In part two, we left General McArthur planning a risky invasion of the South Korean coastal city of Inchon.
First, most of the troops had never been involved in an amphibious landing.
Second, Inchon’s harbor was too shallow at low tide for large ships to maneuver.
To deal with these challenges, General MacArthur decided to invade in two phases synchronized with the high tides.
The first phase would occupy the island of Wolmi-do, which was opposite Inchon. The second phase would land north and south of Inchon on the next high tide.
On the morning of September 15, the US 10th Corps quickly took Wolmi-do island. The island had been bombed and shelled for several days and the North Korean troops had not been ready for such a beating.
As soon as US troops landed, the surviving North Koreans surrendered.
By the time Inchon was taken soon after the second landing, only 20 US troops had been killed.
The next move was to take Seoul, which was 25 miles from Inchon.
The North Korean troops at Pusan, a hundred thirty miles to the south, continued to fight for a week without knowing the Inchon invasion had been successful. They did not know they were in danger of being cut off and surrounded.
When word arrived, the North Korean army retreated north immediately.
As the US Marines advanced on South Korea’s capital of Seoul, they met heavy resistance in the hills surrounding the city. The North Korean troops were dug in and to remove them caused heavy US casualties.
By September 24, UN troops held the high ground above Seoul. The next day, the North Korean troops left the city and retreated north.
After occupying Seoul and having a victory parade, UN and US troops moved north toward the 38th Parallel as the North Korean army continued to retreat further into North Korea.
South Korean troops reached the 38th parallel first but kept going.
However, US troops stopped and waited while Washington D.C. debated what the next move would be—to stop at the 38th parallel or invade the north.
Return to China in 1950 Korea Protecting the Teeth – Part 2
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.
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