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An historical analysis of one of the Corps' finest hours offers counsel for the effective use of tanks and antitanks in future battles.
Within a fortnight of the North Korean invasion of South Korea, Gen Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief, Far East, requested a division of Marines for a daring amphibious attack. MacArthur believed his plan would have the war won in a month. In record time, the reserves were recalled and regulars transferred to bring the 1st Marine Division up to war strength. The Marines were needed to storm ashore and slash the umbilical cord supplying the armor supported divisions of the Inmun Gun, or North Korean People's Army.
How the division handled its armor and mechanized defenses from the landing at Inch'on until entering Seoul ten days later offers an excellent example of how a well equipped and professionally trained force may be expected to operate. It also raises the question of current capabilities.
At 0633 on 15 Sept, a miserable overcast day, the assault elements of 3d Battalion, 5th Marines landed on the shell-pocked rocky shore of Wolmi-do, the key to Inch'on harbor. As the tide rushed out of Green Beach, the Marines of 3/5 moved against the enemy with light infantry weapons, a platoon of M26 Pershing tanks, a section of dozer tanks, a flame, and the promise of naval gunfire and air support. Eleven hours would pass before the main assault waves could land.
LtCol R. D. Taplett's battalion had come ashore from three fast ADP's and one lone LSD following a two day bombardment by the amphibious force now standing out to sea and awaiting word of the advance element's success. And success they had. Within an hour and a half, the 1,000-meter wide island and 400 dead, wounded, or captured North Koreans were in Marine hands.
Throughout the long hours of the 15th, while the advance element waited alone ashore, the fleet continued to rain fire onto the beaches at Inch'on, and Navy and Marine air flew unopposed strikes against enemy routes of reinforcement. In this unrehearsed assault, a large measure of success would depend on the seamanship of the attack group and the shock effect of the landing force. The ability of X Corps-as the...