gave theirservices in obtaining official records and other materials requested bythe writer for his use. Mr. Stanley Falk prepared a useful digest of theFar East Command Daily Intelligence Summary, July through November 1950,relative to the Korean War. In an early stage of the work, Mrs. GwendolynTaylor as typist and general assistant gave valuable help.

The writer is much indebted to Mrs. Joy B. Kaiser. Many a complicatedtroop movement she has reconstructed on an overlay from coordinate readingsgiven in S-3 and G-3 journals and periodic reports. The author never triedto write up the story of an action until after it had been plotted on aterrain map. Thus, Mrs. Kaiser in a two-year period saved him much labor,doubling as typist for an early draft of the manuscript, preparing overlaysfrom journal co-ordinates, and otherwise contributing to the work.

Another whose dedication benefited the writer is Mrs. Edna W. Salsbury.She assumed the task of typing what turned out to be the last two revisionsof the manuscript, and she performed that task ably. Throughout the tediouswork of typing a heavily footnoted manuscript she made many suggestionsthat resulted in improving readability and her careful attention to detailcontributed much in maintaining accuracy.

Notwithstanding the considerable assistance given the author by so manyindividuals and organizations, he alone is responsible for interpretationsmade and conclusions drawn in this volume as well as for any errors ofomission or commission.

The person to whom the author owes most is Maj. Gen. Orlando Ward. AsChief of Military History, Department of the Army, in 1951, he orderedhim to Korea to start this work. He opened the door for him to all commandersin Korea and the Far East Command. His experience as Secretary of the GeneralStaff from 1938 to 1941, and subsequently as commander of the 1st ArmoredDivision in North Africa, had given him broad knowledge of military mattersand firsthand experience of battle and how it affects men.

General Ward's constant injunction to the author was to seek the truthof the Korean War and to tell it, no matter whom it might touch unfavorably.He wanted the facts made known, because only from them, he thought, couldthe United States build a better army for its defense. How well the writer remembers his statement one day in casual conversation, "Truthis the first casualty in battle." He has tried not to have it thefirst casualty in this account of the Korean War.

 Washington, D.C.                                         ROY E. APPLEMAN 15 March 1960                                   Lieutenant Colonel, USAR 

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Contents

Chapter

I. KOREA AND THE BACKGROUND OF CONFLICT

II. ARMED FORCES OF NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA
    The North Korea People's Army
    The Republic of Korea Armed Forces

III. INVASION ACROSS THE PARALLEL
    Invasion
    The ROK Counterattack at Uijongbu
    The Fall of Seoul

IV. THE UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED NATIONS REACT
    U.S. and U.N. Action
    Evacuation of U.S. Nationals From Korea
    KMAG Starts To Leave Korea
    ADCOM in Korea
    MacArthur Flies to Korea
    The President Authorizes Use of U.S. Ground Troops in Korea

V. THE NORTH KOREANS CROSS THE HAN RIVER
    Deployment of U.S. Forces in the Far East, June 1950
    The River Crossing
    ADCOM Abandons Suwon

VI. AMERICAN GROUND FORCES ENTER THE BATTLE
    Task Force Smith Goes to Korea
    Task Force Smith at Osan

VII. DELAYING ACTION: P'YONGT'AEK TO CHOCH'IWON
    The Retreat From Pyongtaek
    Night Battle at Chonsan
    The 21st Infantry Moves Up
    The Fight at Chonui
    Choch'iwon

VIII. IN THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND ON THE EAST COAST

IX. EIGHTH ARMY IN COMMAND
    General Walker Assumes Command in Korea
    Troop Training and Logistics
    The Port of Pusan and Its Communications
    American Command Estimate

X. DISASTER AT THE KUM RIVER LINE
    The N.K. 4th Division Crosses the Kum Below Kongju
    The 63d Field Artillery Battalion Overrun
    The N.K. 3d Division Crosses the Kum Against the 19th Infantry
    Roadblock Behind the 19th Infantry

XI. TAEJON
    Dean's Plan at Taejon
    Taejon - The First Day
    Taejon - The Second Day
    Withdrawal From Taejon - Roadblock
    The 24th Division After Taejon

XII. THE FRONT LINE MOVES SOUTH
    Yongdok and the East Coastal Corridor
    Reorganization of the ROK Army
    The U.S. 25th Division at Sangju
    The 1st Cavalry Division Sails for Korea
    The 1st Cavalry Division Loses Yongdong
    The 27th Infantry's Baptism of Fire
    Retreat
    Stand or Die

XIII. THE ENEMY FLANKS EIGHTH ARMY IN THE WEST
    Walker Acts
    The Trap at Hadong
    The N.K. 4th Divisions Joins the Enveloping Move
    The N.K. 4th Division seizes the Koch'ang Approach to the Naktong
    Chinju Falls to the Enemy - 31 July
    Three Pershing Tanks at Chinju
    Colonel Wilson Escapes With the 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry

XIV. BLOCKING THE ROAD TO MASAN
    The Two Roads to Masan
    The Battle at the Notch
    Colonel Check's Reconnaissance in Force Toward Chinju
    The Affair at Chindong-ni

XV. ESTABLISHING THE PUSAN PERIMETER
    The 25th Division Moves South
    United Nations Forces Withdraw Behind the Naktong
    The Pusan Perimeter
    U.S. Air Action and Build-up in the First Month
    Strength of the Opposing Forces at the Pusan Perimeter

XVI. THE FIRST AMERICAN COUNTERATTACK—TASK FORCE KEAN
    Who Attacks Whom?
    The 5th Marines on the Coastal Road
    Bloody Gulch - Artillery Graveyard
    Task Force Dean Ended

XVII. THE FIRST BATTLE OF THE NAKTONG BULGE
    The Naktong Bulge
    The N.K. 4th Division Attacks into the Naktong Bulge
    The Enemy Gains Cloverleaf-Obong-ni
    Yongsan Under Attack
    Battle at Cloverleaf-Obong-ni
    Marines Attack Obong-ni
    24th Division Attack Gains Cloverleaf
    Obong-ni Falls
    The Enemy Bridgehead Destroyed

XVIII. BATTLE FOR THE EASTERN CORRIDOR TO PUSAN
    The Kyongju Corridor to Pusan
    The North Koreans Reach Pohang-dong
    The Air Force Abandons Yonil Airfield
    The ROK 3d Division Evacuated by Sea
    The North Koreans Turned Back From the Kyongju Corridor

XIX. THE TAEGU FRONT
    The North Koreans Cross the Naktong for the Attack on Taegu
    Triangulation Hill
    The Enemy 10th Division's Crossing at Yongpo
    Hill 303 at Waegwan
    Tragedy on Hill 303
    Carpet Bombing Opposite Waegwan
    Bowling Alley - the Sangju-Taegu Corridor

XX. STALEMATE WEST OF MASAN
    The Southern Anchor of the Army Line 1st
    The N.K. 6th Division Regroups West of Masan
    Enemy Attacks at Koman-ni (Saga) 1st
    Battle Mountain

XXI. AUGUST BUILD-UP AND SEPTEMBER PORTENTS
    The Far East Air Forces in August
    Ground Build-up
    Korean Augmentation to the United States Army
    Eighth Army Realignment and Extension Eastward
    The North Korean Plan

XXII. PERIMETER BATTLE
    Action in the East - Task Force Jackson
    Enemy Breakthrough at Yongchon
    Back on Taegu
    Crisis in Eighth Army Command
    The 7th Cavalry's Withdrawal Battle
    Troopers in the Mountains - Walled Ka-san
    Hill 314

XXIII. NORTH KOREAN BREAKTHROUGH IN THE SOUTH
    Midnight Near Masan
    Agok
    Task Force Manchu Misfires
    The North Koreans Split the U.S. 2d Division
    General Walker's Decisions on 1 September

XXIV. THE NORTH KOREAN GREAT NAKTONG OFFENSIVE
    The End of Task Force Manchu
    The Battle of Yongsan
    The 23d Infantry in Front of Changnyong
    A North Korean Puzzle
    The 34th Infantry - The Rock of the Nam
    Counterattack at Haman
    Battle Mountain and Sobuk-san

XXV. THE LANDING AT INCH'ON
    MacArthur's Early Plans
    X Corps Troops Assembled
    The Landing Controversy
    Naval Plans
    Intelligence Estimate
    The Ships Load Out
    Preliminary Bombardment
    Securing the Inchon Beachhead
    Capture of Kimpo Airfield and Advance to the Han River

XXVI. THE CAPTURE OF SEOUL
    The Capture of Yongdungpo
    Securing the Southern Flank
    Seoul's Western Ramparts
    The Infantry Enters Seoul
    Battle of the Barricades
    MacArthur Re-establishes Sygman Rhee in Seoul
    The Blocking Force South of Seoul
    The X Corps Situation

XXVII. BREAKING THE CORDON
    The Eighth Army Plan
    The Enemy Strength
    United Nations' Perimeter Strength
    The 38th Infantry Crosses the Naktong
    The 5th Regimental Combat Team Captures Waegwan
    The 24th Division Deploys West of the Naktong
    The Indianhead Division Attacks West
    Encirclement Above Taegu
    The Right Flank
    The Left Flank - The Enemy Withdraws From Sobuk-san

XXVIII. PURSUIT AND EXPLOITATION
    The 25th Division Crosses Southwest Korea
    The 2d Division Pushes West
    Taejon Regained
    From Tabu-dong to Osan - Eighth Army Link-up With X Corps
    The ROK Army Arrives at the 38th Parallel
    The Invaders Expelled From South Korea

XXIX. THE PLAN FOR COMPLETE VICTORY
    MacArthur's Plan of Operations in North Korea
    Eighth Army Deploys for the Attack
    The ROK I Corps Captures Wonsan and Hungnam
    The X Corps Prepares To Move Amphibiously to North-east Korea

XXX. EIGHTH ARMY AND X CORPS ENTER NORTH KOREA
    Eighth Army Crosses the Parallel - The Kumchon Pocket
    The X Corps Moves to Northeast Korea
    Mines at Wonsan Harbor
    The X Corps Ashore

XXXI. THE CAPTURE OF P'YONGYANG
    The Logistical Situation
    Sariwan Scramble
    Into Pyongyang

XXXII. UP TO THE CH'ONGCH'ON
    Airborne Attack: Sukchon and Sunchon
    The Enemy Blocking Force Destroyed
    Death in the Evening
    The Advance Continues

XXXIII. THE CHINESE INTERVENE
    American Optimism at End of October
    Continuation of the Pursuit
    ROK Troops Reach the Yalu
    Chinese Strike the ROK II Corps
    Unsan - Prelude
    On the West Coastal Road
    The X Corps' Changing Mission
    The CCF Block Way to Changjin Reservoir

XXXIV. UNSAN
    North of the Town
    Roadblock South of the Town
    Ordeal Near Camel's Head Bend

XXXV. EIGHTH ARMY HOLDS THE CH'ONGCH'ON BRIDGEHEAD
    Action North of the River
    MiG's and Jets Over the Yalu

XXXVI. THE CHINESE APPRAISE THEIR FIRST PHASE KOREAN ACTION

XXXVII. GUERRILLA WARFARE BEHIND THE FRONT

XXXVIII. THE X CORPS ADVANCES TO THE YALU
    ROK I Corps Attacks up the Coastal Road
    U.S. 7th Infantry Division Reaches Manchurian Border
    3d Infantry Division Joins X Corps
    7th Marines Clear Road to Reservoir
    The Gap Between Eighth Army and X Corps

XXXIX. THE BIG QUESTION
    The Chinese Communist Forces
    Eighth Army Estimate of CCF Intervention
    The X Corps Estimate
    The Far East Command's Estimates
    Actuality
    Conclusion
    The Pregnant Military Situation

SOURCES

GLOSSARY

Basic Military Map Symbols

INDEX

Tables
No.
1. ROK Combat Divisions, 1 June 1950
2. ROK Army, 26 July 1950
3. Estimated U.N. Strength as of 30 September 1950
4. Postwar Tabulation of U.N. Strength in Korea as of 30 September 1950
5. Organization of the XIII Army Group

Maps
No.
1. The North Koreans Cross the Han, 28 June-4 July 1950
2. Task Force Smith at Osan, 5 July 1950
3. Delaying Action, 34th Infantry, 5-8 July 1950
4. Delaying Action, 21st Infantry, 8-12 July 1950
5. The U.S.-ROK Front, 13 July 1950
6. Defense of the Kum River Line, 34th Infantry, 14 July 1950
7. Defense of the Kum River Line, 19th Infantry, 13-16 July 1950
8. Task Force Kean, 7-12 August 1950
9. North Korean Forces Enter the Naktong Bulge, 5-6 August 1950
10. Destroying the Enemy Bridgehead, 17-19 August 1950
11. The Threat to the Eastern Corridor, 10 August 1950
12. Eliminating the Threat, 11-20 August 1950
13. The N.K. Attacks on Taegu, 4-24 August 1950
14. The N.K. Attacks in the East, 27 August-15 September 1950
15. The N.K. Attacks on Taegu, 2-15 September 1950
16. The Inch'on Landing, 15-16 September 1950
17. Breaking the Cordon, 16-22 September 1950
18. The Kumch'on Pocket, 9-14 October 1950
19. The Capture of P'yongyang, 15-19 October 1950
20. Airborne Attack on Sukch'on and Sunch'on, 187th Airborne RCT, 20 October 1950
21. Advance of United Nations Command Forces, 20-24 October 1950
22. The Chinese Intervene in the West, 25 October-1 November 1950
23. The Unsan Engagement, 8th Cavalry Regiment, Night, 1-2 November 1950
24. The Ch'ongch'on Bridgehead, 3-6 November 1950
25. X Corps Advances to the Yalu River, 25 October-26 November

Color Maps
I. The North Korean Invasion, 25-28 June 1950
II. The Fall of Taejon, 20 July 1950
III. The Front Moves South, 14 July-1 August 1950
IV. The Pusan Perimeter, 4 August 1950 ........................ 236
V. The North Korean Naktong Offensive, U.S. 25th Division
Sector, 31 August-1 September 1950 .................... 438
VI. The North Korean Naktong Offensive, U.S. 2d Division
Sector, 31 August-1 September 1950 .................... 443
VII. The Capture of Seoul, 19-28 September 1950 ................ 511
VIII. The Pursuit, 23-30 September 1950 ......................... 574

Illustrations
South Korean Troops
Uijongbu Corridor
Brig. Gen. John H. Church
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur
Maj. Gen. William F. Dean
American Combat Troops Arriving at Taejon
Road Leading to Suwon
Task Force Smith Position
Traffic Jam
South of Ch'onan
Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker
Defense of Choch'iwon
General Walker and Col. Alfred G. Katzin
Main Rail Line out of Taejon
Moving Across the Kum River Bridge
Kum River Bridge Explosion
Dike Position near Taep'yong-ni
Aerial View of Taejon Airfield
Machine Gun Emplacement
Aerial View of Taejon City
The A-Frame
Strafing Attack
Naktong River at Andong
Cavalrymen Preparing for Action
Hadong
Hadong Pass
Moving Up From Chinju
Pier 2 at Pusan
60-Ton Crane at Pusan
Fox Hill Position
Point of a Combat Column
Marines on Hill 311
Aerial View of P'ohang-dong
Triangulation Hill
Waegwan Bridge
Maj. Gen. Paik Sun Yup
The Bowling Alley
Tank Action in the Bowling Alley
Enemy Side of the Rocky Crags
Rocket and Napalm Attack
Exploding Phosphorus Bombs
South Korean Recruit
Assault Troops of Company K
1st Cavalry Observation Post
General Walker Crossing the Naktong
Ruins of Ancient Fortress on Ka-san
D Company, 8th Engineer Combat Battalion
Mountain Mass West of Haman
Defensive Position in Front of Changnyong
U.N. Troops Cross Rice Paddies
Battle Trophy
2d_Battalion, 27th Infantry
27th Infantry Command Post
Veteran of the 5th Regimental Combat Team
Wolmi-do
Landing Craft and Bulldozers
Marines on Wolmi-do
Destroyed Enemy Tanks
Kimpo Runway
Top-Level Briefing
Marines on Hill 125
American Troops Move on Seoul
Seoul as Seen From the Air
Tanks Entering Seoul
The Battle for Hill 201
Crossing the Kumho River
Ponton Treadway Bridge
Advancing to the Crest of Hill 201
View From the Crest of Hill 201
40-mm. Antiaircraft Battery
Enemy-Held Area
Kumch'on From the Air
On the Outskirts of Kumch'on
Col Lee Hak Ku
Captured Enemy Equipment
Tank Troops of 1st Cavalry Division
3d ROK Division Officers and KMAG Advisers
ROK Troops
Kumch'on, North Korea
Landing Craft Approaching Beach
Tank-Supported Convoy
Burning Enemy Tank
5th Cavalry Troops
Capitol Building in P'yongyang
Kim Il Sung's Desk
Mass Airdrop Near Sunch'on
Artillery Airdrop Near Sukch'on
North Korean Atrocity Site
The Middlesex 1st Battalion
Supply by Air in Unsan Area
The 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry
Generals at the Yalu
On the Banks of the Yalu
Ox-Drawn Sleds
Chinese Communist POW's of 7th Marines
Chinese Communist Flag
Chu Teh
Lin Piao
Chou En-lai
Kim Il Sung
Peng Teh-huai
General MacArthur
Insignia of Major U.S. Ground Force Units

Illustrations are from Department of Defense files.

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