Inchon Landing Operation and Liberation of Seoul

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Kim Sung
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Inchon Landing Operation and Liberation of Seoul

#1

Post by Kim Sung » 06 Dec 2006, 16:14

I'll soon start a long discussion on Inchon landing operation, the largest landing operation after WWII, and liberation of Seoul. You will be surprised. Please wait~

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Peter H
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#2

Post by Peter H » 15 Dec 2006, 06:20

From: http://www.history.navy.mil

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First Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez, USMC, leads the 3rd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines over the seawall on the northern side of Red Beach, as the second assault wave lands, 15 September 1950. Wooden scaling ladders are in use to facilitate disembarkation from the LCVP that brought these men to the shore.

Lt. Lopez was killed in action within a few minutes, while assaulting a North Korean bunker.


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Peter H
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#3

Post by Peter H » 15 Dec 2006, 10:42


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#4

Post by Kim Sung » 15 Dec 2006, 10:45

What percentage of Hispanic soldiers did the US army in the Korean War?

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Peter H
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#5

Post by Peter H » 15 Dec 2006, 14:43

5,720,000 served in the US Armed forces 1950-1953 worldwide.

This link gives Hispanic numbers:

http://korea50.army.mil/history/factshe ... anic.shtml
In July 1950, there were about 20,000 Hispanics in the armed forces. Over the next three years, nearly 148,000 Hispanic-Americans volunteered for or were drafted into military service. Of these, approximately 60,000 Puerto Ricans served in Korea.
168,000 as a percentage of 5,720,000 is around 3%.

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#6

Post by Peter H » 15 Dec 2006, 14:56


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#7

Post by Kim Sung » 15 Dec 2006, 15:01

Peter H wrote:168,000 as a percentage of 5,720,000 is around 3%.
The current percentage of Hispanic population is more than 20% in the US military, considering their rapid influx to the States.

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#8

Post by Peter H » 16 Dec 2006, 02:30

Back on topic.

William Breuer's Shadow Warriors provides some interesting facts:

-the Inchon landing site was checked for tide depths etc by a ROK team under USN Lt Commander Eugene Clark two weeks before the landing

-as the amphibious assault could not be concealed the deception plan was to indicate that Kushan,one hundred miles south of Inchon,was the objective

-ROK Navy Lt Commander Lee Sung blew up a North Korean boat near Haeju on the 10th September--" a gargantuan explosion heard for miles".It appears that the North Korean boat contained Soviet magnetic mines due to be sown along Flying Fish channel.Lee's stroke of luck ensured the success of the later landing.

-Clark and his men reactivated the Palmi-do lighthouse on the day of the landing so a guiding light could be seen down Flying Fish channel

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#9

Post by Brian Ross » 16 Dec 2006, 06:51

Peter H wrote: -ROK Navy Lt Commander Lee Sung blew up a North Korean boat near Haeju on the 10th September--" a gargantuan explosion heard for miles".It appears that the North Korean boat contained Soviet magnetic mines due to be sown along Flying Fish channel.Lee's stroke of luck ensured the success of the later landing.
Any info on how that occurred? Was it from another boat/submarine/aircraft?

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#10

Post by Peter H » 16 Dec 2006, 07:51

Brian,

Lee was the skipper of Patrol Craft 703 that worked with Clark's team on Yonghung Island.His three inch gun did the damage.

More here as well:

http://www.history.navy.mil/books/field/ch7b.htm

The departure of the escort carriers after the burning of Wolmi Do had left the waters off Inchon tenanted only by Commonwealth and ROK blockading forces, and by a single patrol plane which, being relieved on station, maintained 24-hour supervision of the Yellow Sea. But the ROK Navy remained busy: Operation Lee was continuing; PC 703 sank a mine-laying sailboat off Haeju on the 10th, and on the 12th got three more small craft in the Inchon approaches.



Regards
Peter

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#11

Post by Peter H » 17 Dec 2006, 05:48

Image

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/imag ... h96980.jpg
A Chaplain reads the Last Rites service as Lieutenant (Junior Grade) David H. Swenson is buried at sea from USS Toledo (CA-133), off Inchon, Korea. He had been killed by North Korean artillery while his ship, USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) was bombarding enemy positions on Wolmi-do island, Inchon, on 13 September 1950.
Lyman K. Swenson is in the background, with her crew at quarters on deck.
David Swenson was the nephew of the late Captain Lyman Swenson who USS Lyman K. Swenson was named after.

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#12

Post by Peter H » 17 Dec 2006, 06:09

According to Breuer the Soviet press dubbed the battle for Seoul, "the Stalingrad of Korea".

Pravda:
..General MacArthur landed the most arrant criminals at Inchon,gathered from the ends of the earth..American bandits were shooting every Inchon civilian taken prisoner....the Wall Street house dog MacArthur demanded that the American so called Marines be placed at his disposal.This professional murderer and inveterate war criminal intended to inflict a final blow on the Korean people...

Unfortunately the battle did not live up to this description and on the 28th September ,13 days after Inchon,Seoul was recaptured.

Details on the battle here:

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6453/seoul.html

Marines in Seoul,photo from The Battle History of the US Marines,Joseph Alexander
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#13

Post by Peter H » 17 Dec 2006, 06:22

Kimpo airport was also recaptured on the 18th.

According to Breuer:
While at Kimpo airport,General Gavin was astonished to see now an intricate arrangement of hardstands and revetments.These were the equal of any he had seen during the war in Europe...it seemed clear to Gavin that an enormous amount of sophisticated planning and construction had gone into the airport project,which was far too elaborate for the needs of the small and largely obsolete North Korean airforce.Gavin explained to Willoughby that the Communists,since seizing Kimpo early in the war,had converted it into a modern military airport.

"Either Kim Il Sung has been wasting an enormous amount of money,time,and manpower in developing this airport or a first-class air power is about to jump into the conflict".

Gavin thought he knew the identity of that "first-class air power" -Communist China.

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#14

Post by Brian Ross » 17 Dec 2006, 07:06

Surely, because of the close relationship between the DPRK and the fUSSR, it would have been much more likely to have been the fUSSR, rather than the PRC? Considering the reluctance of Mao to allow Kim to attack the ROK, and the relative poverty of the PRC, so soon after the end of the Chinese Civil War, I'd be very surprised if they were interested in getting involved in a war with the US at that point in time. They were reluctant to attack when they did and would have preferred to avoid it altogether.

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#15

Post by Kim Sung » 17 Dec 2006, 07:32

Peter H wrote:Kimpo airport was also recaptured on the 18th.
Kimpo airport (김포공항) was defended by North Korean 1st air division.

It consisted of the following units :

The 107 Security Regiment

The 226 Independent Army Regiment

The 2nd Battalion, the 1st Regiment

The 3rd Company, the 1st Battalion, the 1st Regiment

The 877th Air Squadron

The 1st and 3rd Companies, Repair Battalion

The 3rd Technicians' Battalion

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