16-292 Garand Picture of the Day - Korea

[Mark in Rochester]

When the United States intervened in the conflict only a handful of M24 Chaffee light tanks were available in the barracks in Japan. Yet the Korean War was to prove, as far U.S. tanks were concerned, the M26 Pershing’s war. Despite some successful delaying actions, including the heroic anti-tank efforts of the commander of the 24th Infantry Division, General William F. Dean, at Taejon the month of July was marked by continuous Allied retreats. Three Pershings were scraped together from several junked examples in Japan and sent to the Korean peninsula. The reconditioned vehicles had several problems including defective fan belts for the engines forcing them to use rail transport wherever possible. The makeshift tank platoon was sent by rail to defend the town of Chinju. The tanks were awaiting replacement belts when the North Koreans attacked on 28 July. The platoon commander, Lieutenant Sam Fowler, tried in vain to secure a train to evacuate the tanks and then decided to try to road march with the retreating infantry. The three Pershings overran an enemy roadblock on 31 July, but they lost contact with their own infantry and were stopped at a destroyed bridge. The enemy attacked them again and the engines of two tanks broke down. The third one surged forward again evacuating several crewmen, but its engine also quit after reaching safety and the tank had to be abandoned. In a single action the entire medium tank force available to General MacArthur evaporated. Yet help was on the way. The same day a full company of M4A3E8 medium tanks arrived at Pusan, shortly followed by more Shermans and Pershings.

William F. Dean

https://www.milsurps.com/showthread....5&daysprune=-1

https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=39345

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[Flying10uk]

Did the United States arrive in Korea before Great Britain who also intervened in the conflict and I believe that there were also other countries that made up the coalition as well? Wasn't Canada and Australia also members of the coalition and the war fought under the United Nations banner? My father was called up for National Service during the Korean War and had to go for a medical at a army base in the U.K. where he explained that he had serious hearing loss and permanent damage caused by being bombed in WW2. Clearly this was something that he wasn't going to get better from but was told to come back in 6 months time for another medical in any case. This he did and was then told his services were not required due to the hearing loss.

[Mark in Rochester]

Did the United States arrive in Korea before Great Britain who also intervened in the conflict and I believe that there were also other countries that made up the coalition as well? Wasn't Canada and Australia also members of the coalition and the war fought under the United Nations banner? My father was called up for National Service during the Korean War and had to go for a medical at a army base in the U.K. where he explained that he had serious hearing loss and permanent damage caused by being bombed in WW2. Clearly this was something that he wasn't going to get better from but was told to come back in 6 months time for another medical in any case. This he did and was then told his services were not required due to the hearing loss.

The civil war escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union and China—moved to the south to unite the country on 25 June 1950. On that day, the United Nations Security Council recognized this North Korean act as invasion and called for an immediate ceasefire. On 27 June, the Security Council adopted S/RES/83: Complaint of aggression upon the Republic of Korea and decided the formation and dispatch of the UN Forces in Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the defense of South Korea, with the United States providing 88% of the UN's military personnel.

The first non-Korean and non-US unit to see combat was No. 77 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, which began escort, patrol and ground attack sorties from Iwakuni, Japan on 2 July 1950.

In five days, the South Korean forces, which had 95,000 men on 25 June, was down to less than 22,000 men. In early July, when U.S. forces arrived, what was left of the South Korean forces were placed under U.S. operational command of the United Nations Command.

The UN ordered an intervention to prevent the conquest of South Korea. U.S. President Harry S. Truman ordered ground forces into South Korea. The 24th Infantry Division was closest to Korea, and it was the first US division to respond. The 24th Division's first mission was to "take the initial shock" of the North Korean assault, then try to slow its advance until more US divisions could arrive.

On 30 June, a 406-man infantry force from 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, supported by a 134-man artillery battery (also from the 24th Infantry Division) was sent into South Korea. The force, nicknamed Task Force Smith for its commander, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Smith, was lightly armed and ordered to delay the advance of North Korean forces while the rest of the 24th Infantry Division moved into South Korea. On 4 July, the task force set up in the hills north of Osan and prepared to block advancing North Korean forces. The next day, they spotted an incoming column of troops from the North Korean 105th Armored Division. The ensuing battle was a rout, as the Task Force's obsolescent anti-tank weapons and understrength units were no match for the North Koreans' T-34 Tanks and full-strength formations. Within a few hours, the first battle between American and North Korean forces was lost. Task Force Smith suffered 20 killed and 130 wounded in action. Dozens of US soldiers were captured, and when US forces retook the area, some of the prisoners were discovered to have been executed. According to recently declassified documents the troops were captured and taken to Pyongyang where they are thought to have been murdered about three months later.

[CINDERS]

That tank would have been like sitting in an ice box of a fridge........

[browningautorifle]

an ice box

I don't know if they had crew heaters then. I did time in armor and it was fine, even too hot until the heater broke down. Then you could feel the cold move through you. It wasn't better outside, the cold blast of arctic wind would blow you away.

[fjruple]

The civil war escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union and China—moved to the south to unite the country on 25 June 1950. On that day, the United Nations Security Council recognized this North Korean act as invasion and called for an immediate ceasefire. On 27 June, the Security Council adopted S/RES/83: Complaint of aggression upon the Republic of Korea and decided the formation and dispatch of the UN Forces in Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the defense of South Korea, with the United States providing 88% of the UN's military personnel.

Mark--

There was not a civil war in the conventional sense. Korea had been partition as a result of the end of WWII with Russian forces being given control of the territory North of the 38th parallel. And the US South of that line of demarcation. Russia ceded the North to the Communist Party of Korea. While the South was given to a "democratic" local government. Due to the draw down from WWII, US occupation forces in the Far East were a very sorry state. Russia and the NK knew this situation and planned for a very quick full scale invasion of the South. North Korea and Russia wanted a quick victory to capture all of the south, knowing full well it would be very hard for the UN and the US to re-occupy the south or mount a sea invasion of the South. The major political error on Russia's part was made by walking out of the UN Security Council on the resolution for UN troops to go to the aid of the South Koreans. If the Russians had not walked out, they could have veto the UN resolution and threw a monkey wrench into UN support of the South Koreans. Bear in mind the PRC was not a member of the UN Security Council at the time. With the walk out there was no opposition from the other security council members to veto the UN resolution. Thus UN troops were tasked to support the South. Initially everything for the UN was a holding action until the UN could build up its forces to go one on one with the North Koreans. In a sense the war is still going on today.

Cheers

-fjruple

[Flying10uk]

I believe that there has only ever been a ceasefire to the Korean War and the war has never "officially ended" but I stand to be corrected.

My father remembers British National Service men coming home on leave from Korea. If any happened to come into a dance hall* many if not all of the unattached girls present wanted to "get off" with these off duty soldiers. Men such as my father who hadn't been to Korea for reasons already explained stood no chance.

*Roughly, the 1950s equivalent of a night club.