While the Korean War tends to be “forgotten” in military history, the conflict was rife with battles that changed history and defined future battle strategies. One of these battles, later referred to as the loss of Suwon Airfield, contained some of the first aerial “dogfights” and became an example for future pilots for aerial battle strategy. But the battle was not only fought in the air—upon closer study, it becomes obvious that the ground troops’ behavior is the main reason for the loss of the airfield’s control.
Using documents from the Air Force, Air Force Magazine, United States Marine Corps, and the Army Center for Military History—all verifiable sources that retained information from firsthand participants in the battle for historical use—as well as newspapers from the period, the events of late June and early July in 1950 become clear.
The information in The News and Courier on July 5, 1950 states that the North Koreans invaded South Korea in June 1950 with the intention of unifying the peninsula and spreading the Communist government. As the US forces stationed throughout the Far East rushed to get refugees out of Seoul in front of the North Korean advance while frantically trying to get troops into the area, Suwon Airfield became an important point for refugee pick-up; the airfield had already been an important staging area for the Air Force and supply drops (Warnock, 2000). Unfortunately, the US forces were unable to hold the airfield indefinitely in the face of the massive North Korean troop advance; according to The News and Courier possession of Seoul and Suwon Airfield was taken by the North Korean troops days after the June 25, 1950 beginning of the conflict (United States Forces Korea, 2012).
Suwon Airfield...
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...and intelligence provided by the Air Force, which finally retook Suwon in late 1950 (United States Forces Korea, 2012).
Works Cited
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Lambert, Tom. (1950, July 5). Suwon and Airfield Fall to Reds. The News and Courier. Pp. 1A.
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In today’s world, the use of airplanes in wars or in everyday life has become a part of how we live as human beings. Removing the air forces of the world is like taking a step back in time when wars were only fought on land or sea. WWI began only eleven short years after the Wright brothers achieved powered flight in 19031 and yet aircrafts were being used for surveillance and eventually combat purposes. It is understood that these aircrafts were primitive, but they laid down the foundation for what we know today as fighter jets. The Fokker Eindecker “revolutionized air combat by successfully employing a synchronized forward -firing machine gun mounted on the engine cowling”2. Because this airplane became the first to successfully use a synchronized machine gun, it allowed its pilots to become the first aerial combat tactitions3.
The United States vows to protect the democratic South Korea. American forces defend South Korea but are almost pushed on the peninsula . Douglas Mccarthur is in charge of the American forces. He stages an impressive counter attack that pushes the North Koreans all the way back to China. This is when China enters the warand pushes American forces back to the 38Th parallel. In 1953 , the war ended In a stalemate. (document C)
Thesis. Air War College, 1987. http://www.airwar.edu//a>. Maxwell, Alabama: United States Air Force, 1987. DTIC Online -.
The Korean War began when the North Koreans invaded South Korea across the 38th parallel on June 25, 1950. The North Korean forces fought their way to Pusan at the southern edge of the Korean peninsula. With the North Koreans controlling most of the peninsula, General Douglas MacArthur landed an amphibious assault at Inchon on September 15, 1950 and wrested control of South Korea from North Korean forces. After MacArthur’s forces marched to the northern border of Korea, China entered the war. After a major Chinese attack and a major American counter attack, the front of the war had a new stage, the Chosin Reservoir (Henretta, Edwards & Self 768).
The Korean War , although successful in preventing the spread of communism, was one of the first tests of communism in Asia. North Korea was strictly communist while South Korea was democratic. As usual, the United States supported democratic South Korea and the Truman Doctrine was applied to the Korean situation. The North Korean forces crossed the dividing line (38th parallel) and invaded South Korea. Thus, they provoked a war over communism. With the possibility of democratic South Korea falling to the communistic North, the U.S. stepped in and supplied aid mostly through troops. The U.S. then urged the United Nations to support South Korea and fight against the communist North. Once the North Korean forces were defeated at Inchon, they eventually got pushed back to the 38th parallel. However, against President Truman’s word, American General MacArthur decided to keep pushing back the North Korean forces by crossing the dividing line. This caused more trouble because the People’s Republic of China (Communist China) now sent troops to aid the communists against the pro...
Cressman, Robert J.; et al. (1990). "A Glorious page in our history", Adm. Chester Nimitz, 1942: the Battle of Midway, 4–6 June 1942. Missoula, Mont.: Pictorial Histories Pub. Co.ISBN 0-929521-40-4.
Amid the snow-covered hills in the tiny village of Chipyong-Ni, Korea, a battle ridden 23rd Regimental Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division made a decisive stand from February 13-15, 1951 that would lead to the first operational win against a much stronger and larger force. In what some considered being the Gettysburg of the Korean War, the Battle of Chipyong-Ni was a bitterly contested engagement between the X Corp, 23rd Regimental Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, under the command of COL. Paul Freeman the North Korean People’s Army and the Chinese Communist Forces’ (CCF). This analysis will demonstrate that COL Paul Freemans’ ability to properly use mission command ultimately led to the first operational defeat of the enemy since the Korean War had started.
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The Art of War is a treatise written in Ancient China that discusses the most and least effective military strategies for successful warfare according to Sun Tzu, a military general whose existence is still debated to this day. While not every military commander in the history of warfare has read it, the strategies provided can be used as a way to assess said commanders and the effectiveness of their campaigns. In Sun Tzu 's own words, “The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:--let such a one be dismissed!”1 This paper will discuss various iconic battles throughout history and how closely the leading commanders of each army followed the advice of Sun Tzu. Despite the fact that Sun Tzu lived hundreds of years before many of these battles took place, the
Lawson, Robert L., and Barrett Tillman. U.S. Navy Air Combat: 1939-1946. Osceola, WI: MBI Pub., 2000. Print.
Korea ended its isolation in the mid-nineteenth-century age of imperialism, in 1882, as a defensive measure against its neighbors, signing “Treaty of Amity and Commerce” with the United States to provide “good offices if there is an external threat”. As a result of the rising Soviet-American rivalry at the end of World War II, the Korean peninsula was divided along the 38th parallel. The divide ran along the 38th parallel which is part of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) separating North and South Korea . The Soviet Union supported North Korea with Communist-control and the United States supported South Korea in democracy. In 1953 the Armistice Agreement ended three years of fighting (starting June 25, 1950) that killed over a milli...
During the 1960’s, the United States was strongly involved in the Vietnam War. In a war there are many battles. Each battle could decide the fate of the war as a whole. The Battle of Khe Sanh was one such battle (or so thought by General Westmoreland) in the Vietnam War. The Battle of Khe Sanh included the preparations, the battle, and the aftermath.
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Neal, Mary. Battle of Singapore. The Globe and Mail [Toronto, Ont] 13 Nov 1990: A.16.