In the first volume in this series on the Korean War, North Korea
Invades the South, North Korean ground forces, armor and artillery
crossed the 38th Parallel, and, in blitzkrieg style, rolled back UN and
South Korean forces down the Korean peninsula. Despite the US and South
Korea committing army, air force and navy units, supported by forces
from Australia, Britain, New Zealand, France and Canada, by 31 July,
eleven enemy divisions were concentrated in a disconnected line from
Chŏnju to Yŏngdong.
Along the south coast, North Korean divisions pushed eastward towards
Masan. To the east and center of the peninsula, the enemy closed in on
Kimch'ŏn and the Naktong River line. On the east coast, three North
Korean divisions secured the Yŏngdŏk-P'ohang axis, placing them within
mortar range of the UN airfield at Yŏnil. Reeling, the UN forces
desperately defended the 140-mile-line lodgement area that incorporated
the port of Pusan. Supreme commander of UN forces, General Douglas
MacArthur, had his back to the sea, facing thirteen enemy infantry
divisions, two new tank brigades and an armored division.
On 1 September, North Korean forces launched their strongest offensive
to date, and in the first two weeks of the month, American casualties
became the heaviest of the war. Of particular concern to General Walker
was the danger of losing the town of Taegu in the centre. The resultant
loss of the strategic Taegu-Pusan railway would be catastrophic.
MacArthur and Washington were running out of options, but the Pusan
Perimeter had to be defended at all costs.
