Re: Korean War strategies (response)

[Ed Evanhoe <ede@oio.net>]

John,

> >>According to Stone, another American
>reporter(Mark Gain) was visiting a high-ranking
>American military officer in Tokyo at the time
>of the outbreak of the War. There was an emergency
>telephone call to the officer and the officer told to Mark:
>"A big news just broke out. S.Korea attacked the North!"
>What do you think of this?<<

Sounds like urban legend to me.  My first question would be where did this 
supposedly happen?  The war started at 5 AM Japan local time and GHQ 
received notification from KMAG in Korea at 5:21 AM that it appeared the 
North Koreans were attacking in force.  Confirmation came in from KMAG 
personnel at all points along the 38th Parallel confirming the attack over 
the next hour.

As a matter of information, the South Korean PC 701 sank a Japanese-built 
troopship loaded with North Korean troops a few miles off the entrance to 
Pusan shortly before midnight on the 24th, Korean date/time.  Also, a 
several-hundred man North Korean special operations force began landing 
just North of Samch'ok on the East Coast just before dawn on the 
25th.  Samch'ok is 50 air miles south of the 38th Parallel.  This force 
arrived via wooden coastal freighters which have a top speed of about 6 
knots.  Another North Korean special operations force landed between 
Kangnung and Chumunjin on the East Coast just before daylight with the 
mission of blocking the highway between Kangnung and the 38th 
Parallel.  Does this sound like the South attacked the North?  All these 
forces had to be at see days before the war began.  And so on....

Ed
Ed Evanhoe, PO Box 916, Antlers, OK, 74523
Author: DARKMOON: Eighth Army Special Operations in the Korean War
Life Member: Special Forces & Special Operations Associations
Web site:  http://www.korean-war.com