Battle of Inchon

Battle of Inchon

Background

When World War II ended Korea was divided along the 38th Parallel. The Northern state was occupied by Soviet troops and the southern was occupied by the United States. North Korea grew as a communist state under the control of Kim II Sung. In an effort to expand into the south Sung requested support from communist leader's Stalin Soviet Union, and Mao Zedong China's. Believing they had the advantage due to the United States drawback, the North Koreans launched an attack against South Korea on 25 June 1950. The North Korean People's Army (NKPA) crossed the 38th Parallel, and defeated the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army (BACM Research, 1950).

In response to the attack President Truman ordered the United States to provide land, air, and sea support to South Korea on 27 June 1950. The conflict continued for months with the North dominating the South, forcing them into Pusan. These events led to the planning of an amphibious operation that was approved on 8 September 1950 by the President.

Key Leaders and Forces

Following are the key leader and forces of the war:

North Korea

Wan Yong

Choi Yong-Kun

Kim Il-sung

Wol Ki Chan

South Korea

Shin Hyun-Joon

Paik In-Yeop

United States

Arthur Dewey Struble

Douglas MacArthur

Oliver P. Smith

Edward M. Almond

Friendly

General Douglas MacArthur was the commander for U.N. Forces. His leadership style was valuable in the outcome of this mission. Before he received the order to support South Korea he flew into the danger area to get eyes on his objective. This was one of his signature trademarks in WW1 he stated “I cannot fight them if I cannot see them”(Kanni D & Kanni T. B. 2005). Although, Gen. MacArthur spearheaded the operation for the success of the mission rested greatly on the Marines (Kinni & Kinni, 2005a).

Opposing

The North Koreans were alarmed by the fall of Inchon and ally claim to continue advancing inland. It was just realized that this was a diversionary maneuver; but the opposite and decided to fight back by sending six columns of tanks T-34, provided of course by the Russian partners. However, the Allies sent planes and devastated armor, as for airplanes only missed one.

The capture of Inchon took shape when American tanks finished sweeping the Communists and their armor. On September 19 were repaired railways leading to the interior, to about 13 kilometers, and then followed by the capture of Kimpo airfield, with which the Allied victory was much more viable (Rice, 1996). From that time the Allies had an airfield where their planes could land and refuel in the whole western coast of Korea. So also with the passage of time and a runner secured, were coming more and more reinforcements, including almost 54 000 soldiers, 6629 vehicles and some 25,512 tons of supplies.

The Battle

Inchon Infiltrationn makes the prelude for the Operation Chromite. The most important part of the battle was the landing of the ships. Arthur Dewey Struble, who was very ambitious of warfare, was the commander of the battle. The red beach, blue beach and the green ...