MacArthur and Inchon

MacArthur and Inchon

In November of 1951, during the Korean War, our Army unit was treated to a short cruise, from Sasebo, Japan to Inchon, on the west coast of Korea, the site of General MacArthur's daring invasion of the Korean Peninsula, a little over a year before.

Our first glimpse of Korea, and Inchon, was something of a disappointment. Truth was, we didn't see much of anything at all. Although the distance was not great, it had taken three days to sail around the peninsula of Korea. All day we had sailed just off the western coast, sometimes able to see land, sometimes not. There had been no sign of trouble, but as darkness came we were cautioned against smoking on deck, or showing lights of any kind when we were topside. Late in the evening we were ordered to prepare to disembark, with all our gear. But we were far out in the harbor, probably a quarter mile or more from shore, with just few faint lights flickering in the distance. They seemed a long way off.

Thankfully, we did not have to wade ashore. The harbor engineers had laid a wide, floating walkway, all the way from the shore to our ship and we were able to walk, quite peacefully to the dock---much different from McArthur's Marines, who had made the invasion at this same spot the year before.

Today Inchon, on the Northwest Korean Coast, just a stone's throw from North Korea, is one of the most important cities in the Orient. Inchon has a fine, ice-free harbor. The harbor is deep enough to handle all ships, though schedules need to take into account a 30-foot tide, one of the highest in the world. The Inchon International Airport boasts more than 160,000 flights per year---both means of transport, air and sea, have helped Inchon to become the transportation hub of South Korea. A thoroughly modern metropolis, it is currently turning itself into a Corporate hub, and a major industrial center as well, with its companies doing business world wide. Although some 30 miles from Seoul, the Capital of Korea, Inchon is almost a part of the city, as it is connected with the Capital via the Seoul subway system, as well as an eight-lane super highway, both of which are extremely busy.

In 1950 Inchon was far from a booming metropolis. It was a quiet little fishing village, with dirt streets, and native boats in the harbor---nary a seagoing craft in sight. Fishermen made their morning runs into the Yellow Sea for their Catch of the Day. The few restaurants in town were "rustic" little shacks hugging the harbor, sharing their space with the many fish mongers, hawking their wares.

This changed suddenly in September, 1950, when Inchon found itself in the world's spotlight, during the Korean War. In June, 1950 the North Koreans invaded South Korea. Though the United Nations (mainly USA) stepped in to aid the Republic of Korea Army (ROK), by September the North Koreans (NK) had driven the Allied troops to the very thin perimeter around Pusan, at the very southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, and were threatening to drive the ROK Army and the Americans into the sea.

Korea was a divided nation in 1950. The Japanese had made all of Korea a part of the Japanese Imperial Empire in 1910, and it remained so until the Japanese surrendered, to end WW II, in 1945. The Soviet Union, a late comer to the war in the Far East in WW II, helped itself to that part of Japan's Empire, as its reward for entering the war on the side of the allies against Japan. The Soviets claimed all of Korea above the 38th parallel, making it a separate communist country, thus setting the stage for North Korea's invasion of South Korea in 1950.

General MacArthur was probably the most decorated US General coming out of World War II. He was acclaimed as the liberator of The Philippines. He received the surrender of Japan, amidst much ceremony aboard the Battleship Missouri, in 1945. He was a good administrator, and had garnered much credit for implementing democratic reforms, as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Japan. When the Korean War began he was named Overall Commander of the United Nations Forces in Korea.

MacArthur's plan for the invasion of Korea, beginning with the landing at Inchon, was designed to attack the North Korean Army well behind its forward lines, cut that Army in half, and swiftly end the war. It was a daring plan and a controversial one.

It was said that Gen. MacArthur made a reconnaissance flight over Korea in early September and took note of an impending bumper harvest throughout South Korea. He vowed then that the North Koreans would not have that harvest and began his plan for saving that crop for the South Koreans, while at the same time relieving the pressure on the UN forces at Pusan, and hopefully ending the war in one fell swoop.

MacArthur was a strong personality, and a persuasive man. He needed all of his persuasive skills to sell his invasion plans to the other Generals and Admirals on his staff, as well as to his superiors in Washington.

There were a number of questions to his plan. 1. There was the tide problem. Because of the great tidal fluctuation of water depths in Inchon Harbor there were only narrow windows of time when it would be possible to land large numbers of men on the shore. 2. There was the problem of coordinating a large-scale naval operation (320 naval craft) with appropriate air support and the large force of Army and Marines. 3. MacArthur's Marines, whom he intended to lead the amphibious attack, had been greatly weakened by Washington powers after WW II. (Some said that there had been a serious attempt to discontinue the Marine Corps altogether after the war.)

Somehow, by Sept. 15, 1950 MacArthur was able to put his plan into effect. After a full naval bombardment, and under the cover of American aircraft, the full force of American might (70,000 men) was thrown at the Communist North Korean Army at Inchon, 100 miles behind the NK lines. The 1st Marine Division led the way, and the attack succeeded in cutting the North Korean Army in half. Of the nearly 100,000 North Koreans, who had invaded South Korea, only 30,000 were able to escape back north.

Two weeks later Seoul, the Capital of South Korea, was in the hands of MacArthur's United Nations forces. The North Korean Army was destroyed or totally ineffective. The bumper harvest had been saved for the South Koreans, and the way seemed open for a United Nations' romp all the way to the Yalu River (which marked the boundary between the Korean Peninsula and mainland China.

I never got to serve under General MacArthur. By the time I got to Korea in 1951 he was gone. After the September 1950 Inchon invasion MacArthur was being hailed a military genius, the savior of South Korea, the man who had preserved peace in the Far East. It was probably MacArthur's finest hour, which was big praise for a man who had known a great many important praiseworthy events. In light of what came next, it is unfortunate that General MacArthur did not retire on his laurels then and there.

Source: MacArthur biography, by Norman Finklestein