Compass Points - Inchon Anniversary

Miracle on the Han River

Compass Points - Inchon Anniversary

Miracle on the Han River

September 15, 2024

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It is not only deterring foes and winning battles. It is winning a precious time for a foreign ally to build their own industrial might and for families to live peaceful and productive lives.

D-day in Korea for the brilliant Inchon amphibious landing was September 15, 1950. While General Douglas MacArthur sweated onboard the Navy flag ship, US Marines kicked in the door to Inchon and the road to Seoul by taking Wolmi-do Island.

As the summer of 1950 began, the world was rebuilding after World War II. General Douglas MacArthur had become a modern shogun in Japan and was establishing the foundations of a peaceful, capitalistic, democracy. Experts, pundits, and professors peered out at the horizon, but what happened next was a surprise.

On the morning of June 25, 1950, a mechanized North Korean invasion force swept across the border between North and South Korea. Three days later, having brushed aside all opposition, North Korea captured the South Korean capital, Seoul.  Week after week, NK swept 200 miles south destroying all allied forces that tried to slow them down. It was not until August 4, 1950 when the North Korean advance was halted at the most southern tip of the Korean peninsula, outside the port city of Pusan (now Busan).

MacArthur was flown in from Japan to take over the fight. By this time, MacArthur had served half a century on active duty, nearly three decades overseas. He was about to put all his experience into his most audacious plan: Inchon.

Two hundred and sixty-one ships from seven nations formed Vice Admiral Arthur Struble’s Joint Task Force 7. At 0630 Marines from 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines landed at Wolmi-do island. After just 90 minutes of fighting, the Marines reported to MacArthur that Wolmi-do had been taken. MacArthur then sent a message to Struble, “The Navy and Marines have never shone more brightly than this morning.”

With Wolmi-do captured, the march to Seoul began. Inchon was just 16 miles from Seoul. Author Robert L. Durham describes some of the fighting.

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A North Korean column consisting of tanks and infantry advanced along a road at dawn on September 17, 1950, to attack the Marines at Ascom City between Inchon and Seoul. Some of the communist riflemen rode atop the tanks, while others trudged along beside and behind them.

An advance platoon of the 5th Marine Regiment led by 2nd Lt. Lee R. Howard lay in ambush, waiting for them to enter the kill zone. When the North Koreans came in range, the Marines opened fire from the hills along the road, assailing the tanks and infantry with recoilless rifles, bazookas, machine guns, and rifles.

A platoon of five Pershing tanks deployed in support swung into action. They pumped high-velocity, armor-piercing rounds into the enemy T-34s. When it was all over, the six enemy tanks were in flames and the ground was blanketed with 200 dead North Korean infantrymen. The Marine ambush, which appeared to have wiped out the entire enemy force, was an example of the skill and tenacity of the Marines who spearheaded the United Nations’ amphibious invasion at Inchon that had begun two days earlier.

-- Robert L. Durham, Warfare History Network, "MacArthur’s Brilliant Landing at Inchon, Korea."

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After capturing Seoul, and cutting the North Korean supply lines, MacArthur's plan was to drive back the North Korean invaders and win the entire peninsula. It seemed to be working, until China crossed the Yalu River border and jumped into the fight.

Today the US has designated China as the pacing challenge in the Pacific and around the world. While China is a global power spreading its influence around the world, it is foremost a constant, looming, and oppressive regional power in the Pacific.  There is constant discussion, in defense circles today, as there should be, about how to protect Taiwan from a Chinese invasion. Yet, somehow in all the discussions, South Korea is hardly mentioned.

Seoul is roughly 300 miles from Beijing.

Taipei is roughly 1,000 miles from Beijing.

If China is going to attack Taiwan, it cannot leave the dagger of South Korea pointed directly at Beijing.

Like Taiwan, South Korea has built itself into an industrial powerhouse. A review by the World Economic Forum reports,

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Once one of the poorest countries following the Korean War in the 1950s, South Korea has rebuilt its economy from scratch. With barely any natural resources available, the only asset that Korea has had to rely on is its people, who have acted as a cornerstone of the extraordinary economic growth known as the Miracle on the Han River. The country’s number one focus was to elevate education, and within just 10 years following the Korean War, illiteracy plummeted from 78% to 4%.

In parallel, the country put all its efforts into maximizing export products, starting with simple items such as garments, fibre and footwear. As exports picked up, the government focused on building more sophisticated hardware-based products for heavy manufacturing industries such as automotive, TVs, steel, mobile devices and semiconductors. At the same time, the government has strengthened its collaborative ties to support a select number of front runners in these industries, which led to the creation of Chaeobols – family led large industrial conglomerates.

While highly successful, this choice has had side effects including the uneven distribution of wealth and power and the creation of classes among the population. Economically speaking, South Korea has risen to become the 11th largest economy and the fifth largest exporter of goods and services globally. Samsung and LG have become the top display makers worldwide; Hyundai and Kia combined are third in vehicle production numbers. In July 2021, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) upgraded Korea’s status to a developed economy.

-- World Economic Forum - "This is how South Korea can become a global innovation hub" 31 Jan 2022

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China has attacked South Korea before, and it can do so again. Any modern attack by China on Taiwan would need to be paired with an attack by North Korean and Chinese forces on South Korea. Seoul is only 300 miles from Beijing. What are the Force Design Marine Littoral Regiments going to do to stop North Korean and Chinese forces sweeping, once again, down the Korean peninsula? How are a few precision missiles going to stop the Chinese hordes?

They call it the "Miracle on the Han River" that turned South Korea into a worldwide industrial powerhouse. It will take another miracle today to save South Korea from another combined attack from North Korea and China.

After World War II, there was a tremendous draw-down in US forces, including the Marine Corps. The attack by North Korea was a surprise to military planners and defense experts. When the crisis came, the Marine Corps was still "most ready when the Nation was least ready." The combined arms force of Marines quickly arrived, steadied the situation at Pusan, and then led the amphibious landing at Inchon that entirely changed the fighting.

Can Marines do the same today? Just as in years past, the US today needs forward deployed, combined arms, crisis response forces that can arrive at the scene of any crisis ready to deter, assist, and fight. Then, those same forces must be able to rapidly augment, composite, and expand into an even larger, more capable force. This used to be the focus of the Marine Corps and the always ready capability the Marine Corps provided to the Nation. Over the last few years, unfortunately, the Marine Corps has become distracted. Somehow the Marine Corps lost some of its faith in its role as the world's premier crisis response force. The time for distraction is over. It is time for Marines once again to focus on global crisis response.

It is not only deterring foes and winning battles. It is winning precious time for a foreign ally to build their own industrial might, and for families to live peaceful and productive lives.

Compass Points salutes all those Marines and others who made the Inchon landing a success and salutes all the Marines standing post around the world today. It was a surprise in 1950 when North Korea attacked. Somewhere today, a similar enemy force is plotting a surprise attack on one of the US allies. When that new attack comes, the nation that is attacked, the US, and the world will once again ask, "Where are the Marines?"