The_Korean_War_Restoring_the_Balance.pdf

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THE KOREAN WAR
R ESTORING THE B ALANCE
25 January–8 July 1951
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Introduction
The Korean War was the first major armed clash between Free
World and Communist forces, as the so-called Cold War turned hot. The
half-century that now separates us from that conflict, however, has
dimmed our collective memory. Many Korean War veterans have consid-
ered themselves forgotten, their place in history sandwiched between the
sheer size of World War II and the fierce controversies of the Vietnam
War. The recently built Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National
Mall and the upcoming fiftieth anniversary commemorative events
should now provide well-deserved recognition. I hope that this series of
brochures on the campaigns of the Korean War will have a similar effect.
The Korean War still has much to teach us: about military prepared-
ness, about global strategy, about combined operations in a military
alliance facing blatant aggression, and about the courage and persever-
ance of the individual soldier. The modern world still lives with the con-
sequences of a divided Korea and with a militarily strong, economically
weak, and unpredictable North Korea. The Korean War was waged on
land, on sea, and in the air over and near the Korean peninsula. It lasted
three years, the first of which was a seesaw struggle for control of the
peninsula, followed by two years of positional warfare as a backdrop to
extended cease-fire negotiations. The following essay is one of five
accessible and readable studies designed to enhance understanding of
the U.S. Army’s role and achievements in the Korean conflict.
During the next several years the Army will be involved in many
fiftieth anniversary activities, from public ceremonies and staff rides to
professional development discussions and formal classroom training.
The commemoration will be supported by the publication of various
materials to help educate Americans about the war. These works will
provide great opportunities to learn about this important period in the
Army’s heritage of service to the nation.
This brochure was prepared in the U.S. Army Center of Military
History by John J. McGrath. I hope this absorbing account, with its list
of further readings, will stimulate further study and reflection. A com-
plete listing of the Center of Military History’s available works on the
Korean War is included in the Center’s online catalog:
www.army.mil/cmh-pg/catalog/brochure.htm.
JOHN S. BROWN
Brigadier General, USA
Chief of Military History
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Restoring the Balance
25 January–8 July 1951
The period from late January to early July 1951 was critical for the
United Nations (UN) Command in Korea. Recovering from the disas-
trous retreat that followed the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) mili-
tary intervention in November 1950, UN forces endured two massive
CCF campaigns that threatened to push them off the peninsula. Amid
desperate fighting, the UN troops managed to hold on, regroup, and
counterattack each enemy initiative, finally establishing a strong
defensive line across the middle of the peninsula. Their sacrifices
finally stabilized the battlefield and provided the foundation for the
cease-fire and negotiations that followed.
These bitter struggles also saw a major shift in U.S. policy and
strategy. For American policymakers, the Korean War became an
economy of force operation with limited objectives. The World War II
concept of total victory and unconditional surrender was supplanted
by the more limited goal of restoring Republic of Korea (ROK or
South Korea) to its general prewar boundaries and implementing an
effective cease-fire agreement. As one of its unexpected consequences,
this strategic shift also saw the dismissal of the UN commander,
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, when he openly criticized
the new limitations. But with the nuclear monopoly enjoyed by the
United States quickly fading, the threat of worldwide atomic war tem-
pered the options available to U.S. officials. Campaign objectives were
thus increasingly limited to gaining control of key defensible terrain
and using battlefield attrition to force the other side into negotiations.
Strategic Setting
Approximately 600 miles long and between 125 and 200 miles
wide, the Korean peninsula is mountainous and frequently cut by
waterways of all sizes generally flowing down from the mountains into
the sea. In the central section of the peninsula, where much of the
fighting in early 1951 occurred, the terrain was particularly rugged.
The western portion was a minor coastal plain marked by estuaries
formed from the Han, Imjin, and Pukhan Rivers. In the center, the
Hwach’on Reservoir was the most prominent feature. Except in the
most rugged areas, villages and towns dotted the landscape. The road
network was primitive and greatly affected by the weather.
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Hyesanjin
R
MANCHURIA
Ch’osan
CHANGJIN
(CHOSIN)
RES
Hagaru-ri
Iwon
Unsan
Sinuiju
Hungnam
Chongju
SEA
Sinanju
OF
Wonsan
JAPAN
P’YONGYANG
Kosong
P’yonggang
Kansong
Kumhwa
Ch’orwon
Yangyang
38
Kaesong
38
°
Munsan-ni
Uijongbu
Ch’unch’on
Hongch’on
SEOUL
Samch’ok
Wonju
Inch'on
Suwon
YELLOW
Chech’on
Osan
Ulchin
Ch’ungju
SEA
Andong
Taejon
P’ohang-dong
Kunsan
Taegu
Miryang
Masan
KOREA
High G round
Above 200 Meters
PUSAN
Mokp’o
0
50 MILES
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By January 1951 the Korean
War was six months old. The
invasion by North Korea
(Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea) in June 1950 had driven
the UN forces into a headlong
retreat to the Pusan Perimeter. In
a spectacular reversal of fortune,
the amphibious landing of UN
forces at Inch’on in mid-
September triggered a collapse of
the North Korean People’s Army
that was only stopped by the
enormity of the Chinese interven-
tion in October and November.
The entry into the war of major
Chinese military forces rocked
the overextended UN troops and
sent them reeling back into South
Korea. For a time it seemed that
the UN forces might have to
abandon the peninsula, resulting
in a complete Communist victory.
Only by trading space for time and by pummeling the advancing
Chinese with artillery fire and air strikes did the new UN commander,
Lt. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, halt the enemy.
General Ridgway
(National Archives)
Operations
On the eve of the renewal of full-scale UN offensive operations,
the Eighth Army consisted of 178,464 American soldiers and marines,
223,950 ROK Army troops, and UN ground contingents from
Australia, France, India, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Sweden,
Thailand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. These forces were orga-
nized into five corps, from west to east: I, IX, and X and the ROK III
and I. In general, ROK forces held the more easily defended, rugged
terrain in the east, while U.S. forces were positioned on the lower, flat-
ter areas in the west, where their greater mobility and firepower were
more decisive.
Arrayed against the UN forces were some 290,000 Chinese and
North Korean soldiers. The Chinese were organized into seven corps-
size armies and twenty-two divisions, 204,000 strong, primarily hold-
5
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