CCF intervenes

[Ed Evanhoe <evanhoe1@korean-war.com>]

Robert,

You condensed your timeline a little too much.  The first Chinese troops 
(as opposed to a few advisors/observers with the NK Army) did not start 
crossing into North Korea until 14 Oct 1950, this in northwest North 
Korea.  Chinese troops did not begin crossing into far northeast North 
Korea for another couple of week.  The Taebaek Mountain chain runs just 
inland from the Sea of Japan along Korea's east coast and extends from just 
north of P'ohang in South Korea northward to Wonsan.  The inland chaing is 
called the So-Taebaek Mountain Chain, while the mountains north, northwest 
& northeast of a rough Wonsan-Anju line are identified by different names, 
(I'll have to look up the names) but not as the Taebaek Mountains.

And, I think you will find the first attack in late October 1950 by Chinese 
forces was a "warning" attack intended to tell the UN to stop and pull back 
to an Anju-Wonsan line, this after warning the UN in early October though 
various diplomatic channels that if UN forces came within 50 miles of the 
Yalu River, China would intervene - primarily to protect the dams on the 
Yalu and the vital electrical supply these provided industry in Manchuria 
the Chinese communists needed working if they were to keep their hold on 
the mainland.

In other words, at that point in time China was willing to concede 
everything south of the Wonsan-Anju line, mainly because they were afraid 
if they became involved in Korea they would have to pull troops from the 
area around Taiwan and risk Chinese Nationalist force returning to the 
mainland.

Ed