Frontline
The experienced General Douglas MacArthur launches a risky amphibious assault at Inchon to change the tide of the Korean War
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the emerging standoff between the USSR and the West flared up on the Korean peninsula, with the communist North invading the South in June 1950. In response, the newly created United Nations initially called for a ceasefire, before asking member states to support South Korea. Before long, the UN combined military force was established in South Korea, led chiefly by the US. President Harry S Truman appointed General Douglas MacArthur as commander-inchief of United Nations Command to fulfil the US and the UN goals.
When MacArthur took command of operations, South Korea was in dire straits. North Korea had seized the capital Seoul by the end of June, and by July they had captured most of the country, except the Pusan Perimeter in the south-east of the peninsula. MacArthur strengthened the forces there by deploying the Marines to Pusan in early August. This stabilised the region, but it was only the first step in his plan to repel the North Koreans.
MacArthur had considerable experience in amphibious assaults, having led several successful seaborne invasions in the Pacific Theatre during the Second World War, par ticularly in his mission to capture the Philippines. He chose to land forces at the port city of Inchon, just 16 miles (26km) north of Seoul, as he knew it was a difficult landing location and the enemy wouldn’t be expecting them to attack there. “The navy has never let me down in the past and it will not let me down this time,” he declared bullishly. He was so convinced that an amphibious assault would give the UN forces the best chance to end the war that he told his team: “We shall land at Inchon and I shall crush them.”
After approval from the White House and a small planning window, the stage was set for the amphibious landing on 15 September 1950. From two days prior, naval and air forces bombed and napalmed key North Korean positions, with the islands of Wolmido and Sowolmi- do being largely silenced. Just after midnight on the 15th, an 18ship column sailed into the harbour. The shoreline’s long, narrow, shallow channels, strong currents, a short tidal range and more mudflats than beaches meant the landings had to be carried out efficiently and quickly. At 6:33am the troops landed on Wolmi- do unopposed and swept through the island with little resistance, gaining full control of the island at 7:50am. A squad of Marines and three tanks then crossed the causeway to Sowlmi- do
