[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Chronology
List members,
Below is a sample of the Korean War Chronology I'm thinking about posting
on my Korean War web site (which is still off line at this time.) Currently
I have broken the time frames down into 12 sections but may break it down
further for the Oct 51 to July 53 periods. Suggestions and comments
appreciated.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------
WITHDRAWAL TO THE PUSAN PERIMETER
Jun 25 to Aug 3, 1950
Compiled by Ed Evanhoe, June 2000
June 25, 1950
At approximately 4 a.m. (Korean Standard Time) on a rainy Sunday
morning Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Army (DPRK - North Korea)
artillery and mortars open fire on Republic of Korea (ROK - South Korea)
Army positions south of the 38th Parallel, the line then serving as the
border between the two countries. The opening barrage is followed shortly
by tank/infantry attacks at all points along the Parallel. At 11 a.m.
North Korea announced a formal declaration of war and what is now know as
“The Korean War” officially began. In this announcement North Korea
claimed ROK forces on the Ongjin Peninsula had attacked North Korea in the
Haeju area (west) and their declaration of war was in response to this
attack. This claim was bogus.
U.S. President Harry S. Truman was notified of the invasion and returned
from his home in Independence, Missouri, to Washington, D.C., arriving in
the early afternoon. Meanwhile the U.N. Security Council passed a
resolution calling for the immediate cessation of hostilities and the
withdrawal of North Korean forces to north of the 38th Parallel.
June 26, 1950
Uijonbu falls to North Korean forces. South Korean government – President
Sygman Rhee and cabinet – leave Seoul for Taejon.
President Truman meets with State Department and Defense Department
officials. He authorizes
General Douglas MacArthur to: (1) send ammunition and equipment to prevent
the loss of Seoul,
(2) provide ships and aircraft to evacuate American citizens, plus Air
Force fighters and Navy ships to protect the evacuation, and (3) send a
survey party to Korea to study the situation determine how best to help the
ROK government and military. Later in the day President Truman expanded
his instructions by ordering General MacArthur to use Air Force aircraft
and Navy ships against all North Korean military targets south the 38th
Parallel. General MacArthur issues an “alert order” telling all combat
units in the Far East to prepare for possible deployment to Korea.
June 27, 1950
U.S. Ambassador Muccio & staff leave Seoul for Suwon. ROK Army
headquarters leave Seoul for Sihung-ni (about 5 miles south of
Yongdungp’o) without informing their U.S. advisors with
the Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG.) KMAG follows ROKA Hq to
Sihung-ni shortly thereafter. After discussions, most of ROKA Hq and KMAG
return to Seoul a few hours later.
During the late evening, the U.N. Security council passes a resolution
calling for member nations to give military aid to South Korea.
Meanwhile, in compliance with President Truman’s order to provide help to
South Korea and the use of U.S. air and naval forces south of the 38th
Parallel, General MacArthur sent a fact finding group, headed by Brig.
General Church, to Korea. This group left Japan at approximately 4 a.m.
and arriving at Suwon in the early afternoon where they set up a temporary
headquarters.
June 28, 1950
ROKA engineers blow the Han River Bridge at approximately 2:15 a.m.
trapping the bulk of 3 ROKA divisions fighting on the outskirts, plus ROKA
Hq and KMAG personnel still in Seoul. Somewhere between 500 and 800 people
– civilian & military– are killed in the explosion. All KMAG were able to
escape across the Han River later in the day via still-operating ferries,
arriving in Suwon late that afternoon, where KMAG senior personnel briefed
Gen. Church.
North Korean force entered Seoul in the early afternoon and street fighting
ensued but by midnight Seoul was in North Korean hands.
June 29, 1950
Detachment “X,” 33 officers and men from the 507th Antiaircraft Artillery
Battalion, arrive at Suwon and set up their weapons. During the day they
engage 4 enemy planes, shooting down
one and damaging another. These are the first American ground troops into
Korea and theirs are the first shots fired by U.S. Army personnel arriving
from Japan.
Gen. MacArthur flies to Suwon and confers with General Church and KMAG
staff, then returns to Japan where he sends a message to the Joint Chiefs
recommending introducing U.S. ground forces into battle. President Truman
receives and approves the recommendation.
USS Juneau shells North Korean positions in the Samch’ok-Kangnung area
(east coast.)
North Korean troops cross the Han River in the Kimpo area and take the air
field.
June 30, 1950
Gen. MacArthur receives permission to employ U.S. ground support forces and
to carry the war into North Korea and the waters offshore but to stay well
clear of the Manchurian and Soviet borders. Later in the day he receives
permission to deploy one (1) Regimental Combat Team (RCT) to Korea to
establish a defense line in Pusan area to assure retention of the port. A
few hours after this the order was expanded to 2 combat divisions and with
permission to employ these forces against North Korean forces in the Suwon
area. The United States was now fully committed to the Korean War.
General Church goes to Osan (12 miles south of Suwon so he can communicate
with Far East Command Headquarters via telephone. He is told that if Suwon
Air Field can be held, 2 U.S. infantry battalions will be flown in the next
day. While he is in Osan, ADSCOM personnel panic in the belief they about
to be surrounded, destroy their documents and radios, then move to Suwon
Air Field to set up a defense perimeter. Once there, they decide to
retreat south to Taejon and order AAA personnel to accompany them. General
Church meets the retreating Americans on the road and orders them back to
Suwon but finding all communications equipment destroyed, orders all to
fall back to Taejon.
In Japan, MacArthur orders the 24th Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. William F.
Dean Commanding, to deploy to Korea. At approximately 10:30 PM the 1st
Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Division – less “A”& “D” companies,
was ordered to proceed to Itazuke Air Base fro immediate deployment to
Korea, thus forming the infantry element of what would become Task Force
Smith (TFS.)
July 1, 1950
ADSCOM establishes a headquarters at Taejon. Task Force Smith (“B” & “C”
Companies, ½ 1st Battalion Headquarters Company, ½ a communications
platoon, a composite platoon of 75mm recoilless rifle with of 4 guns, and 4
4.2" mortars – 406 total) troops destined to be flown into Suwon are flown
into Pusan instead and were immediately put on a train for
Taejon. Remainder of 24th Division to follow. Gen. Dean is also named to
command all U.S. Army Forces in Korea (USAFIK.)
July 2, 1950
TFS officers and men arrive in Taejon at approximately 8 a.m. That evening
TFS is ordered north to the towns of P’yongtaek and Ansong, arriving after
dark. C Company dug in at P’yongtaek and B Company at Ansong.
USS Juneau and 2 British ships engage 4 NK torpedo boats escorting 10 small
wooden freighters. 2 torpedo boats and 7 freighters destroyed.
34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, arrives at Pusan
July 3, 1950
General Dean arrives at Taejon and takes command of USAFIK.
Aircraft from the USS Valley Forge and HMS Triumph attack air fields in the
P’yongyang-Chinnamp’o west coast area.
A Royal Australian Air Force F-51 mistakenly attacks an ammunition train
stopped at the P’yongtaek Railroad station, causing it to
explode. Railroad station was destroyed.
Two USAF Tactical Air Control Parties (TAC) arrive at Taejon.
North Korean forces take Inch’on and Yongdungp’o.
July 4, 1950
Task Force Smith consolidated at P’yongtaek and was joined by part of the
52nd Field Artillery Battalion. This artillery contingent consisted of ½
of Headquarters and Service Batteries and all of “A” Battery with 6 105-mm
howitzers, a total of 108 men and officers. Task Force Smith ordered take
up positions north of Osan.
2nd and 3rd Battalions, plus regimental support troops, 21st Infantry
Regiment arrive at Pusan.
July 5, 1950
Approximately 3 a.m. Task Force Smith reached the selected defense
positions approximately 2-1/2 miles north of Osan and began digging
in. The 52nd Field Artillery guns dug in a mile and half or so to the
south of TFS positions with one gun dug in a half mile or so to TFS’s
rear. This one gun had all the High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) rounds the
artillery had brought with them – 7 rounds.
A little after 7 a.m. a North Korean tank column, with a few infantry
riding, was spotted coming the road. 8:16 a.m. the 52nd Field fired the
first artillery rounds by an American unit of the Korean War at the
advancing T-34 tanks. Artillery fire was accurate but ineffective against
the tanks as was fire from the 75mm recoilless rifles and 2.36" Bazookas
fired the tanks as they continued without stopping past Task Force Smith
defenses and on south. It did, however, kill or wound most of the
infantry on the tanks. Two tanks were disabled but were pushed off the
road. In total, 33 T-34 tanks went through Task Force Smith infantry
positions by 9 a.m and through the 52nd artillery positions by 10:15 a.m
and continued on toward Osan.
Meanwhile a relative calm settled over TFS infantry positions. At
approximately 10 a.m. a column of trunks and infantry could be seen coming
down the road. Led by three tanks, this column was several miles long and
arriving at point approximately 1000 yards north of TFS infantry
positions. At approximately 11 a.m., TFS mortars and .50 caliber machineguns
opened fire on the column. The fire was effective. Trucks blew up and men
were blown into the air. Everyone who could took cover in ditches and rice
paddies but the three T-34 tanks continued to advance and took TFS infantry
positions under fire. Meanwhile North Korean infantry quickly reorganized
and began a double envelopment of TFS’s flanks. By 2:30 p.m. North Korean
units were on Task Force Smith’s flanks while a huge North Korean reserve
waited on the road so the order to pull out and fall back was
given. American forces in Korea had suffered their first defeat. It was a
costly one for Task Force Smith. It lost approximately 150 infantrymen and
officers killed, wounded or missing and 15 artillerymen and officers.
While the TFS fight was going on north of Osan, the 24th Division’s 34th
Infantry Regiment arrived at Taejon and was deployed north to set up
defenses at P’yongtaek and Ansong with regimental headquarters at
Songhwan-ni, a town 6 miles south of P’yongtaek on the main highway and
rail line. The 1st Battalion established positions on both sides of the
main highway and rail line north of P’yongtaek while the 3rd Battalion was
ordered to Ansong.
USAF TAC parties deployed from Taejon to the 34th Infantry Regiment, one
team going to the 1st Battalion at P’yongtaek, the other to the 3rd Battalion.
July 6, 1950
1st Battalion, 34th Infantry, blow the highway and railroad bridges north
of their positions at approximately 3 a.m. Enemy tanks and infantry
arrive at the blown bridge at dawn. The destroyed bridge stops the tanks
but North Korean infantry wade the river both upstream and downstream. 1st
Battalion opens fire on the tanks/infantry but without much success. At
this point the North Korean infantry begin a double-envelopment and the 1st
Battalion begins withdrawing to prevent encirclement and south to Ch’onan
where they take up new positions along with “A” & “D” Companies of the just
arrived 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, two miles south of the
city. Meanwhile the 3rd Battalion arrives from Ansong and takes up
positions at Ch’onan.
July 7, 1950
3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry was ordered north up the road from Ch’onan and
to advance until it contacted the enemy, then fight a delaying action while
withdrawing back to its position at Ch’onan. “L” Company, with the
regimental I&R Platoon at point, advanced to a point approximately 5 miles
north of Ch’onan with the rest of the battalion following. A general
retreat began but instead of the 3rd Battalion taking up its positions 2
miles north of Ch’onan, it continued south into the city, taking up
positions at the north edge and railroad station at the west edge of the
town. Meanwhile a battery of the 63rd Field Artillery Battalion arrived at
Ch’onan to support the 34th Infantry.
Remainder of the 21st Infantry Regiment arrives at Taejon and is ordered to
continue on to Choch’iwon and support the 34th Infantry. 3rd takes up
positions blocking the highway six miles northwest of Choch’iwon while “A”
& “D” Companies, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry are ordered to move south on
the Ch’onan-Choch’iwon road and take up advance blocking positions at the
town of Chonui.
July 8, 1950
Shortly before daybreak North Korean T-34 tanks entered Ch’onan from the
east as did infantry units. The tanks roamed back and forth shooting at
every American vehicle and suspected American position while North Korean
infantry began systematically to attack from the east and other North
Korean infantry moved south of the town and cutting the escape route for
the 3rd Battalion. By afternoon Ch’onan was in North Korean hands and the
3rd Battalion. Only approximately 175 men and officers from the 3rd
Battalion were able to escape from the town.
When notified of the loss of Ch’onan, Gen. Dean ordered what was left of
the 34th Infantry Regiment to fight a delaying action as it moved south
down the road leading to the Kum River and ordered the 21st Regt to delay
the North Koreans north of Choch’iwon at least 4 days. He augmented the
21st Inf with one battery of 155mm howitzers from the 11th Field Artillery
Battalion plus “A” Company, 78th Heavy Tank Battalion (misnomer since the
battalion was equipped with M-24 light tanks, not M4E8 heavy tanks.) At
the same time the 3rd Engineer Combat Battalion was ordered to prepare
roadblocks along the 34th Infantry’s withdrawal route Kongju and to prepare
all bridges over the Kum River for demolition.
July 9, 1950
By dawn “A” & “D” Companies, 1st Bn, 21st Inf, were in forward blocking
positions on a low ridge just southeast of Chonui while the 3rd Bn, 21st
Inf, manned stronger defense position a mile to the south. A USAF FAC team
was with the forward blocking force as well artillery observers from the
11th FA Bn.. In midafternoon 11 T-34 tanks, escorted by 200-300 infantry
appeared on the road north of Chonui. The AF FAC team called in air
strikes while the artillery FO called in artillery. By 4:30 p.m. five of
the eleven tanks were burning and North Korean infantry retreated under 4.2
mortar and artillery fire. A short time later another air strike hit
approximately 200 NK vehicles on the Choch’iwon-Chonui road destroying
approximately 100. After dark, NK patrols entered Chonui and began probing
1st Bn blocking positions but were driven off with mortar and artillery
fire, which set the village of Chonui on fire, lighting up the night.
July 10, 1950
Fog shrouded the ground when dawn broke at Chonui and with it North Korean
soldiers. Men of the 1st Bn, 21st Infantry could hear North Koreans on the
northwest side of the road. A few minutes later firing began coming from
that direction, most in the direction of the platoon set up on small
hill. The platoon reported the firing was coming from a higher hill two or
three hundred yards to their northwest. Mortars from the 1st Bn. began
firing pre-registered salvos at the area
between the two hills. North Korean forces circled around the American
held hill and attacked the mortars to the rear. The mortar and 75mm
recoilless rifle sections were overrun at approximately 7:15 a.m. About
the same time, North Korean tanks came out of Chonui, passed through
American lines and down the road towards Choch’iwon. The tanks could be
heard but not seen because of the fog as they moved south.
(*)
MacArthur named Commander in Chief, United Nations Command, in addition to
being Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP,) Commander in Chief,
Far East (CINCFE,) and Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces, Far East.
Ed Evanhoe, PO Box 916, Antlers, OK, 74523-0916
Member: American Society of Journalists and Authors
Life Member: Special Forces & Special Operations Associations
Co-List owner: KOREAN-WAR-L (listproc@ukans.edu)
Web site: http://www.korean-war.com