Korea: The First War We Lost

642 Pages·2000·89.006 MB·English

by  Bevin Alexander

KOREA
WAR WE
THE
FIRST LOST,
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Revised Illustr—ated Eddiittiioonn I"
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BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
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KOREA
The First War We Lost
PA CIFIC
OCEAN
Sakashima-Gunto
pescAoows
EAST ASIAN
THEATER OF WAR
1950-1953
Luion Strait
Cl«» 200 400 600kilometers
' 2(5o 400miles
Luzon wlh/mhp-85
KOREA
We
The War
First Lost
Bevin Alexander
HIPPOCRENE BOOKS
New York
In lovingmemoryofmy father,John McAuleyAlexander (1896-1951),
who believed in reality.
Hippocrene Books Revised Illustrated PaperbackEdition, 2000
Hippocrene Books Paperback Edition, 1993
Copyright© 1986 by BevinAlexander
All rights reserved, includingthe rights to reproduce this
bookor portions thereofin anyform.
For information, address:
Hippocrene Books, Inc.
171 Madison Avenue
NewYork, NY 10016
ISBN 0-7818-0808-1
Printed in the United States ofAmerica.
6
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
List ofAbbreviations xiii
1. June 25, 1950 1
2. How Did It Happen? 6
3. Partition 10
4. Hands OffTaiwan and Korea 16
5. Attack Across the 38th 25
6. Decision in Washington 32
7. War and the Quarantine ofTaiwan 36
8. The Army ofthe United Nations 42
My
Goodbye to the Good Times 46
10. The Teenagers Stand and Fight 53
11. Withdrawal in Disorder 63
12. One Bonanza, Several Defeats 68
13. The Kum River 76
14. Taepyong-ni 82
15. Taejon 92
16. The Ghost Division 108
17. Retreat to the Naktong 11
18. The First Counteroffensive 126
19. The Days Along the Naktong 133
20. "We Are Going to Hold This Line" 141
21. Forging a Sword ofVengeance 148
22. MacArthur v. the Joint Chiefs 155
23. MacArthur Calls on Chiang Kai-shek 163
24. The Decision on Inchon 169
25. MacArthur Alienates Truman 176
26. The North Koreans Try Once More 180
27. The Joint Chiefs Get Cold Feet 188
.
28. Inchon 194
29. The Assault on Seoul 211
30. Breakout from the Perimeter 219
31. The United States Decides to Conquer 228
32. Red China Warns the United States 240
33. Up to the Chongchon River 249
34. Destination: The Yalu River 254
35. The Warning Blow Falls 261
36. Disaster at Unsan 269
37. The Lost Battalion 278
38. The Chinese Back Off 283
39. A Time to Reconsider 287
40. Empty Rhetoric on the Potomac 293
41 A Different Kind ofArmy 299
42. Attack into the Unknown 307
43. The "Home-by-Christmas" Offensive 312
44. The March to the Sea 320
45. The Agony ofthe Three Battalions 328
46. An Act ofDefiance 340
47. The Breakout 353
48. MacArthur Panics 368
49. Back to the 38th Parallel 374
50. The NewYear's Eve Offensive 379
51. Acheson's Calculated Risk 387
52. North to the Kansas One 399
53. MacArthur Finally Does It 405
54. The MacArthur Hearings 414
55. The Spring Offensive 418
56. Talking Peace and Practicing War 426
57. The Bloody Ridges 438
58. Another Try for Peace 449
59. The POWs Seize the Stage 456
60. Rhee the Despot, Clark the Hawk 464
61. Others Take a Hand 471
62. The Final Crisis 477
63. The Long Shadow of the KoreanWar 484
Notes 493
Afterword 549
Index 555
7
LIST OF MAPS
East Asian Theater ofWar frontispiece
1. Southern Korea, 1950-53 27
2. Task Force Smith at Osan, July 5, 1950 57
3. Defense ofthe Kum River Line, 34th Infantry,July 14, 1950 77
4. DefenseoftheKumRiverLine,19thInfantry,July13-16, 1950 85
5. The Fall ofTaejon, July 20, 1950 95
6. Southern Front, August-September 1950 121
7. The Inchon Landing, September 15-16, 1950 199
8. The Capture of Seoul, September 19-28, 1950 209
9. North Korea, October-December 1950 257
10. The Unsan Engagement, 8th Cavalry Regiment,
November 1-2, 1950 273
11. The March to the Sea, November 27-December 11, 1950 323
12. Attacks and Withdrawals, January 24-June 24, 1951 403
13. The Bloody Ridges, August-October, 1951 441