Why Did The Inchon Attack North Korea

Improved Essays
The Inchon Invasion: Operation Chromite
Korea is one of the oldest countries in the world bordered by China to its north. In 1882 Korea and the United States signed a trade agreement and the king of Korea said “We feel that America is to us as our Elder Brother” (Rice 12). Later, Japan controlled the Korean peninsula and used it to invade Manchuria. After Japan attacked the U.S at Pearl Harbor in 1941 America entered World War II. After World War II, Japan no longer controlled Korea. The Soviet Union controlled the area north of the 38th parallel and the U.S. administered the area to the south. By 1948 they became two separate nations, the Communist North Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the south. In June of 1950 the Korean War began when the North Korean troops invaded South Korea. The South Korean army was not strong enough to repel the attacks and the U. S. army came in to assist them. The United Nations put General MacArthur in charge of the forces assisting South Korea and he came up with a plan for an amphibious landing at Inchon. The landing at Inchon had a positive effect on the outcome of the Korean conflict because it succeeded in surprising the enemy, cut off the North Korean supply lines and pushed the Communists out of Seoul (Rice 13-21, Britannica.com). By the end of the summer of 1950, the North Korean People’s Army had overcome the South Korean forces and the United Nations forces and had taken over most of South Korea including the capital of Seoul. The President of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, ordered thousands of people killed that he thought might help the Communist troops. South Korea and the U.N. forces had been pushed back and were defending the port of Pusan at the south end of Korea. General MacArthur began thinking of an amphibious attack plan at Inchon to regain the land in South Korea, but first had to convince U.S. military officials that this plan would work. He argued that Inchon was strategic because it was behind enemy lines and not as protected by the North Korean army due to the difficult tides, swift currents and rocky seawalls. This, MacArthur argued, ensured the element of surprise. Also, Inchon was only around twenty miles from Seoul and would allow the U.N. and Republic of Korea forces to retake the South Korean capital. MacArthur felt that by taking the port at Inchon and retaking Seoul, they would successfully cut off the North Korean’s supply line and protect all of South Korea. The plan was approved at the end of August 1950 by President Truman (Rice 45, Blohm 34-36). The invasion at Inchon was code named Operation Chromite and scheduled to take place September 15, 1950. Several preliminary attacks were planned to clear the way for the amphibious landing. A week before, Operation Trudy Jackson landed a military intelligence team on a small island in the channel approaching Inchon to provide U. N. forces with necessary intelligence and clear mines from the channel. The Inchon Invasion actually began September 10, 1950 with an attack on
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MacArthur was determined to retake the South Korean capital. The marines captured and secured Kimpo airfield so that they could use it to bring in supplies and keep the North Korean forces from using it. They battled the North Koreans and then the U. N. forces entered and secured Seoul. By the end of September 1950, MacArthur was able to return Seoul to President Syngman Rhee of South Korea. Unfortunately, the battle persisted and it took several years for the two sides to come to an agreement while the Korean War continued (Rice 71, About.com).
MacArthur’s plan for the invasion at Inchon was one of the greatest military operations in history. It had a positive effect on the outcome of the Korean conflict by keeping the North Korean army from completely overtaking South Korea. It succeeded because, as MacArthur had predicted, it took the North Korean’s by surprise. By surprising the enemy, the South Koreans were able to take Kimpo airfield and retake the capital city of Seoul which successfully cut off supply lines for the Communist North

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