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898 pages

English

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This book chronicles the Pusan Perimeter campaign, providing clear insight into occupation in Korea, Japan, and Okinawa prior to the Korean War. With an historical text written by General Uzal Ent (Ret.), a rifle platoon veteran of the Perimeter, this book details the strategies, tactics and actions of the troops, yet includes the personal accounts of hundreds of soldiers and marines who were there. This book is the definitive history of the Pusan Perimeter with hundreds of photos, maps and an index, and is a must for any Korean War history buff.

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Military

Okinawa Prefecture

Korean War

History

Okinawa

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Publié par	Turner Publishing Company
Date de parution	15 juin 1997
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781618588197
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	6 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,1550€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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(From the original front cover flap)
REVIEWS
You have done a magnificent job of research. The book rings with authority and integrity. It is the most definitive account of the first four months of the Korean War that I have seen, towering over the U.S. Army s official combat history of that time period. Congratulations.
-Clay Blair, author, The Forgotten War
I read every page and found it fascinating, with compelling accounts of action and heroism, many of which had never before been told. You are to be congratulated, not only for a tremendous piece of historical research but also for the manner in which you combined and sorted, deciding what happened when and what goes where.
- COL Harry J. Maihafer, USA, Ret., author, From the Hudson to the Yalu
Fighting on the Brink is a worthy addition to the history of the Korean War. It is the most detailed account of the first four months of the Korean War available.
- LTC Arthur W. Connor, Jr., Army Advisory Group Maxwell AFB, AL
Fighting on the Brink stands alone in its importance to the military history of the Korean War, and places Uzal Ent in the front rank of military historians.
- COL Robert W. Hill, USA, Ret. Tropic Lightning Flashes , 25th Infantry Division publication review
Fighting on the Brink provides very useful information about the first four months of the Korean War. The level of detail you furnished on both individual soldiers and events is extremely valuable to the International Commemorations Committee, especially as we plan events honoring those who served in defense of the Pusan Perimeter.
- LTG Claude M. Kicklighter, USA, Ret. Deputy Under Secretary of the Army (International Affairs)
F IGHTING ON THE B RINK : D EFENSE OF THE P USAN P ERIMETER

by Brig. Gen. Uzal W. Ent (Ret.)
T URNER P UBLISHING C OMPANY
T URNER P UBLISHING C OMPANY
412 Broadway
P.O. Box 3101
Paducah, KY 42002-3101
(502) 443-0121
Copyright 1996 by Uzal W. Ent
All rights reserved.
Publishing Rights: Turner Publishing
Company
This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced without the written consent of Turner Publishing Company.
Turner Publishing Company Staff: Coordinator: Julie Agnew Thomas Designer: Lora Ann Lauder
Library of Congress
Catalog Card Number: 95-60552
ISBN: 978-1-56311-209-6
Additional copies may be purchased directly from Turner Publishing Company.
This publication was compiled using available information. The publisher regrets it cannot assume liability for errors or omissions.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Introduction
Publisher s Message
PART ONE - BEFORE THE EVENT
1. Occupation Duty
2. The Development of the North and South Korean Armed Forces
PART TWO - INVASION!
3. Cross Border Attack and Fighting Retreat
4. Task Force Smith
5. Ordeal of the 24th Division - Pyongtaek to Suchon-ni
6. Walker Takes Command
7. Ordeal of the 24th Division - Kum River and Taejon
8. First Battles - 25th Infantry and 1st Cavalry Divisions
PART THREE - DEFENDING THE PERIMETER
9. On the Southern Front
10. Forming the Perimeter
11. Mobilization and Deployment of Reinforcements
12. Task Force Kean
13. The First Battle of the Naktong Bulge
14. Meeting the Threat in the East
15. On the Taegu Front
16. The Southern Front Again
17. Buildup and Future Plans
18. Pohang to Taegu, Aug. 27-Sept. 15
19. The Second Battle of the Naktong Bulge
20. Breakthrough at Haman
PART FOUR - BREAKOUT AND PURSUIT
21. Breakout
22. Exploitation
APPENDICES
A - Prisoners of War and Missing in Action
B - Strength Accounting and Losses
C - Medical Support
D - Slang Words and Expressions
Sources and Acknowledgements
Basic Military Map Symbols
Abbreviations
Index
Dedication

Brig. Gen. Uzal W. Ent
Penna National Guard (Ret.)
This book is humbly dedicated to the men who served and fought in defense of the Pusan Perimeter (and the battles leading to its formation) during the Korean War.
I have eaten your bread and salt ,
I have drunk your water and wine ,
The deaths ye died I have watched beside ,
And the lives that ye led were mine .
I served in a rifle platoon in the Pusan Perimeter. This excerpt of a poem by Rudyard Kipling aptly expresses my relationship to the other soldiers and Marines who were there.
Uzal W. Ent January 1994
Introduction
For more than 20 years I have been a student of the Korean War. I realized that, except for the official Army and Marine histories, little which is definitive had been written about one of the most critical campaigns of the entire war - the defense of the Pusan Perimeter. In the 40-odd years since it was fought, only one book has been written about that bloody, epic struggle, Edwin P. Hoyt s The Pusan Perimeter . This was a popular history, taken from books in print at the time.
A number of books and studies have been published on other aspects of the Korean War, but this campaign, which was vital to the U.S./U.N. success in the war, almost has been overlooked. Had we failed in this campaign, there would have been no Inchon landing... there would have been nothing more. The war would have been lost at the outset!
I have set out to correct that omission. My research has included all the standard books, many newspaper and magazine articles of the time, official records, plus special reports and studies. But of more importance are the recollections and experiences of the men who fought those early battles. This book includes hundreds of these.
This book will include: What occupation duty in Korea, Japan and Okinawa was really like. The development of the North and South Korean armed forces. The Republic of Korea Army s (ROKA) delaying actions in the first few weeks of the war. American battles leading to the formation of the Perimeter. The defense of the Pusan Perimeter, including GEN Walton H. Walker s plan for the defense and why it couldn t be implemented. The breakout from the Perimeter.
Within this narrative are woven the experiences and recollections of hundreds of U.S. soldiers and Marines who fought the battles. I hope I have brought the human element into what otherwise would be a dry recounting of historical facts and figures. What will make this book live are the accounts of those men who took part in the life-and-death struggles of that long-ago war.
In short, this book examines aspects of the early Korean War battles and the Perimeter defense and breakout, neither of which have never before been adequately explored or explained. Hopefully, this examination will put a different perspective on the first three months of the Korean War.
PART ONE
BEFORE THE EVENT
To make an army victorious in battle it is necessary to inspire them with confidence, so as to make them believe the victory will be theirs under any circumstances. But to give such an army confidence they must be well-armed and disciplined, and the men must know each other .
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Discourses
CHAPTER ONE - Occupation Duty
The Occupation of Japan
COL Charles Tench, of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur s staff, with a contingent of 30 officers and 120 enlisted men landed on the battle-scarred runway at Atasugi, Japan on Aug. 28, 1945, beginning the U.S. occupation of Japan. When Tench and his party arrived, the Japanese Armed Forces numbered over 6.9 million men. Of this number, 3.5 million were located in the home islands. They were supported by hundreds of ships and over 6,000 combat aircraft. It would seem apparent that an armed invasion of Japan before the war s end would have led to great slaughter on both sides.
Japan consists of four large islands: Hokkaido in the north; the main island of Honshu in the center; Kyushu and Shikoku in the south. There are over 3,000 smaller islands. Nearly three-quarters of the total area of 142,771 square miles is covered by extremely rugged hills and mountains. Over 250 peaks rise above 6,500 feet; with the highest, Mount Fuji, at 12,385 feet.
The Americans discovered that Japanese leadership almost had been destroyed. Further, heavy U.S. bombing had killed hundreds of thousands of civilians and injured even more. Fire-bombing had leveled vast areas of Tokyo, killing more people as each of the atomic bombs did at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There was no organized medical care, food distribution or emergency aid for the sick, injured and homeless. Factories and rail systems were in shambles. The economy was crippled. Japan and the Japanese were in horrendous condition, and in no position to help themselves.
Richard G. Jones (HHC, 25th Div.) arrived in Japan shortly after the occupation began. He recalled that it took three days to go by train from Yokohama to Osaka, because of the damaged rail system. Once the lines were repaired, a trip could normally be made in less than a day.
The Japanese were very wary of the Americans, expecting them to loot, steal, rape their women and kill all the men. They were unprepared for the generosity and friendliness of American soldiers, who helped distribute food, blankets, medical supplies and other goods to the civilian population. GIs handed out chocolate bars, chewing gum and other goodies to Japanese children. There were other humane acts. In one case, three U.S. soldiers gave first-aid to a girl who had been badly injured by a Japanese street car and were said to have taken her to a hospital. These kinds of actions won over the Japanese and went far to ensure a peaceful, happy relationship with the Americans.
Donald L. Massey enlisted in the Army in 1946 at the age of 17. He had just four weeks of basic training before being sent to Japan and Battery C, 64th Field Artillery Battalion (FAB) at Nara, in south central Honshu. Massey remembered the first haircut he and his buddies got by a Japanese barber: The straight razor seemed to be as big as a sword and we were concerned he might decide to take one of us out for his Emperor.
When a fire broke out in an old Japanese barrac

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