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Hi, list members - my 2c on the Inchon Landing -
Few would argue that this landing was a brilliant move by the good
General. It broke the backbone of NKA. In order to view this event
in more objectively, one should factor in the following facts:
- The US JCS drew up an operational plan for an Inchon landing in 1944
during World War II.
- The US JCS revised this plan in 1949 to counter any
invasion from North Korea
- ROKA Col. Geh In-je (the KLO Korean commander) advised the General
on some tactical elements of the 1950 landing
- The US invaded Inchon (called Chemulpo at the time) in
1871.
An Inchon landing in 1871?
In April 1870, the U.S. State Department told Frederick F. Low, the US minister in Beijing, to negotiate a treaty with Corea that would secure the safe treatment of shipwrecked American sailors, to establish trade, and to look into the murder of the General Sherman crew. The US Asiatic fleet under Rear Admiral John Rodgers was ordered to support Low's mission impossible. Low spent years in the Orient working for the Boston firm of Russell, Sturgis and Company, prior to his diplomatic career. In 1871, Adm. Rodgers marshaled a squadron of five warships and a landing party of over 1,230 men. The US troops were armed with Remington carbines and Springfield muskets. The USS Colorado, a pre-Civil War frigate. served as the flagship. Minister Low and Captain McLane Tilton, commander of the Asiatic Fleet's Marine Guard were on the Colorado.The Americans landed at Choji Fortress of Kanghwa-do on June 10, 1871, and proceeded to occupy the whole island. The Korean defenders of the island were out-gunned and could not put up any effective resistance. It was a lop-sided victory for the Americans: about 350 Koreans, including the garrison commander Gen. Uh Je-yun, were killed but only three Americans were lost. The American forces captured 20 wounded Korean defenders. Minister Low tried to barter them for a meeting with a decision-making Corean official, but he was turned down. The Coreans retorted that the POWs were cowards and they would be severely punished if returned. Low was told that he was welcome to keep the wounded prisoners. The Korean army sent in reinforcement armed with modern weapons, and Admiral Rodgers wisely retreated in good order and left for China on July 3, content with the knowledge that the killers of the General Sherman crew had been punished. This little-known "war" is known as Sinmi-yangyo in Korea and as the 1871 US Korea Campaign in America. For further detail, see http://www.kimsoft.com/2003/us-kr-relation.htm It is not clear if the General knew about this landing.ysk
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